You would never know there was a tube strike...

...on today, would you? ;)

London Bridge Tube sign...

Yeah, so the sign at the entrance to the tube at London Bridge could do with a *bit* of a wipe...it sort of looks like it's derelict!

Mmmm...love the tube...

...when there aren't *any* commuters... ;)

TFL Wasting Money

This does annoy me, and I hope it annoys you too...a big fat flat panel TV, purchased and mounted at some expense at London Bridge underground station...it's apparent purpose?  To display a digital rendering of a much cheaper analogue clock (which would have been perfectly fit for purpose)...

Hopefully (and I really mean that) there are great plans for it in the future, but at the moment it sits there (day after day) looking like a rather stupid waste of passengers hard earned money...

DLR - Three carriage trains

So my toe dipping continues, having not had any of them seriously bitten so far (just a slight nibble one morning when there was a signal failure at Canary Wharf) thus far it's pretty much all positive...so far, while I have been comfortably seated, enjoying the view from the elevated rail of the DLR I've gleefully ignored three automated text messages from TFL informing me of serious delays and merrily deleted two bearing news of complete suspensions of the Jubilee Line (which I am not missing at all) and have chortled to myself at the flustered and sweaty, grime smeared colleagues arriving 50 minutes late, clutching Metro newspapers crushed beyond all possible use (other than Papier-mâché), sharing tales of the total collapse of society (that seems able to happen underground on a daily basis) and shocking invasions of personal space...It's just the cherry on the top that my change of route seems to have coincided with the introduction of larger three carriage trains (meaning things are even less crowded) - the train I boarded this morning offered me a choice of ten different seats (as opposed to a sausage of space a contortionist would scratch their head at - and politely decline)... ;)

The next step is to see (as I am no longer breaking my journey in zone 1) if I can save any money on my train ticket...

Escaping Canary Wharf when the Jubliee line is down

Oh man have I got it sussed now...what *should* have been a complete disaster (earlier in the week) when I arrived, hissing through gritted teeth, at the firmly gated entrance to the Jubilee line (great job once again there TFL) I turned tail (billowing cloak of annoyance fluttering angrily behind me) heading quickly to the DLR at Heron Quays (as I would normally do), where men in HVJs were blocking two of the entrances (no doubt some futile attempt to stop overcrowding on the tiny platform), however, when I bypassed them (finding an unguarded stairway), I found it wasn't going to be that easy...there were no trains headed to Bank, which was unusual...prompting the sudden recall that one end of the DLR is closed for engineering works (and has been since Christmas), including my intended interim destination...a frantic 30 seconds of panic (and visions of begrudgingly curling up under my desk in the office) later I formulated (what I hoped was) a cunning plan...

Back last year, when a fire on the Jubilee line had seen me stranded at the O2 (a less cunning plan that ended in an unwelcome collision of flame, freezing rain and considerable delay), my only option had been to try and get a bus to Greenwich (which worked...albeit eventually)...I realised, if I could get the DLR in the opposite direction to normal, I might be able to connect to the mainline and get to London Bridge on a train from south of the river...

Fifteen minutes (and one almost empty Lewisham train) later I was on a Cannon Street train pulling into London Bridge, missing my normal train home by exactly one minute...but now I know the route and quite how quiet the route was, even in a TFL crisis, if it weren't for adding another possible point of failure into my journey I would almost be tempted to try doing it instead of crushing onto the tube every day...

Not bad, it's only taken two-and-a-half years to work this new rat-run out... ;)

Freezing Fog and Jubilee Line Fire

Ah well, here we go, the proper proper cold weather starts here...Well actually to be more precise, it started on Friday night when I was attempting to get home...got down to the Jubilee line (having dashed through the torrential downpour between One Canada Square and the tube entrance) only to be met with reduced gate entry and a huge queue...not a good sign...when I got down to platform level things were even worse, 3/4 of the space was taken up with people trying to get back west, so I hopped on a waiting eastbound service (thinking I could cunningly switch back after one stop and skip the wait, maybe even get a seat if I were very lucky)...when the train pulled away the driver came on over the tannoy system - "Just a quick announcement, if any of you happen to have friends or colleagues following on the train behind, they are stopped at Canada Water with reports of a strange smell, so they might be delayed a while"...

