This is a weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
The image above is from October 2020: London Underground’s yellow tube train
London Underground
Heavy rain in London overnight flooded parts of Victoria Underground Station, causing disruption for commuters on Thursday morning. Standard
Parisian bedbugs take on TfL: First sighting of critter crawling on London tube commuter’s leg LBC
Elizabeth line
TfL admits status of Elizabeth line is ‘confusing’ passengers over fares Standard
The Elizabeth line has been testing new train departure displays ianVisits
Mainline / Overground
HS2 Chiltern tunnel sinkhole did not pollute water, says inquiry BBC News
Shifting HS2 investment from rail to roads, could actually mean more traffic jams and poorer air quality Electrical Times
HS2: Prime Minister refuses to back own promise that high speed rail will reach Euston ITV
The government’s decision to re-phase High Speed 2’s (HS2’s) Euston terminus by two years has caused issues with London tunnelling including lost efficiencies, according to a chief engineer on the project. NCE (£)
Rishi Sunak blocked a Lendlease-led, private sector plan to build HS2’s Euston station when he was chancellor, just three years before adopting a near-identical version last week. EGI (£)
As HS2 gets cut back, just what has been the impact on Kent of HS1 – the UK’s only high-speed rail link? Kent Live
Still no compensation for landlord who saw his pub flattened for HS2 works that now aren’t even in needed Camden New Journal
Eurostar boss says Kent stations will reopen ‘only when we can afford it’ Independent
Miscellaneous
Travelling by train in UK has become a story of hope over expectation Big Issue
Arrests as South Kenton fight blocks Euston/Watford trains Watford Observer
Two disused railway arches next to London Bridge station with some unusual decorative features are being restored to bring them back into use. ianVisits
The Grim Reason Buses And Trains Use Such Weird Fabrics On Seats IFL Science
Former Tory culture secretary Nadine Dorries is risking a £50 fine for whipping her shoes off and resting her foot on a seat in a first class carriage during a journey from the Cotswolds to London Daily Star
The destruction of the old Euston Station serves as a cautionary tale for urban conservation. Now HS2 could usher in a new era Telegraph (£)
And finally: Inconsequential transport news Diamond Geezer
The image above is from October 2020: London Underground’s yellow tube train
That creature said to be a bedbug by the hysterical coverage at LBC looks much more like a harmless Red Velvet Mite than a bedbug which does not frequent tube trains but beds.