Transport & Environment Correspondent BBC London. DMs Open or tom.edwards@bbc.co.uk piped.video/@tomsedwards
London
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Latest @youtube vid on what London needs to do to live with more heatwaves. piped.video/FDrO2jWm6iA
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EXC: Tube drivers getting increasingly concerned at number of travellers. This footage sent to me was Canning Town first thing.
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Inside the new Piccadilly line trains. Air conditioning under the seats .. and some carriages don’t have wheels .. they are suspended .. 😵💫
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West London commuters still not happy about overcrowding on the new Elizabeth line. They say the service is often like this due to delays etc & trains full of Heathrow passengers ..
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BREAKING OFFICIAL: Tfl says Uber has NOT been granted a PHV licence as “not fit & proper”. 21 days to appeal & then goes to magistrate. Concerns over the identification of drivers - Tfl found 14k trips had been made by different drivers to one shown on the app.
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Plane struggling in the wind to land at Heathrow - courtesy of Jerry @BigJetTVLIVE
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Demo against removal of cycle lane on High St Ken. It cost 300k & isn’t finished & is a central govt policy. Downing St not happy. But council removing it after 300 complaints from residents & business.
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NEW: Oxford Street to be pedestrianised by end of next year. Oxford Circus to Orchard St could look like this :
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We need context on escooters - 24,000 a year killed or seriously injured on the roads as it is in the UK & it is (wrongly) accepted by society. 5 die every day. If we are discussing escooter safety why aren’t we discussing & doing more about road safety? We seem blind to it.
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NEW: Test passenger trains have travelled along new Northern Line Extension tunnels for the first time between Kennington and Battersea Power Station.
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This is how Tfl is trying to entice back bus passengers - phone chargers, skylights, wooden floors and a spacious feel on the ADL E400 - and its electric ..
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Refurbished Central line train - first one of 85. Biggest refurb in tube history. Existing 92 stock unreliable. Tfl says refurb is needed as govt funding not yet forthcoming for new infra ie Piccadilly line signalling
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Elizabeth line 6 months on - about 600k journeys a day - nearly 70m journeys in total. Businesses in West End say it’s making a big difference. Tottenham Court Road has seen a 80% increase of people using it.
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NEW: Mayor launching orbital Superloop bus service in outer London connecting town centres, railway stations, hospitals & transport hubs. Limited stop express service. 4mill km new mileage meant to counter lack of public transport ahead of uLEZ expansion.
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Very interesting what the results in Westminster & Wandsworth will mean in terms of transport. Previously the councils have not aligned with Mayoral policies on LTNs & cycle lanes & pedestrianisation of Oxford St. for example. Will that change now ?
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NEW: Crossrail is being run as an operational line at the moment under London. They have to work through 150 safety scenarios to then set an opening date. Transport bosses adamant by June if not earlier. More on my blog:
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lo…
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NEW: Ultra-low emission zone will be expanded to cover the whole of London next August. Drivers of older, more polluting vehicles will have to pay £12.50 a day to drive in the capital. Broadly petrol vehicles from before 2006 & diesels before 2016 1/3
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BREAKING: Daily travelcards have been saved after agreement between City Hall & Rail Delivery Group. Source close to the Mayor: “There’s been a lot of back and forth between TfL, Rail Delivery Group and Government in recent weeks and a good compromise has been found.” >
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NEW: Next stage of Elizabeth line to open Nov 6 & Bond St station. More services, fewer changes ie Reading - Abbey Wood & Shenfield - Paddington with no change. Becomes 2 railways not 3.
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First look inside the new Piccadilly line trains - air con .. walk through and some carriages have no wheels ..
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London LTNs: Motor traffic reduced by 47%, study finds bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lo…
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New blog : Reflections on being driven at while cycling & a terrifying near-miss & how the challenge is changing attitudes not just infrastructure. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lo…
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Big move from @IslingtonBC as it votes for more “liveable neighbourhoods” (formerly Low Traffic Neighbourhoods) & more school streets to tackle the climate emergency. Eventually will cover 70% of Borough. Some councils really pushing this policy others not.
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New stats show Liverpool Street has overtaken Waterloo as the UK's busiest station due to the Elizabeth line. Here is your hit parade compared to where they were last year - Liz line has really shaken it up - look at Farringdon! Top 10 is all London:
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Don’t forget Oxford Street pedestrianisation was a flagship policy in Sadiq Khan’s 2016 manifesto. He clearly hadn’t forgotten about the snub in 2018 when it was binned by the council which is revealing. Privately council not happy & feel blindsided. 1/2
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In Dulwich Village where road closures & the Low Traffic Neighbourhood was a big issue in the election - Labour (pro-LTN) held ahead of Conservatives & Lib Dems (anti-LTN).
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City of London has voted to make the Square Mile the first area in the UK with a 15mph speed limit, subject to government approval.
