Replacement Trains... Again

Today there have been further engineering works on the West Coast Main Line, meaning that trains from London Euston cannot get past Rugby. Virgin Trains have once again been running an hourly service to and from Coventry by means of a maze like route through West London and then up along the Chiltern Railways routes. Further to my previous post, I've found this blog post which has marked the london end of the diversion route on a map.

Chiltern Railways (which services include trains from Birmingham to London Marylebone) have been running as many seven carriage trains as they can muster on their long distance route and they have been pretty busy.

London Marylebone is one of the smallest London terminus stations and it is feeling a little crowded at times. It also sits on just one underground line (the Bakerloo) with quite lengthy escalators to and from the platforms.

This morning the down escalator was broken down. What with it being peak holiday season and the large number of extra people using the station, there were a lot of people struggling down the very long central stairway with quite heavy bags and cases. I hope they get the escalator fixed soon.

You Get Less for Murder

I knew it was coming, but I'd forgotten all about it.

There I was yesterday, at work minding my own business, when my boss walked up to me and said "Congratulations".

"For what?" (I didn't actually say that, because I knew.)

Twenty Five years working for the same company, that's what. I started off as a spotty 18 year old working up in Yorkshire, two weeks out of school. You can do the maths yourself, but here I am 25 years later working in the heart of the West End and, by and large, still enjoying it.

Over the years, the jobs, the company, technology and customer expectations have all changed dramatically.

The job security and satisfaction has enabled me to do lots, to see lots and to generally be happy.

I have traveled extensively abroad, around the UK and around London. I now don't quite live at the western extremities of the Central Line, but I do see it every day.

The company is actually very generous on these sorts of occasions: As well as the desk ornament thingy (pictured, but with the company branding smudged out), I also received a commemorative framed certificate, a bottle of champagne, a large box of posh chocolates plus a choice of really quite smart gifts from a rather natty catalogue. I was (and am) actually quite chuffed.

The actual anniversary was today - I wonder what I'll be doing in another 10 or 15 years?

BTW, congratulations SS on the 20.

CU later.

Clever Branding

Whenever I have family round, which I did on Sunday, I always buy a carton of Innocent Fruit Smoothie. It's for the kids, but not really.

The drinks are yummy, though not cheap. The cartons are very clever - they are witty, often carry jokey comments and give the impression of beguiling innocence.

Of course I don't expect the folk at "Fruit Towers" (I kid you not) to be all folksey and sucking on straw. I suspect that, to the contrary there are some very clever minds, outsourced product suppliers and a not insignificant marketing budget.

As I was squashing down the empty carton just now, I noticed that the latest bright idea is to print a secret code on the side . Entering that code on a website means that a tree is then planted on your behalf. It's all jolly clever - if over time the 'tree count' below changes, it will show that the Innocent people have mastered technology as well as making yummy drinks (and probably lots of money as well).

A superb example of successful branding.

Fruit Towers is actually in Shepherds Bush in West London- still at least they are nearer to Goldhawk Road station (Hammersmith and City Line) than to the currently closed Shepherds Bush Central Line station at the far end of Shepherds Bush Green.

It's warm down there

Yesterday afternoon the Bakerloo Line had 'minor' delays due to signalling problems at Queens Park. This morning (as at 06:30) the problems have moved down the line a bit to Baker Street.

You can check the departure boards for Baker Street here, to gauge whether things have got any better by the time you read this.

What I can say is that it is going to be jolly uncomfortable down there today. Today's weather is forecast to be hot and sunny, a little warmer than yesterday. I know that the British definition of hot is not the same as in some other parts of the world, but nevertheless I can vouch for the fact that the Bakerloo Line was sweltering yesterday. It is likely to be just as bad today.

It is probably a good idea to heed the official advice - carry a bottle of water with you. I'm still tending towards tube avoidance, so walking today will probably raise my temperature just as much as entering the underground furnace.

Be careful out there.

Voyeurism in Reverse

One of the things that I find fascinating about this blog is the nature of the vistors to it and, particularly, how they get here and whereabouts they are.

I had a first this morning - a vistor from Zimbabwe. Specifically their ISP is said to be located in "Mashonaland Central", which apparently is in the North of the country. Whoever you are/ were: Welcome!

Given the current problems in Zimbabwe and the tight control over many aspects of the media, I suspect that one has to take some news items with a pinch of salt. However a quick skim through the headlines of a Google News Search shows the dreadful state that the people are in. Can you imagine living somewhere where you are sentenced to 6 months in prison for organising a political meeting?

What is reassuring is that this morning's vistor was 'normal' enough to be visiting the most popular post on this blog. Quite why an innocuous article about steam trains should be read so much is quite beyond me.

Using the phone when on a train

Would all users of mobile phones please note the following:

• Rule 1. All mobile phones are fitted with very sensitive microphones. If you cannot hear the person on the other end, shouting will not make any difference. Do Not Shout.

• Rule 2. Some trains on the National Rail network have 'Quiet Zones'. If you sit in one of these areas, it really is quite simple. Turn your phone off if you are sitting in a designated Quiet Zone. The world is not going to stop spinning on its axis if you are temporarily unable to make or receive calls. The alternatives are to (a) sit somewhere else or (b) stand by the doors, but always remember Rule 1.

• Rule 3. Mobile phones do not work in tunnels, unless very short.If you are traveling on the London Underground this will generally be a concept with which you are familiar. If you are on the phone and you lose your signal while it has 'suddenly' gone dark outside, you have probably gone into a tunnel. Do not try to use your phone in a tunnel. Banging your phone sharply on a hard surface or shouting "Hello, Hello, Hello" into the phone will not, by itself, alter the fact that you are now de facto in a Mobile Free Zone. Should you already have been breaking Rule 1 or Rule 2, your fellow passengars will each be breathing a sigh of relief at this stage.

• Rule 4. Swearing is not clever, nor is it a sign of intelligence. Swearing in public demonstrates an absolute lack of consideration for others and many find it offensive. Do not swear in public. With very few exceptions, the amount a person swears is inversely proportional to their IQ. Unfortunately anyone who breaks this rule probably doesn't even understand Rule 1, Rule 2 or Rule 3.

• Rule 5. If you are unable to comply with Rule 1, Rule 2, Rule 3 or Rule 4, then please walk.

Please note that the events leading to the publishing of these rules are not fictitious. Any similarity to real life events, or references to the behaviour of any person living or dead, is totally none-coincidental and probably deliberate.

Toilet Talk

The new gents toilets at Marylebone Station have opened.

I think they opened a few days ago, but I only found them this morning.

The new facilities are slightly further away from the centre of the concourse than was previously the case, though presumably this means that the ladies will be much enlarged once the refurbishment is complete. They can be found just past the Etsu Cafe and opposite the cheese shop.

The highlight? A row of Dyson Airblade hand dryers.

Oh, the things that make me happy....

