Class 800 Azuma review

Six months late, the demise of Virgin Trains East Coast and issues with Class 800s after the launch on Great Western Railway in October 2017, the Class 800, or Azuma, finally entered service on London North Eastern Railway (LNER) on 15 May 2019. On Saturday 26 May, I travelled from London King's Cross to Grantham on 800113 and I am extremely impressed with the quality of the train. Well worth the wait. 

Not only are the Azuma's six months late, the Department for Transport invited companies to tender for designing and constructing new trains for Great Western and East Coast main lines. 12 years ago with the ambition of the new trains entering service in 2015, and testing to commence in 2012. The Department for Transport delayed announcing the prefered bidder, a partnership with Agility Trains and Hitachi, until after the 2010 General Election. 

80 Class 800 train sets will have been constructed, 57 for Great Western Railway and 23 for LNER. Back in 2016 when the East Coast main line was operated by the franchise Virgin Trains East Coast, it was announced that the Class 800s would be branded Azuma, the Japanese word for East. Despite the demise of Virgin Trains East Coast in Spring 2018, LNER still retained the Azuma branding. Great Western Railway name their Class 800s Intercity Express Trains. 

I am extremely impressed with the quality and design of Class 800s. On average, the new trains have 100 more seats than the Class 91s and Class 43s they will replace. The seats have been ergonomically designed and have an extra seven cm of legroom, although they are rather hard. The seats are similar to the Class 700s that Thameslink use, and the seats on Class 800s, have been described as "Ironing boards" by rail enthusiasts due to their shape and firmness. 

I have not been fortunate enough to travel in the First Class on a Class 800 Azuma. In a standard nine car formation, three carriages are First Class and the remaining six are Standard Class, with the onboard Cafe in Coach G of Standard Class. Seats in First Class are wider than Standard Class and can recline for additional comfort. LNER have changed their First Class menu for Azuma trains and advertise "complimentary two-course meal for lunch and dinner, and our popular breakfast menu in the morning", however, as far as I can tell from LNER's website, you can only receive these benefits if your journey is longer than 70 minutes. If your journey is less than 70 minutes and you travel in First Class you receive "a complimentary light bite and drink of your choice". 

Throughout both First Class and Standard Class there are at-seat charge points so you can charge your phone or any other device. Standard Class on Class 91s and Class 43s there are only charge points for window seats. Whilst travelling on the new Azuma I wondered to the Cafe. In this carriage, there are two storerooms which look similar to toilets. Numerous passengers tried to open the storerooms but because they were locked, they thought a passenger was using the toilet. To avoid confusion, LNER may want to put signs on these doors? 

I am also impressed with the seat reservation system. It features a 'traffic light' scale (green for free, amber for free now but reserved later in the journey, and red for reserved now) with clear messages of when the seat is reserved, thus making it is easier for passengers to find their seat or available seats. The seat reservation system also reduces waste from the traditional 'ticket' system and is much clearer than LNER's electronic reservation system on Class 91s and Class 43s that do not seem to work or assist passengers.  

There are currently 11 services being used by two Class 800 Azumas. The third Azuma will enter into service on Monday 3 June, and by the end of June, three more Azumas will operate on LNER. If you get an opportunity to travel on a Class 800 Azuma, do it! They are impressive, modern and efficient, everything a passenger expects, wants and needs from an 'Inter-City' train. Well done LNER. 

40 years of the Jubilee Line

40 years ago today Prince Charles opened the Jubilee line from Stanmore to Charing Cross, although passenger services started running from 1 May. The Jubilee line now extends to Stratford and carries over 210 million passengers a year. Although it is still the newest line on the network, some of the stations state back to 1879.

The stations west beyond Baker Street were previously a branch of the Bakerloo line, with the track to Bond Street, Green Park and Charing Cross being new. The Jubilee line is coloured silver on the map because the line was supposed to open the same year as Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee, 1977. The line was initially going to be called the Fleet line, but the Conservative party pledged to change the name in the run-up to the Greater London Council elections in 1977.

