Tag Archives: Transport for London

Bus Photo of the Month: June 2024

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Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro

Location: Trafalgar Square, London
Operator of Vehicle: Transport for London
Date of Photo: May 21, 2008

Articulated buses (or “Bendy Buses in British English) are common in many large cities across the globe, but not so much in the United Kingdom.  London’s brief period of running such buses began on June 2, 2002 and did not even last a whole decade.  Articulated buses were not permitted to operate in the UK until 1980 due to their length, though an exception to this rule was granted for a few trials of articulated buses from MAN and Leyland in 1979.  South Yorkshire Transport ordered 13 articulated buses from Leyland in 1985 and Grampian Regional Transport received a single Mercedes-Benz O405G in 1992, but bus operators wouldn’t really order any articulated buses in large numbers until near the turn of the 21st century when accessible low floor models became available.  

London transport companies were interested in articulated buses since they could carry more people than a double decker bus (albeit with more standees and fewer seats) and unlike the iconic Routemasters, they were handicapped accessible.  However, it was not long after these buses entered service that criticisms began to mount.  Due to their length, they sometimes blocked intersections and motorcyclists and bicycle riders disliked the larger blind spots that the longer buses had.  Engine fires in 2003 and 2004 only turned the public against the bendy buses even more.  In 2008, Boris Johnson’s mayoral campaign included a pledge to phase out articulated buses from London’s fleet as soon as their operating contracts expired.  Following his election, this happened as proposed, and the “New Routemaster” entered service in 2012.  The last articulated bus trips in London occurred on December 9, 2011.  At its peak, the articulated bus fleet in London consisted of just under 400 vehicles.

Following their withdrawal from service, the articulated buses were transferred to other parts of the UK, including Leicester, Liverpool, Brighton, and Hove.  Some were even transferred to an Arriva subsidiary in Malta.  

For more photos of London’s articulated Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro buses, please click here.  

Rail Photo of the Month: July 2023

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1973 Stock 126

Arnos Grove Station, London, England
Operator of Vehicle: Transport for London
Date of Photo: May 21, 2008

This month, the London Transport Museum is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Piccadilly Line extension to Cockfosters.  In 1932, the line was extended from Finsbury Park to Arnos Grove.  Then on March 13, 1933 the line was extended to Oakfields and again on July 31, 1933 to Cockfosters, which remains the terminal today.  To mark this occasion, the London Transport Museum is running a special fantrip using its 1938 rolling stock on Sunday, July 9.  I haven’t been in London when any of these special types of events put on my the museum have occurred, but from what I see on social media, they look to be great.  As it is, the museum itself is a must see attraction for any transit fan visiting London.  

The photo featured here is of the 1973 Stock that currently operates on the Piccadilly Line at the Arnos Grove station.  The 1973 Stock is among the oldest rolling stock in use on a transit system in Britain but TfL has plans for new deep tube stock that may begin operating as soon as 2025.

For more photos of the 1973 Stock, please click here.  

Rail Photo of the Month: June 2022

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1996 Tube Stock 96076

Location: West Hampstead Station, London, England
Operator of Vehicle: Transport for London (TfL)
Date of Photo: May 21, 2008

Lots of attention has been given to the new Elizabeth Line in London.  Known as Crossrail for most of its planning and construction phases, the Elizabeth Line is named after Queen Elizabeth II and opened just prior to her Platinum Jubilee, being celebrated this weekend.  This isn’t the first rail line in London that has a name connected to Elizabeth’s reign.  The Jubilee Line (pictured here) was named in honor of the queen’s Silver Jubilee; originally the line was to be called the Fleet Line.  This also isn’t the first rail line that Queen Elizabeth will have opened, as she attended the opening of the Victoria Line in 1969, at which time she became the first reigning monarch to ride the London Underground.

In light of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and the new rail line in London, there are a number of interesting articles about her ties to London and British transportation over the years that are worth checking out.

The opening of a new route in London has also resulted in the largest revamp of the famed London Underground map diagram in the past 20 years.  However, not everyone is pleased and one map expert thinks that the map needs a total refresh instead.

For more photos of London Underground 1996 Stock, please click here.

Oren’s Reading List: The Stories Behind The Subway Announcement Voices We Know So Well

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R142 6415 at East Tremont Avenue, June 20, 2009

In keeping with the recent post about a podcast episode recommendation, here comes another one that may be worth your time.  This time, we’re featuring the “Mind the Gap” episode from “Twenty Thousand Hertz“, which describes itself as “the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.”  If the episode’s title immediately conjures an image of the London Underground in your head, I think it is fair to say this podcast is achieving its goal.

This episode features the stories of the voices behind the iconic subway announcements in London by Elinor Hamilton and in New York City by Charlie Pellett and even though I had some familiarity with some aspects of their stories, there were also some parts of their careers and stories I was not familiar with, especially Elinor Hamilton’s.  If you’re really into the automated, prerecorded announcements that are commonplace on public transit today, you’ll want to give this a listen.  (Even Mrs. Oren’s Transit Page, who is not the biggest podcast fan, enjoyed listening to this one with me.)

Listen to Twenty Thousand Hertz’s “Mind the Gap” episode (or read the transcript) by clicking here, or searching wherever you prefer to download your podcasts.

