Argh!
The Evening Standard lead story today (early editions) is that all tube stations are to get mobile coverage 'within three years'. So the last bastion of peace and quiet away from the crazy frog will be no more... Once again - I repeat - "Argh!"
This is London - Mobiles on the tube
Actually, I've just found the BBC news website running this story here about it (from last week) which also additionally talks about one station being used next year as a test - and it will have wireless internet access as well. Anyone know which station that might be?
Update from Annie
Damn I was just about to blog this when Geoff had beaten me to it. However if The Standard had read the Torygraph they could have used the following headlines
COMMUTERS SAY NO TO CRAZY FROG HELL ON THE TUBE
or
PHONEY PHONE FIBS FAVOUR MOBILE MANIA
Apparently according to the Sunday Telegraph only 14% of commuters questioned were in favour of mobile phones at all stations and not the "inflated" 83% which tube bosses gave to the phone companies so they'd invest in the operation. Perhaps there were two surveys? Who knows (or cares really - as you can do anything you like with statistics and you only need a couple of thousand people to reply to a survey to make it valid)?
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 30, 2005
Cutting Remarks
The hottest day of the year so far (Friday), and I found myself nosing around the small mews-like backstreets of London looking for the tube.
Why? Well, in many a tube-history book, I always kept reading about where the District & Circle line has been built inbetween Bayswater & Paddington, there had been a cutting made underneath some houses, and during construction, two houses had been taken down to allow the cut & cover tunnel to be built beneath, and to this day - a false house front had been put back in its place so as to disguise it.
The houses in question are at numbers 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens, in the cute back streets of Bayswater, but having made all the effort to go there to get a photo of it - it's quite disappointing.
I think I was having visions of being able to look through a crack or gap and see down onto the tracks, but instead everything is sealed nicely and painted over.
The car parked in the 'drive' at the front had also been there for several months without being moved judging by the amount of bird-poo all over it.
Not to be out-done, I took a gentle stroll along the side roads towards Paddington itself, walking down the roads which I figured would be on top of the tube line. And sure, enough - just as I was passing this innocious looking wall here, I heard the distinctive rattle of a C-stock type train from somewhere down below.
Being 6' 3" helped here as it meant that I could peep over, or as in this instance hold my camera over the wall and take this picture just as the train went past.
So all those moments when you're travelling on the Circle line and a ray of daylight suddenly bursts in for a second before you get plunged back into darkness ... this is one of those gaps.
There must be more of them dotted around the system, and I went in hunt of more of them up by Paddington station itself, but couldn't find any.
The Green line here shows the path of the track below the streets. You can see where it intersects with Leinster gardens east of Bayswater. The wall over which you can look down onto the tracks below is in Craven Hill.
This physical map also throws up another one of my favourite anomalies about the topological differences between Beck's map and real life.
If you're travelling from (say) Liverpool Street and want to go to Paddington to get a mainline train, most people would probably travel to Notting Hill on the Central Line and then go two stops north/east on the Circle/District. Whereas it's actually quicker to get out at Lancaster Gate, and walk the 3 minutes it takes to get to Paddington station from there.
Why? Well, in many a tube-history book, I always kept reading about where the District & Circle line has been built inbetween Bayswater & Paddington, there had been a cutting made underneath some houses, and during construction, two houses had been taken down to allow the cut & cover tunnel to be built beneath, and to this day - a false house front had been put back in its place so as to disguise it. The houses in question are at numbers 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens, in the cute back streets of Bayswater, but having made all the effort to go there to get a photo of it - it's quite disappointing.I think I was having visions of being able to look through a crack or gap and see down onto the tracks, but instead everything is sealed nicely and painted over.
The car parked in the 'drive' at the front had also been there for several months without being moved judging by the amount of bird-poo all over it.
Not to be out-done, I took a gentle stroll along the side roads towards Paddington itself, walking down the roads which I figured would be on top of the tube line. And sure, enough - just as I was passing this innocious looking wall here, I heard the distinctive rattle of a C-stock type train from somewhere down below.Being 6' 3" helped here as it meant that I could peep over, or as in this instance hold my camera over the wall and take this picture just as the train went past.So all those moments when you're travelling on the Circle line and a ray of daylight suddenly bursts in for a second before you get plunged back into darkness ... this is one of those gaps.
There must be more of them dotted around the system, and I went in hunt of more of them up by Paddington station itself, but couldn't find any.
The Green line here shows the path of the track below the streets. You can see where it intersects with Leinster gardens east of Bayswater. The wall over which you can look down onto the tracks below is in Craven Hill.
This physical map also throws up another one of my favourite anomalies about the topological differences between Beck's map and real life.
If you're travelling from (say) Liverpool Street and want to go to Paddington to get a mainline train, most people would probably travel to Notting Hill on the Central Line and then go two stops north/east on the Circle/District. Whereas it's actually quicker to get out at Lancaster Gate, and walk the 3 minutes it takes to get to Paddington station from there.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Quick question?
