My local Underground station is 100 years old today.
Bow Road is an Underground station, but only partly an underground station. That's because Bow Road is the station where eastbound District line trains finally emerge from their tunnel under East London and head off towards Barking and Upminster at surface level. Half of the station is underground and therefore has crap mobile phone reception. The other half of the station is open to the elements and therefore gets wet when it rains. Pigeons appear to be happy to crap on either half.
Bow Road is a station on both the District and Hammersmith & City lines. You might think this was obvious from looking on a tube map, but it appears that nobody has yet bothered to tell anyone who works at the station. Once upon a time Bow Road used to be a station on the Metropolitan line, until this part of the line was reassigned to the new Hammersmith & City line back in 1990. That was a decade ago, but nobody has yet managed to update any of the signs here. The big nameplate outside the front of the station still proudly displays that Bow Road is a station on the "District and Metropolitan lines". The train indicator on the platform still lights up to announce to passengers that the next train is a "Metropolitan line train via Kings Cross". Wrong. Anyone who wanders into the station expecting to catch a Metropolitan line train is in for a very long wait.
Bow Road is a station on the Hammersmith & City line. Everyone in London thinks they live near the tube line with the worst service in the capital. Everyone else is wrong. The Hammersmith & City line has the worst service in the capital. The trains are infrequent and irregular. On the rare occasions that you might actually want to catch one, you can find yourself waiting around through fifteen minutes of endless District line trains until a Hammersmith & City finally decides to turn up. The trains are shorter than District line trains so you then find yourself having to run down the platform in order to dive headlong into the last carriage before the doors shut. However, should you be waiting to catch a District line train, you can of course guarantee that a half-empty Hammersmith & City line train will rumble into the station instead, open its doors apologetically at the platform and then rumble off into oblivion, ready to stall itself at the signals just outside Aldgate East for ten minutes while everyone in the carriage sighs, shrugs and overheats. Line from hell. Never, ever, rely on it.
Bow Road is a station round the bend. Mind the gap. You have to step carefully on and off the trains to make sure you don't slip and fall through on top of the rats scurrying around on the tracks below. Mind the gap please. More annoying is the impossibility of reading the 'next train' indicator from the far end of the platform. Please mind the gap. Not only is the next destination obscured by the bend and by a huge pillar but, in a way reminiscent of far too many other tube stations, the view is now also completely blocked by the CCTV cameras they've installed - right in front of the 'next train' indicator. Please mind the gap between the train and the platform. Please mind the gap between the ears of the station planners, more like.
Bow Road is a station with thousands of passengers every day. I know this for a fact, because every day they all seem to stand in my way and block the entrance to the ticket gates. Some of them insist on queueing up to buy tickets from the temperamental ticket machines in the entrance hall, a queue which invariably spreads out to block the two foot gap through which everyone everyone else is trying to walk. Other passengers don't bother to buy a ticket at all and instead walk brazenly up to the special gate for those with oversized luggage, open it and saunter through to the buzzing sound of the electronic alarm. Meanwhile the ticket inspector sits disinterestedly in her little booth and continues to read her newspaper, ignoring the gate even when someone with oversize luggage really is trying to get through. Could this explain why London Underground don't collect enough money from fares to invest in our stations?
Bow Road is an interchange station with the Docklands Light Railway. At least that's how it looks on the tube map. In real life, however, Bow Church DLR station is at least a three minute walk up the road, and not particularly well signposted either. You wouldn't want to change trains here carrying a suitcase (although people do, and they generally get their cases stuck in the ticket gates right in front of me too). I seem to end up at least once a week directing lost travellers from one station to the other before they stumble off lost into the back streets of Bow and are never heard from again. Tempting to send them off in the wrong direction I know, but the pavements are crowded enough round here as it is.
Bow Road is 100 years old. And blimey it looks it. The whole place could do with a lick of paint, and not that ghastly combination of green and yellow they still have down on the pillars at platform level. The station could also do with one of those nice 'how many minutes is it until the next three trains' indicators like they have at the next couple of stations down the line. Not that they're very accurate, of course, but they're better than a piece of smashed glass which lights up merely to tell you there might be a train going somewhere arriving sometime. In fact I doubt that London Underground have spent a penny on this station for years. I hear we're nearly next on the list for renovation, but they've been saying that for years and nothing's happened yet. As a result I suspect the station will continue to be the endearing dump it is today for a number of years to come.
Happy anniversary.
Friday, January 09, 2004
Local transport news - Bow Road tube station
A while ago I ranted about my local tube station being an under-resourced ruin, with not a penny spent on it for years. Until today, that is. Tube operating company Metronet is launching a multi-million pound five year programme to renovate more than 150 Underground stations, all part of the government's controversial public-private funded infrastructure programme. And, what do you know, the very first station to be renovated will be Bow Road. About time too. They haven't told us local passengers yet - I only uncovered the news in Metronet's in-house journal (check pdf pages 6-7 and 28-30) - but renovation is now imminent. Apparently Bow Road station is a Grade II listed building, and we have serious problems with 'water ingress behind a brick retaining wall'. That would explain the acres of peeling paint I get to stare at each morning. Hopefully not for too much longer though.
I wonder if workmen will finally get round to updating the sign outside the station, the one that says Bow Road is on the "District and Metropolitan lines". Bow Road's not been on the Metropolitan line since 1990 when the Hammersmith & City line took over the section east of Liverpool Street. But, I read, there are plans to change that back again. Tube bosses want Metropolitan line trains to run from northwest London right through to Barking again, hopefully by 2011. Meanwhile the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines will be sort-of-merged to provide what's being called a 'T-Cup' service. Trains will run from Hammersmith to Edgware Road, then continue all the way round what's now the Circle line before terminating at Edgware Road second time around. You heard it here first. I heard it here first. And no, I don't believe it'll happen either.
Monday, February 09, 2004
Change at Bow Road...
They finally, finally, made a start on renovatingBow Road tube station today. Well, they dumped four blue portakabins outside on the pavement, even if nothing yet appears to have happened inside the station (see photo).
This is Day One of London Underground's PPP-funded station update programme, which just goes to show how dull history in the making is. Starting on the first of next month they'll be closing Bow Road station early each night and working passenger-free between 10pm and 6am. That's closing early daily until at least the end of September. Great. Every time I find myself staggering home after closing time this spring or summer I shall have to get off at Walford East instead. It had better be worth it.
I know you'll all be on tenterhooks to discover the latest news from Bow Road, the Underground's pioneer renovation station. What rebuilding work will the good people at Metronet be carrying out? How hard will the builders be working? Will the station's listed architectural features remain intact? How will travellers be inconvenienced? What does cutting-edge urban ergonomic design look like? Well, worry no longer, because I've decided to provide regular daily updates...
Monday 9th February (Day 1) Four blue portakabins have appeared on the pavement outside the station.
Tuesday 10th February A blue wall has appeared in front of the four portakabins. It is made of metal.
Wednesday 11th February There are now flashing orange lights on top of the blue metal wall.
Thursday 12th February The orange lights continue to flash.
Friday 13th February The sound of sawing can be heard from behind the blue wall during daylight hours.
Saturday 14th February No sawing today.
Sunday 15th February The flashing orange lights have disappeared.
Monday 16th February A group of blue-uniformed staff have been observed entering a mysterious lock-up on the eastbound platform, clutching a wad of plans.
Tuesday 17th February The orange lights on top of the blue wall have been replaced by more permanent-looking light fittings on the side of the blue wall.
Wednesday 18th February There are now bulbs in the light fittings, but they're not yet lit.
Thursday 19th February Still not lit.
Friday 20th February The blue wall remains graffiti-free.
Saturday 21st February On closer inspection, there is a padlocked door at the end of the blue wall furthest away from the station entrance. The door is surrounded by safety notices.
Sunday 22nd February A laminated licence is attached to the blue wall, giving permission to Elliot Thomas Ltd to "erect a hoarding on a public highway" until 25th February 2005.
Monday 23rd February The licence was approved and signed by Mr P Williams of WSP UK plc.
Tuesday 24th February Mr Williams' middle name begins with an S.
Wednesday 25th February The blue wall is starting to get a little dirty.
Thursday 26th February Most of the blue wall is still very clean.
Friday 27th February There are a number of discarded cigarette butts at the foot of the blue wall nearest to the station entrance.
Saturday 28th February Probably about twenty butts, approximately.
Sunday 29th February The overnight closure of Bow Road station is supposed to be starting tomorrow. Nothing. Not a sign.
Monday, March 01, 2004
How exciting to be a resident of London E3, now that the renovation of Bow Road station is underway. At least, I think it's underway, it's hard to tell. The station was due to be closing daily at 10pm, starting last week, so that major building work could take place overnight. Didn't happen. Nothing much has happened at all, to be honest. But, as a local public service, I'm continuing to report back every day. Can you stand the excitement?
Monday 1st March The blue portakabins behind the blue wall are now fully illuminated.
Tuesday 2nd March A new blue wall has appeared halfway down the westbound platform, floor to ceiling, dividing off a short portion of platform space.
Wednesday 3rd March The new blue wall is about seven metres long. It makes the platform half as wide.
Thursday 4th March As suddenly as it arrived, the blue wall on the platform has completely vanished.
Friday 5th March Behind where the blue wall used to be, the paint is still peeling off the platform wall just as badly as before.
Saturday 6th March Meanwhile, back outside the station, the lamps on the original blue wall are now illuminated.
Sunday 7th March A new sign on the blue wall apologises to the public for any inconvenience caused. To be honest, not enough inconvenience has been caused yet.
Monday 8th March A sign on the blue wall warns passers-by that they are being recorded on CCTV. No cameras are visible.
Tuesday 9th March The first graffiti has appeared on the blue wall. It's big, it's silver, and it displays all the artistic merit of a two-year-old.
Wednesday 10th March The public information plan finally kicks in as homebound commuters get to 'Meet The Managers'. Or more likely not meet them.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Meet our Managers
It's been a month now since I started reporting daily on London's first PPP-funded tube station renovation project. It's been a month of compelling drama as blue walls have suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and a month of high tension as those blue walls have occasionally disappeared again into thin air. Then, yesterday, something even more thrilling happened. Elsie got an email about it last week, but the first any of us locals knew came when details were posted on a board at the station on Tuesday afternoon.
Meet our Managers events give our customers the chance to raise their concerns and air their views about the work we are carrying out by asking our Managers questions. It also enables us to receive feedback about general Underground matters, from a cross-section of the public. The event will be held at Bow Road Station on Wednesday, 10 March 2004 between 1600 and 1900.
Needless to say I was very excited by this opportunity to discover more about my adopted pet station. Imagine my joy at meeting the people who would be shaping the future of this Grade II listed building. I could ask them all sorts of questions, not just about blue walls but also about what they were planning to do, to what, and when. Would we finally be getting a train display indicator that would tell us how far away the next three trains were, not just that the next train was 45 seconds away? I have an insatiable blog audience who need to be told, you see.
I arrived at Bow Road station last night around 6pm, crushed aboard a packed District Line train. I wove my way out of the carriage onto the platform and looked around. Paint continued to peel off the walls, the ceilings and all other available surfaces. Of 'the Managers' there was as yet no sign. I joined the home-bound tide of commuters and swept up the stairs, round the corner and into the narrow ticket hall. There beyond the barriers stood a massed gathering of smiling people holding leaflets, much as a group of evangelicals might stand poised with tracts ready to thrust into the hands of passing unbelievers. There was also a trestle table piled high with goodies, but no signs whatsoever that might have told travellers who these people were or what they were doing standing there.
I stopped for a closer look at the table and its contents. There were more leaflets, a pile of uncompleted questionnaires and a small number of stubby light blue pencils stamped with a London Underground logo. There were also some small flat round objects that might have been either pencil sharpeners or key fobs, of the sort that eight-year-old girls buy in museum shops on school trips. I only managed a quick look before one of the people standing nearby, I suspect not a manager, tempted me away from the table by offering me a leaflet. There was no follow-up, no attempt at feedback, not even a free pencil, not for anyone. Within seconds I was outside the station, in front of the legendary blue wall, wondering if there had in fact been any managers to meet at all. My views had not been aired. I was a very cross section of the public.
The leaflet announced that the modernisation of Bow Road station would finally begin next Monday. Workmen will have the station to themselves between 10pm and 6am every day until further notice, i.e early next year, and the rest of us can jolly well walk home from Mile End or get the bus. Oh, and we shouldn't touch our Oystercards on the reader when using the bus or it'll accidentally charge us extra, we should wave our cards at the driver instead. Such is progress. But we are due to be getting:
• upgraded platforms, ticket hall, station entrance, passageways and stairs (and trains? some trains that run on time would be nice) • all floor, wall and ceiling finishes are either being repaired or replaced (this wrinkly centenarian station needs one hell of a facelift) • as this station is a Grade 2 listed building, all the heritage features are being restored (I wonder if that includes all the chewing gum) • installation of customer help points (maybe that's what all the blue pencils were for) • improved CCTV (cor, wouldn't a webcam be exciting?) • installation of induction loops for the hard of hearing (Mind the gap. I said, MIND THE GAP!) • better lighting and new signage (ladies and gentlemen, this way to the replacement bus service)
It begins.
Thursday 11th March A poster has gone up on a board in the ticket hall with full details of the early closure of the station from next week. The board is currently facing towards the excess fare window, not towards the ticket barriers which might have made it easier to read.
Friday 12th March Another new blue wall has appeared, this time along the west end of the eastbound platform. The new blue wall is approximately 48 panels long.
Saturday 13th March All visitors are asked to report to the site office. I'm tempted, but I have yet to comply.
Sunday 14th March Another sign demands that safety helmets and safety footwear must be worn. Again, I have yet to comply.
<Bow Road station closed before 6am and after 10pm until further notice>
Monday 15th March (Day 1, proper) Bow Road station closes early tonight for the very first time. It begins. Maybe something will actually happen now.
Tuesday 16th March Net result of the first night of work: lots of safety signs and a fire alarm have been stuck to the blue wall on the eastbound platform. One of the signs reads 'Site Entrance Caution'.
Wednesday 17th March The blue wall on the eastbound platform has been extended. It now covers almost the entire length of the platform, right up to the steps.
Thursday 18th March Along the new section of the blue wall are stuck a number of small white stickers. On each, in blue felt pen, are written phrases such as 'Bow Road roundel', 'No smoking sign', 'Way Out' and 'Advert Frame'.
Friday 19th March The graffiti on the blue wall outside the station has been painted over. A hastily printed sign taped to the blue wall reads 'Wet Paint'.
Saturday 20th March Adverts have been now posted on the lower blue wall, stuck over the white stickers that read 'Advert Frame'. One of these new adverts is for the St Patrick's Day Parade that took place last weekend.
Sunday 21st March There are 37 signs in total on the blue wall, and still three stickers remaining over which signs have yet to be stuck.
Monday 22nd March The two "Hoarding licenses" at the right-hand end of the blue wall have been moved one panel to the left to allow 13 more stickers to be stuck to the wall.
The new stickers include 'Inconvenience Notice' and 'Advert Frame When Delivered'.
Tuesday 23rd March Sixteen green cylindrical loudspeakers have ben relocated from the platform wall onto the blue wall, at approximately four metre intervals, joined by a long white cable.
Wednesday 24th March There are still eight more loudspeakers to be set up on the blue wall. The silver boxes are installed ready, but the last one isn't yet connected to the white cable.
Thursday 25th March A new third blue wall has appeared at the western end of the westbound platform. This new blue wall is only 10 panels long, with a grey door. There are, as yet, no signs or stickers on the new blue wall.
Friday 26th March There are now six stickers on the new blue wall, and a 'hoarding licence' giving permission for the wall to be there.
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Two weeks into the official renovation of my local Underground station, and time to keep you updated on latest progress. What a fortnight it's been. First a huge long blue wall appeared along almost the entire length of the eastbound platform, screening off the original paint-peeling walls from the travelling public and halving the width of the platform. And then a second blue wall appeared at the west end of the westbound platform, considerably shorter than its twin opposite, but standing tall proud and blue all the same. Today's photo shows an artist's impression of the location of those two blue walls, just to give you a visual flavour of what's going on.
Behind those two blue walls it's been impossible to tell if any real renovation work has been happening at all. I've seen no signs of action, no passing workmen, not even the hint of a discarded tool, no nothing. Maybe all the action has been happening after the 10pm station curfew, with a gang of painters and interior designers drafted in to give the ancient surfaces a silent makeover, but I'm not yet convinced. The planned renovation is due to take a whole year, so maybe actually doing some work comes up at a later stage, but it does seem to be a very slow start.
But the eastbound platform at Bow Road must now be the safest station platform in the UK. Previously the walls were plain white, with just the occasional roundel interrupting the emptiness. Now the blue wall is covered by a dazzling assortment of safety signs, directional signs, informational signs, no smoking signs, way out signs, adverts and yet more safety signs. Presumably this is part of some government workplace directive, lest any innocent member of the public should accidentally stumble into the building site and maim themselves horribly. But it does all seem a bit over the top, especially when the opposite platform is just as dangerous but completely under-signed.
Saturday 27th March The grey door on the new blue wall is now blue.
Sunday 28th March The new blue wall is now fully signed. Just two more stickers to be covered on the long blue wall, both for an 'Advert Frame'.
Monday 29th March For the first time at this station there are now signs on each platform directing passengers towards Bow Church DLR station. Very nice signs they are too, all crisp and white. Wonder how long that will last.
Tuesday 30th March The new blue wall has been extended and now stretches along approximately half of the westbound platform. The new section covers the large, deep recess away from the platform edge where nobody ever stands.
Wednesday 31st March There are now 21 stickers awaiting signs stuck to the new blue wall, plus one new sign stickered 'Remove'.
