InsideTransit

“We were treated like animals”, said one passenger stuck on a Eurostar train. Passengers stranded for hours – some calling it a “death trap”. The BBC video shows passengers who made it out of the tunnels who have some choice words for the Eurostar management.

The Eurostar trains broke down as they left the cold air in northern France and entered the warmer tunnel en route to London.

John Keefe from Eurotunnel, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, said the situation was “absolutely extraordinary and unprecedented”.

“There’s never actually been an evacuation of a Eurostar train in the 15 years that the tunnel has been opened and last night we evacuated two whole trains to get people off.”

The BBC notes that five trains were stuck in the tunnel. Apparently it was freezing in the carriages and very little water or food was provided to the passengers. They continue, “Director of communications Mary Walsh said the company was “extremely sorry” for the delays and refunds would be available for all those affected.”

I’ve been on the Eurostar once in 2006 and overall enjoyed the trip.

Last year Google got cozy with the MTA with the launch of transit directions inside of Google Maps. Last week the Google Maps team has announced the launch of a new layer on Google Maps that displays all of the NYC subway routes directly on the map.

There have been many mashups that created something similar in the past but now the subway lines are displayed directly on the map. So far I haven’t been able to find any errors in the lines and/or stations. I am sure my fellow railfans will find any errors this weekend.

The new subway map lines also work on the mobile version of Google Maps. Google notes that they provide transit directions for 436 transit agencies around the world.

While the subway lines on the map are nice, nothing beats the Swiss Rail mashup that shows the trains in real-time and they actually move on the map!

Ewan also reports that the subway layer works in London as well. He calls it a mess and notes how wonderful the Harry Beck London Tube map still is today.

The Circle Line which runs in the London Underground is growing a hook beginning on December 13, 2009. As the TFL (Transport for London) notes, the Circle Line won’t go “round and round” anymore. Instead the route is growing a hook as displayed in the image below.

Some passengers will now need to switch trains but yet still ride on the same line – pretty interesting. Also, the TFL notes that this should help smooth out the line and reduce delays.

Check out all of the changes coming to the Circle Line by 2016 including air-conditioning! The images and videos of the new tube carriages look a lot like the new cars on the Berlin bahn.

As a railfan, I wish I could be in London for the first ride to Hammersmith!

Have you ever wondered who would win in a battle — a porsche or a city bus? Wel the video below provides details on which vehicle wins.  As a bonus we have included bus vs. bus shelter battle.

Last week the TFL (Transport for London) group put out a new London Tube map. The map removed the fare zones along with the Thames River. London Mayor Boris Johnson was “furious” over the Thames removal.

Apparently both items were removed for clarity. I think the river is one of the things that makes the Tube map special. For me it “grounds” the map and I agree with the London Mayor that it must be re-added.

The BBC has a story about the map change and notes that the Thames River will be re-added later this year during the next map update. TfL said the Thames would return on future maps following an “overwhelming public reaction”. From the BBC story, “Mr Johnson said: “I hope Londoners will imagine the Thames in place until it reappears on the maps, and will not forget their beautiful river.”"

For us NY’ers, it would be like the MTA removing Central Park from the subway map.

The bus company we love to think of as first-class all the way (note sarcasm), Greyhound, is moving across the ocean to the UK. You can see an example of the buses that Greyhound will roll with below – it’s a pretty nice looking bus from the outside.

From the announcement:

• The first UK Greyhound coaches will run between London Victoria and Portsmouth and Southampton with services scheduled to launch on September 14.
• The Greyhound UK coaches will have leather seating, free wi-fi, power sockets, air-conditioning and complimentary newspapers.
• First says the Scania Irizar coaches will have up to 20% more legroom than rivals’ vehicles while traffic light displays on the coach dashboards will inform drivers how well they are driving their vehicle. (LOL – “attention passengers, the driver of this coach is going well past the speed limit”)
• All Greyhound UK coaches will be named after women from popular American songs such as Sweet Caroline, Barbara Ann, Jolene and Peggy Sue. (will there be a britney spears – probably not since it would be prone to crashes)

I thought it was us Americans that wanted to be like the Brits not the other way around. There will be an online marketing campaign when the buses roll out targeting the young Internet audience. I sure hope the drivers remember that in the UK they drive on the left.

As a side note, why do buses in Europe all have those huge ass mirrors – I’ve never seen them state-side but on my European trips, they are everywhere. They remind me of the sticks used in cricket.