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Bus Photo of the Month: May 2021

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RoutemasterRoutemaster

Location: Trafalgar Square, London, England
Operator of Vehicle: First London under contract to Transport for London
Date of Photo: May 21, 2008

When you think of London transport, the iconic image of a red, double-decker bus comes to mind.  For many years, these red double decker buses were a mainstay on the streets of London.  Over 2,900 Routemaster buses were constructed, and many are still in existence today.  However, most of them have not seen revenue service since 2005.  In that year, the last Routemasters were retired due to their lack of accessibility.  A “heritage service” was established on two routes to keep about 20 Routemasters in regular service.  These short turns of regular routes ran through Central London and were largely used by tourists.  One of these routes was discontinued in 2014, but the other continued to operate.  In 2019, the remaining heritage route was cut back to operate on weekends and bank holidays only between Easter and the end of September.  Service did not operate in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and last month, it was announced that the service will not resume as the tender has expired and it was not put up for renewal.  

I have been to London twice and consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to ride on the original Routemasters, both in regular service in 2003 and also on one of the heritage services in 2008.  I have yet to visit London since the “New Routemasters” entered service in 2012, but look forward to experiencing a low-floor, handicapped accessible Routemaster the next time I find myself there,

For more photos of London’s Routemaster buses, please click here.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

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LU 1996 Tube Stock 96121
Today is International Women’s Day.  To mark the occasion, I want to share the following article about the history of women working in the transit industry in London, England.  In the late 19th century, it was illegal for women to hold many jobs in England, including most roles in the transport sector.  While women filled in certain roles during World War I and World War II, they were not able to serve in operational positions and were paid less than men to do the same work, leading to a successful strike for equal pay in 1918. 

In the 1970s, the Equal Pay Act and Sex Discrimination Act came in to effect.  Jill Viner became the first woman to drive a bus carrying passengers in 1974.  Four years later in 1978, Hannah Dadds became the first woman train operator, working in tandem with her sister Edna, a train guard, forming the first all-female Underground crew.  

The article notes that even though many women have been hired in the past 40-plus years, women and especially Black and ethnic minority women are underrepresented in London’s transport workforce when compared to the overall population, and that they are paid lower median wages.  

Read the entire article about the history of women working in London transport on the London Transport Museum’s website by clicking here.  In addition, you can read more about Jill Viner’s story here, and you can read Hannah Dadds’s story here.  

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Rail Photo of the Month: September 2020

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B92 Stock 69

B92 Stock 69

Location: Poonton Dock, London, England
Operator of Vehicle: Transport for London
Date of Photo: May 20, 2008

Given the significance of the London Underground in transportation history, it is understandable that other rapid transit systems in Greater London do not have nearly as much attention paid to them.  However, they should not be overlooked entirely.  Yesterday, the Docklands Light Railway marked its 32nd anniversary.  It initially opened on August 31, 1987 with 8 miles of track, and has rapidly expanded to its current size of 24 miles of track with several additional extensions being proposed as well.  Passenger traffic on the system has often exceeded expectations.  When the system was designed, the Docklands area of London were largely undeveloped and hard to get to.  While DLR was meant to address the latter issue, development boomed as the area around Canary Wharf became a financial center; the population of the Docklands area has doubled in the past 30 years.  

Much of the DLR runs at grade or on elevated structures, as seen in this photo of a train approaching Poonton Dock station, with views of the Docklands developments and the City of London from many locations.  Trains are automated but have a staff attendant on board to check fares and take over operations in emergencies.  There has often not been enough rolling stock to cope with demand.  The B92 stock seen here was delivered in the mid-1990s and is expected to be retired upon the delivery of new cars built by CAF starting in 2023.

For more photos of the Docklands Light Railway, please click here.

Oren’s Reading List: Stand Right and Stand Left?!?

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Wheaton
I imagine many of the people who come to my site have strong opinions about escalator etiquette on public transportation.  In cities such as Washington or London, standing on the right side of the escalator and walking on the left is an ingrained habit.  But is it the fastest way for everyone to get to the bottom or top of the escalator?

Last year, Transport for London conducted an experiment at its Holborn Station where commuters were asked to stand on both sides of the escalator.  The result might surprise you.  When the escalators were at their busiest, they were able to carry more people per hour when everyone stood and no one walked on the left side.  This article from The Independent explains why that is the case.  Take a read and then feel free to offer your thoughts on the study in the comments below.  Is this the result you expected?  Do you prefer to walk or stand? 

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Oren’s Reading List: How London Tube Stations Got Their Names

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Earl\'s Court
If you’ve been to London, you may have noticed that some of the Tube stations have some, shall we call them, interesting names.  Examples include Cockfosters, East India, Marylebone, Oval, and Tooting Bec.  I’m sure someone has already compiled the origin of all these station names and posted them online somewhere (though I can say with some confidence that even I can figure out how a station like “Baker Street” gets its name), but the BBC recently posted an article highlighting ten stations and how got their names.  The ten stations are: 

  1. Covent Garden
  2. Elephant & Castle
  3. Cockfosters
  4. Tooting Bec
  5. Knightsbridge
  6. Maida Vale
  7. Aldgate
  8. Piccadilly Circus
  9. Queensway
  10. Shepherd’s Bush

You can read the article here.  

What is your favorite Tube station (or Tube Line) name?  Which station’s name origin do you wish you knew more about?  Share your responses in the comments below!

London U-Bahn Map

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Did you ever expect to see the London Underground or “The Tube” referred to as the U-Bahn?  U-Bahn is the German term for subway and is used in just about each German city that has an underground rail network.  Yesterday, I shared a 1973 London Underground map with you.  Today, I’m sharing another London Underground map, except this one is from 1975 and printed in German for the benefit of German speaking tourists.  I don’t speak or read German aside from knowing a few select words, but my guess is that the texts on this map are just straight translations from the standard English language that would be used to German.  It is certainly an interesting addition to my collection as I don’t think I’ve ever seen a London Underground map in a language other than English.

Here are the scans of the map.  You can click on each image to make it larger and see it at full size.

london-underground-1973-german-page-1-t london-underground-1973-german-page-2-t london-underground-1973-german-page-3-t