London Underground trains have a speed limit when entering certain stations, with drivers only allowed to accelerate to a maximum 10mph. This is as a result of a tragic accident 49 years ago.
A crash in 1975 led to the deaths of 43 people, with 74 people injured. It was the worst collision in peacetime on the Tube.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) describes how the incident happened when a southbound Northern City Line - which used to be a London Underground line before being taken on by British Rail in 1976 - train from Drayton Park failed to stop at the platform. It was then driven into the concrete wall at the end of the tunnel at Moorgate station.
The front three carriages had been crushed together and the station was in total darkness when rescuers arrived (Image: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The National Archives says the train was carrying 300 passengers and hit the sand-drag, which is designed to slow trains that had failed to stop, hitting the buffer-stop and crashing into the concrete wall at the end of the tunnel. The recommended speed on approaching the station was 15mph, but on this occasion the train was reportedly travelling at more than 35mph and appeared to be accelerating.
The front three carriages had been crushed together and the station was in total darkness when rescuers arrived. A six-day operation then began.
This involved 1,324 firefighters, 240 police officers, 80 ambulance workers, 16 doctors and many volunteers, the LFB says. The last body to be brought out of the tunnel was that of the driver, Leslie Newson, a 56-year-old husband and father of two children.
Precise circumstances surrounding crash 'a mystery'
The precise circumstances surrounding the cause of the incident has never been identified. The NA calls is a 'mystery'.
Information on its website reads: "To this day no-one has been able to explain why it happened. The Official Department of the Environment Report on the accident (RAIL 1053/161/5) reveals that the train was old, dating from 1938, but it and the braking system were all in good working order.
"The report includes statements from work colleagues who say that the driver, Leslie Newson, was known to be naturally cautious in his driving habits. A quiet man with few friends, he always wore his uniform in full and rarely drank alcohol. His usual practice when approaching stations was to slow down early and let the train coast into position at the platform.
43 people died and 74 were injured (Image: WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
"A post mortem showed that he had not had a heart attack, nor had he suffered an epileptic fit. The previous day he had asked his wife to withdraw some money with which he planned to buy his daughter a car – not the actions of someone intent on suicide, although the press made the point that he had not even raised his hands to protect his face when the crash occurred."
Following the disaster, London Transport introduced a rule that implemented a 10mph speed limit on all trains entering ‘dead end’ stations.
Our London Underground newsletter brings you the latest travel updates to help you survive your commute - as well as a weekly dose of Tube trivia! You can sign up HERE.
A crash on a major south London road has ground traffic to a halt with six buses on diversion. Morden Hall Road is closed in both directions between London Road and Aberconway Road.
It's led to congestion to the St Helier Avenue roundabout, and back around Aberconway Road and London Road by Morden Station. As a result, only head through if absolutely necessary, and leave with plenty of time.
It has left the following London buses on diversion : 80, 118, 157, 164, 201, and 470. The severity of the accident is unknown, but The Met Police and LAS have been contacted for comment.
This is a breaking news story, follow our live blog below for the latest updates.
Are you nearby with photos or information? Please either email me at rafi.benady@Reachplc.com, or tweet me at @RafiMauro1
People online wanting more official updates on Kate Middleton's health have come up with a few bizarre theories as to where she could be. She hasn't been seen publicly since Christmas when she went to the church service in Sandringham with Prince William, and their three children.
Kate, 41, had to undergo abdominal surgery shortly after, announced Kensington Palace. A spokesperson said this would keep her out of action until at least Easter. Fans of the Royal Family have been left worried due to the lack of official updates.
In January, a spokesperson said: "Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to The London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery. The surgery was successful and it is expected she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery. Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.
"The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish her personal medical information remains private."
She hasn't been seen publicly since Christmas when she went to the church service in Sandringham with Prince William, and their three children
People are coming up with their own ideas about "where Kate is" on social media, The Mirror repored, and they really want to know the truth.
One particularly bizarre theory suggested the Princess is actually in Miami where she is recuperating from a Brazilian butt lift. One person has researched how long it takes to recover from the procedure and found it is around two to three months - the same amount of time as the Princess is expected to be away from the public eye.
Others on social media are joking that she has found work at the Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, which has drawn scorn from unimpressed parents and their children. Another theory suggested Kate is Banksy, while yet another said she had donated a kidney to the King.
