Seen Around

Thursday 2nd January 2025

Welcome to the first blog of the New Year which is my monthly look back at things that caught my eye during the past month’s travels not previously covered in posts. And we begin with a shout out to Alex Nelson at NationalRail.com for his latest….

National Rail Network Map

It’s an absolutely fascinating wall map (double royal poster case ‘British Rail’ size) and, together with a pdf electronic version (strictly for personal use), is available for just £12.55 via this link. It’s a brilliant map with exquisite detail depicting every station in all four UK nations with their three letter codes, indications of request stops, restricted access and Platform Zeros as well as PlusBus availability and even contactless zones as they’re being introduced and extended. This latest (fifth) edition just published marks the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington railway being celebrated this year with a great deal of detail of early railways in the UK, and shows major railway museums around the UK with QR codes down the left side of the map to further information about relevant subjects. Well done to Alex for a truly magnificent job. A highly recommended purchase.

TfW’s backward timings

I couldn’t help notice on one of my journeys sampling TfW’s new tri-mode Class 756 trains on the line to Aberdare the very helpful next station displays were showing the correct upcoming stops…

… but we were either going back in time (as above) or taking an inordinately long time to travel between two stations – Abercynon to Penrhiwceiber: one hour 31 minutes for two and a half miles (as below). That’s slow going.

Aberdare’s ticket office

On arriving at Aberdare it was nice to see a ticket office window (literally) built into the station building and even better – it was open.

Avoid the crowded retail units at CLJ

Although retail units have been removed at Euston and Victoria in recent times to create more circulating space for passengers, I see over at Clapham Junction builders are at work reinstating a whole series of shops along the footbridge which connects the Southern platforms with those used by South Western Railway and London Overground trains thus narrowing the amount of space available for passengers.

Which doesn’t quite gel with the warning notices advising passengers wanting “to avoid the crowds” not to travel at busy times – which by definition is when passengers do want to travel.

So far the builders have only encroached on the southern end of the footbridge over platforms used by Southern, but there’s plenty of space yet to fill on the northern section towards the lower numbered platforms.

STP’s rarely used entrance

And while on the subject of crowd management, over at St Pancras there was a problem by the concourse exit opposite Kings Cross the other day when I visited which, from the state of the floor covering, looked like some kind of leak. The makeshift barrier (above) was causing quite a lot of congestion with passengers hurrying in and out, yet the rarely used other entrance/exit nearby remained shut behind a barrier. Very odd.

Polar Express adds to the crowds

And while talking crowd management, back to Euston which I visited on a day when the grossly over priced POLAR EXPRESS train was running every couple of hours taking pre-booked passengers on a jaunt (with Santa on board) up to Willesden Junction and back.

Euston wasn’t in the best of moods that day with huge crowds waiting for delayed trains so is it really a good idea to use the station with known overcrowding problems to run a service of this kind? It wasn’t ideal for the kids nor for their parents/carers either. The queue for the ladies toilets stretched right down past platforms 1, 2 and 3 and towards platforms 4, 5, 6 and 7. A very chaotic and unpleasant experience.

Richmond Park’s RP1 ran in December …. or did it?

Regular blog readers will know I’ve taken a ride on the quirky Richmond Park free bus numbered RP1 a few times during the summer and over the years the season has gradually extended, until this year came news it was to operate during December having taken a short break for the bus to be serviced and vinyls added promoting the route.

Except I duly turned up in Roehampton at 09:25 to catch the newly liveried bus on what was advertised to be the first day of the extended timetable – Friday 6th December – and waited… and waited…. but sadly no bus. I rang the Royal Park’s telephone number shown on the timetable but there was only an answer-phone. I rang the number for the Volunteer Officer but there was only an answer-phone. I rang the RaKAT number (Richmond and Kingston Area [Community] Transport) which owns the bus and luckily someone did answer and advised the bus had a bald tyre and smashed headlight so wouldn’t be running. I headed off to do some Christmas tree spotting in London’s rail termini as an alternative, but tried again later in the month, taking the precaution to ring the numbers beforehand for up to date information. Despite leaving a message on all the answerphones no-one bothered to contact me so I don’t know whether the bus did run or not.

