London Reconnections is a blog on London transport, covering Crossrail, rail operations, and the policy behind them, written in depth by volunteers.
Commenters cite it as a detailed source, calling its Kings Cross Christmas 2015 piece a must-read on project management and contingency planning.
There was much early enthusiasm for pneumatic propulsion, and some lines were built. London had a working system, the London Pneumatic Dispatch Railway, 1865.[1] It could carry passengers, but was really for mailbags. Unfortunately, the elevator hadn't been invented yet, and getting the mailbags up from track level to post office level quickly was a bottleneck. Also, the system leaked air at many points. (Good rubber gaskets are quite modern - oil resistant rubber (Neoprene) dates from WWII. Early systems used oiled leather. There were many early pneumatic and steam powered ideas that didn't work because gaskets and piston rings weren't good enough yet.)
[1] http://www.londonreconnections.com/2015/londons-lost-pneumatic-railway-the-worlds-2nd-oldest-underground/
That’s interesting, I wonder how that interacts with the Greater London Authority Act, the legislation that give TfL its authority, and determines it obligations.
Unfortunately I can’t find exact line in that act that outlines TfL obligations, but this article[1] quotes TfL’s CFO making this statement with regards to TfL obligations and it funding:
> I think it will shock everybody, if you are to read the GLA Act, just what our minimum statutory obligations are as a transport authority. It does not include running a Tube service. It includes running a minimal bus service for children living more than two miles away from their school.
[1] https://www.londonreconnections.com/2020/tfl-the-impossible-finances-of-fighting-a-pandemic/
> Considering that you can easily report the behaviour of a Uber driver I can believe it.
Reporting an Uber driver doesn't necessarily mean any action is taken.
https://www.londonreconnections.com/2017/understanding-uber-not-app/ has a story about a driver committing a sexual assault, being reported to Uber who didn't report it to the police -or- fire him, and he went on to commit another which Uber -also- didn't report to the police.
> In total, Uber had failed to report six sexual assaults, two public order offences and one assault to the police. This had lead to delays of up to 7 months before they were investigated.
This is why MetPol are arguing strongly against licensing Uber.
> In 2018 it reported a loss of £1.7m, citing a difficult UK bus market and near non-existent overseas sales aggravated by Brexit.
https://www.londonreconnections.com/2019/the-rise-and-fall-of-a-vision-wrightbus-enters-administration/
> It [Church set up by Jeff Wright] received more than £15m from the firm in recent years, most of which was donated while the group was profitable.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49869944
I'm sure someone smarter than me can explain how Brexit was the cause of Wright's downfall, especially given Brexit hasn't happened.
By most accounts the Elizabeth line in its operational phase has been a great success.
According to the ORR's (Office of Road and Rail) first annual report after opening the central section of the Elizabeth line, passenger numbers have exceeded their "post-pandemic optimistic scenario" and the line is on course to be revenue-positive within a few years.
More details in this London Reconnections post here: https://www.londonreconnections.com/2023/the-state-of-rail-breaking-down-the-numbers/
This misses the main benefit of HS2 which is making the network as a whole more efficient by eliminating bottlenecks. When people say ‘we should improve regional rail services’, they ignore that HS2 is what that looks like. And, frankly, if HS2 doesn’t reach Euston, it’s nearly cancelled for many Londoners due to the inconvenience.
https://www.londonreconnections.com/2023/hs2-a-high-speed-beeching/