What are the Oldest Ads on the London Underground?

What are some of the oldest ads you have seen on the Tube?  By this  I don't mean advertising that has been uncovered from the 1970's and 1980's (interesting though these old ads at Richmond station are).  I mean ads that CBS outdoor (the people responsible for ads on the London Underground) appear to have forgotten about.

We know that times are tough and that it might be hard to sell all the positions available on the network, but does that mean we have to glance at ads that are well past their sell by date.

Luckily Christmas adverts do seem to get taken down fairly quickly after the festive season, but there's a number of ads on the Tube for films, shows  and events that took place months - and in some cases - years ago.

London City Nights spotted this poster for 2009 film Nine only last week at Swiss Cottage! Even without going online to see when the film first came out, there's a huge amount of dust and dirt on this ad that automatically dates it.  Take a look around the next time you're on the London Underground, particularly in stations that are outside of zone one and see how many out of date ads you can spot.

Hopefully none of them date back as long as this, but you chances are you'll see ones for the Ideal Home Exhibition (from April) still up.  I used to see some awful ones around Holborn with some shouting city gent, advertising horse racing, that were also up for months after the event had finished.

I wonder just what proportion are expired.  10%? 25%? Maybe even more. And what's the deal here?  Even if there's not enough demand to fill all the spaces, why not give the space to charitable campaigns or even to TfL for their own in-house or public service ads?

Does anyone check or have a system in place for taking down old ads if there's no new PAID ads to put in their place?  Are CBS happy for some advertisers to be given months more free exposure than they've paid for?  Perhaps I'm the only person that this bothers.  Perhaps it's an experiment by CBS and the powers that be to see if anyone notices or cares.

If you see any old ones, tell us where and when.  Then we can track to see how long it is before they're taken down.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Monday, November 26, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Tube Strike by Engineers on Northern, Piccadilly & Jubilee Lines this Friday

From 6am on Friday 23rd November 2012, Tube engineers are going on a 24 hour strike in a row over pensions.  It's going to be carried out by engineers on the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines.  If all the trains are running well, the services won't be affected, but any breakdowns that take place over the strike period will take longer to repair.

The RMT union said after months of discussion between management and the union over pensions and benefits a "satisfactory conclusion" had not been reached. Industrial action at the weekend also  led to cancellation of major works on the Northern Line which RMT said had "serious and widespread impact across the system."

The ongoing pensions dispute concerns hundreds of staff working for Tube Lines. Union bosses say the pension and benefits are not as good as  enjoyed by other TfL staff.

Jon Lamonte, chief executive of Tube Lines, believes this is incorrect and said:  "Further industrial action on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines on this issue is completely unnecessary. Since becoming part of TfL all Tube Lines employees have kept their existing terms and conditions of employment."

RMT leader Bob Crow, countered this and said: "This dispute is about fairness and equality, nothing else. Tube Lines is now a wholly owned subsidiary of TfL and there is simply no excuse for refusing equal pension and (travel) pass rights."

Keep an eye on TfL's website before travelling on Friday morning if you use any of the lines that may be affected.

UPDATE - 22nd November 2012 - This strike has now been called off - see more on BBC

Related post
Tube Drivers may strike on Boxing Day 2012

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Monday, November 19, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Train Related Deaths tackled by Melbourne Metro Video

Melbourne Metro are trying the curb the number of train related deaths with a cute / odd video and an annoyingly catchy song.  This isn't exactly something I could see TfL or any rail company in the UK doing, but it's a novel approach to advertising ways to stop people getting hit by trains.  "Dumb Ways to Die" features a number of weird ways to get yourself killed. It ends with a number of train related ones including standing too close to platform edges, forcing open train doors, walking across tracks and skating or roller blading  around platforms.

“We’ve got people eating superglue, sticking forks in toasters and selling both their kidneys. But truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and we still couldn’t come up with dumber ways to die than driving around boomgates and all the other things people do to put themselves in harm’s way around trains. The aim of this campaign is to engage an audience that really doesn’t want to hear any kind of safety message" said McCann Melbourne, the agency behind the campaign.


