Only a handful of North American cities have kept their pre-war streetcar networks. Why was …
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The 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 readingFriday Reads – 1 June 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. • Wayfinding underground inspires graphic innovation (CityWayfinding) • Former Aldgate East Tube station cleared for development (IanVisits) • Better direct vision for heavy trucks (Passion4Transport) • Thames Clippers & Port …
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 readingGDPR update & Friday Reads – 25 May 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads! But first, a public service anouncement: If you subscribe to our email alerts (sent when major new articles come out) then don’t forget to update your preferences in our preference …
Continue readingThe Cicadas Take Flight: Explaining The May Timetable Changes
Some species of American cicadas have evolved a strange ability: they have synchronised lifecycles lasting prime number lengths of years. For the cicadas this is an advantage – it helps them evade the development of …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 18 May 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s list: • Why fewer Londoners are taking the Tube (TheConversation) • South Bank London’s Low Line (1LondonBlog) • Brunel atmospheric railway structure halts road scheme (BBC) • A …
Continue readingAnd it Moves Us All: East Coast To Be Renationalised
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba Sithi uhm ingonyama! From the day it arrived at St Pancras, And blinking, step into the sun. There’s more to East Coast, Than, new a brand and cheap seats. More to …
Continue readingLondon Underground: The Forgotten Digital Railway
The railway’s attitude to signalling has changed a lot in the past few decades. In times gone by it was often regarded as something one unfortunately needed to run trains safely. On a modern metro …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 11 May 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s list: • Crossrail to generate electricity from wind its own trains (Wired) • What can London learn from Barcelona? (BanPrivateCarsinLondon) • Woolwich hybrid battery ferries in service late …
Continue readingLR Meetup at Royal Oak pub, 10th May
The second Thursday of the month brings with it our meetup, which happens next on 10th May from 6pm. As always, these are informal affairs where the beer flows, offering an opportunity to put faces …
Continue readingUpgrading the Piccadilly
We last looked in detail at the state of the Piccadilly line upgrades in January, when we revealed that TfL planned to leaseback the Crossrail fleet to pay for new rolling stock. This month sees …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 4 May 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s list: • Private Car problem not solved in Central London (BanPrivateCarsinLondon) • London’s Railways – Planning for Peace (ALondonInheritance) • 24 hour UK rail people (RailTechnology) • Fighting …
Continue readingGarden Bridge Review: Garden Bridge Trust Transcript (Part 1)
In October 2016, Dame Margaret Hodge MP was appointed to lead an independent review of the Garden Bridge project. As part of this review, she conducted a number of interviews with key people and organisations. …
Continue readingFriday Reads – 27 April 2018
Welcome to Reconnections’ Friday Reads. This week’s list: • London’s Pollution Pods (NextCity) •
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