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UPDATE - Former Deputy Mayor for Transport in London appointed Transport Secretary. Well-regarded in the transport world. Achievements included the struggle to open the Elizabeth line & keeping transport running during Covid - including many Govt negotiations for extra £.
Heidi Alexander MP @Heidi_Labour has been appointed Secretary of State for Transport @TransportGovUK.
ALT Heidi Alexander MP appointed Secretary of State for Transport.
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Pollution in London - today vs 2016 average. Sensors were registering such low levels they told @KingsCollegeLon scientists they were faulty. Could what’s happening inform future transport / work policy? More @BBCLondonNews 1830 BBC1
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NEW: Photo shows how close the 2 trains on the Met line were to a collision. @chilternrailway train went the wrong way up the line damaging points and track. @raibgovuk investigating.
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Euston has been most affected by HS2. 215 homes demolished. 153 homes deemed uninhabitable. 70 business displaced. Bree Louise pub knocked down. St James Gardens – burial ground and open space destroyed. Now uncertainty that HS2 may never reach here. More reaction 1830 BBC1
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Spoke to lots of commuters yesterday - couldn’t find one that thought removing mandatory masks on public transport was a good idea. Most said masks give them confidence. Many were angry at the changes. Shouldn’t that passenger view be made to Govt by the rail industry??
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A global city London will be without its mass transit system - the tube - for a whole week. Frankly a failure by all parties and a failure of industrial relations at all levels. Commuters stuck in the middle.
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A hug between @MayorofLondon and the Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh. A sign of better relations between Tfl & Dft ??
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Happy 40th birthday to London’s guardians. Absolutely fascinating history and technical operation of the Thames Barrier. More on BBC1 @BBCLondonNews 1330 1830 - titbit - the iconic silver domes have never been cleaned and were actually a bit of an after thought!
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Derailed train at Walton-on-Thames being towed away tonight. Repairs on track,cabling & 60m of 3rd rail begins…
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BREAKING : Crossrail to open to passengers on Tuesday 24th May. 0630am - 11pm Monday - Saturday. No Sundays initially. Trains every 5 minutes. More on bbc.co.uk/london @BBCLondonNews @BBCRadioLondon
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Piccadilly line commuters suffering from long gaps - this is why - a “wheel flat” caused by lack of grip on the Piccadilly line from heavy leaf fall. Every Picc train has had them and all need to be lathed out. Currently 60 trains - need 75. Should be ok by end of Jan.
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Quite the day. Tfl says 250k passengers used the Elizabeth line today by 1700 and around 140k was Padd-Abbey Wood section. Very smooth launch - nightmares of Thameslink & T5 avoided. Lots of excitement & enthusiasm & I don’t think we will know for some time how it redraws London.
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Of course I can understand many of the comments that this is normal for commuting. The gripes (not mine incidentally) though are the delays & cancellations & don’t forget the Elizabeth line is meant to be future-proof & in part was meant to ease overcrowding.
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FAME AT LAST - young guy came up to me yesterday and said - "I recognise you from one of Geoff's videos"
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My take for what it’s worth on the new Overground names: there are sound operational reasons to split it into its historical 6 lines - it’s confusing when Tfl says “delays on the Overground” or engineering works .. it’s difficult to know where they mean. This will stop that.
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Politics of the ultra-low emission expansion interesting. 85% of vehicles compliant & in Central London 50% of households don't own a car. Doesn't impact many. Of 200k non-compliant vehicles many non-Mayoral voting. So Mayor is weighing up better air for many vs cost for a few.
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And to be clear I am not criticising anyone going to work. I am reporting tube drivers and their union have concerns about overcrowding. It happened at these stations back in March and also earlier this week. My DMs are open & confidential but if it’s abusive I block. 🙏
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Cleaner river campaigners @RiverChess want an investigation into how this foam got into a rare chalk stream in Buckinghamshire. The River Chess has been covered in foam since the weekend (pix from Sunday) - it’s believed it may have been chemicals dumped into the sewage system.
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Jim Davidson stuck at the front of the protest - he wasn’t happy .. more 1830 BBC1 @BBCLondonNews
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NEW: Temporary bike lane plans for London. So far Euston Rd & Park Lane named - could become permanent :
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Any parents out there switching to cycling / walking for the school run ? Could we tag along ? DMs are open ! 🙏🚲🛴🤸🏽♂️🏄♂️
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Stonebridge Depot - these tube trains are 49 years old - amongst the oldest in the UK. Unless Govt gives capital funding - Tfl says reliability is going to get much worse known as “managed decline” scenario.
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Roads are ok - pavements more like an ice rink … it’s odd when so@much emphasis policy wise is put onto walking …
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Garden Bridge was never really a transport project it was a tourist attraction & crucially in 2012 no-one asked locals if they wanted it.
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NEW: Islington council says it is developing plans to close Old Street and Clerkenwell Road to through traffic as part of "healthy streets".
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Jim Davidson was stuck at the front - got out of his car shouted at the Police “Why aren’t you moving them?” - when a protestor tried to talk to him he said he didn’t talk to lefties. One gag: “Climate change ? Don’t they like being warmer!!” .
