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[email protected] · March 4th 16, 11:34 AM posted to uk.transport.london

In article ,
(Recliner) wrote:

On Thu, 3 Mar 2016 20:39:51 +0000, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message

-septemb
er.org, at 17:28:55 on Thu, 3 Mar 2016, Recliner
remarked:

You are still fixated upon the position of the Victoria Line. What I'm
interested in is why the passageway from the Victoria to Piccadilly
doesn't emerge at the western end of the latter's platforms. And
later, the same for the Jubilee.

As I said upthread, they were almost certainly trying to avoid
congestion at the western end of the platforms as you already get queues
backing up from the escalators on to the platforms, even without mixing
in all the people heading to and from the other lines. This way, even
though it increases the walking distance for those at the western end of
the trains, is safer. And it doesn't increase the walking distance for
the pax at the eastern end of the trains. If you're at the western end
of the Piccadilly line train, just take the escalator up, and then the
Victoria line escalator down.

That doesn't explain why this is the only station on the network where
the up-and-back-down escalator workaround is required, or they worry
about mixing new and transfer passengers.

The workaround isn't 'required', it's just a handy trick I discovered
when using the station. Incidentally, Wikipedia suggests that the
direct connection between the Picc and Vic lines was added later, so
maybe my handy trick for getting between them was actually the only
route initially. I can't remember if I discovered the shortcut when it
was the only way between them, but perhaps I did.

I knew the station slightly when the Victoria Line was new. I think the long
interchange was there from the start.

At quieter times, it's a very convenient station to use, with the
escalators at the same level and so near the platforms, and that's
probably what they were thinking of when they rebuilt it in 1933. With
the great increase in traffic in later years, what worked well then
doesn't work so well with today's crowds (remember that it's the
airport line).

So maybe the long corridor connection was added because the crowding
was too great at the western end of the Picc platforms, and if my
other theory is right, they took advantage of the disused 1906
platform exits, stairs and lift landing to do so.

Not my recollection but in recent years I've only used the Victoria-Jubilee
interchange and avoided the Victoria-Piccadilly one because it's so long.

--
Colin Rosenstiel