Could We Create A Second Entrance To The Overground At Highbury And Islington Station?
Highbury and Islington station is not one of my favourites.
It has only two escalators to get to the deep-level platforms for the Victoria line and the Northern City line. At least we have now got two fully working examples, but a much needed third escalator can’t be fitted in the empty position, as there is not enough circulation space at the bottom.
It’s all because it was a typical 1960s Jerry-built station like several on the Victoria line.
One of the problems is that although since the Overground was opened at Highbury and Islington, there is more space on the concourse, at certain times, like an evening match at The Emirates, every passageway and the space in front of the station, gets seriously overloaded.
Although the Overground was built to a price, they did save money by using good design, rather than just leaving something out, as they did on the Victoria line.
For this reason, although they could have reinstated the Eastern Curve at Dalston Junction, to enable trains to go directly between Stratford and the East London line, they chose not to, but instead made Canonbury station, into a good, easy and efficient interchange. Especially, if you were coming from Stratford and going south to or through Dalston Junction! I regularly if I’m coming home from Stratford, change at Canonbury to a southbound train and go to the first stop; Dalston Junction, from where I take one of the numerous buses home. It sounds complicated, but if I have a heavy parcel, there is only one set of steps, which can be bypassed by a lift.
To facilitate train changing at Highbury and Islington station, they also built a second footbridge over the tracks, at the western end of the platforms. This footbridge is also designed to serve an emergency exit from the station.
This footbridge and its associated emergency exit, opens on to the road alongside the station;Highbury Station Road. So could this exit be expanded into a full entrance and exit to the station? I took a walk around the station to see it all from the outside.
The residential developments around the north side of the station, probably wouldn’t take too kindly, to large numbers of people and especially football fans passing down their road. But it is only a short walk up Highbury Station Road on the south side to the wide expanses of Liverpool Road, which is in fact, an area poorly served by buses.
So a second entrance is probably feasible and it might give benefits to those, who live in the area to the west of the station. As Liverpool Road leads to the Emirates Stadium, a second entrance might help with congestion on the Holloway Road on match days.
Admittedly, a second entrance here would really only serve the Overground, but bear in mind that over the next couple of years, the capacity of trains on that set of lines, will be increased by twenty-five percent. This will put more pressure on Highbury and Islington station, which is a terminus of the Overground and the main northern interchange to the Underground.
I suspect too, that more football supporters will be using the Overground to get to the stadium. Remember that football fans have different travel patterns to say commuters and usually have a window of an hour or so before the match, when they can turn up. So they’ll see the extra capacity on the Overground and perhaps take a few minutes longer to get to the stadium in comfort, rather than crammed into an Underground train.
A second entrance would have certainly helped on Saturday, with all the chaos in the Balls Pond Road. If of course, the Overground had been running.
Siemens’ View Of The Future Of The Underground
This mock-up of an Underground train is being shown at The Crystal by the Royal Victoria station on the Emirates Air Line.
If they ever build these trains, what will be much more significant is the technical specification of the new trains.
If you look at these pictures, you’ll see that the cross section appears taller and wider than the current deep-level trains. It has been designed so that someone of 2.6 metres can stand without stooping.
The trains are designed to be articulated with a walk-through gangway, like the new S Stock on the sub-surface lines. I think Siemens hope that air-conditioning could be squeezed in.
It is a pity that most of London’s Underground was built to such a small size, but that is one of the problems you get by being first. The technical problems of London though, are probably minor compared to building new trains for the Glasgow Subway, which is even smaller and totally unique.
I doubt London will ever see a new Underground line built to the current tube standard, developed by the Victorians!
Crossrail is effectively a main line railway and other lines across London will probably use that standard, with the possible exception of some lines built to the standard used on the Docklands Light Railway.
No Directions To Kings Cross Square
I took a Piccadilly line train to Kings Cross today, from where I got a 30 bus to my home.
But there were no signs to the Kings Cross Square and the buses that stop alongside.
The interchange is working well and if I’m coming home on a Piccadilly line train say from Heathrow, I now surface at Kings Cross station and get a 30 bus home or a 73 to the Angel, where I change at the same stop to the 38 for home. It solves the problems of the lack of Underground stations in my area of Hackney.
This interchange will get better, when the second entrance to the Underground opens and the bus routes in the area are improved. The 390 for instance is getting New Buses for London.
Today, the big light was on too, so I was able to bathe in its warmth, as I waited for my bus.
