A perennial and fairly meaningless question that is often asked is ‘what are the origins …
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Orange Blossoms: Romford – Upminster and New Trains for the Overground
Back in September 2013, following on from the announcement that TfL would take over the West Anglia Franchise, we announced that TfL had also agreed to take on the Romford – Upminster Line as part …
Continue readingSuburban Commandos: Transport and London 2050
Londoners with a particular interest in politics and planning may have noticed a new phrase appear in the lexicon of both in recent months – London 2050. In this article we take a closer look at precisely what that phrase means, and how thinking is shaping up so far. For when it comes to transport infrastructure 2050 is far closer than one might think.
Continue readingLondon Bridge: The First Sign of Things to Come
Its been almost exactly a year since we last gave an update on the Thameslink work at London Bridge. Since then a lot of work has gone on. Some of this is visible at the …
Continue readingCrossrail: Reading the Future
At yesterday’s TfL Board Meeting “Crossrail Enhancements” were discussed, in a non-public session, and agreed. These enhancements were the extension of Crossrail to Reading, which will be officially announced today. That Crossrail will be extended …
Continue readingOff-peak on the London Overground and the DLR
We recently looked at the off-peak service on the eastern Crossrail branches. We have also seen what future plans there are for the off-peak service on London Underground, which to a certain extent did not …
Continue readingRobert Crow, RMT General Secretary (1961 – 2014)
It is with great sadness that London Reconnections has learned of the death of Robert “Bob” Crow, who passed away in the early hours of this morning. From the moment he started his first job …
Continue readingLondon Underground: Off-Peak Practice
As we covered in our look at Crossrail’s upcoming off-peak service, when talking about frequencies on London Underground (LU) it is an almost inevitable fact that minds concentrate on the peak period services and the …
Continue readingCrossrail: A Fit Off-Peak?
We have already seen how population estimates for growth in London have been seriously underestimated and how there is concern in some quarters that Crossrail will be “full up” when it opens. The presumption was …
Continue readingIn Pictures: Crossrail’s Eastern Tunnels & Canary Wharf
As Pedantic of Purley pointed out recently, it has been some time since we properly paid Crossrail some attention. As much as it is important to delve into the world of timetables and capacity though, …
Continue readingAlmost Terminal: Marylebone’s Brush With Destruction
Looking at the frequent services operated today by Chiltern Railways, it seems hard to believe that the rail lines into Marylebone were once seriously considered for closure. Yet back in the mid-1980s under-utilization of the …
Continue readingQuestioning Capacity: How Quickly Will Crossrail’s New Trains Fill Up?
We had gone for quite a while without looking at Crossrail other than to publish some of the dramatic pictures made available showing the progress of the construction works. That had already started to change …
Continue readingMore Than Politics: Bombardier Gets Crossrail Rolling Stock
As had been widely anticipated for some time, this morning the winner of the Crossrail rolling stock and depot contract was announced. The (approximately) £1bn contract covers the supply of 65 nine car trains (which …
Continue readingA Window Into Crossrail From the National Audit Office
As a public project with Department for Transport ownership (albeit in this case jointly with TfL), Crossrail is subject to a number of elements of public project governance. One of the most interesting of these …
Continue readingSection of Victoria Line Closed Due to Concrete Ingress
As has been reported on Twitter and elsewhere, the Victoria Line is currently suffering delays due to concrete damage in a signal control room at Victoria. Whilst we cannot confirm these apparent photos of the …
Continue readingTfL Confirm Turnham Green Services After Piccadilly Line Upgrade
At the beginning of the month, in our article on the future of the Piccadilly Line, Pedantic of Purley indicated that London commuters would almost certainly see Piccadilly Line trains stopping at Turnham Green on …
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