Later: Less than 90 minutes after publishing this post, my blog had a visit from the people at Dyson. It's probably a good thing I didn't say anything bad!

Birthdays all round

It's a popular week for birthdays:

• Tuesday: Station Supervisor
• Wednesday: Central User
• Friday: Ian P (who I first met on the way to Venezuela in 1997 and who hosted a reunion for us on the south coast at the weekend). Thank you.
  
• Sunday: Julie P (wife of Ian) who was super-organised and a great hostess. Julie had two Grandchildren when we arrived and three when we left, so there were plenty of distractions.

Happy Birthday to the three who aren't me.

In terms of the weekend, I went by car. The best I could manage on public transport was this ferry, which has to be the least formal mode of public transport I have been on in the UK. Happy days.

Oh, and we did drop one of our party off at Chichester station to travel back to Yorkshire by train. I cannot speak for the whole journey, but the Southern train to Victoria departed spot on time.

The ripple effect

There has been a building on fire this morning in South Molton Street, close to Bond Street tube station. The fire was reported in the early hours and was under control by 05.54am.

This means that Bond Street station is closed at present and neither the Central Line nor the Bakerloo Line are stopping.

The closure* will lead to elongated routes for many (Bond Street is a surprisingly busy station) - journeys out to Canary Wharf are particularly painful anyway for those changing from the Central Line, due to ongoing interchange difficulties at Bank.


*As always, I should point out that this blog is not a 'live travel service'. I recommend you use alternative sources of data for up-to-date information.

Chiltern Railways Timetable - It Does What It Says On The Tin

I can tell that quite a few people reach this blog looking for public transport information.

Sometimes it's weird and wonderful routes (often repeated) and sometimes, like many people, I think 'How did Google dish that one up?'.

Anyhow, a recurring theme is the Chiltern Railways timetable. Chiltern Railways run from London Marylebone to High Wycombe, Princes Risborough, Aylesbury (and other stations in Buckinghamshire), Birmingham and Stratford-Upon Avon, to name but a few.

Rather than host the document myself, here is a link to Chiltern Railways' timetable page. The full timetable is a pdf at the foot of the page, but there are other options dotted around.

Damn - I've Been Rumbled

I really am a silly sod!

A few days ago I'd sort of made an informal commitment to pop in to say hello to the Station Supervisor on my way home from work. It would have been sensible to have blogged about a thing or two during the last few but no... muggins here walked straight into it...

SS was very pleasant about it. Paraphrasing slightly, I think the the comment was along the lines of "Yeah, I'd noticed you hadn't been posting so much". Ouch.

London Underground Life has just passed the 100,000 hit mark, against my paltry nearly 10,000 hits. Congratulations on this significant milestone.

There is of course one major reason for the difference in blog traffic and that is content. Content is King.

If The Sun or The Mirror decided they occasionally couldn't be bothered to print a newspaper, they would over time lose their readers. It's the same for a blog - if you don't type, regular readers wither and disappear. Write regularly, and about things that people are interested in or can relate to, then repeat visitors and referrals grow exponentially.

So John, first of all thank you for offering to meet up. It was good to say hello to you and your colleague. Secondly, thank you for your kind comments. Thirdly, now that my (pc) problems appear to be out of the way, I shall endeavour to try a bit harder!

Why has this post got a logo? 'Cos that's what it looked like to me!

So what's going on here then?

I thought my eyes were deceiving me earlier today.

There I was, stood on the platform at Princes Risborough, when a Virgin Super Voyager train whizzed through. Eh? Has Chiltern Railways had an upgrade? There have since been loads more or these trains go through, so I thought I'd best find out what is going on.

Apparently the West Coast main line is closed at Rugby and a 'freight only' line somewhere in North West London is being used to get trains from Euston onto the Chiltern Railways lines.

Later: I've also just found a more recent Virgin Trains press release. Oh - And you can tell that I know nothing about trains. Until corrected, this post had the wrong sort of train (and wrong picture). Oops.

And a few grey hairs later

Sorry about the break.

The last month has seen me remember far more about the workings of my PC than I knew I'd forgotten.

The purchase of a Memory Stick and an external Firewire enabled hard drive have meant that the only data I seem to have lost has been my Outlook information (everything). No photos lost, no music lost, MS Money file protected. All in all lucky, lucky, lucky.

Oh, and the Bar Stewards at Adobe won't reissue my Dreamweaver activation code despite having the CD and access to my original on-line invoice. Gits.

So, one completely re-formatted hard drive later and I'm gradually getting back to normal.

Yippee.

I'd better go and cut the grass now. Chanting as I go ..... "Back up your data, back up your data, back up your d...

Houston - We have a problem

My home PC has gone the way of the Dodo, so I'll be back when I can.

A boffin at work is sorting me a bootable Linux disk which may enable me to recover files etc before contemplating serious action. No point worrying - just hope I can get my MS Money file back.

Ho hum.

No tubes or trains till Tuesday. Enjoy!

Back on topic

I've hardly mentioned the Central Line recently, so to totally get back on topic why not have a look at this song.. it made me smile:

Tube Avoidance - Progress Report

Since a particular post last month, I have managed to significantly reduce my usage of deep-level tube lines. This isn't because I dislike traveling on the Underground (far from it), it is simply to avoid becoming over anxious.

My alternative journey between work and London Marylebone involves a walk from Soho up to Great Portland Street, followed by a bus or sometimes one stop on the tube along to Baker Street.

Morning journeys via this route ('door to door') take about the same time as my old route. Evening journeys take about five minutes longer than was previously the case, but I feel a lot better for it.

Unsung Heroes

Rotary is a worldwide organisation, with widely different levels of understanding and standing in the communities in which it operates.

In Cornwall, the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard runs a scheme called Shelterbox which aims to provide urgent relief around the globe when natural disasters occur.

I quote from the Shelterbox website regarding the immediate response to the Cyclone Disaster that struck Burma (Myanmar) over the weekend:

"May 6th - Myanmar (Burma): ShelterBox responds immediately to the devastating cyclone to hit Myanmar. 22,000 lives are reported to have been lost and 95% of houses are destroyed as the cyclone swept in-land after several days at sea. 224 boxes left from the pre-positioned site in Dubai over the weekend, 220 boxes have left from Melbourne, Australia and a further 200 boxes with two tents each were packed this morning at the ShelterBox HQ in Helston, Cornwall. A team of four SRT members are making arrangements to assist with the difficult distribution of vital aid."

A number of things strike me:

• The speed of response
• The fact that ShelterBoxes are pre-positioned around the globe
• This is done by a voluntary organisiation that, in the UK, has an image of wrinkly doddery old farts. Clearly nothing could be further from the truth.

A quick review shows that Shelterbox distributed over thirteen thousand boxes in the aftermath of the South-East Asian Tsunami three years ago. Please explore the ShelterBox website and learn just how good some people can be.

