This is a weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
The image is from a Feb 2022 article: London Underground’s experimental porthole tube train
London Underground
Kentish Town Tube station to remain closed until September BBC News
There’s been a call for more trains to use a little-used junction on the London Underground to increase services on the Metropolitan line between Watford and Rickmansworth. ianVisits
Businesses near a Tube station that is closed for repairs are bracing themselves for further losses with news that it now will not reopen until September. Ham & High
Work to add step-free access to Northolt tube station on the Central line is to resume, having been put on hold by the pandemic, but not until next year. ianVisits
An 89-year-old man who needed stitches after he was trapped when a Tube station ticket barrier “slammed shut” on him is still recovering almost two months on. East London Advertiser
A new report by a London lobby group is calling for the Bakerloo line extension to be pushed ahead, even as TfL says that the cost of building the extension has jumped since it was put on hold. ianVisits
Mainline / Overground
Direct trains between London and Shropshire, in the West Midlands, will be axed in June. Standard
Disruption for six months as Sydenham Road bridge is closed Inside Croydon
A section of concrete in a new viaduct set to carry the HS2 railway between London and Buckinghamshire is being removed, a contractor has admitted. Bucks Free Press
LNER simpler fares trial adds more than £100 to some train journeys The Guardian
Delays in building the HS2 high-speed rail link into Euston has not stopped a new skills centre for the construction industry opening. Ham & High
And the renaming…
The new names for London’s much-loved ginger line aren’t bad. But they do hint at the state’s suspicion when it comes to public engagement in public projects Prospect
‘Disney-fication of history’: London Tory criticises new Overground line names Standard
Hidden Overground Histories Diamond Geezer
New London Overground line names face more criticism at City Hall Harrow Online
‘Wasted opportunity’: Tories say Sadiq Khan should have sold London Overground naming rights to raise cash Standard
Now that the Overground lines are being separately named, some people are asking whether other TfL services should follow suit. Diamond Geezer
People are already giving nicknames to the new London Overground lines Metro
Miscellaneous
The abandoned London Underground station in Essex that was turned into someone’s home Essex Live
The Epping Signalling Museum reopens next week ianVisits
Rail beats uLEZ for London’s express logistics Rail Freight
A new fourth series of Secrets of the London Underground will be coming to Yesterday TV, and filming for the new series is underway now. ianVisits
Trains could be twice as busy by 2050 despite the rise of working from home – as passengers say current conditions on some lines are already ‘unbearable’ with rail firms failing to provide enough carriages. Daily Mail
It can be revealed that TfL earned £830,000 from Samsung’s recent advertising campaign that saw a reimagined circular tube map displayed at six tube stations. ianVisits
Shocking moment racist woman, 49, launches foul-mouthed rant at black victim on night tube – before telling court she blamed her vile outburst on a spiked drink Daily Mail
London Underground: ‘Travelling with my hidden disability ‘ BBC News
And finally: 120 teens are walking the tntirety of the Tube this Sunday Londonist
The image is from a Feb 2022 article: London Underground’s experimental porthole tube train
At first I am not an economist. However, while some say that the Bakerloo line extension is unaffordable due to inflationary cost increases, junior Doctors are fighting for 35% to make up for past non inflationary pay rises.
If Doctors pay had kept pace, a great deal more tax would have been paid, thus the money to pay the increased cost would be there. By the way, I am not a Doctor, but in my 88th rather rely on them