Chloe Alsop, marketing manager of Metro Trains, said: “The safety of our customers is our single most important consideration. So it’s terribly sad to see so many preventable accidents or near misses on our train system.”

“This campaign is designed to draw people to the safety message, rather than frighten them away. Especially in our younger segments. We want to create a lasting understanding that you shouldn’t take risks around trains, that the prospect of death or serious injury is ever-present and that we as a community need to be aware of what constitutes both safe and dumb behaviour.”

In additon to the video, the song's also available to download on iTunes and radio ads and posters in Metro stations will also help to drum the message home.  Thanks to Jon Justice for sending this my way.

Rail safety's quite a tough subject to tackle as the consequences of taking risks around high speed trains are obviously pretty deadly.  Constant signs saying "Danger of Death" have the danger of being ignored and even London Underground have taken a cartoony approach to safety with their Mad Men inspired campaigns

 

Perhaps something lighter is the way to go and Melbourne's approach of humour as an attempt to tackle a deathly subject may have cut through with a lot of teenagers. 

It's worth saying that the wording of some safety signs may need to be looked at carefully too.  Not sure if the above is a warning or an invitation! 

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Saturday, November 17, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Commuting times rise for Women

Did you know that it's Commute Smart Week? Me neither until today.  I also didn't know that apparently us women are seeing an increase in commuting times.  On average in London men spend 77.2 minutes on a daily commute to and from work, which is a slight reduction from 2006.  In the same time frame, women have seen average commuting times rise from 69.8 minutes a day to 72.8 minutes.

The TUC who collated the survey put this down to the recession with an increase of men in part time job: "Recent trends suggest there is a link between long commute times and longer hours in the office, with the growing number of men in part-time work having shorter journeys to work. This trend is concerning if it means part-time workers and those needing to balance work with caring responsibilities are being excluded from certain types of jobs."


I certainly agree on the points about long commute times and longer hours in the office. I was in the office until quite late last night and strangely enough on the Tube coming home, there were a whole row of women sitting opposite me, looking like they were also coming back from work and playing out the long commute research to the letter.

Even though London commuting times have fallen, we still have the highest commuting times in the country. The national average is 52.8 minutes, whereas the average London commute is 75 minutes.  The Welsh have the shortest average commuting time of 41.4 minutes.

“The average commuter spends the equivalent of more than five weeks a year just to get to work and back. With rising transport costs far outstripping pay rises, reducing the number of peak-time commutes would save both time and money for hard-pressed workers." said TUC secretary Brendan Barber.

I actually thought my commute was particularly long, but it appears that I'm average at 75 minutes.  Not that it makes me feel a lot better, but it does explain why so many people do look really knackered on the London Underground and that falling asleep too and from work is a common occurance (if you're lucky enough to get a seat).  I certainly think that the daily grind of a long commute means there's a case for employers to be more flexible on where and when people work.

Work Wise UK Chief Executive Phil Flaxton said "Commute Smart week provides a real opportunity to revise tired working practises, how and where people work and set about adopting flexible approaches to people management as a key component of effective change."

How does your commuting time compare with the averages given above?

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Wednesday, November 14, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Tube Drivers may strike on Boxing Day 2012

We may face Boxing Day disruption on the London Underground for the third year in a row as Tube drivers union Aslef may be balloting members for strike action again this year.


Photo by Tom Roper
Aslef has been demanding triple pay and a day off in lieu for working on bank holidays however TfL stress that there is already a long-standing agreement for working on bank holidays, including Boxing Day.

Apparently talks between TfL and Aslef are already under way, but  Mick Whelan, the union's  general secretary  said: "We have not seen any positive response, but we are hoping it will be resolved. The company has only recently agreed to sit around the table with us."


 Howard Collins, London Underground's chief operating officer, said: "It would be quite wrong for the Aslef leadership to ballot for industrial action while we remain engaged in discussions to resolve this issue. We have had a series of positive discussions with Aslef representatives and there is a proposal on the table.

"LU has a long-standing agreement with all trade unions which cover working arrangements on bank holidays, including Boxing Day. However, we have shown good faith and have further reviewed Boxing Day service arrangements."