Shelterbox team - I salute you. Why not give them a few quid? Thank you.

A new railway is born

With a minimum of fanfare (I have seen no publicity), today a new railway company was born.

Wrexham & Shropshire started running passenger services today. Trains do what they say on the tin - offering a direct service from Wrexham & Shropshire to London Marylebone.

Currently the timetable has five return trains on each weekday, four on a Saturday and three on a Sunday.

Train politics mean that you cannot get on a train from Banbury to Marylebone (or from Marylebone to Banbury) - you have to use Chiltern Railways services instead.

I wish the new venture well - any new service has to be welcomed.

Trains have been running empty for a month for driver and route training, so hopefully today's niggles will soon be ironed out. There were unfortunately a couple of serious delays today, but I doubt that many people were affected.

Alternative career choice looming for train driver?

I was waiting at Princes Risborough train station this afternoon for a fast train to London (one stop only en-route, at High Wycombe).

Out of the Aylesbury branch line there suddenly appears a rubbish train which I know is heading for the WLWA Transfer Station in South Ruislip.

"Uh-Oh" me thinks - my train is going to catch that up.

Sure enough just as we are adjacent to Ruislip Gardens Central Line station my Chiltern Railways "Clubman" service grinds to a halt. It transpires that the waste train has suffered some kind of technical hitch while entering the siding and is blocking the points and the main line in towards Marylebone.

Driver: ".... the rubbish train is blocking our path and we can't get around it, maybe that's why they call it the rubbish train".

Maybe you had to be there, but the whole carriage cracked up. Definitely a comedian in the waiting.

Anyhow, we soon got moving and arrived only 7 minutes late into Marylebone.

In the manner of a Hedgehog

Eh?

Bloody stupid name.

Erinaceous.

Cute to look at from a distance with but prickly to handle.

Ancient history for me but a big worry for a while. Gone.

Sorry to talk in riddles.

Do I have 'Gullible' stamped on my forehead?

I switch on my PC, it goes through the normal warm-up routine. Mailwasher launches.

While I am out of the room the normal couple of dozen spam emails are deleted.

Three are left:

• One from the "Executive Governor, Cent. Bank Of Nig" offering to courier me USD 10 M in cash.
• Another from "OFFICE OF THE SENATE HOUSE
• FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA" apologising for the delay in sending a different wire transfer to me for USD 11.3 M
• and the third from a named individual simply described as 'The Legal Representative'. This man purports to be a barrister distributing the assets of a dead person. This offer is low at only USD 5 M.

Wow! That's USD 26.3 M waiting for me in Nigeria, all in the last eight hours. I am so excited. Not.

The most worrying thing is not that I am particularly gullible (my job ensures that I receive regular Fraud Prevention and Anti-Money Laundering Training), but that the scammers have managed to get as far as the penultimate wall of my anti-spam armoury.

Fortunately I just see the words and smile. They sit in a benign environment on a preview screen in Mailwasher and I simply hit 'Process' and then they are gone.

Empty screen. Till the next...

Edit: I haven't even finished proof reading this post and another one has arrived. This time it's a paltry USD 1.3 M. Change of country - this one is from Benin. Grrr.

What do we expect from 'A Good Service is Operating on ....'

Some time in my pre-blogging days, London Underground changed its house style so that a 'Normal Service' became a 'Good Service'.

This means that when you are stood on a packed platform at Oxford Circus desperately hoping that, if you fold yourself in half and leap over the heads of 25 people stood by the door on the next train to gain access, you are safe in the knowledge that this isn't just Normal but it is actually rather Good.

This linguistic nuance bothered me when the change occurred and it still grates a little.

Yesterday morning the Southbound Bakerloo Line platform at Marylebone was absolutely heaving, such that I eventually managed to squeeze onto the second train that arrived, and that was after going to the very last door. All the while we were breezily being told by the public address system that this was 'Good'.

The Eastbound Central Line platform at Oxford Circus was worse - this time I had to let two trains through despite, as instructed using 'The Full Length of the Platform'. At least there was a man there making the announcements rather than an automaton.

For a long time last year the Inner-London part of my journey involved a bus or tube along the Marylebone/ Euston Road to the The Station Supervisor's territory, then a meander down through Fitzrovia to Soho. I think I shall have to revert to it, as my current journey is not good for the soul.

Have we lost the spirit of the Olympics?

Diamond Geezer has this morning posted a poignant blog about the parade of the Olympic Torch around London yesterday.

I cannot add much to DG's observations. DG's posts are always written well, but I think that the mood of yesterday's dispiriting and rather tacky event is wonderfully encapsulated here. Take a look.

Sorry to harp on about it, but compare and contrast to the sea of rugby supporters at Vicarage Road yesterday afternoon. The only police there were either outside keeping an eye on the traffic, or inside the stadium getting a cup of tea.

It was a bit nippy

I went out at 10.00am and it took 10 minutes to clear the snow off the car. There was a good two inches. There was a tiny bit of snow on the road for the first couple of miles, but then plain sailing all the way to Watford.

The rugby match was good. I was perhaps a little surprised by the result, but the good thing was that compared to the previous meeting in Cardiff two weeks ago, my side won.

Hat and gloves were worn throughout. The car definitely won today - the train times meant that going by public transport would have doubled the journey time.

I note that while I was out today, the Olympic Torch has been traveling around London, causing a bit of fuss on the way, and itself needing a fair pit of protection.

Compare and contrast with these three pictures that I took of Sir Richard Branson, 4 years ago, outside Tottenham Court Road tube station. I think I got a bit closer than most people were allowed to today.

Oops - And I have a rugby match to attend

I like snow. I think snow is great to walk around in. It is also great to ski down mountains that are covered in loads of snow.

What is less good is when I looked out of the window just now and saw that we had had the first covering of proper snow of the winter. It is only an inch or so here, but having lived in London for 18 years, I am a member of the "Snow = National Emergency" brigade when it comes to driving.

Every route from where I live to Watford (directly across the huge mountain range North West of London called The Chiltern Hills) involves steep hills or narrow country roads. The trouble is I don't particularly want to take the train. There is a very high risk that something will go wrong with either Chiltern Railways or the Metropolitan Line, and I do have to get back.

Why Watford?

There is a 12.30 kick off for the Saracens -v- Ospreys match at Vicarage Road. It is an important match and the stadium has totally sold out (all 18,214 tickets have been gone).

Having just listened to the travel news on LBC, the tube appears to have problems on the Bakerloo, Central and Metropolitan Lines. Common factor: all in North West London, not far from Watford.

I shall have to put on a pan of porridge and then carefully consider my options.

It seems that next week's tube strike has been called off

According to the BBC News site and tonight's Evening Standard the 72 hour tube strike, due to start on Sunday evening, has been called off.

Perhaps I should have put a pound on that happening after my recent thoughts on the matter.

