This is a weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
The image is from a Jan 2013 article: Google celebrates the London Underground with a Doodle
London Underground
An 89-year-old man needed 26 “liquid stitches” after his arm and hand were trapped in a Tube station ticket barrier. Local Times
Tube driver disciplined over alleged ‘free Palestine’ chants will return to work ITVX
About 25 years ago, Barons Court tube station was painted the wrong colour, so it’s about to get repainted the correct colour, as part of a larger set of heritage restoration works at the station. ianVisits
Walthamstow Central: London Underground station escalators out of use on 40 occasions Standard
Monday morning commuting hell as major Tube lines struck by delays Metro
Elizabeth line
The Elizabeth line station at Woolwich is to trial a new way of managing the crowds at the escalators, according to a sign in the station. ianVisits
Mainline / Overground
‘Free money!’ Avanti West Coast bosses caught joking about UK government handouts Yahoo Finance
Passengers paying more for train tickets when bought from machines, analysis says ITVX
Kenley rail station trialling short-term use of its station car park ianVisits
Edgware Road sign typo at Brent Cross West to be fixed Local Times
LNER’s new off-peak fares Diamond Geezer
The long-running saga over the future of Beam Park station in east London appears to be making some progress, and a report into its viability could be ready by the spring. ianVisits
DLR
There will be lots of smiles on the DLR, as the famously driverless DLR trains will come with steering wheels, so passengers can pretend to drive the train. ianVisits
Miscellaneous
Prezzo is set to challenge Pret A Manger and Upper Crust with its own chain of takeaway pasta shops in train stations. Daily Mail
Why the Metropolitan Line embodies the brilliance of Britain The Telegraph
c2c passenger’s son reunited with teddy that fell on tracks Echo News
London Tube busker’s mission to play at every station for charity BBC News
Man pushed onto tracks at Westbourne Park Tube station Standard
Three men have been arrested in connection with a fatal stabbing at a south-west London railway station. BBC News
Two British Rail workers who were jailed on word of corrupt police officer have convictions quashed Sky News
The largest steel framed building in Britain originally built to house the massive infrastructure required to power London’s Underground subway system will soon will be 260 luxury condos in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in London. Forbes
And finally: Cockfosters, the tube station with a name to make even the most prudish among us smirk, powers into the Turbine Theatre. The Up Coming
The image is from a Jan 2013 article: Google celebrates the London Underground with a Doodle
Thank you for linking to Diamond Geezer’s article on the new LNER 70-Minute Flexible fares. I heard of them this week, but that’s the first place I’ve seen the explanation of their effectively being a £20 surcharge on Advance fares.
That makes them sound much more attractive to me, and (if offered on our route) would be worth paying to turn a 35-minute scheduled change at Leeds into a 5-minute one — catching the London train one before the one we were booked on to, and knocking half an hour off the end-to-end journey time.
I gave up on it
He needs to sort out his website. It’s almost impossible to read due to lack of contrast between text and background.
Prezzo on station concourses. I wonder if this is actually just another franchise operation by SSP, who run most of the on station food options in London stations (they one some brands like Upper Crust but franchise others like Burger King).
If so then yes more choice but not really competition. Only would be competition if it was directly run (like Pret, who have one of the cheaper coffee options-white filter, with McDonalds a close second)
Avanti “Free money”.
A possible protest is to avoid using Avati trains where possible (I do already).
Many of the Avanti routes are covered almostly as quickly by other operators (e.g. LNWR) and may be cheaper (albeit with extra changes en route, and potential of a slower train with “metro style” seating rather than faster express trains).