Someone seems to have beavering away overnight, as the Central Line service appears to be operating a normal service this morning.
Hurrah!
Apparently it was indeed 12 signalling cables cut in the vicinity of North Acton Junction.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Vandalism at North Acton
There have been major problems at the west end of the Central Line today. This has led to extensive delays all along the line.
Official word is that it is due to vandalism at North Acton. So far as I can gather there have been no trains all day between North Acton and Ealing Broadway, with the service ranging from shuttles to 'No Service' out to Northolt.
The following is based on hearsay, observation and supposition (but not hard facts). I believe that certain toe rags have managed to cut out and remove a length of signalling cable west of North Acton, where the westbound line splits to Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip. I think that the points have had to be scotched & clipped (ie fixed into one position), which is why there have been trains on only one branch today.
As of an hour or so ago, London Underground appeared to be operating a service to White City/ North Acton and a separate shuttle service between White City and West Ruislip.
I am but a CentralUser and all of the above may be total tosh.
Official word is that it is due to vandalism at North Acton. So far as I can gather there have been no trains all day between North Acton and Ealing Broadway, with the service ranging from shuttles to 'No Service' out to Northolt.
The following is based on hearsay, observation and supposition (but not hard facts). I believe that certain toe rags have managed to cut out and remove a length of signalling cable west of North Acton, where the westbound line splits to Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip. I think that the points have had to be scotched & clipped (ie fixed into one position), which is why there have been trains on only one branch today.
As of an hour or so ago, London Underground appeared to be operating a service to White City/ North Acton and a separate shuttle service between White City and West Ruislip.
I am but a CentralUser and all of the above may be total tosh.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Lancaster Gate Reopens
According to the tfl website, Lancaster Gate Station on the Central Line reopened today, after several months of refurbishment work.
I am not sure which is worse- the fact that my journey will now take a couple of minutes longer again, or the fact that I didn't notice the extra stop on the way home today!
I am not sure which is worse- the fact that my journey will now take a couple of minutes longer again, or the fact that I didn't notice the extra stop on the way home today!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
New Chiltern Railways Timetable
Chiltern Railways (who operate from London Marylebone Station) are launching a much revised timetable from 10 December 2006. A full .pdf version of the timetable is currently available here, it is a large file. [Edit March 2008: Link updated to the Chiltern Railways generic timetable download page. Lots of visitors still reach this particular post via various search engines.]
It is the most comprehensive timetable change that I can recall- largely because of the two additional platforms now in use at Marylebone.
For me personally, the changes to the morning peak timetable are neither here nor there and will simply become the norm. The evening peak is an entirely different story however. There will now be a gap of over an hour between trains, about which I have feelings of discontent.
I guess that the Central Line will be getting an extra home time customer. Chiltern Railways probably couldn't give two hoots - they only seem to care about long distance passengers, from whom they take big money.
It is the most comprehensive timetable change that I can recall- largely because of the two additional platforms now in use at Marylebone.
For me personally, the changes to the morning peak timetable are neither here nor there and will simply become the norm. The evening peak is an entirely different story however. There will now be a gap of over an hour between trains, about which I have feelings of discontent.
I guess that the Central Line will be getting an extra home time customer. Chiltern Railways probably couldn't give two hoots - they only seem to care about long distance passengers, from whom they take big money.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
When Does Four Plus Two Become Three and a Half?
It was only after chatting about this with a former station announcer earlier this evening, that I remembered that I had forgotten to blog a recent incident.
I have previously mentioned that Marylebone Station now has six platforms rather than four, as was previously the case. Yomping is optional to Platforms 4, 5 & 6.
One day last week while travelling in to London during the rush hour, we sat in the tunnels outside Marylebone for 25 minutes with not so much as a by-your-leave. An explanation was given as 'congestion at Marylebone'. Strange- that shouldn't happen with an extra 50% platform capacity.
No trains went past us, leaving the station.
When we eventually arrived at the terminus, there were two empty platforms, we pulled into an otherwise empty (third) platform and a train immediately left, totally vacating another platform.
