Transport Hmmmmm
I am quite glad to have moved down to south London. Once I got over the mental block of crossing the river I found that I was quite relieved to be able to avoid the tube. I have been on the tube system now for over 15 years and I had not realised how bad it had got. On the whole I have spent time on the District line which I had down to a fine art and managed to get a seat at Mile End every day. Then I moved to Wapping where I had the misfortune to have to take the Jubilee line. I now have the luck to be able to travel on overground to Victoria.
The first benefit is that it is so much nicer to be able to work on the train (albeit 10 to 15 min journey). I have a phone signal and I can get through most of my email by the time I arrive. It is also nice to be able to see the world and get fresh air.
But I have noticed two pieces of clear evidence that the tube system is basically about to break. The first is the Jubilee line. Already running at way over capacity during rush hour it is going to have to face the Olympics. It will simply melt down. The image to the world will be very poor. The stations are impressive but the line simply cannot cope with the volumes. Add to that signal and train failures and you get massive issues on a weekly basis.
The second clear sign is Victoria station. On a daily basis the gates to the tube are shut with queues blocking most exits from the station. The tube station cannot cope with the volumes.
Neither line appears to have any plans for remediation (that I am aware of). Station upgrades are nearly all cosmetic. The economy does not appear to have the appetite for big projects still and it is clear that even if major projects were to be initiated they will not be completed until post critical meltdown.
There is no room on the roads. London is going to face difficult times. Rents continue to rise, property prices are growing (today announced average 450K) still. Unemployment is rising. Transport is a misery, traffic is now a nightmare with regular gridlocks. My trip from South London to Tower Bridge (probably a matter of 5 miles max) took 2 hours by car a few weeks ago.
Maybe this is the signal to start evening out and finding other areas of the country to populate. Rather than a minimal attempt to move gov jobs out of London, perhaps there should be a proper attempt to move business to other parts of the country.
The first benefit is that it is so much nicer to be able to work on the train (albeit 10 to 15 min journey). I have a phone signal and I can get through most of my email by the time I arrive. It is also nice to be able to see the world and get fresh air.
But I have noticed two pieces of clear evidence that the tube system is basically about to break. The first is the Jubilee line. Already running at way over capacity during rush hour it is going to have to face the Olympics. It will simply melt down. The image to the world will be very poor. The stations are impressive but the line simply cannot cope with the volumes. Add to that signal and train failures and you get massive issues on a weekly basis.
The second clear sign is Victoria station. On a daily basis the gates to the tube are shut with queues blocking most exits from the station. The tube station cannot cope with the volumes.
Neither line appears to have any plans for remediation (that I am aware of). Station upgrades are nearly all cosmetic. The economy does not appear to have the appetite for big projects still and it is clear that even if major projects were to be initiated they will not be completed until post critical meltdown.
There is no room on the roads. London is going to face difficult times. Rents continue to rise, property prices are growing (today announced average 450K) still. Unemployment is rising. Transport is a misery, traffic is now a nightmare with regular gridlocks. My trip from South London to Tower Bridge (probably a matter of 5 miles max) took 2 hours by car a few weeks ago.
Maybe this is the signal to start evening out and finding other areas of the country to populate. Rather than a minimal attempt to move gov jobs out of London, perhaps there should be a proper attempt to move business to other parts of the country.
posted by So long and thanks for all the fish at
9:02 pm
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