London Reconnections

Northern Line Extension Public Consultation Details

On 14 November 2012 By John Bull In Battersea Extension, London Underground, Northern line

TfL have now made public the details of the public consultation for the extension of the Northern Line to Battersea via Nine Elms. As was indicated in the leaflet distributed last June, the chosen route …

Unlocking Herne Hill and the Kent route to the City

On 9 November 2012 By Lemmo In Blackfriars, London Terminals, South Eastern, TfL, Thameslink, Victoria line

The extensive RUS process has already yielded a long shopping list of potential projects, including some big ticket items such as Crossrail 2. We are more likely, however, to see a package of more modest …

Fare Increases, Oyster Expansion and Cycle Hire Changes

On 7 November 2012 By The Walthamstow Writer In Cycles, London Midland, London Underground, National Rail

Today the Mayor of London announced the fares levels that will apply to TfL services and National Rail services within the zonal area from 2nd January 2013. Full details of TfL fare and season ticket …

A Familiar Fear: Flooding & The Underground

On 2 November 2012 By John Bull In London Underground, Waterways

If New York and London are twinned as cities, then it is only a small leap to think of the London Underground and the New York Subway as sister networks. They may differ in many …

LU150: Steam On the Underground Timetable and Prices

On 29 October 2012 By John Bull In History, London Underground, LU150

No. 30587 Steaming at Baker Street, copyright/credit Leon Daniels It has been something of an open secret that the London Transport Museum has been preparing for a limited number of Steam runs on the Metropolitan …

Transport Committee Intermission: The Elephant in the Committee Room

On 29 October 2012 By Pedantic of Purley In London Underground, Mayor's Office, Politics

Part One of the above article generated a lot of interest and a lot of comments based around the issue of driverless trains. This certainly was the issue that seemed to interest the politicians and …

Too High A Fare: The Decline and Fall of the London Taxi Company

On 24 October 2012 By John Bull In Roads

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 …

Transport Committee Part 1: Underground Reliability & Driverless Trains

On 20 October 2012 By John Bull In London Assembly, London Underground, Rolling stock

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 …

Overground Electrification and Longer Trains

On 12 October 2012 By John Bull In GOBLIN, Overground, Rolling stock

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 …

ARCHIVE: Angels and Errors: How the Harrow & Wealdstone Disaster Helped Shape Modern Britain

On 8 October 2012 By John Bull In History, Our Favourites

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 …

Taxi! – The new Cab Rank at Paddington

On 4 October 2012 By Pedantic of Purley In Crossrail, Taxis

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 …

A look at Cannon Street Underground Station

On 1 October 2012 By Pedantic of Purley In London Terminals, London Underground

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 …

In Pictures: A Goodbye to the A-Stock

On 27 September 2012 By John Bull In London Underground, Metropolitan line, Rolling 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.

Obituary: Colin Curtis OBE, BSc (Eng), CEng, MIMechE, MIRTE

On 26 September 2012 By John Bull In Buses, Obituaries

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 …

New Trains, Buses and Complaints: A Look at the TfL Board Papers

On 25 September 2012 By John Bull In Airports, Battersea Extension, Board meetings, Borismaster, Buses, DLR, London Underground

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 …