London Reconnections

Transport Committee: Franchise Bids and Frank Comments

On 28 May 2012 By John Bull In Crossrail, Crossrail 2, DfT, ITSO, Oyster, River crossings, TfL

Last week saw the first meeting of the London Assembly’s Transport Committee since the elections. In front of the Committee were Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy and Isabel Dedring, Deputy Mayor for Transport. Hendy and Dedring …

In Pictures: A Walk On The Widened Lines

On 24 May 2012 By John Bull In Crossrail, London Terminals, Metropolitan line, Network Rail

The next station we will visit at as part of our series on London’s major mainline stations will be Farringdon. Before then, though, Crossrail’s presence at Farringdon meant a potential opportunity to get a closer look at some railway infrastructure that is normally inaccessible to the public – the City Widened Lines.

The London Terminals: Blackfriars

On 22 May 2012 By John Bull In Blackfriars, London Terminals, National Rail, Network Rail

Last weekend saw work at Blackfriars station reach a significant milestone, with the end of weekend and evening blockades and the opening of the new bay platforms. Whilst the impressive work at Kings Cross to the north has attracted a great deal of attention in recent months, it is arguably Blackfriars that represents the greater engineering achievement.

DfT Looks To End Wandsworth – Olympia Parliamentary Train

On 14 May 2012 By John Bull In DfT, National Rail

One of the curious legacies of the post-Beeching railway era is the concept of the Parliamentary Train. Essentially, due to the mandatory consultation process that must now take place before a section of line is …

A Brief Look Inside the S7 Stock

On 14 May 2012 By John Bull In Circle line, District line, Hammersmith & City, London Underground, Rolling stock

Whilst the eight car S Stock is now a relatively familiar sight on the Metropolitan Line, the S7 variant will not make its public debut until after the Olympics. It will then be rolled out …

Crossrail Breaks Ground at Royal Oak

On 5 May 2012 By John Bull In Crossrail

Whilst most of the attention on Thursday was focused on City Hall, out West a major milestone was reached on Crossrail – tunnelling started at Royal Oak. The first of the Crossrail TBMs, “Phyllis” began …

Sailing the Political Wind: A look at the 2012 Mayoral Manifestos

On 3 May 2012 By John Bull In Politics

The day of the London Mayoral elections may seem a strange point to stop and look at the key candidate manifestos. Not only will many LR readers have likely voted already, but the elections been covered very effectively by the likes of the Guardian, Londonist and our other friends in the Capital’s active online sphere. Our interest in the Manifestos, however, is more in where they agree than where they disagree…

Politics and London Transport

On 16 April 2012 By Pedantic of Purley In Politics

At London Reconnections we tend not to be introspective. After all it is transport you are interested in, not us. Amongst other things we try to maintain our reputation (and our readers) by being objective …

Not Stopping Here: (Gimmie) Deep Level Shelter

On 5 April 2012 By Looper 23 In History, London Underground, Not stopping here

Through the Blitz and beyond, the part the Underground played in World War Two was a complex one. Nowhere was this more true than the role it played in sheltering the civilian populace from aerial attack. The part platforms at places like Aldwych played, and the tragedy at Bethnal Green are now relatively well known. What is perhaps less well known, however, is the role played by the Deep Level Shelters – the remains of which can still be seen at street level.

Crossrail From the Air

On 3 April 2012 By John Bull In Aerial, Crossrail

We’ve looked at various elements of London’s transport infrastructure from the air before – now it’s Crossrail’s turn. With the exception of the Connaught Tunnel approach, the photos below broadly divide into tunnelling portals and …

A Brief Trip to Blackfriars

On 29 March 2012 By John Bull In Blackfriars, Network Rail

With Kings Cross drawing the eye to the north, it is easy to forget that work is still underway at Blackfriars. We last covered Blackfriars in detail at the beginning of last year when we …

In Pictures: TGV at St Pancras

On 26 March 2012 By John Bull In Uncategorized

St Pancras welcomes its first TGV – No. 951 ‘La Poste’, a postal/freight unit. The visit was both a test ad a PR exercise, carried out by freight consortium EuroCarex to demonstrate the viability of freight services through the tunnel and onto HS1 itself.

Not Stopping Here: Crystal Palace High Level

On 16 March 2012 By Looper 23 In Not stopping here

Opened by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway in 1865, the branch line to Crystal Palace High Level station was built to serve the Crystal Palace. The destruction of Paxton’s glass wonder saw a serious decline in traffic and the branch line finally closed in 1954, but some elements still remain if you know where to look.

The London Terminals: Kings Cross

On 14 March 2012 By John Bull In Kings Cross, London Terminals, National Rail, Network Rail

With the Overground, Crossrail and the London Underground upgrades having dominated the Capital’s transport scene, it’s easy to forget that the next few years will see major changes for its surface terminals as well. We start our look at London’s Terminals with Kings Cross, where a major redevelopment project that arguably started almost fifteen years ago is now close to completion. It is a project that will reach an important milestone on Monday 18th March, when the new Western Concourse will officially open to passengers for the first time.

London & Freight Part 3: A Quart Into a Pint Pot

On 11 March 2012 By Lemmo In Freight, HS1, HS2, National Rail, Overground

This is the final part of our look at how freight may become the Achilles’ heel for rail planners in London. The first article provided some context, looking at the various strategies, the national flows …