Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wi-Fi Tests at "Secret" Tube Station
the first tweet,
saying, "Historic first tweet from deep under London using @TFLofficial
@virginmedia new tube wifi service - testing, testing."
Guesses on the "secret location" appear to be favouring Warren Street. So if you're travelling through the station today on the Victoria Line look out for the sensors on the tunnel roof.
Wi-Fi has been promised at 80 stations. The Virgin Media contract is only for ticket offices, escalators and platforms
because it would have required major construction work to have added
connectivity to the network's tunnels. But if you are on the Tube in an
area within the stations covered, there may be enough range to pick
up a connection on a train itself. 120 stations will be fitted out by the end of the year.
After the period of free access to all during the Olympics, Virgin Media's broadband & mobile
customers will get continued access as part of their subscriptions.
Other non-paying users will be limited to a site showing online travel
information.
Thanks to Lloyd Davis for alerting me to this.
Related posts
London Overground Stations to get WiFi in time for Olympics
Virgin Media win London Underground wi-fi contract
TfL say on track for Tube Wi-Fi to be enabled for Olympics
WiFi Tests on London Underground
Re-naming Jubilee Line & Signs of the Diamond Jubilee on the Tube
Here's what they said "this House expresses its profound gratitude to Her Majesty The Queen for her dedication to public service; welcomes the opportunities over the coming months that the nation will have to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, a landmark that only Her Majesty and Queen Victoria have reached out of the 41 monarchs who have reigned in England and the UK since William the Conqueror; notes that the Jubilee tube line is so named in celebration of Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee in 1977; and, in celebration of Her Majesty becoming only the second Monarch to reign for an exceptional 60 years, calls for the Jubilee Line to be renamed the Elizabeth Jubilee Line, to commemorate the great occasion of this Diamond Jubilee year."
It has been signed by six MPs. Ermmm, I can't really see them having much luck with that. What do you think?
On the subject of Jubilees, even though the Queen's Golden Jubilee was only 10 years ago, I have very little recollection of it. It was the year before I started blogging, I wasn't exactly cataloguing my thoughts and sights on the Tube in the same way I do now. I'm struggling to remember if there were any posters on the London Underground relating to the event. I'm guessing there must have been. This got me thinking about the Diamond Jubilee and TfL's efforts to "publicise" it.
I'd blogged before about the posters around the system advising us to check TfL's website for any special travel arrangements
over the Jubilee weekend
My favourite is one with a pair of corgis looking into a laptop. You'll also see the Queen peering into her laptop and one of her Maj's guardsmen in a bearskin checking out the travel plans too. So far so Jubilee.
Slightly more puzzling is TfL's attempt to cash in on Jubilee parties.
They're selling a host of "party packs" - cake decorations and tea stands with no relation to transport at all. However, some Jubilee travelcard cushions, cups and tea towels are also added to the poster, for those who think that TfL actually ought to sell transporty things.
However, TfL aren't the worst people trying to cash in on the Jubilee. I've seen a number of posters on the Tube with crowns, Union Flags and the words "Right Royal" randomly added to them. My favourite of these "Let's try to Jubilee Up our products" is this poster for that well known British Food - the Mexican wrap.
Obviously your first choice of grub when throwing a Jubilee party.
Related Posts
Jubilee Wrapped Tube Trains launched for Diamond Jubilee
Limited edition Jubilee & London 2012 Olympics Oyster cards
Jubilee Line Pictures to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Tube Workers in Two Summer Strike Ballots
said: "Both of these disputes are about
protecting our members' jobs, working conditions and standards of living
in the face of aggressive and bullying management tactics that leave us
no choice but to ballot for action.
"RMT remains available for talks but no-one should under-estimate the level of anger amongst both of these groups of workers."
The ballot result will be announced in June with the RMT expecting members to back the strike call.
Update 30th May 2012 - RMT & London Underground have agreed an Olympic pay deal. The RMT union said drivers could receive up to £1,000, with other
members of staff in line for up to £850 for the 'massive additional
pressures' they will face during the period around the Games.