Thursday 1st April Two-storey scaffolding has been erected across the front of the station, surrounded by grey metal barriers. Signs on the scaffolding read 'Scaffolding Incomplete'.
Friday 2nd April At last the station looks like a proper building site. Still no building going on though.
Monday 5th April Only two stickers remain uncovered on the new blue wall, both awaiting 'No Smoking' signs.
Tuesday 6th April A poster in the ticket hall reveals that Bow Road is used by, on average, 5515 passengers daily. And all 5515 of us can expect the renovation work to continue until July 2005.
Wednesday 7th April The horse chestnut outside the station is in full leaf. Wonder if they'll have done any real work on the station by the time I get back from America.
<week-long hiatus while I go to America>
Friday 16th April On my return from America, I spy...
a) the blue wall on the westbound platform has been extended to become as long as the blue wall on the eastbound platform.
b) a new (small) blue wall has been built at the eastern end of the westbound platform.
c) the scaffolding outside the station no longer contains signs saying 'Scaffolding incomplete'.
d) and still no obvious work has been done.
Monday 19th April It's possible to see behind the blue wall as you walk down the steps onto the westbound platform. There is nothing to see.
Tuesday 20th April A sign on the scaffolding outside the station reads "Danger, Men Working Overhead". The sign is wrong.
Wednesday 21st April An old sign still visible under the scaffolding reads "Bicycles may be left here free of charge at owners risk". There'd now be considerable risk getting your bike over the surrounding metal barriers.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
I do hope you've been keeping abreast of my daily reports from Bow Road, London's pioneering tube renovation project. The station upgrade has been going on for over a month now and the place certainly looks very different - four blue walls and a pile of scaffolding now cover the outside of the station and half of both of the platforms. However, there's still no evidence to convince me that a single scrap of renovation has yet occurred. I've not seen one cleaned surface, one lick of paint or even one busy workman since the whole affair began. But, maybe, something, soon.
Thursday 22nd April The poster outside the station giving details of the overnight station closure and alternative travel arrangements has been replaced, by a much simpler poster on the same subject with a reading age of about 6.
Friday 23rd April I actually saw a workman working in the station this morning. Unfortunately he was only fixing the photo booth in the ticket hall.
Saturday 24th April I peeped behind the big blue wall on the westbound platform today.
No work equipment of any kind was visible, just a big empty space (although there were 8 spare blue panels for building blue walls, propped up against the brickwork).
Monday 26th April A new blue wall has been built, just to the east of the steps on the westbound platform. The whole length of the westbound platform is now blue-walled, apart from two gaps for access to the steps and to the station master's office.
Tuesday 27th April Only one section of the two platforms remains unwalled - the short section to the east of the steps on the eastbound platform.
Wednesday 28th April The new section of blue wall is not yet covered by adverts and notices, but then nobody normally stands at that end of the platform anyway.
Thursday 29th April Last night I rode the quarter-to-midnight train through Bow Road station, which is supposedly closed after 10pm so that renovation work can take place. No renovation work of any kind was taking place. Empty platforms.
Friday 30th April Another ride through deserted Bow Road station at 11:30pm tonight, just to see if yesterday was an exception. But no visible work going on tonight either.
Saturday 1st May Immediately above and behind the various blue walls are metal grilles and grey protective sheets. Today the grey sheets along half of the eastbound platform have been raised, completely blocking off the view of what may be happening behind the wall. Or may not.
Sunday 2nd May A sign on the railings outside the station reads 'Approved personal protective clothing must be worn at all times'. I have yet to see one passenger comply.
Monday 3rd May There are three ladders on the scaffolding outside the station.
Tuesday 4th May
"Travel update 16:53: Bow Road Station has been closed due to fire brigade safety checks." Presumably they were checking that all the 'No smoking' and 'Fire alarm' signs had been erected properly. The station re-opened half an hour later, so I guess all was in order.
Wednesday 5th May I spotted the top of a thick metal frame behind the westbound wall.
Thursday 6th May It's not a big frame, you understand, just a horizontal metal bar and one, maybe two, vertical bars. Rather dull metal in fact.
Friday 7th May Evidence of workmen! At 8am this morning a man from the electricity board arrived, parked his van blocking the pavement, then delivered a small canister of calor gas to two workmen waiting at the unlocked fire door to the left of the station entrance. No evidence of work though.
Saturday, May 08, 2004
Let me keep you up-to-date with the latest renovation news from my local station. It's been two months since the first blue wall appeared on the platform at Bow Road, followed by another and another and another and another. Until finally, yesterday, the last remaining short section of platform got blue-walled, the bit to the east of the steps on the eastbound platform. The station is fully prepared for work at last. I look forward, some day, to being able to tell you that one of the blue walls has come down and there's a sparkling rejuvenated architectural jewel revealed behind. But I have my doubts.
Saturday 8th May A new blue wall has appeared, covering the short section of platform to the east of the steps on the eastbound platform. That's the last bit of platform blue-walled, finally, after two months.
Sunday 9th May They've removed the photo booth in the ticket hall. They did it about two weeks ago but it's been so busy here I didn't have time to mention it before.
Monday 10th May The three short blue walls have suddenly been covered by an epidemic of small white stickers. Lots more safety signs are on their way.
Tuesday 11th May Blimey that was quick. Almost all of the stickers have now been covered by the usual selection of over-the-top safety signs.
Wednesday 12th May Another new blue wall has appeared, this time at the top of the stairs down to the westbound platform. I think there was a door there before. Now there's a corrugated sheet of ridged metal, just like the very first blue wall round the portakabins on the pavement outside the station.
Thursday 13th May The new blue wall has only two signs on it - 'Surveillance cameras in constant operation and a licence permitting the wall to be there in the first place.
Friday 14th May Another new blue wall has appeared, this time outside the station replacing the previous metal railings around the scaffolding.
Saturday 15th May The new blue wall takes up half the space on the pavement that the old metal railings did.
Sunday 16th May The new blue wall is opaque, whereas you could see through the old metal railings, which means that you can no longer see the only poster that advises travellers the station is closed after 10pm and tells them where to go instead.
Monday 17th May The 'alternative travel arrangements' poster has been relocated in full view on the front of the blue wall, along with space for three more posters.
Tuesday 18th May A 'No smoking' sign has appeared on the side of the new blue wall. Meanwhile two posters have finally been added to the very first blue wall (the one beside the station entrance surrounding the blue portakabins).
Wednesday 19th May The scaffolding across the front of the station has been obscured by grey sheeting.
Thursday 20th May The big blue station sign has been moved from behind the sheeting to in front of the scaffolding. The big blue sign still reads
Bow Road Station : District & Metropolitan lines Bow Road has not been on the Metropolitan line since 1990.
Friday 21st May Yet another new blue wall has been built, this one just inside the ticket hall to the left of the entrance. It's 7 panels long, right where the photo booth used to be.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Over at Bow Road, my local station upgrade continues apace. No less than three new blue walls have been constructed in the last fortnight. There's one at the top of the stairs down to the eastbound platform, another in the corner of the ticket hall and a third around the scaffolding on the pavement in front of the station. Add those to the five existing blue walls along the platforms and one more on the pavement, and some kind of blue wall event horizon seems to have been reached. Perhaps some renovation work is going on behind those blue walls, it's still impossible to tell. Or maybe we've just become some new art installation, displaying an array of modern safety signage on clean blue surfaces, juxtaposed against late Victorian brickwork.
Saturday 22nd May The grey protective sheeting behind the blue walls on the westbound platform has been raised to ceiling level, obscuring whatever may be going on behind.
Sunday 23rd May Peeking through the tiny gaps in the blue wall on the westbound platform reveals that still absolutely nothing is going on behind.
Monday 24th May Two long yellow light fittings have been installed beneath the scaffolding over the entrance to the station.
Tuesday 25th May A hole the size of two half bricks has been cut in the wall at the top of the stairs down to the westbound platform. The hole partly obscures the top left hand corner of a new 'No Smoking' sign, so workmen have helpfully posted another 'No Smoking' sign next to it, ten times the area of the original.
Wednesday 26th May Six white stickers have appeared on the blue wall in the ticket hall - which means even more essential safety signs are on their way.
Thursday 27th May One white sticker has appeared on the blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs.
Friday 28th May Six white stickers have appeared on the longest blue wall on the westbound platform.
Tuesday 1st June There are still two stickers on the second longest westbound wall...
Wednesday 2nd June ... one sticker on the shortest westbound wall...
Thursday 3rd June ... two stickers on the shorter eastbound wall...
Friday 4th June ... and one sticker on the longer eastbound wall.
Saturday 5th June I took the last train out of Bow Road at 9:57pm. As we pulled out, the station attendant opened up a tube map on the wall to reveal a big sign saying 'station closed'. No workmen rushed onto the platform.
Sunday 6th June I rode a nightbus past the station at 1:30am. The lights were on in the station, in the portakabin and across the scaffolding on the front of the building. Two vans were parked on the forecourt and workmen were standing around working. No really. They appeared to be affixing a new poster to the blue wall on the front of the station.
Monday 7th June No, they were actually installing six light fittings on the blue wall.
Tuesday 8th June There are now orange bulbs inside the light fittings.
Wednesday 9th June The lights are not yet lit.
Thursday 10th June The lights are now lit. They're very orange.
Friday 11th June The giant 'No Smoking' sign at the top of the westbound stairs has been moved to cover over the small hole behind.
Saturday, June 12, 2004
It's been four months now since the first blue wall appeared at Bow Road tube station as part of a major infrastructure regeneration project. Four months during which the station has been overrun with blue walls and safety notices, even if nobody yet appears to have done any actual redevelopment work. I thought you might like to see one of these legendary blue walls, given that I've been going on about them for so long. So here's one.
This is the shorter blue wall on the eastbound platform. It's fairly typical of the five blue walls on the platforms, blocking off half the previous width for waiting passengers. Above the wall there's a long metal grille, with a silvery sheet hanging down behind and a couple of green cylindrical loudspeakers spaced out along the top. And across the front of the wall there's a whole array of 'essential' safety notices. From left to right...
• We apologise for any inconvenience caused (I suspect they should be apologising for the lack of work) • Tube map (this map opens up after 10pm so that a giant 'Station closed' sign can be displayed to passing trains) • No smoking (not that you've been allowed to smoke on the underground for the last 15 years anyway) • Storage licence (permission to erect a hoarding here until March next year, signed by somebody official) • Poster (it's a London Underground poster, presumably because nobody else wanted to buy the space) • Fire Point (just in case you can't spot the big red fire extinguisher underneath) • Bow Road (it's about half the size of the original station name roundel behind the wall) • ← Way Out (just in case you can't spot the stairs ten yards to the left) • ← Bow Church DLR Station (what they don't tell you is how long a walk it is) • Safety helmets and safety footwear must be worn (I've never seen a single person on the platform complying with this instruction) • two small white stickers awaiting two more signs to be affixed over the top, namely... • Fire exit - keep clear
• No unauthorised persons allowed past this point
• Caution: Site Entrance (optimistic usage of the word 'site' there)
Saturday 12th June I rode through the closed station after midnight. Still no work going on.
Sunday 13th June Black and yellow tape has been stretched across the edge of the top and bottom step in each flight of stairs at the station.
Monday 14th June There's now black and yellow tape stuck along lots of other steps and changes of floor level across the station.
Tuesday 15th June There are seven separate small rectangles of black/yellow tape stuck to the blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs.
Wednesday 16th June Most of the black and yellow tape on the stairs has disappeared.
Thursday 17th June Someone's drilled six envelope-sized holes in the brickwork beside the the blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs, three holes on either side. The six holes are covered by rectangles of black tape.
Friday 18th June The front of the two steps leading up from the pavement into the ticket hall have been painted bright yellow.
Saturday 19th June The top of the single step into the ticket office from the ticket hall has also been painted yellow.
Sunday 20th June Two extra strips of black/yellow tape have appeared on the blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs...
Monday 21st June ... one bottom left and one bottom right.
Tuesday 22nd June The black/yellow tape round the giant 'No Smoking' sign at the top of the westbound stairs is peeling away.
Wednesday 23nd June Looks like the sign might eventually fall down.
Thursday 24th June It's being held up by the strip of tape down the right hand side, and the small length still attached in the top left hand corner.
Friday 25th June A strip of black tape has been stuck across the bottom of the sign to keep it attached to the wall.
Saturday 26th June Behind the long blue wall on the westbound platform they're storing some metal grilles and two rows of green seats.
Sunday 27th June The metal grilles and two rows of green seats are secured by a long strip of black and yellow tape.
Monday 28th June The only other things visible stored behind the long blue wall are two portable yellow plastic 'Caution Wet Floor' safety signs.
Tuesday 29th June The yellow safety signs are also secured by the black and yellow tape.
Wednesday 30th June One would hope that the Bow Road workmen are busy today doing up the station during the enforced closure brought on by today's tube strike. But somehow I think not.
Thursday 1st July As I suspected, nothing (obvious) has happened.
Friday 2nd July The wooden panels halfway up the eastbound stairs are still rotten.
Saturday, July 3, 2004
Bow Road station, that Victorian jewel on the eastern District Line, continues to undergo 'renovation'. It's been four months since proper work started, apparently. All the surfaces along the platforms and across the front of the station are covered by blue walls, behind which it's still not clear that anything has actually happened. The ticket hall, stairways and platform roof are not covered by blue walls, and are therefore still as grimy, untreated and rundown as they've been for decades. I have a horrible feeling that this renovation is going to take far far longer than planned. It's also getting more and more difficult to find something new to write about each day given that absolutely nothing at all appears to be changing, but I'll keep trying.
Saturday 3rd July The brick arches over the western end of the platforms are still grimy and unscrubbed.
Sunday 4th July The off-cream paint in the ticket hall continues to crack and peel.
Monday 5th July Some short lengths of scaffolding pole are sticking out horizontally underneath the passenger bridge across the railway tracks.
Tuesday 6th July There are now vertical scaffolding poles and a small wooden platform right across the outside of the passenger bridge.
Wednesday 7th July The scaffolding now rises as high as the top of the bridge windows.
Thursday 8th July The scaffolding now rises even higher and there are two new wooden platforms, one level with the top of the bridge windows and another above that.
Friday 9th July One tiny block of wood is lying all alone on the northern end of the lower platform of the scaffolding tower.
Saturday 10th July Of the five planks that make up the lower platform, the tiny block of wood is lying on the second plank from the front.
Sunday 11th July The block is about the same size as a brick, maybe smaller.
Monday 12th July The blue wall at the top of the westbound stairs has disappeared. In its place lies a freshly painted pair of green doors.
Tuesday 13th July Two 'Wet Paint' signs have been handwritten in black marker pen on A4 paper and taped to the green doors and the concrete floor beneath.
Wednesday 14th July The two Wet Paint signs have been removed and replaced by one similar-looking sign reading 'Fire Exit Do Not Use'.
Thursday 15th July Two proper new signs have appeared on the green doors, in yellow and black, reading 'Door Not In Use'. Two security cameras have been installed beside the green doors at the top of the westbound staircase.
Friday 16th July To the right of the green doors the giant 'No Smoking' sign has been taken down, revealing that a number of the bricks behind have been removed.
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Change is afoot at my local tube station. No, really, I know I've been saying this for the last six months, but really it is. Not that I've yet seen any tangible evidence of anything actually being renovated, but we do now have some proper scaffolding erected beside the pedestrian bridge across the railway line. Who knows, maybe one day soon some workmen will actually stand on the scaffolding and regenerate the adjacent surfaces, and I'll be able to look up from the platform and see the results of their labours. Or maybe that's still expecting too much. Whatever the case, you can be assured that this non-story will continue to update daily.
Saturday 17th July The green doors are padlocked using a thick chain in a black plastic sleeve.
Sunday 18th July I'd not previously noticed, but another row of scaffolding has been erected on the opposite side of the passenger bridge, the side with no windows, right up at the easternmost extremity of the station above the end of the platform where no train ever stops.
Monday 19th July The new scaffolding is draped with flame retardant fabric (satisfying "LPS 1215 standard").
Tuesday 20th July The grey sheeting above the blue walls on the westbound platform has been raised to the ceiling so you can't see the top of the platform wall behind.
Wednesday 21st July The grey sheeting above the blue wall in the ticket hall has been raised to the ceiling so you can't see the top of the wall behind.
Thursday 22nd July The sheeting on the scaffolding in front of the station has flapped down a few inches over the station entrance.
Friday 23rd July Some grey metal 'stirrups' have appeared hanging from the roof over the western end of each platform.
Saturday 24th July Each 'stirrup' is hanging from a thin metal rod screwed into the ceiling.
Sunday 25th July There are seven 'stirrups' hanging above the western end of the westbound platform, although there are eight metal rods hanging from the ceiling.
Monday 26th July There are eighteen 'stirrups' hanging above the western end of the eastbound platform, although there are nineteen metal rods hanging from the ceiling.
Tuesday 27th July The top two layers of scaffolding across the passenger bridge are now covered by white sheeting. The new white sheeting is made from flame retardant fabric (satisfying "LPS 1215 standard").
Wednesday 28th July Huge new signs have appeared on three of the blue walls on the platforms. Each sign is made up of 6 or 7 panels, each about two metres high and half a metre wide. Most of the panels making up the three new signs depict big bold representations of hammers, padlocks, screwdrivers and other construction material, all made out of tube line graphics. Two of the panels namecheck 'Transport For London'. And one board outlines all the good new things that are coming to pass at the station, like the installation of new seats, the renovation of the passenger bridge and the introduction of CCTV cameras.
Thursday, July 27, 2004
Something old, something new, something BowRoad, something blue
Bow Road station is old, 102 years old to be accurate. Bow Road Station is new, or at least it will be if the current renovation work ever finishes begins. Bow Road is my local station, so I'm getting a little annoyed by it not being open all the time for no obvious reason. And Bow Road is blue, because almost every available surface has been covered by a protective blue wall.
