In the late 1970s the Chrysler Corporation of America was in deep financial trouble. No-one wanted to buy their cars. Lee Iacocca, a former president of Ford Motors who was fired when he fell out …
Continue readingAuthor: Pedantic of Purley
The Past and Future of the Bromley North Branch
The branch line from Grove Park to Bromley North is only one and a half miles long. It has but two stations (excluding Grove Park itself) and those two are ridiculously close to each other. …
Continue readingTanners Hill Flydown – Part 2
In Part 1 of this series we saw how and why the Tanners Hill Flydown came into existence. We also reported on the apparent need to double it in advance of enhanced Thameslink services, and …
Continue readingTanners Hill Flydown – Part 1
Our original plan was to write a piece on St Johns station. This would conclude with a short section on the work carried out over the Christmas holidays on the Tanners Hill Flydown. Like many …
Continue readingOur Little List: Merry Christmas From LR
Now that Christmas has finally arrived it is time to lighten up a bit. We could have provided something related to a pantomime but between the IEP and their process for franchising the West Coast …
Continue readingRoundtable: The TfL Draft Business Plan
Transport news, like London buses, often seems to come in clumps. With the various recent announcements it would thus be easy to miss that TfL have published their draft Business Plan for the next decade. …
Continue readingTransport Committee Intermission: The Elephant in the Committee Room
Part One of the above article generated a lot of interest and a lot of comments based around the issue of driverless trains. This certainly was the issue that seemed to interest the politicians and …
Continue readingTaxi! – The new Cab Rank at Paddington
Other than to report on GLA meetings we don’t normally mention taxis on London Reconnections. The reason for this is simple. They are boring. It was quite a surprise therefore when the conversation at an …
Continue readingA look at Cannon Street Underground Station
Regular readers who use Cannon Street station will be aware of the massive changes that have been taking place over the past few years. What was left if the original station frontage was replaced as …
Continue readingThe (Croydon) Tramlink: Part 2
Following on from part 1 which looked at the past, we now concentrate on the recent Tramlink update and look to the future. A new tram at Wimbledon heading for Elmers End on a training …
Continue readingThe (Croydon) Tramlink: Part 1
With the recent introduction of six more trams and a new service pattern, the time seems right to look both back at, and forward to, changes to Tramlink. In the first part of this article …
Continue readingNew Entrance at West Croydon Station
For many years a new entrance to West Croydon station that was more convenient for the tram stop and bus station has been advocated. Although the start of construction had been announced the opening itself …
Continue readingBank Station Part 2: The Upgrade Proposals
In part 1 of this article we looked at the need to upgrade Bank station to provide sufficient capacity for the number of people using it. We now look at the proposals put forward to …
Continue readingBank Station Part 1: The Forgotten Upgrade
Regular readers will be aware that 2018 should be a significant year for public transport in London, with the completion of the Thameslink programme and the opening of the core section of Crossrail from Paddington …
Continue readingThe Secret Life of Seven Sisters
One of the notable things about the Victoria line is just how busy it is. Unlike other lines there are just no quiet stretches. It is quite surprising, therefore, that if you know where to look you can find a platform on the Victoria line that has an eerie silence and an almost sinister lack of people waiting for the next train – for most of the time, at least.
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