Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a special undeground shopping
mall or similar service, with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground shuttle
from Holborn.

"juvenal" wrote in message
...

Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a
special undeground shopping mall or similar service,
with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground shuttle
from Holborn.

Aldwych was closed because the lift was life expired, and the passenger
numbers couldn't justify its replacement. It will never see another
passenger train, unless a huge development occurs around Aldwych which can
fund the lift replacement.

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

"John Rowland" wrote in message ...
"juvenal" wrote in message
...

Perhaps one might open up Aldwych Station as a
special undeground shopping mall or similar service,
with a dedicated rejeuvanated Underground shuttle
from Holborn.

Aldwych was closed because the lift was life expired, and the passenger
numbers couldn't justify its replacement. It will never see another
passenger train, unless a huge development occurs around Aldwych which can
fund the lift replacement.

No doubt the people who made that decision forgot that the underground is
a public service, not a for profit company. For somewhere like Ongar that
only had 3 people and a dog use the station each day I can understand closure
but aldwych had something like 500 people a day using it. Not a huge amount
but IMO enough to justify its being kept open given that there are probably
quite a few stations still open that probably get less usage that that.
The whole of the ELL springs to mind for starters plus Mill Hill East on the
northern line. But I guess in this country the bean counters rule.

B2003

"Boltar" wrote in message
om...
"John Rowland" wrote in message
...

Aldwych was closed because the lift was life expired, and the passenger
numbers couldn't justify its replacement. It will never see another
passenger train, unless a huge development occurs around Aldwych which
can
fund the lift replacement.

No doubt the people who made that decision forgot that the underground is
a public service, not a for profit company

And as with any public service choices have to be made as to where to spend
a limited budget. It is not realistic (and it wasn't so even in the
'good-old-days') that there is a bottomless pit of money to be spent on
public transport.

Considering how close Aldwych is to other tube stations and the good bus
links it has there is little loss to those getting to the area to the
closure.

But I guess in this country the bean counters rule.

They always have. Don't forget that most of the London Underground network
(as well as mainline services) were built using private money with the idea
of making a profit. The Aldwych - Holborn link wasn't built as a social
service.

Dave.

In message , Dave Liney
writes
Considering how close Aldwych is to other tube stations and the good bus
links it has there is little loss to those getting to the area to the
closure.
The concept of a tube station at Aldwych is actually a good one.
However, having it on an isolated shuttle to and from Holborn only was
what really limited its usefulness.

Had the Jubilee Line been built as originally planned and had a station
there between Charing Cross and Ludgate Circus (?), it might have been a
different matter.
--
Ian Jelf, MITG, Birmingham, UK
Registered "Blue Badge" Tourist Guide for
London & the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

"Dave Liney" wrote in message ...
Considering how close Aldwych is to other tube stations and the good bus
links it has there is little loss to those getting to the area to the
closure.

Thats an argument used a lot but in reality its not so simple. The nearest
alternative tube is the district line which is east-west , not north like
the aldwych branch. And using the busses on the kingsway in the rush hour is
a joke , its quicker to walk which I suspect is what the people who would
otherwise have travelled to aldwych have to end up doing. Seems to me thats
rather a retrograde step.

B2003

"Boltar" wrote in message
om...
"Dave Liney" wrote in message
...
Considering how close Aldwych is to other tube stations and the good bus
links it has there is little loss to those getting to the area to the
closure.

Thats an argument used a lot but in reality its not so simple. The nearest
alternative tube is the district line which is east-west , not north like
the aldwych branch. And using the busses on the kingsway in the rush hour
is
a joke , its quicker to walk which I suspect is what the people who would
otherwise have travelled to aldwych have to end up doing. Seems to me
thats
rather a retrograde step.

B2003

Distance by foot to alternative tube stations from Aldwych:

700m Holborn
235m Temple
835m Charing Cross
750m Covent Garden

Hardly a great trek from any of them. I'd worry if most of the users of the
old Aldwych station can't walk 700 metres twice a day.

As to your suggestion of closing the ELL or Mill Hill East then you would
leave people with longer walks to get to an alternative tube stations:

By foot from Wapping (to pick an EEL station):

1025m Shadwell DLR
2030m Tower Hill

By foot from Mill Hill East

1525m Finchley Central
2045m West Finchley

Dave.

"Dave Liney" wrote in message ...

Distance by foot to alternative tube stations from Aldwych:

700m Holborn

700m is quite a long walk when you're tired, its freezing cold and/or ****ing
down with rain. I suggest you try it sometime.

235m Temple

That stations a fat lot of use if you want to go north and don't fancy
to change onto 3 lines to do it. Incindetaly I'd love to know where you
got your figures from, I mean are you sure its 235m and not 236 or 234.5?

Hardly a great trek from any of them. I'd worry if most of the users of the
old Aldwych station can't walk 700 metres twice a day.

Using that logic you might as well close covent garden station, after all its
only 200m from leicester square. Whats the point of having it eh?


As to your suggestion of closing the ELL or Mill Hill East then you would
leave people with longer walks to get to an alternative tube stations:

Well since LU appears to be driven by purely financial constraints these
days I'd doubt they'd even care how far people have to travel to an
alternative.

B2003

"Dave Liney" wrote in message
As to your suggestion of closing the ELL or Mill Hill East then you would
leave people with longer walks to get to an alternative tube stations:

By foot from Wapping (to pick an EEL station):

1025m Shadwell DLR
2030m Tower Hill


which makes it a shame that they really are planning to close Wapping
as part of the ELL extension!

(Boltar) wrote in message . com...
"Dave Liney" wrote in message ...
Considering how close Aldwych is to other tube stations and the good bus
links it has there is little loss to those getting to the area to the
closure.

Thats an argument used a lot but in reality its not so simple. The nearest
alternative tube is the district line which is east-west , not north like
the aldwych branch. And using the busses on the kingsway in the rush hour is
a joke , its quicker to walk which I suspect is what the people who would
otherwise have travelled to aldwych have to end up doing. Seems to me thats
rather a retrograde step.

The proposed tramway down the middle of Kingsway will be a better
solution than re-opening Aldwych.