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.
The utter uselessness continues...
Saturday, December 01, 2001
Square Routes - December 2004
It's time once again for diamond geezer to spend a few days exploring London by bus. I thought I'd get out and view some more of the capital from the best vantage point of all, the top deck of a London bus. And then I'd come back and tell you all about what I saw. Just like I did this time last year.
Last year I travelled on seven buses whose route numbers were cube numbers. This year I've decided to switch my mathematical allegiance to square numbers. (1x1, 2x2, 3x3 and so on.) Square routes. I'm only going up as far as 10x10 because the journeys get a little too suburban after that, but the first ten square routes are fascinating enough. Oystercards at the ready - hold very tight please.
Square Routes: Day 1 x 1 Bus 1: Centre Point - Canada Water
Location: London southeast, inner
Length of journey: 6 miles, 35 minutes
The first bus in London begins its journey, appropriately enough, at Centre Point. It's London's 20th tallest building (well, it was last time I checked), a 35-floor concrete tower dominating the eastern end of Oxford Street. At its foot, up an obscure sideroad, a queue of number 1 buses wait to begin their journey from the middle of everywhere to the middle of nowhere.
I boarded the first bus outside Argos on a busy Saturday afternoon, clambering up to the top deck where there was the unnerving smell of fish. We headed east along mostly-deserted roads straight through Holborn and south towards Aldwych. A bespectacled librarian came and sat behind me, commentating on the view throughout the journey for the benefit of his Japanese lady visitor. He was keen to tell her that London's buses are amongst the most successful in the world, with passenger numbers back up at 1969 levels thanks to Mayor Ken Livingstone's ambititious Transport Strategy. I could have hugged him for making such a pertinent comment just two paragraphs into my ten-day exposé of the capital's bus network, but he was an ugly old git so I thought better of it. He went on later to point out a market stall full of plaintains, or "crooked nanas" as he called them, so I think I made the right choice.
We crossed into South London over Waterloo Bridge, with one of the best views of the Thames spread out to either side (so long as you don't look too hard at the concrete mess on the South Bank). Passenger numbers picked up outside the ghastly Elephant and Castle shopping centre (it's pink, and poorer than poor), then it was on towards the Old Kent Road (rightly the cheapest property on the Monopoly board). At the Bricklayers Arms (a giant traffic square-about) we headed off into deepest Bermondsey (also poorer than poor), skirting the edge of the Congestion Charge zone.
There was the sound of shouting, nay yelling, from downstairs. The driver had forgotten to stop at the last stop, or maybe these two women hadn't pressed the button in time, but clearly the whole thing was now 'the other person's fault'. The driver inched the bus forward on a go-slow as the haranguing continued, before finally letting the harpies disembark and carry their Safeway carrier bags grudgingly back up the road.
It's not a long journey this one, so just a few more railway viaducts, street markets and one-way systems for the bus to negotiate. Straight past the new Surrey Quays shopping nirvana and on to our final destination at the new CanadaWater transport 'hub'. An oval glass atrium sits beside the new bus station, and atop a new tube interchange between the Jubilee and East London lines. Where once were the old Surrey Docks, this new bus station/station has made Rotherhithe an area where people actually want to live. So I'm told. And just a short bus/tube ride from where the real action is.
1 links • Route 1: anorak-level bus information
• Route 1: anorak-level route information
• Route 1: journey time and connections
• Route 1: timetable
Square Routes: Day 2 x 2 Bus 4: Waterloo - Archway
Location: London north, inner
Length of journey: 8 miles, 55 minutes
From Waterloo you can catch the Eurostar to Paris and Brussels, or you can catch the number 4 bus to Finsbury Park and Archway. It's a tough choice, but I took the latter option. Waterloo station is so big that it took me a good ten minutes to find the right bus stop from which to begin my journey, out beside the rumbling Waterloo Road. An endless stream of red double deckers navigated down the street, pulling in to pick off passengers from the harbour of their bus shelter. I waited ages 4 my chosen vessel to arrive. We sailed off round IMAX Island, then steamed ahead across Waterloo Bridge. The view to port and starboard along the river from my lookout in the crow's nest was picture perfect.