However, the union says it is still balloting control staff and maintenance
members over the possibility of strike action on over other pay and
condition issues. Also the RMT are to ballot “Boris Bike’s” operational staff for action over an Olympics reward and working conditions
Howard Collins, London Underground chief operating officer, said: “I
am pleased that we have now got agreement from all four unions on our
proposals for how we can fairly reward staff over the London 2012 Games".
Related posts
London Underground will "burn midnight oil" to agree union Olympic Pay Deal
Tube Union RMT reject Olympics Pay Offer as Mayor Launches Get Ahead of the Games Campaign
Monday, May 28, 2012
Bank Station Upgrade Exhibition - Have Your Say
Bank and
Monument, is the fourth busiest interchange on the Tube network and this proposed scheme, with a
range of suggestions to ease overcrowding includes the following:
- A new Northern line concourse with additional interchange passageways and escalators to the DLR and Central line
- A new southbound Northern line running tunnel that will create extra space to reduce crowding on the platforms
- Lifts to a new ticket hall in King William Street to provide step-free access between street level, the Northern line and DLR
TfL received more than 200
responses to a consultation, and these have been used in the project now on display. They're investigating two options for acquiring land to
build the project and three options to locate a new station entrance.
David Waboso, London Underground's Director of Capital
Programmes, said: "Bank is one of the busiest stations on the network
and we've been working closely with the City of London Corporation on
plans to create more capacity at this important interchange.
"Most of the work will be below the ground and we'll keep
disruption to a minimum during construction, but it's important that the
public have the chance to comment on what we're proposing to improve
their Tube network."
 |
| 3D cutaway illustration of Bank and Monument stations found via skyscrapercity |
Members of the project team will be available to answer
any questions about the proposals at an exhibition at the Guildhall
Ambulatory, corner of Aldermanbury and Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HH.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Epping Ongar Steam Railway Service on Tube from 25th May 2012
Epping Ongar Railway will be resuming steam and
heritage diesel hauled passenger trains on the former end of the London Underground Central Line from today Friday 25th May 2012 and over this weekend . For the first time in 55 years you'll have the chance to travel on a steam train on the Epping Ongar branch of this Tube Line. Volunteers have
been working towards restoring on the track, signals, buildings and
rolling stock. They'll also be running this service, throughout the summer on every weekend and Bank Holidays
(including the Jubilee bank holidays) and also daily
during the Olympics at nearby Stratford.
The main locomotive by IanVisits
Photo by IanVisits
The railway will operate steam hauled passenger services between
Ongar and North Weald, a diesel shuttle from North Weald into Epping
Forest, and a heritage bus service connecting to Epping LUL Station and
High Street.
The photo above shows a leaflet issued by London Transport for
when the Underground was originally extended on the Central line - west to West Ruislip and eastwards to Loughton on
the way to Epping & Ongar.
The last Epping-Ongar service ran in 1994. At the time the line was only carrying a mere 80 passengers
a day. However, the train that ran the final London Underground service on the
line, a three-car unit of 1960 stock,
has been preserved by Cravens Heritage Trains. After a variety of
special opening days, at the end of 2007, the railway was sold
to a new private owner who was committed to bring steam back to the
line.
You can book your tickets from this website and the full timetable & fares are here. Follow @eorailway on Twitter to keep up to date. Advanced booking for the first weekend is strongly recommended. Many thanks to Shell for initially telling me about this.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
This Station will be exceptionally busy during the Games - Guess Where Tube 19
London Tube Flickr group were taken from. Worryingly, I've seen posters like this on a number of the stations that I use on a daily basis. So me and all the passengers using 88 of the "hotspot" stations aren't going to have an easy time during the 2012 Games.
Obviously it's one of the 88 stations we've been advised to avoid and I'm guessing all regular London commuters are going to be seeing these posters popping up on all of those stations.
There's no prize for getting it right (mainly because I think it's pretty easy), just the satisfaction of knowing you were right.
