A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
Crossrail starts restoration of Kingsway Subway
London Underground
How much crime is there on the London Underground? OnLondon
A rather tired old office block is to be replaced with a large glazed cube which will be disguising a new ventilation shaft for the Northern line IanVisits
Person found dead at Archway Underground Station Islington Tribune
Paul Baines, sales director for rolling stock at Siemens Mobility Ltd, expands on the many benefits of the £1.5bn Deep Tube rolling stock contract award. RTM
Waltham Forest Council has agreed to fund half of an £18 million upgrade for Leyton tube station on the Central line, with the other half coming from TfL. IanVisits
Late-night commuters along the Central line were left bemused after a train announced a stop at an unexpected station – 24 years after it shut. Local Guardian
Elizabeth line / Crossrail
By now, Crossrail should have been up and running for a month and a half. But how’s it really doing? Diamond Geezer
Crossrail train door opens onto track at Stratford ITV
Hochtief UK has been awarded a £40m contract by Network Rail to upgrade three stations for Crossrail. Construction News
TfL unhappy with rate of progress on Crossrail tunnels Building
Three out of the six western Crossrail stations still have no date set for the appointment of contractors to carry out the “significant” works to prepare them for the Elizabeth Line’s arrival. NCE (£)
There have been calls for Crossrail to publish all details of its board meetings over fears the delay of the Elizabeth Line extension is harming the GLA budget. Local Guardian
Mainline / Overground
The Barking – Gospel Oak Rail User Group campaigners say the rail service is on brink of collapse Local Guardian
All stations to regeneration? Work on HS2 begins in earnest The Guardian
The UK’s HS2 high-speed rail project is facing a £500m lawsuit over allegations that it undervalued properties in central London that it compulsorily purchased to make way for the train line. Financial Times
Nobody knows what the final cost of HS2 will be, Sir Terry Morgan tells committee Infrastructure Intelligence
Catford station nominated for step-free accessibility improvements News Shopper
c2c sets a new national record for punctual trains East London Advertiser
Caledonian Sleeper’s carriages have completed their test run to London Euston ahead of their roll-out later this year. Railway Technology
Miscellaneous
An East Ham man who pointed a BB gun at rail staff who refused to let him travel without a ticket has been jailed for 15 months. Newham Recorder
Online Underground: the technology behind the Tube’s forthcoming 4G network E&T
An experimental artist has created an app that lulls passengers into a “drift-like state” by playing a soundtrack as they travel on a train. BBC News
Passengers’ appetite for convenience has driven a 2.3% growth in station retail sales over the festive period, Talking Retail
Old Oak Common: More than just designing a station Infrastructure Intelligence
And finally, Want to see a Ferrari sports car covered in a London Underground style tube map? IanVisits
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Image above is from Oct 2017: Crossrail starts restoration of Kingsway Subway
“on-board displays claimed was destined for Ongar”
I wouldn’t call it on-board display, it’s on the front of the train.
The internal and front signs seem to be linked. One train travelled all the way from Liverpool Street to Chingford internally displaying stations from the Enfield Town branch instead. When it arrived, I spotted the front also said Enfield Town.
Considering all those stations have platform staff, you would have thought one of them would have spotted the error and reported it to the driver.
The voice announcements said the same, so presumably there’s no speaker in the drivers cab — or did the driver really not know what stations were on the route?
Old Oak Common…lets just say… that the platforms for Richmond/Clapham Jn branches of the North London Line are far too far away from the main station to make it a convenient connection, so people won’t do it an and an opportunity to encourage increased use is missed…. and why isn’t there a connection to the Central Line?… or the Bakerloo Line?
A whole shed load of feeders stations are just being completely left out…. old oak common could be a lot busier and be of much greater use, if…
I’m shocked to see how many crimes have been committed on the London Underground. Whilst the public are still at risk. Why is it still happening on London’s transport.
And yes I do like c2c because their services are always as punctual and their trains are always on time. Well sometimes c2c do have problems with overcrowding during rush hour and allowing passengers to board Class 357s that are formed as 4-Car formation during rush hour and not 8-Car & 12-Car which commuters still suffer with.