The bus skirted Aldwych, passing a cluster of dossers drinking out of brown paper bags. We entered the City at the original site of Temple Bar and descended Fleet Street, now a mere shadow of its former journalistic self. I was surprised to see that the only publishers remaining in the street are Kall Kwik (based, believe it or not, in the very shop where Sweeney Todd once used to slice and dice his unshaven victims). Up Ludgate Hill we just caught a glimpse of Temple Bar in its new setting, lost in the scaffolding and redevelopment around St Paul's Cathedral. Herds of open-topped sightseeing buses passed us by, and tourists stared into our ordinary top deck as though we were sights ourselves. A few minutes later we exited the City past the giant concrete blocks of the Barbican, its flowerboxes arranged in regular tiers like some multi-coloured waterfall.
As soon as we drove north of the City our view immediately changed. The backroads of Islington (officially the very southern end of the A1 trunk road) weren't quite so wealthy, or quite so photogenic. There were a couple of exceptions - notably Upper Street (a buzzy place to whine and dine) - but either side we were suddenly reminded that real people live in London and that not all of them can afford the antiques being sold up the road. Life looked at its grimmest around Finsbury Park, although the road here did boast a view of London's finest footballstadium - as well as the Arsenal Fish Bar, the Arsenal Cafe, the Arsenal Supermarket, the Arsenal Barbers, the Arsenal Tavern and The Gunners (another pub, of course).
By the time we reached the Holloway Road our driver appeared to be trying very hard not to stop, but he was thwarted by passengers who kept trying to flag the bus down. He paused briefly along a residential avenue in Tufnell Park to let on board a mad lady and her two contrasting dogs. Mrs Mad charged up to the top deck where she let both her smelly alsatian and small yappy mongrel off their leads and let them both roam free. Then she spent the rest of the journey talking to both of her canine companions. I'm sure that repeatedly gurgling "Ooh you're so big, you're so big" is normal behaviour for a pet owner behind closed doors, but her unhinged utterances felt extremely uncomfortable on board public transport. On reaching our final destination at Archway Mrs Mad then yelled loudly at the driver to open the doors and let her menagerie disembark which, after a short delay for effect, he was only too pleased to do. I followed a safe distance after.
4 links • Route 4: anorak-level route information
• Route 4: journey time and connections
• Route 4: timetable
• Huge petition against appalling service on route 4
Square Routes: Day 3 x 3 Bus 9: Aldwych - Hammersmith
Location: London west, inner
Length of journey: 5 miles, 40 minutes
I made this journey three months too late. Back at the start of September this was a Routemaster route, but alas the new replacement boxy double deckers make the number 9 now as anonymous a route as almost any other. Shame. My third square route was a relatively-brief jaunt from the West End to West London, beginning almost directly outside the boarded-up entrance to another long lost transport legend - the disused underground station at Aldwych (deceased 1994). King's College nextdoor is much older, 175 years old this year, but still very much functional.
My journey would have been much more pleasant in a Routemaster. Just one stop down the Strand we had to wait for two minutes while a balding Japanese man battled to find change and then feed it into the ticket machine beside the bus stop. Actually we didn't have to wait - our driver was just being kind - but this delay would never have happened with an on-board conductor to sort everything out. My grandstand view of Nelson's Column would also have been considerably better had I not been sitting on a stiff plastic seat of the kind you'd expect to find in a cheap cafeteria. Still, such is progress.
Apart from TrafalgarSquare, route 9 has much to recommend it to the tourist. This might explain why five tourists crammed into the three seats next to me at the front of the top deck for most of the journey. They ooh-ed at Admiralty Arch, they ahh-ed at Piccadilly Circus and they prodded furiously in the general direction of the Ritz. I could have told them everything there is to know about Piccadilly as we sped down the bus lane there, but instead I chose to keep quiet. Knightsbridge was a bit of an ugly disappointment, although the retail cathedral of Harvey Nicks definitely caught their eye. They strained in vain to spot Princess Di'sfountain through the trees in Hyde Park as we passed close by, then disembarked rapidly when we reached the Royal Albert Hall. I'd like to think that this was for cultural reasons but I suspect it was more likely they just wanted to take each other's photos beneath the gaudy gold of the Albert Memorial.