One person compared her to Manchester United forward Jadon Sancho, on loan in Germany, joking: "My theory on why Kate Middleton hasn't been seen for so long is she's being forced to train separately after refusing to apologise to Erik ten Hag for claiming that the manager was untruthful regarding her exclusion from the squad earlier in the season."
Another joked: "The Kate Middleton reveal on Masked Singer is going to make all of us look silly." Another pointed out: "Not a single Banksy since Kate Middleton disappeared. Coincidence?"
Kate Middleton, who usually seems to be in good health, was previously hospitalised during her pregnancy due to severe morning sickness known as hyperemesis gravidarum. Like the rest of the Royal Family, she has had a busy and eventful past couple of years, with the Platinum Jubilee, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and the coronation in 2023. She's also been adjusting to her new role as the Princess of Wales.
Kensington Palace has been asked for an update on the health of the Princess of Wales.
Transport for London (TfL) has told customers which London Overground stations are due to close as workers take strike action next week. RMT union members are due to walk out on March 4 and 5 which would impact services and some stations.
Customers have been urged to check before they travel. All Overground routes will run, officials say, but some will have 'reduced operating hours'.
TfL said yesterday (Tuesday, February 27) that talks to avert strike action are continuing between and RMT and Arriva Rail London.
Affected services
No service is expected before 8am or after 6pm on the following routes, with those that do operate expected to be busier than normal:
Gospel Oak - Barking Riverside (which will become the Suffragette line)
Stratford – Richmond/Clapham Junction (which will become the Mildmay line)
Highbury and Islington – Clapham Junction/West Croydon/Crystal Palace/New Cross (which will become the Windrush line)
Customers travelling on these lines are advised by TfL to consider alternative routes, allow extra time for their journey and to check before they travel.
Passengers have been told to plan ahead of their journeys (Image: Adam Toms/MyLondon)
If travelling on these days, customers have been advised that the following stations will be closed and London Overground services will not stop there.
Haggerston
Hoxton
Rotherhithe
Shadwell
Shoreditch High Street
Wapping
Additional stations may be closed at short notice and some stations will be open but may be unstaffed.
Trish Ashton, TfL’s Director of Rail and Sponsored services, said: “We urge the RMT and Arriva Rail London to continue to work together to find a resolution and call this strike off. Customers planning to use London Overground services are urged to check before they travel, allow extra time for their journeys, and check the TfL website or the TfL Go app for the latest travel information.”
Get the latest London travel news straight to your WhatsApp
You can sign up to get the latest London travel news, live updates and fun trivia sent straight to your WhatsApp from the MyLondon team.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the MyLondon team.
We also treat our subscribers to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To unsubscribe, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
For the latest travel information, TfL says customers should check the TfL website or the TfL Go app.
This is the second of two 48-hour strikes announced by the RMT union over pay. The first on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 February was suspended for further talks between the union and Arriva Rail London but, bosses say, to date no resolution has yet been found.
Network Rail has announced an 'accelerated performance improvement plan' to address issues affecting the Elizabeth Line west of Paddington. Work to 'stabilise' the issues that have led to cancellations and delays - including passengers being left stuck in trains 'for hours' in December - will take place over the next six months, officials say.
The following 12 months will see 'longer term improvements' to the network to tackle the 'key causes of disruption', which will be followed by work towards 'sustaining and renewing the network '. Network Rail is allocating nearly £140 million of dedicated funds.
These will be from existing budgets with the majority (£104m) being set aside from Network Rail’s CP7 budgets from 2024 to 2029. No additional taxpayer funding has been requested.
Sadiq Khan says the Elizabeth line 'has been transformational' (Image: Adam Toms/MyLondon)
It comes after the Mayor of London and Chair of Transport for London (TfL), Sadiq Khan, met with Network Rail, MTR and TfL yesterday (Monday, February 26) to 'discuss these recent issues on the network and the accelerated improvement plan in place to address them'.
Mr Khan said: Sadiq Khan said “The Elizabeth line has been transformational, seeing well over 4.5 million journeys every week, but it’s clear that the recent performance on the Elizabeth line has been below the high standards set when the railway was opened. I have been absolutely clear with Network Rail, MTR and TfL that the issues we have seen over the last six months are not acceptable.
"I am pleased that they have brought forward a comprehensive plan to resolve the problems on the line, and I will continue to hold them to account.”