There are eight blue walls at Bow Road station in total - two outside on the pavement, one in the ticket hall, three on the westbound platform and two on the eastbound platform. They vary in size from 'really quite short' to 'longer than a train'. And every single one of them has been covered with signage by some Transport for London safety operative with an obsession for risk assessment. Honestly, you'd think Bow Road station was the most dangerous place in the world given the number of safety signs that have been erected over the last six months. No matter that ordinary stations can get by with just a handful. And no matter that no obvious work seems to be going on to justify the enormous additional signage tally (nearly 200 at latest count).
Yesterday that tally increased. Three enormous new signs appeared, each on a different blue wall and spaced out along the platforms. Each sign is made up of 6 or 7 panels, each about two metres high and half a metre wide. Most of the panels depict big bold representations of hammers, screwdrivers and other construction tools, all made out of tube line graphics. Two of the panels namecheck 'Transport For London', to whom we the lucky passengers of Bow Road should be eternally grateful. And one board outlines all the good new things that are coming to pass at our station, like the installation of more seats (probably to replace the seats they took away when the blue walls were first erected). The bad news is that, apparently, work at Bow Road is due to continue until July 2005, nine months later than originally planned, so you're lumbered with my regular renovation updates for another year at least. Oh joy.
So today I thought I'd treat you to an obsessive list of all the signs and items of associated safetyware to be found on the blue walls of Bow Road station. Because I can. Because it gobsmacks me. And because nobody arrested me while I was recording it.
Key: [ad] London Underground advert, [adf] London Underground advert frame, [ap] Assembly point, [aph] Auto phone, [bc] directions to Bow Church DLR station, [BR] Bow Road roundel, [cse] Caution Site Entrance, [dv] All drivers and visitors must report to the site office, [fa] Fire Alarm, [fe] Fire Escape Keep Clear, [fp] Fire Point (with extinguisher), [fx] Fire Exit Keep Clear, [g] big bold graphic, [int] intercom, [map] London Underground map, [ns] No Smoking, [nu] No unauthorised persons admitted beyond this point, [o] orange safety light, [ru] renovation update, [sc] Surveillance cameras in constant operation, [sf] Safety helmets and safety footwear must be worn, [sh] Safety helmets must be worn, [sl] Storage licence, [slf] Storage licence frame, [so] Site office, [SS] Site Safety instructions, [sap] SAP, [tp] list of ticket prices, [wa] We apologise for any inconvenience caused, [TfL] Transport for London, [wo] Way Out, [wp] shabby word-processed message to site contractors, <doorway>, / corner. n.b. Signs not yet erected, but whose eventual presence is indicated by a small white rectangular sticker, are shown in round brackets. n.b. All signs are listed from left to right, and from top to bottom.
Blue wall 1: Pavement, left of station entrance [fx] <[fe][fe]> [o] [o][adf] [o] [adf] [o][adf] [o][ad] / [o][ns]
Blue wall 2: Pavement, right of station entrance (see photo above) [o] [ad] [adf] [o] [o] [o] [sc][wa][dv][sf] [o] [o] / [o][so→] [o] [o][sl] [o] [o] / [o] [dv][sf][SS][ap][sap] <[fx][nu]> [wp]
Blue wall 8: Eastbound platform, eastern wall (see photo above) [wa] [map] [ns][sl] [ad][fp] [BR] [bc][wo←] [sh] <(fx)(nu)[cse]> [int]
Friday 30th July The five planks comprising the lower platform on the scaffolding beside the passenger bridge have been covered over by larger sheets of wood.
Saturday 31st July The larger sheets of wood have been removed, leaving the five planks visible again.
Sunday 1st August Rode past at 3am - no sign of any overnight activity whatsoever. Rode through at 10:30pm - no sign of any overnight activity whatsoever.
Monday 2nd August The small wooden block that used to be lying on the second of the five scaffolding planks has disappeared.
Tuesday 3rd August The scaffolding on the passenger bridge has linked up with the scaffolding on the front of the station. - 8:28 am | #
Wednesday 4th August More metal 'stirrups' have appeared, approximately four hanging from each of the brick arches above the western end of the westbound platform.
Thursday 5th August Metal 'stirrups' have also appeared above the western end of the eastbound platform, hanging from almost all of the brick arches.
Friday 6th August Long grey metal boxes have been threaded through the stirrups on the westbound and eastbound platforms. The boxes are thin but wide, and are probably designed to carry cabling of some sort.
Saturday 7th August I rode through the closed station just after midnight. Three staff were standing on the eastbound platform but they weren't actually doing anything.
Sunday 8th August I rode past the closed station at dawn. Nothing doing.
I rode through the closed station around 11pm. The door in the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform was open and some scaffolding was visible behind.
Monday 9th August The grey cabling boxes run parallel to the old wooden blocks that currently support the fluorescent tubes that light the platforms.
Tuesday 10th August The grey cabling boxes are joined by small metal strips held fixed by small nuts.
Wednesday 11th August The metal stirrups and grey cabling boxes now reach all the way along the arched roof on the eastbound platform.
Thursday 12th August The bottom layer of scaffolding across the passenger bridge has now been covered by flame retardant white sheeting. This safety measure has the very annoying side-effect of completely blocking travellers' views of the trains and platforms below.
Friday 13th August A new sign has been erected on the blue wall on the pavement to the right of the station entrance. The "Green for GO" sign announces that Metronet is ready to transform the station.
Saturday 14th August Two of the bulbs in the lamps on the blue wall on the pavement to the right of the station entrance have stopped working.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
It's been six months since the first portakabin and blue wall appeared at Bow Road Station in readiness for proposed extensive renovation work. Six months in which, as it turns out, virtually nothing of any consequence has happened. Now Metronet, the infrastructure consortium, are crowing that the transformation of Bow Road Station is finally underway with the erection of a giant "Green for GO" sign on one of the walls outside the station. Presumably we've been on AMBER for the last six months, with fat cat contractors raking in huge sums of public money in return for knocking up a few blue walls and erecting copious safety signage. I am deeply unimpressed. Anyway, here's what the new poster tells us Metronet are promising to achieve by next Autumn Spring, along with a report on how much they've achieved so far:
• "A new ticket hall" (progress - zero) • "New passageways" (progress - none visible) • "Improved station lighting (new overhead cabling has appeared along half of each platform) • "New signage" (tons of it, alas all temporary) • "New platform edge tactile strips)" (progress - zero) • "New platform seating" (progress - none visible) • "New CCTV" (new cameras have been installed in stairwells)
... and that's it. That's all we local residents will be getting in return for more than a year of disruption by the time this fiasco is complete. I suspect Metronet's shareholders will be beaming rather more broadly.
Sunday 15th August I rode past the closed station at 3am. Nothing doing.
Monday 16th August Another four-panel poster has been erected by Metronet on the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform, trumpeting future developments.
Tuesday 17th August An identical four panel poster has appeared on the blue wall outside the station entrance. It's not been put up straight. The top right corner is about 10cm higher than the top left corner.
Wednesday 18th August The first panel on the blue poster states 'Transforming the tube', with a big red, white and blue swoosh underneath.
Thursday 19th August The second panel on the blue poster is titled 'A transformation for Bow Road Station', and outlines all the improvements that Metronet plan to bring to the station. All 7 of them.
Friday 20th August The third panel on the blue poster is titled 'The largest metro regeneration scheme', and celebrates the £17 billion that Metronet plan to pump into their bit of the tube network over the next 30 years.
Saturday 21st August The fourth panel on the blue poster is titled 'Your new trains', except that apparently the first new trains aren't due until 2009 and thy won't be running on any line that serves this station.
Sunday 22nd August According to the picture on the poster, the upgraded Bow Road station will include a new blue wall at the eastern end of the eastbound platform - which is the only part of the platforms not to have a blue wall at the moment.
Monday 23rd August A CCTV camera has been installed above the exit from the ticket hall to the pavement outside.
Tuesday 24th August The camera is mounted on a long horizontal metal bracket along the wall a few feet above the door.
Wednesday 25th August A metal bucket at the eastern end of the westbound platform suggests that the canopy roof still leaks.
Thursday 26th August The two bulbs in the lamps on the blue wall on the pavement to the right of the station entrance have been replaced.
Friday 27th August A second 'Green For Go' poster has been riveted to the front blue wall parallel to the pavement.
Saturday 28th August A third 'Transforming the tube' poster has been riveted to the side of the blue portakabin above the front blue wall parallel to the pavement.
Sunday 29th August Looking through a gap in the blue wall on the westbound platform, all I can see is a large empty space and a few bits of scaffolding.
Monday 30th August There is no evidence that any renovation work whatsoever has taken place behind the longest blue wall on the westbound platform.
Tuesday 31st August There is no evidence that any renovation work whatsoever has taken place anywhere in the station for the last few weeks.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
According to the tube website, Bow Road station is supposed to return to normal opening hours next month, rather than closing at 10pm every evening to allow renovation work to take place overnight. Judging by how little work appears to have been done on the station since they started early closing in March I can't see Bow Road reopening fully until at least next summer. In fact there's been so little visible evidence of any building work going on at the station over the last few weeks that I've decided, with regret, to stop my regular daily station updates. In their place I thought I'd write a daily report in the comments box on how the conkers are progressing on the giant horse chestnut tree outside the station, which should be much more interesting. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
Wednesday 1st September In the absence of any apparent renovation work going at the station, I thought I'd report on the progress of the conkers on the horse chestnut tree outside the station instead.
Thursday 2nd September There is a horse chestnut tree outside the station.
Friday 3rd September The horse chestnut tree is on the pavement to the left of the station entrance.
Saturday 4th September The horse chestnut tree is very tall, probably just over ten metres high.
Sunday 5th September There are conkers growing on the tree.
Monday 6th September There are lots of conkers growing on the tree.
Tuesday 7th September A few of the conkers have started falling off the tree.
Wednesday 8th September There are only a handful of conkers lying on the pavement.
Thursday 9th September I kicked a conker along the pavement. It rolled in a long curve out into the road.
Friday 10th September There has been a fresh fall of conkers.
Saturday 11th September Following recent heavy winds, a large branch has fallen from the horse chestnut tree.
Sunday 12th September The branch has broken in two.
Monday 13th September There are fresh conkers on the ground early in the morning.
Tuesday 14th September By the early evening almost all of the conkers have disappeared.
Wednesday 15th September There are still a lot of conkers lying on the ground behind the gates to the flats next to the station.
Thursday 16th September There are a number of squashed conker cases on the pavement.
Friday 17th September There are a number of open conker cases still hanging on the tree, out of which conkers have fallen.
Saturday 18th September I saw an old man collecting conkers from the pavement outside the station and putting them in a plastic bag.
Sunday 19th September There are now plenty of conkers on the ground. I guess the old man hasn't come collecting today.
Monday 20th September After dusk I saw two small boys in school uniform selecting conkers from the pavement.
Tuesday 21st September All of the empty conker cases have been swept into the corner to the left of the station entrance.
Wednesday 22nd September The leaves on the horse chestnut tree have a distinct yellowy-brown edge.
Thursday 23rd September There are still some particularly large conkers hanging on the tree.
Friday 24th September The pavement is spotless.
Saturday 25th September A particularly zealous cleaning operative is clearly being employed to keep the pavement beneath the horse chestnut tree free from conker-related detritus.
Sunday 26th September If you want conkers you need to look on the other side of the wall outside the flats, where there are still loads.
Monday 27th September There are only a couple of conkers on the pavement today.
Tuesday 28th September There are almost no conkers on the pavement because there are now almost no conkers left on the tree.
Wednesday 29th September The few conker cases there are left on the tree are brown and mushy.
Thursday 30th September I think that's the conker season finished.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Just one month to go until Bow Road station reopens after 10pm every night. Well, that's what it says on the tube website. Except that bugger all renovation has been happening at Bow Road station during the last month, not even the erection of a single safety notice, so a reopening date in October appears to be at least six months too optimistic. The fall of conkers from the horse chestnut tree outside the station has proved to be a much more dynamic phenomenon over the last month, but now it's time to return to the real story inside the station...
Friday 1st October Back to the renovation of Bow Road Station. Here's everything you missed in September:
Friday 17th September: The new grey cabling boxes suspended above the western end of both platforms have been wrapped in grey sheeting. The grey sheeting is secured by sticky tape. Some of the tape is red, some is black and some is brown.
And that's all.
Saturday 2nd October Posters have been erected in the ticket hall with details of forthcoming station closures at Bow Road.
Sunday 3rd October Bow Road station will be closed for the whole of next weekend, presumably so that that work can actually go on for a change.
Monday 4th October Bow Road station will also be closed for the whole of the weekend after that, and the whole of the weekend a fortnight after that, and on other whole weekends during November, December and January.
Tuesday 5th October Bow Road Station will not be reopening after 10pm from 26th October onwards, as originally planned. Instead it will remain closed after 10pm until the end of February next year.
Wednesday 6th October Bow Road Station will, however, be reopening before 6am from 26th October onwards.
Thursday 7th October All the adverts on the two staircases down to the platforms have been removed in readiness for all the renovation work due to take place this weekend.
Friday 8th October At 10pm tonight Bow Road station closes for 56 hours until 6am on Monday morning.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 9-10 October>
Saturday, October 09, 2004
At last, after eight months of stifling inactivity, some real renovation work is actually happening at Bow Road station. Right now, today. About time too. It appears that closing the station early at 10pm every night since March has been wholly ineffective, and so an alternative way of inconveniencing the travelling public has been introduced. The powers that be have decided to introduce a series of weekend closures in the hope that the station's inert workforce might actually manage to get something done if they have a full 56 hours in which to do it. Bow Road station is therefore to remain closed all this weekend, all next weekend and on three other weekends before the end of January. I wonder what they're going to get up to. This weekend my money's on them renovating the two staircases down to the platforms (because all the adverts down those staircases were suddenly removed overnight on Thursday). I shall be trotting wide-eyed into the station on Monday morning eager to see exactly what magic transformation has occurred during my enforced absence. I'm expecting to be disappointed.
Saturday 9th October Work is underway! Workmen are busy in both stairwells. They have scaffolding and big hoses.
Sunday 10th October Work continues. I've never been able to write that before.
Monday 11th October Bow Road reopens. Both stairwells have new lights hanging from the ceiling. Plastic cable ducting has been installed high on the wall above each staircase, but as yet containing no cables.
Tuesday 12th October On the wall above the eastbound stairs there is a rough area of plaster covered by strips of black and yellow tape.
Wednesday 13th October The cable ducting in each stairwell is not yet fully joined up.
Thursday 14th October Ugly black cables snake across the ceiling of each stairwell, disappearing into newly-drilled holes in the wall above the northern end of the ticket hall.
Friday 15th October 50cm to the right of the existing cable-filled hole in the wall above the northern end of the ticket hall, someone has written CAM 6 in blue marker pen.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 16-17 October>
Saturday 16th October - 9.10pm Tube trains not stopping. Man wearing hard hat and bright orange jacket leans against blue wall looking at mobile phone.
(report from Dave)
Sunday 17th October Station closed for second weekend. No obvious activity in the stairwells, but a few workmen hanging around.
Monday 18th October After the weekend, the lights in the ticket hall have been replaced. There are scars in the ceiling where the old lights used to be, now with some rather ugly grey metal runners bolted alongside. New characterless fluorescent tubes now hang from the ceiling. The ticket hall is noticeably brighter than it used to be. The cable ducting along the staircases is now complete, but still unfilled.
Tuesday 19th October A pile of what looks like a lot of boxes has been dumped on the pavement outside the station. The pile is covered by a large orange tarpaulin and surrounded by grey metal railings. The tarpaulin is stuck down with giant silver tape.
Wednesday 20th October A sign on the railings reads
Do Not Enter!!!
No Entry
Keep Out
Thursday 21st October The pile is not piled quite so high this morning.
Friday 22nd October The tarpaulin has come loose at the back so it's now apparent that the pile isn't boxes but something else, surrounded by a low plywood wall.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Half time report?
This weekend should have been the final weekend of renovation work at Bow Road station. Back in March when this whole redevelopment debacle began they promised us that our station would be fully reopened again by October 26th. Oh how I looked forward to admiring the gleaming new surfaces and restored Victorian architecture. Oh how I longed for a platform indicator that actually told you when the next train was due, not just where it was going. And oh how I dreamed of being able to use the station again after 10pm, rather than having to walk home late at night from the next station down the line. But no, all my aspirations have been dashed (or at least put on hold) because the brave new Bow Road station is not yet ready. Not by a long way.
It's not yet clear when the work will be finished. I'm indebted to a local correspondent for pointing out that nobody at Bow Road appears to be sure either. He's sent me photographs of four different posters at the station which give four different completion dates (and look, they're all in dg-approved colours!). The tube website until recently offered a different date ("until 26 October") until they updated the site to give yet another ("until the end of February 2005"). Some sort of campaign of public misinformation seems to be underway, raising our hopes just to dash them again when the due date arrives and the work is no nearer to completion. Further official details are now apparent, however:
The first of these extended weekend closures merely resulted in some cable ducting being attached to the stairwells and a line of fluorescent tubes being bolted to the ceiling. The second seems to have been devoted to replacing the lighting in the ticket hall and draping a mass of black cables along the passageways and through a wall. It looks like a colony of giant snakes have taken up residence in the rafters, dangling down and weaving in and out of the ironwork. This is no sensitive Victorian reconstruction, this is infrastructure installation on the cheap. The station actually looks more unattractive than it did before redevelopment began and, because it's now much better illuminated, this just makes the ugly modern intrusions even more obvious.
