The Stansted Airport Track Transit System (TTS) will be decommissioned in 2026 after 35 years of airside operation at the London airport. This people mover system debuted as a novel piece of transit infrastructure when it was …
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The 2025 London Reconnections Christmas Quiz
Its that time of year again. Time for the London Reconnections Christmas Quiz. Unlike the preceding years there is not a single question on the Elizabeth line – or at least there is not a …
Continue readingThe unconventional life of late railway writer Ian Marchant
One of my colleagues at LR Towers lent me a book, saying it’s an interesting take on the trainspotter hobby that doesn’t fall into traditional genres. It’s part memoir, part travelogue, part punk music history, …
Continue readingA 21st Century Underground Rolling Stock Update
Something we have been wanting to do for some years is an overall look at the update plans for London Underground rolling stock (aka trains) and, independently, line resignalling. With all the uncertainty around this …
Continue readingLondon’s busiest bus stops, by interactive map
This is a guest post by Jonn Elledge, from his blog The Newsletter of (Not Quite) Everything from the June 11, 2025 edition. Newlywed friend of the newsletter Ed Jefferson is making the most of …
Continue readingCrossrail Update
There has been no specific exciting news recently about the Elizabeth line, but there are various snippets of updates which, put together, are worthy of a report. Improved frequency on Saturdays This has been largely …
Continue readingDiana, Queen of Pavement Princesses, eviscerates One-More-Lane Bros
One day in 2023, Diana Regan started her workday as an account executive and search engine optimisatoin (SEO) analyst – working a tech dream job for a San Francisco Bay area millennial. However, the shrinking …
Continue readingReconnections’ Miscellany: Transport over time – August 2025
Marey diagrams Étienne-Jules Marey was a 19th century French scientist, photographer and polymath who was key in the development of cardiology, physical instrumentation, and laboratory photography. He was also a pioneer in establishing a variety …
Continue readingBiting the Bullet with Butterfly Wings: North East Rail Renaissance
Wherein we look at the effects and constraints of reopening a railway, extending a metro rail network, as well as improving service and capacity in the North East. As well as the interconnectedness of the …
Continue readingReconnections’ Miscellany: Technology side effects – June 2025
This week on Reconnections: Customer service and de-escalation The six points to employ: The five principles of wayfinding through any transport system [I believe this is TfL but if anyone can confirm please leave a …
Continue readingBecksploitation – Sydney’s Beck-style railway maps
You need to know little about urban railways’ cartography to know the name Harry Beck, the creator of the circuit diagram-style map of the London Underground. You will probably also know that his simple concept …
Continue readingThe Evolution, then Devolution, of Pittsburgh’s Streetcar Network
Only a handful of North American cities have kept their pre-war streetcar networks. Why was Pittsburgh one of them? A city native explains in this guest post. The Roots Pittsburgh is a city whose location …
Continue readingLR Update March 2025 – Interested in Joining Us?
The following is a public service announcement from London Reconnections: During the pandemic London Reconnections basically ran on a skeleton staff basis. But we have slowly rebuilt our capacity to produce long form content on …
Continue readingEnglish Settlement: Devolving Powers to Enable Intermodal Fare Integration: Part 2
“The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed” science fiction author William Gibson famously wrote. This is definitely the case with public transport in the UK. Whilst London’s intermodal fare zones and payment …
Continue readingCrossrail: 4tph to Terminal 5?
We were slightly surprised by a fairly recent article in the Evening Standard suggesting that Andy Lord, TfL Commissioner for Transport, wants to at least double the number of Crossrail trains to Heathrow Terminal 5. …
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