Tube Photo of the Week

Kara Tointon from Strictly Come Dancing in her curlers and dressing gown at Charing Cross London Undeground station. The mind boggles.

Basically some bright spark thought it would be a good idea to get the ex EastEnder to pose at the disused Jubilee Line platform at Charing Cross to promote BT's WiFi service & a new iPad App.


She's pictured leaning casually against the roundel ready to use BT broadband at one of the 2 million free WiFi hotspots. As you probably know, last year a trial hotspot was introduced at Charing Cross station.

Ianvisits who kindly sent me the picture doubts that WiFi is actually working on the disused platform anyway.

Kara's actually no stranger to being pictured in weird situations on the London Underground. In 2007 when she was playing pregnant Dawn in EastEnders, her waters broke on the Tube.


So it's good to see she's recovered nicely from the incident, although still not enough to realise that people normally wear more clothes on their Tube commute.

Next week expect to see Kerry Katona posing at Aldwych disused station wearing fluffy slippers & pyjamas promoting an iPad app for Iceland.

You might also like

Zooey Deschanel at London Bridge Tube

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, January 20, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/tube-photo-of-week.html

DLR strike off - prevented by High Court

The 48 hour Docklands Light Railway strike set to start on the 20th January 2011, is now off following a High Court injunction preventing it.

Earlier today, the BBC were reporting that talks to prevent the strike had broken down. David Stretch, managing director of Serco Docklands, had said: "It is extremely disappointing to find the RMT union totally refusing to work with us to avert the strike action they have planned for Thursday and Friday. The RMT are determined to disrupt services for our passengers, no matter what."



Docklands Light Railway by sludgegulper
However the legal action now means that the strike over redundancies, a new pension plan, work timings and the dismissal of two workers will no longer be taking place.

Wait for a statement from RMT leader Bob Crow about the unfairness of the legal decision. Last June the High Court held that a Tube strike could take place, so it will be interesting to find out why the court thought this industrial action should be prevented.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, January 19, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/dlr-strike-off-prevented-by-high-court.html

Tube T-shirt winners

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition to win one of three Tube themed T shirts each worth £18 from We Admire. The response was great. We Admire were also pleased with your suggestions & said "There were some interesting, and amusing, ideas! It might be a while until we get round to acting on some of them though." I'll keep you posted, as you never know, one of your ideas may get made into a T Shirt.


Anyway, without further ado, here are the three winners, picked at random from the entries:

Virginia Gal
John Webb
Mark (the one who suggested music, not the other Mark, sorry)

They will be able to choose from the Mind the Gap one (pictured above), a 1938 Stock T shirt or the Love / Hate Tube T shirt. Please contact me through my email address on the contact page & let me know, which T shirt you'd like - don't forget to let us know the colour background, size and your name & address.  We Admire will send T Shirts overseas too.

Thanks again for to We Admire for the prizes and keep an eye on their work through their We Admire's Twitter account as you may see they've made one your suggestions into a T shirt.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, January 19, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/tube-t-shirt-winners.html

MasterCard brand Oyster card wallets

TfL just announced a multi-million pound partnership with MasterCard who will be exclusively branding Oyster card wallets in 2011. All new cards issued from Tube, rail stations & travel information centres will eventually come with the new branding. About six million wallets are expected to be distributed.



MasterCard will also be branding London Underground ticket barriers which is all part of their strategy to raise awareness for their PayPass 'Tap & Go™' contactless payment system. Other cities already use a system where commuters pay travel fares directly at gates & barriers with the same credit, debit or prepaid card used to make everyday purchases.

Hany Fam, President of the UK & Ireland Division at MasterCard, said:

"Oyster has been a huge success, providing millions of consumers every day with a convenient way of accessing London's transport system. But we believe that MasterCard PayPass can offer even more. Frustrations such as missing a train because you have to queue up to buy a ticket, or waiting for a bus only to find that you don't have enough value to travel, could be a thing of the past."  (not sure what happened to a similar contactless system Barclays had with Oyster)

Boris's transport advisor Kulveer Ranger says of the branding partnership "The revenue generated will make a significant contribution to protecting frontline services and maintaining investment in the Tube upgrades and delivery of Crossrail."

Great to get the extra cash, but I wonder how many people keep their original Oyster card wallet? I've not used a TfL wallet for years now. Tons of companies produce Oyster card holders as cheap promo items. There's also loads of companies (including TfL and London Transport Museum themselves) who produce their own designs for the holders.



Do you have your own holder are are you a traditionalist, sticking to the blue Oyster card wallet TfL supplied? Do you even use a holder or just carry the card in your pocket, wallet or purse?

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/mastercard-brand-oyster-card-wallets.html

Can our Tube commutes be brighter?

Today sees the launch of SmileforLondon, a creative project that aims to brighten up the London Underground by showing a series of uplifting and inspiring silent films on digital platform screens across ten zone 1 stations.

The project runs until 28th January 2011 on weekday mornings and evenings during the rush hour commute. You'll see them on certain platforms at Camden, Euston, Holborn, Liverpool Street, Oxford Circus, Moorgate, Victoria, Waterloo, Paddington and Piccadilly Circus Tube stations.



Last week an urban planner, Alex Marshall, argued the case for a Conversation Car in the New York subway. He remembered the days when he used to strike up conversations with fellow commuters and hoped to revive "the dying art of conversation" as subway cars feel more like "monasteries than social spaces".

As much as I'd like my commute to be brighter, I really doubt whether this idea would work in London or New York. Can you imagine actually seeking out a Conversation Car? It's a bunfight trying to get a seat on the Tube at the best of times. Even if you're lucky enough to get on the err.. supposedly "average" Tube train, with only 122 people on it, I wonder what sort of Londoners would relish the idea of conversation with random strangers?