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Guess Where Tube 18
Guess Where Tube 17
Guess Where Tube 16
Guess Where Tube 15
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Guess Where Tube 13
Guess Where Tube 12
Guess Where Tube 11
Guess Where Tube 10
Guess Where Tube 9
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Guess Where Tube 7
Guess Where Tube 6
Guess Where Tube 5
Guess Where Tube 4
Guess Where Tube 3
Guess Where Tube 2
Guess Where Tube 1
Guess Where Tube Quiz
Guess Where Tube Quiz Round Two
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Paul McCartney's Ewe Tube Map
Paul McCartney tweeted a 'Ewe Tube' map pointing out the stations that were going to be rammed!
Tottenram Court Road and Sheepherd's Bush Tube stations are also highlighted.
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Monday, May 21, 2012
Alexandra Burke on the Tube
The Sun (so it must be true) : “The Tube manager kept making announcements over the Tannoy
that the filming had to stop.
“When he was ignored he came downstairs and shouted that Alexandra didn’t have
the right permit to film. At first Alex thought he was joking. But when he said she’d be arrested, she realised things were more serious and hurried out.”
Well it looks like her record company must have gone to some expense hiring a Tube carriage somewhere as thanks to IanVisits spot, she appears to be encouraging a mass party on the system .
Did TfL give in? Did she eventually get the right pass? Did the record company find someone happy to lend them a Victoria line carriage for an evening? Was the whole initial story made up by The Sun or "the source" in an attempt to gain early publicity for Ms Burke? Who knows?
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Friday, May 18, 2012
Photos from Mind the Map Exhibition at London Transport Museum
Mind the Map to the public today - 18th May 2012 which is running until 28th October. I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch party last night and took a number of pictures while I was there.
The Museum describe the exhibition as follows "Mind the Map: inspiring art, design and cartography will draw on the Museum’s outstanding map collection to explore the themes of journeys, identity and publicity. The exhibition will be the largest of its kind and will include previously unseen historic material and exciting new artworks by leading artists including Simon Patterson, Stephen Walter, Susan Stockwell, Jeremy Wood, Claire Brewster, and Agnes Poitevin-Navarre."
I really enjoyed it (admittedly not as much as Sense in The City - which I think was the best exhibition London Transport Museum had ever put on) and there are some very interesting posters, scupltures, artwork and even interactive displays.
The picture above is a cartoon from 2009 where you may remember the River Thames was left off the Tube map for the first time causing some uproar and Boris Johnson, demanding it be put back
Simon Patterson revisited his famous "The Great Bear" first designed 20 years ago with a new piece called Saptarishi - another constellation within The Great Bear
I've grown quite fond of The Great Bear now and it's led to a number of Tube Map "mash ups" where station names have been replaced by a whole host of things - anagrams, film titles, song titles, fonts, Dr Who characters - you name it. However I found Saptarishi quite puzzling. As did many others viewing it. But I suppose that's the point of it. You'll be saying "Why has he dedicated a line to The Murdochs?", "What's their connection to the spies line?" "Why aren't Jedward on the Musicians Line?"
The more historical maps and map covers are equally fascinating
I loved the Jubilee Line edition of the District Railway map for 1887 and the maps promoting travel to the British Empire Exhbition by Underground
These are amazing posters that you could get lost in for hours
Look out for a new poster display on the other side of the main exhibition space at London Transport Museum. You'll see a playful poster from when Night Buses were extended to outer London to "Boldly go where no Night Bus has gone before"
TfL were keen to promote that the buses extended to outer limits - even "to the furthest reaches of the Known Universe: Dagenham"
A map made out of transport tickets - Momemento by Susan Stockwell was one of my favourites of the modern pieces.
I was also fascinated to see the video of Tracey Emin explaining her thought processes behind The Central Line - her new artwork for the June 2012 Tube Map cover (see my earlier blog post on this)
This sculpture also gave an alternative look at the Tube Map that was quite hypnotic
You can see the rest of my photographs from Mind The Map in this Flickr set.
I will definitely make another trip to the exhibition if only to look the wonderful MacDonald Gill pieces from the 1940's and ponder more on the connections between people on Simon Patterson's map.
