Talk:London Underground

Template:Pl-sa

Passenger Numbers

To enhance the table of the lines with their lengths and number of stations, it would be nice to have an average for passenger numbers (perhaps annualy) for each line. The article on the Paris Metro has this and it's interesting to compare the usage. Does anyone have these figures? --Rob2000 13:01, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

These figures are found on the articles of each line or check out the TfL website. Simply south 13:38, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Simply south. If the authors don't think it'll look too cluttered then it might be an interesting addition to that table (cf Paris Metro); I personally think it would be a nice idea, but I'm afraid I don't have the editorial skills myself!--Rob2000 14:12, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Okay, it does look interesting. I will probably add them. Simply south 17:21, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Old Street

Does anyone know what Borough Old Street tube is in? Its article says Islington, but all the maps I've seen suggest Hackney.86.0.203.120 22:40, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Entrances to street level at Old Street station are at all four corners of the Old Street roundabout. According to this map [1] (the purple line being the borough boundaries) only the North East exits are in Hackney, the rest in Islington. I know the tube station isn't directly beneath the roundabout, but I can't remember exactly where it is. If it is where it is suggested on this map I would say it's Hackney. Mister Ant 22:50, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

I've asked on a London Underground forum, and it turns out it is in Islington - "I have a book and map pre-war that says Old Street was in the borough of Shoreditch. As Shoreditch became part of Islington I should think it was the same now. "

Also, the very useful Interactive Islington site was linked to. This seems to show that station is in Islington - choose the "zoom to postcode" option and enter EC1Y 1BE and set the scale (bottom right) to be 750. Thryduulf 16:58, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

And it is in Islington, "Having spent all afternoon researching and being in contact with City of London Corporation, Islington, and Hackney councils and studying up to date maps I can tell you that the whole of Old Street including the tube station is in ISLINGTON. All three councils say the same thing." [2]. I'll add this to the Old Street page as well. Thryduulf 19:00, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Station article names

All the stations are called x tube station - i.e. Bank tube station. This seems like the wrong choice for the official title of an article - the real name of all stations is x Underground station or x London Underground station - tube is a nickname, even if it is used officially by LU from time to time. Has there been a discussion about this before? Tompagenet 12:08, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

I think it is to distinguish it from other metro systems, amongst other things. Plus also the LU is commonly called "the tube". Simply south 18:15, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the comments, Simply south, but surely Wikipedia article names should be as encyclopaedic as possible - i.e. using the 'proper' name where practical. Most other world Metros are called 'Metro' anyway, so this wouldn't be a problem - it'd be Bank metro station on those networks.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Tompagenet (talk • contribs)

Tyne and Wear are Metro, Glasgow Subway are subway, across the pond, many of their stations on their metro systems in Wikipedia are named after the line on which they are on.

I think tfl may use tube station. Simply south 18:55, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm pretty certain that LU don't use tube station as any form of official nomenclature. Do you have any source for this? Tompagenet 20:44, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

TfL Tube website. I am pretty sure when looking through here they used tube stations. Maybe look under the tube facts under "about LU". Simply south 21:24, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

I can understand the reason behind this opinion (after all, 'tube' originally referred to the deep level lines only) but London Underground refer to the system themselves as 'the Tube'. Until it's merger with TfL, the LU website was 'thetube.com' (that URL still takes you to the new LU website) and some versions of the map have been called 'Tube map' (the Wikipedia article is called Tube map). I can't see any reason for changing this and it's only going to make the titles very long! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.10.183.109 (talk • contribs)

Another thing to point out is that many of the world's metros use "underground" in general for theirs. This may be eith ambiguous or ambituous. Simply south 13:07, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

The decision to use the "x tube station" naming convention was taken as part of a wider naming convention for all stations in London, by the London Wikiproject a while ago. It was also incorporated into the defacto naming convention for railways in the UK. "x tube station" is also the most common unambiguous usage. TfL use a mixture of "station", "underground station" and "tube station", and "x underground station" implies it is actually below the ground - which the majority of stations are not. Thryduulf 17:05, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

'Tube' is by far the most common/popular term, however some enthusiasts get vey pedantic and insist Tube is bored tunnel only (not the 'cut and cover' sections). A friend who does passenger survey work for a company employed by TfL tells me that there are 2 ticket halls at King's Cross one of which is distinguished from the other by calling it 'the Tube booking hall'. Esthameian 06:32, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Why no map?