The rebirth of Bow Road station should be complete in four months time, so they tell us. I remain to be convinced that the end result will justify months of inactivity and inconvenience to long-suffering passengers. Or indeed that this mismanaged fund-squandering fiasco of a project will ever reach a satisfactory conclusion. Watch this space.
Saturday 23rd October A new blue wall has been built, blocking off the disused stairwell at the far eastern end of the eastbound platform.
Sunday 24th October At 11pm, as I rode through the closed station, the door in the new blue wall was open and the stairwell beyond was lit.
Monday 25th October The tarpaulin has come loose again, so it looks like the large plywood box on the pavement outside the station is now empty.
Tuesday 26th October The tarpaulin has been pulled back over the box, and a heavy grey folded sheet placed on top.
Wednesday 27th October The leftmost end of the second stair from the top of the eastbound staircase has been covered in black and yellow sticky tape.
Thursday 28th October Two strips of black and yellow tape have been stuck vertically up the white wooden panelling above the third stair.
Friday 29th October The four new fluorescent tubes hanging in the ticket hall still have thin white ties secured around their plastic casing.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 30-31 October>
Saturday 30th October The station is closed for the third complete weekend.
Sunday 31st October Conker tree update: the leaves have turned yellow and brown round the edge and have started to fall off.
Monday 1st November After the third weekend station closure the smell of paint is in the air. The ceiling of the ticket hall looks like it's been painted with white undercoat, badly. The paint extends all the way towards the westbound stairwell and halfway towards the eastbound stairwell.
Tuesday 2nd November Yellow safety material has been screwed onto the horizontal surface of every stair on the westbound and eastbound staircases.
Wednesday 3rd November All of the decorative wooden boards along the edge of the canopy over each platform have been repainted white.
Thursday 4th November Plastic cable ducting now goes almost all the way round the top of the ticket hall.
Friday 5th November A number of strips of silver tape have been stuck to the walls of the stairwells and the ticket hall. Someone has scribbled on each in biro. For example, three of the strips up the eastbound stairwell read New light fitting and give measurements for where the new light fitting is to be positioned.
Saturday 6th November There are several silver strips stuck to the wall at the top of the eastbound stairwell, including Break Glass Unit and Help Point.
Sunday 7th November A silver strip stuck to the wall halfway along the ticket hall reads Unswitched fuse for V.E.I.D.
Monday 8th November Two strips near the top of the eastbound stairwell read 16A 110V S/O surface mounted.
Tuesday 9th November A strip at the top of the westbound stairwell reads Photo cell for stair lighting.
Thursday, November 10, 2004
They're spending lots of money doing up the Underground. You can tell this because every weekend they shut down half of the network. Last weekend you couldn't travel anywhere up the eastern end of the Central line, this weekend Wembley Park is (again) a no-go zone, and the following weekend the entire middle chunk of the District line will be out of action one more time. You have to check where you're going very carefully these days in case what should be a quick tube trip turns into a bus replacement nightmare. Then there are tens of stations being closed for months, for part of the day at least, so that workmen can erect big blue hoardings and then pretend to deepclean the walls behind. I actually saw some of these workmen at Bow Road yesterday, during the rush hour no less, which was something of a revelation because I had thought that workmen at Bow Road were imaginary creatures like leprechauns or something. There are two big doorways in the front of the station building, one of which never ever opens. Until last night. Through the autumn gloom I saw a long secret room bathed in golden light, packed with orange-coated men in clean white helmets. There were at least four of them anyway, either busy renovating this space no travelling passenger ever uses or standing around in cryogenic storage until this whole sorry modernisation illusion is finally over. To give them their due these mystical workmen have somehow managed, over the last nine months, to paint half the ceiling, hang some lights and plug in some new cameras. But not a lot else. If this is where the government's hard-earned tube subsidy is going then I'd rather they'd left the old station as it was - rundown, functional, and 100% open.
Wednesday 10th November During the day someone has started to remove the peeling white paint from the old wooden panels along the side of the eastbound stairwell. About time too.
Thursday 11th November The paint has now been stripped right across the edge of the bridge, but not yet right along the stairwell.
Friday 12th November 11:30pm, and a crowd of at least ten workmen are standing around outside the closed station doing nothing.
Saturday 13th November Workmen are present in the station during the day. Maybe this is finally getting serious.
Sunday 14th November I peered behind the blue wall on the westbound platform. A lot of metal ducting appears to have been bolted to the wall (which remains unpainted).
Monday 15th November The stripped paint on the bridge now stretches part way up the window casing.
Tuesday 16th November I peered inside the station supervisor's office at the top of the eastbound stairwell. She has a nice vase of flowers in there.
Wednesday 17th November Workmen were seen standing outside the station, on a weekday. Still not quite sure what they're actually doing.
Thursday 18th November Peering through the gap in the door in the blue wall on the westbound platform I saw a lot of bolts on a trestle stand, plus a box of screws.
Friday 19th November I also saw yet more (ugly) metal brackets bolted to the old unpainted Victorian platform walls.
Saturday 20th November At 1pm, workmen were seen walking up the westbound stairwell discussing the PDP.
Sunday 21st November Announcements about engineering works can only just be heard over the intercom because there's a noise like a pneumatic drill in the background.
Monday 22nd November The stripped paint on the bridge now stretches all the way up the window casing.
Tuesday 23rd November One corner of the tarpaulin covering the big box of building materials at the front of the station has been fastened to the railings, obscuring the poster that tells passengers how to make alternative travel arrangements when the station is closed.
Wednesday 24th November New strips of silver sticky tape show that five new cameras will be installed up the eastbound stairwell.
Thursday 25th November Cam 14 is going at the foot of the stairwell, Cam 13 halfway up, Cam 12 round the corner at the top of the stairs and Cam 11 and Cam 10 together a few steps further along at the entrance to the ticket hall.
Friday 26th November According to another strip of tape, Cam 43 will be installed at the foot of the westbound stairwell.
Saturday, November 27, 2004
It's becoming disturbingly clear what the modernisation of Bow Road station actually involves, and it's not renovation. The most visible change in recent weeks has been a proliferation of cables - along the platforms, up the stairs, across the ticket hall - everywhere. They're especially ugly cables, attached to walls by particularly ugly cable brackets, and they're doing nothing for the Victorian heritage of the station. I had been wondering what all these cables could possibly be for, but the answer has come in the form of short swatches of silver tape plastered all over the stairs and ticket hall, each with some special code scribbled on in biro. Some codes indicate new lighting (Light fitting above) and some indicate new electrical equipment (Unswitched fuse for V.E.I.D) but a surprisingly large number foretell the installation of new cameras. And lots of them.
According to the stickers Cam 14 is going at the foot of the eastbound stairwell, Cam 13 halfway up, Cam 12 round the corner at the top of the stairs and Cam 11 and Cam 10 together a few steps further along at the entrance to the ticket hall. Why one stairwell needs five cameras to watch over it is beyond me. If the dozy mare who sits in the booth by the ticket barrier looked up from reading her Metro occasionally, like when yet another teenager is escaping through the luggage gate without paying, we wouldn't need half as many cameras.
Most worrying of all, however, is the sticker at the foot of the westbound stairwell which reads CCTV Camera 43. It appears that tube bosses plan to install at least 43 cameras at this station! What the hell for? It's not an especially big station, but some safety bigwig appears to think that no corner of this station can possibly remain unsnooped. It's not an especially busy station either, with an average of just 5500 users each day, but it looks as though there's going to be at least one camera for every 125 passengers. What an incredible waste of money. This looks like tube surveillance overkill to me, organised by some profligate underground Big Brother figure. Sorry, but I don't feel any safer just because the station supervisor can sit in her new office and flick between 43 different video shots of me walking around her empty platforms. I'd just like some money to be spent on a decent functional station with a lick of paint and a 'next train' indicator that's less than 40 years old, please. Some time in the next four months would be nice.
Saturday 27th November No sign of any of these new cameras yet, just the old ones.
Sunday 28th November A new poster is on display in the ticket hall apologising that the station will have to be closed more often at weekends over the next three months in order to complete all renovation work to schedule.
Monday 29th November Instead of the two remaining planned weekend closures, there will now be seven weekend closures during the next three months, including all three weekends in the run-up to Christmas.
Tuesday 30th November Conker tree update: half of the leaves have now fallen off, mostly from the top half of the tree. Of the leaves that remain most are yellow, but some (particularly the lower leaves nearest to the station building) are still mainly green with yellow edging.
Wednesday 1st December A silver sticker labelled Z2-5E has fallen off the wall and is stuck face-up to a stair in the eastbound stairwell.
Thursday 2nd December The writing on the silver sticker is now completely illegible.
Friday 3rd December The previous silver sticker has disappeared, and the sticker reading Cam 12 is now stuck to one of the steps on the eastbound stairwell instead.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 4-5 December>
Saturday 4th December A new leaflet being given away at the station apologises that "modernisation work will involve more closures than originally anticipated." This weekend sees the first of the additional closures.
Sunday 5th December I saw a few workmen standing on the platform of the closed station. If they were doing any work, it wasn't on the platforms.
Monday 6th December After the weekend closure, it appears that:
a) lots more cables have been coiled across the ceiling of the ticket hall.
b) strips of red and white tape have been stuck up the walls of the two stairwells, perhaps to protect the tiles (or where the tiles used to be).
c) strips of black and yellow tape have also been stuck up the walls of the eastbound stairwell, and also stuck to the wooden panels above the two ticket office windows in the ticket hall.
Tuesday 7th December A cross made out of yellow and black tape has appeared on four of the windowpanes above the eastbound stairwell.
Wednesday 8th December New fluorescent light fittings have been attached to the grey cabling boxes suspended from the ceiling along the western half of the eastbound platform. The lights are not yet functional.
Thursday 9th December Four of the pillars in the middle of the westbound platform have been painted grey, then covered by transparent plastic sheeting.
Friday 10th December Some of the new cabling is a light shade of mauve-y purple.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 11-12 December>
Saturday 11th December The station is closed for yet another whole weekend.
Sunday 12th December Still closed. The station is closed every weekend this month.
Monday 13th December After the weekend closure, it appears that:
a) there are loops of thin white cable in various locations around the ceiling of the ticket hall and up the stairwell.
b) cheap wooden boards have been placed over most of the rotten wood on the bridge.
c) there are irregular areas of brown cement daubed on the walls of the ticket hall
Tuesday 14th December All of the pillars on both platforms have now been painted grey (except for the very top of the easternmost pillar on the westbound platform which remains green and yellow).
Wednesday 15th December A giant reel of one-inch thick rubber cabling has appeared in the fenced-off area on the pavement in front of the station entrance.
Thursday 16th December The brown cement on the eastern wall of the ticket hall has been plastered over. The brown cement on the western wall of the ticket hall has been covered by orange plastic sheeting.
Friday 17th December Some of the windows on the bridge appear to have been reglazed. There is the smell of fresh (white) paint.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 18-19 December>
Saturday, December 18, 2004
You can't use Bow Road tube station today. You couldn't use it last weekend either, or the weekend before that. In fact, what with the Christmas weekend coming up, you won't be able to use the station on any weekend in December. Then there's three more weekend closures in January and another at the end of February, all of which makes for a prolonged period of travel misery for us Bow residents on top of all the late evening closedowns we've been suffering since March. And all because renovation work at Bow Road station is going on months longer than expected, and because it seems the only way to finally bring the whole overblown project to an end is to force passengers to find alternative travel arrangements at weekends while workmen try desperately to catch up. OK, so it's only a 7 minute walk from here down the road to Mile End, but it's the principle of the thing that matters. The chairman of Metronet admits that there have been problems...
Which appears to confirm my suspicions that my local station was shut after 10pm every night from March until September while virtually nothing was going on inside. Thank you Metronet. At least since October things really have started to happen. No really. Now there are black cables, and cameras, and white cables, and paint, and purple cables, and even the odd workman walking around trying to look busy during those increasingly rare hours while the station is actually open. I've still not seen one new development that improves my journey to work, though, not one.
Saturday 18th December The station is again closed this weekend. Through the entrance I could see the ticket machines covered by black plastic protective sheeting.
Sunday 19th December A small crane is fenced off to the right of the portakabins outside the station, supposedly being used to lower materials down to the platforms.
Monday 20th December After the weekend closure, there are loops of fresh cable hanging all across the station.
Tuesday 21st December There are more than ten loops of coloured cable hanging in the eastbound stairwell, and more than ten loops of coloured cable hanging in the westbound stairwell.
Wednesday 22nd December Finally, after 9 months, I have seen workmen actually working. Two men were visible through the freshly-glazed window panes on the passenger bridge standing on the scaffolding with paintbrushes in their hands. And I heard the noise of drilling behind the blue wall at the western end of the eastbound platform.
Thursday 23rd December And again. I saw one workman standing on the scaffolding, painting the external window frames white, and heard the sound of sawing behind the east end of the western blue wall on the eastbound platform.
Friday 24th December The Christmas decorations at Bow Road this year are loops of multi-coloured wire and cable hanging from the ceiling all around the station.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 25-26 December>
Tuesday 28th December There have been no obvious changes at the station over Christmas.
Wednesday 29th December Some of the plywood boards covering the wood on the bridge are coming unstuck.
Thursday 30th December All the health & safety licences on the blue walls across the station (at least one of which was due to expire tomorrow) have been covered by a fresh sheet of paper showing that the licence is now extended to 31 May 2005.
Friday 31st December Conker tree update: The lower branches of the tree still have leaves on them (approximately 300 leaves, I estimate). Most of the leaves are yellow, but a handful are still predominantly green. It's not natural, I tell you.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Saturday 1st January 2005 As part of London's New Year celebrations, today Bow Road station is open throughout the night. I alighted here at 3:45am. It was deserted. This is the first time I have been able to use the station after 10pm since 15th March.
Sunday 2nd January The station is open on a Sunday for the first time since November.
Monday 3rd January New year, but no new work yet.
Tuesday 4th January I saw a man standing on the scaffolding outside the bridge holding a wide flat tool, scraping or painting the window frame.
Wednesday 5th January The wall and floor around the doors in the centre of the longest blue wall on the westbound platform looks as if they've been splattered with splotchy sand.
Thursday 6th January I saw just one workman, standing at the foot of the eastbound stairwell having a chat on his mobile phone.
Friday 7th January The orange plastic covers over the eastern wall of the ticket office have been removed to reveal a smooth brown plastered wall with approximately ten bolts sticking out. There are three strips of red and white striped tape stretched across the plaster to protect the surface from passing passengers.
Saturday 8th January
Conker tree update: There are still about 200 leaves left on the tree, all yellow bar a couple which are still about half green.
Sunday 9th January A laminated noticed attached to the metal railings in front of the station announces that planning permission is being sought to install a Chip and PIN reader by the ticket window. Comments should be made by 25th January.
Monday 10th January The window frames at the southern end of the bridge have been painted white. Posters on each window warn passengers 'Do Not Touch - Wet Paint'.
Tuesday 11th January All the grey sheeting has finally been removed from the new light fittings along the westbound platform.
Wednesday 12th January The metal railings outside the station have been replaced by thick metal barriers, protecting the public from sections of scaffolding piled up inside. A red sign on the barriers directs pedestrians towards the station entrance.
Thursday 13th January Looking through a new gap in the sheeting above the door in the blue wall on the westbound platform, another row of new fluorescent lights can be seen to the rear of the platform parallel to the new lights already visible above the platform edge.
Friday 14th January Wet Paint signs are now stuck to the the remainder of the windows on the bridge.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 15-16 January>
Saturday 15th January The station is closed again all weekend. There are workmen all over the station (at 3pm, but not at 11pm).
Sunday 16th January Local graffiti: someone has spray-painted E3 on the new metal barriers outside the station.
Monday 17th January Over the weekend the floor surface of parts of the ticket hall, bridge and stairwells has been stripped away. At 8am a workman stands by the top of the westbound stairwell urging passengers not to tread on the not-yet-dry bit of cement on the top step. A sign by the ticket office reads "Cution Uneven Floor" 6pm update: the spelling mistake on the main sign has been amended.
Tuesday 18th January The blue wall in the ticket hall has been removed. Behind the wall are two areas covered by large sheets of plywood, a door and some newly-painted white panelling. It's very hard to work out why this particular corner of the ticket hall has been walled off for the last eight months.
Wednesday 19th January
Conker tree update: only one yellow shrivelled leaf remains on the tree. It falls during the day.
Thursday 20th January Most of the pillars on the eastbound platform have been repainted in the original green and yellow colours, although some of the strips on some of the pillars are still covered by grey undercoat.
Friday 21st January All the scaffolding across the front of the station has been removed. The brickwork looks a bit cleaner than it did nine months ago.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 22-23 January>
Saturday, January 22, 2005
We're now ten months into the renovation of my local tube station - six months where the contractors prepared to maybe do something followed by four months of gradual change. Visit my local tube station now and you'll usually be able to spot a few workmen hanging around looking less than busy, probably out the front taking a fag break. You'll see loads of ugly cables draped across the ceilings and down the stairwells. You'll see extra cameras all over the station as well as stickers showing where even more cameras are going to be installed. You'll see mucky blue walls along the platforms behind which restoration work may or may not still be happening. You'll see gaps where tiles used to be, repainted window frames and a whole host of unfinished repairs. But as of this week you'll also find one less blue wall in the ticket hall, which is being slowly gutted and replastered but not yet redecorated. You'll find the floors have just been stripped away beyond the ticket barriers and down the stairs, leaving an ugly uneven concrete surface surrounded by homemade safety notices. And, most excitingly, you'll also be able to see the front of the station again because they've just taken down the scaffolding that's been shrouding it for the last nine months. I suppose the brickwork looks slightly cleaner than it did last April but quite frankly I can't see why it's taken so long to give the front of the station a fractional facelift.