Interestingly the tfl website just says that the industrial action has been 'suspended', so we'll just have to wait and see whether it really is all sorted.

Happy days. The only problem is, I have no excuse now for not going to Canary Wharf for a meeting next week.

To strike or not to strike?

Ok... the pressure is building.

A joint strike is planned on the London Underground from 1830 BST on 6 April to 9 April by the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA).

At this stage in the proceedings I suspect that there is more than a 50% probability that the industrial action will not happen. This is based on observation of many many disputes involving London Underground over the last two decades.

It has proven incredibly difficult to find any quality information about the dispute, so that I could present an informed view. Anyhow, here is what I have found:

• It seems to be about safety issues. Here are the blunt facts as presented by the RMT. It seems that 1,673 RMT union members voted for the action. This seems like a really low number of people across the whole of London Underground. This implies that either many people really couldn't be bothered to vote, or that this dispute doesn't involve all types of staff working on the underground.
• The TSSA have 3,000 members working on the underground. They had an 81.2% vote in favour of industrial action, but their media release does not say how many members actually voted.
• London Underground have responded to the strike announcement by saying "There is simply no reason for a strike, or even the threat of one, as all of the issues being raised can be resolved".

My personal views are:

1. Every station on the London Underground ought to have a physical ticket office that is open between, say, 6 am & 9 am and between 3 pm and 7pm every working weekday. The hours can be worked on, the concept is not negotiable. Bricking up a ticket office, such as happened at Regents Park during last year's refurbishment is a big no-no.
2. Health & Safety legislation in the country is very strong. If LUL decide they want to vary an aspect (S 4.2) of THEIR Congestion Control and Emergency Plan, then that is down to them. If the unions believe that a proposal is unsafe, they should challenge the matter through the courts, using injunctions if necessary. I suspect this is about job protection, not safety.
3. I agree with the unions that only directly employed LUL staff should be used for stations and ticketing operations, however I disagree with them about security staff being directly employed by London Underground.

Please note: I dislike Ken Livingstone, I am against the monolithic nature of 'Transport for London' and I have seen evidence that London Underground has bullied those with whom it deals.

Please also note: I view Bob Crow as a dinosaur and the way that the RMT behaves as belonging to another era.

We should not have to deal with incessant strikes or threats thereof. I really don't know what can be done about it, but I am fed up to the back teeth with a small number of people being able to hold London to ransom.

Chiltern Railways problems in Birmingham resolved

The National Rail website confirms that Chiltern Railways are today offering a normal service to/from Birmingham following removal of the derailed freight train at Birmingham Moor Street.

Alternate day problems for Chiltern Railways

I have already mentioned that, on Good Friday, Chiltern Railways had to suspend services between London Marylebone and High Wycombe for almost three hours due to signalling problems.

At about 8.00pm on Easter Sunday services were affected for a while by a broken down train just outside High Wycombe.

Today (Tuesday) services are badly affected by a derailed freight train in the Birmingham Moor Street area, causing all Birmingham services to start/ finish at Dorridge. The derailment means that this disruption is likely to continue until the close of play tomorrow (Wednesday).

Chiltern have published an emergency timetable for tomorrow (pdf). Be aware that it appears to only cover trains that would have been north of Banbury for any part of their journey. People wishing to travel are advised to check any of the following information sources:

• Chiltern Railways Phone: 08456 005 165 (Mondays to Fridays 0830 to 1730)
• Chiltern Railways website (This link may change)
• National Rail Enquiries website
• National Rail Enquiries Phone: 08457 48 49 50

Please note that the Chiltern Railways website gives explicit guidance on other train operators acceptance of Chiltern Railways tickets.

Some London Midland routes are also affected by these problems - I am afraid you will have to do your own digging for more information on that Train Operating Company. This link is currently active.

I hope this information is of some use.

Important: This blog is not actively updated during incidents such as this. Please ensure that you check alternative sources of information. All information is believed to be accurate as at 21.15 on Tuesday 25th April 2008.

Boring pictures

On this Easter Day, the 1/2 hour of Breakfast/ BBC News 24 that I have just watched was totally devoid of any meaningful reference to Easter. There were plenty of pictures of snow sent in by viewers but, to be honest, they were all pretty boring. A photograph of Dr John Sentamu tobogganing down the slopes of Clifford's Tower - that would be more fun and perhaps of some relevance to the day.

On Friday afternoon I went to the cinema. When I got back to the station I commented to someone what a beautiful day it was.

My train journey home was less than 15 minutes - in that time the sun disappeared, the sky darkened and white stuff started to fall out of the sky.

Not white fluffy snow, but hail stones. Tumbling as though someone above was tipping them out of bags as fast as they could go. The hail storm lasted a couple of minutes, but it was enough to whiten things over. These anonymised pictures show the immediate after effects of the hail on this green and pleasant land immediately around my home.

I suspect that the hail got into the railway cogs somewhere, because shortly afterwards Chiltern Railways suspended all services between London and High Wycombe due to a signal failure between West Ruislip & Gerrards Cross. It took around three hours to resolve, so it looks as though I just got home in time.

A little bit of suffering on Good Friday is good for the soul!

Yesterday (Easter Saturday) I was at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff for the semi-finals of a rugby competition, sponsored by an energy company that has resorted to initials because it otherwise sounds too French.

I am not going to mention the rugby - I am a Saracens season ticket holder. It had been a gloriously sunny afternoon for the first match- then briefly the weather closed in and a brief light sprinkling of snow obviously made everything so slippery that it was enough to cause Saracens significant disadvantage. Hmm. This picture is more exiting than the Saracens -v- Ospreys match. The better team won.

For information, we drove along the M4 to Newport (Gwent) and then caught the (arriva) train to Cardiff. This seemed like a sensible option, though we never did find the long-stay car park at the train station. I did wonder whether they take all the signs down for event days?

Back to today: I live in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, to the North West of London. We are supposed to catch every snow flake as it travels towards London to create its own national emergency.

I look out of the window and I see green. I see birds flying around. I see ramblers. In short, I see a typical day. Two main differences- It is a special day when god fearing folk are supposed to be at church and one when you will have great difficulty in shopping as, by law, all but the smallest of shops are closed.

We did have a bit of the white fluffy stuff earlier, but it has all gone. For the latest weather, visit the Met Office website.

Happy Easter!

How was my first day back?

Yesterday was my first day back at work and it was not good!

It started off well, with my train into Marylebone arriving 3 minutes early. Actually all trains are timetabled to arrive 3 minutes early, though they rarely do.

Each of the Bakerloo Line and the Central Line were absolutely heaving (big gaps in service on both).

Still, looking on the bright side, given the atrocious weather yesterday (storms lashing much of South England and Wales), at least I got to work with no cancellations or service suspensions.

Coming home in the evening, London Underground were announcing delays on the Central Line and the Bakerloo Line. The Central Line was fine, but the brown line was just that.