At the O2 I flew across to the westbound platform and jumped onto the waiting train which, two minutes of uncomfortable waiting later, my worst fears were confirmed "Sorry folks, the Jubilee line is now suspended in both directions due to a track-side fire at Canada Water"...wonderful...so everyone on both the trains headed upstairs, into the freezing rain, to try and figure out which bus to get...as I was checking signs I missed a bus that said it was going to Waterloo (argh!), but when the next one pulled in, no-one seemed interested in getting on, checking the front it said it was going to Greenwich (which I had a hunch had a DLR stop and a mainline station), so I hopped on, really just to get out of the rain (but there were also enough grumpy commuters waiting to fill two double deckers, so it could have been a bit of a wait)...

About 15 stops later, at Greenwhich high street, lots of people hopped off, so I followed suit, asking as I trudged, getting more and more drenched, which way the station was, and finally found it...but not before I was freezing cold and absolutely soaked...I got up onto the (extremely windy) platform and found that a London Bridge train was due in 10 minutes (delayed), so finally made it to London Bridge about an hour and a half later, and much colder than I should have been...

Today it's freezing fog (which had me walking up and down the platform to stay warm) but at least it isn't pouring with rain...

Commuting in a Heatwave

I do hate commuting in this heat but beyond the absolutely obvious (i.e. carrying a bottle of water), there are a few things that I have discovered to maximise comfort (although admittedly it's never going to be a pleasure)...first off (and I haven't got to this stage yet) commute in shorts, packing your smart trousers to change into later...on Southern trains (probably applies to other train operators too), if you happen to walk into a carriage and the air conditioning is off, don't just sit down, cursing the conductor for his (or her) inattentiveness - try moving carriages - chances are you have just been unlucky and stumbled on one where the system is broken, yesterday this happened to me but when I checked, the aircon was working fine in the carriage next door, my solution (so I still got a seat) was to prop my trusty rucksack in the gap keeping the cool breeze flowing...next, pick up a Metro as early as possible in the journey (London Bridge for me), once you have read it, it doubles up as an excellent fan... ;)

Jubilee line specific hack here, but it may well work on other lines - when queuing for a door, make sure you go for either the front or back of the carriage (never the middle two doors), as the train windows generate a terrific breeze (from the front during acceleration, from the back during braking), either is good (front is slightly better though, as the train usually spends more time accelerating than slowing down)...if you absolutely can't get into either of these positions, take the middle doors but stay as close to them as you can, a gentler (but still welcome) breeze blows through here all the time through the gaps at the side while the train is moving (and of course when the train stops you can poke your head out to gulp a few fresh breaths of fresh air)...however the ultimate Jubilee line hack (which I saved for last) is (of course) not to even use it at all...the Thames Clippers' new Canary Wharf Express from London Bridge takes about the same amount of time as the tube and yesterday I sat outside (by the engines) getting deliciously sprayed with cool water the whole way...

I actually arrived in the office with a smile on my face... ;)

Tube Strike, MotorExpo 2009 and Crossrail...

...lots been going on, just having a rather unusual week, hopefully everything will be back to normal soon! Managed to make it up into town yesterday (on crutches), despite the tube strike -

- they were giving away these guides to help people make their way around London without use of the underground, the unhelpful advice for people wanting to get to Canary Wharf was just to go to Bank and get the DLR (like *everyone* wouldn't already have thought of that)...as it was, somehow, despite every single other tube line being down, the Jubilee line was actually running (albeit with minor delays), so it wasn't actually that much of a trial to get in and out of the office...

Anyway, when I got here (although I'm not really going to have much of a chance to look around it, in my current state), I found that the 2009 MotorExpo was in full swing, the reception of One Canada square having been turned over to all manner of Aston Martin automobiles (and even the odd wicked looking Tesla) -

- and outside has been similarly transformed -

- although I must say, the number of hungry executives drooling over the exhibits seems to be considerably down on last year...

