The Human Tube Map

On Sunday 4 August 2019 I, like 180+ other people, traveled to Crayford in south London to do something exciting and take part in the Human Tube Map. Organised by Geoff Marshall and Vicki Pipe, the duo behind All The Stations, nearly 200 people wearing different coloured T-Shirts arranged to form the shape of the tube map. The result was fantastic, and a lot of fun. The YouTube video can be found here. 

If you want to try and spot where I was standing, I was roughly where Tower Hill is and wearing a green t-shirt for the District line. We all got to chose which T-shirt we wanted to wear. Speaking to people on the day, many opted for the colour that represents their favourite line, or station, or the line they live on. The reason I chose green was simple, it was the only plain coloured T-shirt I own! 

Being part of the Human Tube Map was an enjoyable experience. After we arrived, we organised ourselves into our lines before being arranged out on the map, line by line. Central line was first, then the northern line, then Piccadilly line, circle and district lines followed (I can't remember the final pattern!). It was great to meet Geoff and Vicki and to see many people who I only know through Twitter and social media. 

Discussing the Emirates Air Line

If you are planning a day out in London, how many people say "let's go on the Emirates Air Line"? Not many, just 1.3m people a year travel on the Emirates Air Line. The British Museum, Tate Modern, and London Eye all receive at least three times as many visitors each year. 7 years since opening in June 2012 I ask the question, has the Emirates Air Line been a success? 

Costing £60m, the Emirates Air Line is a 1-kilometre gondola crossing the river Thames from North Greenwich to the Royal Docks. Transport for London was committed for the project to be opened in time for London 2012 Olympic Games, they were successful, but at £35m over budget. When building the Millennium Dome (now known as the O2) the developers were keen to provide a car free transport strategy for visitors, and the idea of a cable car emerged. But since the idea emerged, North Greenwich has seen the Jubilee Line Extension and the Docklands Light Railway on the north side at Royal Docks. 

The 36 gondolas can accommodate a maximum capacity of 2,500 passengers per hour, yet five months after opening, the usage data revealed that the Emirates Air Line was operating at less than 10% of its capacity. It was hoped that commuters may use the service, so a special commuter fare was established costing £16 for 10 trips, however, just 0.01% of journeys were made using this fare. In November 2013 just four Oyster card users registered for a discount if they made more than five journeys a week. So if commuters are not using the service, who is?

TfL market the Emirates Air Line as a "unique view of London", and a cost of just £3.50 for adults using Oyster it is a cost-effective way of seeing views of 'London'. The London Eye costs £27 and lifts to the viewing gallery at the Shard cost £25. Although considerably more expensive than the Emirates Air Line, the London Eye and the Shard are more centrally located and offer better views of London. If you want views of St Paul's, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London or the Houses of Parliament, travelling on the Emirates Air Line would be a disappointment. A tourist tip, if you want these views but believe the London Eye and the Shard are too expensive, try the Sky Garden, tickets are free and you get similar views. 

The Emirates Air Line is ultimately a piece of transport infrastructure. With poor user ship, I am critical of its success, especially when Sustrans were commissioned by TfL in 2008 to review a proposed pedestrian and cycle bridge in east London. The study revealed that "the bridge is feasible" and at an estimated cost of £66m, just £6m more than a poorly used gondola, and the bridge would have provided active travel links over the river Thames benefiting major business districts and the environment. 

Urban cable cars across the world have been very successful. In 2004 Medellin, Columbia, became the first city in the world to integrate cable cars into an existing subway system. Cities across the globe have been following suit, urban cable cars are means of transport in Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, La Paz in Bolivia, and Ankara in Turkey.




I do not believe the Emirates Air Line has been as successful in London as it could have been. It is in the wrong place to capture tourists and it does not provide useful transport links to an area served by the Jubilee line to the south and the DLR to the north. Ultimately I am unsure if Emirates Air Line is a tourist attraction or a transport solution. Would a cable car be beneficial to London? I think it could if it offered a service that was more attractive than alternative transport modes, including driving and using public transport. If you have not visited the Emirates Air Line, I do recommend you have a visit and make your own opinion. There are somethings that TfL have done well with the cable car, including the branding, it does feel like a TfL service. Each gondola has a red moquette, the cable car is identified by roundels and the wayfinding matches TfL's font.

Have you used the Emirates Air Line? Do you agree with my observations? Follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@TubeSpottingDan) for more conversations on transport in London. 

"Want to experience hell? Try getting on the central line at rush hour in London on a warm day"

London is currently experiencing a heat wave. Temperatures today have hit 33C and with a record breaking 39C temperatures predicted for tomorrow, it is important to stay cool. Unfortunately, travelling in London can be very warm, especially on certain lines. "Want to experience hell? Try getting on the central line at rush hour in London on a warm day."

Certain lines have a reputation of being extremely uncomfortable during the summer months, especially the Central line. There is even a Twitter account dedicated to commuters experiences on the line, @centrallinehell I saw a poll today on Twitter where 80% selected the Central line as the hottest. Is it fair that the Central line is refereed to hell during summer? What is the 'hottest' line in London?

According to figures from Transport for London during last year's heatwave, the hottest line was actually the Bakerloo line with an average hottest temperature of 31.04C. In second place was the Central line with a temperature of 30.47C, third was the Victoria line with 28.03C and with 27.98C, the Northern line came fourth. The other lines without air conditioning experienced 27.3C (Piccadilly line), 26.57C (Jubilee line) and 25.95C (Waterloo and City line). 

The S7 and S8 Stock trains that serve the Circle, District and Hammersmith and City lines, and Metropolitan line respectively, are the only London Underground units to feature air conditioning.  These trains entered service from 2010 to 2017 and only serve the sub-surface lines. The Class 345s that serve TfL rail have air conditioning, some of the trams also feature air conditioning, and the new Class 710s on the Gospel Oak to Barking line have air con. The New Tube for London, which is expected to replace rolling stock on the Bakerloo, Piccadilly, Central and Waterloo & City lines, will experience air cooling. This method is currently used on the Class 378s on the London Overground.

A specially thank you goes to London Overground and Transport for London. Yesterday afternoon a member of staff at Walthamstow Central was handing out a London Overground branded water bottle. In heat waves like this it is important stay hydrated. TfL have produced reminders to "always carry water", and as Geoff Marshall reminds us, we need to carry water "and actually drink it". 

26-27/270 - Rickmansworth and Croxley

Located in Hertfordshire, both Rickmansworth and Croxley stations relate to one of my favourite facts about the London Underground. Both stations are served by the Metropolitan line, but Rickmansworth also receives National Rail services from Chiltern Railways on the London to Aylesbury line. Rickmansworth and Croxley stations are located in zone 7 and feel a million miles away from zone 1 and central London.

Ricmansworth opened in September 1887 as a terminating station of the Metropolitan Railway as the company extended services from Pinner. Metropolitan Railway services extended to Chesham two years later in 1889. The Metropolitan Railway would eventually terminate in Brill, Verney Junction and Aylesbury, but services this far out of London gradually closed from 1935 to 1961, predominantly due to the electrification of the majority of the line. Electrified services began serving Rickmansworth in January 1925, and the final steam service to leave Rickmansworth was the Rickmansworth-Watford shuttle in September 1961.

The Rickmansworth-Watford shuttle was re-introduced in 1987, however, just one each way a day, the Rickmansworth to Watford service left early morning, and the Watford to Rickmansworth service left in the late evening. When S8 Stock trains were introduced, the shuttle was extended to Amersham to Watford, but still just one service each way.

The shuttle utilises the North Curve, a curve a track that links Rickmansworth and Croxley. Due to the infrequency of services, this track does not appear on the London Underground map. Throughout the rest of the day, if you want to travel between the two stations, you will have to change at Moor Park. The North Curve that connects Rickmansworth and Croxley goes under a tunnel, which is the only tunnel on the London Underground and point where services go underground, outside of the London.

Croxley station opened in November 1925 when the Metropolitan Railway extended to Watford. The station was originally named Croxley Green, however, the nearby Croxley Green station operated by London and North Western Railway led to confusion. In 1949 the Metropolitan Railway station was renamed to simply Croxley. The London and North Western Railway's Croxley Green was temporarily closed in 1996, but by 2003 it was decided that the station and the rest of the Watford-Rickmansworth line would be permanently closed. 

Major engineering works were planned to take place just north of Croxley station as part of the Metropolitan line extension. Trains would have diverted onto the Croxley Rail link, and new stations would have opened at Cassiobridge and Watford Vicarage Road, and continue to Watford High Street and Watford Junction. These works would have resulted in a closure at Watford station. Despite works commencing, it was announced in January 2017 that works had stopped due to a funding issue. 

Why not board a train and travel in the only underground section of the London Underground outside of London? If you do not fancy getting up early, you can best spot the tunnel from London bound services between Rickmansworth and Moor Park. 

"When one station closes, another one opens" - London's newest railway station, Meridian Water

On Friday 31 May 2019, London's former least used station, Angel Road, closed. The 19:52 service to Stratford became the last station to depart from the quiet north London station. Angel Road ultimately closed because 580 metres to the south a station has been constructed as part of the Meridian Water development, a major a £6 billion regeneration programme in Upper Edmonton that will see 10,000 new homes being built.

Today, Monday 3 June 2019, a few days after Angel Road closed, London gained its newest station, Meridian Water. The Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, and the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, Heidi Alexander, opened the station on Monday morning. The 05:57 Greater Anglia service to Liverpool Street became the first train to depart from the new station. Although I was committed to boarding the last service from Angel Road, like Chris Grayling and Heidi Alexander, I was not prepared to wake up at 05:00 on a Monday morning, so I visited Meridian Water after work.

Until the new time table is released in September 2019, Meridian Water will receive the same infrequent service pattern that its predecessor did. This will however change, and services from Meridian Water will eventually be much more frequent. The Meridian Water station build and Lea Valley line improvements was an impressive project, building a railway station and extra track, with two railway lines with frequent rail services still in operation.

A third track has been added to the Lea Valley line from Meridian Water to just north of Lea Bridge station. This track will enable services to run on this line every 15 minutes in each direction. It is likely that half of the services will terminate/depart at Meridian Water from the bay platform, platform 2, and the remaining services will terminate/depart from Hertford East or Bishops Stortford.

The station has been future proofed by building four platforms. Platforms 3-4 are in operation, and platform 2 will be in operation from September. Platform 1 has been prepared for, but no track has been laid yet. Meridian Water is also on the proposed Crossrail 2 route, which is expected to open in the 2030s. It is expected that 4 million people will use the station each year, this is 125 times more than the number of people that used Angel Road in 2017-18 according to the Office of Rail and Road statistics. Already on the first day, there were clearly 'regular passengers' using Meridian Water, 12 people boarded the 17:53. There were also fellow rail enthusiasts and train spotters visiting the station for the first time in operation. 

Angel Road station has already seen substantial works over the weekend. Despite closing on Friday evening, by Sunday evening the footbridge was removed and the platforms had been completely stripped. If you are planning on visiting Meridian Water, the station is currently named 'MWRWSTN' on Network Rail's website, live trains and dot matrix boards along the line.

Although the station is less than 24-hours into operation, there are already notable things to be aware of. If you visit, try and find the TfL map that has both Angel Road and Meridian Water, perhaps TfL and/or Greater Anglia were expecting the opening of the station to be delayed? It is also interesting to note two things I believe are missing. There is no British Rail symbol outside the station, and the platforms signs from the concourse are laminated A3 pieces of paper, a likely last minute job?

For more photos and videos of the final day of Angel Road, including the 19:52 service, and updates from the first day of operation at Meridian Water, find me on Instagram and Twitter where my name is @TubeSpottingDan

Goodbye Angel Road - London's former least used railway station

Today, Friday 31 May 2019, the 19:52 departure was the last service to serve Angel Road. Located on the Lea Valley line and with just over 32,000 annual passengers, Angel Road was the least used railway station in London. Considering the station has been on my radar to visit for some time now, I had to go today, on AGR's final day.

Angel Road is located in Edmonton, north London, and all services since 2012 have been operated by Greater Anglia. The station opened in September 1840, as 'Edmonton', which at the time was a village, however, the station was three-quarters of a mile away from the village. The station was renamed 'Water Lane' in March 1849 before being renamed 'Angel Road' in January 1864. The area has had an industrial feel since 1847 when the Tottenham and District Gas Company opened, just south of Angel Road station. The gas company closed in the 1950s, but the area retained its industrial feel.

It is clear as to why Angel Road was London's former least used railway station. There are not many facilities, the trainline state there is "small sheltered seating area", and that is about it. The entrance is a long walk, narrow and unpleasant walk to Conduit Lane, which is a busy road. There are Oyster card readers and a broken permit to travel machine, but no ticket machines or facilities to top up an Oyster card, and footbridge links both platforms. There are numerous posters at Angel Road from @PilningStation - "A noisy victim to SWML". 

Angel Road station closed as it is to be replaced by Meridian Water station, just 580 metres south. This new station will serve the Meridian Water development, a £6 billion programme in Upper Edmonton which will see 10,000 homes being built. Meridian Water station will still be situated on the Lea Valley line, with services to Liverpool Street and predominantly Stratford. From September, two trains per hour will start and terminate at Meridian Water, as well as trains from Hertford East and Bishops Stortford calling at the station during the peak hours. This will increase capacity on the line.

Meridian Water is also on the proposed Crossrail 2 route which is expected to open in the 2030s. The station was constructed to allow for future development. For example, platform 1 has been constructed, but there is no laid track. It is expected 4 million people will use the station every year, unlikely to ever be the least used station in London. Meridian Water station is due to open in a few days time on Monday 3 June 2019.

The first passenger train to call into Meridian Water is expected to be the 05:57 service to Liverpool Street. There have, however, been various accounts on Twitter over the last couple of days of services "missing" Angel Road and stopping at Meridian Water.

As we today say goodbye to Angel Road, and welcome Meridian Water on Monday, this weekend the number of railway stations in London will officially be reduced by 1.I look forward to visiting London's latest railway station on Monday.

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.