London Reconnections

Automatic sliding steps on Tyne & Wear Metro’s new trains (Nexus)

On 4 April 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads

An automatic sliding step that will transform accessibility on the Tyne and Wear Metro’s new trains can be revealed for the first time this week. The sliding step is a key feature of the new …

Monday’s Friday Reads – April 4 2022

On 4 April 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Electric Vehicles (EVs), Friday Reads, Northern line, Sustainability, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• Berlin’s €9 monthly public transport ticket vs Russian oil (NextWeb) • Behind the scenes & pics of Bank station’s huge capacity upgrade (IanVisits) • Motorway without exit gets junction that goes nowhere (Roads) • …

Friday Reads – April 1 2022

On 1 April 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Crossrail, Design, Friday Reads, Interior, Pedestrians

• TfL’s restricted briefing note on funding (OnLondon) • A brief history of the Crossrail branches evolution (RailwayNews) • New Exchange Square public space above Liverpool Street’s tracks (Dezeen) • The prescience of Ray Bradbury’s …

Nudging public transport – Transport for Humans Book Review

On 31 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Book reviews, Long reads

Behavioural sciences, more commonly known as ‘nudges’, have only recently been applied to public transport. We review a new book by some experts in this new field, Transport for Humans, in which they describe the …

Monday’s Friday Reads – March 28 2022

On 28 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Bridges, Buses, Design, Friday Reads, Waterways

• Day in the life of a London bus: video (LondonTravelWatch) • 50 rail bridges & tunnels could escape National Highways demolition (NewCivilEng) • Untold story of a hero who risked life & liberty to …

Friday Reads – March 25 2022

On 25 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Crossrail, Electrification, Friday Reads, Stations

• Bank Station upgrade reaches halfway mark (RailUK) • Oliver Green video previews his London’s Great Railway Stations book (LTMFriends) • Italy introduces hybrid trains on regional railways (TheMayor) • San Francisco to open trolleybus …

Reconnections’ Miscellany: Infrastructure Translator – March 2022

On 22 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Long reads, Miscellany

Today on Reconnections: Asset Management Hierarchy, in ascending order: a. Run to failureb. Corrective maintenancec. Preventative maintenanced. Condition-based maintenancee. Predictive maintenancef. Prescriptive maintenanceg. Foresight maintenance There’s also percussive maintenance – the art of hitting something …

Monday’s Friday Reads – March 21 2022

On 21 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Aerial, Crossrail, Design, Friday Reads, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• The design concepts behind Crossrail station architecture (Crossrail) • The definitive ranking of MerseyRail Lines (MerseyTart) • ‘Computer says road’: Call for change to crude planning models (Guardian) • European cities are making transport …

Friday Reads – March 18 2022

On 18 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Design, Friday Reads, History, Stations, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• How Kyiv transformed its Metro into bomb shelters (CityLab) • No train, no-gain? How can running fewer trains be better? (Railway-News) • The Art Deco Railway: The Chessington Branch (JagoHazzard) • The long history …

2021 Christmas Quiz Winners

On 15 March 2022 By Pedantic of Purley In Christmas Quiz, Long reads

First of all, massive apologies for being so late with this. We normally are pretty bad at promptly analysing the results but this time was it was exceptional. However, we do not live in normal …

Monday’s Friday Reads – March 14 2022

On 14 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Cable Car, Crossrail, Friday Reads, New York, Pedestrians

• A megalopolis of engineering: the new Crossrail (Guardian) • SNCF to install solar panels on 1.1M m2 of station areas by 2030 (RailTech) • Vienna’s U2xU5 line cross will reshape the U-Bahn & increase …

Friday Reads – March 11 2022

On 11 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, New York, Northern line

• Rail is a lifeline for Ukrainians during the conflict (RailInsider) • Why it’s time to redraw the Underground map for Int’l Women’s Day (Guardian) • Surrey Quays station upgrade consultation opens (IanVisits) • Video …

Pub Night Returns! Thursday 10th March 2022

On 7 March 2022 By Pedantic of Purley In Long reads, Meetup

After a long period when we thought it wiser not to hold our usual monthly pub nights or only hold a very low-key pub meeting, we have decided that the time has come to reinstate …

Monday’s Friday Reads – March 7 2022

On 7 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Arts, Friday Reads, History, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• What’s keeping Ukraine’s trains running (BusinessInsider) • St Pancras station to become an opera hall for Int’l Women’s Day (Guardian) • Reducing congestion at London Bridge Tube station entrance (IanVisits) • The secret bunker …

Friday Reads – March 4 2022

On 4 March 2022 By Long Branch Mike In Architecture, Friday Reads, Stations, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• Vivarail to supply all-battery trains for West Ealing-Greenford line (Trains) • Every Story Matters: Discover TfL’s Pride roundels (LTMuseum) • Station to station: Spotters guide to prefab railway design (Guardian) • Tram-train for Catalonia …