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Crossrail is a 118-kilometre (73-mile) railway line under development in England, running through London to the home counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Essex. The central core and a large section of the line, between Paddington in central London and Abbey Wood in the south-east, are due to open in December 2018, when it will be officially named the Elizabeth line, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
Part of the eastern section, between Liverpool Street and Shenfield in Essex, was transferred to a precursor service called TfL Rail in 2015; this section will be connected to the core through central London to Paddington from May 2019. The western section, from Paddington to Heathrow Airport and Reading in Berkshire, is due to open in December 2019, completing the new east–west route across London and providing a new high-frequency commuter and suburban passenger service.
The project was approved in 2007 and construction began in 2009 on the central section and connections to existing lines that will become part of the route. With a budget of £14.8 billion, it is Europe's largest infrastructure construction project. Its main feature is 21 km (13 mi) of new twin tunnels below central London running from Paddington to Stratford and Canary Wharf in the east. An almost entirely new line will branch from the main line at Whitechapel to Canary Wharf, crossing under the River Thames, with a new station at Woolwich and connecting with the North Kent Line at the Abbey Wood terminus.
Trains will run at frequencies in the central section of up to 24 trains per hour in each direction. It is expected to relieve pressure on existing east-west London Underground lines such as the Central and District lines, as well as the Jubilee line extension and the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line. The need for extra capacity along this corridor is such that the former head of TfL, Sir Peter Hendy, predicted that the Crossrail lines will be "immediately full" as soon as they open. Crossrail will be operated by MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Ltd as a London Rail concession of Transport for London, in a similar manner to London Overground. (Full article...)
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Sir Edgar Speyer, 1st Baronet (7 September 1862 – 16 February 1932) was an American-born financier and philanthropist. He became a British subject in 1892 and was chairman of Speyer Brothers, the British branch of his family's international finance house, and a partner in the German and American branches. He was chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL, forerunner of the London Underground) from 1906 to 1915, a period during which the company opened three underground railway lines, electrified a fourth and took over two more.
Speyer was a supporter of the musical arts and a friend of several leading composers, including Edward Elgar, Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy. He was chairman of the Classical Music Society for ten years, and he largely funded the Promenade Concerts between 1902 and 1914. His non-musical charitable activities included being honorary treasurer of the fund for Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition. For his philanthropy he was made a baronet in 1906 and a Privy Counsellor in 1909.
After the start of the World War I, he became the subject of anti-German attacks in the Press. In 1915, Speyer offered to resign from the Privy Council and to relinquish his baronetcy, but the Prime Minister turned down the offer. He resigned as chairman of the UERL and went to the United States. In 1921, the British government investigated accusations that Speyer had traded with the enemy during the war, and had participated in other wartime conduct incompatible with his status as a British subject. Speyer denied the charges, but his naturalisation was revoked and he was struck off the list of members of the Privy Council. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
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- ...that the original carriages on the City and South London Railway were nicknamed "padded cells" due to their high backed cushioned seats and very small windows?
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Image 1London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 3Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 5The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 6Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 7Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 8Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 955 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
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Image 10Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 12Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 15Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 16Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 17Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
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Image 18Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 19Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 20The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 21Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 22Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 23The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 24London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 25Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 26Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 27Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 28Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
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Image 29The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 31Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 33TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 34View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 37The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 38The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 40Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 41Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 42"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 45Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 46The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 47London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
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Image 48Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 49A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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