So, within one minute of arriving there were two long full platforms, one (with our train in) half full and three empty platforms. Hardly congested.
Clearly the 'A-Team' were not on duty that morning at the Network Rail Signalling Centre. Probably nothing to do with Chiltern Railways.
I am only a passenger so clearly have no knowldge on how a railway is run, but it did seem daft that we were delayed for 25 minutes for no real reason.
Oh- And my maths may be out!
I have previously mentioned that Marylebone Station now has six platforms rather than four, as was previously the case. Yomping is optional to Platforms 4, 5 & 6.
One day last week while travelling in to London during the rush hour, we sat in the tunnels outside Marylebone for 25 minutes with not so much as a by-your-leave. An explanation was given as 'congestion at Marylebone'. Strange- that shouldn't happen with an extra 50% platform capacity.
No trains went past us, leaving the station.
When we eventually arrived at the terminus, there were two empty platforms, we pulled into an otherwise empty (third) platform and a train immediately left, totally vacating another platform.
So, within one minute of arriving there were two long full platforms, one (with our train in) half full and three empty platforms. Hardly congested.
Clearly the 'A-Team' were not on duty that morning at the Network Rail Signalling Centre. Probably nothing to do with Chiltern Railways.
I am only a passenger so clearly have no knowldge on how a railway is run, but it did seem daft that we were delayed for 25 minutes for no real reason.
Oh- And my maths may be out!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Those Pesky Engineering Works - Again!
There I was on Saturday morning, doing nothing in particular, as per usual. The telephone rings- it's work... To cut a long story short I had to go in to the office to sort out a problem.
The trouble was, I hadn't planned on going anywhere, so the fact that the Central Line was again suspended from Marble Arch out to both Ealing Broadway and to West Ruislip had completely passed me by. What's more I didn't realise that engineering work was taking place until I got to my local tube station.
No matter, in no particular order, there then followed:
Perhaps I should read my own blog entries and take note!
I have to go down to Hampshire next weekend and see that the Central Line will again be suspended between Marble Arch and North Acton. Will I remember?
The trouble was, I hadn't planned on going anywhere, so the fact that the Central Line was again suspended from Marble Arch out to both Ealing Broadway and to West Ruislip had completely passed me by. What's more I didn't realise that engineering work was taking place until I got to my local tube station.
No matter, in no particular order, there then followed:
- Two bus journeys
- One tube journey
- One overground train journey and
- A four hundred yard sprint
Perhaps I should read my own blog entries and take note!
I have to go down to Hampshire next weekend and see that the Central Line will again be suspended between Marble Arch and North Acton. Will I remember?
Friday, October 27, 2006
Wem? How do you Spell that?
I spent last weekend up in Shropshire and traveled from London to Wem by train. I bought my ticket a few days in advance at Marylebone. It made me chuckle when I was asked by the ticket clerk; "Wem? How do you spell that?". Clearly I was going to a small place.
On Saturday morning I traveled to London Euston to catch the Virgin train to Crewe. Fortunately no engineering work on the Central Line so no problems getting into central London.
The train from Euston was fine, though whoever had distributed the seat reservation tickets seemed to have lost half of them. No matter, most people were seated roughly where they should be. The train did a passing impersonation of a rush hour tube train when, between Coventry and Birmingham New Street there was some severe overloading. Long distance express trains should not have to have people standing, jammed in along the full length of each carriage.
We pulled into Crewe about 10 minutes late.
The two coach train to Wem left half an hour later. I realised I was heading to an area of small towns and villages when the guard announced that three of the first five stops were 'Request Stops' and to let him know if you wanted the train to stop.
A fun family weekend then followed.
On Saturday morning I traveled to London Euston to catch the Virgin train to Crewe. Fortunately no engineering work on the Central Line so no problems getting into central London.
The train from Euston was fine, though whoever had distributed the seat reservation tickets seemed to have lost half of them. No matter, most people were seated roughly where they should be. The train did a passing impersonation of a rush hour tube train when, between Coventry and Birmingham New Street there was some severe overloading. Long distance express trains should not have to have people standing, jammed in along the full length of each carriage.