The line was extended to Stratford in 1999, named the Jubilee Line Extension. This extension saw the line being extended from Green Park under the River Thames to Westminster, and out East to Stratford, however, Charing Cross Jubilee line platforms closed. The London Transport Museum runs tours of the abandoned platforms and is used for TV and film sets. The platforms featured in Paddington (2013), an episode of Fresh Meat (2016) and most notably Skyfall (2012). Skyfall features James Bond chasing Raoul Silva through the London Underground from Temple to Embankment, although eagle-eyed Tube geeks will spot that they travel on a 1996 stock train (used on the Jubilee line) yet Temple to Embankment is on the District and Circle lines.

The Jubilee Line Extension is famous for featuring Platform screen doors at stations between Westminster and North Greenwich. The design of the extension is impressive, which is why it is no surprise that Westminster station is the most popular station for Londoners according to Transport by Design. Canary Wharf is another impressive station and is often described as a Cathedral as One Canada Square, the once tallest building in London can fit inside the station, and with room to spare. A poll by Yougov in 2013 revealed that Canary Wharf is the "Most Loved" on the London Underground. My favourite fact about the Jubilee line is that the largest roundels to feature at platform level are at Canary Wharf station. 

The Jubilee line is full of interesting stations, and not just the more modern stations in the Jubilee Line Extension. Swiss Cottage and St John's Wood are almost identical inside, but their design is intriguing and well worth a visit. St John's Wood is located near Abbey Road studios and is popular for tourists wanting to take the iconic photo walking across the zebra crossing - however, I would not recommend this as the crossing is on a particularly busy road. St John's Wood features an apostrophe on the tube map, on the signs outside and even on the platform tiles, but does not feature an apostrophe on the platform roundels.

There is lots to like about the Jubilee line. The mixture of classic stations and modern makes travelling the line a unique experience. The Jubilee line is one of the five lines I have successfully visited all stations. My favourite Jubilee line station is Canary Wharf, but one of my favourite photo opportunities is at the bridge at Kilburn that with the name metropolitan railway along it. 

Do you like the Jubilee line? What is your favourite thing about it? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter (@TubeSpottingDan)

What do the borough's of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton have in common?

There are 270 London Underground stations serving 5 million people a day, and with 402 km of track the network covers all of London, or does it? Despite the first passenger railway in London (London & Greenwich Railway opening in 1836) being south of the river Thames, it is largely acknowledged that the tube does not serve south London. Walthamstow and Gypsy Hill are roughly the same distance away from central London but in opposite directions, yet Walthamstow is much easier to travel to.

Just 10 percent of all London Underground stations are south of the river Thames. The borough's of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton are all south of the river, and the one thing they have in common is that they have never had a London Underground station. Of 32 London boroughs (and the City of London) it is no surprise that the only five to never have a tube station are in south London.

Lewisham, also south of the river, is another borough that does not have any Underground stations. Until 2007, however, two Underground stations served Lewisham, New Cross and New Cross Gate. These stations were on the East London Line from 1933 (although from 1933 to 1968 the line appeared on the tube map as the same colour as the Metropolitan line), which is now part of the London Overground network.

Hackney, north of the river, is also an interesting borough. Situated in East London, Hackney is often associated with the London Overground, especially with Hackney Downs/Hackney Central being key stations for the network. Despite this association, Hackney does have one London Underground station, Manor House. Served by the Piccadilly line, Manor House station is situated on the border between the boroughs of Hackney and Haringey. The postal address and three of the four entrances are located in the borough of Hackney.

The only other borough that has just one London Underground station is the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The only station in this borough is North Greenwich on the Jubilee line. As far as I am aware, there are 15 stations on the network that are not in a London borough; Amersham, Buckhurst Hill, Chalfont & Latimer, Chesham, Chigwell, Chorleywood, Croxley, Debden, Epping, Loughton, Moor Park, Rickmansworth, Roding Valley, Theydon Bois, and Watford.

Gospel Oak to Barking - What is going on?

