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 …
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New 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 readingHLOS Highlights Part 2: Final Points
Given the extensive discussion of the HLOS that has already now developed elsewhere in the comments on this site, there is perhaps little left to add to the topic here – instead,those looking for a …
Continue readingAn Olympic Travel Roundup
With just two weeks to go until the start of the Olympics, London’s transport system is gearing up for what could be one of its most challenging six weeks: ferrying an extra one million passengers …
Continue readingIn Pictures: Work at Finsbury Park
We’ll look in more detail at the work being undertaken to bring the old island platform at Finsbury Park back into service at a later date. In the meantime, however, some photos of the current state of affairs can be found below. Interestingly, it appears that the work has uncovered some of the original platform arches.
Continue readingThe London Terminals: Blackfriars
Last weekend saw work at Blackfriars station reach a significant milestone, with the end of weekend and evening blockades and the opening of the new bay platforms. Whilst the impressive work at Kings Cross to the north has attracted a great deal of attention in recent months, it is arguably Blackfriars that represents the greater engineering achievement.
Continue readingDfT Looks To End Wandsworth – Olympia Parliamentary Train
One of the curious legacies of the post-Beeching railway era is the concept of the Parliamentary Train. Essentially, due to the mandatory consultation process that must now take place before a section of line is …
Continue readingThe London Terminals: Kings Cross
With the Overground, Crossrail and the London Underground upgrades having dominated the Capital’s transport scene, it’s easy to forget that the next few years will see major changes for its surface terminals as well. We start our look at London’s Terminals with Kings Cross, where a major redevelopment project that arguably started almost fifteen years ago is now close to completion. It is a project that will reach an important milestone on Monday 18th March, when the new Western Concourse will officially open to passengers for the first time.
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 readingTwo of Our Carriages Are Missing: Bringing Twelve Car Services to Hayes
If you use Hayes station in the peak period, you will notice that the trains stop about two carriages short of the buffer stops. This means that you, and everyone else, have to walk two …
Continue readingAedas Appointed to Revamp Euston
Euston Concept Design Architects Aedas have been appointed to oversee a revamp of the existing concourse at Euston staton. In their own words: Aedas has developed a coherent language for the station wayfinding, retail signage …
Continue readingPlane to SEN, Then Train From SIA: A Return to Southend
Southend Airport’s new rail station, which we have covered before, finally opened this summer. John Geoghegan, writing in the Echo, reported: Southend Airport’s new £12million rail station will finally open for business on Monday (17th …
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 …
Continue readingFurther Oyster Expansion Beyond London Under Discussion
Tom Edwards over at BBC London is reporting that discussions are now actively underway between the DfT, TfL and FCC over the expansion of Oyster onto more services. TfL first mooted the idea of further …
Continue readingAn Un-natural Selection: Why London’s Franchises Should Be Devolved
In the concluding part of our recent series on the London Overground, we talked about the future of TfL’s Concession system. We also touched briefly on the wider topic – the “elephant in the room” …
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