It's obviously early days and there is opportunity for a positive result.  However for the past two years TfL failed in legal challenges to get the strikes called off. Even though the RMT union are not involved in this dispute, they may compound the issue by refusing to cross picket lines should a strike take place. 

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Wednesday, November 07, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Star Trek Look-a-likes on the Tube

If you were on the Central Line at Oxford Circus today, you may have spotted Picard, Worf & Data on your journey.  As you can tell by the creases in the costumes, they're not the actors that played the characters but look-a-likes.  Although it appears the budget ran out when they came to Worf & Data, but the Picard look-a-like is pretty good.

Photo by David Parry / PA

Why the Tube was chosen for the promotion of launch of Star Trek: The Next Generation in high-definition, is beyond me.  As far as I know Picard and crew never travelled on the London Underground, although on the Star Trek Tube Tour (a fun tour of the Tube with tenuous links to Star Trek characters), Oxford Circus is the first stop!  Perhaps the time has come for a proper Tube Map mash up linked to Star Trek characters. If it's good enough for Doctor Who, it's certainly good enough for Star Trek.

Hat tip to Andrew for alerting me to the picture from The Evening Standard

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Monday, November 05, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Halloween on the Tube

Tonight's the night on the London Underground to look out for people with colour drained from their faces, walking zombies and those who've lost the will to live (and no, I'm not referring to the people stuck on the Central Line this morning).  It's Halloween.


I spotted these very well kitted out Halloween party goers on Saturday afternoon, clearly getting into the spirit of things quite early. I liked how the guy on the right looked slightly like an old school ticket inspector, checking to see if the undead had still paid the right fares.

Look out for ghosts, ghouls and other Shaun of the Dead extras on your journey tonight and also for people studiously trying to ignore them.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Wednesday, October 31, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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James Bond Street

Following on from the various "guerilla" London Underground stickers that have been spotted across the network, here's a less than subtle transformation.  Someone seems to have taken to heart, the fact that some of the new James Bond film is set on the Tube.


N Vikor spotted this at Bond Street yesterday & uploaded to Londonist's Flickr Pool. It looks like it's an opportunist piece of work rather than some official promo for the film. Although I do wonder why the Bond Empire haven't done something around this station. If it was good enough for Sherlock Holmes, surely it's good enough for Mr Bond

Baker Street Tube was temporarily re-tiled last December for the 2nd Holmes film & previously a Robert Downey Jnr wax work model had its home at the station too.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Monday, October 29, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2012/10/james-bond-street.html

Free Hangover on Board Badge

For those times when you feel a little delicate, some bright sparks - Johnny and Angus - have come up with a way to tell fellow commuters to treat you carefully.  They've released some free "Hangover on Board" badges for London Underground travellers.


I'm pretty certain they won't guarantee you a seat (not that the TfL's official Baby on Board badges actually do this either), but you never know they might stop those eternal optimistics who tell you to "cheer up, it might never happen". Rather than saying "it already has", you can scowl at them and point at your badge.

If there are people who are playing their iPods too loudly, you might also be able to glare at them and point at your badge.

Be warned that the "Hangover on Board" site is not actually to be looked at when you have a hangover, as there's some flashing moquette backgrounds on it which will make you want to click the button to get your free badge pretty sharpish.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Wednesday, October 24, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Tube Roundel Re-mixed

Look out for a new book by Art on the Underground & Art / Books to be published on 22nd October.  We've seen a number of "re-mixed" or "mashed up" Tube maps.  In The Roundel: 100 Artists Remake a London Icon, the title reveals all as one hundred international artists have re-imagined the London Underground icon through photography, drawings, paintings, collage, sculpture and print.



The new book has an introductory essay by design & architecture critic Jonathan Glancey who looks back to the formation of the Roundel & its typeface a century ago & considers why it's had such an impact not just in London but also globally across cities including Kuala Lumpur, Salt Lake City, Shanghai and Osaka



Claire Dobbin, former curator at London Transport Museum, also discusses the artistic uses of the symbol in from earlier decades.  Created by calligrapher Edward Johnston and transport manager Frank Pick in 1908,
the ‘bar and the circle’ as the Roundel was originally known, was originally introduced to highlight station names on platform walls amidst the chaos of commercial advertising posters.

