At the beginning of the year it seemed that Crossrail was experiencing something of an information blackout. At a TfL board meeting in late January, the Mayor, its chairman, moved all further discussion about the …
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2017 Quiz Analysis and Winners
Sincere apologies for the time taken to do analysis on the questions and identify winners. This was not the intention but the lingering flu bug this year severely delayed finalising the details. If you want …
Continue readingCrossrail: Cutting it Fine
On 11 December 2017, TfL announced that they were seeking ‘launch partners’ for the opening of the Elizabeth line. What is on offer is “a unique opportunity that will align with this historic moment for London”. …
Continue readingTransforming Oxford Street Part 2: A Real Regeneration
There have been proposals to pedestrianise Oxford Street for many years, but until now nothing has happened. This was partly because it was regarded as too difficult and partly because the City of Westminster (who …
Continue reading2017 Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to the 2017 quiz. We were surprised by how well people did and the number of answers with almost all the questions correct. Question 1 We asked what was wrong with …
Continue readingTransforming Oxford Street Part 1: The Bustterfly Effect
Some readers may already be aware of the current consultation on the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street between Orchard Street (just to the west of Selfridges) and Oxford Circus. This is part of a programme to …
Continue readingThe London Reconnections 2017 Christmas Quiz
It’s that time of year again. Advent calendars are being opened, presents purchased and the tabloids are preparing their ‘outrage’ pieces about vital Christmas works. That means, of course, that is time for the London …
Continue readingHorrible Holborn: When Postponement Is Not An Option
Increasing capacity on a railway is not just about running more (or longer) trains. If the associated stations can’t cope with the increased passenger numbers, then remedial action is needed. Here, we look at major …
Continue readingThird World Class Capacity: The Austerity Upgrades
In our previous article on the cancellation of London Underground’s World Class Capacity programme we looked at the reasons for its cancellation. Now it is time to look at exactly what has been cancelled and what can be salvaged from the aborted programme.
Continue readingThird World Class Capacity: Cancelling Tube Upgrades
On Friday, 13 October 2017 TfL officially announced a ‘pause’ to its Jubilee and Northern lines World Class Capacity programme. This harked back to a similar statement made by Patrick McLoughlin, then Transport Minister, about …
Continue readingMore Trains for London Overground: A Bargain Never to be Repeated
One of the rules of LR is that the more innocuous the title, the more interesting a TfL committee paper is likely to be. Additional New Rolling Stock for London Overground for the October 2017 …
Continue readingCrossrail: Finishing The Job
On 14 September 2017 a formal ceremony took place to install the final four rail sleeper clips on Crossrail. As reported by Crossrail themselves, this marked completion of the installation of all the track that Crossrail …
Continue readingThe Ninety Second Railway: Making the Victoria line the Most Frequent Metro in the World
Back in the 1990s, John Self, the general manager of the Victoria line at the time, gave a talk about his vision for its future. From the outset he pulled no punches. It was time, …
Continue readingThe Kent Route Study (Part 4): Victoria – Dartford, the Forgotten Southeast Service
For our final look at passenger suburban services considered in the draft Kent Route Study we look at a route which is, in many ways, a bit of an oddball – not least because it …
Continue readingWhy capacity won’t increase on Southeastern Metro any time soon
Way back in 2011 we wrote a piece called Two Of Our Carriages Are Missing. It was about the long term failure to provide 12-car trains on Southeastern Metro services via London Bridge to Charing …
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