Bridgend bus station

When passing through Bridgend bus station it was good to see a travel office window open and I see the Council are keen to let passengers know by a WARNING! that Abusive or inappropriate behaviour WILL NOT be tolerated in these premises. That’ll tell ’em.

There’s a very spreadsheet style guide to local bus services on display too.

Cardiff’s Interchange displays

Still in South Wales and I very much like the displays at the entrances/exits to Cardiff’s new Interchange which show both bus departures (on the left) and rail departures (on the right) and printed timetable booklets for Cardiff Buses in a display on the far left. And, as you can see all three proving popular.

New gates for TfW

Many of TfW’s stations in south Wales are now equipped with these snazzy new ticket readers/barriers at the gateline. I saw many passengers struggling especially with the QR reader glass panels but I’m sure they’ll get used to it.

Making a bee line for Manchester

I came upon no end of new buses destined for Metroline’s involvement in the third and final tranche of TfGM’s Bee Network this coming weekend. They were all parked up in Comfort DelGro’s other bus company, Adventure Travel’s yard, close to Taffs Well station. I’m guessing they’ll all either be gone or on the move over the next couple of days as mobilisation comes to a climax.

West of England confusion in Porthcawl

Boarding the bus in Bridgend to take me to Porthcawl I was a bit unnerved by the TapOn-TapOff pink sign by the driver’s ticket machine (above) which had a West of England logo, so decided not to TapOn in case it didn’t work – being in a different country. But when I sat down I noticed the cove panel notices had the logo blacked out, so it probably would have been OK.

Although getting to Clifton Village from Porthcawl would have been quite a journey.

Nice shelters

One thing that was noticeable as I travelled on the Cardiff Valley lines was how well TfW has done with its branding. It’s now everywhere – ready for the launch of Metro, and the shelters look particularly smart.

Why the single doors?

Don’t be fooled by the Great Northern logo on this staff member’s jacket. This was on a Southeastern Javelin Class 395 High Speed train and reminded me how inefficient the single space doors are in these coaches letting only one passenger alight or board at a time. Very unusual these days for a train that sees lots of commuters.

Why the barge?

While in Devizes last month I noticed, for the first time, the illustration for the bus stop used by National Express coaches has a barge sailing along a canal on it, and wondered why? It rather gives the impression of slow travel.

West Ham’s positioning

Catching a c2c train heading eastbound towards Shoeburyness or Southend from West Ham – which a lot of passengers do, especially as it’s quicker to Barking and Upminster than using the District line, I noticed how all four-coach trains (and there are quite a few) stop at the eastern end of the platform…

… which is (a) the furthest end from where the entrance to the platform, capable of taking 12 coach trains, is (ie at the western end) and…

… (b) is just outside the protective canopy. While you’re waiting there is a regular auto announcement warning passengers about this practice but many don’t listen and in any event in wet weather it’s hardly convenient.

The reason could be something to do with the screen displaying cctv images being out of action at what would be the convenient spot to stop (above) whereas further along the platform they are working (below).

Just to add to the injustice, the canopy over the District/Hammersmith & City line platforms extends a bit further east.

St Neots bus shelter is still the same

I’ve been out DRT sampling again recently including the newly rebranded Tiger operation in West Huntingdonshire (see this Saturday’s blog) and once again booked a pick up from the bus stop closest to St Neots railway station.

Despite highlighting how awful it was back in October 2021 and in the meantime Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority being blessed with more funding for bus improvements, together with rate payers handing over a Mayor derived £36pa precept, I see the bus shelter is still in its woeful state.

At least the out-of-date timetable information has now been removed and the punched out gap is still there so waiting passengers can actually see if their bus is coming on the real time sign.

The bus stop flag could do with some improvement too. I hope it’s not another four years before this appalling piece of infrastructure is improved. It’s no way to encourage passengers.