Saturday 22nd January Two thirds of the big blue sign on the front of the station that used to read BOW ROAD STATION District & Metropolitan Lines has been taken down, leaving only the panel that reads BOW ROAD.
Sunday 23rd January The complete BOW ROAD STATION District & Metropolitan Lines sign has been returned to the front of the station - despite the fact that Bow Road hasn't been on the Metropolitan line for the last 15 years. Sigh.
Monday 24th January After another weekend closure the floor at the entrance to the freshly-stripped ticket hall is covered by a temporary yellow surface, and a wooden recess has been revealed to the left of the station entrance.
Tuesday 25th January Wooden strips have been laid along the edge of the wall beneath the windows of the passenger bridge, stuck down by lengths of black and yellow tape.
Wednesday 26th January Some work has taken place on one small plank of rotten wood on the wall of the passenger bridge. Today's smell: sawdust
Thursday 27th January Overnight the walls of the ticket hall have been freshly painted, in white. Today's smell: paint
Friday 28th January The wooden strips on the floor below the windows on the passenger bridge have been removed, revealing freshly dried concrete. Today's smell: glue
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 29-30 January>
Saturday 29th January The station is closed for another weekend. Workmen are using both front entrances, as well as a rear entrance up a gated alley in Wellington Way, entering the station through the usually-locked doors at the top of the westbound stairwell.
Sunday 30th January Travelling through the closed station I could see that most of the protective sheeting above the blue walls on both platforms has been removed, revealing cabling, lights and what looks like white plastic panelling along the top of the walls behind.
Monday 31st January All the ironwork bolted to the ceiling along the rear half of both platforms has been repainted blue (the same blue as the blue walls).
Tuesday 1st February Two rows of wooden panels in the ticket hall have been repainted, most of them blue but some of them still in grey undercoat.
Wednesday 2nd February Another piece of plywood has been placed over part of the wall at the top of the eastbound stairwell.
Thursday 3rd February Hallelujah! The western half of the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform has been completely removed, revealing completed renovation work behind. The wall is now encased in a clean, white metallic plastic covering. On the new wall are full size 'Bow Road' roundels and a top strip (headlined in green and pink) that reads alternately 'BOW ROAD' and 'Bow Church DLR station →'.
Friday 4th February Another long section of blue wall has been removed on the eastbound platform, revealing the newly renovated wall behind. Only a short strip of this blue wall now remains.
Saturday 5th February All the rectangular wooden panels just above floor level in the ticket hall have been repainted blue. 'Wet paint' signs are everywhere.
Sunday 6th February The newly-revealed white wall on the eastbound platform is 79 panels long. There are 8 roundels altogether, positioned midway between every alternate pillar.
Monday 7th February Spaced out along the new white wall are several plastic squares, taped down and covering something as yet unrevealed behind them.
Tuesday 8th February Approximately six loudspeakers have appeared high up on the walls of the ticket hall, along with a couple of new cameras. Each is still wrapped in sheeting and sealed with tape.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Bow Road update: It was exactly one year ago today that the renovation of Bow Road station began. The arrival of four blue portakabins heralded the dawn of London's first PPP-funded station upgrade, and also the start of my regular blogging updates on daily progress. For the first eight months there was little progress. For the last four months stuff has actually happened. But still not much.
And then last week, finally, all of a sudden, we got the first glimpse of the new improved Bow Road station. Overnight workmen whisked away the long blue wall that's been stretched along the eastbound platform since May, revealing the new completed station wall behind. The old wall used to be covered by peeling off-cream paint. The new wall is covered by 79 panels of gleaming white plastic-y stuff. There are eight red and blue station roundels spaced out along the full length of the wall, which is topped off by a row of repeating station names beneath a green and pink strip. Step off an Upminster train and your eyes now meet this elegant modern canvas, free from adverts, graffiti and clutter. It can't last.
But, quite frankly, one nice wall and a few repainted pillars isn't much to show for a year's work. There has been a lick of paint throughout the ticket hall and across the upper reaches of the station, there are several new cameras and loudspeakers in every nook and cranny, and there are two rows of new lighting along each platform that maybe one day will be switched on. But take a look at the ceiling in this photograph and you'll see that most of the station is still as grimy and unloved as it used to be twelve months ago. You might also be to spot that the blue walls are still fully intact on the westbound platform (right), and I can assure you there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that any gleaming white walls are ready to emerge from there in the near future. In fact I've not yet seen one single innovation at Bow Road that actually improves anyone's journey. If you want to know when the next train is due or where it might be going, you're still better off peering down the tunnel to see if there are any headlights in the distance. Transport for London say that the whole Bow Road upgrade project will be complete by next May, maybe. Don't be surprised if my updates are still continuing this time next year.
Wednesday 9th February One year on, the wooden panelling on the overbridge is finally restored and fully painted (in white).
Thursday 10th February The window frames and woodwork on the front of the station building have been repainted (again in white).
Friday 11th February A large wooden frame has been constructed inside the recess just inside the ticket hall on the left behind the green door.
Saturday 12th February A tall thin rectangular block has been erected to the left of the ticket machine in the ticket hall. It too has been wrapped in sheeting and sealed with tape.
Sunday 13th February A gap in the sheeting reveals that the rear of the block is yellow, but the rest appears to be grey.
Monday 14th February Beside the new tall block, to the left of the ticket machine, a new wardrobe-sized recess has been opened up.
Tuesday 15th February New cameras and loudspeakers have started to be installed above the two stairwells, exactly where the grey stickers placed three months ago said they would be.
Wednesday 16th February The top part of the white sheeting covering the scaffolding on the passenger bridge has been lowered, giving a daylight view for the first time in six months.
Thursday 17th February The tall block in the ticket hall that was to the right of the new recess has now been moved to the left of the new recess. There are four small plastered circles where the block was previously attached to the wrong bit of wall.
Friday 18th February The four plaster circles have been painted over, so you'd (almost) never know they were there.
Saturday 19th February The smell of wet paint is in the air, again, although it's not immediately obvious precisely where.
Sunday 20th February A lot of discarded scaffolding is piled high inside the grey metal fencing outside the front of the station.
Monday 21st February White metallic covering has appeared on the walls behind the eastern end of the longest blue wall on the westbound platform.
Tuesday 22nd February A sign has been affixed to the wall above the tall block in the ticket hall, but covered by sheeting and taped up so that you can't possibly read it.
Wednesday 23rd February Two white-framed glass globes have appeared above the westbound stairwell, and three above the eastbound stairwell. An egg-shaped bulb lies at the centre of each. These new light fittings look very odd and extremely out of place. Meanwhile, at the foot of the westbound stairwell, a short section of blue wall has been removed to reveal an old door repainted grey.
Thursday 24th February The large wooden panel just inside the ticket hall has been removed, to reveal a huge sheet of glass behind which is a never-before seen (empty) room.
Friday 25th February The green doors at the front of the station have been repainted, green.
<Bow Road station closed all weekend: 26-27 February>
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Development work at my local tube station continues apace (and I never thought I'd be able to say that). Not only is stuff happening, but there's finally evidence that other stuff has been happening behind the scenes. The blue walls all over the station are starting to disappear one by one, and you never quite know what will be appearing behind each one. Will it be another 21st century white wall perhaps, or just a repainted grey Edwardian door? Or will it be the sudden and wholly unexpected emergence of a never-before-seen room lurking behind an enormous square sheet of glass, as it was last Thursday. I thought they'd installed a giant mirror to start with, just inside the station entrance, until closer inspection revealed an empty room behind that might one day be the new nerve centre at the heart of the station. Or not. And I must also mention the new lighting they're in the process of installing above the two stairwells. As a Grade II listed station, I was expecting that Bow Road would be filled with sympathetic period illumination. But no, we're getting nine beachball-sized spherical alien globes containing giant ovoid lightbulbs instead, just like the Victorians didn't have. If all this redevelopment enthrals you, I must apologise that you can't pop down to Bow Road and take a look for yourself this weekend because the station is closed. This'll be the eleventh weekend since October that the station has been closed to the public, but at least it should also be the last because there are no further closures scheduled. But who's to say that Metronet won't decide to add some more before this interminable business is finally over?
Saturday 26th February While the station is closed for the weekend, workmen are fitting another globe light at the foot of the westbound stairwell.
Sunday 27th February Two more mysterious tall blocks are being installed, this time spaced out along the new white wall along the eastbound platform.
Monday 28th February Following the latest weekend closure, I spy the following: • The floors in the ticket hall and across the top of the stairwells have been sort-of concreted. • A new sign on the wall at the south end of the ticket hall reads District and Hammersmith & City lines ? • Six new wiry-metal benches have been installed along the eastbound platform. Each has four seats and two yellow armrests.
Tuesday 1st March All five globes above the westbound stairwell and all three globes above the eastbound stairwell are now illuminated.
Wednesday 2nd March (report from Mr Kim) The "curfew" has been lifted!!! Without a single word of publicity, as far as I can see, Bow Road station is open til 'close of traffic' (to use the official parlance). I was told this earlier in the week by a Bow Bells' 'regular', and last night at Mile End, decided to stay on board the train and 'chance it'. Sure enough, again without any announcement, the train slowed to a halt on the EB at Bow Road and the doors magically opened, allowing a number of surprised people to jump up at the last minute and get off! (Thanks Mr Kim)
Thursday 3rd March A sixteen-panel section of new white wall has been revealed on the westbound platform, just to the west of the foot of the stairwell.
Friday 4th March A further four panels have been revealed, along with another twenty at the western end of the westbound platform.
Saturday 5th March The remainder of the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform has been removed, so that a white wall now runs all the way from the stairwell to the far end of the platform.
Sunday 6th March One new panel on the white wall close to the foot of the eastbound stairwell shows a diagrammatic map of the stations on the District line to the east of the station.
Monday 7th March The new striplights above the west end of the eastbound platform are now illuminated. About two thirds of them are working.
Tuesday 8th March Workmen are busy fitting out the new room behind the large pane of glass in the ticket hall. On the far white wall there's a heater, a loudspeaker, a lot of cables and a (not yet functional) digital clock.
Wednesday 9th March A new layer of flooring has been laid across the passage joining the top of the two stairwells, stuck down by strips of yellow and black tape.
Thursday 10th March A photo booth has been installed in the alcove beside the ticket machine in the ticket hall.
Friday 11th March All of the posters and signs have been removed from the remaining section of blue wall in the middle of the westbound platform.
Saturday 12th March The remaining section of blue wall in the middle of the westbound platform has been removed, revealing a new stretch of white panels along the indented triangular platform wall.
Sunday 13th March Each new white panel had a small green numbered sticker to ensure that workmen assembled everything in the right order. For example, the westernmost roundel on the westbound platform is still labelled EC PCPTO-DVI 62.1 50432.
Monday 14th March The remaining scaffolding across the front and side of the station building has been dismantled, leaving just a few supporting poles across the overbridge.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
It's exactly a year since Bow Road station was first closed at 10pm every night so that renovation work could (supposedly) take place. A year of early closures, and a year of me having to take a longer route home whenever I've been out late. Had I been mugged on the walk back, which thankfully I wasn't, maybe I could have sued. But in the last fortnight, all of a sudden with absolutely no publicity whatsoever, the station's opening hours have been returned to normal. Trains are now pulling into a very different Bow Road station to that which used to exist a year ago. Take a look.
This used to be a dark, gloomy platform with peeling paint on the walls and a grimy low ceiling. It was unappealing, uninviting and seriously unlookedafter. For eleven months its grubby surface was covered by a makeshift blue wall, screening the leisurely metamorphosis behind. And now, with the protective shell removed, this place has been reborn as a fresh, bright platform with gleaming white panels on the walls and a slightly repainted ceiling. The opposite platform, also newly revealed, looks much the same. All of a sudden, the 21st century has arrived.
Except they promised us it wasn't going to look modern. This station upgrade was supposed to retain all of the station's key Edwardian architectural features. I'm sure they're all still there, somewhere underneath this modern veneer, but both platforms now have rather more of an 'airport terminal' feeling to them. There are little four-seater benches that wouldn't look out of place at IKEA, there's strip lighting that might be found in any office, and there's an artificial white coating covering the full length of each wall. It's even less traditional up the stairwells where giant alien globes have landed, masquerading as light fittings. And everywhere, absolutely every-bloody-where, there are all-pervasive security cameras. I suspect these are to be monitored from the brand new control room that's magically appeared off the ticket hall, which should give the station staff somewhere warm to sit and read their newspapers while they continue to ignore all the passing passengers.
The end of the long drawn-out modernisation process at Bow Road seems (at last) to be in sight. The platforms have reopened, the scaffolding is coming down and all opening restrictions have been lifted. But there's still a lot of mopping up and finishing off to be done, which could take months. And I have yet to be impressed.
Tuesday 15th March A new electronic Emergency: Do not enter sign has been affixed to the wall outside the station to the right of the station entrance. It is not illuminated. In fact, it is hard to imagine credible circumstances under which it might one day be illuminated.
Wednesday 16th March A security camera has been installed on the outside of the station above the left-hand entrance.
Thursday 17th March • All of the remaining scaffolding has been taken down. • The ironwork bolted to the ceiling above the railway tracks has been painted blue to match that above the platforms. • A black plastic rumble strip has been installed close to the edge of the eastbound platform to aid visually impaired passengers. • A red alarm box has been installed in the new control room. • The digital clock in the new control room is now functional.
Friday 18th March • The two short blue walls on the platforms closest to the foot of the stairwells have been removed. Absolutely no renovation work of any kind appears to have taken place behind these walls for the last 12 months, just a lot of cabling. • The sheeting has been removed from two tall blocks along the eastbound platform, revealing two fully functional Help points. • Another black plastic rumble strip has been installed one third of the way along the westbound platform.
Saturday 19th March • The last blue wall, at the east end of the westbound platform, has been removed. Again, absolutely no renovation appears to have taken place. • A small TV monitor has been installed high on the wall in the ticket hall. • A large (still-wrapped) sign has been fixed above the ticket machine in the ticket hall. • The black plastic rumble strip now stretches two thirds of the way along the westbound platform.
Sunday 20th March Along the westbound platform I counted 24 security cameras and 28 microphones.
Monday 21st March The Help Point in the ticket hall and another at the top of the eastbound stairwell have been unwrapped and now appear to be functional.
Conker tree update: New leaves have appeared in golfball-sized buds at the end of every branch.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Tuesday 22nd March Two miracles have occured. • "Next train" indicators have been installed on each platform. They don't yet work, but their presence suggests that this redevelopment may have been worthwhile after all. • The blue sign on the front of the station reading "BOW ROAD STATION DISTRICT & METROPOLITAN LINES" has been replaced by a new blue sign which simply states "BOW ROAD STATION". Which, for the first time in 15 years, is a true statement.
Wednesday 23rd March Two new metal roundels have appeared on the unrenovated wall at the east end of the westbound platform, and another at the east end of the eastbound platform.
Conker tree update: The leaf buds have opened.
Thursday 24th March • All four doors at the entrance to the station have been repainted green. • All the new Help Points throughout the station have a sticker taped to them reading Not in service • Half of the rumble strip along the westbound platform has been peeled away, leaving several short strips behind.
Friday 25th March Seven computer monitors and a large microphone have been installed in the new control room off the ticket hall.
Saturday 26th March The four doors halfway along the westbound platform have been repainted black (gloss).
Sunday 27th March A digital clock has been installed on the brickwork above the western end of the westbound platform. It is not yet functional.
Monday 28th March The digital clock in the new control room has not been advanced an hour for Summer Time.
Tuesday 29th March Conker tree update: The tree now looks green again. Stalks that will soon drip with blossom are rising up from the end of each branch.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Wednesday 30th March A new poster has just been put on display in the ticket hall. It reads:
Station returns to normal opening hours Update February 2005 We are pleased to announce that Bow Road will return to normal operating hours from February 28th...
The bureaucratic incompetence demonstrated by the appearance of this poster more than one month late is absolutely staggering.
Thursday 31st March The digital clock in the new control room has finally been advanced an hour to British Summer Time.
Friday 1st April The entire (new) black plastic rumble strip along the edge of the westbound platform has been removed.
Saturday 2nd April Yet again there are Wet Paint signs stuck to the green doors at the entrance to the ticket hall.
Sunday 3rd April Two replastered patches on the ceiling of the ticket hall each have a couple of short stumpy electrical cables sticking out of them.
Monday 4th April The viewscreen high on the wall at the end of the ticket hall is now functional, displaying live pictures from the security camera positioned next to it.
Tuesday 5th April A new poster board and a small metal bracket have been installed on the wall opposite the top of the westbound stairwell.
Wednesday 6th April The red electrical box on the wall of the new control room (beneath the digital clock) has been removed.
Thursday 7th April The red electrical box has been repositioned on the wall, precisely one box height below its original location.
Friday 8th April A new sign on the wall opposite the top of the westbound stairwell directs departing passengers towards the Way Out and Bow Church Station (DLR).
Saturday 9th April There are wet paint signs on the metal grille between the ticket hall and the footbridge.
Sunday 10th April A new blue wall has appeared halfway down the westbound platform, creating a triangular space behind for the storage of scaffolding.
Monday 11th April New signs have been hung from the ceiling halfway along both platforms. From the west they read Way Out and from the east they read
Westbound platform 1 (or 2) Hammersmith & City and District lines
The sign on the westbound platform has been placed so close to a pillar that only the left half of the eastern side is visible.
Tuesday 12th April An electronic dot matrix screen has been uncovered above the ticket machine. This evening the top line of the sign reads Welcome to Bow Road station.
Wednesday 13th April All of the remaining metalwork across the platform ceilings and over the tracks has been painted blue.
Thursday 14th April Some wires have appeared beneath the word Road on the sign that reads Bow Road Station on the front of the station.
Friday 15th April A white lamp has appeared on the front of the station, to the left of the station entrance.
