A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
London Underground
Light rail or tram system could replace Met Line extension in Watford Watford Observer
Drivers on London Underground’s Jubilee Line plan to hold two strikes in June in a row about new timetables. BBC News
TfL warns of Tube disruption lasting months with Northern and Victoria Lines expected to be extremely busy CityAM
Crossrail / Elizabeth line
The scale of investment in ground investigation data has been cited as one of the main factors in the successful use of geotechnical baseline reports (GBRs) on Crossrail. GEPlus
Key milestone in Crossrail timeline reached as TfL takes over Heathrow Connect services ahead of Elizabeth Line opening CityAM
Crossrail shifts seven million tonnes of earth to make London more connected Wallpaper
Decisions on funding and the timetable for the £31bn Crossrail 2 project must be made by the end of this year, the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission has said. Construction News
The first footage of the new Elizabeth line trains being tested in the Crossrail tunnels under London has been released, along with new photos of the construction progress. IanVisits
Mainline / Overground
An “iconic” footbridge is at risk of demolition as Network Rail reapplies to bulldoze the historic structure. NewsShopper
The Southbank Centre has come to Hackney Wick in the form of a stunning new London Overground station, with vast expanses of wood shuttering concrete offset with weathering steel. IanVisits
An Overground user group are angry at transport bosses for failing to tell commuters about a time change for a rush-hour “ghost train”. Islington Gazette
Plans to build a new Thameslink station in Brent Cross have taken a step forward after the compulsory purchase order was formally signed. IanVisits
A look at the railway timetable changes, and the problems they caused London Reconnections
Greater Anglia has announced that it is cutting the cost of rail travel between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street by up to 33%. Cambridge Network
DLR
Shortly before arriving in London, a Docklands Light Railway train paid a visit to Manchester and carried excited passengers on short test trips. IanVisits
Miscellaneous
A Tube Map That Never Happened, Based On Plans From The 1940s Londonist
The Flower Lady florists in Herne Hill to stay after Network Rail u-turn BrixtonBuzz
Two tube stations, a train station, and a bit of tram track have all been given funding for upgrade works to commence. IanVisits
The unnerving Trivago woman has vanished from posters The Drum
A two-bed award winning flat built into a railway arch is up for sale. House Beautiful
Bob’s Lobster, Comptoir Libanais and Greggs are among some of the food retailers set to be added to London Bridge station’s offerings in the coming months. CateringToday
And finally, EastEnders fans point out a flaw in the show’s Tube scenes DigitalSpy
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Image above is from June 2016: The curious tale of Hammersmith’s abandoned railway viaduct
So light rail or tram could replace the Metropolitan Line from Watford Junction to Croxley. Sounds like a good idea. But still I think that the Metropolitan Line extension will soon get the go ahead.
Plus the tram or light rail could also extend to St. Albans taking over the Abbey Line to St. Albans Abbey and to St. Albans City Centre and to terminate at St. Albans Thameslink station. With a underpass being built for trams or a overbridge for light rail to cross beneath or over the West Coast Main Line at Watford Junction station.