Should this cat pay his fare? Would it be an adult fare or a kids fare? You ride you pay, right?

This story comes to us via the BBC in Plymouth, UK. The cat seen to the right is Casper and he rides the bus. He knows when to get off and appears to be a pleasure to everyday riders. BBC says that Casper actually waits in line to board the bus and quietly sits down for the ride.

A spokesman for bus company First said that drivers had been bussing Casper around for months, but Mrs Finden said she had only just found out about his use of public transport.

The care worker said: “He’d always go off and have a wander. He does love people, and I don’t know what the attraction is but he loves big vehicles like lorries and buses.”

I have an email out to Casper to see if he would like to write for InsideTransit about his travels in the UK.

Yesterday we looked at a pretty neat postcard-to-model subway train. Now we have a paper model you can print and create at home.  The available models include:

• TGV PSE (Paris Sud-Est) original orange version
• TGV PSE (Paris Sud-Est) blue Ligne de Coeur version
• TGV La Poste
• TGV Atlantique
• TGV Thalys
• TGV Duplex
• AVE / Euromed (Spanish TGV)
• KTX (Korean TGV)
• Speedrail (Australian TGV)
• Acela Express (USA)
• Undecorated TGV

It looks like you need just some basic supplies (and some thick paper) to create the various trains. Pretty neat craft project!

In the video below, we see a train just doing its job being a train and yet some construction workers figured they would park their “little” earth mover next to the tracks. So guess who wins…

This section of InsideTransit will help you to understand how the London Underground works, pricing, routings, tips, and more.

Allen’s System Overview:

I think the tube is one of the best transit systems in the world. Ok, yes there are many delays. I think many of these could be avoided and I am pretty sure by the time the 2012 Olympics come around, all of those issues with signaling will be cleared up. There are 13 lines as part of the tube: Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, East London, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, Waterloo & City and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). The DLR is very interesting, it is controlled basically completely by computers and you can sit in the "driver’s seat" and make believe you are driving!

The basics of the system are quite easy. Most stations have a journey map for the specific line as you descend the stairs to the platform. I suggest you take a minute to read these maps closely. Many of the lines have multiple destinations. For example, the District line shows 6 (yes, six!) main destinations with possible sub-destinations as well. Choose wrong, and time and frustration will be added to your journey. Also, once on the platform, there are computerized signposts up above showing which train is arriving next and how long until the train arrives. This makes getting on the correct train easier.

Another wonderful benefit of the system is the helpful Transport workers who will help you with any of your queries. There are generally assistants near the oyster and ticket machines to help you with purchasing the right type of ticket as well as basic journey queries. This is a great service and their great attitude helps you relax on your transit journey!

Current Promotions:

There are some AWESOME deals currently running:

• For mainline travel to outside of London, check out: Greatfares from FirstGreatWestern (I saved over 30 quid with this one!) (appears to be expired as of 6/1)
• For travel on the Heathrow Express, you can save 25%! by putting in this code 200007 at the Heathrow Express web site (I saved over 4 quid on this one!)
• For travel on the Gatwick Express, you can save 25%! by putting in this code 200006 at the Gatwick Express web site
  • There is another special with 4 for 2 — pay for 2 adults, get 2 free – Gatwick Express

Interesting Quirks about the London Underground:

Ok – here are some of the interesting quirks I have come across over the years. Please drop me a line with your quirks and I will add them here and credit you!

• In the USA trains "stop" at stations, in the UK, they "call" at stations. You are likely to hear "This is a 15:40 train to High Barnet, calling at Camden Town and Archway"
• Trains are operated by 1 person, an operator. There are a series of monitors at the operators end of each platform so they can monitor traffic on and off the train.
• Does the Circle line have an end?

Rants

I have found that taking the Underground is as easy as other major subway systems. One of the pet peeves I have is that the system is non-airconditioned. I am actually shocked that a capital city, one of the top cities in the world, has not figured out how to aircondition the carriages. If it can be done in NYC, it can be done in London.

Another rant would be around express routes. I would wonder what the London system would look like if they had real express tracks within the zone 1 area. For example, could you imagine an express train running from Heathrow to Covent Garden stopping only 1-2 times in between? (oh wait, that will kill their revenue rich Heathrow Express). Or an express on some of the further out lines. And to the Londoners, yes I know there are a few places where a line skips some stops but that is not truly an express train.

Tags: london underground