Saturday 16th April The licence stuck on the new blue wall expires on 10th May. The licence permits the storage of "Quarry tiles, cable, access towers, step ladders".
Sunday 17th April A row of 6 white lamps has been installed across the top of the front of the station. They look more 'cheap' than 'heritage'.
Monday 18th April There are now two rows of fluorescent lights all along the westbound platform, and a third row in the recess halfway along.
Tuesday 19th April Another white lamp has appeared on the front of the station, above the main entrance, attached to the wires beneath the word Road via a new cable.
Wednesday 20th April The new electronic 'next train' indicators are running in test mode. They read:
":Westbound trains: H & C and District Lines Passenger information display under test"
Thursday 21st April A new map-sized frame has appeared on the eastbound platform wall beneath the electronic display board.
Friday 22nd April Another white lamp has been added to the front of the station, this time to the right of the main entrance.
Saturday 23rd April All the new lamps on the front of the station are now lit.
Sunday 24th April The new blue wall on the westbound platform has been completely removed.
Monday 25th April All the new fluorescent lamps above both platforms are now illuminated.
Tuesday 26th April Conker tree update: the tree outside the station is now in full leaf, with large white blossoms at the end of every branch.
Wednesday 27th April One week on, the 'next train' indicators are still in test mode.
Thursday 28th April The protective covering has been removed from the new non-slip surface on the landing halfway down the westbound stairwell.
Friday 29th April The grey metal enclosure in front of the station has been removed, leaving the centre of the forecourt clear for the first time in over a year.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
The never-ending renovation project at my local station might just be edging towards a conclusion. I suspect the disruption will last another month or two, but only a few minor things now look as if they still need to be completed. The stairs still look a bit ropey, the 'next train' indicators have yet to indicate any next trains, the control room still needs fitting out and the platform walls still lack a considerable amount of signage, but this looks as if it might be the end game. Certainly there are still plenty of workmen busy doing something somewhere. Maybe they have one last project up their sleeve, or maybe they're just ekeing out this modernisation project for as long as possible before they get sent to vandalise the heritage features at some other godforsaken station.
Saturday 30th April Four poster-sized frames have appeared on the wall of the westbound platform, just beneath the old 'next train' indicator.
Sunday 1st May The knobbly black plastic strips along the edge of each platform have been completely removed, again, leaving behind a long narrow blotchy white adhesive stain.
Monday 2nd May The new platform sign above the westbound platform has been moved slightly so that it is no longer half-obscured by a pillar.
Tuesday 3rd May Two poster-sized frames have appeared on the wall of the westbound platform, just beneath the new 'next train' indicator.
Wednesday 4th May Three poster-sized frames have appeared on the wall of the eastbound platform, just beneath the old 'next train' indicator.
Thursday 5th May Three poster-sized frames have appeared on the walls of the ticket hall.
Friday 6th May Two more poster-sized frames have appeared on the walls of the ticket hall.
Saturday 7th May Four of the lightbulbs in the lamps at the front of the station appear to have blown.
Sunday 8th May The globe lamps in the main ticket hall are now illuminated.
Monday 9th May The globe lamps down the westbound stairwell are already filthy.
Tuesday 10th May The new 'next train' indicators on both platforms are now showing the destination of the next train, but not the number of minutes until it arrives.
Wednesday 11th May The new 'next train' indicators on both platforms are no longer showing the destination of the next train.
Thursday 12th May On my way home, the display on the electronic screen above the ticket machine read: Richmond 1 Plaistow 2
This could be: a) The destination of the next train at each platform b) The number of minutes before the next two trains arrive c) The latest football result
Friday 13th May Today, both on my way to work and on the way home, the display on the electronic screen above the ticket machine read: Ealing Broadway 1 Upminster 2
Saturday 14th May The new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform is no longer showing anything at all.
Sunday 15th May A disembodied voice now announces Mind the gap please whenever a train pulls into either platform.
Monday 16th May The disembodied voice continues to announce Mind the gap please after the train doors have closed, and usually says it at least once more (for no good reason) after the train has started pulling out of the station.
Tuesday 17th May A BT van is parked outside the station. Several short lengths of discarded white cable lie piled up just inside the station entrance.
Wednesday 18th May Conker tree update: the blossom has fallen. Tiny conkers have started to grow in their place.
Thursday 19th May A drinks vending machine has been installed on the westbound platform. It dispenses Coca Cola and Malvern Water.
Friday 20th May The new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform again shows Eastbound trains: H & C and District Lines but not the destination of the next train.
Saturday 21st May Three large poster-sized frames have appeared on the wall of the westbound platform, interspersed amongst the existing smaller frames.
Sunday 22nd May A large poster-sized frame has appeared on the wall of the ticket hall, just behind the exit gates.
Monday 23rd May A chocolate machine has been installed on the westbound platform immediately to the right of the new drinks machine.
Tuesday 24th May The green doors to the left of the station entrance are now both labelled: Fire exit Keep clear
Wednesday 25th May Most of the new frames on the platforms and in the ticket hall now contain posters.
The new tube map in the ticket hall has been positioned behind the exit gates so that you can only read it on the way out, not the way in. Which is bloody stupid.
Thursday 26th May Most of the new posters are advertising either the tube or Oystercards.
Friday 27th May A small black plastic chair covered with plaster stains has been left outside the front of the station.
Saturday 28th May The small black plastic chair has been removed.
Sunday 29th May The old British Rail sign on the eastbound stairwell reading Change at Barking for trains to Southend has been moved (sensibly) so that's it's visible when entering the platform, not when leaving it.
Monday 30th May A big digital clock has been installed at the western end of the westbound platform, presumably for the benefit of passing train drivers.
Tuesday 31st May A small group of workmen are standing around outside the station, not doing much.
Wednesday 1st June Things still to be done: The new 'next train' indicators need to give details of the next train.
Thursday 2nd June Things still to be done: Several more poster frames need to be affixed to the platform walls.
Friday 3rd June Things still to be done: The numerous Help Points around the station need to be made operational.
Saturday 4th June Things still to be done: The protective sheeting covering the floors in the stairwells and overbridge needs to be removed.
Saturday, June 4, 2005
The refurbishment project at my local station drags on into its seventeenth month. Everything's nearly finished, but nobody seems quite able to tie up all the loose ends and end the whole charade. In fact management have pretty much admitted (in the latest edition of the Metronet company magazine) that the whole modernisation of Bow Road has been a drawn-out incompetent balls-up. Well, in so many words...
I'm always nervy of anbody who can drop the buzzwords 'learning curve' and 'project scoping' into a conversation, and rightly so in this case. It sounds as if Bow Road has been used to trial inefficient and untested procedures, a triumph of bureaucracy over engineering, and never mind the inconvenience to local transport users.
I'll be delighted when somebody finally works out how to turn on the new 'next train' indicators, because they're not much use to me otherwise, although I suspect my local station staff are still too busy being taught how to use the 50+ security cameras now at their disposal. One day, maybe soon... but maybe still not.
Sunday 5th June Things still to be done: The raised strips a short distance from the edge of each platform (for the benefit of visually impaired passengers) both need to be replaced..
Monday 6th June An intercom activated by a security keypad has been installed in the ticket hall to the right of the new control room window.
Tuesday 7th June Both the drinks machine and the chocolate machine on the westbound platform have new signs saying Out of service.
Wednesday 8th June A smart new sign reading District and Hammersmith & City lines has been installed at the top of the electronic display board above the ticket machine in the ticket hall.
Thursday 9th June Some of the holes in some of the panels on both platforms have been filled by shiny metal squares, each with a lockable door.
Friday 10th June Conker tree update: the conkers now look like real mini conkers with tiny spiky green shells.
Saturday 11th June Someone has drawn a crossed-sword shape in the filthy dust on the top of the lighting globe at the bottom of the westbound stairwell.
Sunday 12th June The southernmost window in the ticket hall has a new sign above it reading: Assistance (temporary sign)
Monday 13th June A new (yellow) raised strip for visually impaired passengers appears to have been successfully installed along the eastern half of the eastbound platform.
Tuesday 14th June Another (new) yellow strip has been installed along the eastern half of the westbound platform.
Wednesday 15th June Both electronic clocks on the two 'next train' indicators are suddenly running 3½ hours slow.
Thursday 16th June The raised yellow strip now stretches the full length of the westbound platform.
Friday 17th June Both of the new 'next train' indicators on the platforms have been switched off.
Saturday 18th June The chocolate and drinks machines are both functional again.
Sunday 19th June Some new chairs have been delivered to the control room. They are still covered by polythene wrapping.
Monday 20th June Most of the holes in some of the panels on both platforms have been filled by shiny metal squares, each with a lockable door.
Tuesday 21st June A notice on the door to the new control room reads: Caution Wet paint on all walls. BBCL
Wednesday 22nd June (report from Andrew) "have just got back from looking around various stations, including Bow Road, where work is supposed to be going on... 23 workmen at Bow Road at 1.15am doing very little that I could see"
Thursday 23rd June The new 'next train' indicators have been switched back on, but they only tell the time and not the destination of the next train.
Friday 24th June The new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform now displays a destination which is not necessarily the destination of the next train.
Saturday 25th June The new 'next train' indicator on the westbound platform now displays the destination of the next train, but not how many minutes away it is.
Sunday 26th June The new 'next train' indicator on the westbound platform is five seconds slower in indicating the next train than was the old 'next train' indicator.
There are currently two functioning 'next train' indicators on each platform at Bow Road, one old and one new.
To your left is the old 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform. It's probably about 30 or 40 years old, it relies on ancient lightbulb technology and, for the last umpteen years, it's correctly told us the destination of the next eastbound train. To your right is the new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform. It's been in place for the last two months and it relies on fantastic new 21st century electronic technology. It's only recently gone into active service, but alas it's not providing accurate information. My camera can't photograph the flickering display but, trust me, yesterday it was displaying 'Upminster' no matter what the destination of the next eastbound train, even if that train was only going as far Dagenham East, Barking or Plaistow. Which is a bit rubbish.
The situation on the westbound platform isn't much better. The old 'next train' indicator could only tell us whether the next train would be on the District line or the Metropolitan line. This is rather remiss because the Metropolitan line hasn't served this station for the last 15 years - the Hammersmith and City line took over in 1990. The new 'next train' indicator manages to name both lines correctly. It's also able to tell us the destination of the next District line train, although that's only of practical value to anyone travelling further than Earl's Court (which is 17 stations up the line). But, alas, the new indicator is actually less efficient than the old. Watch the two indicators simultaneously (as I did yesterday) and you'll see that the new indicator flashes up details of the next train five seconds later than the old one. Which is also a bit rubbish.
It's always useful to know how many minutes it will be until the next train arrives, and also the destinations of the second and third trains due into the station. They can provide all this information for passengers at Mile End, the next station along the line (and have done for years), but the old 'next train' indicators at Bow Road couldn't tell us any of it. Guess what. The new 'next train' indicators don't show this information either. The displays still only provide a minute's notice before the next train whooshes into the station, and there are still no clues as to what trains might be queueing up further down the line. The new 'next train' indicators are in fact no more functional than the old, they're just newer. Which is more than just a bit rubbish, it's a criminal waste of money. Yet another one. But then we're used to that here at Bow Road. You may have read about it in the paper...
Monday, June 27, 2005
I was Andrew Gilligan's anonymous source
Yes, it's true. Oh ye of little faith. You probably thought that my daily reportage from Bow Road station was mind-numbingly boring trivia of the most anorakky kind. You probably thought that nobody would ever be interested in 16 months of regular updates on the renovation of my local tube station. You were wrong.
Tonight the Evening Standard devoted a whole double page spread to the sorry saga of Metronet's wasteful procrastination at Bow Road station, including several paragraphs lifted from this blog and a big picture showing some workmen sitting on the platform doing sod all. And all this penned by AndrewGilligan, the former BBC journalist at the centre of the Hutton Report debacle and now writing investigate articles for the Evening Standard. I'd love to link to the article so that you can read it in full, except that the Evening Standard appear to have downsized their online news presence in favour of advertising features and theatre ticket promotions so you'll have to make do with this photograph instead.
Last week Metronet's inability to complete station renovations to time finally threatened a huge £14 million financial penalty. This was big political news and, hey presto, Andrew Gilligan had the topic for his weekly investigative column in the Standard. In the course of his investigations he stumbled upon this blog, read my daily reports from the PPP's first station upgrade and sent me an email asking if I could shed further light on goings on at Bow Road. But of course. We had a 15 minute phone conversation in which I told Andrew more about what hadn't been going on, what I thought about the end results and how very little of the work had actually been of any benefit to my fellow travellers. And look, there's his full 1500 word article in the paper tonight. Result!
The suspicion must be that Metronet chose an easy station to begin its £17 billion, 30-year spending programme. But what the company may not have realised is that Bow Road has its very own beady-eyed resident blogger. Every move Metronet made, or rather did not make, was to be chronicled for ever on the blog kept by one Diamond Geezer, who travelled to or through the station twice a day for the entire duration of the works.
As well as quotations from the blog ("Tuesday 10 February: A blue wall has appeared in front of the four Portakabins."), Andrew's feature concentrates on the lack of visible evidence that £3.3 million at Bow Road has been well spent. He uncovers the nightmarish PPP bureaucracy that required more than 50 sign-offs before work could begin, which is probably why nothing happened much happened here for the first six months or so. He gets Metronet's stations director, Clive Coleman, to admit that "nobody quite knew how [quality] assurance and scoping worked, how you brought people on site." Andrew discovers that there are an astonishing 70 new cameras at the station, even though CCTV was already installed at the station before the work began. And he confirms that Metronet have indeed declared "practical completion" on Bow Road this month, although this doesn't mean that the work is finished. Not quite.
"I do wonder where the money has gone", says Diamond Geezer (he will not let the Standard use his real name. Perhaps he fears Metronet will come round and refurbish his flat).
All in all the saga of Bow Road has been a litany of shame and profligate waste with no particularly worthy outcome. And I'm delighted, finally, to see this written in inch-high letters across London's evening paper. Today I can be fairly certain that my Bow Road diary, which started out as an obscure daily 'spot the difference' activity, has been brought to the attention of a readership of 1 million Londoners, including the top brass at Metronet and maybe a few other political movers and shakers too. Who says that blogging changes nothing?
Indeed, Metronet's entire, much trumpeted 152-station refurbishment programme includes almost no improvements whatever in the thing that really matters on the Underground: capacity. The changes will be almost all cosmetic: new vinyl walls, new CCTV cameras, rumble-strips on platforms to help the partially-sighted. New escalators, new entrances, wider platforms or passageways are not on the menu. Given this company's difficulties to date with even quite simple tasks, perhaps from one perspective this is just as well. But it is one more example of how the PPP will fail to provide the Underground with the improvements it actually needs.
And to my new Metronet audience today I say, "Please remember that there's still more work to be done at Bow Road, and I'm still watching you not doing it."
Monday 27th June Some red boxes containing fire safety equipment have been installed on the southern wall of the ticket hall. They have been covered with black and yellow sticky tape, presumably to indicate that they don't yet work.
Tuesday 28th June The various Help Points around the station are now functional.
Wednesday 29th June At 10pm I saw two workmen in orange jackets park their car on the cobbled pavement outside the courthouse nextdoor and walk to the portakabins in front of the station to report for work.
Thursday 30th June A temporary Tickets sign has been placed on the ticket machine in the main ticket hall. It's long and very white with big blue lettering.
Friday 1st July The new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform now seems to be displaying the correct destination of the next train, but still not how many minutes away it is.
Saturday 2nd July New fire alarms appear to have installed at certain points around the station, but they are covered over by blue and white tape.
Sunday 3rd July New fire alarm notices have also been installed, and they too are covered over by blue and white tape.
Monday 4th July The globe light fittings above the westbound stairwell have at last been cleaned (and they look much cleaner).
Tuesday 5th July The new control room beside the ticket hall looks to be in full operation, maybe.
Wednesday 6th July A poster in the ticket hall congratulates London on winning the 2012 Olympics.
Thursday 7th July Following terrorist bombings at three other stations at the height of the morning rush hour, Bow Road (along with the rest of the network) is closed for the rest of the day.
Friday 8th July As the network reopens, Bow Road station is quiet but intact.
Saturday 9th July The end date on the 'storage licence' posted on one of the black doors halfway along the westbound platform has been extended until 30th August.
Sunday 10th July Conker tree update: Those conker cases on the tree outside the station are looking proper big and conker-sized already.
Monday 11th July One lonely-looking policeman is standing outside the station.
Tuesday 12th July Two not-quite-so lonely-looking policemen are standing outside the station.
Wednesday 13th July The two old 'next train' indicators, one on each platform, have finally been turned off after many decades of good and faithful service.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
After several decades of faithful service, the lights in the old 'next train' indicators were finally extinguished at Bow Road today. The glass may have been cracked and held together by sticky tape, but I shall miss them. This sudden termination still leaves passengers with the shiny new 'next train' indicators but these are, as I've already mentioned, thus far no more functional than the old. 17 months of work and there's still not been one change, not one improvement, not one thing to improve my daily commute. The big tower of blue portakabins remains on the pavement outside the station, so Metronet must still have some small behind-the-scenes stuff to complete, but public money is still dripping away here for no particularly obvious reason.
Thursday 14th July The bus stop outside the station has been resurfaced using red tarmac. It is more than twice as long as before - at least the length of two bendy buses.
Friday 15th July The 'red route' red line outside the station (and all along Bow Road) has been repainted.
Saturday 16th July The red boxes on the southern wall of the ticket hall, which I thought might have been new fire control equipment, have been removed.
Sunday 17th July There's a nice cube-shaped floral box of tissues on a shelf above the computers in the new control room.
