Hi all
On a passing District line train, some passengers peer out of the window, while others get off at Sloane Square station.
But few know how Sloane Square turned out to be a nicely built station before getting bombed in the Second World War. It permanently changed the image of the station. Here’s a little history…
The station opened on 24 December 1868 by the Metropolitan District Railway (now the present District and Circle lines). When London Transport took over in 1933, Sloane Square station received a rebuild in March 1940 with a modern ticket hall, platforms and installed escalators taking passengers up from the platforms to ticket office level. The station also housed a glass roof.
However on 12 November of the same year, Sloane Square was destroyed in the second World War causing major destruction. It destroyed everything including the escalators and glass roof.
When the station was rebuilt after the war, it suffered and although the escalators were replaced and still part of the station, the glass roof did not return. As a result of the loss of the glass roof, platform shelters were built instead removing the open air atmosphere that once stood. The station has even received the addition of an office development that rafts over the station itself. There’s even a bridge that crosses in front of the office block.
Had the war not happened, the station would have been an impressive sight with features likely to be preserved. It only lasted nine months.
(Photo sources: Old Sloane Square photos – The London Transport Golden Jubilee Book 1933-1983 (1983), Other photos: David Lew(January 2010).)
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The newly installed Underground roundel totems at Oxford Circus. Like these very much. An icon that is easily identified!
At the time I took this photo, they had to install one more! At the corner of Regent Street (east side) and Oxford Street (north side) to be precise!
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Hi all
Continuing from where we left off, here are more station works progress taking place at some more London Overground stations on the East London line. Here is a gallery selection at Canada Water and Surrey Quays stations plus what they looked like before…
Canada Water
Although opened on the Jubilee line, here is a gallery at the East London line station…
1. Barriers close off what is supposed to be the southbound platform of the East London line.
2. Here is another view at another angle.
3. Here are the escalators to the Northbound platforms of the East London line which is currently closed.
4. Here is a shot I took in December 2007 of what the East London line platforms at Canada Water looked like before closure
Surrey Quays
1. One of the entrances to Surrey Quays on Lower Road. The Overground roundel on top of the station building can be seen. The rest of the station is boarded up.
2. Here is another view from the one way system.
3. The Overground roundel on the station building is covered up!
4. The other entrance to Surrey Quays on the Rotherhithe Old Road
5. A shot taken in the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, this is the tracks going into Surrey Quays station.
6. And here is a photo I took in December 2007 of Surrey Quays station before it closed. This is on the Rotherhithe Old Road side.
Great progress has been made. I will look at more stations very soon in future blogs.
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Hi all
Some of you may know that from Sunday (7 February) that the Blackwall Tunnel northbound will face evening closures for the next three years. Here is a blog about what is happening and what the consequences of this closure means.
Background
The northbound Blackwall Tunnel is going to close in the evenings to allow new fire and incident detection systems, better lighting, better access for emergency access and new CCTV to be installed. In addition, modernisation works will be carried out on the 112 year old tunnel. The northbound tunnel is the oldest of the two Blackwall tunnels.
Garrett Emmerson, the Chief Operating Officer for Streets for TfL described what the works mean:
Yet more than a century later, 50,000 vehicles a day drive through this vital transport artery.
Our refurbishment programme will enhance the safety and security of everyone who uses the tunnel, and will prolong the life of this busy commuter route across the Thames.
We are doing everything we can to ensure the refurbishment of the tunnel is carried out with the minimum disruption to road users, and we ask people to bear with us while these important safety improvements are carried out.
The evening closure begins on 7 February for three years and is due to be completed by December 2012.
What does the closure mean?
Transport for London have assessed the situation and have agreed to close the northbound tunnel between 9pm to 5am Sunday to Friday for the next three years.
Because of this, it means that northbound traffic will be using the southbound tunnel during this time. A 20 mph speed limit has been imposed with average speed cameras installed to monitor the speed of the traffic. This is bad news for drivers going southbound as they will have to find alternative river crossings.
Anger to drivers
This is not good news to many drivers who depend on the Blackwall Tunnel. The work is going to be three years long and it means many users of the tunnel who want to head southbound will have to find alternative river crossings (see next section).