One of the artists Juneau Projects said of their roundel artwork, Cockades of the Revolutionaries: "The Roundel, for us, is a symbol of anticipation and relief, a silent travelling companion, whether outward or homeward bound. A travelcard becomes a canvas for daydreaming of moles and guitars impossibly torn from its surface."

The book will also have a launch event with a panel discussion on Tuesday 30th October at 7pm at the Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre, V&A Museum.  Chaired by Jonathan Glancey, several artists who contributed to the book will be on hand to answer questions and throw light on the inspiration for their work. Find out more on Art on the Underground's site.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Friday, October 19, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Poppy Wrapped Tubes & Announcements for Remembrance Day

Look out for Poppy wrapped London Underground Circle Line trains this year as proposals have been put forward to acknowledge Remembrance Day across the transport network.

Photo by Julian Gajewski

In addition to the Circle line train wrapping, an Overground train and up to two buses will be covered with poppy livery. Normally I've only seen people selling poppies at Tube stations but this year there will also be "announcements to recognise the invaluable contribution of service men and women in London have made to the protection of Greater London and its inhabitants, communicating this to Londoners and others using the transport network who may not ordinarily be aware of the sacrifices made."

It looks as though 50 Tube stations will carry announcements by Barbara Windsor and ads will be displayed at Westminister Tube promoting TfL’s war veterans’ fares concession.  There are also plans for poppies to be displayed on the front and side of every Tube, DLR and London Overground train.

TfL will bear the cost (approximately £210,000) for the activities & advertising which will run up until 30th November 2012.  Full details are on Greater London Authority's website.

< I thought the justification in the GLA's memo for doing this was interesting, "With the passage of time and with the prominence of other matters, be it the state of the global economy, house prices or the alledged activities of the press, it is easy for Londoners to forget the invaluable contribution service men and women have made to and for the protection of London, Londoners and to the way of life to which we have become accustomed".

Although I wonder why this is the first year (correct me if I'm wrong) that this has happened?

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Tuesday, October 16, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Spoof London Underground Stickers "Craze"

Welcome if you arrived to my blog from the BBC's article on the Guerilla Sticker Craze on the Tube and thanks to Andy Dangerfield for interviewing me about it.  As I said in the article, these stickers have actually been around on the London for many years in some shape or form, but recently they have become much more inventive.

They've moved from the subtle No Talking, No Eye Contact and No Sitting (I first saw these back in 2004)

 

To more imaginative ways of displaying our frustration with not being able to get seats on the Tube

Spotted by @Whateleydude in 2008

My favourites are the non graphical ones as they actually do blend into the commute more. 

Spotted by Stuart Clary in 2004

However, the inventiveness of the Stickers on the Central Line series which first started appearing last year took things to a new level with an accompanying blog and commentary


I love the explanation for Lille: "It is a little known fact that between Woodford and Buckhurst Hill there is a lightly used tunnel which provides London Underground commuters direct access to the Paris Metro. Providing you’re not in a hurry, you can just sit back (if you can find a seat), relax and simply show your passport when the border guards pass through the train."

The stickers have also made their way onto other trains in London such as the Gatwick Express


As Andy points out in his article there are some websites around that are selling the stickers, and now that the "craze" has been published in The Sun today & on Mashable in the US, one can only imagine there will be even more interest and even more inventiveness in the creations.

If you spot any more on your journeys, let me know.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Thursday, October 11, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Folding Tube Maps

Here's something to pass away the time on a London Underground journey.  Matt Scroggs has taken up the task of folding Tube maps into interesting geometric shapes with some nice results.

He said "after re-reading chapter two of Alex's Adventures in Numberland (where Alex learns to fold business cards into tetrahedrons, cubes and octohedrons) on the tube, I folded two tube maps into a tetrahedron"

Sometimes in pubs I used to spend time folding empty crisp packets into shapes (don't judge me!), so I can see how Tube map folding could become rather addictive.  Perhaps it will take on & we'll see people folding maps with the same intensity as being invovled in a Sudoku puzzle.

