Friday 4 July 2008

Piccadilly Line Blues


I'm not normally one to complain on my blog, but I've been really frustrated by the Piccadilly Line recently: long waits for trains at Earl's Court; slow journeys; disrupted journeys; and even if things seem to be going well, the dreaded announcement at Hyde Park Corner: 'this train is being held to even out gaps in the service'.

Well, thanks. To me, twice recently the latter has meant 'this train is being held so you are going to be late'. It makes a mockery of their published timetable information. After several such journeys recently, I now allow over an hour to get to the Angel, when in theory (and according to TfL's Journey Planner) it should be possible to do the journey in 25 minutes.

In second place in the irritation stakes, it's arriving at Earl's Court to see the train monitor displaying simply the words: 'Piccadilly Line'. That means, 'no trains for at least 5 minutes, and probably longer'. This is often accompanied by an announcement, saying 'The Piccadilly Line is currently operating a good service'. OK. But where?

It used to be that Piccadilly Line users pitied Northern Line passengers, famous for suffering daily frustrations. I seriously hope the Blue Line doesn't start giving us the blues...

No comments: