Thursday, October 2, 2008

Overcrowding Survey - Tell London Assembly what you think

Although the focus is on London overground trains, the London Assembly's Transport Committee are trying to find a solution to the "overcrowding that plagues many of the overground rail routes coming into the capital – especially during the morning and evening commuter rush." Interesting that chose the word "plagues" for this announcement.

H&I, evening rush hour by Nicobobinus

Underground Gal hadn't seen anything about this survey until she noticed a small paragraph in Railway Magazine. She did a bit of Googling and found the above press release from the Greater London Authority.

"While the problems of overcrowding are well known, the Committee will set out to map an accurate picture of the 'pinch points' on commuter routes into London – for example the stations where people have to wait for several full trains to go by before they can board - so that targeted solutions can be identified.

As well as mapping and analysis of how effectively overcrowding is currently being tackled, the investigation will focus on the passenger experience. The Committee will talk to commuters about how overcrowding affects their journey, and members of the public are encouraged to send their experiences to overcrowding@london.gov.uk
"

Maybe it's because I've been on holiday in New York recently, but I agree with her following comment

"I read a fair amount of newspapers and haven't seen any mention of this, and although it's focusing on overground routes, rather than the Underground, I think it's fair to say there's a decent amount of overlap between the two sorts of commuters!"

So if you travel on overground trains which come into London, please send your views & experiences to overcrowding@london.gov.uk. I often use an overground train at Richmond to get into Waterloo and getting off at Waterloo and trying to get down to to the Waterloo & City line when you're walking against a tide of people coming the other way, is a particular bug bear for me. I don't use it regularly or early enough to experience major overcrowding - but whenever the Sadistic Line isn't working, I use the overground & it's then a major league squeeze to get myself onto the train.

King's Cross Tube getting film ads

Looks like I'll soon be able to watch some trailers for films and endless ads for Orange phones while I'm waiting for my Northern Line train at King's Cross.

Film Ads Coming to King's Cross Tube

There's always a sure sign that London Underground cross platform advertising is coming to your station, when you notice there have been a number of weeks with really old ads, then that papier mache / collage / Tate Gallery exhibit style mess of old ads.

Adless Leicester Square Tube

Then you usually get the grey panels seen in the first picture which I noticed at King's Cross yesterday, which herald the coming of the cross platform ads or Cross Track Projection or XTP as CBS Outdoor - the company responsible for the ads on the Tube - call it.

It's funny that it's actually taken us this long to get moving ads on the Tube. I always remember a great quote from a guy from the early 20th century, who had predictions for what the London Underground would be like in 1999.

Professor Archibald Montgomery Low (top name) wrote for the transport magazine Trains, Omnibuses and Trams in 1914 and was pretty good with some of his sooth-saying.

He predicted 100mph trains, mobile phones, solar energy, Eurostar and the Travelcard ... and an end to spitting on the Tube! But we're only just catching up with some of his stuff. He wrote:

"In 1999 every station will have comfortable waiting-rooms, with all the trains, the news of the moment - and perhaps the picture of the moment - thrown upon artistically illuminated screens".

Well that's our XTP - except we haven't got news or pictures of the moment but trailers for Pixar films & ads for mobile phone companies.

He also believed that Londoners in 1999 would be more polite. However a Tube worker replied to him in the magazine:

"Will the Underground passengers of 1999 try to enter the stations by the exits, ignore the notice to stand aside on escalators?"

Forget 1999, that's still happening now.