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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tracey Emin designs Tube Map Cover for Olympic Games period
Those who might have been expecting something more ... err... Olympic themed will be disappointed. But it's certainly a bit of a coup for TfL to get one of the most talked about British artists to produce the map cover. The design is in a video at London Transport Museum's new Mind the Map exhibition which opens to the public on 18th May 2012. I was invited to the launch of the exhibition tonight, where there is a video of Tracey talking about her inspiration for the design and what she wanted to achieve.
For some reason in the video she is holding the design the wrong way around and says that the Central Line is a Tube Line she uses a lot "The Central Line has big landmark stations, so I used that, so that people would have an idea of going from West to East." She's cottoned on to the fact that tourists can find the Tube map confusing and felt a bird would help to make it feel "friendlier".
She said “I don't want them to think "Oh, I'm in this massive big city and I'm lost and I don't know where to go. When people look at the Tube
map I want them to smile and feel reassured.”
The Map cover's title is 'The Central line', but the only stations
marked on the line are Liverpool Street, Oxford Circus and, I imagine with some artistic licence, Shoreditch High Street. It shows Tracey's
personal use of the line to taking her from her home in the East End home to the West End.
Tracey is used to people paying to see her art and found the concept of producing something that will end up in bins or on the floor quite daunting.
TfL have praised Emin’s
artwork for adapting “ the iconography of the original map to reflect her
personal experience of the network and her ideas and experience of place.”
Tamsin Dillon, head of Art on the Underground said the design is “ a moving
and unique interpretation of the Capital” .
That's certainly one way to describe it. Like much of Tracey's work it will be talked about. Whether the maps end up becoming collectors items or as Tracey herself says "in bins or on the floor", this is one Tube Map cover that many people will have firm opinions about.
What do you think of it? Particularly as a choice for a map that will be used over the London Olympics.
Related posts
Photos from Mind the Map Exhibition at London Transport Museum
Olympic Tube Map Renames Stations with names of Sporting Celebrities
Olympics Tube Map Cover we'd like to see
Rejected Tube Map Cover Designs
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Jubilee Wrapped Tube Trains launched for Diamond Jubilee
The trains will run along the Jubilee line up to and during the Diamond Jubilee weekend. The first wrapped train went into service on Monday 14 May 2012 and the second will be from 21st May.
TfL have pointed out that the decorative wraps have been funded by Tube Lines "at no cost to the tax payer".
You've probably also spotted a number of posters around the system advising us to check TfL's website for any special travel arrangements over the Jubilee weekend. My favourite is one with a pair of corgis looking into a laptop. There's also images where only a guardsman's bearskin and the Queen's crown can be seen over the top of the "royal" laptop.
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Spotted at South Kensington Tube
@SebWhite of a sign attached to the walls aimed at parents taking their kids on an educational visit
Has the perfect London Underground passive aggressive tone but with a bit of middle classed humour thrown in. Let's hope all the mums and dads with Little Hugo's follow the note and keep to the left. School parties with "walking buses" (bonkers phrase!) are hopefully well trained enough to do this already.
Hat tip to @AboutLondon who alerted this to me on Twitter.
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finalist at the inaugural Sundance London Short Film Competition."
TUBE TUBE was created, is co-written and directed by Ben Williams, and co-written and produced by Omar Kenawi. The majority of episodes are based on true stories and they're always on the hunt for new ones. You can send yours into the team at tubetubelondon@gmail.com
To find out more, you can keep track of them in any of these three ways:
1. Subscribe to YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/tubetubelondon
2. Like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tubetubelondon
3. Follow them on Twitter @tubetubelondon
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Monday, May 14, 2012
Gordon Ramsay Opens Tube Themed Las Vegas Restaurant
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has opened up a new
restaurant with a London Underground shaped bar at its centre in a casino hotel in Las Vegas. It's his first establishment in the US gambling
hub.
Ramsay, who holds a number of Michelin stars already has restaurants in
New York and Los Angeles, and now has "brought his unique style and culinary flair to Las
Vegas with the opening of Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris Las Vegas," said a
statement issued on Friday. The Las Vegas venue is described as a modern steakhouse serving huge cuts of
beef and lamb, but "British Ale Onion
Soup", Shepherd's Pie, Scotch Eggs, Fish and Chips and Sticky Toffee Pudding will also be on the menu to satisfy those on a break from gambling with some good old British stodge.