Since being established in 2007 the London Overground has largely been regarded as successful. Comprising of 112 stations and nine routes, the London Overground serves 189 million people a year. In recent years the Gospel Oak to Barking line (GOBLIN) has however been viewed as less successful. The line that serves 12 stations over 22.1km of track is now down to just three operational trains, and operates half hourly services rather than the regular 15 minute service.

Until recently, only short amounts of the line were electrified. The line was operated by diesel Class 172s and they were due to be replaced by new electric Class 710s in November 2018. The new Class 710s have still not entered service and the leases for the Class 172s have now ended. Transport for London have moved three Class 378s onto the GOBLIN until the new trains are ready for operation. Class 378s operate elsewhere on the London Overground in five car formations, but the three trains on the GOBLIN have temporarily been reduced to four cars. 

TfL have stated that despite less frequent services, capacity should not be affected. This is because the Class 172s operated with just two cars every 15 minutes. The new Class 710s will operate with four carriages which will have capacity for 195 seats and 480 standing passengers, compared to the Class 172s which had capacity for 120 seats and 135 standing passengers. Similar to the Class 345s that are operating on TfL rail and due to operate on Crossrail, the new Class 710s will not have a yellow front. 

The £133 million electrification project began in June 2016 and works were complete by January 2018. During this time, however, the line was closed for ten months and has been beset by delays and cancellations. Overall TfL have ordered over 50 Class 710s from Bombardier for the London Overground. TfL have told Rail magazine that they are pressing Bombardier daily to resolve the GOBLIN crisis, but they have no indication as to when the Class 710s will enter service. 

There are also additional plans for the GOBLIN with the planned extension to Barking Riverside due to open in 2021. This will accommodate the 10,800-home Barking Riverside housing development. There may also be plans to extend the line beyond Barking Riverside and over the River Thames to Thamesmead and onto Abbey Wood. The Barking to Gospel Oak Rail User Group (BGORUG) have campaigned to reopen Junction Road railway station, located in Tufnell Park. The station was closed in May 1943 and is located Tufnell Park Underground station and would provide a second interchange between the GOBLIN and the Northern line. Upper Holloway London Overground station is also within close proximity to the Archway Northern line station. 

For more information on the GOBLIN and for provisional timetables, visit the Gospel Oak to Barking trains page on the TfL website. The website also includes information regarding refunds for regular passengers who use Zone 1 was a result of the temporary timetable changes.

25/270 - Greenford

I start this blog with an anecdote. A few months ago I went to a pub quiz and there was a London Underground round - huge pressure when you are a massive tube geek! The question was 3 Central line stations that relate to the following three clues:

• Harry Potter
• Green space for the smallest people in Europe
• Incline

You may be wondering what this has to do with Greenford, but I will reveal the 'answers' at the end of the blog. 

Greenford is a Central line station on the West Ruislip branch. There has been a national rail station at Greenford since 1904, but the present Central line station opened in June 1947 and was built adjacent to the national rail station. The national rail station closed in 1963, although a bay platform for national rail services is sandwiched between the Central line platforms. This platform serves the Greenford branch operated by Great Western Railway. A new 'ghost train' operated by Chiltern Railway uses the Greenford branch for their once a day 11:02 service from South Ruislip to West Ealing. 

Greenford was the first London Underground station above street level to have escalators up to platforms. Greenford was the only station to have such escalators until platform 3A on the Central line at Stratford opened in 2010 providing improved connectivity between westbound Central line services and the Jubilee line and DLR. Until 2014, Greenford was the final station to have a wooden-treaded escalator in service. 

Greenford station became step-free in October 2015 when an innovative and unique incline lift was installed. The incline lift or 'inclinator' was one of the first of its kind in any railway station in the UK. Another example of an inclinator in London is on the northern side of the Millennium bridge in central London. There are also plans for Farringdon and Liverpool Street to receive incline lifts as part of Crossrail.