Broken taps in Victoria

This month’s toilet update is a report from the Gents in Victoria station where on this island of wash basins closest to the urinals only five of the 12 taps (six either side) actually work and none of the 12 soap dispensers have worked for months with just two plastic dispensers either end at mirror height – out of reach of those using the centrally located taps and which many users don’t see. I do hope Network Rail attend to this soon as it’s fast becoming an unhygienic place to visit. So much for all the post Covid raising of standards. I’ve seen many users try a few taps and then give up in frustration and leave without washing their hands.

Paddington’s war on suitcases on escalators

When passing through Paddington’s Elizabeth Line concourse the other day I noticed anti-large suitcase barriers have been installed to encourage passengers to use the lift rather than the escalators. The gap still looks quite large to me though, and sadly I think passengers will still try it on as the lift is already well used and takes ages.

Gail blowing in

Meanwhile over at St Pancras the former East Midlands Railway ticket office has now been fully converted into yet another Gail’s. I suspect the average spend per customer will be similar to when it was a ticket office. I see another branch has opened at London Bridge too.

Thameslink’s spruce up

A shout out to the cleaning teams at Thameslink. For years all the toilets in the Class 700s trains have been blighted with overbearing graffiti painted on the walls and I’ve noticed during the last few months of 2024 these have all been cleaned up and the graffiti removed – which must have taken some doing. If the lowlife who carry out such graffiti acts are reading this – take your spray cans elsewhere – like, inside your own homes where you can spray paint all over the walls as much as you want.

Swindon’s new bus interchange for 2025

Swindon’s long awaited new bus interchange is set to open this year with the tired old 1980s bus station well past its sell-by date. Town buses have been diverted away from their stands in nearby Fleming Way since work started on the project in September 2022.

On a recent visit to Swindon I could see the reformed Fleming Way is now taking shape including what will be an impressive central reservation between the two lanes for buses where there’ll be over 100 mixed hedgerow bee-friendly plants. All told the £33 million cost includes 173 trees and 23,000 plants.

The Wanderings of a Busman

John Kateley is well known to many of a certain age with an interest in the bus industry, not least those who worked in London and the South East through the 1970s and subsequent decades and came across John as his career progressed. Following in his father’s footsteps, John began his career in 1971 at London Country followed by many years working for London Buses as well as during the privatised era with Airbus and then Speedlink but he also spent time with First Bus, Arriva and National Express. John is renowned for his wealth of stories and anecdotes from his varied and colourful career and last year, after persuasion from family and close friends, he committed many of these to print so they could be shared among those he knows best. With help from Barry LeJeune and Ray Stenning, the story of John’s amazing and intriguing career has now been produced in a beautifully designed and colourful auto-biography which John presented to his family and close friends as a surprise Christmas present. Well done John. It really is a great read.

Farewell route 347

This month sees a number of new bus routes and DRT schemes being introduced around the country, such is the way with a new year commencing, but there are also some bus routes disappearing including in London where TfL are finally pulling the plug on its least frequent route – the 347 from Romford to Ockendon, running just outside the M25 over the border in Essex.

Introduced 20 years ago the timetable comprises a paltry four off-peak return journeys on Mondays to Saturdays…

… and there’s just a short section of route along St Mary’s Lane east of Cranham which will be left unserved including three bus stops within the Greater London boundary – which is very uncharacteristic of TfL, but (financial) needs must, I guess.

I took a ride on the route earlier last year with Geoff but as it runs for the last time on Friday 17th January I had another ride the other day, for old times sake, on the 13:00 from Ockendon, when just one passenger boarded at the first stop after leaving Ockendon station (who in future will have to take NIBS route 269 to either Grays or Brentwood) while another passenger joined us on one of the to-be-abandoned stops on St Mary’s Lane (Cranham) who’ll have a longer walk to catch a 346 instead. Other than those two it was a quiet journey with a handful of passengers joining us between Gidea Park and Romford who have many alternative options.

Sadly route 347 won’t be much missed.

More miscellany at the end of this month.

Roger French

Blogging timetable: TThS