Richmond Transits

Works in Waterloo: an improvement or just a cash making scheme?

2012-05-29T15:18:00.001+01:00

The Evening standard continues with their ~~objective~~ questionable journalistic, er, standards and regurgitates yet another press pack, this time from Network Rail for a change:
Waterloo station turns trendy as Carluccio's, Corney and Barrow, and Thomas Pink open up on new concourse - Transport - News - Evening Standard

Just to put things in perspective:
1. On congestion, Network Rail have made it worse by making the underground concourses longer and shut outside of peak hours

2. The Eurostar platform has been mothballed for the last 5 year... with four EMPTY platforms -quite a disgrace.

3. Finally, are they going to pull down that hideous screen/wall between the concourse and the plaforms? There's no reason Waterloo can't be as beautiful as the Gare du Nord in Paris.

To me it seems the only goal of this revamp is to provide more retail space, in other words it's a cash generating scheme that adds no benefits to the commuters.

Previous posts on Water-loo station:

Lobbies and lazy journalism

2012-05-16T10:44:00.001+01:00

Here's a great example of lobbies taking over column inches, in this case on a subject that's close to my heart:
David Cameron told: Act now to save Heathrow Airport - Transport - News - Evening Standard

Prime example of lazy "journalism", writing up a quick piece straight off the press pack from BAA. Any proper newspaper article would have tried to show both sides of the story, with counterpoints.

I hope Jonathan and Lucy enjoyed a really nice lunch paid for by Ferrovial (BAA's Spanish owner) and a few nice gifts too.

Just a reminder to set the record straight, London has FIVE international airport (actually, now SEVEN if you count Manston and Southend), totalling seven runways (not including the unused backup one at Gatwick), most being under-used. Heathrow is a WWII planning mistake, its flight path goes over 2m people. Those five airports handle over 130 millions passengers on their six runways, about 150% of the traffic in Paris (LHR + CDG).

It's about time we stop comparing LHR to other European cities and instead do what they've done: build a new airport with enough room for expansion. If it needs to be in the Thames estuary, so be it.

Previous posts on the same subject:

Some Heathrow news...

Essential reading: 2M Group on Heathrow Expansion

Monday -my letter to the MP's against Heathrow Expansion

Glad I managed to land... (and Heathrow expansion lies)

BA can spam you but you can't spam BA!

BAA caught lying... again.

Stanstead and City granted expansion: what does it mean for Heathrow?

And yet another broken promise by DfT and BAA...

Is Heathrow really out of capacity?

More on Heathrow

Is sustainability sacrificed on the Heathrow altar?

Transported logic

Heathrow is not safe: chilling crash map

Happy new year and more foul play from the DfT on Heathrow Expansion

BAA wakes up to the sound of locomotives?

Stating the obvious: Heathrow expansion will pollute more

Heathrow is just dangerous where it is

Hoon's farce as Heathrow expansion is announced

Economic case for Heathrow expansion 'flawed'

Finally, high speed train gets national coverage

Just a reminder: London has FIVE airports, all competing against Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris

More on Manor road and Heathrow

Environmental perversity...

Why is the governement pushing to increase number of night flights?

Heathrow is dangerous and should not be expanded, here's why

T5 opens, shows BAA-Government hypocrisy and collusion

Lyon-Paris vs. Manchester-London (from Euroblog by Jon Worth)

Airplanes noise common sense?

Politics and GreenWash

I dreamt about doing this!!!!

Barclaycard, you're failing to provide a good customer experience to commuters

2012-05-04T23:33:00.000+01:00

This is a follow-up from my previous post: Dear BarclayCard...

My beef with BarclayCard (BARC:LN, @barclaycard) isn't over, I'm actually quite annoyed now.

My advice to Barclays? If your brand name is associated to transportation services, you should ensure a good customer experience. Failing to do so impacts negatively your brand.

Here's a quick summary:

- I own a BarclayCard Visa that comes with an OysterCard built-in. Barclays sent me a new card and the Oyster stopped working. Resolving this is quite an annoyance. In the Twitterverse we'd say #fail.