Chiltern Railways were clearly suffering with operational difficulties at Marylebone. I don't think it was due to the weather, just a broken down train. The train that was causing problems eventually left late and subsequently had to be taken out of service at Gerrards Cross.

Chiltern operate what I think is an unusual sort of timetable- there is no discernible stopping pattern to peak time trains. Train times and their stops are precisely managed to follow passenger flows. This is fine until you dump a couple of hundred people at Gerrards Cross who want to get to a range of places from High Wycombe to Stratford-on-Avon.

The station staff did little other than talk loudly at their customers while at least two nearly empty trains went through (each of which would have stopped at High Wycombe, where most people wanted to be).

It was certainly not an evening where the staff at the 'Integrated Control Centre' excelled. Chiltern Railways might think they did, but that particular train operating company lost a lot of Brownie Points last night.

Choices: Ski Lift or Commuting. I know which I prefer!

Excuses excuses...

Well, my PC had the Blue Screen of Death for a few weeks and I have also managed three weeks skiing in the last month.

The BSOD appears to now be fixed and it looks as though my panda eyes are going to recede rapidly, given the current weather forecast.

The usual intermittent service will now be resumed.

Chiltern Railways is to be taken over by Deutsche Bahn

According to a report on the BBC website, the sale process of the Chiltern Railways franchise by Laing Rail appears to be drawing to a close. Formal approval is required from all and sundry, but I reckon it'll happen.

In theory nothing much will change- the trouble is that Chiltern Railways are highly regarded and generally thought of as being just about the best reailway company. 'Best' costs money (or good management) and these things are often in short supply after a corporate takeover. We'll just have to see how things shape up.

By the way, the Central Line is an absolute bloody nightmare at the height of the morning peak. No problems with how it runs, there are just too many people. Roll on the Olympics.

A Happy Ending

First of all a very Happy New Year. I hope you and yours had an enjoyable Christmas.

Tonight I was at a quiet country station in Buckinghamshire waiting to catch a train home to somewhere even quieter, when a youngish man tried to engage me in conversation. The trouble was he couldn't engage in a proper conversation because he appeared to have some form of learning disability. He was carrying a small bag with some clothes but did not seem to know where he was, where he was going or how he got there.

Eventually, after a lengthy conversation he showed me a tag around his neck which had his home address and telephone number printed on it.

Using the Help Point on the platform I was able to contact the Chiltern Railways control centre who were in turn able to contact the man's parents. His Father then set off on a journey of over 80 miles down from Birmingham to collect him. S was left in the safe company of the parking attendant in a warm and cosy hut. I suspect the parking attendant will be having a late night and S & his family an even later one.

I can't even begin to imagine the worry his parents must have been going through. Hopefully S will get home all right - well done to the lady at Chiltern Railways for taking ownership of a really human problem, and to the parking attendant for doing the right thing.

The original title of this post was "A Sad Tale" but, with hindsight, it is always better for the glass to be half full, rather than half empty.

Happy Christmas

Best wishes to everyone. Thank you for reading my blog.

I must confess to just a little bit of recycling in respect of this post. The sentiments do however remain genuine.

There is apparently no chance of a White Christmas in my part of South East England, so I thought I would once again share with you my idea of how Christmas might appear in warmer climes.

I took this picture on Mt Kinabalu, Borneo, a couple of years ago. You may spot a little bit of post production. I like it, so I serve it up on a plate once again.

Do please have a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Liverpool Street Main Line Station - Christmas Closure

Liverpool Street (London) main line station will be totally closed from Sunday 23rd December 2007 through to Tuesday 1st jauary 2008, to allow engineering works to take place.

The One Railway website has full details of alternative arrangements here.

There is a clickable map of the One Railway network which is quite whizzy.

The Central Line will still be calling at Liverpool Street and, apparently, off-peak services on the Central Line will be increased to 30 trains per hour.

A Change of Scenery

I had to go to Wrexham today for family stuff. It wasn't really practical to do the return journey by train, so 340 miles of driving later, and I am a tad tired!
View Larger Map

The icing on the cake was having to sit on the M40 this evening for over 1/2 an hour, with the engine off, while the emergency services dealt with a fire. I am glad I don't drive every day for a living.

I guess today must be a manic late night shopping/ party night in London as my local station car park is still half full. Usually by now there will only be one or two cars still there. I wonder how many will still be there in the morning? Edit: Answer = "Lots"

The trains were noticeably quieter than usual on Monday and Tuesday, so hopefully loads of room to spread out tomorrow!

A summary of Chiltern Railways' train services over the holiday period, including downloadable pdf files, is available here.

Train Shortage on the Central Line

I have just received a text message advising that there are minor delays on the Central Line due to a lack of available trains.

Is it just me, or is what work Metronet are/ were doing deteriorating? There seem to have been an increasing number of infrastructure breakdowns over the last few weeks.

Lack of trains on a frosty morning? Looks to me as though the trains feel like me today - cold and tired. Still, at least when it rains, I don't leak.

Tesco really are trying to change things too much

I have this morning received an email from Tesco.

The first sentence reads:

"With Christmas less than a week away, its time to think about all those last-minute buys."

Now, I know I am a bit slow at getting started with my Christmas shopping, but moving Christmas nearer is not going to win brownie points for anyone.

I have used a number of reference points and am fairly confident that Christmas Day is on 25th December. Today is 12th December.

Grotty mornings on the Underground

Monday morning wasn't a good start:

Unusually, my Chiltern Railways train got in to Marylebone ten minutes late. The Bakerloo Line was suspended due to a broken down train at Oxford Circus. I then walked to Baker Street but could not get to the Jubilee Line due to overcrowding. I then stood on a Metropolitan Line train which was terminated after ten minutes (without going anywhere). It then took six or seven minutes to even get off the platform due to the number of passengers, so I walked to Soho. I should have done that in the first place. Very wearing.

Thursday wasn't particularly good:

There was absolutely no way I could get on the first Southbound Bakerloo Line train that arrived. I waited ten minutes for the next one- I suspect crowd control must have been in place at Paddington, because when it came in I was able to get a seat. I was at the back of the train- things must have been really bad in the middle of the train, because passengers were stood several layers deep as we left the station. At Oxford Circus I changed to the Central Line for one stop- really bad move. I got on the seventh train that came. It would have been way quicker to walk.

I am usually the train geek at work. On these two days I did not initiate the water cooler conversations.

Day off tomorrow. Yippee!

So where did November go?

So, here we are one month on from the clocks going back, and it's just as dark again at silly o'clock in the morning. It is tipping it down with rain and there is bad weather due for tomorrow. Yum yum.

Actually, I've been feeling a bit guilty of late. What blogging there has been has been mostly off topic, and there has been a definite rationing of mentions of the Central Line.