Surely using the tube map on this page counts as fair use under copyright law, it is kind of integral to the whole system, and it is also a great piece of artwork. --Differentgravy 16:40, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

I was going to ask this myself... surely the map is work of the British Government..meaning we can use it, right? --Dom0803 22:23, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Pushing the boat out? London Underground#Network --Dom0803 22:38, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

See "Tube map" for an explanation. The map is protected by copyright. In the U.S., most works of the national government are not protected by copyright. In the U.K., the story is different. British banknotes bare the "©" symbol. Many things that one might thing of as productions of the national government are actually produced by other different groups. The U.K.'s Royal Mail, for example, is a state-owned company, rather than a government department; the story is similar with the United States Postal Service, which replaced the U.S. Post Office Department. The typeface used on the Tube map is also protected by copyright. — President Lethe 23:35, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

So it's not allowed even though I clearly show (on three occasions?) that it's copyrighted? --Dom0803 00:49, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure about that. It depends on the U.K. copyright laws that protect the map and how those laws interact with the law in the U.S. and specifically Florida, where Wikipedia's servers are. I was just pointing out that the map is protected by copyright. Have a look at "Wikipedia:Copyrights"; it may help.

(Also, I'm not sure whether you also have this idea, Dom0803—but it seems that many persons think that it's O.K. to reproduce copyright-protected content without permission as long as they just acknowledge that the work is protected by copyright; in fact, this not only doesn't make it suddenly O.K. to reproduce the work, but also can be used in court to help prove that the person violating the copyright knew that the work was protected by copyright.)

President Lethe 03:56, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/maps/#copyright - "Except solely for your own personal and non-commercial use, no part of this document may be copied or used without the prior written permission of Transport for London". Seems abundantly clear. --Khendon 07:04, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Why not get someone appropriate to ask TfL for permission to use a small-resolution Underground map which can then link to an official one ? --MBRZ48 01:43, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Heads-up on London Underground trivia AFD

There's currently an AFD going on for London Underground trivia, because apparently it's not encyclopaedic enough. I thought I'd mention this as it's of interest to editors of this headline article. Discussion is ongoing at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/London_Underground_trivia - please go and contribute! My view is that it should stay, as otherwise London Underground would become even more bloated than it is. --Mike 23:24, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

The result was keep. Simply south 13:46, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Line opening dates

The table of lines says the year is "the date the first section opened". But I don't think that's what they are, since the Jubilee Line says 1979 and sections of it are much older. It's the definition that needs changing rather than the years, but I can't think of a suitable wording. --87.82.21.198 15:13, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Agreed, but it's the date that needs changing - using the 1979 Jubilee Line logic, the H&C & ELL should both be in the 1980s, which is when they became known by those names. Finchley Rd to Willesden Green opened in 1879, so I'm changing the date to that, & clarifying the definition to "the date the first section opened (not necessarily under the current line name)", which is the definition that seems to have been used for other lines' dates. Birdhurst 12:23, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

Saying the Jubilee Line opened 100 years before it did looks a tad odd. Perhaps you could add things in brackets like '(actual line opened 1979)' next to the years, then that could cover the 1980s East London line 'opening', the 1990 'opening' of the Hammersmith and City line, and the 1994 transference of the Waterloo & City line from British Rail to the London Underground. BillyH 12:41, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Practically every line opened under a different name from the one it currently operates under (the only exception being the Victoria Line, I think), so the Jubilee Line situation is by no means unique. It would require some research to get all that information - and Wiki skills I haven't got to modify the table! Birdhurst 13:04, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

(Wiki tables are often best-edited in an external editor. Atlant 14:31, 1 June 2006 (UTC))

Whoops. I did not edit using an external editor (how do i?) and can someone please double check the figures. I've had a go at the table, only by breifly looking at each line. They are probably incomplate, especially ELL. Please check Simply south 20:38, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Part of the problem comes, I think, from the perception that the Underground system has always been one organisation rather than the collection of individual companies that it started as. Likewise, no single line was ever opened completely as it currently stands. The lines as they now are grew organically over many decades - parts of some lines even existed as mainline railways before becoming part of the Underground; for example the Northern Line north of East Finchley which was opened in the 1860s and 1870s some twenty years before the City & South London Railway opened in 1890 from Stockwell to King William Street.

My view is that three date columns are needed:

1. The date of the "first section opened" whether it be under the current line name or another and irrespective of when it became part of the Underground.
2. What we think of as the "classic" opening date for a line - when the first "foundation" or core section of the line opened which later accumulated the other bits. This would be 1863 for the Met, 1890 for the Northern, 1900 for the Central Line and so on.
3. When the line attained its current name.

This would need explanation by way of footnotes to the table. All the information needed is in the table on the List of London Underground stations article. DavidCane 23:33, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Copied from my message on User talk:ShakespeareFan00

Yes, the Jubilee Line did open in 1979. However the actual railway it now occupies was opened in 1879 which was on the Metropolitan Railway. It then went through a series of changes between companies and then lines on what is now the London Underground (most notably the Bakerloo Line) before finally becoming the Jubilee Line. THEREFORE the railway section opened in 1879. There is a big difference in naming the Jubilee Line opening dates and when that section of railway actually first opened.