Monday 18th July 7:45am - according to the new 'next train' indicator board, the next westbound train is heading for 'Check destination on front of train' (which wasn't an option on the old 'next train' indicator board)
Tuesday 19th July It's gone all quiet again.
Wednesday 20th July No obvious changes at Bow Road.
Thursday 21st July Bow Road is not targetted in today's bungled terrorist atrocity.
Friday 22nd July "Please keep your belongings with you at all times"
Saturday 23rd July "Please report any unattended packages to a member of staff"
Sunday 24th July "Please do not leave your luggage unattended"
Monday 25th July The temporary TICKETS sign above the ticket machine and ASSISTANCE sign above the assistance window have both been replaced by very swish brushed metal signs with white-ish writing on a black background.
Tuesday 26th July A very large irregular area of plaster has been removed from the wall in the ticket hall, just to the right of the new control room.
Wednesday 27th July The irregular area on the ticket hall wall has been replastered, but not yet finished off.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Not haPPPy: Transport for London have issued their second annual report into the performance of the PPP - the Public-Private Partnership that funds investment on the Underground. Both Metronet and Tube Lines have so far been given approximately £2 billion out of the public purse to upgrade the system and its infrastructure, but TfL are not impressed. Reports are normally woolly, positive things (I know, I've written a few) but this one is openly damning:
"There has been some progress in the first two years, but there are also some worrying trends and overall there is a shortfall compared with the expectations created by the private sector Infrastructure companies' bids. In short, performance is not good enough and is less than what was promised."
There follow several pages of paragraphs, tables and graphs that show exactly why performance isn't good enough. 'Availability', 'capability' and 'ambience' aren't improving fast enough, rolling stock is unreliable, track renewal is well behind schedule and a lot of projects are having to be 'rephased'. Meanwhile shareholders continue to receive profits, although most of them are probably sensible enough to live well outside London and drive around in nice big cars all day. If you fancy reading the full report then you can find it here (beware, 90 page pdf), or you might just want to look at the pretty photographs. Of course, I was particularly interested in any reference to the renovation fiasco at my local tube station, and I didn't have to look far:
"Metronet BCV was due to complete enhancements at West Ruislip, Roding Valley and Chigwell by 5 March 2005, as was Metronet SSL at Bow Road, Turnham Green, Plaistow, Dagenham Heathway and North Harrow. All of these projects are running late. The latest plans from Metronet show the remainder of the programme running to time. This is hard to believe given current performance and the acceleration required for year three and beyond." (page 54)
"Although Metronet has met early milestones in its Victoria line upgrade project, it strains credulity to credit progress on such a complex project when, currently, much simpler renewal work is consistently late." (page 5)
Or, in other words, if Metronet can't deliver on a piddly little backwater station like Bow Road (and so far they still haven't), then what hope does the rest of the crumbling network have? See, I told you my local station was important.
Thursday 28th July The irregular area of plaster on the ticket hall wall has been smoothed over, and its lower half covered by a large sheet of orange card. Some of the walls of the ticket hall have been repainted, for the umpteenth time.
Friday 29th July The sheet of orange card has been removed.
Saturday 30th July The two old lightbulb-driven big black rectangular 'next train' indicators have been removed from both platforms. Only the new 'next train' indicators remain. Sigh.
Sunday 31st July The new 'next train' indicators each have a yellow warning sticker that reads Warning - Laser Hazard
Monday 1st August The ticket hall has been repainted over the weekend, including the previously unpainted high-up bits of plastering around the edge of the ceiling.
Tuesday 2nd August 7:30am - three policemen are standing in the glass-fronted control room in the ticket hall, presumably watching some of Bow Road's 75 new CCTV cameras.
Wednesday 3rd August The white wooden panels on the overbridge have been painted, again, and are roped off with red and white sticky tape.
Thursday 4th August It's another two-coppers-outside-the-front-of-the-station Thursday.
Friday 5th August The white wooden panels on the overbridge have been painted, yet again, and are roped off with red and white sticky tape.
Saturday 6th August Lots of TfL leaflets are piled up (in nice neat piles) on the ledge in front of the unused ticket window, over where nobody ever goes.
Sunday 7th August One month after the tube bombing there are still a very large number of copies of the original Major incident - travel update leaflet piled up on the ticket window ledge, despite the fact that they're now several weeks out of date.
Monday 8th August An irregular-edged hole has been opened up in the plaster on the ceiling at the northern end of the ticket hall.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
The first portakabins appeared outside Bow Road station exactly 18 months ago today. They're still here. Nine months ago we were told that renovation of the station would be "finished by July 2005". It isn't. We appear to have reached the über-painting stage, during which walls have to be repeatedly repainted every time another sign is mounted or another bit of plaster is replaced, until the whole station looks perfect. Which it still doesn't. Which is, presumably, why the portakabins are still here. One day, one day...
Tuesday 9th August The new hole in the ceiling of the ticket hall has been replastered.
Wednesday 10th August The newly replastered hole in the ceiling of the ticket hall has been repainted.
Thursday 11th August If you look very carefully, with the light shining in the right direction, you can still see where the replastered hole in the ceiling of the ticket hall used to be.
Friday 12th August Other than that, the ceiling (and walls) of the ticket hall look all sparkly white again.
Saturday 13th August A couple of very premature conkers have dared to fall from the horse chestnut tree outside the station, probably from the one tiny clump of slightly browning leaves on the eastern side.
Sunday 14th August The temporary protective covering across the floor of the ticket hall, overbridge and stairwells has been removed, revealing the new grey (slightly speckled) plastic surface underneath.
Monday 15th August A small cross of yellow and black tape remains stuck to the floor of the ticket hall, just inside the main station entrance.
Tuesday 16th August Another short strip of yellow and black tape remains, on the small landing halfway down the westbound stairwell.
Wednesday 17th August Two 'Caution wet paint' signs remain stuck to the sparkly white walls at the top of the eastbound stairwell - almost a fortnight after the paint dried.
Thursday 18th August The easternmost green and yellow striped pillar on the westbound platform has a notice stuck to it which reads "Do not touch - wet paint"
Friday 19th August The other nine green and yellow striped pillars on the westbound platform all have notices stuck to them which read "Caution wet paint", or something similar
Saturday 20th August The 'wet paint' notices look like they've been recycled from several previous 'wet paint' events around the station.
Sunday 21st August The 'wet paint' notices on the pillars along the westbound platform have been removed.
Monday 22nd August In today's absolute downpour it is noticeable that the canopy over the eastern end of the westbound platform no longer leaks.
Tuesday 23rd August I watched two tourists reading the big sign on the blue wall outside the station, the one that still reads "The work is due for completion in spring 2005"
Wednesday 24th August Five 'wet paint' signs have appeared on the grey door opposite the top of the westbound stairwell.
Thursday 25th August Those two 'wet paint' signs at the top of the eastbound stairwell are still there, three weeks after they were last true.
Friday 26th August Four 'wet paint' notices have appeared on the green fire door at the top of the westbound stairwell, and even more on four green doors at the eastern end of the westbound platform.
Saturday 27th August All those 'wet paint' notices remain, although no paint still appears to be wet.
Sunday 28th August At last, the two 'wet paint' notices stuck on the wall at the top of the eastbound stairwell have been removed.
Monday 29th August 10:45pm: I saw a white van and four cars parked up on the pavement outside the newsagent's kiosk, with five workmen standing around beside them waiting to go in and do some work in the station.
Tuesday 30th August It is not at all obvious what those five workmen might have been up to overnight.
Wednesday 31st August 12:45pm: I saw a workman clutching a stepladder disappearing behind a door at the eastern end of the eastbound platform.
Thursday 1st September The main doors leading into the station have been repainted green (for at least the third time this year).
Friday 2nd September The green door facing the top of the westbound stairwell has been repainted, again, and labelled with amateur-looking 'wet paint' notices.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
I wonder what the world record is for the number of times a station door has been repainted, because the green entrance doors at Bow Road have now been repainted so many times that I suspect shares in Dulux must have shot through the roof. Close behind are the fire doors at the top of the westbound stairwell, and coming up fast are the green and yellow striped pillars on the westbound platform. A set of laser-jetted Caution - wet paint notices are being recycled all around the station, stuck to the wall beside a different newly gleaming surface every morning - or so it seems. Metronet's renovation work here is starting to feel like a never-ending resurfacing project - rather like the painting of the Forth Rail Bridge - only for no particularly good reason. Still, at least there's something going on at Bow Road this September, which saves me from spending another month writing about falling conkers...
Saturday 3rd September One premature conker has fallen from the horse chestnut tree outside the station, half-cracking out of its protective shell and coming to a rest close to the station entrance.
Sunday 4th September Many of the leaves on the tree have a slightly brown edge, but only a handful are wholly brown.
Monday 5th September The pavement is virtually conker-free.
Tuesday 6th September Irregular grey rectangular painted splotches have appeared on the easternmost green door on the front of the station.
Wednesday 7th September A big tube-map-sized poster frame has appeared on the wall just to the east of the foot of the stairwell on the eastbound platform.
Thursday 8th September The new poster frame is currently filled by a bright yellow rectangle.
Friday 9th September The new poster frame is lockable, and probably hides a sign reading Station Closed, 5mph
Saturday 10th September The conkers have started to fall. Must be the wind.
Sunday 11th September A roadsweeper is being employed to sweep up the conkers outside the station.
Monday 12th September Yellow streaks have appeared on the irregular grey rectangular painted splotches on the easternmost green door on the front of the station.
Tuesday 13th September A new tube-map-sized poster frame has appeared just inside the main entrance to the ticket hall, just above the Metro newspaper rack.
Wednesday 14th September The tube map behind the exit ticket gates has been replaced by a London Connections map.
Thursday 15th September The wall just west of the bottom of the stairwell on the eastbound platform has been repainted a sort of creamy magnolia colour, and a single piece of black and yellow tape has been stuck the full width of the wall as a wet paint warning to commuters.
Friday 16th September A small poster frame has appeared on the wall beneath the white lamp to the right of the main doors into the ticket hall.
Saturday 17th September Dark grey paint now covers the yellow streaks on the irregular grey rectangular painted splotches on the easternmost green doors on the front of the station.
Sunday 18th September There really are a lot of conkers on the pavement outside the station today.
Monday 19th September The easternmost green doors on the front of the station have been repainted green, covering over the dark and light grey splotchy mess that was there previously.
Tuesday 20th September Neither of the new 'next train' indicators on the platforms are working. Pity they've taken the old ones down.
Wednesday 21st September It's still not possible to tell where the next train is going, until it arrives.
Thursday 22nd September Normal 'next train' indicator service is restored.
Friday 23rd September Several randomly-scattered paving slabs along each platform have been replaced by noticeably lighter new slabs.
Saturday 24th September There are slightly more replaced slabs on the eastbound platform than on the westbound platform.
Sunday 25th September They're painting in the ticket hall again. Again. Again.
Monday 26th September Where's the wet paint notice? Aha - on the blue panels on the western wall of the ticket hall.
Tuesday 27th September Even with the new hi-tech floor covering in the ticket hall and on the stairwells, station staff still scribble their usual 'beware, floor surfaces may be slippery' message on a whiteboard when it rains.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
When renovation work on my local tube station began we were promised completion by October. Unfortunately that was October 2004, and the whole project has now dragged on almost a year longer than originally planned. Nothing major's happened for months, but the portakabin out the front of the station remains occupied while repairs and renewals continue intermittently inside. New poster frames are still being erected, old surfaces are being repainted, and only last week several random paving slabs on both platforms were mysteriously replaced. Having been wondering for months why this project has taken so long, I've at last uncovered 'the answer' inside September's edition of Metronet's in-house magazine (downloadable here). And who'd have guessed - it's all somebody else's fault...
Not that this appears to have stopped Metronet from installing huge lengths of new cable at Bow Road. It's been like the spaghetti harvest above some parts of the platforms and stairwells, even if much of the new wiring has now been hidden away inside non-heritage plastic ducting. And as for the 'Section 12' excuse, this relates to special fire safety regulations which apply only to stations which are 'wholly or partly underground'. That's 40% of all the stations on the network, then, including several which Metronet have yet to renovate. But reading elsewhere in the article it seems that an end to the Bow Road upgrade nightmare may (really, genuinely) be nigh.
So the whole circus at Bow Road should be over... by the end of this week! Maybe. I'll let you know if Metronet meet the deadline. What do you think?
Thursday 29th September A man on the westbound platform is checking his hair whilst staring at his reflection in a poster called If London Looked In The Mirror.
Friday 30th September The conker season looks to be drawing to a close.
Saturday 1st October Although latest reports suggest that Bow Road renovation should be signed off and complete by the end of Sptember, the portakabins are stiill here.
Sunday 2nd October The newsagents kiosk outside the station no longer sells papers on Sundays.
Monday 3rd October The big sign on the blue wall beside the portakabin outside the station entrance, the one describing Metronet's Bow Road renovation project in great depth, has disappeared.
Tuesday 4th October The 'next train' indicator announces the arrival of a Hammersmith and City train, but a Wimbledon train arrives instead.
Wednesday 5th October The Not Working Yet sign has been removed from the new Chip and PIN reader attached to the front of the ticket window.
Thursday 6th October An Ealing Broadway train hurtles into the westbound platform, despite no train being predicted by the new 'next train' indicator.
Friday 7th October The white box labelled LFB (London Fire Brigade) which had previously been affixed to the wall to the right-hand side of the station entrance has been moved to the wall on the left-hand side.
Saturday 8th October The blue panels on the wall in the ticket hall have been repainted (yet again), and the 'wet paint' notices are up.
Sunday 9th October Just below the screen in the ticket hall screening images from CCTV cameras around the station is a new sign reading Images are being monitored and recorded.
Monday 10th October A small trapdoor is ajar inside the northern wall of the tiny recess in the centre of the ceiling in the ticket hall.
Tuesday 11th October The trapdoor is still open.
Wednesday 12th October Still open. Nothing else happening.
Thursday 13th October The plastic covering on the floor across the front of the ticket hall has been removed, revealing a large black stripy doormat thing beneath.
Friday 14th October The three blue portakabins on the pavement outside the station have been removed overnight.
Friday, October 14, 2005
I've been wondering for a while how I would actually know that all the work being carried out on the modernisation of Bow Road tube station was finally complete. It would be nice to think that the managers might hang out some celebratory bunting, or tie some balloons across the front of the building, or even just erect a small notice saying "We've finished". But no, I came to the conclusion that the surest indication that contracts were signed and work was complete would be the disappearance of the portakabins stacked up on the pavement outside the station. And, what do you know, sometime before dawn this morning it actually happened! The remaining workmen must have been very busy overnight removing the four big blue containers that they've been using as offices, presumably with a large crane. One last blue metal surrounding wall is still in place, but the hub of the Bow Road renovation operation has finally disappeared. At last. After twenty bloody months. And was it worth it? Somehow I suspect not. I think a full project appraisal is called for...
According to Metronet, who've been frittering away £3.3 million modernising my local tube station for the last 20 months, "the station was delivered into service on 05 October". Well thank goodness for that. There have been times over the last 86 weeks when I thought this incompetent infraco would never deliver. But now at last they've buggered off, leaving behind what may be a shiny new station with several updated features. But has all the effort and inconvenience been worthwhile? I thought I'd carry out an appraisal of Metronet's initial project objectives, because that's the modern way. Here's what they promised the public in a poster last summer. How have they performed?
1)"The modernisation will result in significantly improved facilities": I guess I have a different definition of the word 'facilities' to the top brass at Metronet. I'd been looking forward to at least one change during the Bow Road upgrade that would significantly improve my daily commute, but all I got was a new drinks machine and a louder public address system. The station staff, on the other hand, now have a lovely new control room full of computer screens (presumably for use when they're not busy reading a newspaper in the kiosk by the ticket gate). Lucky them. [Verdict: fail]
2)"A new ticket hall": When I saw this pledge last summer I wondered whether perhaps a brand new ticket hall might be opened up, possibly in the eastern half of the main building not previously open to the public. But no, the 'new ticket hall' is just the old ticket hall with new lighting, new signage and several layers of fresh paint. [Verdict: fail]
3)"New passageways": There are no new public passageways at Bow Road station, just the same old stairwells down from the ticket hall to the platforms. We did get lots of new flooring - a layer of something plastic across both the ticket hall and the stairwells - but station staff still have to scribble "Caution - floor may be slippery" on the station whiteboard whenever it rains. So much for modern engineering. [Verdict: fail]
4)"Improved station lighting": The western half of Bow Road station is officially 'underground', and the lighting down the far end of each platform always used to be dim, dark and uninviting. Things are much brighter now throughout the entire station, possibly too much so, but the whole place feels rather safer as a result. [Verdict: pass]
5)"New signage": a) At last, Bow Road is on the right lines. The big blue sign attached to the front of the station always used to read "DISTRICT AND METROPOLITAN LINES", even though services on the latter line were withdrawn from the station in 1990. No more. All the new signage throughout the station now correctly refers to the "District and Hammersmith and City lines", with matching green and pink trim as appropriate. There are also proper direction signs to Bow Church on the DLR (please turn right outside station), and it's all really rather tasteful. Big improvement. [Verdict: pass]
b) As for the new next train indicators, however, they're rubbish and a complete waste of money. They ought to be so much better than the ancient bulb-operated indicators we used to have (left) but no. The flashy new electronic displays (right) provide less than 45 seconds warning of the destination of the next westbound train, and no information at all about what may be following behind. If you're standing in the ticket hall and see that the next train is heading for Wimbledon, for example, you have a less than 50-50 chance of zipping down the stairs in time to catch it. If they can provide up to six minutes warning of the next three trains at Mile End, the next station down the line, then why can't we have a similar level of information at Bow Road? In my opinion this is the biggest missed opportunity of the entire upgrade. [Verdict: fail]
6)"New platform edge tactile strips": It's good to see facilities installed to assist visually impaired passengers, even if it took the contractors at least four or five attempts to successfully stick a few bits of yellow rubber to the platform surface. [Verdict: pass]
7)"New platform seating": There was seating on the platform before, but now there's more of it and in a modern more comfortable style. Unfortunately most of the new seating is down at the far end of each platform, and most station users can't be arsed to walk more than ten metres from the foot of each stairwell so it rarely gets used. [Verdict: pass]
8)"New CCTV": There was a complete CCTV system at Bow Road station before renovation began, presumably sufficient to prevent this quiet station from becoming a hotbed of violence and crime. Now we have more than 70 security cameras scanning the station, a gobsmackingly high number for a simple two-platform station serving 5000 passengers a day. Walk through the station entrance (click), across the ticket hall (click click click click), down the stairwell (click click) and along the platform (click x 24) and every last sigh, grimace and nosepick will have been recorded for posterity by the security staff in the new control room. Charles Clarke would be proud. I'm not sure whether I'm more disturbed by the implicit attack on my civil liberties or the undoubtedly exorbitant cost of this wholly unnecessary mega-surveillance system. [Verdict: pass, sadly]
9)"The unique architectural features of the station will be preserved throughout": Take a look at these before and after shots the wall at the western end of the westbound platform. The photo on the left shows a crumbling station with paint peeling from the walls, the end result of years of neglect and underfunding, and desperately in need of repair. And on the right is the same wall today, gleaming and shiny with modern easy-clean panelling. It's undoubtedly a great improvement, except that Bow Road station is supposed to be a Grade 2 listed building and somehow it now looks like a 1902 station with chunks of 2005 bolted on. That old wall will never be seen again, masked forever behind a heritage-free vinyl veneer, and the new spray-painted tube sign is no replacement for the historic Bow Road roundel.