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60% of journeys in London by vehicles pre-lockdown were under 2.5miles. Campaigners want more protection for cyclists ie bike lanes & that will inevitably attract opposition. Delivery is about political will. Could motor vehicle dominated cities be in decline?
Incredible number of people cycling in Central London today. The Superhighway #CS3 is almost overwhelmed by the number heading west through Westminster. #Cycling #London #Westminster #Cycleway
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Badger setts on HS2 route in Buckinghamshire. HS2 says it has licences - campaigners say it’s immoral. More @BBCLondonNews BBC1 1830
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NEW: Nine Elms Tube Station is open. 2 new stations on the Northern extension. £1bn - eventually paid for by developers. Services every 10ish minutes at the moment.
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WORLD EXCLUSIVE: First run on the cycle bus. One every 12 minutes through Silvertown tunnel. Room for 8 bikes. Turn up and go and free. Will it work??
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NEW: Dft announce another 45 rail stations to get contactless tap in tap out ticketing in the South East - on top of the 47 already announced. Experts say contactless ticketing pays for itself in months as more people travel. List below ... includes Southend & Stansted airports .
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NEW: Very busy on the early tube - this was Jubilee line first thing. Then commuters tell me it eased but noticeably busier than last week with more construction / office workers. Complaints many not wearing masks. (DMs open & confidential)
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Mayor of London has apologised to passengers injured at Ealing Broadway. 3 seriously injured using Elizabeth line trains. Says shouldn’t have happened & operators now working to raise platform. 1/2
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Best of luck to @SuptAndyCox who is moving on to @LincsPolice . He made a big difference to road safety in London & was particularly good at using social media to engage with road users.
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Colleague at work just got her handlebars nicked. Supposedly a growing problem in London due to lack of components - known as being “cockpitted”. So annoying.
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NEW: Met confirm a ULEZ camera was blown up in Sidcup last night and are appealing for anyone with information to contact them. The camera exploded in Willersley Avenue at 1847, it’s believed using an explosive device. No one was injured or arrested and enquiries are ongoing.
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NEW: When asked about HS2 going to Euston, Chancellor told the BBC:
"Yes we are and I don't see any conceivable circumstance in which that would not end up at Euston" < storm in the proverbial
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Worth remembering the #uLEZ scrappage doesn’t have to be spent on a new vehicle. The aim is to get the older more polluting vehicles off the road - you can spend it on a car club, ebike, a new kitchen …. (I’m told you won’t get much of a kitchen for £2k)
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Back to school Tfl research : If every child walked or cycled to school, it would take 254,000 cars off London’s roads every day. (Just to add to the guilt after forgetting his/her sports bag ..again.)
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London is an international city and at Hammersmith we have a crucial transport link closed AND the prospects of it re-opening look remote. Repair bill is £140m & no-one will or can pay for it. Even then it’d take 2 years. The systems that sustain that infrastructure are broken.
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At Tfl Board on Kensington High St - Tfl disappointed. Looked at data and don’t understand the rationale of scrapping it.
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Just for context 2k cyclists & pedestrians are killed & seriously injured on London’s roads every year & society generally seems to accept it. We shouldn’t. This should help.
ICYMI Video: Important development for road safety - first steps towards making HGVs safer after years of deaths and injuries. piped.video/VHTEj5_TSWU via @YouTube feat @FMConwayltd @RoadPeace @VictoriaLebrec
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From RMT
🚨Tube strike averted after progress made in dispute 🚇
RMT have suspended their planned tube strike this week following talks with TfL.
Planned action from Monday to Thursday will no longer go ahead after RMT made progress in discussions with TfL today.
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NEW: Tfl secure 6 month funding deal with Government. No congestion charge extension or cut to Freedom pass.
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MOQUETTE ALERT: End of the ghost marks. New seat protectors at 4 Central London stations. The colours reflect the interchanges at the station. Walls are made of glass fibre reinforced concrete - good for sound proofing & light but does pick up dirt and this is TfL’s solution.
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Tube pigeons - surely they’re lost when they get off? Or do they go back? Need to track them ..
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Tfl says it has introduced an amended timetable for the next few weeks on the Central line due to a shortage of trains. Motors on the trains are failing. Replacement have been purchased and are being placed but the underlying problem is the trains are over 30 years old.
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NEW: Tube & bus services face axe over Tfl £1.3bn funding gap. @MayorofLondon says Tfl will have to cut 18% bus services & 9% tube & introduce a strategy of “managed decline” if don’t get cash help from Govt. Deadline is Dec 11th. Also lack of capital investment serious concern.
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New cycling and walking corridor on Bishopsgate .. some drivers confused .. but this is how cities are trying to encourage cycling and walking ... not everyone likes it ..
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NEW: Tests from @imperialcollege shows NO COVID-19 on surfaces & in the air on tube & buses. That’s the second time they have come back negative. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lo…
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