We pulled into Crewe about 10 minutes late.
The two coach train to Wem left half an hour later. I realised I was heading to an area of small towns and villages when the guard announced that three of the first five stops were 'Request Stops' and to let him know if you wanted the train to stop.
A fun family weekend then followed.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Lesson for the Day: How to Turn Sheep into Wolves
Last night. Going home time. Pouring with rain. Central London.
Delays on the Central Line. Problem at Mile End or Newbury Park, depending on source of information. It happens.
Passengers prevented from entering Tottenham Court Road Underground Station ("TCR") due to overcrowded platforms, caused by aforementioned delays. Sensible course of action- I am sure it is all planned for, risk assessments will have taken place etc etc.
One of the entrances to TCR Station consists of a long foot tunnel runing from Charing Cross Road and underneath fountains by the side of the Centrepoint, a landmark tall building. At the end of the tunnel are concertina style gates at the top of the steps into the underground station.
Yesterday evening at about 17:40 the gates at the end of the tunnel were closed by London Underground staff and regular tannoy announcements were made apologising for the delay to journeys.
No passengers were being allowed through the gatelines and by 18:00 a queue of approximately 200 people were waiting at the concertina gate at the Charing Cross Road tunnel entrance.
It then became apparent, certainly by about 18:05 (vision was a little restricted) that passengers were being allowed to enter the station. A reasonable number of people had by this time been waiting 25 minutes, like good little sheep waiting patiently to get home.
What happened next?
A member of staff (clearly a reject from any London Underground school of Customer Service) wandered round the corner and looked up to see the dozens of faces peering through the closed barrier. We politely queried (and it WAS polite) when the gate would be opened. Rather than saying "now" or "in a minute" he then produced a temporary canvas barrier belt and placed it across the foot of the stairs. We told him that there were a couple of hundred people waiting to come down the stairs- he shrugged his shoulders and simply said "You'll have to use entrance three."
In the space of two seconds the oaf employee managed to turn 200 queuing london sheep commuters into 200 extremely hacked off commuters, I suspect many of whom would have gladly chewed his head off.
By the time I had negotiated the busy road junction above the station, the concourse was about the quietest I have ever seen seen it during peak hours, the half wit member of staff had disappeared, the Central Line platform was thankfully uncrowded and the train that appeared within seconds was only half full.
Absolutely no evidence of a sensible reason for the entrance at which we had waited, needing to remain closed for Health & Safety reasons, or indeed for any other reason.
Another member of staff in the ticket area did at least appear to take on our concerns at the total lack of empathy with waiting passengers displayed by his colleague.
The man concerned is a twat.
This rant, even in its current incoherent form, has been severely moderated for intemperate language. This is in the knowledge that my words are occasionally read by members of my family.
Delays on the Central Line. Problem at Mile End or Newbury Park, depending on source of information. It happens.
Passengers prevented from entering Tottenham Court Road Underground Station ("TCR") due to overcrowded platforms, caused by aforementioned delays. Sensible course of action- I am sure it is all planned for, risk assessments will have taken place etc etc.
One of the entrances to TCR Station consists of a long foot tunnel runing from Charing Cross Road and underneath fountains by the side of the Centrepoint, a landmark tall building. At the end of the tunnel are concertina style gates at the top of the steps into the underground station.
Yesterday evening at about 17:40 the gates at the end of the tunnel were closed by London Underground staff and regular tannoy announcements were made apologising for the delay to journeys.
No passengers were being allowed through the gatelines and by 18:00 a queue of approximately 200 people were waiting at the concertina gate at the Charing Cross Road tunnel entrance.
It then became apparent, certainly by about 18:05 (vision was a little restricted) that passengers were being allowed to enter the station. A reasonable number of people had by this time been waiting 25 minutes, like good little sheep waiting patiently to get home.
What happened next?
A member of staff (clearly a reject from any London Underground school of Customer Service) wandered round the corner and looked up to see the dozens of faces peering through the closed barrier. We politely queried (and it WAS polite) when the gate would be opened. Rather than saying "now" or "in a minute" he then produced a temporary canvas barrier belt and placed it across the foot of the stairs. We told him that there were a couple of hundred people waiting to come down the stairs- he shrugged his shoulders and simply said "You'll have to use entrance three."