Or maybe not. Perhaps they'd start off by being those conversations you have with someone you're stuck in a lift with. Maybe it would be like having Twitter conversations. Perhaps eventually they'd turn into dating carriages. TfL might even be able to make an earner and sponsor the type of conversation per carriage, with "Conversation starters", getting us to talk about a particular subject.


"Quiet zone....Shh...!" by whatleydude

Chances are none of the above would happen. I reckon we'd be more likely to see the introduction of "quiet carriages" like the Quiet Zones on some railways. Funnily enough The New York Times reported that "The quiet cars have now become some of the noisiest, as passengers trying to read or sleep are constantly hushing and shushing others."

Do you think "Conversation Cars" would work on the Tube? Do you think anything can really be done to brighten up your London Underground commute?

Hat tip to Jemimah Knight for the Conversation Car link.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, January 17, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/can-our-tube-commutes-be-brighter.html

Ten years of Tube Travel

How many people travel on the average London Underground train?  If you're a regular commuter I bet you'd be thinking anything between 400 to 900 people.  It's actually 122 people.  That and more facts and figures that you can shake a stick at, are in a 290 page PDF document recently published by TfL - the annual Travel in London report.

Crowded Tube by modenadude

Incidentally the average number of people who travel on a bus is 17 which is up 22% since 2000, whereas passenger numbers on the average Tube only increased by 4%.  Average numbers on the DLR are 79 up 18% from 2000.

Overall, passenger journeys on the London Underground have increased by 10% going from 970 million in 2000 to 1100 million in 2009.  Journeys on the DLR increased by 82% going from 38 million to 69 million in 2009, which reflects the development of the network with increased station numbers & train lengthening. The Tube is still the main mode of transport for people getting into central London each weekday morning.  From the graph below, it'll be interesting to see how much the green cycling section (or a mixture of cycling & Tube) grows over the years.



The report's overview shows key trends for Tube travel:

"There were 13 per cent more person-kilometres travelled by Underground in 2009/10 compared with 2000/01, and 65% more person-kilometres travelled by bus. Between 2008/09 and 2009/10 there was an increase of 1% in bus person-kilometres travelled, and a 2% decrease in person-kilometres travelled by Underground."

So enough of numbers, what about the Tube's performance:

"In 2009/10 overall average journey time (scheduled journey time plus ‘excess’) averaged 44.1 minutes, a level only marginally higher than that of 2008/09 (43.9 minutes) and an improvement (ie reduction) of 0.4 minutes compared with 2007/08.


Excess journey time is the average time added to journeys by delays, crowding and queuing, over and above the nominal scheduled journey time. Excess journey time in 2009/10 averaged 6.4 minutes, an improvement of 0.2 minutes compared to the previous year and of 1.4 minutes compared to 2007/08, and the best performance since the measure was introduced 10 years ago."

If you've got a fair amount (ie loads) of time on your hands, you'll find a lot more graphs, charts and tables on all forms of public transport in London with spotlights on (surprise, surprise, for a report produced under Boris) "The Year of Cycling", the London Olympics and London's low emission zone.  There's also figures on crime and saftety & journey experiences.

Psst TfL - some infographics might be nice for next year to break up the charts. 290 pages is a lot to plough through!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Friday, January 14, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/ten-years-of-tube-travel_14.html

Win a Tube T Shirt from We Admire

To wish Happy Birthday to the London Underground, the lovely folks from Shoreditch based, T Shirt company, We Admire, are giving away three of their Tube themed T shirts each worth £18.



You can choose from the Mind the Gap one (pictured above), a 1938 Stock T shirt or the Love / Hate Tube T shirt. The three winners can choose from a range of background colours.

All you need to do to enter, is tell us what you'd love to see on a London Underground T shirt. It can be a slogan, roundel, picture of your favourite Tube station, image of Bob Crow or whatever you like!

We Admire can't promise to make the winning T shirts, but it will give them more inspiration for future designs. Keep an eye on their work through their We Admire's Twitter account.

Good news is that you don't have to be based in the UK to enter. We Admire will kndly send the T shirt wherever you live in the world. We'll select three winners at random, but please make sure you leave a name in the comments so we know who you are. Anyone who shows up as Guest or Anon won't count.

You have until 11.59pm UK time Sunday 16th January 2011 to enter and we'll announce the winners next week, so don't forget to come back to see if you've won! Have fun & good luck.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/win-tube-t-shirt-from-we-admire.html

DLR workers vote for strike action

Update - 19th January 2011 - News just in there's been a High Court injunction preventing the strike. 


Update - RMT have announced 48 hours of strike action on the DLR from 03.59am on  Thursday 20th January 2011 to 03.58am Saturday 22nd January 2011

News just in that Docklands Light Railway workers have voted in favour of a strike over a series of rows including jobs, pensions and working conditions. This comes amid the row about Boris fighting strikes that don't exist, the fact that under Boris's "no strike deal" manifesto pledge there have been more Tube strikes than under Ken and another strike on the Bakerloo & Northern London Underground Lines this week.




Docklands Light Railway by sludgegulper

Of the DLR potential strike RMT leader Bob Crow, in full bullish mode, said: "Management at Serco Docklands continue to show total disregard for the idea of proper negotiation and consultation with this trade union on a number of issues and have also victimised and dismissed two of our colleagues.

"Our members have shown in this massive vote for action (162 for and 36 against) that they will not be bullied and treated with contempt. The industrial relations situation at Serco Docklands cannot be tolerated any longer and our members have now voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action and industrial action short of a strike.

"This ballot shows management we mean business and that we will not accept their disgraceful attitude towards their staff, and it is now up to the company to respond positively to our demands for a solution that addresses all of the issues at the heart of this dispute."

At time of writing there's nothing on the RMT's website about when the DLR strike might take place , although it does list the issues at the heart of the dispute.