- I also use Barclays Cyclehire, in fact another TfL service, sponsored by the same bonus-happy bank. I use it everyday but it turns out they can slap you a £150 fine just because their processes are also a #fail. That's more than an annoyance

Failure number one: Barclays, when you send me a new card, just make sure it works

- I've got a Barclaycard VISA, coming with no less than four payment mechanisms: a magnetic strip, a chip (and PIN), a contactless payment chip (RFID) and an Oyster card.

- It expired, so they sent me a new one.

- Because I suspected their processes would be sub-optimal, I called them up to ensure the Oyster would be transferred across to the new card. They assured me it was or would be but I still did not trust them. You see, when I wanted to move from a BarclayCard Platinum to that BarclayCard Oyster, they got me to re-apply just like for a new card. I wasn't impressed, after being a client for over 10 years. So, I did not destroy the old card straight away, just in case…

- As I feared, the Oyster card did not work.

- I sent an email to complain and ask Barclays to fix this. They tried to call me when I was at work and after several tries I ended up to speaking to a Barclaycard call-centre agent (actually very nice and patient) who could not solve my problem and had to transfer me to TfL.

- In between those calls, I tried to register my new Oyster card on the TfL website (turns out the number is on the back of the Barclaycard) but that did not work either. See, Barclaycard registered my card already but did not give me the password.

- When I finally got to speak with TfL agents, they were equally patient, well trained and polite. They transferred the balance from the old virtual (because it's on my Barclaycard) Oyster card to the new one. But then to complete it, I have to predict where I'll touch in next as they me to tap my Oyster card on a specific tube station within 8 days. I don't usually commute by tube, so it's hard to know where and when I'll next start a tube journey.

- The next process failure I have experienced, still speaking with TfL is that once they transfer the balance of an Oyster card and until you've tapped it on a reader at the designated station, you can't transfer the 'auto top-up'. Which I had to do because my old Barclaycard wasn't valid anymore, remember?

Failure number two: Barclays, the Borisbikes give you a bad name

- I should make clear that just like I am well aware that TfL and Barclays are two distinct companies, I know Barclays only sponsors the London bike rental scheme, which is in fact sub-contracted to Serco –the guys who run the prison vans and other stuff.

- This is not to complain there's never enough bikes or point that it's ridiculous to require buying a separate key while they could use an Oyster card to unlock your bikes. Actually, given what's above, one could think not using Oyster would be a good thing…

- It's not. Here's what happened to me. To use bikes, you need to buy a key for £3. You can then set it up and once you unlock your bike you pay £1 for a 24h access period. The actual rental is free for 30 mn. Fair enough.

- I've used it 3-5 times a week for almost a year, with only hassles when I can't find a bike (the un-predictability isn't great if you have a morning meeting) or can't return them (which means missing your train).

- Trouble starts if you use your bike after the 'access period' has ended. The problem is that the access period isn't renewed automatically if you're on the bike, resulting in a £150 fine! If you're like me, you're thinking who's going to want to lug those heavy beasts for over 24 hours? But if for instance your train is late on day 1 (I hear it can happen sometimes) and you pick a bike up at say 0830. If on day two you pick a bike up at for instance 0829, cycle to your destination and dock it at 0834, you're done. Bang, they've slapped you a £150 fine.

- This happened to me. For 40 seconds.

- Of course it doesn't make sense, but try to explain common sense to TfL.

Bottom line: Barclays should ensure that customer experience is good for services they lend their name to. Failing to do this damages their reputation –exactly the point of this blog post.

Some conclusions for Barclays:

- Don’t expect your customers to do the leg work: I'm a customer and if break it, I expect you to fix it

- Make sure you communicate all the information you need (including passwords) on all the products you have on a given card

Some advice to TfL:

- The obligation to touch in at a given tube station to complete an action is impractical

- The quality of service for the Boris Bikes is not great but you should at least fix the processes that are plainly wrong

Dear BarclayCard...