In the space of two seconds the oaf employee managed to turn 200 queuing london sheep commuters into 200 extremely hacked off commuters, I suspect many of whom would have gladly chewed his head off.
By the time I had negotiated the busy road junction above the station, the concourse was about the quietest I have ever seen seen it during peak hours, the half wit member of staff had disappeared, the Central Line platform was thankfully uncrowded and the train that appeared within seconds was only half full.
Absolutely no evidence of a sensible reason for the entrance at which we had waited, needing to remain closed for Health & Safety reasons, or indeed for any other reason.
Another member of staff in the ticket area did at least appear to take on our concerns at the total lack of empathy with waiting passengers displayed by his colleague.
The man concerned is a twat.
This rant, even in its current incoherent form, has been severely moderated for intemperate language. This is in the knowledge that my words are occasionally read by members of my family.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
A sensible bus driver
There was an accident at the Target Roundabout late this afternoon. A car had caught the back-end of one of the aforementioned rail replacement buses. The struck bus had a few passengers on and the accident, though apparently minor, had all the signs of causing absolute gridlock with two lanes blocked.
What did our driver do? He pulled infront of the stranded bus and then escorted the handful of passengers to our bus- we were on our way within seconds.
This action shouldn't be worthy of a mention, but it is. Why? Because in my experience there are very few bus drivers in my part of London who demonstrate any sense of empathy with their passengers- tonight's should be applauded for having good, perhaps old fashioned, customer service values.
What did our driver do? He pulled infront of the stranded bus and then escorted the handful of passengers to our bus- we were on our way within seconds.
This action shouldn't be worthy of a mention, but it is. Why? Because in my experience there are very few bus drivers in my part of London who demonstrate any sense of empathy with their passengers- tonight's should be applauded for having good, perhaps old fashioned, customer service values.
If London is so good, why do those who can, escape?
As I have already mentioned, there has been no Central Line in my part of London this weekend. Late this afternoon the A40 Western Avenue was choc-a-bloc, exactly how I imagine it is during the weekday morning rush hour. Except this was Sunday afternoon and the bulk of the traffic was going towards London.
Reversing the journey (ie me heading westwards along the A40) a short while later, the road was still jammed going in and free-running going out. My guess would be three times as much traffic heading into London at the end of the weekend as there was leaving.
I have a very simple (rhetorical) question:
If London is all it is cracked up to be, why do so many peole choose to leave it and spend the weekend elsewhere, only returning when they have to (presumably to go to work)?
Reversing the journey (ie me heading westwards along the A40) a short while later, the road was still jammed going in and free-running going out. My guess would be three times as much traffic heading into London at the end of the weekend as there was leaving.
I have a very simple (rhetorical) question:
If London is all it is cracked up to be, why do so many peole choose to leave it and spend the weekend elsewhere, only returning when they have to (presumably to go to work)?
Saturday, October 14, 2006
How to go to Greenford by bus from Hounslow?
Why would you want to?
Hounslow covers a fairly large area to the east of London's Heathrow Airport while Greenford appears to be a poorly defined area (based on state of the public transport infrastructure) in the London Borough of Ealing, neatly bi-sected by the A40 Western Avenue.
While I say 'Why would you want to?', I am not questioning anybody's desire to leave Hounslow, or their desire to get to Greenford. I am simply questioning the rationale for limiting the transport options to bus only as, so far as I can see, there is no direct bus link between the two towns.
While I am no fan of Uncle Ken, the Journey Planner on the TFL website is a useful tool to answer this sort of question.
Now, I am not going to start acting as a travel consultant to the rich & famous (or indeed to anyone else) but, to answer the question:
Hounslow covers a fairly large area to the east of London's Heathrow Airport while Greenford appears to be a poorly defined area (based on state of the public transport infrastructure) in the London Borough of Ealing, neatly bi-sected by the A40 Western Avenue.