However, managing director of Serco Docklands, David Stretch hopes they might be able to avert strike action through talks and said: "We are extremely disappointed that the RMT is calling for strike action on the DLR. Constructive talks have already resolved a number of issues raised by the union and there are more meetings planned.

"Our aim is to resolve the current issues before any action is taken which disrupts our passengers."

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/dlr-vote-for-strike-action.html

Happy Birthday London Underground

10th January 1863 - Passengers travelled on the Tube for the first time!

Blimey, they didn't know what they were letting themselves in for. The world's first underground railway opened to the public on a Saturday at 6am from Paddington to Farringdon, making it the world's first Tube line - the Metropolitan Line. The Metropolitan Line had trains running every 10 minutes and carried 40,000 passengers between Paddington and Farringdon that day.

But even then the London Underground's line didn't launch when planned:




According to The Times on January 2nd 1863:

"It appears that arrangements have been made for opening this line on the 10th [of January] for public traffic, but as the 1st of October, the 1st of November, the middle of December have been announced from time to time as the probable date of opening, it is presumed that no one will feel disappointed if a further postponement should take place. " From this excellent page on the Tube's opening.

On the actual day of opening The Daily Telegraph reported:

"Of the general comfort in travelling on the line there can be no question, and the novel introduction of gas into the carriages is calculated to dispel any unpleasant feeling which passengers, especially ladies, might entertain against riding for so long a distance through a tunnel. "

Any gas that I experience being introduced while I'm in a tunnel is calculated to make me hold my nose and change carriages at the next stop.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, January 10, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-birthday-london-underground.html

ASLEF downplay Royal Wedding Day Tube Strike

Interesting to see a union saying that a threat of a Tube strike is "remote". This is after a number of mainstream media (including BBC, Evening Standard & Sky News) reported that ASLEF were considering a strike on the day of the Royal Wedding.  Even the Mayor gave an angry Tweet  saying "Can't believe this. Surely not!"  about the news linking to a Press Association piece.


ASLEF's general secretary, Keith Norman, said today that industrial action on the London Underground had not even been discussed.

Steve Grant, their London Officer said no ballot had been held and the union and the management were due to resume negotiations about compensation for all Bank Holiday working by London Underground tube drivers.

‘The story is premature to say the least,’ added Keith Norman. Looks like the press got a little over excited about the Boxing Day strike action over pay on public holidays, and thought, this would apply to the next Bank Holiday likely to get extremely bad press if a strike took place.

You might like:
Royal Wedding Oyster Card

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, January 10, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/aslef-downplay-royal-wedding-day-tube.html

No Trousers on the Tube 2011

Over hundred brave souls braved the temperatures in London yesterday to take part in the second No Trousers on the London Underground event. Although over three hundred people had signed up to be in the London part of the global task, the numbers taking part were three times the amount who took place in 2010.


No Trousers on the Underground 2011 by Idil Sukan

Paul Sontagg took part & said "It was way out of left field, and we had an absolute ball. We met in Trafalgar Square at 3pm, were split into groups of around 25 then headed down to the Charing Cross Station. After lining up for the front carriage, we boarded then had to act like we were travelling alone and didn't know anyone else on the train. After stripping our jeans/trousers off and into our backpacks, putting our shoes (or cowboy boots in my case) back on, then act like life was normal. The looks from the innocent bystanders was priceless, it was a very unique way to spend a Sunday afternoon." There's more on his blog

Rammi the organiser was updating from Twitter, and was delighted with the amount of people who turned up this year.



There's a great set of photos by Idil Sukan here.

The video from you and i films of commuters reactions below has that usual mix of Londoners to unusual Tube encounters - from complete indifference, sly looks to laughter and someone actually deciding to join in.



Well done to those who braved it and it looks like No Trousers on the Tube is going to be a permanent fixture of the Global No Pants Subway Ride.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, January 10, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/no-trousers-on-tube-2011.html

Tube Drivers to strike again on Bakerloo & Northern Line

Another year, another Tube strike announcement. Last year's dispute over staff dismissals continues as RMT members have just announced more London Underground strike action.

Members of the RMT union on the Bakerloo Line & Morden depot of the Northern Line will walk out at 9pm Friday 14th January 2011 for 24 hours.



Photo by www.CGPGrey.com

When the action took place last year Bakerloo line services were suspended between Harrow and Wealdstone and Queens Park stations due to the Tube strike on Friday evening.

On the Saturday there was only a partial service in operation south from Queens Park south to Elephant and Castle.

However as with all strikes please check the Tube's website before you leave for the latest information. At time of writing there has been no statement from either TfL's or RMT leader, Bob Crow about this action.

Update - 14th January 2011 - London Underground expect that disruption will be unlikely on the Northern Line, however significant disruption on the Bakerloo line is likely, though they intends to run as many trains as possible.

Howard Collins, LU's COO said : "The union leadership failed in its attempt to gain support for the strike from Northern line staff. Less than 20 per cent of those balloted voted for strike action, and on the Bakerloo line only one in three of those balloted voted to strike.


'For the RMT leadership to try to disrupt Londoners in this way shows a disregard for Tube passengers and contempt for their own ballot process.


'We will once again seek to operate the best service possible. The last Northern line strike had no effect and we managed to keep a service running on parts of the Bakerloo line despite the action there. The RMT leadership should stop threatening Londoners with strike action and let our staff get on with their job of keeping the capital moving."

Related Post

Tube Strikes could escalate in the New Year

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Friday, January 07, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/tube-drivers-to-strike-again-on.html

No Trousers on the Underground 2011

Just as snow is forecast for London, it's time for the second No Pants Tube Ride or No Trousers on the Underground 2011. The No Pants Subway Ride has been running in the US since 2002, starting on the New York Subway by ImprovEverywhere. It's now taking place in over 40 cities throughout the world.



Photo by Idil Sukan
Rammi who took part in the event last year is organising this year's on the London Underground. Once again it looks likely to be a freezing cold weekend. However, on Sunday afternoon on the 9th January there'll be people casually travelling around the London Underground sans trousers.