2012-05-02T23:49:00.001+01:00

I like two in ones. Go-fast estate cars. Choc-biscuits. Fridge-freezers. The idea of a Swiss knife usually works: unless you're after something heavy duty, it does the everyday jobs well -like corking a wine bottle and spreading chese on a ciabatta. So I thought if the concept works for picnics, it might help reducing the number of cards I've got to carry and went for a Barclaycard that does Visa and Oyster.
Turns out two-in-ones are good for tools but combo's don't really work in the financial world, just like for food -just like a surf'n'turf never does justice to either.
See for yourself my email to Barclays. What do you think?

Dear Barclaycard,

A while back I moved from a Platinum card to a Barclaycard-Oyster. I thought the process was pretty clunky when you got me to re-apply for a new card, having been a customer for about 10 years but never mind.

You sent me a brand new card a few months ago and I thought I'd better check if my Oyster card would be transferred. The call centre agent told me "yes". Turns out it's the wrong answer.

Could you please fix this?

PS: I don't really care who's right or wrong, that TfL is not Barclays, etc. The card says Barclays, so you really ought to pull yourselves together and resolve this.

Thanks in advance,

LW>

North Sheen Footbridge update

2012-04-27T15:22:00.001+01:00

Local politicians are busy visiting us before next week's elections, including the chap who's designed a new version. They seem to be all quite happy about finally getting a resolution, thought they quickly admit it's only a fix to part of the issue.

I'm not sure why they think we should settle for something half-baked?

Here's my comment on Zac Goldsmith's website, since Katharine Harborne doesn't seem to believe in getting direct feedback on hers.

We should not let Network Rail get away with this band-aid solution as it solves only a part of the problem.

1. It doesn't solve the car congestion issue. A level crossing simply has no place in a densely populated area in 2012.

2. It doesn't help with the station access for less able and parents with children. Or commuters living on the South of the railway line.

3. It doesn't improve the miserable station that North Sheen is, with for instance cycle parking.

Bottom line: Network Rail broke it 17 years ago, they should fix it by moving the signalling equipment they installed where the old footpath was.

See my previous posts on the subject:

At last: the North Sheen footbridge is coming... alas, this is not what you expected!

Richmond Transits: Join the Facebook group "Stuck at North Sheen ...

Richmond Transits: Airtrack and North Sheen Crossing

Richmond Transits: Monday Mayhem at North Sheen level crossing

Richmond Transits: Update on the North Sheen station footbridge

Richmond Transits: Here's the new camera at North Sheen level crossing

Richmond Transits: Update on the update on the North Sheen station ...

Richmond Transits: Susan Kramer's progress on North Sheen Station ...

Richmond Transits: Another train tragedy in waiting at North

Richmond Transits: Still waiting at the level crossing...

Traffic pandemonium: just a sign of things to come?

More on Manor road and Heathrow

Richmond Transits: Level crossing tragedy in Barnes

Richmond Transits: Update on the North Sheen station footbridge

Richmond Transits: Preliminary plans for North Sheen footbridge rebuffed

Richmond Transits: Campaing for suppressing level crossings

Richmond Transits: Richmond and Twickenham Times: Commuters see red over level crossing

Richmond Transits: Susan Kramer's progress on North Sheen Station footbridge

Richmond Transits: Time to remind Susan Kramer about the North Sheen Station footbridge

Kennington People on Bikes: Why didn't we use the cycle path?

2012-03-28T09:46:00.001+01:00

Here's a good blog post by Kennington People on Bikes: Why didn't we use the cycle path?
Their picture is worth a thousand words and says a lot about the TfL "engineers" who design the cycling paths.

There's also a link to the http://www.londonersonbikes.org.uk/ website whose pedge I urge you to sign!

Related posts:

At long last, Dutch-style cycle parking and repair shed in Richmond?

2012-03-07T09:35:00.001Z

The Richmond and Twickenham Times reports today that Richmond station ~~gets~~ (is to someday) new cycle hub.