Northern Line tunnel size
Everyone seems to think I know lots of stuff about the Tube, but I don't really, well not much useful stuff anyway. But I'm sure you can answer this question from my old colleagues:
"We were arguing about the various lines at lunch today and one of the guys started rambling about the Northern line, and how he seemed to think that because the carriages seem smaller to him, the tunnels of the Northern line must be smaller in diameter than those of, say, the Piccadilly or the Central. The rest of didn�t believe him, but who knows......is he right?"
Well is he? I'm off to have a Solero and sit in the garden.
Phew wot a scorcher - part two
Yay - The Standard are able to use their favourite headline
THOUSANDS IN TUBE HELL
as three tube trains got stuck in a tunnel at Baker Street. It's no laughing matter though really as it is absolutely sweltering today. The Standard report:
There was panic as the trains became jammed near Baker Street when a set of points buckled in the heat. More trains were stuck in a knock-on effect.
Five ambulances were put on stand-by as distressed passengers rang the emergency services from the carriages. "It was chaos, people were in a real state," said one LU worker.
The ordeal, which lasted up to an hour, came as the temperature in London reached 31.1C - almost 90F - on what is the hottest day of the year so far."
Expect to see lots of station staff running around in very hot uniforms putting up signs about remembering to take bottles of water on the Tube with you.
In the meantime, I think the sun has gone to culture secretary Tessa Jowell's head as she reckons London definitely has the best transport infastructure to cope with the 2012 Olympics. Hmmm, has she travelled on the Tube recently?
Everyone seems to think I know lots of stuff about the Tube, but I don't really, well not much useful stuff anyway. But I'm sure you can answer this question from my old colleagues:
"We were arguing about the various lines at lunch today and one of the guys started rambling about the Northern line, and how he seemed to think that because the carriages seem smaller to him, the tunnels of the Northern line must be smaller in diameter than those of, say, the Piccadilly or the Central. The rest of didn�t believe him, but who knows......is he right?"
Well is he? I'm off to have a Solero and sit in the garden.
Phew wot a scorcher - part two
Yay - The Standard are able to use their favourite headline
THOUSANDS IN TUBE HELL
as three tube trains got stuck in a tunnel at Baker Street. It's no laughing matter though really as it is absolutely sweltering today. The Standard report:
There was panic as the trains became jammed near Baker Street when a set of points buckled in the heat. More trains were stuck in a knock-on effect.
Five ambulances were put on stand-by as distressed passengers rang the emergency services from the carriages. "It was chaos, people were in a real state," said one LU worker.
The ordeal, which lasted up to an hour, came as the temperature in London reached 31.1C - almost 90F - on what is the hottest day of the year so far."
Expect to see lots of station staff running around in very hot uniforms putting up signs about remembering to take bottles of water on the Tube with you.
In the meantime, I think the sun has gone to culture secretary Tessa Jowell's head as she reckons London definitely has the best transport infastructure to cope with the 2012 Olympics. Hmmm, has she travelled on the Tube recently?
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Blimey what happened this morning
Severe delays everywhere
Fortunately I have today off but heard on the radio just now that loads of the lines had severe delays this morning due to signalling problems, signal failure and in ones instance "passenger action" - I love that term, as it always makes me feel as though the passengers are going on strike or having some sort of demonstration about the service (that'll be the day)
Anyway check out the real time travel delays (sorry) - travel update boards for more on this and expect The Standard to be trumpeting away in full force and demanding explanations tonight.
Fortunately I have today off but heard on the radio just now that loads of the lines had severe delays this morning due to signalling problems, signal failure and in ones instance "passenger action" - I love that term, as it always makes me feel as though the passengers are going on strike or having some sort of demonstration about the service (that'll be the day)
Anyway check out the real time travel delays (sorry) - travel update boards for more on this and expect The Standard to be trumpeting away in full force and demanding explanations tonight.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Phew wot a scorcher
It's going to be hot
Yesterday when I got into work I moaned so badly about how OUT the weather forecast was as it was miserable and wet at the start and only warmed up later in the day. Today is supposed to be a fabulously hot day and supposedly we have a heatwave on the way, which means lots of alarmist Evening Standard headlines like the one below
I love Standard headlines and DarrenS has been making a collection on the best ones. Not surprisingly the Tube features in quite a few of them.
Yesterday when I got into work I moaned so badly about how OUT the weather forecast was as it was miserable and wet at the start and only warmed up later in the day. Today is supposed to be a fabulously hot day and supposedly we have a heatwave on the way, which means lots of alarmist Evening Standard headlines like the one below
I love Standard headlines and DarrenS has been making a collection on the best ones. Not surprisingly the Tube features in quite a few of them.
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