With thanks to Jonathan Baggs MCIPR for this poem and allowing us to republish it on the anniversary of the final stage opening of the Elizabeth line 24 May 2022. Twas the Night before Crossrail, …
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Crossrail – 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 readingSuperloop: Analysis, hopefully not paralysis
Someone at City Hall found the box of crayons. On the 28th of March, Transport for London unveiled a map of a new transport proposal. It featured a colour scheme to rival the New Jersey …
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 Flowering of Overground lines & colours – How Soon is Now?
In his 2021 London Mayoral Election Manifesto, Sadiq Khan proposed giving names (and potentially their own colours) to London Overground lines to give them a unique identity. “TfL’s London Overground network has grown considerably over …
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 readingEverything I learned from Scotrail’s automated station announcements
Just occasionally, something good happens on the internet. Jon Brady, a reporter at Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper, tweeted that he’d unearthed a two hour MP3 containing all ScotRail’s automated station announcements. A coder named Matt Eason split them into 2,440 individual …
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 …
Continue readingThe Slow Death Of Heathrow Express
When discussing Crossrail, commenters have often speculated on the ultimate demise of Heathrow Express – the private train operating company that runs a non-stop express service between Paddington and Heathrow. This speculation is generally predicated …
Continue readingPop Art tunnel Michelangelo – Dragados & the Art of Tunnel Scanning
On July 20, 2022, the heat from an exploratory drill inside Montréal’s century old Mont-Royal railway tunnel, advance work for the city’s modern Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) automated Métro line, caused an explosion. It was …
Continue readingJakarta’s Transport & Urban Planning – Progress?
Jakarta, the (current) capital of Indonesia and home to over 10 million inhabitants, has long been plagued by choking traffic and air pollution. It spent the previous decade developing integrated public transport to increase modal …
Continue readingChristmas Quiz 2022 Answers
Well, this year it is really a case of mark your own homework. However, the answers sent in were invaluable in providing alternative correct answers and giving a feel for which questions were actually found …
Continue readingLondon Reconnections 2022 Christmas Quiz
2022 sees a shorter quiz than usual primarily because your quizmaster has infrequently visited central London. Thank goodness for the opening of the Elizabeth line which has helped provide some of the questions. We hope …
Continue readingIn Pictures: Blackpool’s Historic Trams
We take a look at the hidden history of Blackpool’s tram network, lurking in the sheds at Blackpool Transport.
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