A weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…
London Underground
Brixton station Pride roundel goes missing one week after installation SW Londoner
Thousands sign petition calling on Sadiq Khan to reinstate Night Tube Standard
Westminster Tube station evacuated due to billowing smoke BBC News
Elizabeth line / Crossrail
With work on Crossrail’s Elizabeth line heading into its final stages, staff morale and wellbeing is being prioritised, according to TfL commissioner Andy Byford. NCE (£)
Mainline / Overground
Siemens Mobility joins a growing list of complainants against HS2 Railway Technology
Transport for London is ready to take on the local rail services run by the “frankly crap” Southeastern, Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe has said. 853
There has been a spate of serious incidents on the section of HS2 being delivered by a Skanska / Costain / Strabag joint venture in London, the Unite union has claimed Construction News (£)
The accounting watchdog is considering an inquiry into Southeastern railway’s auditors after the operator hid £25m it owed to the Exchequer. The Telegraph (£)
Analysis of Southeastern’s most recent accounts shows a pension scheme for its present, past and retired employees with liabilities of £1.56 billion. The scheme has assets of only £887 million leaving a deficit of £675 million. The Times (£)
This month, work will start at Surbiton station to add a new deck to the existing footbridge at the ‘London end’ of platforms 3 and 4, along with eight additional ticket gatelines, accessed by a new staircase. ianVisits
Miscellaneous
Prime minister Boris Johnson has criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan’s handling of TfL finances, snubbing Khan’s plan to impose a £5.50 levy for those driving into London. CityAM
Fascinating colourised pictures have emerged telling the story of the London Underground throughout the 20th century – from trilby hats and antique carriages to a belly dancer advertising Turkish Delight. Daily Mail
Why Sony PlayStation took over London Tube stations The Drum
Activists who staged an underground protest over HS2 works in London have had all charges against them dropped. BBC News
A petition has been set up calling on the Mayor of London and TfL to move Woolwich from Zone 4 to Zone 3 on the tube map travel zones. ianVisits
Transport for London makes case for more government help, saying end of bailouts ‘is in sight’ OnLondon
And finally: Council orders Wapping Overground station flowers removed because of no licence East End Inquirer
—
The image above is from October 2011: The Northern Line tunnel – bombed and flooded in 1940 – and still sealed shut
The comments stream on the Night tube article makes an observation that TfL has neither the available trained staff or funds to reopen night tube early. Previous staff excesses that covered night tube have filled gaps in daytime service and hence cannot cover nights as well.
I suspect similar concerns would prevent an expansion of night bus, unless existing resources were redeployed to create night express bus that more closely mirrors tube routes (I think night express bus us a better approach anyway as it can be more comprehensive with better resource management to ridership).
“Prime minister Boris Johnson has criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan’s handling of TfL finances, snubbing Khan’s plan to impose a £5.50 levy for those driving into London.”
From reading the article.
First. Why does one still think he is seething still from his buddy Goldsmith losing to Khan initially?
And Second, as I see it. There has to be some kind of impetus to make motorists and the like to use public transport. So you have to come up with some form of stick. If as is the zeitgest (sp?) of the moment, which is to make people use public transport more. There can be no more of a bigger turn off than fare increases. So I have to commend Khan for keeping the fares down. Also the more that people use the system, the more “fares” you have.
But the main problem I have from looking at this from afar being based in Lancashire is that the current Tory govt. and prime minister (note how I address him, without capitals, shows how much esteem I hold him) seem to think he is still running London but hasn’t got over it. So any move to from any party (especially Labour) would be met with hostile force from the pm.
He’s obsessed with trying to blame Khan for a TFL deficit that he ran up but Khan cleared down by something like 75%.
He had 8 years to work on the driverless tube yet apparently actually did nothing about it. But of course it’s all Khan’s fault. IMHO it’s never going to happen because it would cost who knows how many billions to install (for not much benefit) over a very long period of time involving numerous and frequent line closures.
It seems that TFL and the DoT do have a generally good working relationship though with whoever is Secretary of State having a pop every now and again at Khan and vice versa to keep the PM happy