In other news, work is proceeding apace for the London crossrail station, they have turned the corner now if you look closely, and from the looks of things, they are going to complete a box using these metal tubes -

- and then drain out the water and actually dig down to build the station, so I have the perfect vantage point here in order to spy on them... ;)

Jubilee Line Delays

Urgh...got stuck on the tube for nearly an hour this morning, I groaned when I turned the corner towards the barriers to see an unmoving wall of people, but peering over everyones heads I could see that they were allowing a trickle of people through the gates, so all was not completely lost...I did, for a second, consider heading for the boat, but being already delayed I opted for skirting the mass of bodies (dashing briefly through the pouring rain outside) and sneaked into the Northern Line entrance (not the best secret shortcut, but the terrible weather ruled out a trip quite that far while exposed to the elements)...I wove my way through the crowd listening to announcements telling me that the Jubilee Line was part suspended and we were all being advised to seek alternative modes of transport and finally hit the escalator down to platform level...there, I watched 3 full trains go before I managed to barge onto one, managed with a deft wiggle to sneak into the aisle between the seats (the preferred place to stand, as you have guaranteed newspaper room), hung on for dear life as we pulled out of London Bridge, got Bermondsey out of the way fairly quickly and then just sat in the tunnel for about 40 minutes, the driver coming onto the tannoy system every few minutes to explain to us (in some rough approximation of English) that we weren't moving because there was a red signal (really?) and this being is thanks to "a passenger on a train in Finchley"...as good as an excuse as any I suppose, but I did start to wonder (after about 20 such announcements) if he was ever going to actually tell us what the passenger was doing on the train to cause the delay...he then started mumbling something about fires, which (apart from causing some concern) created a mental picture of commuters huddling round them for warmth - then - without a single word of warning he jammed on the accelerator causing several people to loose balance and topple into those standing around them (to much tutting and ruffled smoothing down of designer suits)...the announcements at Canary Wharf were being done by someone with an ounce more IQ, it actually turns out these naughty passengers were actually being taken ill on the packed trains, the trackside fire had been earlier on, causing the initial delay that was causing people to collapse, the whole thing forming up into a big self-perpetuating wheel of woe...

The rain, when I finally emerged into it at the Canary Wharf end, was actually rather welcome...I love the commute... ;)

Multiple Signal Failure Canary Wharf

Grrr!  Just spent almost 50 minutes underground stuck squashed onto a packed Jubilee line train...the ever-so kind driver was doing his best to keep us up to date - every 3 or 4 minutes he came back on the public address system to tell us that he *still* hadn't managed to get in touch with anyone from the control centre and had "no further information"...I suppose at least that sort of counts as communication...turns out it was multiple signal failure at Canary Wharf (for what it's worth)...I do wonder, when this happens why they can't just count the trains in and out of stations by radio communication, it's not like they don't have them, and it should be quite easy for the drivers to report their location, like a sort of "Train 3, now move up one stop and wait for further instructions" kind of thing?  Or am I missing something?

Thank goodness I was on the super early train into London Bridge, that meant (despite the delay) I only walked into the (completely empty) office 4 minutes late...there will be an awful lot of people crunched up behind me, hope the Thames Clipper has more than one ticket person working this morning...!

Way to ruin my happy, sunny Friday feeling, TFL! >:(

Free Baby on Board badge - TFL

This is a really very sensible idea, shortly after Flyingpops contacted TFL (you can get straight to them via email at babyonboard@tube.tfl.gov.uk, or ring up London Underground customer services on 0845 330 9880) and they will post you (for free - yes, don't go poking around on ebay) with a little note of congratulation, this little badge to display on your overcoat, just to let other users of the London transport infrastructure know that you are not (in fact) just being slovenly and putting on a little weight, but actually with "issue", and thus deserving of a priority seat rather than a derisory glare...

They announced this (albeit small) step forward as a result of a survey of pregnant women in 2006 which concluded with the so called "Mind the Bump" report...and it detailed some quite shocking findings -

• More than two thirds (71 per cent) of pregnant women in the Capital cited rude and discourteous behaviour as a growing source of anxiety and stress during pregnancy
• One in three (36 per cent) frequently felt they had to avoid public transport for fear of having to stand for the duration of the journey
• One in five (20 per cent) of expectant mums in the Capital spend more than £100 on taxis and private vehicles during their pregnancy to avoid situations where they may have to stand for long periods of time on the Tube
• London emerged as the least pregnancy-friendly place in the UK, with 45 per cent of London mums having saddened by the lack of consideration they were shown while pregnant (Wales was the best, just in case you were wondering)

- just at the minute Flyingpops doesn't actually *look* terribly pregnant, and on at least one occasion having the badge has already proved useful to her, but it's still quite shocking to hear her tell me stories of having to yell out "I'm Pregnant" to even get people to let her crush *onto* a full and standing train...let alone get anywhere *near* a priority seat...