Simply south 21:47, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

London Underground used to publish a historical map show past lines, station opening/name changes and closed stations. This may still be available Esthameian 06:40, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Map

I'm surprised that there isn't a standard tube map image on this page. Does someone want to put one on? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.68.140.39 (talk • contribs)

No, because the copyright is held by the London Underground and putting the official map on Wikipedia would probably be a copyright violation. Cynical 22:35, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

At the risk of sounding incredibly naive, wouldn't it be possible to approach London Underground (or London Transport) and ASK them whether the map could be used for what is after all non-commerical uses? Pheasantplucker 10:20, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately, wikipedia pictures have to be cleared for commercial use, to allow for future sales of Wikipedia CDs, etc Bluap 19:12, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Distances

Sorry, but i thought the distances seemed to be under or over-estimated. This seemed especially true for the H&C. However, has this made the box rather complicated? Simply south 21:58, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

I like the distances there. I've split it into two columns and moved the units to the headings. I think that looks clearer now. Carcharoth 13:02, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

It looks good. Simply south 14:16, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Numbers of stations

Could someone add total number of stations (as of 2006) to the table of the different LU lines? Also, if it's not recorded anywhere in the article, the total number of stations across the network would be a nice figure to have. Carcharoth 02:13, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

275 stations. It was there. Now, I know the Waterloo and City is 2 stations, but does anyone want to check the pages for the other lines to see if they give number of stations? Carcharoth 02:14, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Done. Carcharoth 02:20, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

There are now 274 stations including terminal 4. Lenny 13:07, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Copyright status of Johnston?

Edward Johnston designed TfL's distinctive sans-serif typeface, in 1916. A version of the typeface, modified to include lower case, continues in use today, and is called "New Johnston". The new typeface is noted for the curl at the bottom of the minuscule l, which other sans-serif typefaces have discarded, and for the diamond-shaped tittle on the minuscule i and j, whose shape also appears in the full stop, and is the origin of other punctuation marks in the face. TfL owns the copyright to and exercises control over the New Johnston typeface, but a close approximation of the face exists in the TrueType computer font Paddington.

I'm not sure this is right. Certainly it is not copyrighted in the US as typefaces can't be copyrighted. And I suspect there is a 25-year typeface copyright term in UK law, (e.g. in the 1998 act) although I don't know how the EU directive extension may have affected that. Of course it could well be protected by trademark law, the name in particular. (Although there certainly exist "ITC Johnston" and others.) -- Blorg 23:16, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Copyrighted typefaces (considered artistic works) created outside of the US are protected in the US under the reciprocal arrangements of the Berne Convention which the US signed-up to in 1989. Only typefaces created in the US are not protected, as the US Copyright Revision Act, 1976 [3] does not cover them (see [4] for comment on this).

In the UK, the appropriate law is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 [5]. If the New Johnston typeface was a commercial typeface marketed for sale, the copyright term would be 25 years from first sale (section 55.(2) of the act) but, I don't believe London Underground or TfL has ever sold the typeface commercially so it is more likely to be dealt with as an artistic work and to have a copyright of 50 years from the death of the author (section 12.(1) of the act).

If Johnston was working for whichever company (LER group?) had the typeface created then ITYF his death-date is irrelevant and the clock starts from the date of creation as it counts as the company's creation.--MBRZ48 01:52, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

If the New Johnston typeface has ever been sold commercially it could, possibly be out of copyright already as it was created in 1979 (by Eiichi Kono who has recently designed a font named Meiryo for Microsoft).

By the way, the Paddington font referred to above is this freeware version, not this quite different Linotype font of the same name by Freda Sack. DavidCane 22:27, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

London's Transport Museum, sells Edward Johnston's original font.

Although it doesn't say as much on that page, I think you will find that the font is only sold for private, non-commercial use. If you used it on a website (such as WP) or on a commercial product, you'd have their lawyers to deal with! (I vaguely remember this from looking at the CD at the LT Museum shop).

EdJogg 12:21, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

Strikes!

Should we mention the astonishing frequency of strikes?

• Feb 2001 [6]
• July 2002 [7]
• Sept 2002 [8]
• June 2004 [9]
• Jan 2006 [10]

etc etc etc Huseyx2 20:26, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

No, not really. Five strikes in the last 5.5 years isn't exactly "astonishing". --Mike 07:31, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, that depends on your standards, Mike... @Huseyx: If you find a reference stating that the number of strikes is "astonishing", we can include it in the article, I'd say. —Nightstallion (?) 12:58, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure many other metros of the world get strike action so i don't think this frequency is unusual. Simply south 13:03, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

You could make a new page called London Underground strikes but i don't see it as a very important piece of info. Ysignal 10:58, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Merge

I am involved with the WikiProject Filmmaking and found the Filming on the Underground stub. Although this could fall under our project, I think it would be more appropriate as a section of this article because I would assume anyone who was interested in the London Underground as a filming location would probably search under "London Underground" before searching for "Filming on the Underground." --GHcool 18:05, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