The semaphore signals on the National Rail line at Greenford are well worth looking for if you visit the station. These signals are one of the last remaining examples in London. This section of railway never replaced its semaphore signals as the decline in rail traffic did not justify the costs of modernisation. 

Greenford is a unique station and is well worth a visit. Riding the incline lift or inclinator is a particular highlight, as well as visiting the first escalator from street level to London Underground platforms. 

Finally, back to the pub quiz! 

1. Wandstead 
2. Holland Park (an earlier question in the quiz revealed that the population of Netherlands is on average the smallest in Europe in terms of height) 
3. Bank (It was a play on words and not a clue making reference to the first incline lift on the London Underground) 

24/270 - Chalk Farm

With lift shafts of just 21ft, Chalk Farm has the shallowest lift shafts on the entire London Underground network. Chalk Farm is the fifth busiest station on the Northern line branch to Edgware with 5.89 million passengers in 2017. Belsize Park, Colindale, Golders Green and Hendon Central all received more passengers in 2017. Chalk Farm is well worth a visit, as it is a much quieter station to visit nearby Camden Market, and its station building is a Leslie Green classic.

The Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway opened Chalk Farm in June 1907 on their service between Golders Green and Charing Cross. The service was extended to Edgware in the north in 1924, and to Kennington in the south in 1926. In 1924, the City and South London Railway extended to Camden Town, and by 1926 the City and South London Railway and the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway merged and services from Chalk Farm went as south as Morden via. the Bank branch.

Chalk Farm's building is a fantastic example of Leslie Green architecture, famous for the terracotta red. Chalk Farm station is situated on an intersection of Chalk Farm Road, Haverstock Hill and Adelaide Road, and as a result, the station building is a unique wedge-shaped. Due to this, Chalk Farm is the longest designed station building by Leslie Green. Due to this intersection where the station building is located, the name Adelaide Road was once considered. 

Chalk Farm is a quieter station to exit at if you are visiting Camden Road market. Camden Town station, where tourists often use to visit the market and London Zoo is perhaps one of the most congested and awkward stations on the network to use. Chalk Farm is also located near Primrose Hill, which offers fantastic panoramic views of London. 

I could not write a blog post about Chalk Farm without discussing the Roundhouse. Camden is famous for its nightlife, and one of Camden's key attraction for evening entertainment is a former railway turntable, the Roundhouse. The London and North Western Railway built the circular building with an enclosed turntable in 1847. However, it was only used for this purpose for little over a decade. The building reopened in 1964 as a performing arts venue. 

Chalk Farm is well worth a visit for the lovely Leslie Green designed building, and a more pleasant visit to Camden Market. Also, if you have not been to Primrose Hill, I highly recommend a visit, you will not be disappointed.

Six things London can learn from the Paris Métro

In Autumn 2018 I visited Paris and noticed many things London can learn from Paris. Whilst I believe the London Underground and the wider network in London is an amazing system, it is not perfect and there are certain things I believe London can learn from Paris. I am also not saying London should make all the changes I suggest, but they certainly should consider them. 

1) Clear differentiation between RER and the 14 Paris Métro lines 

The first thing I believe London should learn from Paris is a major problem that Transport for London (TfL) currently faces, how to incorporate the Crossrail/Elizabeth line onto the Tube Map. I believe TfL have already made a huge error by naming a railway the Elizabeth line, because it will not operate the same way as the 11 London Underground lines. In Paris they have Réseau Express Régional (RER) services, which is a commuter rail service connecting Paris to the suburbs, and the Paris Métro. RER, like Crossrail, has less frequent stops in the city centre and operates differently to the 14 Métro lines. 

To make this distinction clear in Paris, the Métro lines are numbered 1 to 14 and RER services are lettered A to D. London will never rename the 11 London Underground lines, but with plans to open Crossrail 2 in the 2030s, it makes logical sense to name the rail services Crossrail 1 and Crossrail 2, similar to Paris. The only thing TfL have got right about Crossrail/Elizabeth line is it will appear as a parallel purple line, similar to Docklands Light Railway, London Trams and London Overground. This is something Paris could learn from London perhaps, making Métro and RER services clearer on their map by using solid and parallel lines. 