Naughty London...still a long way to go to actual civilisation... :(

Slip testing in Canary Wharf

Saw this lot the other day in the cavernous space that is ground floor reception for One Canada Square (one floor above the actual ground where all the shops are and the tube station entrance lurks)...they were building a complicated mechano set designed to hold aloft (at a 45 degree angle to the floor) something that resembled a cobblers "last" (there, you learned something today already and I haven't even got to the point of my post yet!)...turns out, the building was undergoing some "slip testing", whereby they use this contraption to perform the so-called "pendulum slip test" to guage the resistence levels present in the floor surfaces (so if anyone falls over they can show them a bit of paper saying it's unlikely to be the fault of the building's owners)...perhaps they could pick up their kit and take it 200 yards to the entrance to the Jubilee line, where at the first sign of rain (as I noted previously) all resistance seems to completely dissapear!

Still, it shows that they *do* care in my office (at least... ;)

Views of the London Underground

Slippery Surfaces - Canary Wharf

It really looks like fog doesn't it? It wasn't though, it was extremely dense but very fine rain, you know the kind...you think "Well, this isn't too bad" and five minutes later it's like you have been standing in the shower...this lead to some absolutely *deadly* conditions on the highly polished surfaces around "The Wharf", especially as I have just given up on my nice black Nikes (they had developed several new ventilation points over the summer, which in the words of the immortal song are now "letting in water") for a pair of quite nice grey and flourescent orange Vans, which unfortunately don't possess much in the way of grip (strange considering they are a popular shoe of choice for the "sk8terboi" set)...alright normally (as long as I am near something I can grab on to) but this morning the train was cancelled from Earlswood (only the second time since I changed hours) meaning I was in a bit of a hurry - actually, it's always bothered me that...in places where moisture is occasionally inevitable, why voluntarily put down shiny hard surfaces? Like *all* Spanish bathrooms being fitted out with shiny tiles for example? Yes it looks pretty, but the potential for accidents is high (I slipped practically every day getting out of the shower in Mexico until I remembered to put a towel down before I started), do these property managers want to get sued?

Anyway, like the towel outside the shower, I've got a bit of a method worked out now to dry the soles quickly and stay under control, as I come off the wet (and perfectly grippy) pavement and onto the slippery concourse I propel myself a little like an ice skater, skidding in a fashion whereby I don't actually lift my feet off the ground, it only takes 4 or 5 little "slides" until I feel the grip start to return...admittedly it probably looks absolutely ridiculous, but I don't care about that one jot as long as I stay upright... ;)

Nokia Headphones - New heights of embarrasment

My love/hate relationship with my Nokia N73 continues - it's managed to learn a a new trick now, a very, very annoying one...the other day I was merrily continuing my journey through the top 100 classical tunes of all time when I arrived at London Bridge station, tutted slightly at the reduced gate entry for the Jubilee line but joined in the scrum, suffering some inevitable gentle knocks/the odd rucksack in the face/briefcase in the shins...as I shuffled slowly forwards though the neatly dressed queue, the track I was listening to drew to a jolly (kettle drum filled) conclusion and there was a short pause while the gremlin in the phone threw his newspaper to the floor and scrambled to flip the tiny record over...oddly the next track was of noticeably worse quality, but I shrugged and turned the volume up a notch or two (nearing maximum), got to the barrier and slipped in my season ticket and began my two escalator descent into the bowels of London...

The platform was quite busy, I had to wait for around five minutes, surrounded by a crush of fellow commuters but eventually a train with enough room arrived and I "twister"'ed my way into a fairly comfortable position (i.e. one with a good amount of head room and minimal back pain)...as we pulled away from London Bridge (after a couple of attempts by the driver to get the doors to shut without any limbs poking out) I started to notice a young couple peering up at me through the forest of clinging arms, talking quietly and giggling (and then looking embarrassed at themselves as they noticed me noticing them with my slightly confused "is this *really* a laughing matter?" expression)...and then one of my ear buds fell out (as they have a habit of doing) and it immediately became apparent that for the last 10 minutes, not only had I been enjoying Mozart's Klavierkonzert (and whatever had been on before that, and maybe before that) I had also been broadcasting it at full volume through the (excellent) handset speaker to all of those around me...*sigh*...