Transport Minister Norman Baker has announced Richmond station as one of four London locations set to undergo a cycle refurbishment this year.
The hub will be manned by staff, who are able to help fix broken bicycles, and will also be a place to hire and store bikes and have them cleaned.
Refurbishment of the station's cycle facilities are part of a £30m package of developments aimed at helping connect communities, reduce carbon emissions, and get people active.

No date is set, but it's encouraging to see some progress. Now, they should really get to work to fix those dangerous roundabouts on the Lower Richmond road...

Pictures:

secure cycle parking at Leiden train station from Cycling without a helmet
bike repaid workshop in Groningen train station from Rona Justine (both in The Netherlands)

Related post:

The lost orchards of North Sheen and Richmond Council's cunning plan to impose a new tax?

2012-02-22T14:27:00.001Z

It seems the Richmond Planning department nowadays is quite liberally (and not very democratically) letting through semi-high-rise in North Sheen, with little consideration for the neighbours and terraced houses fabric that presently constitutes North Sheen. There seem to be no limits to empty offices on Lower Richmond road apparently). As usual, concerns expressed during public consultations (like the lack of parking spaces in the new developments) were ignored.

North Sheen wasn't always like this, it was actually full of orchards (see Orchard road) as the maps below from the London Orchard Project show.

Has cycling reached a critical mass in London?

2012-02-19T16:36:00.001Z

London Cycling Campaign has blogged about how safe bike lanes and junctions will persuade us to cycle more. It commissioned a survey, which suggests over half a million Londoners already cycle at least once a week.

They're also running a petition Go Dutch which calls on the mayoral election candidates to commit to more people-friendly streets and continental-standard cycle facilities in the capital.

51% of Londoners said the next Mayor can take action to encourage them to cycle more, with 78% of those people naming safe and convenient bikes lanes all over London or safer junctions and roundabouts as their top priority.

See their principles here: www.lcc.org.uk/pages/key-principles.

Previous posts on cycling:
Good to see cyclists campaigning against road planning
My questions to Barclays Cycle Hire managers
Cyclists living in fear
Cyclists to be given the right to ride the wrong way
Waterloo: more Boris Bikes but still no sign of life for the Eurostar old platforms
TfL still has little ideas about cycling lanes...
Cycle superhighways: an expensive joke?
When are we going to see this in London?
Reversing the burden of the proof would encourage cyclingss
Kingston worst for bike thefts
Some hope for London cyclists?
Cycling in London: it's about time to do something!

Good to see cyclists campaigning against road planning

2011-10-13T14:14:00.000+01:00

I've long said that TfL has got absolutely no clue on incorporating cycling into the urban fabric, or in other words they're absolutely rubbish and useless when it comes to Cycle Lanes.

That's why I welcome this: Be the change; why your help is needed on Blackrfriars Bridge (i b i k e l o n d o n)
More details on London Cycling Campaign.

My questions to Barclays Cycle Hire managers

2011-10-12T10:58:00.002+01:00

Thanks for your email,

It comes right in time. Together with other users, we were stuck at Waterloo yesterday around 1900 as all neighbouring stations were full. No staff was at hand to help of course.

I really do like the Boris Bikes, but unpredictability makes it hard rely on.

Just this week, for instance:

no more bikes at Waterloo on Tuesday shortly after 0800 (it's usually empty after 0830 anyway), missed my train and wasted 30 mn

picked up a bike from Red Lion Square on that same day and tried to return it in Covent Garden, circled for 15mn to find a docking point

Here are some suggestions to improve the service.

Add more capacity in Waterloo. I mean way more, as London is clearly under-served compared to Paris: http://richmondtransits.blogspot.com/2010/09/boris-bike-vs-french-velib-unfair.html
Busy stations need more staff to replenish and empty slots in the mornings and evenings
The maps on the service points are next to useless: the detailed one should list station names (as it's hard to figure out which station indicated by the computer is which on the map) and the map of the larger area should indicate Boris Bikes stations.
Also, they should always point to the North as normal maps.

