Anniversary alert – it’s the 10th anniversary of starting this weekly roundup of London’s railway news. It started as a bit of an experiment to see if there is enough news to do this on a regular weekly basis, and well, yes, there is!
I said at the time I started that I’d give it a month to see how it works out, and here we are ten years later still going strong.
Dear gods, I’ve been doing this for ten whole years?
The image above is from June 2020: Check out this London tube map made from a working circuit board
London Underground
The number of trips made on the London Underground has returned to 90% of pre-pandemic levels, according to data from Transport for London (TfL). BBC News
New Central line timetable will mean fewer trains and longer gaps from Monday Diamond Geezer
Camden Town on the Northern line is the latest station on the London Underground to receive mobile phone coverage on the station platforms ianVisits
Pickpocketing thefts on London Underground more than double in one year, figures show Standard
Knightsbridge tube station’s heritage shopping posters ianVisits
Elizabeth line
How London’s new Crossrail proved to be a game-changer Gulf News
Rental homes along the Elizabeth line have seen an increase in popularity, with the greatest increase further out from London, at the ends of the Elizabeth line. ianVisits
TfL: Elizabeth line software bugs and ‘significant points failures’ – but ‘fifth most reliable’ railway London World
Mainline / Overground
The government has squandered almost £5 billion in taxpayers’ money attempting to defeat strikes by rail workers, the RMT said. Morning Star
The new, spacious £100 million trains have officially been unveiled before they hit the tracks on the c2c line. Gazette News
First strikes, now cheap tickets are at risk: How much more can rail passengers take? Independent (£)
New photos of the V-shaped piers that will carry the HS2 railway over the Colne Valley in west London have been released, showing how the railway’s longest viaduct will span the lakes. ianVisits
Abandoned HS2 land in London could be handed back to the public while delays continue Politics Home
HS2 Chiltern Tunnel ground collapse could be a ‘crown hole’, says expert Ground Engineering
Part of the 650-strong design team which had been working on HS2’s stalled Euston station has been shifted to work at Old Oak Common job in west London instead. Building (£)
Eurostar could be forced to stop running London-Amsterdam trains for almost a year in 2024 Independent
The high-speed rail service may take twice as long as planned. But I’m confident it will be completed – by Andrew Adonis Prospect
Miscellaneous
A much-loved mechanic who has mentored young people in Hackney for years is facing eviction from his railway arch workshop after a standoff over £70,000 in unpaid rent. Hackney Citizen
Hitachi billion-pound deal to buy UK signalling could hurt TfL: regulator CityAM
Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock feared he was about to be shoved down a Tube escalator during a confrontation with an anti-vaccine protestor, a court has heard. Standard
The boss of BrewDog Bars has called on the UK Government to “get a grip” of the ongoing rail dispute, warning that strikes are having a “devastating” impact on hospitality businesses across the country. FSE Journal
What Toronto can learn from London’s Elizabeth Line The Globe and Mail
And finally: A look at how TfL handled the coronation TfL Blog
The image above is from June 2020: Check out this London tube map made from a working circuit board
Thanks for these updates Ian! They are welcome every Friday.
Happy Anniversary Ian – always massively appreciated/enjoyed