I think a link would be useful in the "London Underground" article. However merging "Filming on the Underground." into the article would not be appropriate. Lots of films have used the Tube meaning the article could potentially be very big. User:ExULstudent 12:17, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

I vote for Merge - I basically agree with both points, so how about merging the Filming on the Underground stub as it is (giving the basic definition), with the main LU page (the section Contribution to arts which I recently added, would probably the most appropriate place) but with a link to a separate page "List of films made on the Underground" which could feature a title list (with a sentence or so summary for each giving which station was used and where in the film it appeared)? - HTUK 15:55, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

I agree with the merge, at least for now (therfore merge now, split later). There have been many films and documentaries on the London Underground, for example The Tube, Sliding Doors etc. This would make a suitable and useful sub-section. If it becomes too large then it can become its own article again, with mention from the main page. Simply south 16:38, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Frankly, I'd delete it. It doesn't carry any information that isn't elsewhere (the rules for photography are in the Safety section of the main page, for instance, and the fact that the W&C is regularly used isn't exactly nowhere else on Wikipedia. It's a pointlessly duplicating stub. --Mike 22:41, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

I support the merge since the article of "Filming on the Underground" just looks so pathetic as an article in its own right.

I definetly think that Filming on the Underground should become a section of London Underground, as this would provide a more suitable home for the information in this pathetic excuse for an article.

What do you think? Please reply!

Cheers

Anthony 19:51, 2 October 2006 (UTC) (_{Talk to Me}/^Contribs)

I think this talk section should be merged into the one above. :) Simply south 20:01, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Okay, thats happened. Simply south 18:38, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

I vote for merge. "Filming" does not warrant its own article. Ianthegecko 23:04, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I believed it should be merged as mentioned it doesnt really warrant as yet its own section can split it if it expands anymore. User:Mikechristopher

OK, I'm being bold and redirecting it to London Underground in popular culture#Film and television. Discussion here seems to have petered out, and the main article doesn't discuss pop culture Underground references (rightfully so, since there's a better main article for it). VT hawkeye_{talk to me} 20:41, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

Lancaster Gate station

On the main London Underground page, it states that Lancaster Gate is closed for refurbishment until October this year, on Lancaster Gate's own page, the month stated is November. Whichever it is, it should be finished soon so will no longer be an issue. However, internal consistency is being lost here, which seems a pity. Perhaps someone with local and current knowledge of the situation could put one or other of the two pages right. As said, not a big deal. Pheasantplucker 10:33, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

I have not had to go that way recently so don't know the details but I suspect October was target and November was actual! Esthameian 06:46, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

The Great Bear

I'm not sure where else to ask this, so I'll try here. An enormous number of tube articles have references to The Great Bear tube map eg:

On the 1992 litography The Great Bear, The Metropolitan Line is called Musicians Line. The main line runs between Telemann and Martin Heidegger. The branch lines runs to St.Joan, Corelli and Fontana

Is anyone else bugged by this? They seem a little out of place and aren't really very relevant to the articles they appear in, and having the work mentioned so often makes it appear enormously significant. Would anyone mind if these were removed, maybe by consolidating them in the Great Bear article itself? --Dtcdthingy 00:50, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Definately. Pull them. The info will be easily found in The Great Bear article which should link from the article on the tube map. Skittle 16:30, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Page length

I moved Accidents, Terrorism and cooling to new pages to cut down on the length of this article. The comment about Hackney being served poorly by LU is not very usefull in this article and could be deleted. Ysignal 10:50, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Station navigation templates

Hey guys, I'm currently in the process of looking for ways to improve Melbourne train articles. We have a similar wikipedia layout for Melbourne's train network. I recently looked at the South Kensington tube station and was wondering where can I find the templates or code to use for the branch lines so I don't need to duplicate things. Thanks heaps. --Lakeyboy 06:50, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Link to "Ghosts of the underground"

Hi, i just wanted to ask weather I could put a link to my website on the "london underground" page. I tried once but the link was removed. It is is an unofficial, non-profit, & non-commercial, hobby website, intended for free research & educational use only. Thank_you —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 90.192.188.241 (talk • contribs) .

Actually you tried twice and on both occasions I removed the link. Please read our guidelines on external links. Your site does not appear to meet the criteria for a useful site. Sorry, Gwernol 16:56, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

My site shows information about events that can directly effect the underground. It also shows images of stations and some information about them. Please let other users judge for thereself. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 90.192.188.241 (talk • contribs) .