Could you let me know what you're planning to do to address those points?

Regards,

Ludovic Windsor

From: Transport for London <Transport_for_London@info.tfl.gov.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 10:26 AM
Subject: Information for Barclays Cycle Hire members

TfL

If you are having problems viewing this email, you can view an online version To ensure our email updates are delivered to your inbox, please add Transport_for_London@info.tfl.gov.uk to your email address book

	Dear Mr Windsor, As a member of Barclays Cycle Hire, I thought you might be interested in taking part in an online "Meet the Managers" forum we will be running on Tuesday 18 October, from 19:00 to 20:30. The forum will provide you with the opportunity to contact both myself and other senior managers with any questions or suggestions you may have about the scheme, for example, regarding its operation or future plans. The scheme has now passed its first anniversary and we would welcome your input. To join in the live forum, please visit tfl.gov.uk/meetthemanagers Alternatively, if you will not be available to join us, we would be happy to receive your questions in advance. Simply email your questions to us at bchmeetthemanagers@tfl.gov.uk Yours sincerely, James Mead Head of Operations, Barclays Cycle Hire Transport for London
	These are our customer service updates about Barclays Cycle Hire. To unsubscribe, please click here
Copyright in the contents of this email and its attachments belongs to Transport for London. Any unauthorised usage will infringe that copyright.

Wondering what rabbits would write on signs before their homes...

2011-10-01T15:57:00.000+01:00

Restaurant review: Skylon

2011-09-28T08:08:00.001+01:00

After some research for a business dinner close to Waterloo, I booked Skylon in the Royal Festival Hall.
The room was vast, gymnasium sized in fact, with a level of noise approaching that of a teenage basketball match, but the floor-to-ceiling windows opening up on the Thames make it spectacular. Shame they did not give us a window table as requested. The waiters are all in star-trek-like uniform, in tune with the retro-futurist location and name, plentiful and nice enough but they probably were beamed to another planet during main course as service got slower and slower.
The wine list is predictable but good, the sommelier was new and knowledgeable.
I haven't mentioned the food, and that's because it was passable. On the positive side, my onglet was perfectly uncooked as I ordered and like it but the smoked mackerel salad was some potted fish, swimming in light mayonnaise dressing and cos lettuce.

Final verdict: Skylon joins OXO in the category "you pay for the view, not the food".

Tube to cost £5 to fund Olympic, West London commuters bear the pain for no benefits

2011-09-14T17:24:00.000+01:00

While salaries are on hold (except if you're a tube driver and can hold the government to ransom to get a grand's bonus), public transport costs continue to increase much faster than inflation.

Some of this is due to the Olympics bill.

As a West Londoner, I deeply resent this as we don't even enjoy the benfits of the games since all events are in the East.
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

An airport encounter

2011-09-09T10:32:00.000+01:00

So there I was yesterday night having three hours to kill at FRA (Frankfurt airport), working in a half-empty noodle bar -MoshMosh; if you ask (sort of Wagamama; with better beer but not as good dumplings).
Weissbier tasting meant I had zip to the gents 5mn only to find a middle-aged woman sat opposite me. The waitress (tasked with watching my possessions) later told me she tried to say someone was sitting there, to no avail. Those long tables were quite narrow, so I felt a bit annoyed for a short while and then resumed crafting a powerpoint on my laptop.
She orders food, I eat a pho and then the next thing is that she spills her white wine on my laptop. She mubles sorry, I say nothing but am profoundly annoyed. She wipes it -ineffectively-, I mention she could drink champagne as it doesn't stain since it also made it onto my trousers. She answers it should not stain, to which I say I'll have to take a trip to the dry cleaner. She looks ashamed, glances sideways without a word for a good 10 mn, then picks up her things and flees without uttering anything else.
I was amazed by so much rudeness and wondered whether she would she have offered to picki up the drycleaner bill if she was a bloke? Anyway, I guess I'll go to a different restaurant next time, maybe Hooters?

