Tottenham Court Road - Update

TCR tube station is going through the mother of all upgrades - eventually it will be a mega interchange station between the existing Central and Northern Lines and Crossrail.

Anyhow, tfl have deemed it appropriate to issue a press release giving an update on what is going on. To be honest it's not exactly exiting, but it'll no doubt appear as a full page article in the Metro and will inevitably be regurgitated by lazy journalists in other news outlets as well.

AVP - Part 3

Back in January, I visited the new Aylesbury Vale Parkway station. Not just on one day, but on two separate days.

Lord Adonis, the latest unelected functionary that the nice Mr Brown is allowing to play with our train set, visited AVP the week before last. His visit was to formally open the station (which actually opened seven months ago, albeit serviced by a row of temporary buildings.

I wasn't able to turn up on the day to visit the farmers market (laid on for the day), but can confirm that the frozen loos and building skips have long gone. The car park is huge (and empty), when I visited the station was deserted with non-functioning ticket machines, but it is nevertheless a new station, a new extended railway line and Chiltern Railways are to be applauded.

Japanese follow up

Someone at Chiltern Railways is clearly trying to help the influx of Japanese visitors that pour into Bicester North, en-route to the Bicester Village emporium of designer shops.

This notice is now stuck, in a prominent position, on the ticket machine by the entrance to the station.

I sense that no further translation is necessary.

Shawdows stitch me up

This picture is of the South end of the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham. It's easy for me to get to as Moor Street Station is just across the road - Chiltern Railways call there twice an hour in each direction.

'Stitch me up' can mean 'Make me laugh'. By the quirkiness of the English Language it can also mean that someone had something pre-arranged for me.

In this context I am being ridiculous - The shadows stitched me up, and they didn't make me laugh.

Click on the picture and you'll see what I mean. The ability of the software on my computer to stitch together pictures only goes so far.

Friday night - I'm expecting the worst

Holborn. Busy interchange station connecting the Central Line and the Piccadilly Line.

Five twenty on a Friday night.

The gate line is busy. The downward escalators are busy. The concourse at the bottom seems to have literally hundreds of people milling around.

Walk along the passageway towards the Eastbound Central Line Platform to catch a train to Liverpool Street. It takes a while. Everyone is walking with pigeon steps.

Walk down the steps. It's slow - I hear a train pull in and then away.

Onto the platform, turn right. Within seconds another train pulls in. Gird myself for the crush.

Doors open.. What? Less than half the seats are taken. Room for everyone to sit down. I must be hallucinating, or the train only started at Marble Arch. One of the two.

Going where?

Approaching Oxford Circus on a Northbound Bakerloo Line.

Automated announcement comes out of the speakers; "The next station is Waterloo, change here for... blah blah".

Cue some puzzled looking tourists. Waterloo is four stations before Oxford Circus.

In my head the Bakerloo Line is so solid and chunky with old technology it should either work, or it goes phut. A bit like a Bakelite telephone.

I was therefore surprised (and I've never seen it happen before on the Brown Line) that the on-board announcements got out of sync with the stations. At least it has kicked the hiatus into touch.