While I say 'Why would you want to?', I am not questioning anybody's desire to leave Hounslow, or their desire to get to Greenford. I am simply questioning the rationale for limiting the transport options to bus only as, so far as I can see, there is no direct bus link between the two towns.
While I am no fan of Uncle Ken, the Journey Planner on the TFL website is a useful tool to answer this sort of question.
Now, I am not going to start acting as a travel consultant to the rich & famous (or indeed to anyone else) but, to answer the question:
- Catch a 120 Bus towards Northolt and then, after about 40 minutes change onto an E6 to Greenford.
- Personally I would go at least part of the way by tube- I get really frustrated by the traffic snarl-ups in the Southall area (which is where the 120 bus usually gets stuck).
Weekend Engineering Work on the Central Line... Again!
This weekend, for the umpteenth time this year it is not possible to catch a Central Line train from West London into the heart of this glorious city. Forthcoming closures across the network can be viewed here- at least they've managed to avoid doing too much in the run up to Christmas.
Actually, the replacement bus services are fairly good. I've caught a couple over the Summer where I was the only passenger- a bit like having your own huge private taxi. When trains are replaced by buses, there are definitely only a tiny fraction of the usual number of people traveling. What happens to everybody? Where do they go?
Actually, the replacement bus services are fairly good. I've caught a couple over the Summer where I was the only passenger- a bit like having your own huge private taxi. When trains are replaced by buses, there are definitely only a tiny fraction of the usual number of people traveling. What happens to everybody? Where do they go?
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Twenty Years Ago...
Today is the day of The Great North Run. Good luck to all the runners who will be crossing the starting line in Newcastle shortly.
What was I doing 20 years ago? Yes, you may have guessed it.... I was participating in the 1986 Great North Run. I completed the run (a half marathon) in something around 1 hour 37 minutes. I was considerably fitter then than I am now and was really rather chuffed with my time.
What was I doing 20 years ago? Yes, you may have guessed it.... I was participating in the 1986 Great North Run. I completed the run (a half marathon) in something around 1 hour 37 minutes. I was considerably fitter then than I am now and was really rather chuffed with my time.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Burning the Candles at Both End
I had to go to Glasgow earlier in the week. Up at 04:45 to catch a bus to Heathrow Airport. Caught the 07:00 flight to Glasgow. Hung around for an extra hour because the colleague I was meeting's plane had been sat on the tarmac at Stansted for an unexpected extra hour and then we were off to a day of customer meetings.
The return flight touched down at LHR at just after 21:00 and I was home by 22:00, absolutely shattered. Travelling for work is NOT glamorous.
It became apparent the next morning that I had sapped too much energy, because I woke up with the begining of a cold. Grrrr!
Fast forward to last night. Straight from work to babysitting my Niece and Nephew in the Richmond area. Little darlings... eldest one (10) did eventually snap out of being half a nightmare, took herself off to get ready for bed and then read me a six page chapter from her book, really well.
Younger one (7) is very wearing. I have no parenting skills and didn't manage to get him off to bed (and to stay there) until 22:15. Dinner then went in the oven.
My little sister and her husband got back well after midnight but I chose not to stay over.
Sometimes... public transport in London can be brilliant...
Bus at 00:30 to the Piccadilly Line, very late train to Heathrow airport, Night Bus home. No longer than a two minute wait for anything (one connection was five seconds!) and home by 01:25. Result!
Dose of Nightnurse. Woke up at 11:00. Washing machine on. Haircut later.
The return flight touched down at LHR at just after 21:00 and I was home by 22:00, absolutely shattered. Travelling for work is NOT glamorous.
It became apparent the next morning that I had sapped too much energy, because I woke up with the begining of a cold. Grrrr!
Fast forward to last night. Straight from work to babysitting my Niece and Nephew in the Richmond area. Little darlings... eldest one (10) did eventually snap out of being half a nightmare, took herself off to get ready for bed and then read me a six page chapter from her book, really well.
Younger one (7) is very wearing. I have no parenting skills and didn't manage to get him off to bed (and to stay there) until 22:15. Dinner then went in the oven.
