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 …
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London & Freight Part 2: The Freight Must Flow
The more we looked at rail freight in London the more we realised the significant challenges it poses, including to TfL’s aspirations for the Overground and its ‘strategic interchanges’. As the network in London reaches …
Continue readingLondon & Freight Part 1: Reshaping the Network
In our previous posts on the shape of London’s rail network, we looked at how our infrastructure legacy gives rise to the pattern of services which concentrates demand onto the city core and its ring …
Continue readingThameslink Confirmed as Hammond Announces More Rail Spend
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond revealed details today of a number of rail projects for which news had been missing since the Spending Review. Most notable in the announcement was confirmation that Thameslink will indeed be …
Continue readingCroxley Rail Link Resurfaces
All has been (unsurprisingly) quiet on the Croxley front since the then newly appointed Coalition Government first announced its Spending Review. The scheme, which would see the Metropolitan Line extended to Watford Junction via Croxley, …
Continue readingNew Name for Smitham Station Confirmed
The DfT and Southern have confirmed that Smitham Station will be renamed to “Coulsdon Town.” The station opened as Smitham in 1904, when Smitham Bottom and Old Coulsdon were still relatively distinct entities. By the …
Continue readingCrossrail States its Costing Position
Crossrail Ltd have released a statement reiterating their current stance with regards to savings. The statement can be read in full here. Broadly speaking, the statement largely confirms much that was already known. Crossrail indicate …
Continue readingDfT Confirm They Will NOT Fund Surrey Canal Road
Below is a letter, dated 31st August, sent to Caroline Pidgeon AM by Theresa Villiers MP. The letter confirms that that the DfT will not provide the additional £7m funding commitment required to ensure Surrey …
Continue readingBAA and the Railed Requirements of Heathrow
Our friends at Travel Mole, specialist purveyors of information to the travel trade for a number of years, report on BAA’s next moves now that the Government has turned off the light at the end …
Continue readingThe DfT in Parliament
On Thursday 17th June, the new Ministerial team at the DfT faced their first parliamentary question time. Falling in the midst of spending review and budget statements there were several holding answers. A number of …
Continue readingThe DfT Speak On Crossrail
The DfT – and more specifically new Transport Secretary Phil Hammond – appear to have thrown their weight behind Crossrail ahead of the upcoming “emergency budget,” suggesting that Government cuts to the project are less …
Continue readingSurrey Canal Road: A Very Postal War
In our previous Surrey Canal Road post, we attempted to give some kind of overview of what has become an increasingly drawn out and convoluted saga – the attempt to get £7m out of the …
Continue readingThameslink Completion in 2016?
This piece was intended originally simply to be a summary of the recent Parliamentary Thameslink debate, which my colleague Mwmbwls had alerted me to and which contained a number of interesting questions about the project …
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