Northern line morning woes / Conservatives campaign / Massive rant!!! Post Reply

[ClaphamParent154]

The situation is ridiculous.
Absolutely disgusted they have decreased the service and cancelled the new trains.
There has been significant working age population growth with a degridation of the service.
People are getting punished for living closer to the city.
More should be done to raise awareness of the petition.
The greater London authority Sadiq Kahn's office is responsible for the tube.

[RogerOThornhill]

Sloaney Pony, I think it's dangerous to accuse the Labour party of under-investment in public transport.

To start with your point that the Jubilee line was the last major line built under the Conservatives - yes, it was started under a Conservative government, but most of the construction between 1971 and 1979 would have been under a Labour administration, and was opened in 1979 before the general election.
It should have been the first of many phases, but due to lack of funds the next stage wasn't completed until the late 1990s (there was a Conservative government between 1979 and 1997, in case you'd forgotten).

The FT reports that London has a lower subsidy than other cities, and the Conservative government plans to phase out any subsidy for day to day operations entirely.

The OECD in 2015 said "The United Kingdom (UK) has spent less on infrastructure compared to other OECD countries over the past three decades." Yes, this includes the Blair/Brown years, but given the media focus on tax cuts (and potential rises) it would be disingenuous to suggest that this was a specifically Labour idea when the only way that taxes were reduced to such low rates in the first place was by using the income from North Sea Oil licences to subsidise government spending in the 1980s, rather than creating a sustainable way of financing society.

Rather than criticising Sadiq Khan for freezing fares (which is only partly true, Oyster seasonal travelcards have been increased in line with inflation, which is tough for commuters to swallow) I think it would be more appropriate to ask why the central government subsidy is so low.

[Ex Clapham resident]

https://tfl.gov.uk/status-updates/major ... provements
Going to get worse for you poor Bank branchers....

[sloaney donkey]

I disagree.

FT flagged fare freezes as a major issue behind TFL deficit.

If we had voted Conservative and returned Zac as London Mayor, I would feel far more comfortable in my city.

Central Government funding cannot be relied upon for the long-term. The infrastructure needs to pay for itself in its own right or else it will be other parts of the country subsidising London. That is plain common sense in my opinion.

My strong suspicion is that Labour under Corbyn would put unimaginable taxes on hard-working Londoners (>50% tax rates, property taxes et al.) and the tube probably gets worse because fares go down and despite being empty, the trains don't run. Worse service all round.

As the famous slogan from the 1980s said, "Labour isn't working".

SP

[metoo]

I think rail passengers debouching at Balham Station will get worse when Crossrail 2 arrives. I wanted it to go through Tooting overground station.
I wrote to the 'comments welcome' respondents email about Crossrail 2 when we could submit comments and the answer I received was that more people would stay on the Crossrail 2 and in fact passengers would choose to begin their Crossrail 2 journey from Balham, thus relieving the Northern Line.
This is misguided as Crossrail 2 will go to Victoria and Tottenham Court Road - those commuters who work in the City will come in from Surrey and change at Balham onto the Bank branch.
It is true that those going to Victoria, Tottenham Court Rd and Euston from Balham can choose C2 but I still think the tube at Balham will be carnage

[parsleysong]

It got worse years back when Ken Livingstone stopped direct Charing Cross trains, making people have to change at Kennington. Coming home has been a nightmare ever since having to get off at Kennington and fight to get onto a packed one coming from Bank. I don't understand why he did it (if anyone can tell me why I'd love to know) or why Boris didn't reverse it. Nobody mentions that now, but that's where it started to go from bad to a complete and utter nightmare.

[foodeditorjo]

It's vile... but I really don't know what the answer is as trains come in regularly. They're just packed! I only have to commute twice a week thank God but it's so awful at Tooting Bec that I now go south first to South Wimbledon then back up so that I can get a seat and am not crammed in. The interchange at Stockwell is such a joke for crowding that in the evenings I often get off and use the 155 bus to get home. It's dire. But as I said, not sure how it could be improved as the frequency of the trains is probably as good as it can get!

[Jen66]

I agree. I don't think the frequency of the trains is the issue. Unless there's an incident they are usually every 1-2 minutes during peak time. The problem is the sheer volume of people.

[foodeditorjo]

And, as long as companies insist that people are in the office all the time it will continue. Would be good if more companies gave employees the option of working from home - not only would it ease congestion but it would save people hours per day in commuting time, money and remove large sources of stress and irritation. It's definitely much worse than it used to be.

[sgmitch]

Yes, companies ought to be more flexible with working from home and at the very least - giving some flexibility on arrival/departure times. In some cities, companies grant their employees public transport vouchers (which I believe are purchased from the government at some reduced rate to encourage use of public transport). Maybe TFL could consider offering deals for travel during slightly off-peak hours to large companies. It seems the infrastructure and capacity is quite good, it's just a supply/demand peaking problem at certain times and it seems like we need a way to make a win for the companies (who may need some financial incentive to provide additional flexibility), the commuters who need breathing room, and TFL who needs to continue to make money to further invest in the infrastructure and staff.

[balhambloke]

Just thought to update from my initial post - it’s no better, if anything, worse. I’ve not seen it this bad in my 18yrs in London and in SW London. Queues streaming out of Clapham South station this morning when London is generally quieter as people have started taking holiday over Easter.

[Ex Clapham resident]

There were delays on the overland this morning via Clapham junction so might have meant people using underground who wouldn’t normally do so. Wimbledon was chocca at 7:20. Sometimes have to wonder why we do it all!!

[lukewd]

I'm considering moving in to the area but I've heard terrible things about the Northern Line. Both my wife and I would have to use it to get to work, so I was hoping for a situation update from any of you please.

Have things improved over the last year or two? Any improvements in sight?

Thanks,
Luke

[Ex Clapham resident]

I think it depends on where you live. If you live near Morden or South Wimbledon then you will get a seat, avoiding having to stand for the journey. Any further up, then you will almost always stand. I find it pretty reliable now though, although I only use it three days a week. Having spent 15 years enduring standing up from Clapham, I’m loving living further away!!

[lukewd]

Ok very interesting. Thanks for your response. Sounds like things might have improved a bit.

We're looking at a house near Clapham South station, so I understand this is still going to be pretty congested and likely to stand the whole way, which is fine.

Based on previous comments, I was starting to get the impression you wouldn't even be able to get on a tube during peak hours? Is that still the case?

Also, we both have flexibility to start work at 10am, which would be being at Clapham South tube station at 09:30, is it still rammed at that time? When do things start to ease off?