Telecom news

• Illuminated River boat ride tours add extra dates over Christmas

  09-12-2025 17:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The Thames bridges through central London are illuminated each night as part of a vast public artwork, best appreciated either on foot along the riverside or from a boat gliding beneath them.Illuminated River currently lights nine bridges: London, Cannon Street, Southwark and Millennium were the first to receive their vivid night-time makeovers in 2019, with Blackfriars, Waterloo, the Golden Jubilee, Westminster and Lambeth joining the project in 2021.
  The boat tour operator has now announced so
  
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• Unexpected repairs force TfL to shut Barons Court tube station’s platforms through 2026

  09-12-2025 16:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The ongoing refurbishment of Barons Court tube station has uncovered more problems than expected, and Transport for London (TfL) has announced that it will have to partially close the station.Refurbishment of the station to repair damaged sections and repaint the platform canopies started earlier this year. Although TfL initially said it did not expect to close the station, that has now changed.
  TfL wrote to H&F council in early December to say that circumstances have changed.
  “After w
  
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• Smithfield Market’s Christmas Eve meat auction is back for 2025

  09-12-2025 15:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Smithfield meat market’s Christmas Eve sale is a much-loved highlight for many attendees, and the organisers have confirmed to ianVisits that it will go ahead again this year.The sell-off dates back to the days before refrigeration, when customers would buy as close to Christmas as possible, and meat dealers needed to sell off everything before the Christmas shutdown.
  Such was the throng at the market on Christmas Eve that it sometimes made the news, as in 1912, when one trader was said to
  
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• Southbank Centre lights up winter nights with a free illuminated art trail

  09-12-2025 13:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  A winter lights display has appeared around the Southbank Centre, offering a free illuminated exploration of the area.Physically visible all the time, they naturally look their best at night, and maybe if you don’t object, just after it’s been raining when reflections are at their best.
  It’s a fairly small widespread display, so you can do the whole lot in maybe 20 minutes, and some might not even look like temporary art at all. For the instagrammers, there’s a large cube
  
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• LNR rolls out longer trains, delivering 20% more seats on Euston services

  09-12-2025 12:02 via ianvisits.co.uk
  London Northwestern Railway (LNR) has announced it will introduce thousands of extra seats on its services to and from London Euston this weekend as part of a major timetable change.
  (c) London Northwestern Railway (LNR)
  From 14th December, LNR is rolling out new longer trains onto its Trent Valley line, which connects the capital with destinations in Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire.
  The new fleet – known as Class 730/2s – are longer than the trains they replace and w
  
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• Red, White and Rails: The Great British Railways livery unveiled for 2026 rollout

  09-12-2025 10:23 via ianvisits.co.uk
  The new livery, which will start appearing on England’s trains next year, has been shown off as part of the wider Great British Railways rebrand.
  Concept image (c) Department for Transport
  The design features a red, white and blue colour scheme and sharp angles to create a design mirroring the Union Flag. Great British Railways will also reuse the classic British Rail double-arrows logo, without the suggested Union Jack colours which had been touted earlier in the year, to generally negati
  
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• Gunnersbury station’s step-free plans advance – but commuters still waiting for Godot

  09-12-2025 08:00 via ianvisits.co.uk
  Gunnersbury Station has taken one tiny step forward towards getting step-free access, but there’s a very long way to go before it arrives.
  The narrow staircase to the station exit
  As part of the planning permission to refurbish the office building next to the station into residential flats, the developer will provide funding for design studies and set aside land for the station upgrade.
  However, there’s no funding to rebuild the station itself.
  A couple of concept images were shown o
  
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