My little sister and her husband got back well after midnight but I chose not to stay over.
Sometimes... public transport in London can be brilliant...
Bus at 00:30 to the Piccadilly Line, very late train to Heathrow airport, Night Bus home. No longer than a two minute wait for anything (one connection was five seconds!) and home by 01:25. Result!
Dose of Nightnurse. Woke up at 11:00. Washing machine on. Haircut later.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
This one is politics
My blood pressure started to increase when I read the headline "Brown in pledge to devolve power" on the BBC News site this morning.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, we had a private pensions system in the UK that was the envy of the world. Gone.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, most people took responsibility for themselves, with Society helping those who couldn't. Now, through the tools of tax credits and means testing, we are in a position where more and more people rely on hand outs in some form or other to pay for life and its many luxuries. A fundamental relationship change.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, we were beginning to get a grip on public sector costs. The proportion (%) of all workers employed in the public sector has gone up slightly since 1997 (Source: Office of National Statistics), but as the total number of people in employment has significantly increased. This increasing proportion is a sign of how inefficient the public sector is and how wasteful it is with our money.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along (and his mate next door, Tony), we had a governmental system in place that worked. Responsibilities were clear and extra layers of government (ie cost) were kept to a minimum. We are now in a position where devolution has occurred for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland [See: The West Lothian Question], and there has been pressure placed to have locally elected mayors, though thankfully the population seem to have seen through the sham.
Why does all this matter? Well, with Power comes responsibility.
(Now, I'll get off my soapbox and back to writing about trains and stuff)
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, we had a private pensions system in the UK that was the envy of the world. Gone.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, most people took responsibility for themselves, with Society helping those who couldn't. Now, through the tools of tax credits and means testing, we are in a position where more and more people rely on hand outs in some form or other to pay for life and its many luxuries. A fundamental relationship change.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along, we were beginning to get a grip on public sector costs. The proportion (%) of all workers employed in the public sector has gone up slightly since 1997 (Source: Office of National Statistics), but as the total number of people in employment has significantly increased. This increasing proportion is a sign of how inefficient the public sector is and how wasteful it is with our money.
Until that nice Mr Brown came along (and his mate next door, Tony), we had a governmental system in place that worked. Responsibilities were clear and extra layers of government (ie cost) were kept to a minimum. We are now in a position where devolution has occurred for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland [See: The West Lothian Question], and there has been pressure placed to have locally elected mayors, though thankfully the population seem to have seen through the sham.
Why does all this matter? Well, with Power comes responsibility.
- If you destroy the future hopes and aspirations of millions, you must take responsibility.
- If you increase peoples' reliance on state handouts you must be doing something wrong and must take responsibility.
- If you increase the number of people YOU employ in the public sector, but choose to forget that everyone else has to pay for them, you must take responsibility.
- If you crave power but pretend to devolve responsibility while retaining control of the purse strings, you are not only being irresponsible but you are hoaxing the British people. For this you must take responsibility.
(Now, I'll get off my soapbox and back to writing about trains and stuff)
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Extra Platforms opened at London Marylebone
The two new platforms (4 & 5) have now opened at London Marylebone as part of the Chiltern Railways Evergreen 2 project. [Chiltern Railways: Please update your website]
Hopefully it will mean fewer occasions of the late notification of platform numbers at Marylebone. Mind you, the new platforms 4, 5 & 6 at London Marylebone are so far from the concourse that two or three minutes has to be allowed to get to them, with hiking boots optional.
The platform barriers look as though they are having a significant upgrade and increase in numbers, though if my experience with the new gates is anything to go by, they need a bit of tweaking. My perfectly valid and otherwise functioning Oystercard received the flashing red eye of doom last week.
Hopefully it will mean fewer occasions of the late notification of platform numbers at Marylebone. Mind you, the new platforms 4, 5 & 6 at London Marylebone are so far from the concourse that two or three minutes has to be allowed to get to them, with hiking boots optional.