Two issues had been raised, the first was why start the closure as early as 9pm ans secondly, an argument made by drivers was suggesting a contra-flow system that would allow traffic to flow both ways. However, Transport for London said that it would not have been practical and won’t change its plan. They said to The Docklands newspaper:
If the works were to begin later than 9pm we simply could not carry out as much work each night, meaning the project would take much longer than three years.
Contra-flow creates the risk of a head on collision involving an HGV which increases the risk of a catastrophic fire and the closure of the tunnel for a long time.
Alternative river crossings – a problem?
Southbound traffic will be unable to use the Blackwall Tunnel during the closure, so what alternatives have they got? Here is the list of alternative river crossings…
- Rotherhithe Tunnel: This is a pretty narrow tunnel that drivers can use. It has a 20 mph limit though and the road is very narrow. However, the Rotherhithe Tunnel is closed on Monday evenings which will frustrate drivers.
- Tower Bridge: A little bit further in central London and not part of the congestion charge. However, there will be a three month closure later this year. Where else can the drivers go when this happens?
- Woolwich Ferry: At 9pm, the ferry service has already closed! The Woolwich Ferry is closed at 8pm Mondays to Saturdays and 7:30pm Sundays. So this option is out of the question!
- Dartford Crossing: This is the last resort! But the furthest away from central London (some 18 miles!). You will get charged to get across, then you will have to somehow travel back into London again! Not so easy.
This goes back to the subject of the lack of river crossings. The Thames Gateway Bridge for example was cancelled. But the prospect of a new bridge coming won’t be happening anytime soon.
Blackwall Tunnel Toll charging rejected
A business group, London First suggested that Transport for London should charge drivers to use the Blackwall Tunnel to fund for a new bridge across the Thames.
This would have angered motorists if such a plan was to be given the go ahead. Transport for London confirmed with The Docklands newspaper that no such plans to implement tolls on the Blackwall Tunnel would go ahead.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson is keen to get a river crossing between Woolwich and Silvertown, however he has not confirmed where the funding for the crossing would come from.
Bus Route 108
There’s only one bus service that uses the Blackwall Tunnel, that is the 24 hour service, Route 108 which runs between Lewisham and Canning Town. Plans have been put in place such that between 9pm and 1am, Route 108 will run in two sections: Lewisham to North Greenwich and Stratford to Canning Town. Passengers would use the Jubilee line between Canning Town and North Greenwich to make connections.
When the Jubilee line is closed, between 1am and 5am, Route 108 would be escorted every half hour into the southbound tunnel. Northbound traffic would be halted. By this time, very little traffic is operating, so this should not prove much of a problem.
Conclusion
Despite the rejections made about the evening closures on the northbound tunnel, it seems nothing can be done and that the plans are set in stone. Here’s to three year evening closure and some misery to drivers who depend on the crossing southbound.
What do you think of the evening closures? Let me know!
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Hi all
After looking at the progress at Shadwell station on the East London line section of London Overground, I thought I would take a trip and look at other stations on the line. Here is a gallery of Wapping and Rotherhithe stations in progress and what they looked like before…
Wapping
1. This is on the side of Wapping Station at the moment. You can clearly see the Overground roundel all covered up in wrap. As for the main building itself, it is covered in boards and nothing else can be seen.
2. Here is Wapping station before the works that I took taken in December 2007
Rotherhithe
1. This is the front of the station building. They have already mounted the station name in full glory.
2. The Overground roundel appears on the station building.
3. A notice about the closure of Rotherhithe station and the works
4. Here is a sneaky shot of what is happening inside the station itself!
5. The station building on the side.
6. And finally, here is what Rotherhithe looked like before the closure. Again, I took this in December 2007.
And there you go. I will be looking at more stations in due course and their progress before they open for service. Exciting stuff!
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Hi all
In earlier blog, I wrote about Metropolitan line services being reduced due to platform works at Baker Street. This is to allow new S Stock trains to run at the station.
Well, it has been announced that from Monday (8 February) until 19 February, southbound Metropolitan line through services to Aldgate will not be stopping at Baker Street. The only Metropolitan line trains stopping at Baker Street will be all northbound services and all trains terminating at Baker Street.
It has also been announced from Transport for London that there will be several closures at stations north of Baker Street to prepare for the new S stock trains.
