All Aboard! (Underground in general)

Member Name: TheKnight

Product:	Underground in general
Date:	07/08/00 (143 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fast, cheap and (mostly) reliable transport around London.

Disadvantages: Not for short hops nor for people who hate crowds.

The Tube comprises over 270 stations spread throughout the 618 square miles of Greater London with approximately 300 miles of track routes. The Tube serves some 750 million passenger journeys per year (around 2.5 million passengers per day). During the peak hours (rush hours) trains run incredibly frequently, so that at Leicester Square Station for example, a Piccadilly Line train going west will arrive every 90 seconds or so throughout the two-hour long evening peak.

The tube is most effective for longer journeys and can whisk you from the centre of London to Heathrow Terminal 4 in just under an hour. On shorter journeys the speed of the trains is offset by the time it takes to travel from the surface to the platforms at each end of the journey and a bus may often be a better mode of transport for those needs.

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Assistance and Staff
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Station staff members are generally exceptionally knowledgeable about travelling in London and are often able to give far more assistance than anyone would expect. When school parties of children travel, for example, staff members will often be made ready at each end of the journey to check that all the children safely enter and exit the train. They also keep the group safely together as they travel by lift or escalator between the surface and the platforms.

The staff members of London Underground are extensively trained and have to have licences for many of the safety critical roles they perform. Each member of staff has licences for everything from track safety to escalator operation. Most of these licences include training in rescue procedures should any emergency arise. Should you ever have the misfortune to get stuck in a lift, the Station staff will have you out long before the fire brigade could even arrive.

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Hours of Service
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In central London the stations open around 5:30 am and close a
round 1am the following day, at which time the frantic nightly maintenance and cleaning begins. At the outlying ends of the line the stations open around 4:30 am and do not close until 2am. The extra hour at each end of the working day is the travelling time of the first and the last train, to and from the central area.

During those brief hours of closure, engineers walk every inch of track looking for signs of wear or maintenance tasks that need to be performed. Special engineering trains take teams out to replace worn rails or sleepers. Blown bulbs in the signal lights are replaced and thousands of other vital maintenance tasks are performed. Everything from repainting station ceilings, to scraping gum from the platforms is performed during those brief hours of respite.

The Underground is open 364 days each year (It closes on Christmas Day) but has a reduced service on Sundays, opening an hour later and closing an hour earlier than on other days. This means that engineering works that can’t be performed in the normal 4-hour downtimes may be able to be done at the weekends without having to close the line for a day. On that basis alone it’s a fair trade-off.

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Tickets and Travel Costs
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The travelcards are by far the best possible value for money available for anything other than a single journey. A travelcard is valid for use on buses, tubes and trains, meaning that if there is a problem on a line at any time you have the best possible range of alternative routes home without spending an extra penny.

A one-day travelcard costs about the same as a return ticket for most journeys, and is always cheaper than three single tickets. There are special deals too, such as the Family Travelcard which is cheaper if you are going to travel as a group at all times. Another special deal is the weekend travelcard which is valid for any two consecutive days over the weekend at only
around two-thirds the cost of two one-day travelcards.

Children under 5 years of age travel for free, children aged between 5 and 14 (or between 14 and 16 with a valid child-rate photocard) travel at special child rates (around half price).

If you are travelling around London for more than just a day or two, then weekly, monthly, period (often an entire school term) and annual travelcards are available. Generally the longer the period covered by the travelcard the greater the total saving will be. While weekly travelcards may be easier for some budgeting than buying a month of travel in one go, the monthly tickets are registered (can be replaced if lost) while weekly tickets are not.

Many people feel that ticket prices for the Tube are too high. Having paid far higher prices to travel on a rural bus or two, I don’t tend to agree. The London Underground is a world-class transportation system that is one of the safest and best in the world. Cutting costs would mean cutting quality and safety.

Unlike the French Metro, which has fully 50% of its costs paid by its government, the London Underground is rather under-funded and the government insist that it make up the bulk of its expenses from tickets sales. This obviously gives rise to higher ticket prices than Tube Bosses, or customers would wish.

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Special Needs
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Because of the nature of the system, and the fact that much of it was built long before access for disabled users was an issue, passengers with disabilities should check facilities and restrictions before purchasing a ticket. Customers with visual disabilities are generally more easily catered for than those who have impaired mobility.

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Safety and Security
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Railways are by nature a somewhat dangerous environment, especially where 630 volts electric rails (at around 2000 amps) are involved. Wherever
possible the Tube has fail-safe safety systems in place, from the fact that a train is immobilised if any passenger door is open by just a fraction of an inch, to the immense numbers of carefully monitored closed circuit TV cameras, and a specific division of Transport Police who deal with nothing but the Tube.

There are certain risks involved in any travelling, but the wise traveller can do much to minimise them. Firstly never travel by tube when drunk. At Leicester Square Station alone there seems to be at least one incident of someone falling down the sharp-edged metal escalators every weekend, often resulting in cuts and abrasions. Roughly 1/3 of all people who fall onto the tracks each year do so under the influence. If you have a few drinks too many take a cab home or at least have a sober friend who can make sure you don’t lose your balance.

Pick-pockets love the Tube. The crowds mean that a quick dip into your bags can go unnoticed amongst all the other jostling. They can also grab a bag and step off the train just as the doors close, leaving the victim unable to even complain until the next stop. Keep your bags zipped shut and close to you at all times.

Never sit on the escalator. I have seen a baseball boot ripped instantly in two just from brushing and catching the metal at the edge of the step and being sheared off by the still moving step. Dogs must be carried in the escalators because fur can likewise get caught. I advise parents to use their own judgement over child safety, but nervous children may be best carried onto and off of the moving escalator.

There are statistically very few accidents on the Tube system. Don’t become one of the few due to complacency.

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Summary
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The Tube is an efficient and effective transportation system that is highly regarded by foriegn counterparts. Its prices may not be as cheap as desired, but certainly offer e
ccelent value for money. Safety is always highest on the agenda. Great attention is given to providing assistance.

All in all, its something us Brits can be rather proud of. It was the world's first underground railway when the first part of the Metropolitan line opened in 1863. It is still almost certainly the best all round.

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