Customer Service – London Bridge Style
I know London Bridge station is being rebuilt as a consequence of both the Thameslink upgrade and the hideous Shard, but I doubt you’ll find a worse main station in the whole of the UK.
Like all of the stations and lines south of the Thames, they were planned by a devious and possibly cruel Victorian mind. An example is that as London Bridge is the most easterly of the London rail stations serving the south, you’d assume it would serve all of the stations in Kent. That is an extremely logical and wrong assumption, as you get to places like Margate from either Victoria or St. Pancras.
No wonder you get confused tourists like a group of Spanish, who were trying to get to King’s Cross, by taking a train to Victoria from London Bridge and quite a few other stations, and then using the Victoria line. I told them to use the direct Northern line and was left wondering what idiot had advised them to go via Victoria. It couldn’t have been anybody in customer service as the Information Desk was closed.
Closed Information Box at London Bridge
The London Buses kiosk was also closed.
Closed Bus Information Kiosk at London Bridge
I was trying to get to North Dulwich and was advised to take the 9:48 from platform 15. At the last minute, I was told it would leave from 14 and got there just as it pulled away. After looking for some non-existent help, I found a board which said that there was a train on platform 14 at 10:03. So I ran back and after several goes, I finally got through the barrier, when a ticket inspector let me through.
One of problems I had to get through, was that in strong sunlight, the LEDs that show a green arrow or a red cross on the barrier, can’t be seen by someone like myself with degraded eyesight. After the kind inspector let me through, he said he had problems himself with the barriers and hopefully the new ones arriving soon would solve the problem.
Drivers Must Not Be Disturbed
This sign is on the platform at London Bridge station.
Sign at London Bridge
I think it is the least that passengers can expect, that the driver of their train is totally of sound mind.
I have to ask though if it is OK to disturb the driver if he is asleep?
Lost South of the Thames
Whenever I go south of the Thames, I get lost. Why this should be I do not know, but its happened to me so many times. It could be that I’m allergic to it, as I was born on the right side of the river. I summed it up in this post, entitled an Expedition to the Deep South.
Yesterday, all I wanted to do was get to Orpington, so I took the Northern line to London Bridge and tried to find a train. I knew they are fairly frequent, but the boards were incomprehensible, the Information Desk was closed and it was a question of taking pot-luck. There was a rumour, that there might be a train on Platform 5, so I went there and waited.
A Train to Which Minster?
A train was going to Orpington first stop, but I had a feeling there was an earlier one on another platform. In the end I waited and caught it.
But which Minster was this train going to? The one I know is on the Isle of Sheppey. So I didn’t want to fall asleep and end up there!
What is needed is some simple means to determine which is the platform for the next train to Station X. Perhaps a terminal with times and platforms, but then that would enable people to be at the right gate for their train, instead of waiting in a scrum until it was announced.
I’ve got to go to Gatwick tomorrow, as I’m off to Greece for a few days. I’m almost tempted to get a train to Croydon on the Overground and then get one to Gatwick from there. But the East London Line goes to the other Croydon.
I wish my flight was from Heathrow, Stansted or City, as that would be so much simpler
The Sunday Night Chaos at London Bridge
I’ve come back from London Bridge several times lately. Usually, I just catch a 141 bus from the station forecourt direct to close to my house.
But on Sunday night, it’s all different and the bus station on the forecourt is closed, so I have to walk across London Bridge to get the bus from a temporary stop on the other side of the bridge.
It is not a pleasant walk. But I’ve not had any serious problems.
Next time though, I’ll take the Northern Line a few stops towards home and then get a bus from Bank, Moorgate or Old Street.
It’s a pity that weekend connections are not good at New Cross for the East London Line to get me to Dalston Junction.
London Bridge is Going Up
The picture shows the new bridge going up, that will take the Thameslink tracks to Charing Cross over Borough Market on a viaduct.
New Thameslink Bridge at London Bridge
When I met one of the project managers at King’s Cross a few weeks ago, he assured me it was all on schedule.
This viaduct at Borough Market will remove one of the worst bottlenecks on the railway network and illustrates how the Victorian builders of the network, often did things on the cheap and without any thought for the future. After a long public enquiry, the permission was finally given for the new viaduct to effectively double the capacity through the area.
Hopefully, when the market is rebuilt underneath the viaducts, it will continue to be an asset to London for many years in the future. Some though have expressed serious doubts about the scheme.
Network Rail Do the PR at Kings Cross
Kings Cross station is very much a building site at the moment, as the station is remodelled in time for the 2012 Olympics. The access to the five Underground lines that meet at the station and its more illustrious sister, St. Pancras, is now more or less complete, although some of the underground walks are a bit longer than they used to be. But access is better on the whole, especially for those with heavy luggage or short on mobility. As an example, when I met my friend from the Edinburgh train, we were able to use the lift to get to the subway to St. Pancras and then another lift up to Carluccio’s for a coffee. As she was going to Marylebone, we then descended back into the crypt at St. Pancras by lift and walked to the west side of the station to get a black cab for the trip up Euston Road.
Network Rail, East Coast and First Capital Connect had set up a model of the new station in the forecourt of Kings Cross.
A Model of the New Kings Cross Station
Note how the awful 1960s extension at the front has gone and there is a new public square in front of the station. You can also just see the new western extension to the station, which will contain customer services, shops and cafes. There will also be covered links to the Great Northern Hotel and St. Pancras. Effectively, the two stations will almost become one. In fact, there has been talk about numbering the platforms together.
I spent ten mintes talking to one of the Thameslink project managers and was impressed at the whole PR exercise. Developers, and especially those where large sums of public money are involved, should always explain what they are doing to those who use the area. Both sides might actually learn something to their future advantage. I visited London Bridge on Saturday and the whole station was a shambles because of the rebuilding, with little information to be found.
Bumping My Way Back To Civilisation
My friend had to go to see his MP near the Horniman Museum (Worth a visit I’m told!), so about three we took a bus, that would both drop him at the museum and take me to a station, that would allow me to get to hopefully Charing Cross, as I wanted to visit the National Gallery.
I got off the bus at Forest Hill, crossed the road and tried to find the station entrance. It was confusing and not very well signed. But it did have a brick flower bed in front, which I bumped into, as it was about knee-height and obscured by the other people in front of the station. If there had been flowers in the bed, I would have seen it. Luckily no harm was done! I then found the door, opened it and used my ticket to open the barrier and get myself on the platform. My friend had told me that I should take a London Bridge train and then walk over the bridge to get a bus or a tube train, as the Jubilee Line wasn’t running.
I didn’t wait long for a London Bridge train and before long I could see the familiar sights of the City.
Approaching The City
Note Tower Bridge peeping over the buildings in front.
I got out at London Bridge when the train terminated and started to look for someone who might know where I could get a train to Charing Cross. I couldn’t find anyone, but I did see this obstacle kindly placed in the middle of the platform.
Seats on London Bridge Station
Luckily I saw them and had time to get the camera out to photograph them. But to illustrate my hand problems, note the finger in front of the lens.
What idiot decided to put seats like that in a place where someone with limited visibility might miss them? If they had had seat backs or hand been occupied, then they would have been easier to see. As they would have been if they had yellow arms, like London Underground ones do!
When I found the platform for Charing Cross, I asked a helpful stationman and he said that the seats don’t have backs because of health and safety issues. Obviously not mine or others with limited visibility.
I suppose that yellow or orange arms, as that would break corporate colour-scheme rules!
The Anonymous Widower 