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Russell Square Sign

Russell Square Sign

If I were reading this blog, rather than writing it – I have to say I’d probably think “Surely you’ve just made that up and have photoshopped it now?”, but no – I kid you not. This is real.

We recently reported on the TfL department of mathematical magic where both 193 and 320 steps equates to the same as a 15 storey building.  Turns out the magic maths department have sprinkled their magic on the warning sign at Russell Square too which we spotted yesterday, which has 175 steps, which is also somehow equivalent to 15 floors!

So, dear TfL we’ve done some of the hard work for you. Let’s say that the original Covent Garden sign is correct and that 193 steps is 15 storey building. That’s 12.8 steps per storey, meaning that Hampstead should be a 25 story building, and Russell Square 13 (rounded down) or 14 stories (rounded up).

Any chance of some correct labelling? Or does your sign writer just really like the number ‘15‘. ??

Accessibility / Signage — — 13 Feb 14

Station Master Tokyo

New York and Paris may be on our radar once we’ve published every conceivable piece of information about the London transport system – seems maybe though that the Tokyo market may not be one we would have success in though.

“No need for the Station Master App in Tokyo”, our friend Anthony shared with us this week as he’s on a trip over there.  There are screens above every door in all carriages which show you where the exits, escalators and lifts are in relation to the whole length of the train.

Tokyo Subway Display

Tokyo Subway Display

This is something that LU could/really should consider doing to trains here – except I’d take it even further.  It should be possible at interchange stations (e.g. Oxford Circus) if that you [let’s say] approach on the Bakerloo Line, you can see as you approach Oxford Circus if the next Central Line train that you might be changing on to is an Ealing Broadway train or a West Ruislip one.  i.e. if it’s in two minutes (the train that you want) then you wouldn’t dawdle on the interchange. If you can see it’s in 6 minutes, you can take your time walking.

Best of all, if you could perhaps see (by showing 4 or 5 instances of the next train – which is what all platforms need anyway) by the service pattern if it was broken or not, and if it wasn’t you could stay on the Bakerloo Line train and change elsewhere, instead of only discovering this when you got to the Central Line platforms.

How about it TfL? ‘Next train’ information displays INSIDE all other trains please! Or make them touchscreen so you can choose different lines, and not just the one you’re already on or are about to change to at the next station.

 

 

Signage — — 02 Feb 14

A short storey about steps

Covent Garden StepsAn intriguing audio announcement at Covent Garden came over the PA system when we were there the other day. Far from being told to mind the gap, report anything suspicious, always touch out, or any of the other mantra that’s continually spouted at you, we were told that ‘Entering the lifts from the wrong side is contravening a by-law’, and from the sounds of it could get you in trouble.

Covent Garden is of course hugely busy, and I suspect there’s a plan being mooted within TfL towers to make it exit only – a bit like Camden Town already is at the weekends.  And indeed, the fastest way out of the station is to walk up the ‘entrance’ staircase, against the flow of people, and nip into the empty lift, moments before the queues of people who have been waiting on the proper side enter it and give you filthy looks for jumping the queue.

The other alternative of course is to walk up the 193 steps, which (as another of their famed audio announcements informs you) is the equivalent to a fifteen storey building.   And their advice isn’t to be taken lightly – we once saw a man halfway up sat down, looking very red, out of breath, and a member of station staff and paramedic coming the other way down the stairs to assist him.

Hampstead StepsSo if 193 steps is a fifteen storey building, that’s … (digs out calculator) 12.8 steps per storey. Right?

So we were rather surprised the other day when visiting Hampstead station – the deepest on the whole of the network, with the highest number of steps on its emergency staircase, in this case there are 320 of them (There are exactly 320 of them – 298 on the spiral, 22 flat – so why the sign says ‘over 320’ is another thing that is wrong), which by TfL’s maths at 12.8 steps per storey must mean it’s the equivalent to a twenty-five storey building .. right? RIGHT!

Oh. No. Wait …

It seems that ’15 storeys’ is the generic sign. Either that or TfL have a magic calculator that always gives the number ’15’ no matter what you type into it?

Expect to see a sign at Chalk Farm shortly informing you of it’s 54 steps being the equivalent to a 15 storey building …

Accessibility / Posters / Signage / TfL — — 14 Jan 14

New Signs at King’s Cross St. Pancras

Ooh, these are new! Where did these come from?

British Library Signs

British Library Sign

Changing at King’s Cross today we saw new big vibrant yellow and white on black signs instructing people which way to exit King’s Cross to get to the British Library.

Has there been a glut of people, aimlessly wandering around King’s Cross trying to find the right exit for the library then? Why the library in particular over any other of the numerous buildings in the area, and why King’s Cross? Why not Waterloo or Euston for a place near there? We can’t help but wonder if this is a trial of signage, and we’ll see more of these over the network in the next few months …

Signage / Tube / Uncategorized — — 03 Oct 13
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