Mile End = AWFUL

Personally I quite like Mile End. Haven't been down there recently ... so can't comment on the smell ....

The 'old' smell (that I remember, and quite liked!) was a sort of disinfectant smell ... I remember that Embankment and Tower Hill had it as soon as you come through the entrance ....

Only thing I smell is the "Central Line smell" ;D It's rather dull but Bethnal Green's worse...

Dalston Kingsland wins the stinkiest station award by far...

Sam

I agree with DavidH, at Mile End you have a wider variety of trains to watch, Stepney Green is just a box with rails in it. Rubbish.

version 3.1 - What a fabulous picture! What sort of camera/exposure did you use?

BUMP.

I am now convinced that Metronet reads this forum - last weekend when I went through Mile End, I could see that the roof was indeed being sandblasted, allowing the dull white bricks behind the paint to be revealed. Most of the pillars were thoroughly stripped of their tiles as well.

Good on them IMO - a bright vaulted ceiling with uplighters on the pillars would really improve the station atmosphere enormously.

I went through Mile End today for the first time in a couple of weeks and was really surprised at how far the preparatory works have progressed!

I have to say I generally agree with the comments previously posted - it's always seemed kind of 'utilitarian' to me in some ways whilst at the same time having quite a few uniques features (though I admit I've never actually used it as a station), and as mentioned was at one time a hot spot of one unders, though (fingers crossed) initiatives do seem to have addressed this. But arriving at 40mph with crowds on the platform always grabbed the attention just a little!..........

I know for a fact that quite a few Metronet engineers pop in here from time to time. I suspect some of them are members too! This forum is very well regarded amongst my colleagues and is becoming quite well known throughout the compay and Infraco's alike.

The SSR team has certainly utilised (with permission) staff feedback for the upgrade project, and look to the forum to get a feel of how customers perceive us too. I think that's one of the reasons the 'S' Stock got such a high feedback rating when it went through the last round of CAT (Customer Acceptance Testing).

Anyway, as usual I am taking the thread off topic. Sorry!

Typical west end driver ...never venturing east of Tower Hill ;D ;D

What is the point of those bizare yellow and blue bits of wood that have been mounted on some of the walls ? There is no room for work to be done behind them (some are screwed straight into the wall) so what's the point ? Seems like a bit of a waste of time and money .... surely they are not the proposed final product !!!

As for the end of platform "toilet" imagine having to remove that batch of tiles ! Hope protective gear was worn for that !!!!

Regarding the corrosive effect of Uric Acid, I wonder how long until Barking station building collapses onto the eastbound !!!!

I changed at Mile End last time I was in London and almost missed the stop - my brain didn't process the blue hoarding as the correct decor for Mile End (it is a lot of stops from Chiswick Park, and I was still slightly hung over so I wasn't paying as much attention as I might have been).

Typical, I had to see the blummin place twice on my early turn! ;D

I appreciate the OP and the thread. Brings back more memories. :-)

I recollect along the Central Westbound platform, around mid-point there seemed to be cabling into a mini tunnel I now suspect with hindsight might be to a traction current substation there locally?

I did very occasionally venture upstairs and into the sunshine as opposed to just using it as a cross-platform transfer,.

AND am quite sure at some point in late 1950's - late 1960's there was a headwall sign on the centre subsurface stock tracks to politely warn the drivers (and guards in them days) not to slam the doors and p**s off PDQ if an adjoining Central Train was in the vicinity. :-)

FWIW, a pressure wash to remove the sh*te and muck, and some specialist new lighting (like high efficiency halogen -v- sodium) as used in the refurbishment of Baker Street would be a respectful upgrade to Mile End and possibly many other stations, rather than sticking up aluminium alloy frames and synthetic allegedly "fire proof" panels etc. etc... to make it all look like a hygienic modern abbatoir or sumfink.

Where old traditional brick was the original construction, why not clean it then polyurethane seal it to make it "wipe down" whilst preserving the traditional features?

Geez - in exchange for a few hours' free LU training to get trackside access and cab rides for photography and the experience, I'd gladly volunteer to man the pressure washers and the paint brushes !!!!!!!!!


And, PLEASE FFS Do Not "modernise" the few remaining original western end Central Line Underground stations from their lovely original white tiling etc. Yes, clean them, add brighter lighting, but PRESERVE WHAT HERITAGE of our first underground we can that his historical without affecting operational improvements.

Cheers,

OngarParkNRide

Yes, it certainly does have it's fair share of action and associated odour!

I'm afraid so. It's still in the process of being refirbished.