John Curtas from the food blog "Eating Las Vegas" said "The Tube-like entrance (and the bar inside it) symbolizes the London
Underground, and immediately makes an architectural statement about the
big, brash Brit whose aura alone is enough to ensure the success of the
place."
It's certainly an architectural statement. However if he wanted to complete the ambience of late night eating and drinking in a Tube carriage, I'd suggest he throws in a few accordian playing buskers, a rambling nutter in the corner, some drunken office City boys & sprays around some Eau de KFC or Fragrance of Chicken Cottage for good measure.
Hat tip @TheSkintFoodie who originally tweeted about this over the weekend.
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Sunday, May 13, 2012
Stations of the King's Cross - auction of Circle Line Paper Cut Illustrations
14 Stations of the Cross (showing Christ carrying the cross to his cruxifiction),
arranged so they sit alongside London Underground stations on the Circle
line. Well now the original paper-cutsStations of the King's Cross are now up for sale
to raise money for 3 charities: Mary’s Meals, The SVP, and The Bard School.
Bids can be placed for a (professionally framed) paper-cut via the website, or alternatively you can go along to an exhibition to view the originals:
The exhibition is on Saturday 26th May, at St Mary's Church, Somers Town (map) the eve of Pentecost, beginning
with an ecumenical evening prayer at 7pm, followed by refreshments,
live piano music, poetry performances by Sarah de Nordwall, and an
opportunity to view and bid for the stations artworks.
The exhibition and auction will close at the end on Monday 4th June 2012.
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Saturday, May 12, 2012
Olympic payouts divide Tube & bus staff
When speaking of the Tube engineers, Unite
regional secretary Peter Kavanagh said: "London Underground did the
right thing by recognising the extra work our members will be expected
to do during the Olympics. There were disagreements but we worked them
out through negotiation.”
However when referring to staff work on London's buses he said: “Unfortunately Boris Johnson has turned his back on over 20,000 bus
workers who will be on the frontline during the Olympics. They are the
only transport workers in London who will not receive an award for their
major contribution to keeping London moving during the Olympics.
"London's
bus operators' failure to even talk to Unite about an Olympic award -
and Boris Johnson's refusal to intervene - means there is a very real
prospect of a capital-wide bus strike."
Just in case you think this mean we are in for a Tube strike free Olympics, think again. Nothing has been agreed with the RMT yet. LBC report
the that talks that started on Tuesday 8th May over the £850 one off payment at conciliation service
ACAS between London Underground and the RMT have ended without agreement. "The Union
claim a deal was agreed and close but was reneged on by transport bosses
who've concluded a similiar deal with the Tube drivers union ASLEF. Now
they're promising a ballot for industrial action "very soon" short of a
strike during the Games."
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Friday, May 11, 2012
Haggerston London "Underground" Station - Disused Tube Stations on TV
If you're a fan of The New Statesman you might just about make out the shadowy figure making his way down the steps of the Tube station. It's Rik Mayall or rather Alan B'Stard
Jon said "In one episode he has a secret meeting in an abandoned Tube station.
Rather than setting it in an existing station, the show invented the
fictional station of Haggerston and built a set. There's quite a
surprising level of attention to detail."
Jon's right, there is a good level of attention to detail. They've put up some old London Underground posters on the walls - I can just about make out one by Fougasse from the 1930's on the far right. In fact the whole look of the "abandoned Tube" definitely has a feel of the London Underground stations of the 1930s designed by Charles Holden.
I went to the fount of all knowledge on London Underground stations in film and TV - Nick Cooper's website and discovered that the episode was originally aired in October 1987 and is called " Waste Not, Want Not".
 |
| The Borrowers (BBC 2011) live in an Abandoned Tube Station |
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Re:route App Rewards Walking or Cycling rather than taking Tube
Chromaroma a points based game where you can climb a leader board for spending more time on the Tube, well this is the exact opposite.