Just before we reached Hammersmith, a sad sight caught my eye at the end of Kensington High Street. Here stands the CommonwealthInstitute, a low concrete building with a curved green copper roof which for 40 years promoted cultural diversity to an under-enlightened nation. I remember being taken round the exhibition halls as a child and seeing strange African masks from distant lands that Britain had only just realised it didn't rule any more. Alas the building now lies empty, having been closed to the public two years ago by its somewhat suspect board of trustees. A number of Commonwealth leaders support the idea that the Institute should be knocked down and the money from the sale of the land used to fund schooling for disadvantaged children. No doubt property speculators are licking their lips at the prospect, but I would be saddened if this slice of post-imperial heritage were to be replaced by 'Tanzania Court' and 'Lesotho Villas' (1 and 2 bedroom apartments available). As my number 9 journey had shown, the past is always in danger of being lost forever.
NDIt'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.
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.
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]
Square Routes - December 2004
The first bus in London begins its journey, appropriately enough, at Centre Point. It's London's 20th tallest building (well, it was last time I checked), a 35-floor concrete tower dominating the eastern end of Oxford Street. At its foot, up an obscure sideroad, a queue of number 1 buses wait to begin their journey from the middle of everywhere to the middle of nowhere.
It's not a long journey this one, so just a few more railway viaducts, street markets and one-way systems for the bus to negotiate. Straight past the new Surrey Quays shopping nirvana and on to our final destination at the new Canada Water transport 'hub'. An oval glass atrium sits beside the new bus station, and atop a new tube interchange between the Jubilee and East London lines. Where once were the old Surrey Docks, this new bus station/station has made Rotherhithe an area where people actually want to live. So I'm told. And just a short bus/tube ride from where the real action is.
From Waterloo you can catch the Eurostar to Paris and Brussels, or you can catch the number 4 bus to Finsbury Park and Archway. It's a tough choice, but I took the latter option. Waterloo station is so big that it took me a good ten minutes to find the right bus stop from which to begin my journey, out beside the rumbling Waterloo Road. An endless stream of red double deckers navigated down the street, pulling in to pick off passengers from the harbour of their bus shelter. I waited ages 4 my chosen vessel to arrive. We sailed off round IMAX Island, then steamed ahead across Waterloo Bridge. The view to port and starboard along the river from my lookout in the crow's nest was picture perfect.
As soon as we drove north of the City our view immediately changed. The backroads of Islington (officially the very southern end of the A1 trunk road) weren't quite so wealthy, or quite so photogenic. There were a couple of exceptions - notably Upper Street (a buzzy place to whine and dine) - but either side we were suddenly reminded that real people live in London and that not all of them can afford the antiques being sold up the road. Life looked at its grimmest around Finsbury Park, although the road here did boast a view of London's finest football stadium - as well as the Arsenal Fish Bar, the Arsenal Cafe, the Arsenal Supermarket, the Arsenal Barbers, the Arsenal Tavern and The Gunners (another pub, of course).
I made this journey three months too late. Back at the start of September this was a Routemaster route, but alas the new replacement boxy double deckers make the number 9 now as anonymous a route as almost any other. Shame. My third square route was a relatively-brief jaunt from the West End to West London, beginning almost directly outside the boarded-up entrance to another long lost transport legend - the disused underground station at Aldwych (deceased 1994). King's College nextdoor is much older, 175 years old this year, but still very much functional.
My journey would have been much more pleasant in a Routemaster. Just one stop down the Strand we had to wait for two minutes while a balding Japanese man battled to find change and then feed it into the ticket machine beside the bus stop. Actually we didn't have to wait - our driver was just being kind - but this delay would never have happened with an on-board conductor to sort everything out. My grandstand view of Nelson's Column would also have been considerably better had I not been sitting on a stiff plastic seat of the kind you'd expect to find in a cheap cafeteria. Still, such is progress.