Last year over thirty people took part in London and there's currently over 170 signed up on the Facebook event page. There's still time to sign up, all you need is "Willingness to take trousers off on the Tube and the abilty to keep a straight face about it".

The aim is to be nonchalant and like the US riders to look as though you've just forgotten to wear trousers. Rammi says: "You can wear fun underwear if you like, but nothing that screams out, 'I wore this because I'm doing a silly stunt.' Wear two pairs of underwear if it makes you feel more comfortable. Don't wear a thong or anything else that might offend people. Our aim is to make people laugh, not piss them off."

Good luck to them, and I look forward to seeing any pictures or videos on Monday!

Update - Over 100 people took part in the event. See what happened at No Trousers on the Tube 2011.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, January 06, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/no-trousers-on-underground-2011.html

Top 10 Going Underground Blog posts from 2010

I've never looked at the top ten blog posts before, but as the blog is coming into its ninth year (yikes) I thought it was about time to see which posts received the most views. Interestingly (& surprisingly) there were actually three archive posts from older years that made it into the top 10. Two on Max Roberts' great curvy Tube map - his original post from June 2007 and a post where he revisited the map in February 2008. The third was the distances between tube stations map post from October 2004.


The Big Issue Cat by Stuff n Nonsense

So taking those posts out, here are the most visited posts, written in 2010, in reverse order.

10. Balloon Animals on the Tube

A cheery look at an outbreak of balloon animals on the London Underground

9. Body found in London Underground Tunnel

On November 12th 2010 a body was found on the tracks in a tunnel near Bayswater Tube at 2.30am

8. Tube staff set dates for strike action

The first (and sadly not only) appearance of posts about the Tube strike announcements in the top ten. This one's from 25th August.

7. Slides on the Tube - would you use them?

Another fun one. Video of commuters on the subway in Berlin who were offered the choice of stairs, escalators or a giant slide to get down to the trains.

6. Naked Tube

Pictures from a stunt involving naked commuters travelling through Charing Cross station.

5. Human body as a Tube Map

The only Tube Map "mash up" in the top ten. Sam Loman charted the interchanges in our body to various "lines" on the map.

4. Tube photo of the week - Angel Tube Cat

One of my favourite posts of the year. The lovely story of Bob the ginger cat who poses outside Angel Tube station with his Big Issue selling owner.

3. What's the best London Underground iPhone App?

A review of five Tube apps for the Tube and people's thoughts on the apps in the comments.

2. Dog confused by Tube escalator

Another four legged friend on the London Underground. Super cute video of a dog who knows very little of the workings of an escalator.

1. RMT set two Tube strike dates

Sadly the most visited post of the year was a post on the Tube strikes. It's one that Google seem to really like if you're searching for "tube strike dates", which as you can imagine a shed load of people did in 2010.

That's it. Thanks to all the comments, tweets, follows & ReTweets over the year. Thanks to everyone who keeps visiting the blog. And a special thanks to all those who send me fun (and not so fun) London Underground stories, pictures and videos. Please keep them coming. It clearly wouldn't be the same without you!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Tuesday, January 04, 2011 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2011/01/top-10-going-underground-blog-posts.html

Reminder of New Years Fare Increases

Don't forget that the new ticket price changes on the London Underground, Overground, DLR, buses and trams come into effect from Sunday 2nd January. So buy your Travelcard before then to avoid paying the increases.



Here's a quick summary of the main points, my post from October when the fare changes were announced goes into more detail.

Tube, DLR & Overground

* The Zone 1 pay as you go fare rises by 10p to £1.90
* The refundable deposit on a new Oyster card increases from £3 to £5.
* A Visitor Oyster card will cost £3.
* Oyster pay as you go fares travelling into Zone 1 in the evening rush hour are reduced to the off-peak rate

Travelcards

* Anytime zones 1-3, 1-5 and 2-6 Day Travelcards and the Off-Peak zones 2-6 Travelcards are being withdrawn.

Buses and Trams

* A single cash fare rises from £2 to £2.20
* Oyster pay as you go fares will increase by 10p to £1.30

Maximum fare for not touching in/out

If you don't touch in and out on the Tube, London Overground, DLR & National Rail, you may be charged a maximum Oyster fare of up to £7.40.

Pay as you go Auto Top Up

Oyster pay as you go Auto Top-up minimum balance increases to £8.00

TfL have the full fare guide for 2011 on their site.

Happy New Year!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Friday, December 31, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2010/12/reminder-of-new-years-fare-increases.html

New Year's Eve Tube Fancy Dress Party

If you haven't any plans for New Year's Eve and fancy dressing up as a London Underground station, you should head over to The Chippenham pub at Maida Hill.

Melanie Seasons from Om Nom London spotted this poster a few weeks ago:



The pub doesn't seem to have an active website, so if you fancy going, best contact them to find out what time it starts. Alternatively lurk around Maida Vale Tube station and follow all the knights, barons, bishops, angels, and people with beehives or dressed as cans of lager.

For more ideas on what to go as - see the following posts:
London Underground Fancy Dress Party
Ideas for Tube Fancy Dress Party (mostly in the comments)
Tube Fancy Dress Quiz (again mostly in the comments)

If you've already got plans for New Year's Eve, Bringstuff will be holding their second London Underground Fancy Dress party on 5th February 2011 - details here!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Tuesday, December 28, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-years-eve-tube-fancy-dress-party.html

Tron Tube Map

The London Underground as seen through The Grid. Fantastic Tron version of the Tube map by Deviant Artist iamclu




According to the guys at HeyUGuys, who found this, "there is somewhere called Liverpool Street inside The Grid!". They also "plan to print off and use for my regular trips to London from this day forth! Who’s with me?!!"

Iamclu has also Tronified the new London bus which looks pretty awesome too.

