Who watches over us from the Heavens when we travel? We take a non-denominational look at the Transport Spirit World. It is now time to look at some divine transport intervention, delving into the beatified …
Continue readingCategory: Long reads
The 2024 Christmas Collaborative Quiz
Here is a quiz that is a bit different. For anyone looking for our usual Christmas Quiz, it can be found here. The above seasonal message is composed of letters from the logos of past …
Continue readingThe 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 Shenfield Electrification Scheme: Background
A perennial and fairly meaningless question that is often asked is ‘what are the origins of Crossrail?’ It inevitably depends on how far you want to go back in time but one contender could be …
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 readingThe Lost Art of Passenger Comfort & Good Design – Railway Interiors Part 1
Modern trains are expected to handle crush loads at times, rough use and vandalism, yet have pleasing interiors and comfortable seating that will last in good condition for 15-20 years or more. In addition, the …
Continue readingGuangzhou’s Massive new Railway Station: A Stadium-sized Cathedral to Train Travel
Guangzhou, perhaps more familiar by its anglicised name of Canton, is a port megacity in Southern China. It sits alongside Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and several other cities in the Asian economic powerhouse that is Pearl …
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 readingThe governing realities for Labour in power, & what it means for planning and transport
“I wanna be the leader, I wanna be the leader.Can I be the leader? Can I? I can?Promise? Promise?Yippee I’m the leader, I’m the leader.OK what shall we do?” Roger McGough Any Colour You Like …
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 readingNorth American Cities Join the Fare Zone Club: Finally Integrating Intermodal Fares
For most of the history of public transport, integrated tickets and fare zones were largely unheard of. Passengers would generally pay the ticket clerk or conductor a distance-based fare for each leg of their journey, …
Continue readingThe Unknown Hammersmith & City Construction Calamity
Everyone knows the history of the Metropolitan Railway as the world’s first underground line on 10th January 1863 between Bishops Road and Farringdon – but that was not even how the line was going to …
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 readingMuch ado, or not to do, about Level Boarding on Network Rails: Part 2
We just looked at TfL’s efforts to expand step-free access on its network. Level access is definitively patchy on TfL’s network, and the same goes for the Network Rail. Whilst the London Underground is famous …
Continue reading