A quick reminder to those interested that our final meeting of 2024 is on Tuesday 10th December at the Crosse Keys pub in the City of London. Normally at least a couple of us are …
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The 2024 London Reconnections Christmas Quiz
It’s that time of year and so here is the 2024 London Reconnections Christmas Quiz. 2024 was significant for your quizmaster as it was his first full year of retirement and, also, an increasingly debilitating …
Continue readingThe Curious Case of Platform 14 at Paddington
If you go to Paddington main line station and follow the signs to platform 14 you eventually end up at short curved platform located almost at the far end of the station. All of Paddington’s …
Continue readingLiz Line Level-Boarding at Old Oak Common?
For some years, a known issue with the station at Old Oak Common currently being built has been that the trains on the Elizabeth line will call, or terminate, there yet there would be no …
Continue readingLonger trains for Crossrail?
Any mention of overcrowding on the Elizabeth line tends to elicit either the suggestion that TfL should run more trains or that they lengthen the trains which are currently nine carriages long. If the latter, …
Continue readingBonus Trains for Crossrail – More Details
We were surprised when on 14th June 2024 it was announced that agreement had been reach by TfL, the DfT and the train maker Alstom to provide 10 new trains for Crossrail. We were not …
Continue readingBonus Trains for Crossrail?
In an unexpected piece of potentially good news for London, it was reported last month that 10 new trains could be built for Crossrail. We look at the substance of the reports, catch up with …
Continue readingCrossrail Numbers Rise Again
In November 2024 the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) published its annual count of passenger numbers at National Rail stations. These figures seem to be often treated as a one-day wonder but detailed analysis …
Continue readingChristmas Quiz 2023 Answers
As promised here are the answers to the Christmas Quiz. Comments are based on a limited number of responses sent in. Please mark your own work and tell us how you got on. The limited …
Continue readingLondon Reconnections 2023 Christmas Quiz
Our annual quiz continues. 2023 seems to have provided sufficient questions for roughly the same number of questions as is usually asked. This year, there are no ‘trick’ questions in the sense that in none …
Continue readingCrossrail – the May 2023 ‘final’ timetable
Much has already been written about the Elizabeth line 2023 timetable – the so called ‘final’ timetable signifying the completion of the Crossrail scheme with all the proposed services implemented and 24tph (trains per hour) …
Continue readingRail Ticketing in a post-Covid World
The Covid pandemic has had a lasting impact on Britain’s railways. Undoubtedly the most significant impact has been on changing travel patterns in general and, in particular, a reduction in commuting and other business travel …
Continue readingThe Great Western Main Line to Reading in the era of Crossrail
Much has been written about the Crossrail project and the benefits of the Elizabeth line. Nearly everything written about its benefits looks at the benefits to users of the Elizabeth line. But often transport projects …
Continue readingThe Mysterious Case of the Gidea Park Shorts
Just in case anyone thought this might be a whodunnit concerning a pair of minimal trousers, let it be known that its current use is to describe an apparently strange feature of the Crossrail timetable. …
Continue readingMeetup: Change of day and change of location
We are changing our pub venue and day of the week when we will meet. We will give more details nearer the time, but for the moment please note that from March onward we will …
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