A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
The image above is from Feb 2017: When London’s tube tunnels were painted white
London Underground
Transport for London warned an expected eight per cent pay rise for Tube staff will worsen its financial problems as negotiations on its latest Government bailout were set to go down to the wire. Standard
Two tube strikes will take place next week, affecting a large section of the London Underground on Tuesday and Thursday. ianVisits
Elizabeth line / Crossrail
Work to fix the electrical work carried out at the Canary Wharf Crossrail station was one of the reasons why the scheme was only completed last month, the railway’s boss has said. Building (£)
TfL is on life support, but London Crossrail is light at end of the tunnel Standard
Free booklet about the Elizabeth line ianVisits
Elizabeth line: Slough Council leader trials new railway Windsor Observer
Crossrail opening heralds era of uncertainty for UK public transport FT (£)
Mainline / Overground
Commuters who pay thousands of pounds to travel into London are up in arms over crowding caused by reduced services. Echo News
Why the end of WFH means overcrowding for Londoners heading back to the office ITV
Two environmental activists have been convicted of charges relating to a protest against HS2 after occupying a 100ft-high drilling rig to highlight damage they claimed the rail project was causing to London’s drinking water supply. The Guardian
DLR
Man ‘tried to rip off woman’s headscarf’ in Poplar DLR hate crime East London Advertiser
The issue of the extension of the DLR to Thamesmead was raised in the House of Commons, although no commitments were offered to it being built. ianVisits
Miscellaneous
A man has been hailed as a ‘super dad’ after he created a brilliant hide and seek train game on the London Underground to celebrate his autistic son’s tenth birthday The Mirror
Two lifeboatmen have visited more than 200 London underground stations in a day as part of a fundraising challenge for the RNLI. BBC News
Visually impaired Elgin dad prepares to visit 272 London Underground stops in two days for charity Press and Journal
A 32-year-old Woodley woman must pay more than £400 for taking a train without a ticket that would have cost £13.70. Reading Chronicle
Plane ticket between London and Bristol four times cheaper than train Bristol Live
It’s December 1949 and an experimental tube train has been introduced on the London Underground — that had huge windows and portholes. ianVisits
A selection of Freedom of Information request to TfL Diamond Geezer
And finally: Rod Stewart spends £70,000 shipping his giant model train set to UK home Express
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The image above is from Feb 2017: When London’s tube tunnels were painted white