What's a "thereself"?24.131.12.228 20:38, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Criticism

Okay, "Criticism" sections in Wikipedia articles generally suck. They're basically a thinly-veiled excuse for NPOV whining, and this one read like someone had taken the Evening Standard's list of pet peeves and copied it down. Worse than that, a lot of the stuff it covered was duplicated elsewhere already, and chunks of it needed cites as well. Even more than that, this article is way too long already. I've taken the whole thing out. --Mike 09:16, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

I feel the same way about Trivia sections. Since when is trivia encyclopedic? It usually looks to me like obscure fun facts that don't fit in the article anywhere, so they get jammed into a section together. 24.131.12.228 20:40, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Yup, that's why we hived off the Trivia stuff into its own article (London Underground trivia) some time ago. So far it's survived 'two' AFD processes from overzealous people who don't grok its purpose (for keeping the lists of trivia out of the headline article). --Mike 21:17, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

I think criticism is an important part of this article. Londoners who use the Underground frequently complain about the service. I suggest the section be put back, however each criticism must be met with a counter point in order to retain NPOV status. --82.35.37.18 16:25, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Let's not. This article is enormous enough already without a bunch of redundant, NPOV-dubious and most likely WP:WEASEL-laden stuff like that clogging it up. It's not exactly encyclopaedic either. --Mike 18:34, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Isn't there equally a risk of violating NPOV by leaving the criticism out, making the article too Pollyannaish and leaving out the genuine and probably verifiable complaints of customers? Rather than excising the entire section, might it not be better to focus on sourcing the complaints that, even though I'm not a Londoner, I'm sure exist? Greyfedora 19:36, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm a Londoner, and I could reel off a few complaints, yeah. That said, a common topic of conversation for people the world over is how old / expensive / unreliable / whatever they perceive their local public transport system to be. You could come up with a very similiar list of complaints about just about any other system out there - it's by no means unique to London. In a well-written article, criticism sections aren't necessary, and this article never needed one before. If if needs one now, that's a sign that the whole article needs a spring clean (for instance, the well-meaning but index-clogging list of sections under Safety). --Mike 06:57, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I think we need to source any criticism. Sprotch 12:49, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Wimbledon & North Line

A new article at Wimbledon & North Line has been created - is this in any sense true, or is it nonsense? --Harris 12:34, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure. I have read about an extension of the Victoria Line to Northumberland Park but i have not heard of this line. Simply south 12:58, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I've tried a search with variations and i could not find anything. The closest i could find is info on the Chelsea - Hackney Line (which is known, possibly to become Crossrail 3) and a petition by residents for effectively a second Circle Line called the Olympic Line. Simply south 18:48, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I've also looked, on google and on tfl.gov.uk, found nothing. I saw something on the news earlier today about a tram line development, but I can't remember where it was (running through Peckham?) I guess if its non-verifiable it needs to be sent to AfD? RHB 19:07, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Why not speedy nominate. The information is patent nonsense - completed in 2010, mainly deep level tube???? See here for the user's history. Regan123 19:13, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I've prodded it. WP:SPEEDY seems to explicitly disclaim hoaxes... Thank you for your help, everyone. --Harris 22:37, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

If it gets deprodded, you could speedy as WP:CSD G3, vandalism. Silly vandalism - Creating joke or hoax articles is vandalism. Tubezone 23:39, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

The article describes one variant of the Chelsea-Hackney line (a long-discussed diagonal line to relieve the Victoria line using new tunnels in the centre and existing lines outside) with quite a lot of wishful thinking. It's not completely rubbish, though unsourced and not at the right title.  ProhibitOnions  ^(T) 13:15, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Replace network map?

User:ed g2s has created the whole network map, Image:London Underground full map.png, albeit in PNG format. Should it replace the zone 1 map on the network section or is it too big to put on for users with smaller monitor dimensions? --TheTallOne 10:21, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

I'd say it's way, way too big. --Mike 10:25, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Platform edge screens

A recent update to the article added the following justification for platform edge screens:

maintain the atmosphere within the station platform, so air conditioning or heating is more efficient

It is far from obvious that this is true, especially as said screens do not reach the ceiling. This can be clearly seen in this image. I have added a {{fact}} tag. -- Chris j wood 12:05, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

I have to confess it was me that added that after an anon removed the part about containing the blast of air coming into a station and added the bit about air conditioning, whereupon I changed it so both were mentioned. Remove it by all means if theres no evidence to back it up. Thanks, RHB 18:18, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

The platform scren doors undoubtedly aid the cooling of the station. If you've been to any of the new Jubilee Line stations you will immediately feel it. I have nothing to back up this statement in terms of hard fact, however. Maybe it should be re-worded to say that the platform doors aid air-flow, which in turn helps the cooling down of stations, rather than making air-conditioning or heating more efficient by maintaining an atmosphere. Samluke777 18:58, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately, you're mistaking observed effects for conclusive evidence there. Most of the reason that JLE stations are cooler is that they're larger and built more openly (station box type construction rather than excavated tunnels like older deep tube stations), I've always assumed, giving more opportunity for hot air to escape rather than being trapped down below. --Mike 08:51, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

The doors do not need to make the stations air-tight in order to help keep the stations cool. As you know heat rises. This means that cold air tends to go down (to fill the gap made by the hot air). In an underground station cold air that flows down will fall off of the edge of the platform onto the track (and into the suicide pit if applicable) and will also flow down the tunnels. The doors on the JLE stop the cool air from leaving the platforms apart from when a train is in the station.

