TEXTS, TWEETS AND POSTS.

TfL's crass call for passengers to walk between Tooting Bec and Clapham North to avoid crowding reminds me of the traditional cabbie's cry "Nah, I don't go south of the river, Guv". Apart from the DLR to Lewisham and Jubilee line extension no new railway has been built south of the Thames for over 70 years, while passenger numbers have soared. More than 17 million people now use Balham every year, yet the station hasn't been enlarged since the Fifties. Is it time to break free and set up Transport for South London, as our only hope of getting the new railways we deserve? Stephen Spark, SW17 Misery at Aldgate on Tuesday night following a trespassing incident — or was it a fatality, a signal failure, a points failure or a track circuit failure? All were cited during 50 minutes of delay and hopeless announcements — although none of the above precluded the sending-out of a totally empty train that was "Not in Service", ahead of those that were stuffed with passengers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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