On Fri, 14 Dec 2007, Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(Tom Anderson) wrote:
On Fri, 14 Dec 2007, Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(Tom Anderson) wrote:
I suppose you (and I) would be able to cycle to Farrington,
City Thameslink or Blackfriars for a slightly less onerous
set of steps :-)
Except that they are rather in the wrong direction for
Westminster.
You what? Westminster to Blackfriars is a substantially shorter
and easier ride than Westminster to King's Cross.
Only if you ignore the train running time. Anyway, how much
better is the platform-street level interchange there?
Pass. I've never used either of them, i'm afraid!
From what I have ever seen of Blackfriars it has every bit the
height difference problems that SPILL has.
Okay. Farringdon does too - you have to carry your bike up a flight
of stairs. I don't find it a big deal, but i can imagine persons of
less sturdy build than me might.
So, City Thameslink?
A bit far out of the way to the East.
No more so than Blackfriars. And it's further south than KX or Farringdon,
which puts it nearer Westminster.
Distances in miles for Google Maps' routes from Westminster (the
northeastern corner of Parliament Square) to the stations:
St Pancras 2.5 Whitehall, Charing Cross Rd, Tottenham Court Rd, Euston Rd
Farringdon 2.0 Victoria Embankment, Farringdon Rd
City 1.8 Victoria Embankment, Farringdon Rd
Blackfriars 1.4 Victoria Embankment
Elephant & Shed 1.3 Westminster Bridge Rd, London Rd
What's the running time from SPILL?
Here's the inner London part of the schedule of a train that's currently
somewhere down south, annotated with time from KX:
Elephant & Castle 12:35 18
London Blackfriars 12:43 10
City Thameslink 12:45 8
Farringdon Underground 12:49 4
London St Pancras (Low Level) 12:53 0
Kentish Town 12:57 4
West Hampstead Thameslink 13:01 8
So, Farringdon is 4 minutes, City 8 minutes, and Blackfriars 10 min.
Crazy.
Anyway, one flight of stairs may be OK but most of the stations we're
discussing have two.
Really?
St Pancras - 2
Farringdon - 1
City - ?
Blackfriars - "every bit the height difference problems that SPILL has"
but no count so far
E&C (not that we were discussing it) - ?
I encourage people who know these stations to improve this count!
Bear in mind also that getting on a northbound train further south will
give you a better chance of getting a seat, and an easier time getting the
bike on.
tom
--
The most successful people are those who are good at plan B. --
James Yorke