People leaning on the doors

Is it the case that the door mechanisms have become less tightly closed as the trains have progressed? I have seen doors sliding open a few mm under the trains own deceleration without anyone leaning on them before... I must confess that during the rush hour I once accidentally leaned on a door - on that occasion the palm of my hand was behind my back leaning on the glass - I got a big shock when the door slid open and the train jolted.

Is it the case that the more the doors are leaned on the looser they become?

A year ago on the WB between Stratford and Mile End a woman removed her bag from the door (which was open 1inch) and the doors closed just as the train started slowing down for Mile End.

The doors must have been slightly ajar the whole journey and the train didn't pick it up.

I bet drivers or operators should i say! Must get sick of people leaning aganst the doors it must delay the service all along!

The Central line doors are air driven. As with all LUL passenger train doors before the new VLU and S stock, there is a limited 'pushback' feature against a spring. This forms part of the safety package for the doors. The effect of being easier or less easy to slide the door against this spring under acceleration or braking is caused by the effect of the door's own mass.

I have accidentally leant on 1992 stock doors, and they do open very easily. Have to agree with you - never was an issue on the older stock.

It seems that those of you driving the tubes don't get a lot of experience peak time commuting on them.

When I first moved to London, as a wee 23 year old, I used to think that I'd wait for the next train when they were rammed. 6 months in I realised that you could sometimes be waiting for 20 trains to go by before there was an un-rammed one, so you may as well ram yourself onto the first one that you could. You guys may enjoy hanging around on tube platforms for a few hours a week waiting for a train with a few less bodies in it, the rest of us think life's too short. Sorry. And no, we don't all have the luxury option of choosing our hours or can afford paying for overpriced coffee before work every day, even if we had the time!

And I'd rather travel at peak time with the commuters who know where they're going, and are better at standing aside to let people off and all of those little things, than brave the horrendous Sunday afternoons with people dragging around their kids, blocking the passageways staring at maps and so on.

Before I started working on the Tube I was a commuter like most people, I had nearly fifteen years at two different jobs travelling first from Dagenham, then Barking, then Leyton to Chancery Lane and back, 9-5, M-F.

The trick, which no doubt you’ve already learnt, is to find where the platform is emptiest after a train has gone and go stand there. At each station I know exactly where the crowd will be at it’s densest, always the same, day after day, people just switch off and don’t process the information their eyes are passing to their brains.

Standing aside to let people off, you’re having a laugh, I’ve seen people barging on while people are still getting off and when they do stand back it’s only far enough so that one person can get off at a time.

Every time I hear passengers complain that they get treated like cattle I laugh because so many of them behave like cattle, it is truly frightening. The next time to SATS asks for passengers to move down the platform just watch how many do, they stay rooted to the spot with their noses in the Evening Standard. Should give ‘em cattle prods.

Auxsetreq - I ride the cushions too, those trainers’ seats are naff. Plus some of the conversations you have in the cab are excruciating; if I wanted to listen to the latest gossip or someone’s sub-Littlejohn opinions I’d have stayed on stations.

Funny I always head for the perch seats, feel odd travelling sideways. A good book always comes in handy.

Frankly I'd be amazed if those set above us even know what a train looks like

I don't bother with an audible warning, I just stride forward and woe betide anyone who blocks my path. Helps that I’m a bit of a lump and never when I’m in uniform.