Face+Palm...(still, at least this time it was pretty far from the worst thing I could have been listening to)...

Escalator policy London Underground

What is it with escalators at the moment? At Canary wharf they've been building scaffolding around the "DLR level" to "Mid shopping level" escalator for a few days now (started last week), meaning it's upward partner has been stopped and turned into a narrow flight of stairs (left hand side is up and right hand side is down...not the kind of thing you see every day) -

- big queues at the top and bottom at busy times, but then they just occasionally turn it back on again so everyone wastes their time heading for it before having to reverse course and use one of the DLR staircases (yes, very sensible, commuters can put up with more than most people, but some consistency, please)...and to watch them wasting their time turning it into an advertising poster site while they should be working on fixing it is actually probably rather more frustrating...



Next up is London Bridge...they have taken to switching all the escalators one would normally take up towards the mainline station to coming *down* to the platform (at exactly the time when no-one is trying to go in that direction)...this has been for almost two weeks now (update - finally fixed today!)...with no sensible reason why the trickle of folks coming in this direction can't do it via the stairs from the Northern line...

This makes the evening rather inconvenient as it means me getting onto completely the other end of the train at Canary Wharf (the end, of course, where all the escalators are all going the wrong direction - i.e. upwards - again, at this time of night would it not make sense to turn them back the other way?) and then coming out to the secret Borough High street exit...about a 6 minute walk from London Bridge mainline (at top speed)...*very* annoying! :(

I'd love to understand the logic behind the latter contraflow (you can understand closure for maintenance from time to time), but surely it would be sensible to always weight (consistency again) the majority of the escalators in the direction of the majority of the foot flow? Would it be so hard to do that?

"Whiskey tango foxtrot, over" ;)

Canary Wharf - Funny london underground announcement

So just as I'm getting off the tube at Canary Wharf this morning, a cheeky chappie with a strong East-end accent comes on the tannoy system and announces to all and sundry - "Please note that London Underground do not operate the same access policy as Tesco, you've all got to have a ticket" to much amusement from my fellow commuters, and I imagine to the immense embarrasement of a would-be fare dodger... ;)

TFL - Refunds and free SMS service updates

So, I'm doing things from now on -

1) If my tube journey is delayed by over 15 minutes per day, I'm filling out this form, done it twice now, and each time been refunded my £4 tube fare (nice), just wish the mainline train companies would offer that, however, they say they won't help you unless the delay is in excess of an *hour*...which only happens once in a blue moon...

2) I'm also having a go at the free automatic SMS travel alerts service, it texts you whenever you like to let you know how your *exact* tube journey is looking (so for me it's London Bridge to Canary Wharf, morning and evening) just 5 or 10 minutes before you are due to actually do it and inform you of any delays, so in theory, if the tube is mucking up I will now never ever have to go down the escalator to find out that fact...I'll just be able to walk straight to the boat and then submit my complaint form! Result!

Thames Barrier Raised

Well, so this morning we are facing "Extreme danger to life and property", peering out the window I'm afraid the only sign of anything untoward occuring is the obvious sight of the Thames Barrier being raised (if you click that picture I have put a note on the flickr page to show you where to look), and they hadn't even put all of it up when I took this photo, although looking out the window now it does appear to be stretching all the way across...haven't checked the news yet, but the tidal surge was supposed to strike the east coast at about 8am, guess it will take a couple of hours to work it's way all the way up the Thames, pictures later on if Canary Wharf goes underwater (although it's not going to get my feet wet as I'm on the 20th floor)... ;)

In other news, had a bit of a panic on the tube today thanks to a bit of slightly unusual behaviour - just as the doors were closing at Bermondsey someone (just out of the corner of my eye, as I was reading my copy of Metro at the time) appeared to throw a large rucksack onto the packed carriage and then walked away! My mind immediately ran along a very unpleasant fantasy whereby the rucksack started smoking, everyone panicked (followed by mass death and destruction) I looked around for an emergency button and couldn't see one anywhere, looked around to see if anyone else was worrying and then noticed a very small backpacker sat on the floor on the *other side* of the door reaching between someones legs to get a book out of a side pocket...Grrr...