With Re:route, you to input the start and end
points of your journey, and are then recommended a number of travel
options, including cycling, walking and public transport. When you arrive at your destination (the app will have been tracking your with
GPS), you're given five Recyclebank points, can see many
calories you've burned and how much carbon dioxide you've "saved" if you opt for a cleaner mode of transport.
Points here translate into discounts & offers. Recyclebank have teamed up with Marks & Spencer, Planet Organic, and health club Champneys. You can
find
the full list on Recyclebank's website.
TfL's director of planning, Ben Plowden, said to Click Green: "TfL is
supporting Re:route because it supports our wider efforts to
encourage more people to consider cycling and walking as quick and
convenient ways of getting around the city. More people cycling and
walking will help to reduce congestion on our roads and on our busy
public transport network. An initiative like Re:route is a great
way to help TfL achieve these goals.
"We’re particularly excited about the potential for this app to motivate people to cycle and walk during the London 2012 Games, when London’s roads and public transport network will be at their busiest.”
Jonathan Hsu, CEO of Recyclebank added: "We’ve worked hard to make re:route an easy-to-use app so that people can easily travel around London on foot or on bike, and get rewarded for it. Although this app will be hugely useful during the Games to make it easier for people to seek alternative methods to get across London, we believe that Re:route will become part of a Londoner’s daily routine as it gives them a fantastic experience, with desirable rewards at all times."
Currently only available from the App
Store, there's an Android version, on the way in the "coming months".
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Sunday, May 06, 2012
London Underground will "burn midnight oil" to agree union Olympic Pay Deal
rejected the offer from London Underground of £850 for each member of staff for working during the 2012 Games.
" We do have a deal with the most important people, the
Tube drivers, that was done last September. This last part, is
really trying to sort out the last semantics" said Howard Collins, chief
operating officer for London Underground, to LBC. This Tuesday, 8th May 2012, he will be at ACAS with the RMT " trying to iron out the last few words that need
sorting. We're confident and I know Bob Crow the leader of the RMT,
doesn't want to disrupt the Olympics, we've got to work together on
this, and find a solution. If that means burning the midnight oil all
next week to sort it, lets get focused on London and the Olympics. We're
all positive about it and just want to get this last piece out of the way."
Apparently some of the "few words that need sorting" are that the RMT are unhappy about are the requirement for
'unlimited flexibility'. Knowing the flexibility of union leaders this shouldn't come as a surprise. An ‘expression of interest’ document is currently circulating London Underground depots
asking all drivers to state what shifts they are prepared to work during the Olympics and Paralympics. RMT's London Regional Council said "Until such time as the union reaches agreement with London Underground
all members are advised not to fill in or return these forms to
management."
Howard Collins said "We've been talking
to the other unions too, we know Unite have asked their members what
they wish to do and that information is coming in, we're pretty
positive. The dialogue we've had with ASLEF has been very positive. But it's really about the issue with the
RMT and we really want to get them into the party to make
sure that deal is done."
DLR B07 "Olympic Batch" Stock at Canning Town (Low Level) by bowroaduk
Transport Tests toook place on 5th May 2012 - 'Super Saturday' as 80,000 people visited
the Olympic Park in Stratford for the first time. Collins said "Transport for London is working hard with our Olympic and Paralympic
partners to ensure that we can deliver a fantastic 2012 Games this
summer. We know that the Games are a huge logistical challenge, however
our detailed planning and testing, along with our experience of dealing
with large-scale events, means we are confident that we can keep London
moving during the Games."
Update - 10th May 2012 - LBC report the that talks over the £850 one off payment at conciliation service ACAS between LU and the RMT have ended without agreement. "The Union claim a deal was agreed and close but was reneged on by transport bosses who've concluded a similiar deal with the Tube drivers union ASLEF. Now they're promising a ballot for industrial action "very soon" short of a strike during the Games."
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Friday, May 04, 2012
Barcodes on Tube Platforms - Anyone know what they are?
They might not even be bar codes but certainly look like they could be measuring something or would possibly activate a sensor when a train passed. I really have no idea, but am certainly curious to find out if anyone knows.
Here's one closer up which may help with identification. Thanks.
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NEWER POSTS
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OLDER POSTS
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