Today was a bit strange in London- there just didn't seem to be many people about. Our office had less than 1/3 of the usual bums on seats and this seemed to be reflective of how busy it was on the streets and underground.

I caught a Metropolitan Line train from Baker Street towards Aldgate at about eight o'clock this morning. There was hardly anyone on the platform and the train was half full (or half empty).

This evening the Central Line platform at Tottenham Court Road had only a smattering of the usual gormless tourists people in the way and my big Chiltern Line train home had plenty of seats.

I can't fathom it out- where is everyone?

The Bakerloo Line was suspended a few minutes ago between Elephant & Castle and Queens Park. However I was long gone and it seems to have sorted itself out now.

Apart from the aforementioned lines I have, this week, been on the Docklands Light Railway, The Jubilee Line and The Northern Line. All without problem or hassle. Just how it should be.

While I remember, I did have a bit of a 'mare on the DLR last Thursday (22 Nov) when it took half an hour in the evening from Bank to Westferry. Never mind, I was on the way to the pub, hence why I had almost forgotten.

That's me caught up for now- hopefully (?), December will be a bit more interesting.

I always thought I was in the wrong job...

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Indiana Jones Indiana Jones is an archaeologist/adventurer with an unquenchable love for danger and excitement. He travels the globe in search of historical relics. He loves travel, excitement, and a good archaeological discovery. He hates Nazis and snakes, perhaps to the same degree. He always brings along his trusty whip and fedora. He's tough, cool, and dedicated. He relies on both brains and brawn to get him out of trouble and into it. Indiana Jones 63% The Amazing Spider-Man 63% James Bond, Agent 007 63% Lara Croft 58% Neo, the "One" 54% The Terminator 54% Captain Jack Sparrow 54% Batman, the Dark Knight 50% William Wallace 50% Maximus 46% El Zorro 42%

Apathy is not good - Wear your poppy with pride

Today is Remembrance Sunday, when the nation commemorates the sacrifices made by Britain's war dead.

Over the last few days I have carried out a very simple straw poll of people's attitude towards Remembrance Sunday and also towards The Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal:

• Number of people I have spoken to who watched Panorama last Monday- a topical programme about what our troops are currently doing in Afghanistan: None
• Number of my work colleagues observed to have been wearing a poppy last week: Less than one in seven
• Number of people that I know personally (outside of my family), who have today participated in any formal act of remembrance: Three

One observation I have would be that the likelihood of participation in any act of remembrance appears, among the general population, to increase with the distance you live from a major city centre.

Remembrance Sunday is not about glorifying war. It is about commemorating those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of our country. You may not agree with war, you may not agree with some of the things our armed services are currently being asked to do, but please do remember all of those who have not come back and who may yet not come back.

Many of those who do come back have (and will) bear terrible scars. Some of those scars are all too obvious to see, while many are not.

All of these people and their families need active support to help them through their difficulties.

Please wear your poppy with pride and do as much as you can to support those who suffer in the name of your country.

Later:

I was pleased to see a one minute silence at Vicarage Road (Saracens -v- Glasgow Warriors). You could have heard a pin drop as the seven thousand strong crowd stood and paid their respects.

A bit over the top

Chiltern Railways appear to have installed a new automated announcement system at Beaconsfield.

Tonight:

"I am sorry to announce that the 18:41 train to London Marylebone is running approximately one minute late. I am sorry for the delay to your journey. Please listen for further announcements."

This was about 90 seconds before the train appeared.

A similar announcement then came on the opposite platform for a different train, with the delay being three minutes, rapidly increased to four minutes then reduced to one minute.

It might be a new toy, but passengers will rapidly get frustrated by announcements that are too frequent. Chiltern usually operate like clockwork, but are they being a bit OTT?

An interesting couple of days for Chiltern Railways

Last night, just after 18:30, there was a fatality in the Wembley Stadium area.

This brought total chaos to all Chiltern Railways' trains out of Marylebone and many people in Buckinghamshire were hours late in getting home.

This morning's train into London had an air of people just getting on with their commute. Not a bunch of happy campers.

Tonight saw a signal failure in the Neasden area- a few cancellations, delays and no doubt quite a few people again late.

To top that, I have just got off a train, where the driver appears to be trying to do a Lewis Hamilton. If you don't believe me, look at this screen grab from the online train tracker....

I hope no-one missed their train.

Not Living Along the Central Line

There are pros and cons about living in the Buckinghamshire countryside and having to commute into London every day.

I took this picture at seven thirty this morning from my study. Other than changing its size for uploading, the photograph is unaltered. I don't recall a similar view from my flat Along the Central Line.

Definitely one of the pros of living in the country.

One of the cons is that I am almost at the stage of giving up on the idea of getting on the Central Line (eastbound) at Oxford Circus in the morning rush hour. It is a total pain and I usually end up letting at least one train go.

When I lived out at the Western extremities of the line, I had a simple rule- if I couldn't get a seat, I didn't get on. In more years than I care to think about, you could count on your fingers the number of times I let a train go, so as to not break my little rule.

Sliced, diced or squashed?

Last night I managed to catch a fast train out of London Marylebone, first stop High Wycombe.

We were haring along between Beaconsfield and High Wycombe when the train suddenly decelerated rapidly and came to a stop. It was a strange place to stop - regular commuters on any line get a feeling for these things.

After about three minutes the train started to move again.

As we approached High Wycombe, the driver advised us over the intercom that he had felt it necessary to stop the train, because three boys had been stood between the rails on the opposite line throwing stones. Unbelievable!

Trains often travel a 75 miles per hour along that stretch of line. If you get hit by a train, the train will always win.

And to think, the school half-term holiday had only started a couple of hours before.

Abandoned Station

Well, it is now a couple of weeks since all the fun of the royal visit to my local station. All that new paint, fresh posters and general spit & polish.

Would it surprise you to know that every single poster relating to weekend engineering work is now out of date? No, I thought not.

Clearly every bit of budget that Chiltern Railways allocate to this corner of Buckinghamshire was spent in all the excitement of trying to impress.

Well that was a waste of time

This morning the Central Line was suspended between Ealing Broadway and North Acton, first thing.

In my little mind that says that the service oughtn't to be disrupted too much for the rest of the line, as trains can reverse as required at White City, North Acton or Northolt.

I knew about the suspension before I left home out in the sticks.

By the time I got to Marylebone, the earlier problems had been resolved, but the service was now suspended Westbound Only between Leytonstone and Liverpool Street. Now that is (in my view) more serious as not only is that stretch of line used by tens of thousands of people at around 9.00 am, but it is relatively slow to reverse trains at Liverpool Street. Big gaps in the service were therefore therefore likely to occur in the central area, particularly Westbound.

So... why the flipping heck did I even bother to catch a Bakerloo Line train to Oxford Circus with a view to changing onto the Central Line. It was chaos. I ended up emerging into the daylight, mole like, at Oxford Circus and continuing my journey on foot at street level.

