A perennial and fairly meaningless question that is often asked is ‘what are the origins …
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The Metropolitan Line Extension: Deadline Day
On 26 March 2015, outgoing London Mayor and current Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson issued Mayoral Decision MD1478. Based on a cost estimate only 50% likely to be correct, London agreed to fund a transport project, with no cost ceiling, that primarily benefitted a Conservative marginal seat outside of the capital. This is the story of the troubled Metropolitan Line Extension to Watford.
Continue readingFriday Reads – December 29, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • Schematic railway maps in advertising (Retours) • Elon Musk’s Tesla technutopia has a parking problem (StreetsBlog) • Heathrow Express adds blue platform gap lighting (Rail Advent) …
Continue readingFriday Reads – December 22, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • London waterways Tube-style map, with sounds (SoundSurvey) • Overhead footbridges of London (Londonist) • Land Registry reveals London secret tunnels (Who Owns England) • Successful cities …
Continue readingTransforming Oxford Street Part 1: The Bustterfly Effect
Some readers may already be aware of the current consultation on the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street between Orchard Street (just to the west of Selfridges) and Oxford Circus. This is part of a programme to …
Continue readingFriday Reads – December 15, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • Without Congestion Zone, London traffic would be 20% slower (StreetsBlog) • Melbourne Road Usage Study studies road charges (The Conversation) • Dublin Luas LRT line opens, …
Continue readingThe London Reconnections 2017 Christmas Quiz
It’s that time of year again. Advent calendars are being opened, presents purchased and the tabloids are preparing their ‘outrage’ pieces about vital Christmas works. That means, of course, that is time for the London …
Continue readingImportant Information About LR December Drinks!
The Royal Oak are kind enough to normally let us have their upstairs room for free. Unfortunately, due to their Christmas commitments, they can’t do that this week. So there will not be an official …
Continue readingFriday Reads – December 8, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • Average journey times of trains into London in 1968 (Spatial.ly) • Capacity Relief at Camden Town station – Talk 9 Jan 2018 (LURS) • UPS making …
Continue readingFriday Reads – December 1, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • Visualising the daily pulse of the Tube (Tube Heartbeat) • TfL claims public transport users subsidise London’s roads (CityMetric) • Disused passenger tunnels to reopen at …
Continue readingHorrible Holborn: When Postponement Is Not An Option
Increasing capacity on a railway is not just about running more (or longer) trains. If the associated stations can’t cope with the increased passenger numbers, then remedial action is needed. Here, we look at major …
Continue readingFriday Reads – November 24, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • DLR Conductor monologue (Londonist) • Soviet maps of London & other cities (CityLab) • Paris closed a major road & half its traffic disappeared (Fast Company) …
Continue readingFriday Reads – November 17, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • Is London’s hopper fare encouraging Londoners onto buses? (CityMetric) • Harry Beck’s Imperial Airways map (Tube Map Central) • Millenium Falcon found on Earth, next to …
Continue readingFriday Reads – November 10, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • TfL is pedestrianising Oxford Street & rerouting the buses (CityMetric) • New TfL consultation on new walking/cycling river crossing between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf (IanVisits) • …
Continue readingThird World Class Capacity: The Austerity Upgrades
In our previous article on the cancellation of London Underground’s World Class Capacity programme we looked at the reasons for its cancellation. Now it is time to look at exactly what has been cancelled and what can be salvaged from the aborted programme.
Continue readingFriday Reads – November 3, 2017
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s links lineup: • Next generation Santander Cycles roll into London (London Assembly) • Turn off your mind, relax and take the Tube upstream (BoingBoing) • River Bus pier …
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