The Null Device

Transport developments in London

alwaystouchout.com is a comprehensive and detailed database tracking transport works projects in London, and there certainly is a lot there; from details of well-known projects like the East London Line extension, Heathrow Terminal 5, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the vastly expanded King's Cross/St. Pancras station that its shinkansen-style trains will terminate at, to air-conditioning the Tube (which desperately needs it, though it cannot be done by conventional means due to the size (and often the depth) of the tunnels). Not to mention numerous tram systems; within a decade or so, there could be trams going through central London and up and down Camden High Street and Upper Street, Islington; who would have thought?

Another thing that's planned (and likely to take place) is a redevelopment of Camden Town station. Perhaps worryingly, Transport for London's official proposal involves demolishing the entire block with the station, including the nearby market and the Electric Ballroom, and building on the site a shiny glass building, which could well hasten the gentrification and sterilisation of the area. As such, a group has formed to fight this proposal, instead putting forward an alternative redevelopment idea that, it says, meets all standards, preserves the architecture of the area and, additionally, would be cheaper and faster to construct.

And while we're on transport in London, an amusing song about the London Underground (1.8Mb MP3; strong language warning).

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