A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
London Underground
London Underground’s Wi-Fi connected 600,000 people on New Years T3
50th anniversary of the first electronic ticket barrier on the Underground Diamond Geezer
A campaign has been launched to turn London’s council elections in May into a referendum on plans to close all Tube ticket offices by 2015. BBC News
Luton man who filmed up a schoolgirl’s skirt at Moorgate station in London is given suspended prison sentence Luton-Dunstable Express
London Underground station staff are to be balloted for strike action over plans to cut 750 jobs and close ticket offices. BBC News
Signal failures on the Northern Line cost travellers more than 100,000 hours worth of delays in just two months, latest TfL figures show. Times-Series
Ticket office staff will rush for redundancies, claims Tube boss ahead of strike vote. Evening Standard
Take Part In TfL’s Tube Contactless Payment Pilot Londonist
Crossrail
Pressure on Council Over Ealing Broadway Station EalingToday
Mainline/Overground
HS2 bosses have caused uproar in one of the wealthiest areas of London after sending letters to more than 200 homes and businesses warning they may “acquire or use” their land. Camden New Journal
SouthEastern will start work on a £420,000 upgrade of Blackheath station next week. News Shopper
British Transport Police officers are appealing for information after a bicycle was thrown from a bridge onto a train near Enfield Lock station, bringing down overhead power lines. London24
Broken ticket machines at East Croydon’s £20million brand new entrance will not be fixed until an “extended period of dry weather”, Southern Rail has confirmed. Croydon Advertiser
Victory for campaigners after HS2 project wields the axe over incinerator plans in Harlesden Kilburn Times
Wandsworth Council is calling for ten car trains to be introduced on South West Trains services to Waterloo as a matter of urgency after another missed deadline. PutneySW15
Plans in pipeline for Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill and London Fields to join the Overground Hackney Gazette
Chiltern Railways – How one small commuter route is flourishing The Economist
Miscellaneous
Oyster Card users were “overcharged” more than £60 million last year with rail travellers most likely to be hit in the pocket. Evening Standard
Train passenger tried to have sex with onboard drinks trolley STC <– Not London, but too weird to ignore.
A Cardiff City fan who pulled a toddler from beneath a train at Gospel Oak station will be a guest of club owner Vincent Tan at Saturday’s home match against West Ham United. BBC News
George Osborne appears to have thrown out Boris Johnson’s plea for millions of pounds in extra funding after the Mayor was forced into a chaotic last-minute rethink over fares. Evening Standard
Stephen Halliday investigates the murky world of financing the London Underground. History Today
The map that saved the London Underground BBC News (magazine article)
UK dating site Christian Connection is launching a new ad campaign on the London Underground, with one poster featuring the tagline: “Christians make better lovers.” Christian Today
Fear of crime is deterring London’s BAME communities from using public transport MayorWatch
The 200th Anniversary of the London Underground IanVisits
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The image above is from: A look at Tottenham Court Road tube station upgrade works
