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