My journey from Marylebone to work took me 35 minutes. Any other variation of public transport would have been quicker, as would walking the whole way. I knew there were problems, so why the flipping heck did I even try?

Pillock.

And the Reason for all the Housekeeping...

Most of the commuters who use my local station will have been totally unaware of the reason for all the tidying up....

Well yesterday afternoon there was a visit from The Duke of Gloucester who formally opened the station museum (which is actually the waiting room on the London bound platform).

There is an account of the visit in one of the local papers and, by all accounts, His Royal Highness seemed to be genuinely interested in the community work in and around the station. I have previously met the Duke (and separately the Duchess) so, whatever your views on the Royal Family, my personal view is that they work incredibly hard to support local communities around the UK.

The Station Museum waiting room at Saunderton does tend to be locked outside of the morning peak hours. If anyone wants to have a look at the information boards etc I should be able to make contact with someone to arrange to open up for you, obviously with advance notice. I hope I don't live to regret this offer! I may be contacted at centraluseratgooglemail[changetheobvious]dotcom.

Perhaps our rural stations could be improved across the network by somehow arranging regular royal visits.

Be warned, there is only one train (Chiltern Railways) an hour in each direction at the weekend and no public facilities. There are however loads of walks in the area and a reasonable pub just down the road.

Well, that's my life of incognito blogging well and truly blown!

Circle Line & Hammersmith & City Line both Suspended

This morning the Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines are each totally suspended. In addition there is no service on the District Line between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road.

This blog is not constantly updated, so please visit the tfl website for up to date information.

The Real Time Map shows the huge impact of these suspensions.

It is apparantly all down to 'Health & Safety'. The BBC website states the issue as being around the "Traction Brake Controller". I don't work on the railway, so may be wrong, but I think this is (or is connected to) the "Deadman's Handle".

It looks as though I may be on the Central Line today!

What's to be done about the Jubilee Line?

When I first moved to London, I used to commute in every day from Stanmore which is at the Northern end of the Jubilee Line. My Father would go all the way to the other end (Charing Cross) while I would get off at the penultimate stop, Green Park. The service was good.

Please note: The Jubilee Line does not go to Charing Cross anymore (unless you are Jason Bourne). The line has now been extended on from Green Park to Stratford via Canary Wharf (and lots of other interesting places).

I should point out that I am talking ancient history here. The Docklands Light Railway had not yet opened, London City Airport had not opened and not a brick or girder had been laid at Canary Wharf.

Now, I quite regularly have to go to Canary Wharf. If I am going from home, I will pick up the Jubilee Line from Baker Street. Quite frankly traveling from the West End to Canary Wharf sucks.

This morning I was at Baker Street by 7.25am and the Jubilee Line was packed. I've done the same journey loads of times this year and it is always heaving. Yuck.

The problem is, there are just too many people using the Jubilee Line at peak hours. It isn't going to get any better, because they keep on putting new buildings up in Docklands. More buildings = more commuters.

I don't know what the answer is, but it must get worse before it gets better.

Unexpected Station Refurbishment

Although I still use the London Underground most days, my local train station is now most definitely in a rural location. Leafy Buckinghamshire to be precise.

Two weeks ago the footbridge at the station started getting repainted. Last weekend the footway and stairs on the bridge were re-covered and the steps got bright new yellow lines. Over the last few days all of the posters have been renewed. The grass banks adjacent to the car park have also been strimmed. Oh and a few strategically place plants and flowers have appeared. There was even a member of Chiltern Railways' staff at the station at 6.30am this morning.

If I didn't know better, I would think this all rather peculiar...

A Really Bad Evening for Chiltern Railways

This evening there was a 'Track Circuit Failure' in the Willesden Green area, affecting all Chiltern Railways' trains out of London Marylebone. It affected services from 18:00.

I travel to Buckinghamshire, to a little country station in the middle of nowhere. The various combinations of subsequent cancellations and early terminations conspired together to mean that my destination temporarily disappeared out of the psyche of Chiltern Railways. That and an alleged ban on the use of Special Stop Orders meant that I got home 75 minutes later than I should have done.

One Customer Charter Refund request on the way.

The problem is now fixed.

Tube Strikes Suspended

The good news is that the RMT suspended it's strike action very late last night, so in theory that's that.

The bad news is that they left it so bloody late that, this morning, the same three lines are running (Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly) on London Underground. Currently (07:00 am) there is no service running on any other line. Live travel updates are, as usual, available.

The whole way this industrial action has happened has really pissed me off. I expect tomorrow that I will wake up to find dinosaurs wandering around Hyde Park. I do not know anything about what was discussed at yesterday's negotiations between the parties concerned. However (and I am genuinely sorry if this annoys any of my regular readers), I think the RMT lives in the dark ages and their whole approach to industrial relations sucks.

Also, I note that the industrial action is 'suspended'. It's like a sword of Damocles hanging over London.

I shall now get back in my kennel, take a deep breath and then go to work. Grrrr.

Good morning!

There are No Cities in Scotland

The statement that "There are No Cities in Scotland" is not presented as a fact. It was however presented as such by two teenage girls overheard in conversation on a train last Friday.

I should point out that the two individiuals had just boarded a train at Liskeard ("the main urban centre in south east Cornwall"), population approx 8,700. As locals they were clearly very worldly-wise and I was prepared to defer to their knowledge of Scotland.
View Larger Map

Having traveled directly from Edinburgh (Scotland) to Cornwall just a few days before, I had a reasonable idea that there are some cities in Scotland. Nevertheless I realised that I needed to check and double-check the position. Obviously anything heard in conversation must be considered accurate unless proven otherwise by the power of the internet thingy.

A new Label has been allocated to this post.

For the record there are a number of cities in Scotland, the most obvious of which are Edinburgh and Glasgow. More may be found detailed here.

Industrial Action on the London Underground

In case you have missed it, major industrial action is taking place on the London Underground at present.

Only three London Underground Lines are working: Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly (though the Piccadilly is a bit dodgy in West/ North West London).

All other London Underground Lines (including the Central Line) are suspended. The industrial Action is due to finish at 18:00 on Thursday 6th September, though a normal service is not expected to resume until Friday morning.

The Docklands Light Railway is unaffected and all National Rail Services are similarly NOT affected by the industrial action.

Real time information is available here, via the tfl website.

A Fun Morning on the Underground

Large chunks of the underground were thrown into chaos this morning due to "Emergency Engineering Work" somewhere in the Whitechapel area.

The District Line had a chunk missing, the Hammersmith & City Line was suspended East of Moorgate, The Metropolitan Line was suspended East of Baker Street and the Circle Line was suspended.

I understand that there was a minor tunnel collapse before the trains started running (I mean MINOR) and the services were up and running by about Noon.