If the doors were not there the cold air would constantly flow out of the station instead of filling up the area between the glass barrier and the rear of the platform. Cool air on the track has provides no comfort for passengers on the station platforms, but if you can convince the government (or other funding bodies) that you can keep the cold air next to the passengers you can justify a bigger spend on air-con equipment. (Imagine the stations being flooded by water if you want to get a mental picture of the way that cold air will flow with and without the platform barriers there.) Having said this the JLE stations mostly also have tall ceilings and large escallator shafts that I'm sure also help by allowing hot air to move up away from the heads of the passengers and then flow out of the gap at the top of the escallator shaft (without making people on the escallators hot). (In the event of a fire those gaps above the escallators might also prevent the sort of flash over that shot up the escallator shafts at Kings Cross and instantly killed people. Although I'm don't have evidence to back that claim up it is off-topic so doesn't matter.) (Imagine the stations being turned upside down and flooded with water to imagine the way that heat will flow out of them.)

I actually remember this being advertised as one of the features of the doors before these new stations opened. I can't find a page on the TFL page to confirm this (because they have recently dumped all their old pages) but here is a page from the LDDC that agrees with the air cooling argument (it is just one line and you need to scroll down a lot). I don't think that "heating" has ever been mentioned in connection with the doors on the JLE, but if you have travelled on the rest of the London Underground recently you will know that even in the winter the deep stations are pretty hot these days. Ken Livingstone says this is because the soil around the tunnels and stations has become saturated with heat and is now reflecting it back. Big Mac 02:21, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

FAR

Its currently under FAR, so its still a FA at the moment but is being checked to ensure it is. See the FAR page here Thanks, RHB 19:32, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

odd phrase construction—due to deletion maybe?

These early lines used steam-hauled trains, which required effective ventilation to the surface.^[2] These houses were demolished for the construction of the then District Line between Paddington and Bayswater. However, to 'keep up appearances' in what still is a well-to-do street, a 5-foot thick concrete facade was constructed to resemble a genuine house frontage.

It seems to me that a chunk of this paragraph has been deleted—specifically where the ^[2] lies. To begin by talking about steam-hauled trains and then to continue with the phrase "These houses were demolished..." is a non-sequitur. Could someone look into this and perhaps restore whatever part of the paragraph seems to be missing? —dragfyre 02:15, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

There's been no deletions. Basically, that's how it was written. I've modified the section, it should be much clearer now. ~ ► Wykebjs ◄ (userpage | talk) 00:55, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

external links

it seems to me the number of external links on this article is beyond the point of Wiki. There should'nt be more than one for each type of extra information and it should suport the article rather than be an added titbit. I would think this page is ripe for pruning. Thundernlightning 11:21, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

I have moved an external link to this article from Image:Piccadilly Line.svg, referring to a site exploring the history of the Tube's Edwardian platform tiling. However, this link isn't imperative, and can be removed if anyone else thinks this section is getting too long. Andrew (My talk) 23:06, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Usage and others (possibly OR)

Okay, this is probably going to count as original research or something but i have just calculated the number of people on average at each station. Slightly skewed but this shows which line is the busiest (Victoria) and the least busiest (unsurprisingly still the East London Line).

Well if they are any use

here:

Number of people per station

• Bakerloo Line – 3837880
• Central Line – 3746571\2
• Circle Line – 2536481\2
• District Line – 2881316\7
• East London Line – 1303625
• Hammersmith & City Line – 1637321\2
• Jubilee Line – 4725333/4
• Metropolitan Line – 1579323/4
• Northern Line – 4134680
• Piccadilly Line – 3388019/20
• Victoria Line – 10082437/8
• Waterloo & City Line – 4808000

Simply south 14:22, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Disputed

Exactly which boroughs don't have tube stations? The "South of the Thames" section says Hackney is one of them, but it has Mansion House is. I'd edit the article, but I don't know whether the other 5 are correct. --88.110.235.235 03:19, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Mansion House station is in the City of London, some distance from Hackney, which as the article says has no tube stations. Birdhurst 05:29, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, I mean Manor House of course, which according to this very publication is in Hackney. --88.110.235.235 11:46, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Noted. Simply south 14:57, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

FYI: Hackney is in North London, so any article that claims it is South London needs to be fixed by someone.

Also according to this press release from TFL Manor House Station is in Harringay not Hackney. I have a friend who lives north of the station and recall him recently complaining that as he crosses the border from one borough to the other he goes over an area that Hackney Council never bother to grit.

