London Reconnections

Two of Our Carriages Are Missing: Bringing Twelve Car Services to Hayes

On 18 October 2011 By Pedantic of Purley In London Bridge, National Rail

If you use Hayes station in the peak period, you will notice that the trains stop about two carriages short of the buffer stops. This means that you, and everyone else, have to walk two …

In Pictures: Moving the Mail Rail

On 14 October 2011 By John Bull In History, Post Office Railway

Whilst we tend to concentrate on the movement of people and freight, there are other uses to which rail has been put in London – notably the movement of mail. Earlier this year the British …

The Shape of London’s Rail Network – A Peek Into The Future

On 14 October 2011 By Lemmo In Crossrail, HS2, Overground

In our previous post on the shape of the London rail network, we looked back at two key decision points which established our infrastructure legacy: the ring of termini that gave rise to the pattern …

We Built This City, We Built This City at Oh –Oh –Cee

On 12 October 2011 By Mwmbwls In HS2

Our chum, Greg Burns, writing in the Fulham Chronicle, draws our attention to a youtube video of Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s vision for Old Oak Common. Old Oak Common (the Starship version) He writes: The …

Where Lame Ducks Dare? Benchmarking the London Cable Car

On 7 October 2011 By Mwmbwls In Cable Car, TfL

Not A London Cable Car Mockup (courtesy the Ronald Grant Archive) Today has seen the announcement that the London Cable Car has finally found its sponsor – Emirates Airline. Emirates will contribute £36m to the …

Changes to District Services to Olympia Confirmed

On 28 September 2011 By John Bull In District line

TfL have confirmed that the changes they proposed to make to Olympia services will definitely come into force in December. After pressure from various groups over the decision, TfL had (somewhat reluctantly) agreed to carry …

TfL Board Papers: It’s Not Just About Picking Up The Pieces – It’s About Stopping It Falling Apart

On 28 September 2011 By Mwmbwls In Board meetings

Peter Hendy’s Commissioner’s Report for September 2011 to the TfL Board demonstrates yet again the resilience and tenacity of the people who make London’s transport work. Comment from us would be superfluous so we quote …

A Look at the Crossrail Tunnelling Portal at Royal Oak

On 24 September 2011 By John Bull In Crossrail

Sandwiched between the Westway and the Hammersmith & City Line is Crossrail’s Royal Oak Portal – the point from which central section tunnelling will start in the west and the point at which trains will …

In Pictures: West Ham Bus Garage

On 22 September 2011 By John Bull In Buses

IanVisits, who is unfortunately a far better spotter of exciting Open House opportunities than this author, made use of the recent Open House weekend to pay a visit to West Ham bus garage. This resulted …

Aedas Appointed to Revamp Euston

On 22 September 2011 By John Bull In HS2, National Rail, Network Rail

Euston Concept Design Architects Aedas have been appointed to oversee a revamp of the existing concourse at Euston staton. In their own words: Aedas has developed a coherent language for the station wayfinding, retail signage …

Plane to SEN, Then Train From SIA: A Return to Southend

On 20 September 2011 By Mwmbwls In Airports, Crossrail, Crossrail 2, National Rail

Southend Airport’s new rail station, which we have covered before, finally opened this summer. John Geoghegan, writing in the Echo, reported: Southend Airport’s new £12million rail station will finally open for business on Monday (17th …

The Shape of London’s Rail Network – a Peek Into The Past

On 18 September 2011 By Lemmo In Crossrail, Crossrail 2, National Rail, Overground, Uncategorized

The recently published RUS for London and the SE makes it clear that significant new investment is required to meet expected travel demand in the next few decades, and this is in addition to the …

The Return of the Broad Street War Memorial

On 16 September 2011 By John Bull In ELL, History, Overground

In focusing our attention on the ELL Extension to the south, we appear to have unfortunately missed on a little bit of activity to the north – the re-siting of the Broad Street War Memorial. …

Stretching the Line: Why We Do (and Don’t) Extend Tube Lines

On 15 September 2011 By Pedantic of Purley In Bakerloo Line, Battersea Extension, Camberwell extension, Central line, Crossrail, Jubilee line, London Underground, Northern line

With Crossrail under construction and extensions to both the Bakerloo and Northern Line being mooted, it seems a pertinent time to provide a brief reminder into some of the whys and wherefores for those less …

Northern line weekend closures September 2011 – January 2012

On 14 September 2011 By George Moore In London Underground, Northern line

The Northern line upgrade is at full pace now, with Automatic Train Operation (ATO) due for late 2012/early 2013. ATO is also in place on the Central, Jubilee and Victoria lines. Starting over two years …