Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: London Underground

  • The Quiet London Underground (Again)

    The Quiet London Underground (Again)

    As can be seen from the front page of the last four issues of the Evening Standard, the quietness of the Underground is causing great concern to many in London. Well, by many I mean those running the system, rather than the users of the network who are likely enjoying the opportunity to get a seat. It’s hard to see how TFL can continue to afford to operate the network in this way for much longer without subsidies.

    These photos are from my travels yesterday and today. There are times of course when the service is a bit busier, but empty carriages are still common-place. At Earl’s Court, I walked down the steps onto the platform just as the tube train doors were closing, but they then re-opened to let me on (I assume it was for me, since I was by the driver’s door and there was no-one else visible). I’m not sure that’s what would usually happen in September in London…..I can’t see things getting much busier over the next few weeks either, the tourist season is fading away and office workers aren’t flocking back.

  • London – Rush Hour at Canary Wharf

    London – Rush Hour at Canary Wharf

    There was a grand plan to get office workers back into London today, with the Evening Standard having a full-page editorial saying that some sort of normality is now required.

    This was the 17:00 underground service from Canary Wharf…..

  • London – Still Quiet on the Underground

    London – Still Quiet on the Underground

    I won’t keep posting “it’s quiet on the Underground” as that’s annoying, even for me. But, I was surprised just how quiet it was just after 09:00 on Thursday, not so much at Gloucester Road which isn’t ever the busiest station, but certainly at Victoria. Making for some peaceful journeys though.

  • London – Quiet on the Underground

    London – Quiet on the Underground

    OK, so Chancery Lane isn’t ever the busiest of London underground stations, but nonetheless, it was eerily quiet this afternoon.

    The packed platform.

    Endless amounts of warnings about social distancing.

    Mind the Gap…. Still quiet at Oxford Street.

    It was a little busier on the Oxford Street platform to get onto the Bakerloo line, but it’s still all rather quiet.

    As for TFL, they’re not doing particularly well at keeping people safe. The first two hand-sanitiser dispensers I tried were empty. So, on a quest to discover how bothered TFL really are, I tried another six more during my journey into Oxford Street. Two worked, another four were empty. I won’t veer into politics, but this really isn’t a particularly good look for TFL and pretty much every other transport operator seems to manage.

    Anyway, I quite enjoyed the quiet network and there was a very high percentage of people wearing masks and lots of social distancing. I did note one man cough and this alarmed a woman who fled the scene but, otherwise, all uneventful.