London Reconnections

Friday Reads – 27 October 2023

On 27 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Pedestrians, Sustainability, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• New video shows the nearly finished Brent Cross West station (IanVisits) • Reflective pavements tackle urban heat but sometimes make feel pedestrians hotter (CityLab) • Kyiv Metro vs the World: How Kyiv Metro runs …

Reconnections’ Miscellany: Technical Plots – October 2023

On 26 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Long reads, Miscellany

More Autonomous People you’ll meet in Transport BDSM – Buses do so much BESS – battery energy storage system Comment Colonels – Armchair experts ready to comment to the death on their favourite topic, armed with nothing …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 23 October 2023

On 23 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Infrastructure, Pollution, Roads, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• TfL & Google Maps collaborate to make cycling better for Londoners & world (TfL) • Glasgow Subway services could soon run later (Glasgow Live) • ULEZ already raising air quality at 144 more London schools (OnLondon) …

Friday Reads – 20 October 2023

On 20 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Aerial, Friday Reads, Overground, Sustainability

• London Overground into London Bridge? TfL is looking into it (Murky Depths) • London’s helicopter routes (HelicopterRedeye) • The high speed railway uncoupling the Baltic states from Russia & their Soviet past (EuroNews) • …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 16 October 2023

On 16 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, HS2, Maps, Reuse, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• ‘Managed decline’: the uncertain future for British rail after cuts to HS2 (Financial Times – £) • TfL ‘no longer able to commit the funding’ to long-promised extension of tram to Sutton (New Civil …

Friday Reads – 13 October 2023

On 13 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Design, Friday Reads, Technology

• The last of Britain’s railway slip coaches: Video (TimDunn) • Barcelona visual system for tactical urbanism + wayfinding (AraunaStudio) • Maya Lin’s Eclipsed Time removed from LIRR Penn Station concourse (UrbanOmnibus) • Silicon Valley …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 9 October 2023

On 9 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, HS2, Stations, Sustainability, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• The Assassination of HS2 by the Coward Rishi Sunak (S.Y. LEE) • Sunak’s ‘scorched earth’ slashing of HS2 means further legs will never be built (NewCivilEng) • France to launch German-style cut-price monthly rail …

Friday Reads – 6 October 2023

On 6 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Crossrail, Friday Reads, HS2, Overground

• HS2 being scrapped means fewer trains and higher rail prices, experts warn (inews) • The new housing case for extending Crossrail to Ebbsfleet (JamesO’Malley) • Chemical attraction: Hackney Wick Overground station (BeautyOfTransport) • Northern …

Getting more bang for your buck – The Bangkok rail explosion

On 6 October 2023 By Chris Hale In City Snapshot, Long reads

Having recently discussed how the laissez-faire approach to transit and urban planning in Jakarta is holding the city back, in this City Snapshot Dr Chris Hale focuses on one of Jakarta’s competitor Southeast Asian cities …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 2 October 2023

On 2 October 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Podcast, Safety, Sleeper Trains, Stations

• The war on motorists: The secret history of a myth as old as cars themselves (Guardian) • RMT tube strike to cause severe disruption to the London Underground next week (IanVisits) • The history, …

Friday Reads – 29 September 2023

On 29 September 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Micromobility, Safety, Sleeper Trains, Tunnels

• Secret MI6 spy tunnels being turned into London tourist attraction (SecretLondon) • ÖBB & DB to double sleeper train traffic by 2030 (RailTech) • Can the Messina Bridge project cross the divide to Sicily? …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 25 September 2023

On 25 September 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Bridges, Friday Reads, Funiculars, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• End ‘spiral of decline’ of bus services by handing control to councils (LocalGovt) • Nottingham’s multi-pronged approach to effective public transport (MobilityMatters) • Prague’s new minimalist pedestrian bridge (Domus) • How the US created …

Friday Reads – 22 September 2023

On 22 September 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Friday Reads, Pedestrians, Reuse, Sleeper Trains

• RIA calls for Government to keep UK rolling stock factories operating (GlobalRailway) • Burberry’s rebrand of Bond Street station slammed amid commuter chaos (MarketingBeat) • New Assisted Travel Lounge at London Paddington opens (RailUK) …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 18 September 2023

On 18 September 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Electric Vehicles (EVs), Friday Reads, New York, Pollution, Reuse

• Britain’s iconic HSTs set for Mexico (RailTech) • France wants to ground European ultra low airfares (EuroNews) • NYC drivers slowing down on streets with 24/7 speed cameras (Streetsblog) • Everybody in Manhattan wins …

Friday Reads – 15 September 2023

On 15 September 2023 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Friday Reads, Roads, Trolleybuses, Tunnels

• West Midlands Metro extension to Wolverhampton station opens Sunday (RailUK) • Tame wide roads & replace them with boulevards of homes (Guardian) • Boston replaces trolleybuses w/ shorter range, heavier battery buses to cut …