Camden New Journal - Letters: Tube in meltdown as trains go missing and buses fill up

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Camden New Journal - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 04 October 2007

Tube in meltdown as trains go missing and buses fill up

• THERE were no Tube trains from Kentish Town on Saturday.
“Planned works” were being carried out on Bank and Charing Cross branches, and I was told that by 2pm I would be able to use the Charing Cross branch. As I had to be at Hammersmith for 2pm, I got a replacement bus and then a 27 bus. It took 90 minutes, travelling at snail’s pace, in a nearly empty bus, sandwiched between other nearly empty buses.
Coming back at 4.30pm, I decided to travel by underground, but it took me even longer to get back to Kentish Town.
There were no Victoria line services and trains were densely packed. I was told there was still no Barnet branch and that a replacement bus would complete my journey from Camden Town.
But more than 100 other people had been told the same and an intimidating crowd was overflowing from the bus stop. Several buses that passed were full and did not stop.
I asked a London Underground official where the replacement bus was and he replied that he had just heard there would not be one for more than an hour. He added that these buses were brought from Wales and were unreliable.
At that moment, a 134 bus drew up beyond the bus stop and three men tried to board but the driver denied them access.
Whereupon they stood in front of the bus and refused to move. I saw three more men appear and there was a lot of shouting. I decided to walk, as did several other people.
Can this be an efficient use of the more than £428 million that taxpayers contribute to Transport for London (TfL), an unelected quango, whose top officials are reputed to earn a lot of money?
The government arbiter ruled last week that London Underground could owe Metronet, the rail consortium that went into administration in July, anywhere between £370 million and £1.07 billion.
A representative of TfL criticised the arbiter and claimed to be “very perplexed” by the ruling. Is he also perplexed by the inefficiency of London Transport, which seldom provides the traveller with accurate information, let alone efficient travel?
Jenny Wright
NW5

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@camdennewjournal.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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