A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
Photos from the roof of Victoria Station
London Underground
The Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said people can expect a “viable alternative” for the Metropolitan Line Extension to be proposed by late spring. Watford Observer
The special tiles at London Underground’s Bethnal Green station IanVisits
Elizabeth line / Crossrail
Former Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan will give his account of the events leading up to the announcement of project’s delay after Sadiq Khan accused him of “misremembering events”. CityAM
Mainline / Overground
A rail passenger had a shock when she tried to buy a ticket from London Bridge to Gatwick and was told it would cost £10,000. Yahoo News
Plans for a so-called ‘M25 for high-speed trains’ has been rejected by the government. KentOnline
London Overground operator appoints engineering director RailStaff
Train stations across the UK are set to be radically redesigned in a bid to cut the number of suicides, according to plans being drafted by Network Rail. Independent
New technology will cut the number of false “on time” train descriptions, the rail industry has claimed. Belfast Telegraph
Training the next generation: Govia Thameslink Railway RTM
Victoria station partnership offers template for UK rail network FT
Miscellaneous
A photograph of a London Underground tube map made in a WW2 prisoner of war camp has emerged. IanVisits
And finally, DG’s trips around London transport in 2018 Diamond Geezer
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Image above is from Sept 2014: Photos from the roof of Victoria Station
Its good that the Gatwick-Heathrow HS4Air rail link has been rejected. Whilst GWR will provide the Reading-Gatwick Airport via Redhill service and the proposed Heathrow Western rail link that will link from the Great Western Main Line at Iver towards Heathrow Terminal 5. With trains from Reading to operate a new direct service between Reading and Heathrow Terminal 5 once the new rail link has been completed. If the new rail link does get the approval to be built and hopefully to be completed in 2021 or 2022.
While the HS4 route would have linked HS1 to HS2 it was more of a case of going the long way around .
Far better to begin at Stratford International and then build a link to HS2 perhaps by a tunnelled route from Stratford International to Euston/ Kings Cross St Pancras International combined HS1/2 Station then linking into HS2 tunnels beyond Euston before Old Oak Common Station .
Wonder how many passengers actually transfer between Gatwick and Heathrow Airports?
It surely can’t be long before the promised service of ubiquitous affordable flying taxis evolves from the already extant flying parcel vehicles. In fact, in very much the same way that coal wagons and railways were wrangled into offering to carry passengers. Maybe before any HS rail link coupling Gatwick and Heathrow completes the planning, legal, financial and constructional marathon. Just have to deal with the fact that they’re basically drones though…
Train stations … UK … radically redesigned…
Surely the cost to cover this problem is way out of proportion ? Just how far are we going to go to protect the minority that are not in control of themselves ? Is this not a knee jerk response to something that can be mitigated by education etc. I see locked sheaths for all kitchen knives next.