"Boltar" wrote in message
...
On Mar 26, 1:02 pm, Abigail Brady wrote:
It seems very bad planning to have no interchange between DLR and
subsurface at Bank at pretty much the same interval that Tower Gateway
is closed.

Is the passageway to Monument closed for some reason?


I read somewhere a few weeks ago that suggested nothing is actually closed,
its just that a couple of escalators are stopped for maintenance, and are
being used as fixed steps, which can be difficult for some people to use.
Hence the 'scare stories' are being used as a deterrent just to keep the
numbers of interchanging pax down compared to normal.

Paul S

"Paul Scott" wrote in message
...

"Boltar" wrote in message
...
On Mar 26, 1:02 pm, Abigail Brady wrote:
It seems very bad planning to have no interchange between DLR and
subsurface at Bank at pretty much the same interval that Tower Gateway
is closed.

Is the passageway to Monument closed for some reason?


I read somewhere a few weeks ago that suggested nothing is actually
closed, its just that a couple of escalators are stopped for maintenance,
and are being used as fixed steps, which can be difficult for some people
to use. Hence the 'scare stories' are being used as a deterrent just to
keep the numbers of interchanging pax down compared to normal.


Which may have been true then, but obviously not from next week I see...

Paul

On 26 Mar, 15:10, "Paul Scott" wrote:
"Paul Scott" wrote in message

...







"Boltar" wrote in message
...
On Mar 26, 1:02 pm, Abigail Brady wrote:
It seems very bad planning to have no interchange between DLR and
subsurface at Bank at pretty much the same interval that Tower Gateway
is closed.

Is the passageway to Monument closed for some reason?

I read somewhere a few weeks ago that suggested nothing is actually
closed, its just that a couple of escalators are stopped for maintenance,
and are being used as fixed steps, which can be difficult for some people
to use. Hence the 'scare stories' are being used as a deterrent just to
keep the numbers of interchanging pax down compared to normal.

Which may have been true then, but obviously not from next week I see...

As ever, they give only directions rather than information. I still
can't work out whether they are encouraging people to avoid the
station because it's going to be difficult, or whether a number of
escalator-free passageways will actually be blocked.

Also, as has been hinted at, if you can't interchange between the
Central and the Northern, how can you enter or exit the Northern?
Will they close both the surface passageway between Lombard Street and
the main ticket office and the deep one via the spiral staircases?

On 26 Mar, 16:48, MIG wrote:

On 26 Mar, 15:10, "Paul Scott" wrote:

"Paul Scott" wrote:

"Boltar" wrote:

Is the passageway to Monument closed for some reason?

I read somewhere a few weeks ago that suggested nothing is actually
closed, its just that a couple of escalators are stopped for maintenance,
and are being used as fixed steps, which can be difficult for some people
to use. Hence the 'scare stories' are being used as a deterrent just to
keep the numbers of interchanging pax down compared to normal.

Which may have been true then, but obviously not from next week I see...

As ever, they give only directions rather than information. I still
can't work out whether they are encouraging people to avoid the
station because it's going to be difficult, or whether a number of
escalator-free passageways will actually be blocked.

Also, as has been hinted at, if you can't interchange between the
Central and the Northern, how can you enter or exit the Northern?
Will they close both the surface passageway between Lombard Street and
the main ticket office and the deep one via the spiral staircases?


I admire your sentiments, but I'm not convinced it'd really be wise to
follow your course of action. If LU in fact said that it is in fact a
sly back route between Bank and Monument then perhaps loads of
passengers would attempt to use it, leading to the possibility of
massive congestion and overcrowding on a route that simply didn't have
the capacity for all these people.

Perhaps this is just a case of wily passengers working out where the
holes in the system are so they can take advantage of them, whilst the
less inquisitive majority follow the official advice and thus don't
block up the whole station.

If all the shortcuts at stations around the Underground network were
made explicit then overall we'd be worse off. An element of herding is
necessary when dealing with the shear number of people that use the
Tube.

On Mar 26, 7:26*pm, Mizter T wrote:
On 26 Mar, 16:48, MIG wrote:





On 26 Mar, 15:10, "Paul Scott" wrote:

"Paul Scott" wrote:

"Boltar" wrote:

Is the passageway to Monument closed for some reason?

I read somewhere a few weeks ago that suggested nothing is actually
closed, its just that a couple of escalators are stopped for maintenance,
and are being used as fixed steps, which can be difficult for some people
to use. Hence the 'scare stories' are being used as a deterrent just to
keep the numbers of interchanging pax down compared to normal.

Which may have been true then, but obviously not from next week I see....

As ever, they give only directions rather than information. *I still
can't work out whether they are encouraging people to avoid the
station because it's going to be difficult, or whether a number of
escalator-free passageways will actually be blocked.

