Thames-no-link

Ms Mole has rather generously allowed myself and Geoff to post whenever we like to this blog which is like giving a bag of sweets to a child and err, telling him to eat them (that's not quite right is it?)

Anyway, why do bad things happen on September the 11th?

This year it's Thameslink's turn to mess everything up as they're splitting their network in two whilst they rebuild St. Pancras as part of the new Channel Tunnel rail link terminus there.

Here's what the network normally looks like in the central area:



And here's a diagram of what the situation will be from the 11th:



On the top diagram, St. Pancras would be a "spur" coming off to the left between Kentish Town and Kings Cross Thameslink.

So, my current route to work involves me walking to New Cross station, catching a South Eastern train to London Bridge and then changing to a Thameslink train which takes me right through to St. Albans (which is off the top of the diagram). On the way home I catch a direct train into Moorgate, walk to Bank and catch the DLR to Deptford Bridge (I don't go home the way I come because London Bridge station is a nightmare after 4pm - see earlier post. Also, I don't get the Northern line from Moorgate to Bank because it's too crowded and the exercise is good for me).

The new service pattern will have northbound trains terminating at Kings Cross Thameslink and southbound trains terminating at St. Pancras and if you want to use Thameslink after that you have to walk the rather precise 570 metres between the two. Sod that for a game of soldiers. It also closes the Moorgate branch - most inconvenient for my trip home.

So, I invite you, the humble reader, with the aid of a London Connections map,

http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/tubemap/images/london_connnections.gif

to come up with a new route for me to get to and from work. It doesn't have to be the same in both directions - I like diversity and my current route isn't the same both ways anyway. Here are the facts you will need to help in your deliberations:

I live within easy walking distance of the following stations:

Deptford Bridge DLR
Deptford
New Cross
Greenwich

I travel to St. Albans (just north of Radlett and zone 6 at the top of the London Connections map). It shouldn't tbe too hard to see the current Thameslink route on that map given the diagrams above.

So, get to it! You've got 10 days to think of something for me.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Anonymous Wednesday, September 01, 2004 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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