Exploring Metrovalencia
Metrovalencia is a Metro, that uses both trains and trams with a proportion of the network in tunnels.
I took these pictures.
It is in many ways, a typical modern Metro with good and sometimes spectacular architecture, spacious, clear trains and a ticketing system, that relies on a plastic card.
To my mind there are two major problems.
It Doesn’t Go To The City Of Arts And Sciences
The City of Arts and Sciences, is a place that many tourists want to see.
But the Metrovalencia doesn’t go there and I couldn’t find how to get there from the information at various stations.
It would be as if the London Underground didn’t go to Stratford or the Manchester Metrolink didn’t go to Salford Quays.
Finding Stations Is Difficult
Valencia doesn’t have a way-finding system and finding the stations of the Metro can be difficult. Unlike say Berlin, Bilbao, London, Stockholm and many other cities, where stations have a big logo or feature, you can see from a couple of hundred metres, you can walk past stations without seeing them.
I walked a lot farther than I intended to.
The map I had was one that came with my good value 48-hour travel card, which cost eighteen euros.
It wasn’t the easiest to understand, as there was no symbols for Metro stations on the map.
The Citylink Trains Of The Metrovalencia
The Citylink trains of the Metrovalencia were built in Valencia in 2007 and are very different to their cousins; the tram-trains of Karlsruhe and Sheffield.
Sheffield is in blue, Karlsruhe in yellow and Valencia in white.
They are metre gauge, have larger bodies, are four or five cars long and I didn’t find one working as a tram-train.
Dalston To Gatwick And Back For £6.15
This could be one of the best travel bargains for those like me, who have the privilege of a Freedom Pass.
I can use my pass, as far as East Croydon or West Croydon stations, but I must buy a ticket or use contactless to get to Gatwick Airport.
So I use the following route.
- London Overground to West Croydon station using my Freedom Pass.
- London Tramlink to East Croydon station using my Freedom Pass.
- Thameslink or Southern to Gatwick using a contactless credit card.
I paid £3.10 for the last leg.
These pictures show my journey to Gatwick.
Note that as my flight on Friday was early, I was staying the the Premier Inn, where I watched the World Cup 2018, before taking an early bath and an early bed.
The only problem was finding how to get from the shuttle to the Premier Inn at the Gatwick North Terminal.
Coming back, was just a two-legged journey.
- Thameslink to London Bridge station using the ticket I bought on the way out and my Freedom Pass.
- A 141 bus to just outside my house from the forecourt of London Bridge to just outside my house using my Freedom Pass.
I paid £3.05 for the ticket between Gatwick and East Croydon.
The Journey Could Be Improved
I do this journey a lot of times, especially as it is an easy way to the South Coast.
- Getting to Victoria will continue to be difficult, until there is a comprehensive rebuild of Highbury and Islington station.
- I could go to St. Pancras and get Thameslink, but there are time restrictions on using a Freedom Pass early in the morning.
- I could get a 141 bus to London Bridge, but going South seems a lot longer than coming North due to traffic, road works and bus frequency.
So what would I do to improve things?
The Overground Should Go To East Croydon Not West Croydon Station
Often, when I do the journey to West Croydon, the train is almost empty from perhaps Penge West station.
So do passengers from the East London Line wanting to go to Croydon choose a train to East Croydon?
- East Croydon has a cornucopia of services going all over the South.
- West Croydon has only a few services and no long distance ones.
- There are no intermediate stations between either station and Norwood Junction station.
- East Croydon is the hub station of London Tramlink.
- There is only a tram service going East at West Croydon.
- To get a tram to Wimbledon at West Croydon, it is a long walk, which is badly signposted.
What is needed is a dedicated Overground platform at East Croydon station.
- One platform could handle six trains per hour (tph)
- It would create a simple one-change link between Gatwick Airport, Brighton and other South Coast destinations to East London and especially Whitechapel station, for the Eastern branches of Crossrail.
I know space is difficult, but I suspect that there is a solution somewhere.
Refurbish The Class 700 Trains
The Class 700 trains have only been in service for about two years, but when you travel on one after using another train, you realise their inadequacies.
- The seats are worse than most and certainly not up to the standard of those on Electrostars, like the Class 377 train, I took to Gatwick.
- There is no wi-fi.
- There are no power sockets to charge a mobile phone or laptop.
- Tables don’t exist in most of Standard Class.
- There’s nowhere to put a drink.
- Some drivers, who worked for East Midlands Trains told me, that they are not fast enough for the Midland Main Line.
They are crap design of the highest class. They certainly don’t say “Welcome to the UK”, to arriving passengers at Gatwick.
But I do believe the trains can be sorted, as the Class 707 trains are better.
Extend The Freedom Pass Area
A Freedom Pass works to any station in Fare Zone 6, with a few extensions like Shenfield station using TfL Rail and Watford Junction station using the Overground.
I don’t think that the area, where the Freedom Pass can be used for free, should be extended, but the technology must exist to link a Freedom Pass with a credit or debit card, so that all journeys within the Oyster contactless area are charged appropriately.
I’m surprised that this or something like it hasn’t been implemented yet, as surely it could be an encouragement for Freedom Pass holders to vote for a Mayoral candidate.
Conclusion
Travelling to Gatwick will get easier and more comfortable.
The Anonymous Widower 