Chaos at Highbury And Islington Station
I was going to Broadstairs today, by taking the high speed train from St. Pancras. As I’d got a parcel to post before, I decided to take 38 or 56 bus to Essex Road Post Office and then get a 73 bus to the station after dropping the parcel. But for some reason, the 38 and 56 were in short supply, but there were two 277.
So I took one to Highbury and Islington station, with the intention of using the Post Office there and then taking the Victoria line to St. Pancras.
But unlike other post Offices locally, the one at Highbury and Islington station didn’t open until nine, rather than eight-thirty. As it was twenty minutes before the hour, I decided to take the Victoria line, so I could use the Post Office by Kings Cross station.
But then I got stuck in the jam of those getting into the station for fifteen minutes. Transport for London haven’t seemed to have organised the escalator servicing in the best way possible. I should have taken my own advice.
Free Travel For Children Cuts Road Injuries
This story in the Standard tells how in London, giving children and teenagers free Oyster travel cards, has cut the number involved in road accidents. The research was performed by the reputable London School or Hygiene and Tropic Medicine and as it is published in a learned journal, it surely is to be trusted.
Just as those over a certain age get free bus transport, this research surely says that all those under a certain one should too! In London the eligibility is stated here for what is called a Zip Oyster. it also gives child fares on the Underground, Overground and the DLR
Tiles At South Kensington Station
The tiles at South Kensington station seem to be being cleaned and repaired.
Tiles At South Kensington Station
The station is one of those that needs serious refurbishment and various proposals have been made.
Considering the station’s important location, with respect to the museums and Albertopolis, upgrading can’t come too soon!
Underground Maps By Lego
Five Underground maps have been made in Lego.
They are at South Kensington (1927), Green Park (1968), Piccadilly(1933), Kings Cross (Future) and Stratford 2013) stations.
The only map, that was difficult to find was the one at Stratford, which was at the Eastfield entrance to the station. It was also the only one inside the ticket barriers.
The map at Kings Cross is the first in an Underground station to show Crossrail integrated with the Underground.
A Visit To The World’s Best Therapist
I had a bit of a shock this morning, as the news said that somebody I might know had died in tragic circumstances.
So I decided that I needed to explore some parts of the London Underground. I intended to have breakfast at Leon in Kings Cross station and then I intended to see if I could find the Underground maps in Lego.
I then visited all the maps before I finished up at Stratford, from where I took the Overground home.
As I often do, I met some interesting people, including a young lady accompanied by her charming baby, who with her partner had taken a train all the way back from Istanbul and soon were going to Denmark overland. Where do I find a lady of a compatible age to myself, who likes trains, architecture and football? Especially, to accompany me to Odessa to see the Potemkin Steps, watch England in Kiev and then come home via Warsaw and Berlin.
i certainly felt a lot better, as I say down to watch the cricket. But I still don’t know if I knew the person, who died.
The Stairway To Heaven Memorial At Bethnall Green
The memorial to those killed in the Bethnal Green Underground Disaster is now almost complete.
According to the Stairway To Heaven Memorial Trust website, only the staircase needs completing.
Should Tube Stations Be Sponsored?
It has been proposed that London Underground stations should be sponsored. The story is here in the Standard.
On paper it looks a good idea, but I doubt it would work as well as expected.
Look at the obvious example of Harrods, which effectively has its own entrance into Knightsbridge station. How would Harvey Nicks feel about being served by a station called Harrods?
Perhaps an idea that might work well, but probably would not raise as much money would be to allow the bus or train information system to say something like. “This is Knightsbridge. Alight here for Harrods”
But even then, how do you sort out the Harrods/Harvey Nicholls problem?
An Unusual Transport Interchange
On Friday, I had a small problem. I had a guest, who was going to take a ferry back to The Netherlands and I had to get to Gatwick. To complicate matters, my guest was low on go-juice and they didn’t know the intricacies of East London.
I have never driven since I’ve moved here to Dalston, but felt that the best route would be for my guest to use the Blackwall Tunnel to get on the road to Dover. As there is a large Tesco on the approach to the tunnel, it seemed that might solve the fuel problem and I could jump ship there and get the Underground at the nearby Bromley-by-Bow station.
It all worked very well and fifteen minutes after being dropped, I was on an Overground train to Clapham Junction after changing at Whitechapel.
The interface between drivers and public transport is not good in London. There are few places, where you get an easy drop off point to public transport, a filling station and other services on major roads.
But Tesco at Bow have provided an interchange. The only problem is that the walking route to the Underground is not very salubrious.
At least it wasn’t raining. The link to the store is here.
Lost In Kings Cross Station
The new Kings Cross station may look very good, but the Underground station seems to have been designed as an incomprehensible labyrinth.
Tonight, I got on a Victoria line train at Oxford Circus and needed to change to the Northern line at Kings cross for the Angel. Unfortunately, I tiook the wrong exit from the platform and ended up walking a lot longer than I should down pedestrian tunnels and up and down stairs.
But I eventually made it and got a 38 bus at the Angel to bring me home.
I’ll be glad, when Crossrail is finished, so that I can get home a lot easier.
The Shape Of Trains To Come
The replacement trains for the sub-surface lines of London Underground, show a lot of clever thinking to deliver effectively two different but identical trains.
For the Metropolitan line, an eight car train is needed, with a generous proportion of seats, as the line goes a long way into Metroland.
For the Hammersmith and City, District and Circle lines, a seven car train is needed, with longitudinal seating.
Bombardier came up with the S Class train, which satisfies both these requirements. It is a unique design for the Underground, in that it is through-gangway train, where you can walk from end-to-end.
The replacement trains for the rest of the Underground, will probably borrow heavily on this design.
I travel on these trains about once a week or so and feel they are a great improvement on the previous trains. I first used them, during the Olympics to get back from Wembley Stadium, where they were able to move 1,500 or so people a time away from the stadium, in an air-conditioned train. The A Class trains they replaced had more seats, but a smaller capacity and a ventilation system from the 1960s.
The Anonymous Widower 