A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
[singlepic id=51 w=500 float=center]
London Underground
Prime Minister David Cameron has said he would “not rule out” banning strikes on the London Underground. BBC News
Anyone who passes through Bethnal Green, Notting Hill Gate and Ladbroke Grove tube stations over the next few months will encounter a series of works created with two local youth groups. The Guardian
Man in hospital after going under Tube train at Arsenal station. Islington Gazette
Bank station upgrade public consultation next week. IanVisits
An unidentified man narrowly missed being hit by two trains at Barking station after he made a dash from police officers. B&D Post
Transport for London is aiming to use poetry to teach the capital’s commuters “poetiquette” and think twice about dropping litter, obstructing doors and other anti-social behaviour that contributes to travel delays on the tube. The Guardian
The RMT claims that tube fares have risen six times faster than wages since Boris Johnson became London’s Mayor in 2008. LBC
Crossrail
A British bird protection society and a rail network have come together to build Europe’s largest habitat creation project. The reclaimed natural landscape is made from soil excavated from beneath London’s streets. Deutsche Welle
Canary Wharf Crossrail station still on track for 2015 opening as work begins on “impressive” roof Wharf & London Reconnections
Photos of the Crossrail Station at Paddington IanVisits
Roman ‘skullduggery’ as Crossrail unearths human remains 2,000 years old Docklands Advertiser
Hidden Talents: Whitechapel section of the Crossrail project remains unnoticed by the public NCE (via Google Cache)
Mainline/Overground
Boris Johnson has told LBC 97.3 he understands concerns about construction around Euston station to prepare for HS2. LBC
HS2 will provide Britain’s transport system with a heart bypass, Patrick McLoughlin said. Birmingham Post
Boris Johnson threatens to block HS2 without more changes Telegraph
How one railway line helped change the way Londoners commute The Economist
Miscellaneous
Passengers on the London to Brighton line could have been killed because of years of maintenance work failures in a Victorian tunnel, a whistle-blowing rail engineer has claimed. BBC News
The last remnant of the old British Rail has been abolished with its remaining assets and responsibilities split up. Press Release
William Cook has moved to Metroland. He contemplates John Betjeman’s vision of it. Spectator
Tube map reimaged with football players instead of tube stations. IanVisits
How TfL uses big data to personalise its marketing campaigns Econsultancy
Few public transit logos are as instantly recognizable as the bar and disc used by Transport for London. The Atlantic Cities
Transport for London is seeking consultancies for its 2D design framework, which covers branding, graphics and digital design work. Design Week
Photo
The image above is from: Photos from inside Crossrail’s concrete factory
Not sure what to make of the whistle blower’s discussion of Balcombe tunnel but the RAIB report itself (http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/130815_R132013_Balcombe_Tunnel.pdf) exposes a worryingly lax regime for structure management – worrying to this regular user of the tunnel at least. I’d feel a lot happier if Ian visited the tunnel from time to time!
In my fantasy version of the BML of the future, they’ll drive new bores for use as fast lines and then re-line the old tunnel for slow line use. Just got to figure out a design to four-track the Ouse Valley Viaduct and I’ll be done. Someone else can work on the route south of Haywards Heath.
Transport for London is aiming to use poetry to teach the capital’s commuters “poetiquette” and … [ SNIP ] …other anti-social behaviour
Like getting LUL announcers to bloody shut up, at least 95% of the time?
So that only NECESSARY announcements are made?
Idiots.