Hat Tip to Jemimah Knight for spotting this!

Linked to glowing Tube map and following on from yesterday's Tinsel Tube map, Chris Constantine remembered that he'd created a card a few years ago called Tube Fairies with fairy lights forming the Tube map.




He said "I lived in North Woolwich at the time, thus the plug socket!".

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, December 23, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2010/12/tron-tube-map.html

Boxing Day Tube Strike goes ahead as court action fails

Update - 24th December 2010 - The Tube strike on Boxing Day will go ahead as the eleventh hour court action by London Underground - described below failed.

As with other strikes this year, TfL have laid out on their site, services they expect to run (there's also a summary on their press release). However, as with previous strikes it's always best to check their website before you leave home for up to date information on the services on your line.

--------------------------------

London Underground are seeking an injunction against what they believe to be a "completely unnecessary" strike. In 1996 drivers union ASLEF signed an agreement that it would consider Boxing Day a normal working day in return for longer holidays and higher pay.

However, the union has said increased Tube services on bank holidays meant drivers now have to work more Bank holidays than when the agreement was originally signed. ASLEF are due to stage a 24-hour walkout on 26th December 2010 and are claiming triple pay and a day off in lieu for working on Boxing Day.



ASLEF by skuds

A TfL spokesman said: "The union has ripped up a long-standing agreement on pay and working hours that gave LU employees increased pay and 6.8 weeks' holiday, in return for working some public holidays. We have tried to resolve this through negotiation, but our offer to reduce the number of drivers rostered to work on Boxing day was flatly rejected.

"This left us no option but to seek a legal solution."

An ASLEF spokesman said: "We are disappointed that, instead of trying to resolve the dispute, LU is taking the legal route.

"But nowadays it seems par for the course to go to the courts rather than sit round the table."

In the meantime Howard Collins Chief Operating Officer at London Underground has written to ASLEF members urging them not to strike. He said "ASLEF clearly did not want to make any concession on its triple pay claim and it did not seriously consider our proposal to amend our service plans.

"The increase in service we plan for this year's Boxing Day is in direct response to the doubling of demand for service that we have seen in recent years. Furthermore, if we were still running the levels of train service we were running 15 years ago we would not have created additional jobs for train operators. The more service we run, and the more customers we serve, the better - not just for our customers but for our employees.

In addition, rumours about Christmas Day working are simply wrong - there is no plan to do this, and if - in the future - any such long-term proposals did emerge, they would be a matter for discussion with trades unions representatives well ahead of any changes.

Please consider whether going on strike will achieve anything, other than loss of pay and damage to our commitment to this city. The proper route to a resolution of this issue is through discussions within our established framework - not through the threat of strike action."

Whether there's time for the last minute legal challenge to stop the strike obviously remains to be seen. London Underground last went to court in June to try to stop an RMT walkout. However the High Court ruled that the strike could take place.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, December 23, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2010/12/tfl-seeking-court-ban-on-boxing-day.html

Christmas Tube Map by Max Roberts

Suitably festive London Underground Map by Tube Map expert Max Roberts!



This e-card was a lovely idea and surprisingly I've never seen a tinsel version of the map before. It certainly reminds me of Max's excellent Curvy Tube Map.

For all those looking for Christmas opening and closing times for the Tube, pop along to their site where there's a pdf and don't forget, the Boxing Day Tube strike by ASLEF, which is likely to cause "significant disruption" on most London Underground lines from 00:01 to 23:59 on Sunday 26 December 2010.

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London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, December 22, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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MP & Assembly Members criticise free New Year's Eve travel sponsor

Bloggers were quick to note that TfL have been pretty quiet about the identity of this year's free New Year's Eve Tube, bus and DLR co-sponsor. Probably because it's Wonga - the online loan company whose interest rates range from 444% to nearly 3,000% in some cases.



Adam Bienkov aka Torytroll said "Now I know sponsorship is hard to find, but should the Mayor really be encouraging London's most desperate and needy to get themselves into even more debt over the Christmas period?"

Jeanette Arnold, Deputy Chair of the London Assembly said "People in desperate need subsidising free New Year's travel in London - not surprised Mayor's office is staying quiet. It's a total disgrace."  Green Party Assembly Member Jenny Jones said "The Mayor of London must understand promoting 2689% borrowing is stupid and dangerous."

Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow has written an open letter to Boris Johnson asking him to change his mind over the deal. She said: "I've tabled legislation to try to deal with the worst excesses of these companies and protect the poorest consumers in the capital but Wonga have written to me opposing these proposals. ... MPs of all parties agree with me that something should be done to tackle these problems and are supporting these proposals."

Mayorwatch asked the Mayor's Office to comment, his request was passed onto to TfL who made the following statement "Transport for London (TfL) each year seeks support for the provision of free travel on New Year’s Eve between 11.45pm and 4:30am.

Wonga.com is making a contribution in support of free travel for this New Year’s Eve, and is licensed by the Office of Fair Trading and regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974."

In the past Nat West, and ING Direct have sponsored the free travel. Before that drinks companies like Fosters and Smirnoff were the lead sponsors.  Boris's booze ban on public transport probably put a stop to that.

I wonder how many New Year's revellers are going to care or even notice who's getting them home for free? Is it right for MPs to take the moral high ground on this? Or does it bother people that loan sharks (or their online equivalents) are potentially being seen as benevolent over the festive season? How many people would rather pay for travel that night than have it partially sponsored by Wonga?

Perhaps this time next year, free New Year's Eve travel will be sponsored by one of the many "cash 4 gold" companies! Would that be worse?

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Tuesday, December 21, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Snow on the Tube

Expect delays on most London Underground Lines today due to the snow. At time of writing this on Monday morning, only Jubilee, Victoria, Northern and Waterloo & City Lines have a good service.

