London Reconnections

RIP the Tube Improvement Plan, Long Live New Tube for London

On 30 December 2013 By Pedantic of Purley In Bakerloo Line, Central line, Jubilee line, London Underground, Northern line, Rolling stock, Victoria line, Waterloo & City

As the new year looms, it seems an appropriate time to look at where, in upgrade terms, the Tube goes next. We will shortly look at the upgrading of the Sub-surface Railway and how the …

Word of the Year: Crayonista

On 25 December 2013 By Pedantic of Purley In And finally

Last year at Christmas we provided new words with a theme of transport in London to the song of the Lord High Executioner. In recognition that, as far as we are concerned, the word of …

The London Reconnections 2013 Christmas Quiz

On 9 December 2013 By John Bull In Christmas Quiz

Deck the halls, it is that time of year again! Twenty questions to test your transport knowledge with the promise of prizes for those who do best. This year those prizes include, as usual, a …

The Need for Flexibility and the Dangers of Demand: The Future of London’s Buses (Part 2)

On 6 December 2013 By The Walthamstow Writer In Buses, London Assembly, TfL

In Part 1 of this series we looked at the recent history and circumstance that have left London with the bus network it has today. Now we can properly begin to look at how it …

A Brief Guide to the 2014 TfL Fare Increases

On 3 December 2013 By The Walthamstow Writer In Boris Johnson, Buses, London Underground, National Rail, Overground, Oyster

After a much longer wait than is typical, this morning the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced the fares levels that will apply to TfL services and National Rail services within the TfL zonal area …

Where the Roads Run Red: The Future of London’s Buses (Part 1)

On 2 December 2013 By The Walthamstow Writer In Boris Johnson, Buses, TfL

Earlier this year the London Assembly Transport Committee decided to investigate both the current state of and future prospects for London’s bus network. Their investigation process involved two public meetings at City Hall, an online …

Big Changes Gonna Come (Part 2): A New Approach to Ticket Sales

On 25 November 2013 By John Bull In Bakerloo Line, Boris Johnson, Central line, Circle line, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee line, London Underground, Metropolitan line, Northern line, Piccadilly line, Politics, Victoria line, Waterloo & City

In Part 1 of “Big Changes” we took a look at London Underground’s proposed plan for running nocturnal Tube services. Here in Part 2 we now turn to the other major change to the Underground …

Big Changes Gonna Come (Part 1): The Night Tube

On 25 November 2013 By John Bull In Boris Johnson, Central line, Circle line, District line, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee line, London Underground, Metropolitan line, Northern line, Piccadilly line

Last Thursday at Piccadilly Circus, in front of a small crowd of journalists and television cameras, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Mike Brown, MD of London Underground, pulled the covers off of a new …

Bank Station Part 4: Getting Radical

On 16 November 2013 By Pedantic of Purley In Construction projects, London Underground, Northern line

In part 3 of our look at the plans for Bank station we described the continuing growth that is taking place there and the revised plans to handle this growth, including a work site at …

Bank Station Part 3: A Dance of Dragados

On 8 November 2013 By Pedantic of Purley In Construction projects, London Underground, Northern line

As regular readers will know there was a consultation exhibition about the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade recently. Long term readers will also recall that there had been at least one previous consultation which took place …

The new Walbrook entrance at Bank

On 28 October 2013 By Pedantic of Purley In Construction projects, London Underground, Waterloo & City

Recently there was an exhibition about the updated proposals to greatly enhance Bank station capacity, a scheme that should be completed in 2021 if all goes according to plan. As a result of those proposals, …

Paddington: Bearer of Many Names

On 17 October 2013 By Pedantic of Purley In Circle line, Hammersmith & City, London Underground

In part 2 of Uncircling the Circle we rather skipped over the issue of changing trains at Paddington. This issue was picked up by some readers who pointed out that, once Paddington (Hammersmith & City) …

Reopening London’s Mail Rail

On 15 October 2013 By John Bull In History, Mail Rail

The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) has submitted plans to Islington Council proposing to reopen a section of the Mail Rail beneath Mount Pleasant sorting office, this time for public use.

Freight Incident Causes Major Disruption to North London Line

On 15 October 2013 By John Bull In Overground, TfL

At 0300 this morning, a freight train running from Lawley Street to Felixstowe derailed just west of Camden Road station on the North London Line. Although the full extent and cause of the accident remains to be seen, the damage appears significant, although no injuries were sustained.

Uncircling the Circle: Part 2

On 7 October 2013 By Pedantic of Purley In Circle line, London Underground

In part one of Uncircling the Circle we described how London Underground and its predecessors had tried, unsuccessfully, to eliminate the Circle Line as a continuous circle from the underground system. We also looked at …