At London Reconnections we don’t want to appear to always be bringing bad or disappointing news but events over the past year meant that we rarely have good things to write about. It makes a …
Continue readingAuthor: Pedantic of Purley
ULEZ: Why The (Slightly) Lower Emission Zone Matters
00:01 hours on Monday 8th April 2019 saw the introduction of the so-called Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). We look at the past, present and future of low emission zones in London, what is trying …
Continue readingATO, a Go-go: Signalling the SSR
On Sunday 17th March 2019 Automatic Train Operation (ATO) was finally, and successfully, introduced on the Sub-Surface Railway (SSR). Next week, or maybe the week after, we’ll put the significance of this in context and …
Continue readingDon’t Bank on Crossrail
Throughout TfL’s recent trials and tribulations, there seemed to be one major project that remained on schedule. It was also largely on budget, but facing ‘cost pressures’. Unlike just about every other substantial TfL project, …
Continue readingCrossrail: Getting a Grip
In The Dangerous Sound of Silence we looked at the reasons why Crossrail’s delay was not spotted earlier. Possibly more importantly, we looked at why that delay was not fully communicated to those who needed …
Continue readingCrossrail: The Dangerous Sound of Silence
We have been critical of the wall of silence that has enveloped Crossrail. In a welcome contrast, at the December 2018 meeting of the Programmes and Investment Committee, the public were treated to a full, …
Continue reading2018 Quiz: The Answers
With the deadline for entering now passed it is time to provide answers to the 2018 London Reconnections Quiz. This is our initial offering of the answers. However so many of you provided so much …
Continue readingThe London Reconnections 2018 Christmas Quiz
It’s that time of year again. Advent calendars are being opened, presents purchased and the tabloids are preparing their ‘outrage’ pieces about vital Christmas works. That means, of course, that is time for the London …
Continue readingA Study in Sussex (Part 14): The Beginnings of Big Changes
With consultation on the much-discussed improvements at East Croydon and Windmill Bridge opened on November 5th 2018, we look briefly at what is being put forward and take the opportunity to provide an update for …
Continue readingFare Whom The Bell Tolls: The end of the TfL Ticket Office?
Recently, with minimal publicity, there has been a proposal made that would close the vast majority of ticket offices at London Overground stations. If the proposal is fully acted upon the total number of TfL ticket offices remaining will probably number fewer than thirty and that total will inevitably only go down. This makes it a suitable time to look at what future – if any – there is for TfL-run ticket offices.
Continue readingCS11 London: City of Westminster v TfL
With things not going well for the Mayor and TfL on the railway front, they could have probably obtained some solace in the thought that the Mayor’s ambitious Healthy Streets policy was making good progress. …
Continue readingCrossrail: Timetable for Success?
Sufficient information is now available, unofficially, so that we can be fairly sure of the exact service pattern now proposed for Crossrail in December 2019. Furthermore, we can have a good guess at how it …
Continue readingBeyond Thameslink and Crossrail: A London Transport Update
Accounts of what is happening in the world of transport in London in the past few months have largely been focused on Crossrail and Thameslink. Whilst these two major construction projects (together totalling over £22billion) …
Continue readingHoly Grails and Thameslink Fails (part 2): The plan that went wrong
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 …
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 reading