View from my study on Saturday morning

TfL's "cold weather plans" have been put in place to deal with the snow and ice. TfL say: "Stocks of specialist de-icing fluids have been topped up and, if required, arrangements are in place for trains to run overnight across the various networks.

Additional engineering staff will also be on standby to respond swiftly to any incidents that occur during the cold weather."

As usual, check their website to see what's happening on your lines. There's more snow forecast over the next couple of days, so keep safe on the pavements and roads - it's slippy out there!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, December 20, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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12 Days of Rail Mess - Southeastern Carol

A group of disgruntled rail commuters gathered at Charing Cross station Wednesday to stage a festive protest about Southeastern trains.

Adam Halall, from St Leonard's, East Sussex, regularly travels on the Hastings to Charing Cross line, and organised the sing-a-long to an inspired version of The 12 Days of Christmas.



Here's the lyrics in case you couldn't make them out from the video above.

On the 12th day of Christmas Southeastern said to me,
12 hundred stranded
11 porky pies
10 trains are cancelled
9 power failures
8 dodgy heaters
7 flakes are falling
6 dirty toilets
5 broken trains
4 missing drivers
3 signal failures
2 points are stuck
And there's no trains the rest of the week.

A Southeastern spokesman said: "We always welcome all feedback from passengers, in whatever format it may come in."

Hat tip to @BCCletts for letting me know about this.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Friday, December 17, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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If TfL chief Peter Hendy had a magic wand

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have a chat with TfL's Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy. Due to partial incompetence on my part & problems on the District Line, I was late. Fortunately London Reconnections and IanVisits were on time, so hopefully, they'll have more on Hendy's opinion on what the Comprehensive Spending Review will mean for London's Transport. When I arrived the discussion had moved on to Hendy's thoughts of how most of the world's transport systems were actually surprised London had a long term strategy for transport & that it was (finally) being carried out.


Hendy struck me as a person who was extremely keen to get on with the upgrades needed & speed them up. He's well aware of the perception of bad communication of improvements and the seemingly endless engineering work. He's clearly not a fan of those posters which show cartoons of men carrying out work on the London Underground.

Transforming your Tube by Richard Parmiter
In the future we'll see less of these and actual photos of broken rails, points, signalling and the like, in an attempt to show us what work is physically being done & how long it takes. We got the impression there will be fewer block closures on the Tube than TfL's new strategy just announced (first of which District & Circle Lines between High Street Ken & Edgware Road). Mainly because there's actually few parts of the Tube which you can close down for weeks at a time without causing complete chaos and offering reasonable travel alternatives.

Hendy's obviously a mine of transport information having worked for London Transport since 1975. I must admit my brain partially switches off when people talk about buses, but Hendy's attention to the new buses went right down to making sure it was easy to clean sick (& other nasty stuff) off them! Probably something a lot of Transport commissioners wouldn't talk about.

We also learnt that before stations on the former North London Link were closed overnight, a whole colony of down and outs lived at Kensal Rise station.

Even though it's December, inevitably you can't talk about the Tube without talking about air conditioning. Ian asked how much of the plans to cool the London Underground were at risk with the funding cuts. Hendy wasn't sure, but said the challenge was more about trying to create a system that generated less heat in the first place. That was easier than getting warm air out. So the plans are for lighter trains like the new ones on the Victoria Line.


With Tube passengers numbers at a record high of four million journeys a day, I asked Hendy if he had a magic wand, what could he do about capacity and how he could make our Tube journeys more comfortable & pleasant.

He said "Firstly I would wish that Trade Unions would recognise they shouldn't continually threaten to go on strike". Hendy said that union leaders seem to think that as the Tube is publicly owned, that money will come from somewhere and demands will be caved into. "Don't get me wrong, the vast majority of staff are fantastic," he added, but he obviously felt that the bargaining tactics used by unions were influenced by the thought of a bottomless public vat of money.

"Secondly, work on improving the system has to be done and it has to be done now. There's no easy solution to increasing capacity. Sadly there isn't a magic wand. But we need to explain properly what work needs to be done.

"I think we're on our way to a pretty customer-friendly system. On most stations hopefully you'll notice that staff normally make eye contact with you. This didn't happen 10 years ago. I'm convinced we need visible people on and around the system, being seen and being helpful. Being stuck behind a screen doesn't do this.  (Another clue- as if more were needed - as to what he thinks of the unions' dispute over ticket office closures)

"Finally I'd wish that no new governing methods like PPP were invented. Hire the right management teams and leave them alone to do the work. We don't need arbiters and regulators as this slows things down. We just need people who know what they're doing."

I'd like to thank Peter Hendy for spending time with us and we hope to be able to chat to him again next year. Look out for IanVisits and LondonReconnections posts as they're sure to cover more of our conversation including Hendy's thoughts on mobile phone coverage on the Tube, how TfL works with National Rail in London and what he thinks about Boris Bikes.

Related Posts
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London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, December 16, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Tube Map 2100 - London on Sea

One alternative London Underground map I didn't want to see. Remember the kerfuffle when the Thames was taken off the Tube map last year. Well here's what the Thames could look like on the Tube map in 2100 if no action on climate change is taken. Just a four degree rise in temperature could raise sea levels dramatically.



Margaret Gardner, Director of Practical Action, the organisation who put the map together, said: "If no action is taken against the temperature and sea levels rise as predicted, large areas of London could be underwater by the end of the century – a frightening thought.  Not great news for our children or grandchildren.


"In London we have an insurance industry and the necessary capital to do something about increased flooding risk. We can build barriers and do whatever is necessary. But in Dhaka and other cities in the developing world, there isn’t the spare cash to just invest in infrastructure to help people to adapt to climate change. So the answer has to be to avoid climate change in the first place."

Certainly brings home the ominous lines from The Clash who sang:  "Cause London is drowning and I live by the river".

