A perennial and fairly meaningless question that is often asked is ‘what are the origins …
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Too High A Fare: The Decline and Fall of the London Taxi Company
Manganese Bronze, better known as “The London Taxi Company” and maker of the iconic London’s black cab, has called in the administrators. By most accounts, the company has had problems for some time, with the …
Continue readingTransport Committee Part 1: Underground Reliability & Driverless Trains
Thursday saw the latest meeting of the London Assembly Transport Committee take place at City Hall. As usual, it provided some interesting context and updates on things at TfL with this month’s guests being Mike …
Continue readingOverground Electrification and Longer Trains
As several spotters have helpfully pointed out, this week saw a rather interesting article appear in Rail Engineer on the topic of Rail Electrification. The article provides thorough coverage of the discussion of electrification at …
Continue readingARCHIVE: Angels and Errors: How the Harrow & Wealdstone Disaster Helped Shape Modern Britain
Today is the 60th Anniversary of the Harrow & Wealdstone Disaster. In remembrance of the tragedy that occured that day, below you will find the article about the disaster that first appeared on this website …
Continue readingTaxi! – The new Cab Rank at Paddington
Other than to report on GLA meetings we don’t normally mention taxis on London Reconnections. The reason for this is simple. They are boring. It was quite a surprise therefore when the conversation at an …
Continue readingA look at Cannon Street Underground Station
Regular readers who use Cannon Street station will be aware of the massive changes that have been taking place over the past few years. What was left if the original station frontage was replaced as …
Continue readingIn Pictures: A Goodbye to the A-Stock
Wednesday 26th September saw the last unit of A-Stock run in passenger service on the Metropolitan Line. The last service was worked by 5063, and Ianvists has an excellent write up here. Some photos to commemorate the end of an era on the Underground are below.
Continue readingObituary: Colin Curtis OBE, BSc (Eng), CEng, MIMechE, MIRTE
It is with great sadness that London Reconnections has learned of the death of Colin Curtis, at the age of 86. Colin was a key figure in the history of London Buses, and his book …
Continue readingNew Trains, Buses and Complaints: A Look at the TfL Board Papers
With the Olympics and Paralympics over, September brings something of a return to normal for London’s Transport network. On the Underground, this means the unfortunate (but sadly necessary) return to weekend closures. In the corporate …
Continue readingThe (Croydon) Tramlink: Part 2
Following on from part 1 which looked at the past, we now concentrate on the recent Tramlink update and look to the future. A new tram at Wimbledon heading for Elmers End on a training …
Continue readingThe (Croydon) Tramlink: Part 1
With the recent introduction of six more trams and a new service pattern, the time seems right to look both back at, and forward to, changes to Tramlink. In the first part of this article …
Continue readingLast Metropolitan A Stock Tour 29th September
Tickets have gone on sale for the final A-Stock Tour, which will take place on the 29th September. They can be purchased via the LTM website, although they are quite hard to find. Those looking …
Continue readingPatrick McLoughlin Becomes Minister For Transport
Conservative MP Patrick McLoughlin has become Minister of Transport as a result of the current Cabinet reshuffle (previous occupant Justine Greening being moved to International Development). There are suggestions that the move was at least …
Continue readingRemembering the Harrow & Wealdstone Disaster
Next month it will be the 60th anniversary of the Harrow and Wealdstone rail accident, Britain’s worst civilian rail disaster. We wrote extensively about the accident last year, but for those unfamiliar with the consequences, …
Continue readingIn Pictures: The DLR at Twenty Five
Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the opening of the DLR. Originally intended as a low cost option to support the Docklands redevelopment programme, the DLR had a somewhat troubled gestation. Now, however, it forms a vital part of London’s transport infrastructure. To help celebrate its birthday, we’ve pulled together some images from its past.
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