When will TfL realise they need more BorisBikes at Waterloo?

2011-09-06T21:21:00.000+01:00

Now the Summer's gone -and everyone's back-, it's cruelly obvious Transport for London need to add more capacity to its Barclays Cycle Hire scheme.

The scheme is over-subscribed in several locations, including in Waterloo where at peak time (after 0815) one can't hire a bike nor drop it off after 1815.

The staff at hand -two guys and a trailer- can't cope with the quick-forming lines, often 20 deep.

At a time when the motorist is robbed more than ever, when train tickets have increased for years above inflation (as incomes stagnated), it is time to better resource alternative transportation schemes. They are both 'green' and low cost, as well as popular.

King regards,

Ludovic Windsor

Why pay for the gym when you've got the Boris Bikes?

2011-04-08T11:56:00.000+01:00

A new application for the Boris Bikes.

See also my previous posts on this cycle hire scheme:

Waterloo: more Boris Bikes but still no sign of life for the Eurostar old platforms

The Boris bike vs. the French vélib -unfair comparison?

Postman Pat's elastic bands lambasted for littering

2011-03-14T11:50:00.001Z

According to BBC News in a piece titled "Royal Mail's red rubber band use revealed" (what a catchy title guys...), Postman Pat uses 4,000,000 rubber bands every year at a tune of £5m, an increase of 40% over 5 years.

No wonder why every day I find dozens in my street alone.

Why can't they make giant rubber balls with them like any other office workers? Or just reuse them?

See also the Keep Britain Tidy (@KeepBritainTidy) campaign.

richmondtransits.blog

At last, TfL goes mobile

2011-02-17T13:36:00.001Z

Transport for London has finally realised that people need travel information the most, well, when they're travelling.

Armed with this great finding, they've released a mobile version of their website -a great initiative.

Just a suggestion though: why don't they use geolocation to figure out where one to speed up the journey planner or find the closest and next bus about?



	Dear email subscriber, I am writing to let you know that you can now access TfL travel information on your mobile by browsing the TfL website direct from an internet enabled phone. The website will automatically recognise the model of your phone and tailor the screen view accordingly. Journey Planner and live travel news can now be used directly via your mobile. In addition, you can check for planned weekend improvement works and find traffic updates on London's roads. For more information, visit tfl.gov.uk via your mobile. Yours sincerely, Vernon Everitt Managing Director, Marketing and Communications

Copyright in the contents of this email and its attachments belongs to Transport for London. Any unauthorised usage will infringe that copyright.

Cyclists living in fear

2011-02-14T14:48:00.001Z

Seen on the BBC Helmet cameras capture bad driving: a cyclist is wearing a camera to record evidence of dangerous driving -in this case a quite graphic example of a van driver cutting off a cyclist and then abusing him.

IMHO, a consequence of lax policing (speed cameras don't do much for cyclists safety) and bad cycle lanes design.

See related posts:

cycle, cyclelane, cycling, DfT, London, richmondtransits.blog, TfL, transportation, UK,

Curing the symptoms: plod in a van at the level crossing

2011-02-09T09:54:00.000Z

After realising red light jumping at levels crossing is rife and having established that people running in front of trains isn't exactly the best for health and safety statistics, Network Rail has shelled out £60k on a high-tech camera van.

The sixty grand mobile enforcement control room comes complete with PC Chris Sheppard watching herds of commuters and vehicules running across the railway as light flashes.

Check this video, mostly filmed at Mortlake station (the van is parked on a double yellow line..): BBC: New spy camera to check level crossings.

It's worth pointing out that the Sheen lane crossing does have a pedestrian bridge, allowing school children to cross instead of running across unlike at North Sheen station.

My take on this? Once more, they're trying to cure the symptoms rather than tackling the issue. Which is quite simply that a level crossing on a busy line (translate: closed for 15+ mn at a time) is archaic in a densely populated connurbation. The line should be buried or a tunnel dig, or else.

