Category: London

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Strikes

If you are in London right now on a holiday, or are coming very soon, you will know or should know that we are in a phase of tube (Underground) strikes.

These seem to typically start at 12 noon on one day and finish at 12 noon the next. This means that trains before the start will be affected, as they need to be moved to a correct place, and trains after the end will still be affected and will be slow to get back to normal.

Some stations may be closed, some lines or parts of lines too, and services may be reduced in frequency. First and last train times may also be affected. It may be at very short notice.

If you are here, avoiding the tube is advised, for several reasons. They may just not be running, and if they are, may be very crowded.

If you are in central London sightseeing, bus or walk (the weather is nice, if a little chilly) are better bets. Be aware that there are some bus strikes too at times.

Apps like CityMapper will give up-to-date information, and the TfL website will give a good overview of the whole disruption: https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/strikes

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Bus stops

We were engaged in a random conversation in a pub the other day. Normally, we keep to ourselves but some Americans wanted to ask us some questions, so ok, happy to help.

One question was this: why don’t red buses stop at compulsory stops?

Good question.

We have mentioned this before but it’s worth repeating.

There are three types of bus stop:

  • compulsory
  • requestion
  • hail and ride

If we are talking about central London, the the last one is rare. Buses will stop anywhere on demand at a safe place. There does not need to be a physical bus stop. Mostly this is out of the centre and more into the countryside.

The others are recognised by different signs:

Compulsory

Request

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Strange names

One of the newer stations on the London Underground is Battersea Power Station. It’s at the end of the Northern line, and was built to serve the new shopping complex inside the old power station and all the new housing surrounding it.

The name of the station is Battersea Power Station. So, when referring to it as a stop, it should be Battersea Power Station station, just like Archway is Archway station.

But it isn’t, it’s Battersea Power station, or Station.

The railway lines that come to the capital usually stop at one of the terminus stations. Their names are preceeded by “London”, just in case you thought you were in Paris, so London Victoria or London Charing Cross.

But not London Bridge, which should be referred to as London London Bridge.

This is deeply concerning.