Matt has moved on from one map to using a number of maps, which you can see on his blog. He is also spreading the joy by leaving the folded creations on the map holder at the end of his journey

"Each time I take the Tube, I am going to fold a tetrahedron from two maps and leave it on the maps when I leave the tube. I started this yesterday, leaving a tetrahedron on the maps at South Harrow. In the evening, it was still there.  How often do you think I will return to find a tetrahedron still there? I will be keeping a tetrahedron diary so we can find out the answer to these most important questions...:

Hat tip to IanVisits who found Matt's blog

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Tuesday, October 09, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Oxford Circus Central Line Interchange Changes?

Can anyone help with the strange interchanges at Oxford Circus London Underground or the Direct Access to Central Line Conundrum. London Lass sent me an email about some puzzling goings on at the station last night.  She wrote: 

"Why I am putting fingers to my keyboard, is I was hoping you might be able to shed some light about what's going on at Oxford Circus Tube Station. 

Photo by mattbuck4950

On arriving at the station last night I was greeted by a blocked off accessway (that usually takes you to a little escalator which whisks you down on to the Central Line platforms) covered with a plethora of construction and planning notices. 

An LUL member of staff was standing next to the blocked off accessway so I asked him what was going on? He replied, dont worry, the Central Line was still working. Ok so why has the usual accessway been blocked off?, I chirruped back. He replied that it was nothing for me to worry about. Oh, well is it works being carried out?, I chirruped further. Escalator, he chimed back, follow the notices on the way for alternative route to the Central Line. 

And do you want to know how long it takes to use their `alternative' route (esp. in the middle of rush hour)? Another 5-10 minutes on your journey (depending on how fast you walk) as it takes you to another bank of escalators, on to the southbound Bakerloo Line platform, which you then have to walk down, exit, walk on further, round and round, and then walk up and down steps, until you finally manage to come full circle to reach the Central Line platforms. 

Aside from the odd disgruntled comment on Twitter I havent been able to find any reference to these works on-line (not even on LU's website) and wondered if you might have any information on how long this accessway/escalator will be closed down for?"

If anyone knows what this is about or how long it's going on for please let us know.

Update - Just heard from TfL's Press Office who said "Due to planned escalator maintenance work, the single escalator that leads down to the Central line platforms will be out of service to passengers. Customers wanting to use the Central line from Oxford Circus will be directed to alternate routes around the station by staff and signage that is up at the station. The works which commenced this week are due to be completed by early November. We apologise to customers for any disruption this may cause to their journeys."  So now we know.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Wednesday, October 03, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2012/10/oxford-circus-changes.html

70 Tube Stations in One Picture Quiz

How many London Underground stations can you find in the picture below?  Someone has made an excellent montage of a street scene filled with puns of Tube station names.  Apparently there are 70 in total!

The full image is in the link here, and should keep you busy for a while!  Many thanks to @NewburyNewbie (who originally found this on News of the Unreal) for sending this my way. The answers may (at some stage) be revealed at the #lookforlonger site & a number of people have seen this as a poster at Tube stations too.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Monday, October 01, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2012/10/70-tube-stations-one-picture-quiz.html

RMT Strike Ballot over Driverless Tube Trains

The RMT have just announced they will ballot their members for strike action  in protest at plans to test driverless trains on the London Underground.  The union said it will initially ballot members who are set to take part in the trials, but RMT leader Bob Crow warned that other workers could be balloted as well.


Crow said: "RMT reiterates this union's complete opposition to driverless trains. Every train must have a driver, to ensure the safe and effective running of the Underground.

"Plans to scrap drivers or reduce their driving duties are risking safety, services and jobs and are motivated by saving money and undermining trade unionism.

"We will be campaigning for a massive yes vote in this ballot and with further packages of Tube staffing and service cuts expected to be unveiled by the mayor and Transport for London shortly, RMT is on high alert to use every weapon in our armoury to resist attacks on our members and the safe running of the Tube network."