Final thought: the story doesn't say if the plod-van comes with a toilet?

BBC - Mind The Gap: Why do south London trains suffer most in the snow?

2010-12-02T09:45:00.001Z

BBC - Mind The Gap: Why do south London trains suffer most in the snow?

Another proof that our transport system is antiquated and no longuer fit for purpose:

In south London the companies like Southern Railway, Southeastern and South West Trains have to operate using the "third rail system".That is, the electricity is transmitted to the train using an electrified third rail that the train picks up through a bit of metal called a shoe. So, while Network Rail have been running "ghost trains" (empty trains) and de-icing trains through the night there comes a point when it doesn't help.
When the snow and ice hits, if the conductor third rail is cold as soon as snow hits it, it freezes.

uk, trains, transportation, rail, railways, london, southwesttrains, southernrailways, southeastern, richmondtransits.blog

Giving up infrastructure is rarely a good deal for users and tax payers

2010-11-05T12:22:00.001Z

Read this am: BBC News - High-speed rail link London to Folkestone is sold

Since it cost GBP 5bn and was sold for 2.1b, I'm failing to see where's the "great news for tax payers and rail users". For the latter, the failure of British Rail privatisation and of the tube PPP maintenance contracts clearly shows that selling out transportation infrastructure is a dodgy bet for the least.
When it works, it usually means giving private companies a nice little monopoly and a steady cash flow -take the French privatisation of motorways for instance, where more is going to share holders and less to building of new roads (which was incidentally the excuse in the first place for instoring tolls on those autoroutes).
But usually it doesn't work, and either companies end up bust with taxpayer having to mop up the collateral damage. Think the great

Plus relinquishing a tool to boost a nation's economy and litterally shape a nation fabric is neither a good news for users. Prove me wrong...

richmondtransits.blog, rail, railways, transportation, HS1, HS2, UK

Waterloo: more Boris Bikes but still no sign of life for the Eurostar old platforms

2010-11-02T16:42:00.001Z

Two good posts this week on Londonist.

The first one is on the continuing mystery of the old Eurostar platforms and why they cost £4.1 to keep in mothball state -quite a good example for a pathetic failure on behalf of people in charge of the nation's rail infrastructure. It's especially enraging when you're waiting on the approach to the station in a commuter train for a platform... I've blogged before about this, see links below.
And it looks like TfL has heard about my winging on Boris Bike stations being located far away from stations: Huge New Cycle Hire Station For Waterloo. Shame common sense did not prevail in the first place, I still wonder why they looked at Montreal rather than Paris for municipal cycle hire best practices...

See my previous posts on those subjects:

borisbike, cycle, DfT, London, richmondtransits.blog, transportation, travel, UK, velib, London, rail, railways, richmondtransits.blog, TfL, transportation, tube, waterloocity, trains, rail

North Sheen level crossing: don't miss the public meeting on the 21st

2010-10-11T16:18:00.002+01:00

As posted todat on the Facebook group: Stuck at North Sheen Level Crossing, there will be a public meeting about the level crossing with Zac Goldsmith, Network Rail and local councillors at DUKE STREET CHURCH in DUKE STREET, RICHMOND on THURSDAY 21st OCTOBER at 7.30pm. Bring your tales of misery and woe!

See my previous posts on the level crossings:

Near miss at North Sheen level crossing

Some news on the level crossing: consultation next Thursday!

At last: the North Sheen footbridge is coming... alas, this is not what you expected!

Richmond Transits: Join the Facebook group "Stuck at North Sheen

Richmond Transits: Airtrack and North Sheen Crossing

Richmond Transits: Monday Mayhem at North Sheen level crossing

Richmond Transits: Update on the North Sheen station footbridge

Richmond Transits: Here's the new camera at North Sheen level crossing

Richmond Transits: Update on the update on the North Sheen station

Richmond Transits: Susan Kramer's progress on North Sheen Station

Richmond Transits: Another train tragedy in waiting at North

Richmond Transits: Still waiting at the level crossing...