Names of LU lines

The Underground lines are referred to in this and related articles thus: "Northern Line" — with "Line" capitalised. TfL (and previously London Transport) write it "Northern line" — line name capitalised, but not "line" (so "Hammersmith & City line", "Circle line" etc.). We can, of course, disregard non-standard capitalisation, but as this appears not to have been discussed, I thought it might be a good idea to ask others' opinions as to whether we should consider following Underground practice and using lowercase "line" in the line names. ProhibitOnions ^(T) 00:22, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Anybody? ProhibitOnions ^(T) 14:19, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Try search and replace "Line" with "line". ALECTRIC451 15:23, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the tip, but I do know how to do this, being an admin and all. I was asking to see if there were any opinions on the merits of doing so. ProhibitOnions ^(T) 23:09, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Any other opinions? We would have, for example Bakerloo Line --> Bakerloo line, which is how the LU writes it. ProhibitOnions ^(T) 11:33, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

This is an encyclopedia, therefore we should AT ALL TIMES be guided by what is in the public domain. Hence, if TfL (of whomever) use "line" then we should do so. It really is THAT simple. Canterberry 12:08, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

All the signs on the underground do use "line" rather than "Line", so I would agree that we should also refer to them using the un-capitalised form. Edwin 16:00, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Disambiguation page requested

"London Underground" is also the name of a song by the band Amatuer Transplants. Bobnotts 20:07, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

I suggest that you put it at the top, with something like "This article about the Lonon Transportation System. For the Amatuer Transplant album click here". A disambiguation page for something as famous as the London Underground compared to an album of the same name is not going to cause confusion, but a link to each article is better. London Underground (Album) is the the title of the album page I suggest. sheeldz 11.12, 5th March 2007 (GMT)

Frankly, if you dab to anything which mentions the London Underground, rather than - let's face it - a non-notable song - the page would need the disambiguation. However, it's so mind-bendingly unlikely that anyone would come to this page thinking "Huh? I wanted to find out about a hilarious song, but all I get is stuff about some railway system?" that cluttering it up with dabs isn't necessary. That's what search engines are for. --Mike 22:29, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Main article photograph

I noticed that the main article photograph at the top (Image:Underground_roundel_sign_at_Epping.jpg) has disappeared. To replace this, I have uploaded one of my own photographs (Image:Underground_sign_at_Westminster.jpg) and changed the article to point to this. EdwinH 17:36, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Request for article on Express Northern Line and other Ghost Lines

During the second world war work was started on an express line next to the Northern Line. Some of these tunnels were intended to be used as bomb shelters and then passed back to LU after the war. However, the British Government seized control of what little got built. I heard from a friend who worked for the Underground that this line was actually working and in use by the military, but Ken Livingstone told me it was just fragments when I challenged him about this on a radio talk show.

I've also heard stories of a pnematic underground line that shut down a long time ago and seen an article on the House of Commons website that said that their was a secret underground station underneath 10 Downing Street (obviously it isn't that secret if they post articles about it on government websites).

I'd like to see an article about this and any other other Underground Lines that never got finished or were later closed. Can we please also have some sort of list for Ghost Lines and Ghost Stations? Big Mac 02:55, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

I seem to recall that the pneumatic line crossed the Thames somewhere near Tower Bridge. There was even a company that provided pneumatic power across Central London via a network of pipes including possibly this line Esthameian 07:01, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

The Tower Subway has its own article already. As far as the deep-level stations at Goodge Street et al are concerned, Ken is right - it's essentially just a few half-completed stations, and as far as I know the aren't any tunnels linking them. Actual genuine bits of closed tube railway are fragmentary at best (underground ones, that is, not on the surface). --Mike 21:56, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Also, were you thinking of the London Hydraulic Power Company which used the Tower Subway to run hydraulic pipes under the Thames? EdJogg 22:47, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

He's plainly thinking of the LHPC, but actually, there was a pneumatic underground railway - the Crystal Palace Atmospheric Railway. It was an experimental 600-yard line in the Crystal Palace Gardens - see http://fdelaitre.club.fr/Crystal.htm for more. It's definitely worth an article... -- ChrisO 09:47, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

London Underground construction and the expansion of London

The construction of the London Underground drove London to expand rapidly with areas like Southfields and Metroland and many, many more being undeveloped before the Underground made commuting possible. This needs to be addresses somewhere in this article as it is an area where the Underground was vital to the history of the city it serves. Big Mac 04:20, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Photo Website in external links

I've added my non-commercial website of abstract images of the London underground, They have been removed a number of times now as as a "nonsignificant photo site" by Mpk. My person feelings aside, I've put the link back, take a good and if people feel the site serves no purpose I'll be happy to remove the link myself. The jubilee extension images are of architecture meret. Photo Rob 20.38, 10 April 2007 (GMT)

• Abstract images of the London Underground - The Tubes Architecture as you've never seen before.