TfL 'always warned' there was 'likely to be a slight reduction in performance' west of Paddington
This comes after MyLondon reported yesterday that the capital's flagship £19 billion railway may be in for infrastructure upgrades after more cash was made available. Appearing at the London Assembly's transport committee last week, TfL's commissioner, Andy Lord, said that TfL had always warned that there is 'likely to be a slight reduction in performance' when services started running west of Paddington because the infrastructure had not had 'any significant investment since the Heathrow Express was put into service'.
The overhead wire design, for example, is older compared to modern standards. Mr Lord added: "I'm pleased to say, as part of Network Rail's latest five year - I think it's five year, might be seven year - capital funding agreement with DfT and Treasury, they have funding now to invest in the Great Western line west of Paddington.
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Click to playTap to play
The video will auto-play soon8Cancel
"[...] We are just waiting to get the detail from Andrew [Haines] and his team as to what that means in terms of infrastructure works, upgrades and that side of it."
In the meantime, the commissioner said, Network Rail has put 'short term measures' in place such as maintenance and 'improving their operational response'. Mr Lord, however, also noted that between February 12 and 18, the Elizabeth line recorded a 98 per cent on time performance.
Train software upgrade
Further, train software has been updated, which has fixed the 'top five' IT issues on line's stock. This will have a 'significant benefit' to journey times. Before today's announcement, MyLondon was made aware that Network Rail had not been given additional funding for improving performance.
Although, it was expected repurpose existing funds from within the business on improving train service in the Thames Valley.
Get the latest London travel news straight to your WhatsApp
You can sign up to get the latest London travel news, live updates and fun trivia sent straight to your WhatsApp from the MyLondon team.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the MyLondon team.
We also treat our subscribers to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To unsubscribe, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: “Train performance in the Thames Valley hasn’t been good enough, and we’re sorry to our passengers who haven’t been getting the reliable service they deserve.
"We’re taking an in-depth look at the key causes of delays and are developing actions, alongside independent industry experts, to address the decline in performance as a priority.”
Flix have announced new electric long-distance coaches running to and from London. The coaches will be available for journeys from March and cost as little as £2.99.
From March 21 until June 2024, travellers will be able to try out the electric vehicle on a FlixBus route between London, Bristol and Newport (South Wales). It will be the first 100 per cent electric long-distance coach service in England and Wales.
Tickets start from just £2.99, and there will be a toilet, USB charging points and free wi-fi for all customers as standard on FlixBus services. They will also be PSVAR compliant, supporting travel for passengers in wheelchairs. Buses from London to Bristol for less than £3 take just under three hours, according to the FlixBus site, although it does not specify that these vehicles are electric.
Flixbus introduce the first electric coach service between London, Newport and Bristol (Image: Dare & Hier Media Ltd)
The coaches will take three and a half to Newport and cost just £3.99. As well as the initial cost there are added fees.
To reserve a seat it costs as little as 99p or £1.50 to ensure you are sat next to somebody you are travelling with. There is also additional luggage charge of £4.99.
Andreas Schorling, Managing Director of FlixBus UK said: “This is a huge step forward for the UK coach sector, transforming the already low-carbon mode of transport to zero-emission at the tailpipe through innovative technology. As the first electric long-distance coach service in England and Wales, we’re sending a powerful message about our continued commitment to bring even more sustainable travel options for the public, and our determination to drive forward the change needed to reduce the impact on the climate.”
The vehicle will save 352kg of carbon emissions per day driven on this route compared to the average diesel-fuelled coach, as well as improve air quality. This equals a reduction of more than 21 tonnes of CO2 over the course of the pilot.
If the pilot were to run daily for a full year, this would equate to over 126 tonnes of CO2 saved. The electric vehicle will be charged at a Transport UK London Bus (formerly known as Abellio) depot in Battersea, London and Newport Transport’s headquarters in South Wales.
FlixBus now has over 60 destinations on its UK network, alongside daily services to continental Europe. You can book your trips with FlixBus here.
London's first-ever McDonald's, where burgers cost just almost nothing and smokers lit up indoors, is a far cry from the fast food chain we know today. Many of us have fond memories of getting Happy Meal toys as kids and enjoying a Big Mac and milkshake. Since the 1970s, branches of this popular fast-food chain have been popping up all over London and the rest of the UK. The menu has changed a lot over the years, now offering everything from classic burgers to plant-based options.
But do you know when and where Londoners first fell in love with Ronald McDonald? The first McDonald's restaurant in the UK opened its doors in Woolwich, South East London, in October 1974.
On its opening day, crowds gathered outside the shiny new fast food outlet. Inside, they found wooden seats, an ashtray on every table, and some of the cheapest meals out Brits had ever seen.