The platform barriers look as though they are having a significant upgrade and increase in numbers, though if my experience with the new gates is anything to go by, they need a bit of tweaking. My perfectly valid and otherwise functioning Oystercard received the flashing red eye of doom last week.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
A New World Record, Two Lives Gone... and Chaos for Thousands
I saw earlier in the week that a new World Record had been confirmed for travelling to every station on the London Underground. The record beat, by five seconds, the previous one of 18 hours 35 minutes and 43 seconds set by Geoff Marshall and Neil Blake in May 2004.
So, on Thursday I though I was on course for my own record. From street level on Charing Cross Road outside Tottenham Court Road to setting foot on the Central Line platform at Ealing Broadway took 27 minutes. Now as the journey is only timetabled to take 27 minutes, even with Lancaster Gate closed, that's about as good as it gets!
At Ealing Broadway it was however absolute chaos. No-one was being allowed onto the First Great Western platforms, there were stationary trains in both west bound platforms and all passengers were being advised to use alternative routes. For those going to Reading that would involve going all the way back into London and catching the alternative Reading Line from Waterloo.
I subsequently found that the cause of the total suspension was an apparent killing and subsequent (linked) fatality on the line at Hanwell. How do things get that bad?
For me it only meant shopping at Marks & Spencer on Ealing Broadway rather than going to my original destination. For many it was an extremely long jorney home and, of course, two people never got there. It puts life in perspective!
So, on Thursday I though I was on course for my own record. From street level on Charing Cross Road outside Tottenham Court Road to setting foot on the Central Line platform at Ealing Broadway took 27 minutes. Now as the journey is only timetabled to take 27 minutes, even with Lancaster Gate closed, that's about as good as it gets!
At Ealing Broadway it was however absolute chaos. No-one was being allowed onto the First Great Western platforms, there were stationary trains in both west bound platforms and all passengers were being advised to use alternative routes. For those going to Reading that would involve going all the way back into London and catching the alternative Reading Line from Waterloo.
I subsequently found that the cause of the total suspension was an apparent killing and subsequent (linked) fatality on the line at Hanwell. How do things get that bad?
For me it only meant shopping at Marks & Spencer on Ealing Broadway rather than going to my original destination. For many it was an extremely long jorney home and, of course, two people never got there. It puts life in perspective!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
How The Heck Does Google Work?
I added a web counter to this blog last week. The number of visitors goes up (ever so slowly) every day and none of the hits are mine!
What I find incredible is that:
What I find incredible is that:
- The most popular word that drives Google users to my words is "Leprachorns" and
- If you type "Leprachorns" into Google this blog is top of the list.
Monday, September 04, 2006
A Common Theme - Public Transport Seems To Be Working
You may have missed it, but according to a poll conducted by the TripAdvisor company, London had been voted the best city in the world for public transport (and is also considered to be the most expensive).
Here's a log of my recent journeys:
Here's a log of my recent journeys:
- Saturday: Two buses to Feltham then one stop on the train to Twickenham to watch the rugby. Same trip back. All absolutely fine- the thousands of people piling on to trains at Twickenham after the matches did make us all give passable sardine impersonations.
- Sunday: Some minor travelling locally on the Central Line.
- Monday: Central Line to Tottenham Court Road. Then return trip to Canary Wharf using Central Line and Docklands Light Railway, then home via Shanks' Pony, No 27 Bus, Chiltern Railways and the Central Line. Not a blip.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Airport Security Checks (Part 2 - The Answers)
Following my post earlier in the week, here are the brief descriptions again, along with the names/locations of the airports to which they refer.
All opinions are mine and are non negotiable unless negotiations include offers of free flights or similar!
All opinions are mine and are non negotiable unless negotiations include offers of free flights or similar!
- a) Hi-tech (digital photo taken, barcode placed on boarding pass). Small queues. Efficient. (Durham Tees Valley)
- b) Massive queue but well managed. Loads of tourists getting stuff confiscated. Grave danger of missing flight if extra time not allowed. (Edinburgh)
- c) Ten Minutes from getting off bus to being in departure lounge. No queue. Efficient and effective. (London Heathrow)
- d) Officious. Over the top. Plenty of staff. (Newquay, Cornwall)
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