London Reconnections

Friday Reads – 8 January 2021

On 8 January 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Bridges, Friday Reads, HS2, Pedestrians, Stations, Tunnels, Vertical transport

• Plan to demolish 100s of unused rail bridges & tunnels must be stopped (NewCivilEng) • How London bus blinds are made video (LTMuseum) • It’s now official – integrating old Curzon Street Station into …

The Empires Return – London and New York City Part 2

On 6 January 2021 By Michael Colella In History, Long reads, New York

The rise of London and New York City as major global cities can be traced in part to investment in high quality transport networks, as we described in Part 1, which helped enable each city …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 4 January 2021

On 4 January 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Bridges, COVID, Design, Friday Reads, Maps, Pedestrians, Stations, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• We need more school streets banning cars for kids’ safety (CityLab) • History of Parisian tramways, beyond the horse (FabricOfParis) • Differences between subway maps & actual geography (MyModernMet) • Car access more than …

New Year’s Day Reads – 1 January 2021

On 1 January 2021 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Arts, Buses, Friday Reads, New York, Pedestrians, Stations

A new year, a new hope. • Parts of Strand & Aldwych to be pedestrianised (IanVisits) • Battery trolleybuses & transit priority in Zurich (EcoPath) • Moynihan Train Hall Penn Station replacement opens (NYTimes) • …

2020 Christmas Quiz – The Answers

On 1 January 2021 By Pedantic of Purley In Christmas Quiz

As we expected there were rather fewer answers send in this year. Most of these arrived on the last day so we haven’t had a chance to examine them in details and, maybe, permit alternative …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 28 December 2020

On 28 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In Accessibility, Friday Reads, Maps, New York, Thameslink, Tunnels

• Tube whiteboard poems ‘make people less alone’ (BBC) • People without bank accounts struggle to use London’s transport (IanVisits) • York Road ^& Maiden Lane abandoned stations video (JagoHazzard) • Second Hamburg S-Bahn Crossrail …

Boxing Day’s Friday Reads – 26 December 2020

On 26 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In Airports, Cycles, Data, DLR, Friday Reads, New York, Pedestrians, River crossings, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• Xmas DLR preliminary funding present for Thamesmead (IanVisits) • And a second entrance present for Surrey Quays station (IanVisits) • When the Big 4 railways banded together to run an airline (AirportOfCroydon) • How …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 21 December 2020

On 21 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In Book reviews, Bridges, Friday Reads, History, Pedestrians, Pollution, Trams/Streetcars/LRT, Tunnels

• Road air pollution major factor in London girl’s death rules coroner (Guardian) • Illuminated River project to light up more Thames bridges (NewCivilEng) • Review of Christian Wolmar’s Cathedrals of Steam (OnLondon) • History …

Milan: Medieval City to Metropolitana City

On 21 December 2020 By Marco Chitti In History, Long reads, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

As with many other modern cities, the history of Milan, the economic capital of Italy, is tightly tied with the development of its far-reaching and increasingly sophisticated rail networks. And as in many early rail …

Friday Reads – 18 December 2020

On 18 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In Crossrail, Farringdon, Friday Reads, Maps, Micromobility, Thameslink, Uber

• It’s back! Thameslink on the Tube Map (DiamondGeezer) • Crossrail offers virtual tour inside Farringdon station (IanVisits) • Symmetry on the London Underground (TubeMapper) • Irish Rail bringing natural cheer to morning commuters (Lovin) …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 14 December 2020

On 14 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In Friday Reads, Overground, Pedestrians, Sleeper Trains, Stations

• Go-ahead for London Bishopsgate Goodsyard & High Line (ConstructionEnq) • Southwarks’s deep level Tube shelter (HydeParkNow) • 2 Battersea stations, a disused platform, & a secret Overground stop (JagoHazzard) • The long history & …

Friday Reads – 11 December 2020

On 11 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In Bakerloo Line, Friday Reads, Tunnels

• Govt approves safeguarding of Bakerloo Line Extension route (OnLondon) • Missing Doctor Who London Underground story to be released (IanVisits) • UK Rail to refuge scheme for free travel for women escaping violence (WomensAid) …

The Incredible Lightness of Being – Cable Cars, A Legitimate Urban Transport Mode

On 8 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In Cable Car, Long reads

After the Emirates Air Line fiasco, most people in the UK had written off cable cars as a valid public transport mode. But reading about the official gondola proposal for Vancouver’s Burnaby Mountain university campus …

Monday’s Friday Reads – 7 December 2020

On 7 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In COVID, Design, Friday Reads, Pedestrians, Taxis, Trams/Streetcars/LRT

• Deferring Crossrail 2 doesn’t only bode ill for London (OnLondon) • London’s ‘field of broken dreams’ overflows (NYTimes) • The history and future of Vivarail (RailEngineer) • Berlin finally opens U5 metro extension under …

Friday Reads – 4 December 2020

On 4 December 2020 By Long Branch Mike In Cycles, Friday Reads, History, Micromobility, Sleeper Trains, Stations

• A deeper dig into Aldwych (HiddenLondonHangout) • The rise and fall of Broad Street Station (ALondonInheritance) • Climate change hits Chicago cyclist (StreetsBlog) • Toronto Police embarrass themselves with cyclist speed traps – streets …