For more information and to sign up to Practical Action’s climate change campaign ‘Face Up to 4C’ please visit www.practicalaction.org/face-up.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Santas on the London Underground

Once again there's many Santas (or should that be Santae) having fun on the Tube in the annual London Santacon on Saturday. Where hoards of Santae zoom around central London and give parents nightmares trying to explain how "there's really only one true Santa Claus and the people taking pictures of each other on escalators, getting stared at by policemen and cramming themselves into phone boxes, are only pretend Santas"






Thanks to by the light divided for letting me use his great pictures from his Santacon set!

Many more London Santae on the Flickr stream for the event.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, December 13, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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ASLEF vote for Boxing Day Strike

London Underground drivers have voted by 9-1 to go on strike on Boxing Day in a management disagreement over Boxing Day pay. London Underground claim 26th December is an normal working day and a longstanding agreement has been in place with trade unions over pay and drivers would get a day off in lieu or work reduced hours.


Photo by Tom Roper
Terry Wilkinson, the EC member for District 8 from the union said: "It used to be almost guaranteed that if you worked one bank holiday, you would not work the next. But the increase in service levels (and that Boxing Day is a Sunday this year) has meant this is now no longer possible."

The union is claiming triple pay and a day off in lieu for its members for working on December 26, saying LU is refusing to offer any extra pay.

ASLEF general secretary Keith Norman said: "It is painfully obvious to any reasonable person that Boxing Day is not an ordinary working day and therefore it is no surprise that Aslef members have reacted in the way they have."

The vote was 1,025 for strike action, with 127 against, a 9-1 majority in favour of taking action on Boxing Day.

As yet there's nothing on ASLEF's site to confirm when the strike action will actually take place and no statement from London Underground on the impact this will have on the Tube service.

Update from ASLEF's site: ASLEF members employed by London Underground Ltd will be withdrawing their labour for all turns commencing between 00:01 and 23:59 on Sunday 26 December 2010.

‘I am prepared to discuss this with the company but if they want a meeting they are going to have to have something to put on the table,’ says Keith Norman.

Update from London - 16th December - a statement was issued on their site "We have a long-standing agreement which all of trade unions are signed up to and which we have published today, which covers staff working arrangements on bank holidays, and Boxing Day is included in that agreement. To tear that agreement up and seek to disrupt the festive period for Londoners in this way is just cynical.

"We have made every effort to resolve this issue with the Aslef leadership, which has refused to attend talks at ACAS to discuss its claim for triple time and a day in lieu for its members."

Update - 22nd December 2010 - TfL emailed Oyster card holders with the following today:

Note "there is likely to be significant disruption to Tube services throughout Boxing Day".

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, December 13, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Dog plays Mornington Crescent

Where do dogs go when they get lost on the Tube?



Samuel Powell spotted this neatly penned notice at Kentish Town London Underground station this morning.

Wonder if it was using the Rexley-Ruff rules to get there?

Update - Here's what happened to the dog. He was found by Rosy who said in the comments "My boyfriend and I were in fact holding the dog! We ended up taking him to work with us as Mornington Crescent station would have had to close its doors if it took on the responsibility of looking after a dog for a couple of hours due to staff shortages. We named the dog Frank, fed him sausages and gave him lots of attention! He was reunited with his rightful owner a few hours later. Frank had an eventful morning and everyone misses him at the office!"

What a lovely ending!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Friday, December 10, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Minority vote for Tube strike, yet Crow says down tools

RMT union leaders have called for Northern line drivers at the Morden depot to strike for 24 hours from Friday 17 December until Saturday 18 December 2010, in a row over staff dismissals. However, the ballots which took place earlier this week showed Northern line staff rejected the strike call.

Of the 192 staff balloted over the dispute, only 80 voted, with less than 20 per cent voting for strike action - 38 people. The driver in question has not even been dismissed.


A similar low ballot turnout occurred over the dismissal of a Bakerloo Line driver. Just 42 people voted for strike action out of a total of 119 balloted - that's a third of the total members.

Howard Collins, LU's chief operating officer, said: 'The RMT leadership has utterly failed in its attempt to gain support from staff on the Northern line for a driver being dealt with over allegations of totally unacceptable and abusive behaviour towards colleagues.

"It is also utterly outrageous for the RMT to threaten strike action in support of someone dismissed for a serious breach of safety rules on the Bakerloo line.

'The facts speak for themselves. Yet again, the RMT leadership shows utter contempt for Londoners and the integrity of their own strike ballot process.

'They should end these pointless strike threats and get on with working with us to deliver an upgraded Tube system for London.'

Bakerloo Line London Underground tube drivers based at Elephant & Castle and Queens Park, have also been asked by the union to stop working at the same time.

Bob Crow makes no mention of the low turnout and the low numbers of people voting for strike action and says "Instead of harassing our members and activists on trumped up charges the London Underground management should be directing their energies into reaching a settlement to the on-going disputes over tube safety and safe staffing levels."

Instead of striking when the majority of people who voted clearly didn't want to strike, I'd suggest the RMT leaders should be directing their energies into proving exactly what safety issues are at stake in the wider Tube strikes.

On a practical level, I'd imagine these calls to "down tools" will have little impact on the Northern & Bakerloo Lines. London Underground (& I'm guessing all the people who didn't vote to strike) fully intends to run services on these and all other lines. But check the Tube's website before you leave for the latest information.

Related Posts

Tube Strikes could escalate in the New Year
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Update 17th December 2010 - According to Harrow Observer Bakerloo line services will be suspended between Harrow and Wealdstone and Queens Park stations on 18th December due to the above action.

Members of the RMT union will walk out at 9pm 17th December for 24 hours and while tonight London Underground (LU) said the service will be 'largely unaffected', tomorrow only a partial service will be in operation south from Queens Park south to Elephant and Castle.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Friday, December 10, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Signs of Christmas on the Tube

A giant Santa balloon floating above heads at Hammersmith London Underground.


