First Class Service on the London Underground

Ah, those were the days

Bring back service like this on the London Underground. A nice lunch, waiter service, drinks, string quartet in the background. Why isn't every day like this on the Tube?


Just in case you haven't guessed from the attire of the ladies delicately tucking into their meals, this picture is from the 1970's. May 1979, in fact and marked the opening of the Jubilee Line. At Bond Street station passengers were treated to a string quartet and a nice meal.

If I was travelling quite a long way on the Tube, I'd like to have a meal. But it'll never happen again will it. You'd need to go back to the times when there were first class compartments on the London Underground (a Victorian and Edwardian trend).

Goodness knows what sort of premium you would have to pay if there were first class carriages on the Tube now. But I wonder how many people would be prepared to pay it? You'd have to be guaranteed a seat. Walkmans and mobile phones would be banned. Your Metro would be freshly ironed and you could have your own personal announcer, politely telling you which stations you were approaching. He or she could also give helpful information about the area. Any other suggestions for a first class service?

Speaking of polite announcements Martin sent me an announcement when his train finished at White City. He said "usually when that happens we get an "All change please", or the rather rude "Please leave the train."

Today, the driver made the announcement himself, wished us a good day, and played a recording I hadn't heard before - "Thank you for travelling on the Central Line"

It brightened up my day in a little way."

Martin managed to captured the recording on his mobile phone, which you can hear here.

A nice little bit of politeness and courtesy goes a long way!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, May 25, 2006 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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