A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
Photos from the abandoned Highgate station
London Underground
Knorr-Bremse wins contract for “entrance systems” for new Piccadilly line trains, or as normal people call them… doors Knorr-Bremse
Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Shandong has dispatched the first of 71 wagons ordered by London Underground for use on track renewal and maintenance trains. Railway Gazette
Elizabeth line / Crossrail
A lack of urgency to get Crossrail completed on time and budget emerged in the month before the country went into lockdown, Crossrail board minutes reveal. NCE
Mainline / Overground
Nine-car Class 345s have returned to traffic, having been withdrawn from service over safety concerns Rail
Rail bosses seek new use for redundant London Bridge signal box SE1
Construction milestone reached at HS2’s ‘super-hub’ Old Oak Common GRR
MPs debate improving southern rail links to Heathrow Airport ianVisits
Claims that HS2 has not done enough to protect residents from noise and dust Camden New Journal
The Court of Appeal has come down on the side of a west London borough over its decision to refuse consent for works related to the HS2 project. Planning
Eurostar has announced both positive and negative changes to its loyalty programme, Club Eurostar as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Points Guy
DLR
Action needed to save DLR to Thamesmead, Greenwich councillor says 853
Miscellaneous
Staff are beginning to return to leading London business workplaces, but anxiety about using public transport and a shortage of summer childcare remain significant barriers OnLondon
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The image above is from August 2017: Photos from the abandoned Highgate station
I find it incredible that we have to import 71 maintenance wagons from China for use on the tube. Do we no longer have any companies able to produce rolling stock?
We have many fine passenger rolling stock manufacturers — but sometimes a specialised device is better made by a specialised manufacturer. In this case, there was a supplier who could build what was needed at a price that suited. They happened to be Chinese, could have been British, or German, or Brazilian, etc.
I note that people who complain about foreign suppliers rarely complain about British companies exporting to other countries — and trade is a two-way street.
For every Brit moaning about imports from China, how many Chinese are moaning about importing complex aircraft engines from the UK, or having to rely on UK semiconductor technology, or buying British satellite systems?
We export what we’re good at, and import what other people are good at.
This country has been turned from the workshop of the world to the warehouse of the world, being part of Europe for over 40 years has been a big part of this, bought up & closed down our manufacturing sites & moved them to there own countries,even the iconic tube trains are slowly being made abroad.
Total and utter nonsense – the UK is the world’s 10th largest exporting nation – exporting USD495 billion of goods in 2019, representing around 28% of our economy. Oh, and the latest tube trains, and the new Elizabeth line trains were all made in Derby, and the next generation of tube trains will be made in Goole, Yorkshire, which for the avoidance of doubt, is in the UK.
Maybe you should check your facts before you go near a keyboard?
You sound like a very narrow minded individual. The world is global and is better for it. Why not use skills from others who are better suited and more experienced?
There’s a big difference in made in Britain to assembled in Britain
Metro cammell bought by Alstom in 1989,closed 2005,the fate of Derby in the hands of the same company.
Has the turf been cut for new Goole factory?
The doors contract has gone to an Austrian company,will they make them in one of its UK plants?
I was a fifth & last generation engineer at the metro cammell washwood heath plant,which was flattened by Alstom
The abandoned Highgate station looks like an extreme version of the Leaves on the Line problem 🙂