I diverted to the Bakerloo & Central Lines for the first time this week, only to find the both lines exceptionally busy (passengers have to go somewhere), not helped by a Bakerloo Line train being taken out of service at Regents Park.

The Ultimate Blog?

What to blog about today?

Well...

1. I traveled on the Central Line and it was like clockwork.
2. I have just been to see The Bourne Ultimatum. It was brilliant and I thoroughly recommend it. It is a bit of a Boys Own adventure, the pace is almost none stop, there is some incredible cinematography and the storyline goes right on till the end. Also I am a convert to digital cinema- my previous experience of a digital projector left me saying 'never again', but clearly the technology has moved on and I now eat my words.

The wonders of the English language

Chiltern Railways have invested a lot of time, trouble (and money) into car parking facilities for their passengers. Warwick Parkway has masses of car parking spaces (564), Bicester has a multi-storey car park (well, double-decker) and the management of most is outsourced.

A very small number of stations have free parking, though don't all rush to use the facilities at Little Kimble as I think it has a whole four spaces.

Anyhow, with all this investment and management, it amused me to see a small notice taped over a sign at one car park entrance today. I have replicated the notice here for your convenience. While the meaning is clear, it nevertheless amused me to think how many different nuances and meanings the sign might have.

I really must get out more.

I have recently inherited a small second-hand digital camera (my Digital SLR is fantastic, but a bit big for carrying around everyday). Maybe I should start to carry the new one around with me... Just in case.

Anyone for Quainton Road?

An empty train pulled into London Marylebone Platform 2 at about 18:05 this evening with the front and rear dot matrix signs stating the destination as "Quainton Rd".

Now that's a first!

Quainton Road station doesn't appear on the National Rail 'Live Departures' website (well it wouldn't...).

It is actually the station for the The Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. On Monday 27th August (Bank Holiday), Chiltern Railways will be running a special service from Aylesbury. The service will be run using their heritage Class 121 "Bubble Car" which usually operates during the day between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough.

I am not quite sure what this evening's train was doing with "Quainton Rd" on the describer. I wonder whether all Chiltern Railways trains have the option programmed into their computers and whether any of them have ever been there.

Aargh... I'm now blogging like a train enthusiast.

Neglected Central Line

I am conscious that I haven't been saying much about the Central Line recently. Here goes...

My new journey to work (when I am being lazy) involves changing from the Bakerloo Line to the Central Line at Oxford Circus.

So, this morning, I was grateful to the Bakerloo Line driver announcing at Baker Street that Oxford Circus was closed due to a fire alert. This gave me the opportunity to grab my stuff and nip over to the Jubilee line for one stop down to Bond Street. Probably made no difference to the journey time as my Red Line train was able to sail through Oxford Circus without the usual long dwell time.

This evening Uncle Ken (aka Transport for London) kindly sent me a text message to say that Central Line trains were now not stopping at Oxford Circus due to flooding. Mental images then followed of a station saturated with water from an over enthusiastic visit this morning from the London Fire Brigade, but that is probably me just being over excitable.

I then had a pleasant stroll up to the Euston Road with a short ride on a No18 Bendy Bus to get me to Marylebone for the train home to leafy Buckinghamshire.

Ho hum, another exciting evening as a London Commuter.

I have in my hand a piece of paper...

The 17:53 pulled out of London Marylebone pretty much on time this evening. Unfortunately it became clear straight away that we might be in for an interesting journey home, as the train's engines stopped just as we were crossing the main points between the station and the entrance to St John's Wood Tunnel.

Not a useful place for a train to stall at the height of the evening rush hour.

We eventually laboured our way to Northolt Park (first scheduled station stop) and then stalled again somewhere between West Ruslip and Denham. Having eventually restarted, and as we approached the Tesco Tunnel at Gerrards Cross, the driver came on the PA and said that the service would be terminating at Gerrards Cross- it being the first available place with a siding and with several trains now backed up behind.

The train wasn't due to stop again except for at Beaconsfield and High Wycombe. By the time we arrived at Gerrards Cross, I estimate that we were probably about 15 minutes late.

The thing was (and the purpose of this post) that there then followed a really long station PA announcement by a man with a terribly posh voice, apologising for the problems, thanking us for our understanding and undertaking to get straight onto the telephone to establish what was going on.

The member of Chiltern Railways staff making the announcement was so clearly and completely sincere in his apology and desire to get matters sorted out, that most passengers were smiling.

What happened next was outstanding. Outstanding in that the man then came personally onto the platform and used his natural foghorn voice to advise that the next train to stop would call additionally at Beaconsfield because; "I have in my hand a piece of paper which tells the driver to stop". Priceless.

Nevertheless the next train duly pulled in a few minutes later and the man (the station manager?) walked to the front of the train and handed the driver the magic piece of paper and said "I have an extra stop for you, please stop at Beaconsfield".

Chiltern Railways are generally pretty good, though compared to many train franchises they are a bit of a toy town operation (this is good). Tonights events were really quite amusing and showed that the railway is run by humans. Well done Mr Man for accepting responsibility for sorting the problem out and for having the confidence to face the traveling public eyeball to eyeball.

I could do with a few of those magic sheets of paper, especially for a Friday night.

Demographics - Comparing & Contrasting the Passengers

I am beginning to settle into the longer journey from the trees and valleys of Buckinghamshire.

Fortunately my new home is not at the bottom of a dip so it ought to take a real Noye's Fludde to force me out of house and home. My commiserations to all those affected by the recent flooding. Buckingham was hit by a flash flood last week, but it has received little mention due to the overwhelming scale of the problems elsewhere.

This morning I changed onto the Central Line at West Ruislip rather than travel all the way into London Marylebone with Chiltern Railways.

• Generally speaking I would say that about 80% of my peak time fellow travellers on Chiltern wear office clothes of some description
• Getting on the Central Line in West London today, just before the busiest bit of the morning peak, I would say that 80% of my fellow passengers were not sporting collars or any near equivalent
  

I merely point out the contrast- as someone who commuted daily on the Central Line for 18 years, the state of peoples' clothing was something I had simply not noticed.

My train travels through some really smart (and expensive) places such as Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross, though I should point out that I board well before...

It doesn't take the Brain of Britain to work out that a greater proportion of the people living in those places are likely to work in well paid office jobs than, say, the general population of West London suburbia. Nevertheless I have been surprised by the contrast in attire of the passengers on the two lines used today.

Central Line Service Fully Restored Following Derailment

It is good to note that, following last Thursday's derailment, a full Central Line service ran from the start of service on Saturday. This included the chunk of line that was closed following the incident.

London has had a busy weekend, what with the Tour de France, the Wimbledon tennis finals, two concerts at Wembley Stadium and negligible rain.

There were so many extra people in London that in the central area it was easiest to walk for short journeys (it usually is, but most people are too lazy). Nevertheless the weekend's experience will have been improved for many people by the quick repair work undertaken in the tunnels near Mile End station.