Biddy ell we've won

2012 on the Tube

Unbelievably, London will host the 2012 Olympics. Well, you'd have to have been on the moon not to have heard the results of the Olympic bid today. I didn't see the effect on tube system till leaving work when at Shadwell station (not too far away from where the re-developments of the East End will be) a female announcer lazily said "Docklands Light Railway would like to congratulate London for winning the Olympic and Paralympic Games bid".

At Tower Hill (as I was travelling on the District Line tonight) there was a massive poster at the entrance from London Underground thanking everyone for their support with a flourishing end of "and most of all we'd like to thank you, you, you". Me. I hadn't done anything.

Got to Hammersmith Apollo (was going to see Jack Dee hosting a comedy show for TV with Julian Clary, Lee Mack and some Irish comic whose name has totally escaped me), and my friend told me how she could just about hear the celebrations at Trafalgar Square at lunchtime and was actually on the Tube when the results were announced by her train driver!

So Olympics here we come. Hopefully this won't mean more of the bloody hideous 2012 tube seats and livery (although I have a feeling that it will). Picture on the right taken by Neil in December 2004 with the great post caption "Olympic Train-ing".

From the Tube's website:

"By 2012, more than �17billion will be spent on London�s transport networks. An IOC report published in June praised the plans, which include ten railway lines serving the Olympic Park, delivering a train every 15 seconds.

Key transport improvements are already under way. A �250million order has recently been placed for the Olympic Javelin trains and contracts worth �500million have been announced for the East London line extension."

I'm really looking forward to seeing the Javelin Trains. Will they have especially long areas so people can safely carry javelins? Jack Dee was cracking jokes about it not being a sport that will take off as you'd have to have a very, very long adidas bag.



There's going to have to be some of these sorts of allowances on the trains as Transport Commissioner, Bob Kiley, is clearly expecting athletes to use public transport to get to their games on time: "Modern, reliable, safe and cost-effective transport for the Games will be in place well before 2012 and we will ensure that athletes, the Olympic family and spectators alike will get to every venue, on time, every day of the Games." Errr, I'm sure most Olympic track athletes would be faster running from venue to venue.

Finally, thanks to John McIntyre for sending me the Olympic Journey Planner at the top of this post. Originally we had no idea of the source, but have since learnt it's been designed by LittlePixel and you can even buy T shirts.

Tube Rock

Sweet but kind of wrong

A whole load of weird and wonderful things can be bought in book shops now (other than books) including "London Underground Rock", which I saw in Foyles.



The package contains "a bar of traditional English rock". But has anyone ever heard of a "bar" of rock? Bar of chocolate, yes. Bar of soap, yes. But a bar of rock. Purrlease.

South Walk Signs

Or visiting the Tate Modern from Southwark

Yesterday I went to see the excellent Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Tate Modern. I've been to the Tate a few times before, but never from home, always after work, so I used the delightful Jubilee Line from Waterloo to go to Southwark. Having never been that way before I discovered that if I followed some orange lamp posts I would be guided through the back streets to the Tate Modern.

This was brill as I would have gone a completely different but longer route if I'd used an A-Z or streetmap. On the reverse of the lamp post were arrows pointing you back to Southwark - or "South Walk" as an American at the Tate pronounced it. I wish there were more lamp posts like this dotted round London giving you the fastest routes to tube stations. There are plenty of lamp posts around, so why aren't more of them used for guidance or advertising?

For once, I was early to meet my friend (who amazingly was late) so I had a bit of time to kill and wandered into one of the shops at the gallery. So imagine my surprise to see nestled amongst the London books - One Stop Short of Barking - Uncovering the London Underground - which I helped to research for my friend.



Even more surprising was to see someone pick it up and start flicking through it. "Buy it, buy it, buy it", I willed.



After five minutes of nosing through, he put it down and left - D'OH.

Anyway, to pay homage to Frida Kahlo, here's a picture from the show (The Bus 1929) that wouldn't look out of place on a commuting blog like this. I'm sure she wasn't a regular bus commuter (particularly as she was badly injured and almost died in a bus crash when she was young), but to me it's a nice mix of the variety of commuters in Mexico.



However, if you want the arty notes "she satirises the class divisions of Mexican society, portraying different types as they ride on the bus. The lower-middle class matron, the proletarian worker in blue overalls, the Indian mother with her infant, the capitalist gringo with a bulging money bag, all line up for our scrutiny. The modern young woman at the end of the bench could be taken for Kahlo herself."

Busiest Parts of the London Underground

Interesting Idea - part two

A few days ago (29th June) I blogged Rodcorp's idea of a map illustrating which tube lines got the most passenger traffic. His map wasn't based on any real data, but thanks to Stephen Knight, we've found out that a map like this was produced for Sheriff Ken's Transport Strategy in 2001. The whole document is a lightweight 458 pages, but Chapter 4C focusses on the London Underground and we find three maps. The first shows underground crowding in the morning from 2001



The report says: "Overcrowding is now experienced across the Underground network,
particularly at peak times, and most noticeably on sections of the Central, Piccadilly, Victoria and Northern Lines. Large parts of the network carry more passengers than the �planning standard� (broadly a maximum of one person standing for each sitting across the whole peak hour) allows � in some cases more than 25 per cent above"

The next map projects what the crowding would be like in 2011 without Ken's Transport strategy. Notice how the black lines have increased and thickened.



The final map predicts the system with hardly any nasty black bold lines after Ken's proposals have been introduced:



"To address overcrowding, there is an urgent need to expand capacity. In the first instance, this will be achieved by the rehabilitation and modernisation of the existing system. In the longer term, this requires a substantial programme of investment in new lines and hence additional capacity. Major new rail proposals are discussed in more detail in chapter 4Q � expanding London�s transport system: major projects."

We'll wait and see then.

Brunel's Wapping Shaft - Part Two

A reply from Robert

This will only make sense if you've read my report on the Thames Tunnel Tour from Monday - so if you haven't - have a quick read and come back. Jon Allen who also went on the tour and told the tour guide Robert that I had blogged it. Robert got back in his inimitable style:

"How splendid! I think I have never been blogged before! Thank you for this, and for helping us make the shaft throb with excitement.

Best wishes

Robert"

Obviously I couldn't resist asking Robert if I could use his reply, to which he agreed and also said:

"Do please use my reply, and hurrah for your excellent and mischievous site.

You could also say we are running 'tube tours' for Open House Weekend, as
we do each year. These will be from 11am - 4pm on 17/18 September. Details on our website shortly.

Best wishes

Robert"

So you've got another chance to experience the Wapping pleasures of a Frenchman's shaft. Enjoy and thanks again to Robert.