The rest of the station reflects this curious mix of old and new. Take for example the 26 pillars that support the platform roof - probably the station's most prominent feature. These have been lovingly repainted in the original yellow and green, toppped off with bright red, and give the station real character. Unfortunately some twat has also repainted all the metalwork across the platform roof with bright blue paint, and the resulting colour clash looks amateur and uncoordinated. The station frontage has also been carefully repaired and restored, but is now scarred by an ugly electronic sign bolted beside the entrance. The stairwells have scrubbed up well, but they're now dominated by giant glass globe light fittings which look somehow more alien than Victorian. And let's not forget the ubiquitous plastic cable ducting, copious numbers of loudspeakers and all those bloody security cameras. Metronet may indeed have preserved the heritage features at Bow Road, but impact of the old has been considerably diminished by all the additional modern stuff they've installed everywhere else. The station has, alas, been refurbished rather than restored. [Verdict: fail]
10)"The work is due for completion in spring 2005": Leaves are now starting to fall from the horse chestnut tree outside Bow Road station, so it must be autumn, so work has been completed two seasons too late. When I started recording daily (in)activity at Bow Road in February last year, little did I expect to be still going 20 months later. It's taken Metronet more than 600 days to complete their first PPP-funded station upgrade, with Bow Road the guinea pig for their incompetent and wasteful bureaucratic procedures. The whole project has been beset by a succession of over-optimistic deadlines, and hindered by poor planning, excessive paperwork and limited communication. The travelling public have also been forced to endure a year of late evening stationclosures, the first six months of which were undoubtedly totally unnecessary. Ultimately the taxpayer has shelled out millions of pounds for a gravy train of fatcat contractors to drag their feet carrying out what is essentially a minor facelift. [Verdict: fail]
Conclusion: Whose bloody stupid idea was it to outsource the maintenance and modernisation of London's tube network to the private sector? Let my localstation stand as an example of what happens when profit and paperwork become more important than planning and performance. I fear for the desecration these companies could cause at a station with real heritage features. I despair at the amount of money being siphoned from an urgent modernisation programme to line shareholders' pockets. And although I'm glad to see the back of the builders at Bow Road, I'm warned that they intend to return in 7 or 8 years time to start all over again. In the meantime maybe I should turn my attention to the mess these people are about to make of the Lea Valley Olympic site instead... [Verdict: fail]
• February 2004: Four portakabins appear on the pavement outside the station, surrounded by a blue metal wall. [expected completion date: October 2004] • March 2004: Station opening hours restricted (closed before 6am and after 10pm). Blue walls screen the rear of each platform. [expected completion date: early 2005] • April 2004: Scaffolding appears across the front of the station. Blue walls on platforms extended (and covered by safety signage). • May 2004: Screening of platform walls complete. Additional blue screening walls appear in the ticket hall and in front of the station. • June 2004: Black and yellow sticky tape affixed to various surfaces for safety reasons. • July 2004: Scaffolding erected around the overbridge linking the ticket hall to the platforms. [expected completion date: July 2005] • August 2004: Preparatory work grinds to a halt. • September 2004: Conkers fall from the horse chestnut tree in front the station. Bugger all happens inside the station. • October 2004:Work commences. Three weekend station closures. Light fittings modernised in ticket hall and stairwells. Station reopens before 6am. [expected completion date: February 2005] • November 2004: Plastic and metal ducting appears around the station. Repainting begins. • December 2004: Four more weekend station closures. Miles of cable threaded all around the station. Windows reglazed. Repainting continues. • January 2005: Three more weekend station closures. Two rows of new light fittings appear above the western half of each platform. Floor surfaces stripped. Scaffolding removed across front of station. Repainting continues. • February 2005: One more weekend station closure. Blue wall on eastbound platform removed to reveal new white panelled wall. Benches appear. Several new loudspeakers and security cameras installed. Globe lamps installed above stairwells. Repainting continues. [expected completion date: July 2005] • March 2005: Station no longer closed after 10pm. Blue wall on westbound platform removed to reveal new white panelled wall. Striplights along platforms illuminated. New flooring laid. New control room revealed behind large window in ticket hall. Scaffolding on overbridge removed. Repainting continues. • April 2005: New next train indicators installed and under test. Station signage updated. Enlarged CCTV system operational. White lamps appear on front of station. Repainting continues. • May 2005: New next train indicators operational. Poster frames appear on platform walls. Chocolate and drinks machines installed. Repainting continues. • June 2005: Raised strips affixed parallel to platform edges to aid visually impared passengers. New Help Points functional. Repainting continues. • July 2005: Old next train indicators removed. New fire alarm system installed. New control room operational. Ticket hall signage updated. Repainting continues. • August 2005: New flooring uncovered. Repainting continues. [expected completion date: July 2005] • September 2005: Repainting continues. [expected completion date: 30 September 2005] • October 2005: Portakabins removed. Project complete.
Sorry, did I say 'project complete'? It seems I was a little premature...
Sunday 16th October Overnight some Metronet gibbon has installed a new "next train" indicator halfway down the eastbound platform (between the 6th and 7th pillars). Presumably this is because you can't see the first "next train" indicator from halfway down the eastbound platform because it's obscured by pillars. Unfortunately, unless you happen to be standing precisely between the 6th and 7th pillars on the eastbound platform, it's impossible to see the new "next train" indicator because it's completely obscured (by pillars). The only passengers with a really clear view of the new "next train" indicator on the eastbound platform are those standing on the westbound platform, which is a fat lot of good for all concerned.
NDBow Road station, London E3
I wonder if workmen will finally get round to updating the sign outside the station, the one that says Bow Road is on the "District and Metropolitan lines". Bow Road's not been on the Metropolitan line since 1990 when the Hammersmith & City line took over the section east of Liverpool Street. But, I read, there are plans to change that back again. Tube bosses want Metropolitan line trains to run from northwest London right through to Barking again, hopefully by 2011. Meanwhile the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines will be sort-of-merged to provide what's being called a 'T-Cup' service. Trains will run from Hammersmith to Edgware Road, then continue all the way round what's now the Circle line before terminating at Edgware Road second time around. You heard it here first. I heard it here first. And no, I don't believe it'll happen either.
There are eight blue walls at Bow Road station in total - two outside on the pavement, one in the ticket hall, three on the westbound platform and two on the eastbound platform. They vary in size from 'really quite short' to 'longer than a train'. And every single one of them has been covered with signage by some Transport for London safety operative with an obsession for risk assessment. Honestly, you'd think Bow Road station was the most dangerous place in the world given the number of safety signs that have been erected over the last six months. No matter that ordinary stations can get by with just a handful. And no matter that no obvious work seems to be going on to justify the enormous additional signage tally (nearly 200 at latest count).
• "A new ticket hall" (progress - zero)
It's not yet clear when the work will be finished. I'm indebted to a local correspondent for pointing out that nobody at Bow Road appears to be sure either. He's sent me photographs of four different posters at the station which give four different completion dates (and look, they're all in dg-approved colours!). The tube website until recently offered a different date ("until 26 October") until they updated the site to give yet another ("until the end of February 2005"). Some sort of campaign of public misinformation seems to be underway, raising our hopes just to dash them again when the due date arrives and the work is no nearer to completion. Further official details are now apparent, however:
District line General Manager, Bob Thorogood said "When this work is complete, passengers will be able to enjoy a modernised ticket hall and platforms and the new communications room will help us to make the service more efficient. We are extending the weekend closure to ensure that Metronet Rail SSL are able to complete the work by February 2005."The first of these extended weekend closures merely resulted in some cable ducting being attached to the stairwells and a line of fluorescent tubes being bolted to the ceiling. The second seems to have been devoted to replacing the lighting in the ticket hall and draping a mass of black cables along the passageways and through a wall. It looks like a colony of giant snakes have taken up residence in the rafters, dangling down and weaving in and out of the ironwork. This is no sensitive Victorian reconstruction, this is infrastructure installation on the cheap. The station actually looks more unattractive than it did before redevelopment began and, because it's now much better illuminated, this just makes the ugly modern intrusions even more obvious.
Most worrying of all, however, is the sticker at the foot of the westbound stairwell which reads CCTV Camera 43. It appears that tube bosses plan to install at least 43 cameras at this station! What the hell for? It's not an especially big station, but some safety bigwig appears to think that no corner of this station can possibly remain unsnooped. It's not an especially busy station either, with an average of just 5500 users each day, but it looks as though there's going to be at least one camera for every 125 passengers. What an incredible waste of money. This looks like tube surveillance overkill to me, organised by some profligate underground Big Brother figure. Sorry, but I don't feel any safer just because the station supervisor can sit in her new office and flick between 43 different video shots of me walking around her empty platforms. I'd just like some money to be spent on a decent functional station with a lick of paint and a 'next train' indicator that's less than 40 years old, please. Some time in the next four months would be nice.
Tuesday 21st December
Hallelujah! The western half of the longest blue wall on the eastbound platform has been completely removed, revealing completed renovation work behind. The wall is now encased in a clean, white metallic plastic covering. On the new wall are full size 'Bow Road' roundels and a top strip (headlined in green and pink) that reads alternately 'BOW ROAD' and 'Bow Church DLR station →'.
And then last week, finally, all of a sudden, we got the first glimpse of the new improved Bow Road station. Overnight workmen whisked away the long blue wall that's been stretched along the eastbound platform since May, revealing the new completed station wall behind. The old wall used to be covered by peeling off-cream paint. The new wall is covered by 79 panels of gleaming white plastic-y stuff. There are eight red and blue station roundels spaced out along the full length of the wall, which is topped off by a row of repeating station names beneath a green and pink strip. Step off an Upminster train and your eyes now meet this elegant modern canvas, free from adverts, graffiti and clutter. It can't last.
But, quite frankly, one nice wall and a few repainted pillars isn't much to show for a year's work. There has been a lick of paint throughout the ticket hall and across the upper reaches of the station, there are several new cameras and loudspeakers in every nook and cranny, and there are two rows of new lighting along each platform that maybe one day will be switched on. But take a look at the ceiling in this photograph and you'll see that most of the station is still as grimy and unloved as it used to be twelve months ago. You might also be to spot that the blue walls are still fully intact on the westbound platform (right), and I can assure you there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that any gleaming white walls are ready to emerge from there in the near future. In fact I've not yet seen one single innovation at Bow Road that actually improves anyone's journey. If you want to know when the next train is due or where it might be going, you're still better off peering down the tunnel to see if there are any headlights in the distance. Transport for London say that the whole Bow Road upgrade project will be complete by next May, maybe. Don't be surprised if my updates are still continuing this time next year.
Wednesday 9th FebruaryExcept they promised us it wasn't going to look modern. This station upgrade was supposed to retain all of the station's key Edwardian architectural features. I'm sure they're all still there, somewhere underneath this modern veneer, but both platforms now have rather more of an 'airport terminal' feeling to them. There are little four-seater benches that wouldn't look out of place at IKEA, there's strip lighting that might be found in any office, and there's an artificial white coating covering the full length of each wall. It's even less traditional up the stairwells where giant alien globes have landed, masquerading as light fittings. And everywhere, absolutely every-bloody-where, there are all-pervasive security cameras. I suspect these are to be monitored from the brand new control room that's magically appeared off the ticket hall, which should give the station staff somewhere warm to sit and read their newspapers while they continue to ignore all the passing passengers.
To your left is the old 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform. It's probably about 30 or 40 years old, it relies on ancient lightbulb technology and, for the last umpteen years, it's correctly told us the destination of the next eastbound train. To your right is the new 'next train' indicator on the eastbound platform. It's been in place for the last two months and it relies on fantastic new 21st century electronic technology. It's only recently gone into active service, but alas it's not providing accurate information. My camera can't photograph the flickering display but, trust me, yesterday it was displaying 'Upminster' no matter what the destination of the next eastbound train, even if that train was only going as far Dagenham East, Barking or Plaistow. Which is a bit rubbish.
Tonight the Evening Standard devoted a whole double page spread to the sorry saga of Metronet's wasteful procrastination at Bow Road station, including several paragraphs lifted from this blog and a big picture showing some workmen sitting on the platform doing sod all. And all this penned by Andrew Gilligan, the former BBC journalist at the centre of the Hutton Report debacle and now writing investigate articles for the Evening Standard. I'd love to link to the article so that you can read it in full, except that the Evening Standard appear to have downsized their online news presence in favour of advertising features and theatre ticket promotions so you'll have to make do with this photograph instead.
As well as quotations from the blog ("Tuesday 10 February: A blue wall has appeared in front of the four Portakabins."), Andrew's feature concentrates on the lack of visible evidence that £3.3 million at Bow Road has been well spent. He uncovers the nightmarish PPP bureaucracy that required more than 50 sign-offs before work could begin, which is probably why nothing happened much happened here for the first six months or so. He gets Metronet's stations director, Clive Coleman, to admit that "nobody quite knew how [quality] assurance and scoping worked, how you brought people on site." Andrew discovers that there are an astonishing 70 new cameras at the station, even though CCTV was already installed at the station before the work began. And he confirms that Metronet have indeed declared "practical completion" on Bow Road this month, although this doesn't mean that the work is finished. Not quite.
"I do wonder where the money has gone", says Diamond Geezer (he will not let the Standard use his real name. Perhaps he fears Metronet will come round and refurbish his flat).All in all the saga of Bow Road has been a litany of shame and profligate waste with no particularly worthy outcome. And I'm delighted, finally, to see this written in inch-high letters across London's evening paper. Today I can be fairly certain that my Bow Road diary, which started out as an obscure daily 'spot the difference' activity, has been brought to the attention of a readership of 1 million Londoners, including the top brass at Metronet and maybe a few other political movers and shakers too. Who says that blogging changes nothing?Indeed, Metronet's entire, much trumpeted 152-station refurbishment programme includes almost no improvements whatever in the thing that really matters on the Underground: capacity. The changes will be almost all cosmetic: new vinyl walls, new CCTV cameras, rumble-strips on platforms to help the partially-sighted. New escalators, new entrances, wider platforms or passageways are not on the menu. Given this company's difficulties to date with even quite simple tasks, perhaps from one perspective this is just as well. But it is one more example of how the PPP will fail to provide the Underground with the improvements it actually needs.And to my new Metronet audience today I say, "Please remember that there's still more work to be done at Bow Road, and I'm still watching you not doing it."Monday 27th June
3) "New passageways": There are no new public passageways at Bow Road station, just the same old stairwells down from the ticket hall to the platforms. We did get lots of new flooring - a layer of something plastic across both the ticket hall and the stairwells - but station staff still have to scribble "Caution - floor may be slippery" on the station whiteboard whenever it rains. So much for modern engineering. [Verdict: fail]
9) "The unique architectural features of the station will be preserved throughout": Take a look at these before and after shots the wall at the western end of the westbound platform. The photo on the left shows a crumbling station with paint peeling from the walls, the end result of years of neglect and underfunding, and desperately in need of repair. And on the right is the same wall today, gleaming and shiny with modern easy-clean panelling. It's undoubtedly a great improvement, except that Bow Road station is supposed to be a Grade 2 listed building and somehow it now looks like a 1902 station with chunks of 2005 bolted on. That old wall will never be seen again, masked forever behind a heritage-free vinyl veneer, and the new spray-painted tube sign is no replacement for the historic Bow Road roundel.
Conclusion: Whose bloody stupid idea was it to outsource the maintenance and modernisation of London's tube network to the private sector? Let my local station stand as an example of what happens when profit and paperwork become more important than planning and performance. I fear for the desecration these companies could cause at a station with real heritage features. I despair at the amount of money being siphoned from an urgent modernisation programme to line shareholders' pockets. And although I'm glad to see the back of the builders at Bow Road, I'm warned that they intend to return in 7 or 8 years time to start all over again. In the meantime maybe I should turn my attention to the mess these people are about to make of the Lea Valley Olympic site instead... [Verdict: fail]
• February 2004: Four portakabins appear on the pavement outside the station, surrounded by a blue metal wall. [expected completion date: October 2004]