Earlier this year in July the RMT said that London Underground had a secret document "“Deep Tube Railway – Generic Operations and Maintenance Concept – 2020” which  planned to move the entire Jubilee line to driverless operation within three years, with trials starting later this year, and that other lines would  follow.  However TfL denied these trials.

LU's Gareth Powell stressed that consultation with staff would always take place before driverless trains were introduced: "We will always consult with staff on any changes and, because of the timescales needed to develop and introduce new trains and to phase out older fleets, we will continue to need drivers well beyond the point when driverless operation could come into effect."

Are the RMT now proposing strike action for plans that currently don't exist?

Related posts
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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Thursday, September 27, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2012/09/rmt-strike-ballot-driverless-tube-trains.html

TfL help Apple Maps Users

Those people grappling with Apple Maps on the new iOS6 have some sympathy from the staff at Hackney Wick London Overground station.  Apple Maps has come into major criticism and most tech press basically think it ... err ... sucks (for want of a better word)!  Apple Maps also doesn't include public transport & Ben Mathis @binny_UK noticed this "helpful" sign adding to Apple's woes.

Thanks to @MichalD for bringing it to my attention.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Friday, September 21, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2012/09/tfl-help-apple-maps-users.html

Underground Orchestra Preview

You may remember I blogged about a Tube orchestra challenge a few months ago.  I'm pleased to say that things seems to be coming along rather nicely for it.  Tube Challenger Adham Fisher went along to a preview concert last week and has kindly written a guest post of the event.

String Quartet at the Jubilee Line Opening

"This year, a goal is set to recruit people for an orchestra to play at a prestigious London venue on the 12th of December 2012. The orchestra will comprise of musicians met on the London Underground only; if they are seen with an instrument, they must be approached. Original music will be performed, scored by someone who neither reads nor writes music. This is the 121212 Challenge. And on paper, it shouldn't work.

Shaun Buswell is the man behind this, and as the lead singer in the more-than-15-strong "folkchestral" band bearing his last name, is used to managing big groups. Things are coming together now and material is being previewed. After a London Eye concert, Buswell took to the Union Chapel last Friday (September 14th) with four members of the still-forming Underground Orchestra.

Gaz Brookfield opened proceedings, a most energetic man-and-guitar combination. So overawed was he at playing in the Chapel that he turned deftly away from the microphone for rude words and played his ode to the West Country unamplified. He made way for Cook And The Case who constrast with darker, brooding melodies.



Buswell and the orchestra filed on stage; the total number could be around 21. "This song's called Tuning Up," says Shaun, as strings, brass and electric pitch the customary A. Three songs later, most of the ensemble departed to leave Shaun to perform a stripped-down Sleep with his producer who had flown in from Gothenburg, and returned with more superb classical arrangements to complement Buswell's songwriting.

Tuning Up is reprised by Shaun throughout, as the orchestra wait for him to align to certain songs. He makes up for this with his banter, however, announcing it was his birthday (he'll be in the bar afterwards until further notice) and having Happy Birthday sung to him from the reasonably full house. He introduced all of the musicians, spoke about his challenge and even mentioned some chap named Adham Fisher and the Guinness World Record for visiting all Tube stations, which he might try at some point. His Guinness application for "largest orchestra consisting of people met on rapid transit" has not been confirmed yet...


With the 10:30pm curfew looming, the orchestra launched into Lebanon - which in full flow has a tiny hint of Live And Let Die about it - and end with The Road, an uplifting piece written specifically for the 121212 Challenge. A standing ovation ensued; the audience loved what they have heard.
The venue has not yet been announced but the full Underground Orchestra will be in concert on 12/12/12. Reserve that date, for based on tonight, it works. "


Many thanks Adham for the review and look out for more updates as the orchestra forms.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Thursday, September 20, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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How others see the Tube

Having just got back from Bangkok, I spent some time travelling on the BTS (Skytrain) and Bangkok's Metro system looking at the whole system as an outsider. There'll be a post on my thoughts soon.  This reminded me that Jon Justice had recently seen a Japanese animation with some surprisingly accurate renditions of the London Underground.

