This is a weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news…

London Underground

TfL decommissions Oxford Circus air conditioning despite sweltering heat City AM

TfL is warning of a series of closures on the Piccadilly line over the next few months as it upgrades the line for new trains. ianVisits

London Underground workers must organise to resume RMT-cancelled strike World Socialist

Elizabeth line

Opinion: Excel CEO Jeremy Rees on the Elizabeth Line’s impact on the UK events industry Conference News

Mainline / Overground

A new train service linking Stirling with London was piped off amid a fanfare in the shadow of the Wallace Monument. The Herald

Discarded bottle believed to have sparked major Hackney blaze that halted Overground Hackney Citizen

London Waterloo train delays [on Tuesday] after ‘smoke on tracks’ as warning issued to passengers Mirror

The WiFi on hundreds of Britain’s main line trains is set to be upgraded under government plans. BBC News

Passengers left stunned after car smashes through wall at Streatham station Standard

Thameslink trials digital signalling that could boost rail capacity ianVisits

Two railways, two systems: HS2 and the case for socialism Morning Star

HS2 bosses enjoy £500 taxpayer-funded dinners as high-speed rail project’s costs spiral Independent

HS2 station works saved from year-long delay after ministers back compulsory purchase ianVisits

Sacked from DFTO for raising concerns about High Speed 2 train lengths, Chris Gibb answers Tony Miles’ questions about what has happened  Modern Railways (£)

HS2: white elephant or vital addition to Britain’s rail network? The Guardian

Miscellaneous

Helical waiting on Gateway 2 sign-off before starting student resi block above Southwark tube station Building

Predator who sexually assaulted sleeping women on night Tubes is jailed ITV News

Shoreditch’s famous disused tube trains, which have spent decades serving as private workspaces, are going to be opened to the public as a rooftop bar. ianVisits

Tottenham Court Road is the busiest London Underground station, new figures from Transport for London (TfL) show. BBC News

I went to London’s last remaining Tube station pub — it was almost perfect Metro

NPPF: Why building homes near rail stations isn’t always a quick win The Developer

And finally: On the eighth floor of TfL’s offices in Stratford is a metal-doored cupboard, of the kind you’d expect to be stuffed with old ring binders. But this one is full of moquette. Londonist

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The image is from a May 2024 article: There’s a model railway at Hounslow West tube station