There was some surprise back in June when it was confirmed that the DfT would devolve the West Anglia rail franchise to TfL, a major step towards the devolution of London’s rail services. Although not stated at the time, sources now suggest that the DfT have placed a price on this devolution of services, one on which the two parties are now negotiating terms – TfL must take on two other London branch lines as well.
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Old Oak Common: A Vision and Challenge For Crossrail (Part 1)
As “Phyllis” and “Ada” make their stately progress east from the portals at Park Royal, plans are evolving for the Crossrail route west, and an absorbing story it is to tell. The Mayor has now …
Continue readingTfL Settlement: GOBLIN To Be Electrified, West Anglia Franchise Devolved
TfL have released a press release officially confirming a number of elements of their latest settlement and the spending review statement by the Chancellor today. This is a rare press release that is worth quoting …
Continue readingWest London Line cocooned by Earls Court development
The massive redevelopment at Earls Court took a step closer to fruition in November 2012 when the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea gave its outline planning approval. The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham …
Continue readingCatching Up With The Committee: Part 2
Rail devolution is something that remains high on both the Assembly and TfL radars, and so it was no surprise when it reared its head at the April Transport Committee meeting. Joanne McCartney opened this …
Continue readingCatching Up With The Committee: Part 1
A month is a short time in Transport Politics. Whilst today’s Transport Committee is set to look at Crossrail 2 (a topic to which John Bull will be turning his eye shortly), last month’s meeting …
Continue readingThe Transport Committee: Crossrail and the Overground Talk Shop
Today’s London Assembly Transport Committee meeting covered Crossrail and wider London Rail developments – two areas of great interest to LR readers. Andrew Wolstenholme (CEO) and Terry Morgan (Chairman) both attended from Crossrail. Taking Crossrail …
Continue readingTowards The Start of a New Era on the South London Line?
Late last year we reported on the opening of stage II of the East London Line and also said farewell to the South London Line (SLL). Nowadays it is not often that we see a …
Continue readingHoward Smith to Join Crossrail
Crossrail have announced that Howard Smith, currently Chief Operating Officer at TfL London Rail, will join Crossrail in March as Operations Director: Howard Smith is currently Chief Operating Officer for Rail at Transport for London …
Continue readingThe Hackney Downs – Hackney Central Link
Plans for the Hackney Downs – Hackney Central pedestrian link has been approved by Hackney Council, and full details can now be found online. According to TfL, the link will cost about £5m The two …
Continue readingTfL Announce Beginning of Overground Capacity Work
TfL have released a press release officially confirming that they have begun work on expanding Overground services (where possible) to 5-car services: A programme to introduce five-car trains on all London Overground routes and increase …
Continue readingThe Past and Future of the Bromley North Branch
The branch line from Grove Park to Bromley North is only one and a half miles long. It has but two stations (excluding Grove Park itself) and those two are ridiculously close to each other. …
Continue readingThe End of an Era on the South London Line
With the opening of the London Overground Service from Clapham Junction to Dalston Junction it is time to say goodbye to the South London Line. The line provided a direct link between the London Brighton …
Continue readingIn Pictures: Crossrail Tunnels, ELL Expands
With Tunnelling now under way (or rather, in the west, resumed), Crossrail have released a new set of photos relating to the commencement of operations on the Limmo peninsular. We’ve looked extensively at the Royal …
Continue readingOverground Electrification and Longer Trains
As several spotters have helpfully pointed out, this week saw a rather interesting article appear in Rail Engineer on the topic of Rail Electrification. The article provides thorough coverage of the discussion of electrification at …
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