It's been there for a few days now - wonder how long it will take to come down?

If you spot any other Xmassy Tube sights (it's just coming up to office party season) send them my way and I'll feature the best here.

If you're looking for TfL's plans for Christmas & New Year opening hours on the Tube - visit their site.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, December 08, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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London Transport Museum visit Delhi's Metro

A guest post from Jane Findlay & Michelle Brown - Community Curators from London Transport Museum on their recent visit to Delhi and a fascinating look at the underground system there.


"Space to sit down, spotless carriages and air conditioning. We could definitely get used to this. Delhi Metro is not all like this of course; being female we’re privileged to get a space in the quieter ladies carriage…but it’s not far off. Like any Tube train at rush hour, things can get pretty packed in the general cars, but with sleek and shiny new trains and regular service you can see why Delhi Metro has become a popular way for Delhiites to traverse their city.



Delhi Metro is one of the world’s newest underground systems and is expanding rapidly. Run by the private company Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, it has the ambitious goal of building a Metro station within 500 metres of every home by 2021. The Metro received a real boost by the Commonwealth Games, which saw more people using it through giving travel tickets away with admission to the Games, and just this month ridership crossed the 1.6 million mark. It's soon to open high-speed airport connection which will no doubt add to its appeal, providing a fast and efficient way to enter the city.



As London Transport Museum’s Community Curators we’ve been busy exploring how New Delhi’s new Metro network is affecting people’s journeys, experiences and understandings of this bustling and ever-changing city. The project was funded by a British Council Connections through Culture programme and London Museums Hub 2012 Cultural Olympiad project, Stories of the World: London (SOTW) a major focus of which is engaging with young people.

With congestion choking the roads and causing heavy pollution, the Metro is a boon to the people of Delhi, who are really starting to embrace this new mode of transport. Craving not only the increased comfort and speed, the key to its success is its reliability. Interviews with commuters exploring the impact on the city highlighted that knowing you will reach your destination in 40 minutes as opposed to relying on traffic conditions on the roads is a huge advantage to passengers.

Delhiites are rightly very proud of their new transport system. The Metro’s ‘Delhi Metro Citizens Forum’, a 500 strong group of volunteers trained to guide and assist passengers in travel ettiquette, are proof of the public’s dedication to the system.

Linking up with Delhi Metro during our recent trip to Delhi we were fortunate to join some of the forum members out and about on the network as they went about their day, ensuring people gave up their seats for the elderly and helping people use the map to navigate.

Across the world people use diverse means to travel throughout their cities, however a common thread of all major cities is the influence of public transport on a city’s growth, in both a physical and a social sense. London Underground is the world’s oldest underground system, nearing 150 years old – now a London icon, it has played a major role in shaping the Capital’s identity. The project undertaken in New Delhi provided a fascinating insight into how one of the world’s newest rail networks is impacting on the city. London Transport Museum looks forward to strengthening the partnerships that were created during the project and will continue to keep watch on how New Delhi develops in response to its new transport links.

Thanks to Jane & Michelle for a great post and you can see more pictures from their visit here.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Tuesday, December 07, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Subway Bingo iPhone App

Someone needs to build one of these for the London Underground & call it Tubingo. You've probably played "Lingo Bingo" in meetings at work, marking off buzzwords each time they're mentioned. Now there's a free subway app based on ticking off the people you see on a Metro commute in New York.


The designers describe the app: "Have fun riding the subway while finding and checking off all of the characters that subway commuters know and love. When you get five in a row, BINGO!

Created by New Yorkers, this game features beautiful artwork and an insider's attention to detail. Subway BINGO is a totally fun way to pass the time on the train or subway platform....Dozens and dozens of real-life characters, moving subway doors, and more!


It would need to be Tubecized / anglicized  to cover London but I reckon it would be popular.

In fact it reminded me of the spoof video of teenagers playing "Tube Poker" - supposedly "an illegal gambling craze played on the London Underground".


Hat tip to S N Barnes for the link!

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London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, December 06, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Swipe Kate & Wills with Royal Wedding Oyster card

TfL look set to cash in on the Royal Wedding by producing a special edition Oyster card. In what I hope is just a mock up (because it looks awful), the Evening Standard have a design on their website.



TfL commissioner Peter Hendy wanted to follow the Hong Kong example of selling limited edition cards, some of which are apparently worth a fortune. He said "We will do one for the royal wedding and it will be extremely tasteful. It will be the first-ever one we have put on general release."

The card doesn't come with any royal privileges and acts like a normal Oyster.  But it  may come with a specially embossed card-holder. Mike Brown, London Underground's MD helpfully said: “You can use it forever, you can use it for a day, or you can never use it at all.”

Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor’s transport adviser, added "It’s early days but it's an exciting opportunity. We want to help celebrate the fantastic occasion that will be the royal wedding. It's a good way to bring a level of excitement and ingenuity to something we rely on every day."

Can't you feel the excitement of swiping Kate and Prince William on your daily commute? I can hardly wait!

Update - Jon Justice has sent in a mock up for the card that could be more interesting!



Perhaps TfL can get some ideas from it!

Update - 29th March 2011 - TfL have unveiled the official Limited Edition Royal Wedding Oyster Card

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Friday, December 03, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Snow on the Tube

Amazingly the London Underground is holding up in the snow. Apart from the severe delays on the District, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. And the severe delays on the DLR. And the minor delays on the the Jubilee and reports of rain inside carriages on the Northern Line (Thanks antiquote - that's a new one).


Here's one of the few District Line trains that were running between Richmond & Turnham Green this morning. Seriously, I suppose things could have been worse, at least the London Underground was running - unlike Southeastern trains.


Also looks like fewer people were risking coming in on Boris Bikes as the docks around the corner from my work were much fuller than normal.

Good luck getting home!

Related Post
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London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, December 02, 2010 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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