"K-ON!" is a Japanese animation about a group of teenage girls who form a band in after-school hours. Recently I was watching the film version where the girls visit London and I was really rather amazed at how accurately they depicted the Tube. I was rather expecting something more along the lines of the fantasy London that most Japanese imagine (do you realise that, according to her official biography, Hello Kitty was born and still lives in London?). 
 

But no, this was the Tube looking pretty much as the Tube actually does. The accompanying "making of" DVD shows members of the animation staff visiting London and taking lots of photographs.

I was quite astonished. Even in pictures where the station name isn't visible, I still recognised them" (ie Earl's Court is shown above).

I agree with Jon on this and there's a lovely feel to the illustrations, particularly this last one which is incredibly detailed with the level of signage & signals.  Thanks Jon for sending this on.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Tuesday, September 18, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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How the Tube Network Coped with the Olympics

On Tuesday evening, a lecture was held at UCL to look at how the various transport networks coped during the Olympics. The talk was arranged before the Olympics, when there was still a lot of doom and gloom so there was a risk it would be a wake for the service - but who knew that wouldn't be needed.


As was pointed out, in fact that lack of total collapse of the network means that Londoners may look at how the network performed in a nearly flawless manner during the Olympics might then wonder why it isn't always like that. Of course, part of that was thanks to the total suspension of all road works and weekend engineering closures on the railways - which sadly have to return.

Transport for London naturally collects an awful lot of information about people moving around the city, and some of that is made available under controlled conditions to researchers at UCL.

However, what was the impact of the past year worth of warnings that the tube network would be hideously overloaded? Based on what is still very preliminary analysis, of those Oyster card users considered to be regular commuters, some 87% did not change their journey.

The impact was considerably greater though amongst the occasional travellers - with around half adjusting their trips in some way.

One of the difficulties of the Oyster card system is that it records the entry and exit points, so if people altered when they travel, then that shows up - but if they catch trains at the usual time, but change the route they take once on the network, that would not appear in the data.

There is also the impact of Olympic ticket holders, who were also given a magnetic card based train ticket. For example, I went to the Olympics, and also traveled around a bit on my paper ticket - so my occasional Oyster use seems lower than it was in fact.

It's worth looking at those numbers again though - 13% of regular commuters and about half of occasional travellers adjusting their travel. Put another way, that released capacity on the Underground equivalent to an entire Crossrail project.

Yes, Crossrail arrived this summer - or at least a simulation of it. And that was despite the network carrying more passengers than normal for this time of year. Which shows just how significant encouraging working from home occasionally or traveling a bit earlier in the morning could have if maintained long term.

In the recent TfL board minutes, it was noted that West End Tube station demand during the Olympic Games was up by an average of seven per cent compared with 2011, with a peak uplift of 27 percent on the afternoon of Saturday 4 August.

During the Olympic Games, over 62 million journeys were made on the Tube -- up 35 per cent on normal levels. Tuesday, 7 August was the busiest day in the Tube’s history, with 4.57 million passengers, while Sunday 5 August saw 78 per cent more passengers than a normal Sunday last year.

Back at the UCL lecture, some frankly slightly confusing graphs were shown with more detailed analysis of the passenger traffic volumes on a per-day basis, but one was quite funny.

The sheer size of the TV audience for the Opening Ceremony had an impact on public transport with people staying in pubs or at home to watch it. But once the theatrics were over, and the athletes started the long parade around the stadium, traffic on the tube started to rise before dropping as journeys finished - then spiked back up again at the end of the Opening Ceremony.

It seems the athletes parade really wasn't that interesting. Need to persuade the National Grid to release details of the kettle surge on the electricity demand!

There was a lot more at the talk about other transport networks, and TfL will be publishing its own medium-term analysis on the Olympics in December, with a more in-depth report due next year.

UCL video their lectures, and you will be able to see the whole lecture on their YouTube channel shortly.

London Underground; Tube Posted by IanVisits Thursday, September 13, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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