In looking at why the new May national rail timetable went so horribly wrong in the case of Thameslink and Great Northern services, it is necessary to look not only at the immediate causes but …
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Friday Reads – 8 June 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads, our curated list of topical and quirky transport links. • Croydon’s trams go cashless by summer (IntelligentTransport) • The Tube’s psychology experiments (Wired) • 1950s battery train to Balmoral (AnonymousWidower) …
Continue readingHoly Grails and Thameslink Fails (Part 1): A Brief History of Thameslink
To understand the current issues with Thameslink, one has to understand its past. In this series, we explore the history of London’s only ‘through’ line and how that influences today. For many years it has …
Continue readingThe Timetable Change: Accepting the Blame
In April 2018 the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee published a report on Rail Franchising in the UK. In particular, they were concerned with the DfT’s handling of its (relatively) new “mega-franchise”: GTR. Much …
Continue readingThameslink The Musical Act 4, Scene 3: The Grayling Letter
The Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, has written a letter to fellow MPs outlining where responsibility lies for the current issues with the GTR franchise. You can read the full letter here. By way of response, we present an extract from Thameslink: The Musical.
Continue readingThe Politics of Thameslink’s Troubles
The London Reconnections team have been following closely, day by day and (with a few stalwarts) hour by hour, the actual service levels being offered on Thameslink lines during the first week of the new …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 2 March 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s lineup: • Thameslink’s Canal Tunnels open (A London Blog) • Sir Peter Hendy’s 2018 George Bradshaw Address (Rail Delivery Group) • Tube fashion (WaveyGarms) • London Tramways document …
Continue readingGovia go via Greenwich: GTR and the Thameslink Timetable
There are probably Southern commuters who would claim that nothing Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR – Southern’s parent company) said or did would surprise them. Many industry insiders would probably agree. When rumours spread rapidly about …
Continue readingA Study in Sussex Part 9: East Croydon Revisited
We thought we had covered East Croydon in ample detail in recent articles. We also thought we would not be revisiting there for a long time yet. That was until the final version of the …
Continue readingMaking the Grade (Separation): The Bermondsey Diveunder
In the past we have resisted the temptation to write too much about the Bermondsey Diveunder as work had not really started in earnest and it was very hard to visualise what was planned. With …
Continue readingA Perfect Storm: The Story Behind The London Bridge Delays
We really had been trying to not keep writing about London Bridge. Then, at the beginning of the year, a lot of problems emerged rendering it an apt topic for discussion again. The trouble was …
Continue readingA Study In Sussex Part 7: East Croydon
Regular followers of this series will be aware we started our look at the Brighton Main Line by working our way down from London. Until now we we have been looking at what have turned …
Continue readingLondon Bridge – The First Major Blockade
This August Bank Holiday sees the first major Thameslink Blockade at London Bridge. The low level platforms and the route in from the Southern lines (via New Cross Gate or South Bermondsey) will be blocked …
Continue readingA Study in Sussex Part 2: Getting Politiconomical
In part 2 of our Study in Sussex we look at the politics and economics behind the railway debate currently underway – both of which are playing a key role in determining what service provision …
Continue readingA Study in Sussex Part 1: An Overview and a Rather Curious Announcement
Sussex may not at first glance appear to be part of our self-imposed London-related-only remit but an awful lot of railway activity that goes on in Sussex does relate to London. We are thus going …
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