Post by adehare2012 on Apr 23, 2012 16:51:29 GMT
Well, its a Monday and the Victoria Line has decided that the weekend should carry on and completely knacker BOTH rush hours.
What has been going on with this usually reliable line today?
Got to Tottenham Hale about 7:20 this morning and our driver on Greater Anglia (for once) bothered to tell us there was no Victoria Line service from Tottenham Hale. What was going on this morning to suspend the northern part of the line. What he didn't say was whether it was worth passengers for stations south of Seven Sisters like me, getting a bus to Seven Sisters and then picking up the Victoria Line there.
Now let the fun begin. Got to the Victoria Line platforms at Kings Cross St Pancras about 4:10pm today to find the northbound platform in complete and utter chaos.
It seems that there was some problem which had suspended the line between Highbury & Islington and Walthamstow Central again (actually I believe it was a fire alert at Seven Sisters), except that they weren't bothering to run ANY Victoria Line trains as far as Highbury and Islington, rather they were deciding to confuse the passengers by turning everything round at Kings Cross St Pancras.
OK, so if they are saying that the service was going as far as Highbury & Islington and then suspended from there to Walthamstow, why were there no trains running to Highbury & Islington?? Was it that a change in plan had not been given to anybody on the station, or do London Underground just not bother to run a train one more station, rather delay everything even more by sending everything into the one siding that's available at Kings Cross.
Now for the fire alert. I've been on tubes that have gone through stations before which have been closed due to fire alerts (even remember going through Oxford Circus once), but the lines kept running.
So, why does Seven Sisters today appear to be so so different to much bigger stations, with more lines running through them, and more complicated tunnels, etc. I'm sure there is a very good reason why they had to suspend everything although from a passengers point of view, it does beg the question, was the line suspended becaus trains terminate at Seven Sisters, or was there some other reason for it. Yes, before anybody shouts me down and says the Fire Brigade may have demanded that the station be closed and the line suspended, again, why did they allow other lines to keep going through Oxford Circus when once line was suspended.
I'm usually a BIG defender of station staff at Kings Cross and on the Underground in general, but the guy on teh PA at Kings Cross today was getting rather tiresome keep saying to passengers that they should get the Piccadilly Line and then use the bus. Now, that works for Finsbury Park and to an extent Seven Sisters (though have you tried getting on a 259 or 279 to Seven Sisters at Manor House, its not easy). However, I needed to get to Tottenham Hale, and as far as I can remember, there are no buses that go direct to Tottenham Hale from either Finsbury Park or Manor House. Not very easy to change buses and negotiate a strange place when you can't see.
Of course, I eventually did manage to find my way around the station, find someone kind enough to get me to the Metropolitan Line and did finally get home, but for once, I have nothing to commend the station staff at Kings Cross for.
Overall, not a good day on the Victoria Line, lets just hope tomorrow is better
What has been going on with this usually reliable line today?
Got to Tottenham Hale about 7:20 this morning and our driver on Greater Anglia (for once) bothered to tell us there was no Victoria Line service from Tottenham Hale. What was going on this morning to suspend the northern part of the line. What he didn't say was whether it was worth passengers for stations south of Seven Sisters like me, getting a bus to Seven Sisters and then picking up the Victoria Line there.
Now let the fun begin. Got to the Victoria Line platforms at Kings Cross St Pancras about 4:10pm today to find the northbound platform in complete and utter chaos.
It seems that there was some problem which had suspended the line between Highbury & Islington and Walthamstow Central again (actually I believe it was a fire alert at Seven Sisters), except that they weren't bothering to run ANY Victoria Line trains as far as Highbury and Islington, rather they were deciding to confuse the passengers by turning everything round at Kings Cross St Pancras.
OK, so if they are saying that the service was going as far as Highbury & Islington and then suspended from there to Walthamstow, why were there no trains running to Highbury & Islington?? Was it that a change in plan had not been given to anybody on the station, or do London Underground just not bother to run a train one more station, rather delay everything even more by sending everything into the one siding that's available at Kings Cross.
Now for the fire alert. I've been on tubes that have gone through stations before which have been closed due to fire alerts (even remember going through Oxford Circus once), but the lines kept running.
So, why does Seven Sisters today appear to be so so different to much bigger stations, with more lines running through them, and more complicated tunnels, etc. I'm sure there is a very good reason why they had to suspend everything although from a passengers point of view, it does beg the question, was the line suspended becaus trains terminate at Seven Sisters, or was there some other reason for it. Yes, before anybody shouts me down and says the Fire Brigade may have demanded that the station be closed and the line suspended, again, why did they allow other lines to keep going through Oxford Circus when once line was suspended.
I'm usually a BIG defender of station staff at Kings Cross and on the Underground in general, but the guy on teh PA at Kings Cross today was getting rather tiresome keep saying to passengers that they should get the Piccadilly Line and then use the bus. Now, that works for Finsbury Park and to an extent Seven Sisters (though have you tried getting on a 259 or 279 to Seven Sisters at Manor House, its not easy). However, I needed to get to Tottenham Hale, and as far as I can remember, there are no buses that go direct to Tottenham Hale from either Finsbury Park or Manor House. Not very easy to change buses and negotiate a strange place when you can't see.
Of course, I eventually did manage to find my way around the station, find someone kind enough to get me to the Metropolitan Line and did finally get home, but for once, I have nothing to commend the station staff at Kings Cross for.
Overall, not a good day on the Victoria Line, lets just hope tomorrow is better
