London Reconnections

Tube Financial Crisis: Why Closures Rarely Save Money

On 11 December 2021 By Pedantic of Purley In Bakerloo Line, Long reads, TfL

We take a look at the financial situation on the Underground in general and consider whether closing the Bakerloo line merits serious consideration. One of the more dramatic effects of Covid19 in London has been …

Friday Reads – 10 December 2021

On 10 December 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Design, Friday Reads, HS2, Overground, Vertical transport

• Alstom-Hitachi to build 2bn HS2 train fleet (ModernRailways) • What we can learn from London Zoo’s deserted penguin pool (99%Invisible) • Northern Powerhouse Rail needed as North has UK’s worst connected cities (NewCivilEng) • …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 6 December 2021

On 6 December 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Fonts, Friday Reads, Micromobility, New York

• Inside the Elizabeth Line’s Tottenham Court Road station (HiddenLondonHangouts) • How serifs lost the road war but won the streets (BeautyOfTransport) • Netherlands’ trains work well for the visually impaired (ReasonsCheerful) • Old Danish …

Friday Reads – 3 December 2021

On 3 December 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, HS2, New York

• Reconnections’ 2021 Christmas Quiz (LR) • Best Tube lines on which to put on make-up (EveningStandard) • HS2 restoring one of world’s oldest railway stations (HS2) • Study finds a third of EU’s busiest …

London Reconnections 2021 Christmas Quiz

On 2 December 2021 By Pedantic of Purley In Christmas Quiz, Long reads

2021 has been another year affected by Covid and, as in 2020, the LR team have not got out and about as much as they normally do. So in the 2021 London Reconnections Christmas Quiz …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 29 November 2021

On 29 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Design, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Friday Reads, New York, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• How the first railway timetables were created (Numberphile) • D Trains for East Lancs Railway line – study funded (MEN) • Take a trip on a Wes Anderson designed UK steam train (IanVisits) • …

Friday Reads – 26 November 2021

On 26 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Funiculars, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• Tube strike Friday 26th November (IanVisits) • London Stratford tops busiest station League Table (RailBusiness) • Prague has one of the world’s best tram systems (Governing) • Austria’s $3.50 go-anywhere Klimaticket fights climate change …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 22 November 2021

On 22 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Light Rail, Pollution

• TfL conversion of car parks to housing stymied by NIMBYs (ArchitectsJ) • Blue plaque unveiled for Britain’s first black train driver (BBC) • The twice abandoned Millwall Extension Railway (JagoHazzard) • The only light …

Friday Reads – 19 November 2021

On 19 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Infrastructure, Overground, Pedestrians

• TfL submits plan for new Overground station at New Bermondsey (FromMurkyDepths) • Disastrous flooding cuts Vancouver off from railways, roads (RailwayAge) • Before Interstates, America got around on Interurbans (CityLab) • How capturing land …

Canal Knowledge: The Fall and Rise of Surrey Canal Road Station

On 16 November 2021 By John Bull In London Overground, Long reads

For ten years, Surrey Canal Road has been a modern ghost station. An empty station box beneath on the East London Line the only hint of its near existence. As TfL submit planning permission to build it, we look at how it never came to pass and why its time has finally come.

Monday’s Friday Reads – 15 November 2021

On 15 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Arts, Cycles, Friday Reads, Pedestrians, Sustainability

• COP26: Doing the wrong things, but better (Railway-News) • Transit use must double to meet 1.5C goal, Mayors warn (CityLab) • France is turning the humble roundabout into art (CityLab) • Stuttgart tram’s cycle …

Friday Reads – 12 November 2021

On 12 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Electric Vehicles (EVs), Friday Reads, Piccadilly line, TfL, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• The funding crisis at the heart of London’s transport (CentreForLondon) • Cockfosters depot upgrade for Piccadilly line’s New Tube for London trains (IanVisits) • Peak District railway restoration plan meets park trail advocates (Guardian) …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 8 November 2021

On 8 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Friday Reads, London Overground, Night, Pedestrians

• Night Overground service set to resume before Xmas (RailBusiness) • TfL’s in-house design teams’ process (DesignWeek) • Call of the wild when walking London’s Capital Ring (Guardian) • Naples’ new all timber Metro station …

Friday Reads – 5 November 2021

On 5 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Friday Reads, Stations, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• Underground seeks ideas to improve step-free access to stations (IanVisits) • Vivarail’s D-Train pitched for US branch line pop-up metros (Trains) • Istanbul’s historic European railway terminus to be reopened (RailwayGazette) • Vancouver planning …

London-by-the-Sea Line – The Island Line Reopens

On 1 November 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Island Line, Long reads

The Isle of Wight’s 8.5 mile Island Line has long held a fascination for historians of London’s transport. Two generations of ex-London Underground tube stock have taken a second working life on the Island since …