A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
London Underground
Blackhorse Road is more often closed because it is considered a “lower priority” than other stations on the Victoria Line, Waltham Forest Echo
Amazon changes name of Westminster Tube station to ‘Webminster’ Independent
UK rail union to ballot for more London Underground strikes Reuters
Aptilo Networks confirmed that its Wi-Fi service management solutions are being used by 3UK to serve some 500K subscribers with Wi-Fi in the London Underground. Converged Digest
Another year, another day of no one wearing trousers on London’s tube Mashable
The first phase of enabling works on the London Underground Northern Line Extension has been completed ahead of the planned 19 week schedule. RTM
Crossrail / Elizabeth Line
Crossrail is nearing the finish line but its innovation programme is set to live on. Daniel Kemp descends into one of its new stations to discover what’s been achieved so far. Construction News
A vault under the old Astoria nightclub has been unearthed by Crossrail and revealed an unexpected history of one of Britain’s first condiment suppliers. IanVisits
Mainline/Overground
A £300 million emergency funding package is being rushed out to reduce delays on the Southern and Thameslink rail networks. Standard
The c2c rail operator is set to be sold by National Express to Italian firm Trenitalia for £70 million. Romford Recorder
Train driver accused of dragging passenger along platform with hand stuck in door Standard
The owner of Southern rail says it will take the union Aslef to the Supreme Court over its industrial action on the train network. BBC News
Fears that plans to build a rail depot on Crayford marshes will drive rare birds from London NewsShopper
Step-free access may not come to Mill Hill Broadway station until 2019, according to Hendon MP Matthew Offord. Local Times
A nine-year-old boy has penned a heartrending letter to Southern Rail bosses – complaining he is tired of his parents “coming home late every night because of the rail strikes”. AOL
Network Rail has been fined £800,000 over an incident in which a track worker was clipped by an 80mph train. Construction Index
A speed restriction in place on the railway between Shenfield and London during the summer has been lifted by Network Rail. The Enquirer
Miscellaneous
Lancashire MP Mark Menzies to fight ‘barmy’ rail fares to London BBC News
London Underground Commuter Slides Down Escalator With Painful Results HuffPo
Mitra Tabrizian’s photos for Art on the Underground explore London’s “invisible” individuals It’s Nice That
Jeremy Corbyn says he’d join Southern rail picket line as next wave of industrial action puts the brakes on services CityAM
Overgrounded: How London’s Dream of Rail Devolution Died London Reconnections
A woman who has worked in the rail industry for over 50 years has been awarded an MBE for services on the commuter route into Liverpool Street station Southend Standard
Ancient Clay Under London Bridge Station Turned into Art IanVisits
A train operator has admitted setting targets for ticket inspectors to issue revenue boosting fines. Echo News
And finally, On Monday, for a brief trial period, TfL introduced several exciting new Express Tube services Diamond Geezer
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The image above is from April 2012: 70th anniversary of an aircraft factory hidden in a tube tunnel
I wonder if the train that closed the doors on the woman’s have had driver operated doors?
Because it appears to validate the southern strikes entirely. One mistake leading to a court case and potential jail?
A guard could have made the same mistake — that there’s a prosecution shows there’s a feeling that the person who closed the doors was more than averagely negligent. Having a guard, or 10 guards, wouldn’t have changed the situation.