2) Not listing all RER destinations

In draft future London Underground maps, the entirety of Crossrail/Elizabeth line will feature on the map. This includes stations as far away from central London such as Reading, Slough and Shenfield. Whilst Shenfield etc. currently appears on the latest December 2018 map in the form of TfL rail, it does look incredibly congested. On the Paris Métro map, stations on RER services far away from the centre of Paris are not listed in full, instead, they just list the terminating station on that branch. This makes sense as the users of these stations are likely to be commuters or visitors who regularly use the line. This helps make the Paris Métro map less congested.

3) Simple in train announcements 

As a visitor to Paris who speaks very little French, I really appreciated the simple in train announcements, i.e. just stating the next station name. When I arrived back in London and travelled on the Victoria line I noticed the following message:

"The next stop is Highbury & Islington, change for London Overground and national rail services. This is a Victoria line train to Brixton. The Metropolitan line is part suspended between Baker Street and Aldgate due to planned engineering works, please use alternative routes." 

That is a lot of information to take in. Especially if you are a visitor to London or speak little English. Also the information is misleading. The next stop is King's Cross St. Pancras, if you were planning on using the Metropolitan line to get to Baker Street for example and you hear that message, you may assume that you can get the Circle line or Hammersmith & City line, but because those two lines and Metropolitan line share the same track and platforms, all three lines were closed. More simple in train announcements will benefit tourists, visitors and commuters. Also, if you're going to add messages regarding engineering works, make sure the information is clear and correct. Most importantly what is wrong with the above example on the London Underground is four stations and four modes are mentioned, which is rather confusing.

4) Announcements in multiple languages at key stations

Unfortunately, I did not have time to visit all 302 stations on the Paris metro, so I am not sure how often this occurs, but I did appreciate announcements in multiple languages at key stations such as Gare du Nord. I have visited every Zone One station on the London Underground and have not noticed announcements in multiple languages anywhere! London's economy, similar to Paris, benefits hugely from over 19 million international tourists each year. At key stations such as King's Cross St. Pancras and Waterloo, or tourist hotspots like Westminster and Leicester Square, I believe having announcements in multiple languages will enhance the effectiveness of the London Underground system. 

5) Separate platforms for each line

This would require major engineering works and will likely never happen, however, TfL could learn from Paris for future projects by attempting to have separate platforms for each line. Where this occurs away from the centre of London it is not as big an issue, for example the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines sharing platforms between Uxbridge and Rayners Lane, but where the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines share platforms between Baker Street and Liverpool Street it can be very confusing, even for regular users! 

One journey I have experienced multiple users of the London Underground struggle over the years is from King's Cross to Wembley Park. Wembley is a major attraction and often attracts visitors who have never been before, and perhaps never used the London Underground. Because all three lines share either S7 or S8 stock trains, many users follow the signs to the Metropolitan line and board a train that arrives on this platform. Despite the confusion, having three lines share the same platform helps in the morning and evening peaks as commuters can board any train and keep moving throughout the network.

6) Clear tourist attraction signage

The final thing London Underground and TfL can learn from the Paris Métro is having tourist attractions on the platform station name signage, for example Bir-Hakeim in the standard blue, then Tour Eiffel below in brown. Another example I noticed during my travels in Paris is Anvers and then Sacré-coeur below. This helps tourist confirm that they are at the correct stop for the tourist attraction they want to visit. However, London Underground's station names are slightly more obvious than Paris and are named after nearby tourist attractions, for example St. Pauls, Leicester Square and Monument. Also, the Métro stations in Paris are often much closer than London. Westminster is the nearest station for multiple tourist locations, how would you decide which attraction to place below or within the roundel? But, I always welcome better wayfinding in London, it assists in keeping London moving effectively. 

Do you agree with the six things I think London can learn from the Paris Métro? Is there anything I have missed out, or perhaps I am being slightly pedantic? Please leave your comments below or on Twitter - @tubespottingdan