Obviously, not everybody has an energy problem!
Does The RMT Care About Passengers?
I travel on trains a lot and I’ve never had anything but courtesy and fair treatment from railway staff in the UK. I’ve even had one or two, break the rules in my favour, when perhaps I’ve made a mistake. One actually said, that it was his company’s policy to put customers first, when the rule breaking was minor.
But today, there is a story on the BBC about the RMT protesting about the possible closure of the Underground ticket office at Whitechapel. Here’s the opening paragraph.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) are protesting at Whitechapel Tube station against the possible closure of ticket offices.
Now I’ve just returned from Palermo to London by train and I only used a ticket office once. And that was in Geneva, where I couldn’t find a machine to sell me a ticket for Paris!
i’ve only used a ticket office, once in the last three years on the Underground and that was to get a free ticket wallet.
If we’re honest, I think it is true to say that ticket offices are virtually redundant, but station staff definitely aren’t. Stand by the barrier or on the platform on any Underground station and you’ll be surprised at how many people ask questions or request help as they pass along.
Bob Crow is reported as saying this.
The threat to the ticket office at Whitechapel is a line in the sand as far as RMT is concerned and we will fight this plan tooth and nail.
I don’t think many of those on the overcrowded Dalston Omnibus on a day, when the RMT call a strike, will agree.
The RMT has also got into the stupid row about a possible third class of travel on trains. The story is reported here in the Daily Mail, who are very negative. This is in the article.
Bob Crow, left wing leader of the RMT transport union said: ‘Now we know, the door is open for the train operators to introduce third passenger class as and when it suits them.
Incidentally, I travel third class regularly on trains. It’s called Premium Economy and very good it is too, on Eurostar.
You could also argue, that First Class at the weekend, is much more of a Premium Economy class, than a true First, on many trains.
London’s First Inclined Lift Goes In
I went to Greenford station and they were well into the installation of the first inclined lift on the London Underground.
Note that the up escalator has wooden stairs. This post shows a few more pictures from nearly two years ago.
Going Underground
I saw this poster on the Undergound.
Going Underground
I think it will be worth seeing, as a glimpse into the future.
S Stock Trains Are Now Circling
The London Underground’s new S Stock trains are now running on the Circle line.
S Stock Trains Are Now Circling
These trains make a tremendous improvement to London’s sub-surface Underground lines. If only we could run air-conditioned trains like these on the deep lines. But the cheap-skate Victorian tunnels stop this.
There Are Three Clocks At Piccadilly Circus Station
Piccadilly Circus station, must be the one with most clocks in the booking office and ticket checking area.
There Are Three Clocks At Piccadilly Circus Station
The oicture shows the one by the booking office.
One of the staff told me it is for heritage reasons.
A Trip On The Island Line
The Island Line on the Isle of Wight, is a unique train line, as these pictures show.
It was just like going back to my childhood and be transported in one of the old 1938 Stock, London Underground trains, that I can just about remember on the Piccadilly line in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Class 483, as they are now called, still have all the same noises and a lot of the wooden features, although the seats and a few other internal features had been updated.
I do wonder whether old London Underground trains, which generally have been immaculately maintained could be used on some of the far flung parts of the network to re-instate old lines.
One of the reasons, they ended up on the Isle of Wight, was that this line has gauge clearance problems and London’s redundant tube trains fit the space available. And of course, third-rail electric trains are easier to install than those with overhead wires.
There is a lot of talk about using new trams or tram-trains on some branch lines, but surely some retired tube trains, would be a lot more affordable and a tourist attraction as well. Over the next few years, there is going to be a lot of these trains, that will be replaced in London.
They deserve better than being scrapped!
All London Underground Ticket Offices To Close
This claim is being made by the trade unions in London and it’s reported here on the BBC.
Except for main line stations, you rarely see anybody at the ticket offices. But then they can be busy, as this post shows.
So just on my personal observation, there seems to be a need for some reorganisation of the ticket offices.
One of these could be making sure that passengers arrive in London with a ticket for the Underground.
Modern Railways this month also had an editorial about the rows that are about to happen, when trains in London go for driver-only operation.
I think there is going to be a lot of argument in the next few years.
But honestly, when was the last time you visited a ticket office on the Underground to buy a ticket?
I think I bought an Oystercard about four years ago. I’ve bought one since and that was from a machine.
The Anonymous Widower 