The massive redevelopment at Earls Court took a step closer to fruition in November 2012 when the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea gave its outline planning approval. The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham …
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HLOS 2014-19: A Potential Step Backwards for London
Back in July the government outlined its rail investment strategy in the High Level Output Statement (HLOS) covering 2014-19 or Control Period 5 (CP5). We reported on the HLOS here and here, and a rich …
Continue readingIn Pictures: The Kings Cross Clock Tower
Sometimes, whilst researching a topic, unexpected opportunities arise. This proved to be the case recently at Kings Cross where, during a site visit related to a future piece on the station’s sub-surface logistics, it became clear that our Network Rail guide might just be amenable to a slightly loftier piece of photography as well. And so, with thanks to Network Rail, and without further comment, we present a brief look at the state of affairs within the Clock Tower at Kings Cross and some views from the top of the station.
Continue readingUnlocking Herne Hill and the Kent route to the City
The extensive RUS process has already yielded a long shopping list of potential projects, including some big ticket items such as Crossrail 2. We are more likely, however, to see a package of more modest …
Continue readingBlackfriars: Safeguarding The Future
The subject of safeguarding has cropped up in several of our recent posts, and here we explore a current example: at Blackfriars. As the Thameslink work at Blackfriars progresses apace, the opening of the South …
Continue readingLondon Terminals: Fighting Over Farringdon (Part 2)
In Part 1 of our journey below Smithfield we followed in the footsteps of John Bull’s underground wander down the Widened Lines from Barbican. Here in Part 2 we leave him fumbling in the dark and emerge blinking into the light at Farringdon. We will not linger on the surface for long though because, as we have already discovered, the hidden delights lie underground. Scratch the surface, or dive beneath it, and you discover there is much more to the Smithfield area than meets the eye.
Continue readingLondon Terminals: Fulsome Farringdon
Initially, we’d planned just a single post looking at Farringdon as part of our (increasingly badly titled) London Terminals series, but John Bull’s recent wander through the old ‘Widened Lines’ tunnels east of Farringdon gave a brief glimpse of an unexpectedly cavernous subterranean world. This prompted us to ask: just how much more is down there?
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 3: A Quart Into a Pint Pot
This is the final part of our look at how freight may become the Achilles’ heel for rail planners in London. The first article provided some context, looking at the various strategies, the national flows …
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 2: The Freight Must Flow
The more we looked at rail freight in London the more we realised the significant challenges it poses, including to TfL’s aspirations for the Overground and its ‘strategic interchanges’. As the network in London reaches …
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 1: Reshaping the Network
In our previous posts on the shape of London’s rail network, we looked at how our infrastructure legacy gives rise to the pattern of services which concentrates demand onto the city core and its ring …
Continue readingThe Shape of London’s Rail Network – A Peek Into The Future
In our previous post on the shape of the London rail network, we looked back at two key decision points which established our infrastructure legacy: the ring of termini that gave rise to the pattern …
Continue readingThe Shape of London’s Rail Network – a Peek Into The Past
The recently published RUS for London and the SE makes it clear that significant new investment is required to meet expected travel demand in the next few decades, and this is in addition to the …
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