A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
London Underground
TfL discarded toxic chemicals close to Chiswick Park station Chiswick W4
At a visit to a tube train factory, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has called for future tube trains to be driverless to beat the unions. ianVisits
A new tube map has just appeared at stations. What’s unusual is that it’s the May 2020 tube map, and we’re now in July. Diamond Geezer
Elizabeth line / Crossrail
Worries raised over cyber security risk at Crossrail Building
Crossrail plans to pause all train testing in the tunnels during August to allow the construction teams to catch up with the backlog caused by the Covid lockdown. ianVisits
Mainline / Overground
Volunteers revive community garden at Canonbury Overground station Islington Gazette
The entrance forecourt to Watford Junction station is being up enhanced thanks to a scheme by Watford Borough Council. Rail Advent
Eurostar Cancels Ski Train for Next Winter Planet Ski
Could a proposed direct rail link from the West of Britain to Heathrow help unlock Britain’s economic recovery? Business Matters
The on-off plans to reopen Camberwell station in South London are back on again after the government included the station in a list to be considered for reopening. ianVisits
Eurostar will launch direct Amsterdam-London service this year EuroNews
A team of trauma medics are now proving 24-hour cover at London Euston station. Rail Advent
Miscellaneous
Working from home ‘saves London commuters 24 days per year in travel time’ Net Imperative
Get rid of rush hour to make public transport safe again post-Covid, think tank says Telegraph
FirstGroup, the UK’s largest bus company and operator of rail franchises, has admitted it may not be able to continue trading because of the impact of the coronavirus on its business. The Guardian
Why is classical music played on the tube? Classic FM
It’s been confirmed that one of the Isle of Wight tube trains could make a return to London in the near future. ianVisits
Hear from Joshua Burrell (29), senior press officer, Transport for London PR Week (£)
Inside the messy mission to make train travel as easy as flying Wired
And finally: UK’s first statues of black Brits—sited at Brixton station—to be restored after 34 years The Art Newspaper
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The image above is from Jan 2018: Heathrow Junction – London’s short-lived railway station
I love the DiamondGeezer’s use of the word “blobbification” on the tube map 🤣🤣🤣
I just checked Twitter re step free access at Cockfosters Station and found the following reply to an enquiry –
Transport for London Person walkingPerson biking
@TfL
·
1h
Replying to
@CommitteeHart
and
@TfLAccess
Hi there, I’m sorry Cockfosters station is not step free – work is still ongoing. Do you have a link for the map? I’ll get it looked into. Many thanks, Dan
So it seems the Map wrongly shows Cockfosters as step free and wrongly shows Langley on Crossrail as not step free !