A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
London Underground
The current Tube strike dispute over 24-hour working, staffing and pay and conditions has taken a turn for the worse. BBC News
French defence and electronics group Thales is set to announce a contract worth about £710 million to modernise four London Underground lines, French news website La Tribune reported Reuters
Commuters lose 1.9 million hours waiting for delayed Tubes every month Evening Standard
The Eduardo Paolozzi Mosaics commissioned for Tottenham Court Rd tube station, which were controversially removed to make way for the new Crossrail friendly station, are to find a new home. ArtLyst
Croxley Rail Link will not be completed until 2020, documents reveal Watford Observer
Crossrail
Crossrail cleared Parliament a year before Sadiq Khan was transport minister so how did he ‘push it through’? MayorWatch
Tunnelling under the radar – How Crossrail quietly dug up London The Engineer
Mainline/Overground
Static testing of the first of the Class 387/2 Electrostar electric multiple-unit cars ordered for Gatwick Express services has begun at Bombardier Transportation’s Derby plant. Railway Gazette
70 workers face losing jobs as Southern rail ends on-board trolley service News Shopper
Passengers were stranded for 90 minutes on a London-bound train after it crashed into a tree. Evening Standard
New platforms planned at Waterloo train station South London Press
Major retail and dining hub to open at London’s Paddington railway station Moodie Report
Miscellaneous
A former detective (with a book to promote) has claimed Scotland Yard covered up allegations a killer pushed 18 people to their deaths on the London Underground in the 1970s. The Independent
MP questions value of new Brighton to London railway line Local Guardian
How TfL will use data about you to keep London moving as its population soars Information Age
Virtual Reality Lab opened for improving transport networks VR Focus
How London Underground announcements inspired improvements in New York Co Design
And finally, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s grave could be on route of a new railway line Bristol Post
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The image above is from July 2012: A look at some deep Crossrail tunnel shafts