The decor inside was a rather grim brown and cream colour, with some seriously large photo portraits on the walls. But the tasty hamburger, described as "made with 100% pure beef, topped with pickles, mustard and ketchup, served in a freshly toasted bun", cost just 15p.
The menu was rather different, but also has a lot of firm favourites (Image: No credit)
A cheeseburger with added "mellow cheese" was 21p, while for those with a "big appetite", a Quarter Pounder with Cheese or a Big Mac was 45p. Ian, who worked at the first store in Woolwich, shared his experiences with MyLondon.
He had to work at McDonald's because his dad wouldn't give him money when he went to Thames Polytechnic. At 18, he was working over 50 hours a week on top of school to get by. He mostly ate the free food from the burger place.
"It was a very different place then. It wasn't quite the arse end of London but it was pretty average. In fact that's why McDonald's chose it because they wanted the most average place in the UK as a test to see how well it would do," he laughs.
"Woolwich was a bit like a dystopian apocalyptic nightmare back then. There was a pub, a department store, quite a grotty market and a station and that was about it. Interestingly compared to how it is now the staff was very un-diverse.
"There was one older Asian bloke but the rest were basically white London townies. Every part of the store was stainless steel and you had to clean almost every square inch of it every single day. It was an absolute nightmare.
"It wasn't quite as hygienic as it is now. There was this backyard where everyone would go out to smoke and it was about four inches deep in slurry of various kinds. When people came back in they'd tread it in with their feet. They'd get you to go and clean the toilets and then put you straight to work on the grill."
View along the counter of a McDonald's fast food restaurant as employees serve a line of customers, Washington DC, February 9, 1979 (Image: No credit)
And clearly the food wasn't always as fresh as it was supposed to be. Ian adds: "There were little numbers in the rows of burgers which were little timings of when they had to be used by otherwise they would have to be thrown away. But if the manager had cocked up, you'd just move the cards a little bit so the food you were serving was considerably older than it was supposed to be.
"If you dropped something on the floor it was classified as 'a good catch' and would go back on sale. But if you were getting your own food for break time you'd watch every single bit of it being cooked to make sure it was right!
"You sometimes worked 16-hour shifts but you got a break every four hours and free food that was basically a diet of salt and sugar. It was kind of OK because I was young and fairly healthy but I do remember getting these strange cravings and not really knowing what it was about.
"Things have definitely improved with regards to the hygiene. When the riots blew up in 1981 the rioters were being shipped in from elsewhere. They were at one end of the high street and the SPG (police squads) were hidden down an alleyway waiting to pounce on them, getting fired up. You could see all hell was going to break loose.
"My manager insisted we would stay open, 'even rioters have to eat'. But as the rioters began to advance down the high street towards the waiting police, he shouted 'right we're closed!' We were sent out the front door and people went scampering away along alleyways and up lampposts!
"I was stood there in my brown McDonald's uniform with this huge mob charging towards me. Luckily a police car screeched past and the officer said: 'Get in the back son!'"
The uniforms certainly weren't the most attractive. "We had these brown polyester shirts and brown trousers and a paper hat and you'd get a new hat every day I do remember," Ian laughs.
But as a good-looking young student that didn't stop him getting "plenty of female company" from the girls who worked the grills. Despite and perhaps because of all this Ian says his student years in Woolwich were "fantastic" and working at McDonald's taught him some of the most valuable lessons of his life.
"You could get into London in 20 minutes for virtually no money. The pubs were cheap and you could get a three-course meal for about £2," he says.
"The camaraderie among the staff was really strong. I was this student parachuted in from the countryside into a demographically very poor area of London but no one dissed me for it. I've got bizarrely fond memories of it - apart from when I got home and had a bath at night and had to wash off a layer of grease."
"Then I'd have to start on my studies! Everyone did their best and there were people there who really wanted those five stars or to be a team leader who wanted jobs there for life."
"One day the manager came up to me and said: 'Have you considered a career at McDonald's?' I casually said 'no' and he responded: 'You should. I earn £11,000 and I drive a Datsun Sunny!'
"That's quite hilarious now but actually in reality the money wasn't bad and they were way ahead of a lot of other companies I worked for later in terms of their training and how they managed staff. Those days still shine in my memory and I wouldn't ever hear a bad word said about McDonald's or Woolwich or Thames Poly.
"It taught me not to judge a book by its cover and not to be a snob. If you're going to be a burger flipper, be the best burger flipper you can be."