Also, as has been hinted at, if you can't interchange between the
Central and the Northern, how can you enter or exit the Northern?
Will they close both the surface passageway between Lombard Street and
the main ticket office and the deep one via the spiral staircases?

I admire your sentiments, but I'm not convinced it'd really be wise to
follow your course of action. If LU in fact said that it is in fact a
sly back route between Bank and Monument then perhaps loads of
passengers would attempt to use it, leading to the possibility of
massive congestion and overcrowding on a route that simply didn't have
the capacity for all these people.

I don't think I actually proposed a course of action, just observing
that the report about the Bank being separate from Monument, and at
the same time it being impossible to change from the Central/Waterloo
to the Northern, doesn't seem to make sense unless there is no way out
of the Northern Line.

And it's contradicted elsewhere in the report where people are simply
urged by Peter Tollington to avoid Bank.

The alternative routes are completely bizarre, like how to get to the
"West End" if you are on the Central ... Um, stay on the Central and
never consider changing to the Northern at Bank? And to get to the
Northern Line ... change at Euston etc. Er, no, Euston and the rest
are where I might be trying to get to by changing to the Northern.


Perhaps this is just a case of wily passengers working out where the
holes in the system are so they can take advantage of them, whilst the
less inquisitive majority follow the official advice and thus don't
block up the whole station.

If all the shortcuts at stations around the Underground network were
made explicit then overall we'd be worse off. An element of herding is
necessary when dealing with the shear number of people that use the
Tube.

But at the same time there are far too many situations where transport
providers try to second guess everything people may be doing in order
to give directions, when giving full information about the situation
would allow people to make sensible plans and clog up the system far
less than giving really bad directions of the kind I've mentioned
above.

On Mar 26, 7:26 pm, Mizter T wrote:
If all the shortcuts at stations around the Underground network were
made explicit then overall we'd be worse off. An element of herding is
necessary when dealing with the shear number of people that use the
Tube.

True , but some of the directions they give are just plain stupid or
bloody minded. Bank is actually a good example. If you come off from
the northern and want to go to the central the signs take you on a
direct route. If you come off the DLR , even though its escalators
take you to within spitting distance of the northern line , the
official route to the central takes you an an around the houses
adventure up and down a load of stairs and seems about 50% longer. Not
funny if you're elderly or a mum with a pushchair or similar.

B2003

On Mar 27, 9:15*am, Boltar wrote:
On Mar 26, 7:26 pm, Mizter T wrote:

If all the shortcuts at stations around the Underground network were
made explicit then overall we'd be worse off. An element of herding is
necessary when dealing with the shear number of people that use the
Tube.

True , but some of the directions they give are just plain stupid or
bloody minded. Bank is actually a good example. If you come off from
the northern and want to go to the central the signs take you on a
direct route. If you come off the DLR , even though its escalators
take you to within spitting distance of the northern line , the
official route to the central takes you an an around the houses
adventure up and down a load of stairs and seems about 50% longer. Not
funny if you're elderly or a mum with a pushchair or similar.

At most stations I follow the directions, even if they take me by a
slightly longer route, so as to avoid causing a conflict.

But I don't follow the directions at Bank where, as you say, some of
the routes are ridiculous. Normally (not at the moment due to
escalators) the directions from the Central to the DLR, two levels
below, make you start by walking upstairs.

On 27 Mar, 17:25, MIG wrote:
But I don't follow the directions at Bank where, as you say, some of
the routes are ridiculous. *Normally (not at the moment due to
escalators) the directions from the Central to the DLR, two levels
below, make you start by walking upstairs.

Ah, but that route involves more escalator, so I think there's less
walking overall. In the DLR to Central direction it'd be better to go
this way rather than via the spiral staircases.

U

--
http://londonconnections.blogspot.com/
A blog about transport projects in London

In article ,
Mizter T wrote:

If all the shortcuts at stations around the Underground network were
made explicit then overall we'd be worse off. An element of herding is
necessary when dealing with the shear number of people that use the
Tube.

Fair point. This brings to mind the two different ways of getting to
the Circle Line platforms from Kings Cross concourse - the "official"
route, and the one you take if you know what you're doing, through the
deep-level barriers and along the Khyber Pass.

In article ,
(Sarah Brown) wrote:

In article
,
Mizter T wrote:

If all the shortcuts at stations around the Underground network were
made explicit then overall we'd be worse off. An element of herding is
necessary when dealing with the shear number of people that use the
Tube.

Fair point. This brings to mind the two different ways of getting to
the Circle Line platforms from Kings Cross concourse - the "official"
route, and the one you take if you know what you're doing, through the
deep-level barriers and along the Khyber Pass.

Does that route still exist?

--
Colin Rosenstiel