A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
London Underground
Cleaners on the tube are starting a campaign of industrial action next week over plans to force them to check in by being fingerprinted. LBC
Central Line upgrade will see more trains running than any rush-hour service in UK, say TfL. London24
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Beefeater Gin distillery have objected to TfL’s plans to compulsory purchase parts of their land, throwing progress on the Northern Line extension into disarray. CoStar News
Artists’ concern over copyright and pay leads to climb down by TfL over their ‘poets in residence’ Underground scheme. The Guardian
Concerns raised over a bias in a question regarding Piccadilly services to Turnham Green station. ChiswickW4
Train drivers on the Victoria Line are to go on strike next Tuesday evening in a row over working conditions. BBC News
Crossrail
In a cramped, sweaty tunnel deep beneath Tottenham Court Road Underground station, workers are using handheld shovels to carve thick slices of London clay from the walls. FT
Crossrail is taking possession of Abbey Wood gardens next week – despite no exact compensation figure being agreed for affected residents. Local London
A look at the signalling systems that will control trains when Crossrail is finished. The Rail Engineer
Mainline/Overground
“Bog-standard” toilets on Chiltern Railways’ trains are being transformed with images inspired by places along its main route. BBC News
Rail chiefs have “taken their eye off the ball” on day-to-day maintenance, leading to passengers suffering delays on the network, transport minister Norman Baker said. Evening Standard
First Capital Connect has been fined £75,000 after passengers were stuck on a train in London for more than three hours. BBC News
HS2 opponents to form political party for next election. Evening Standard
Network Rail and C2C have begun a £3.4m joint project to create a new passenger exit at the flagship Fenchurch Street station. Press Release (It’s a flagship station?)
Heathrow Express is sponsoring the England Sevens rugby team and will have its logo on their shirts. Business Travel Mag
Miscellaneous
TfL considers using social media to improve London’s traffic PC Advisor
Timelapse video of the demolition of the King’s Cross green shed. YouTube and a look at the site from above IanVisits
850 people a month handed fines for dodging tram fare. This is Croydon
Developers fight over Brompton Road Tube station Independent
Two people who managed to get their lost property back from Transport for London were so happy they performed a musical thank you to the staff. London24
The Mayor should provide interest-free loans for annual travelcards, London’s travel watchdog has proposed. Evening Standard
Lawyers have avoided a £140m court showdown with London Underground after settling a professional negligence case just weeks before it was due to be heard. The Lawyer
Photo
The image above is from: A tour of London Underground’s Art Deco HQ Building
