London Reconnections

Friday Reads – 4 August 2023

On 4 August 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, HS2, Nudges, Parking, Pollution

• DfT mulls stripping HS2 Euston terminus to 7 platforms (NewCivilEng) • Great Train Robbery 2 sequel flops badly (RailwayTechnology) • Combatting the sound of the Underground in London (RailTech) • Paris to charge SUV …

How Montréal’s REM learnt from the Paris RER – Automatic for the People

On 3 August 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Crossrail, Design, Infrastructure, Long reads, Stations

Move over RER, Montréal’s new fully automated Réseau express métropolitain (REM)’s first segment has opened. Once fully completed, the REM line will link directly across Montréal Island north, south, and west. Essentially, a Regional Express …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 31 July 2023

On 31 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Airports, Friday Reads, Heathrow, Maps

• How low cost airline subsidies are hampering the great modal shift (RailwayTechnology) • History of Heathrow Express, from WW2 plans, to the future (IARO) • Ireland’s Strategic Rail Review makes 30 proposals to greatly …

Friday Reads – 28 July 2023

On 28 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Maps, Nudges, Roads, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• £14m in fines levied on TfL & TOL for Croydon Tram crash (RailwayTechnology) • UK announces £680m for Turkish high speed electric railway, but no UK benefit (LondonEconomic) • Northern expanding using classical music …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 24 July 2023

On 24 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Maps, Pollution, Safety, Stations

• Manchester, Yorkshire, & Liverpool Mayors initiate legal process against ticket office closures (RailAdvent) • Full Tube Map of human anatomy [safe for work] (VisualCapitalist) • The American car death cult [close registration request] (AmericanProspect) …

Friday Reads – 21 July 2023

On 21 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Buses, Friday Reads, History, Pedestrians

• London buses are slowing down, slowing down, slowing down (OnLondon) • Gloucester Road: Forgotten spaces, historic features, & art installation: Video (HiddenLondonHangouts) • Fare Dodger Bingo: Which excuses have you heard? (RailUK) • Freight …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 17 July 2023

On 17 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, History

• Views under Waterloo Station on its 175th Anniversary (IanVisits) • Britain’s Railways All Change: oral history collection of the privatisation process (NatlRailwayMuseum) • The Carmont 2020 Railway disaster, Part One: Podcast (SignalsToDanger) • Montpellier …

Friday Reads – 14 July 2023

On 14 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Arts, Design, Friday Reads, Overground

• Unusual London Overground trips possible this weekend (IanVisits) • TfL announces 10 Underground stations to be upgraded to step-free access (IntelligentTransport) • Sister Rosetta Tharpe 1964 South Manchester Blues & Gospel Train show: Video …

Floors – The Next Dimension in Safety and Wayfinding

On 13 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Design, Long reads, Nudges, Stations

Station and platform floors have traditionally been unadorned, and only recently has their potential as a blank canvas for relaying information to passengers been utilised. The floor is the stage on which the drama of …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 10 July 2023

On 10 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Safety, Trolleybuses

• Is the UK’s rail network affordable? (RailEngineer) • NaviLens tech app trial to help blind & partially sighted navigate DLR stations (ITSInternational) • The underride crashes that the truck industry doesn’t want to prevent …

Friday Reads – 7 July 2023

On 7 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Buses, Friday Reads, History, Nudges

• Govt knows the value of London transport investment but withholds it anyway (OnLondon) • Behind the scenes of the National Railway Museum’s modernisation: Video (RailNatter) • Madrid launches its first bus rapid transit – …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 3 July 2023

On 3 July 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Cycles, Friday Reads, Nudges, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• That’s the end of the franchise era, then (RailNews) • Lambeth council latest to start emissions-based fees: paying double for parking (Guardian) • Global growth of light rail lines (UKTram) • Govt details how …

Friday Reads – 30 June 2023

On 30 June 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Design, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Friday Reads

• Govt plans closure of most UK railway station ticket offices within weeks (Guardian) • Liverpool Edge Hill Station now Scheduled Monument: Video (Liverpool&ManchesterRyTrust) • The compleat list of Dr Who Underground scenes & sets …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 26 June 2023

On 26 June 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Friday Reads, Nudges, Vertical transport

• Tube pickpocketing up as police report stats (Standard) • The problem w/ Rowan Atkinson’s take on electric cars, is too many electric cars (LloydAlter) • The work of Tube fluffers, now called track cleaning …

Friday Reads – 23 June 2023

On 23 June 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Sleeper Trains

• The dark underbelly of Thomas the Tank Engine: Podcast (99%Invisible) • European Sleeper starts Berlin-Amsterdam-Brussels service (Politico) • The Dutch bid farewell to their Royal Train (RailTech) • The benefits of, & the reasons …