And, in addition to this, the line between Moorgate and Aldgate will be closed from 1-5 March to allow work to be taken at Aldgate for the new S stock trains.
It all seems to be happening quickly and fast! More coverage on this subject in future blogs.
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Hi all
If you had read my earlier blog on this subject, you would have read how important the drivers on the Jubilee line have to keep passengers informed about delays. The last notice was about regulation of service and why the train may be held for a short time. But this is one of many notices as I spotted this one at Canning Town…
The rule is simple, make an announcement within 30 seconds when stopping between stations. And there is a note: “Keep it clear. Keep it prompt” – straight to the point!
Next time you are on board a Jubilee line train and find the train stops between stations for a short time, count 30 seconds and see if the driver complies with the rule…come to think about it, I might just do that!
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Hi all
With news of the East London line opening as early as April, it was worth checking out the progress of one of the stations on the line. I decided to check out the works at Shadwell station (since it is the nearest one to me via the DLR!).
I must say, there is indeed a lot of changes, mostly in particular are the new signage on display. Here is a small gallery of the progress works.
1. The back entrance of Shadwell station. Notice the new Overground roundels on display.
2. A close look by the fencing and you can see that one of the Overground roundels is still wrapped.
3. The main entrance to Shadwell station. Notice that the glass looking roof has been removed.
4. The brand new Overground roundel in fully glory.
5. A poster informing of the works and a map of the East London line
6. And here is the map in full. Notice that Hoxton will be in Zones 1 & 2. This is the first confirmation from Transport for London that this is the case.
And there you go! The station works are progressing well and rapidly. This will be exciting when it all opens to the public!
On a side note, here is a small gallery of the past…
1. The old Shadwell station building disused
2. This is what Shadwell station looked like before the rebuilding. Once on the London Underground. I took this in December 2007 shortly before closure (how time goes quick)!
We’ll be looking at more stations in due course, so come back soon!
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Hi all
For Tube Lines, it has been a bad track record (if you excuse the pun). The Jubilee line upgrade which was supposed to finish in December last year is running late and still has until the autumn to go before that is finished.
According to today’s Metro newspaper, Tube Lines is now ready to take on the next Tube line that they are maintaining and that is the Northern line. They want to spend up to 18 months completing the signal upgrade of the line. The upgrade includes a new signalling system and control centre that will allow trains to run at much higher speeds.
However, disruption is inevitable as Tube Lines wants to close the line north of Kennington from 11:30pm Mondays to Thursdays from July. It means that trains will gradually be taken out of service and reduced after 8:30pm. In addition to this, Tube Lines want to use 16 weekends to close the southern section of line between Stockwell and Morden.
A Transport for London spokesperson said:
We accept there have to be some closures. There’s a question now of how many are needed.
The Northern line is used by 750,000 passengers every day, so this will be bad news as those who use and rely on the line so much will either have to find alternative routes or simply use the line well before closing time.
It is reported that Mayor of London, Boris Johnson is said to be ‘furious’ with the plans and that Tube Lines had not learnt its lesson after being refused extra money for the late Jubilee line upgrade works.
Do you use the Northern line? What do you think of the plans? Let me know!
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Hi all
After over a month of engineering work, Bank DLR station reopened today. During this period, the station has undergone deep cleaning, better lighting and better signage.
The work also has enabled three car train operation to occur between Bank and Lewisham that will gradually be introduced from this point onwards. I thought it would be good to check out the reopened Bank DLR station. Admittedly, it doesn’t look much different but there were some interesting things to note. Here is a small gallery…
1. The terminating platform at Bank DLR station. Looks brighter and much cleaner
2. The station name
3. The link corridor that connects Monument with Bank is now reopened.
4. A new line diagram unveiled at Bank DLR station. Although it has been carefully stuck on the original!
5. New signage overhead to DLR and District & Circle lines at Monument
In addition to the link corridor between Monument and Bank stations restored, it so happens that the escalator works between Monument and Bank Northern line platforms have reopened too. So the interchange complex is up and running again…that doesn’t mean though that the escalator works are finished yet, there is still those link up the Central line that need to be done.
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Monday 14 December 2009 
Monday 7 December 2009 
Monday 7 December 2009 
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