A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
London Underground
Tube train drivers’ pay will nudge £50,000 a year from today in the last year of a record-breaking four year deal. Evening Standard
Tube passengers have experienced “severe” delays on two London Underground lines after a power cut in south London. BBC News <– Not as bad as the 2003 cut though.
A fresh look at the Victoria Station Upgrade project The Rail Engineer <– My visit in 2012
Crossrail
The owner of a new Plumstead Punjabi restaurant has warned it could close after being hit with a massive charge to help pay for Crossrail – and says other small businesses could follow. NewsShopper
Video: Connaught Tunnel prepared for Crossrail route Newham Recorder
The owner of a shoe repairs shop has been told he must vacate his business premises of 20 years to make way for Crossrail. Ilford Recorder
Procurement for Crossrail 2 could get under way in 2018 provided a funding agreement is reached later this year, according to TfL’s managing director for planning. Construction News (Google Cache)
Crossrail skeletons confirmed to have died of the Black Death IanVisits
Mainline/Overground
Passengers on the Heathrow Express are braced for disruption after the RMT today announced a ballot for strike action over 201 proposed job cuts on the airport rail link. Evening Standard
Concerns raised over competition which asks architects to design ‘aesthetically pleasing’ overhead lines for HS2 Get West London
London’s Overground rail network should be viewed as a second Underground system, according to one of the capital’s senior transport executives. NCE (Google Cache)
Dozens of residents gathered to celebrate Carpenders Park Station’s centenary, which was marked by the unveiling of a blue plaque on Tuesday. Watford Observer
Network Rail has assigned £2.3bn of investment to increase the number of seats available and improve stations in the South East. BBC News
Miscellaneous
A Hertfordshire organisation is bidding for more than £30 million from a Government fund to improve the rail and road network around Watford. Watford Observer
Design student’s map of Winslow takes inspiration from London Underground. Bucks Herald
A research programme by DeltaRail is seeking to analyse train operators’ Twitter traffic to assess passenger satisfaction. Railway Gazette
The crazy plan to divert the Bakerloo Line to Bank Station IanVisits
Transport for London has banned a contemporary piece of art depicting Jesus before his crucifixion out of fear that it would cause offence. Christian Today
Could a vertical railway station on a skyscraper be a way of the future? Global News
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The image above is from: Plans for a roller-coaster monorail under the streets of London