• - Regardless of the quality of the site or the images, I feel that adding your own site as an external link is nothing more than spamming. If someone else feels it's relevant and wants to add it, then it should stand on its own merits. - fchd 19:43, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't think I'ts spamming, the only personal gain I will get from the site is a few guestbook entrys every few weeks. Photo Rob 22.17, 10 April 2007 (GMT)

• To be honest, the reason people keep removing it (please don't just keep adding it, not least because you're at risk of violating the 3RR if you're not careful) is because there are lots of photos out there, and the page is so huge already that keeping the links list short and discerning is the least we can do. That said, if you're particularly proud of some of the images of the Jubilee as you mentioned, a link on Jubilee line rather than on the already-bloated LU headline article might be better received. Why not try that? --Mike 14:46, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

Your comments are noted and accepted. Photo Rob 00.28, 12 April 2007 (GMT)

photography is no longer permitted after 7/7???

I have recently completed a photography project of the London underground, and the article is wrong regarding shooting within the tube network. Since 7/7 you are liable to be stopped under anti-terrorism laws if you shoot/video anywhere within in the LU network, although the risks are low if you just take the odd snap. Anything more and well your in trouble.

You need permission from the film unit and the station supervisor before photography is permitted. A tripod can be used at the station supervisor (southwark,Clapham north permitted me to use one) discretion. I've amde a small change to reflect the reality.

Photo Rob 23.33 17 May 2007(GMT)

This is simply not true. Photography that is more than casual photography for personal purposes has always required permission as above, but pulling out a camera and taking a couple of snapshots is totally allowed (provided no flash or tripods etc). I checked this myself with the LU film office about a years ago. --Mike 23:33, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

The actual policy of Transport for London can be found here. Basically, anybody wanting to film or take pictures must seek prior permission from the London Underground Film Office. Quite honestly, in this age of mobile phones and digital cameras, you can film/photograph anything you want ... just don't get caught!! Canterberry 23:46, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, the two pages are rather confused. However, having researched it last year, the upshot was that commercial photography does require a permit, but "personal" photography does not, provided it sticks to the byelaws. The page you refer to above is about commercial work, while the more generic one is about general snapshottery. The film office said they were working on getting the pages updated ages ago, but that doesn't seem to have happened. --Mike 22:08, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Things have changed in the last few years, true if you take the odd snap you should be fine, however someone I know was stopped and arrested last year at Amersham station, they look the camera which took some months to get back. He is a middle aged accountant!! Unbelievable but sadly true. Most staff don't give a stuff, the transport police however do though. Photo Rob 00.17 19 May 2007(GMT)

This is a "sourced opinion" Check out rules regarding photography from the TFL film office, it makes it clear you need permission from them before doing ANY photography. Pehaps this article should be altered.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/1517.aspx ()

Photo Rob 20:45 12 June 2007(GMT)

That link is to the media section of the website, it refers to people who are doing commercial filing or photograhy and those who things on a scale that might interfere with the normal operation of a station - not tourists taking snapshots. (It's not Wikipedia's role to be an advice line for photographers.) For what it's worth the TfL conditions of carriage merely states that "For safety reasons, on our buses, in our bus stations and on London Underground stations and trains you must not... take flash photographs and/or use a tripod or other camera support equipment". DrFrench 20:08, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

I think you will find it means any photography on the underground, altough in practice this is impossible to inforce. I am going to contact the film office directly to find out what the situation is for personal photography, hope I am wrong. Photo Rob 16:45 13 June 2007(GMT)

Removed link to Google Earth data

Just looking through the edit history and I see that the link to a collection of station locations in Google Earth format has been removed (11:17, 12 December 2006 Thundernlightning (Talk | contribs) (→Practical - this link adds nothing. It just shows stations on a google map.)

I don't agree that this adds nothing. Whilst I can understand that this appears to be simply a map of the stations, this is more importantly a geocoded data set that includes latitude and longitude pairs for each station and could be very useful.

I've not added it back yet - any thoughts?

Sounds fine to put back in, although don't expect it to their long. Photo Rob 16.21 30 May 2007(GMT)

Reinstatement of wiffly-waffly piffle

My removal of "The tube generally has two sections: deep-level (tube) and sub-surface." has been reverted. The sentence is poorly expressed. What does it mean? The Central Line is at once deep-level, sub-surface and overground, which section of the underground is it in please? The wiffly-waffly word "generally" is superfluous here. Remove the word "generally" from the sentence and it states that the tube is in two sections. This is patently untrue. Is the sentence trying to say that each section of the underground part of the London Underground may be classified as "deep-level" (bored) or sub-surface (cut-'n'-cover)? If so, perhaps it should say that? --Ferstel 15:38, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

I've removed this: The system has three main types of route. The first are the bored tunnels from which the system derives its nickname the Tube. The second are the sub-surface tunnels, which were constructed using the cut and cover method. The third are the surface lines, which in fact make up the majority of the route mileage of the network. I think it is still redundant and doesn't belong in the lead, and I am apparently not alone. Problems with the passage include the following. It is only one way of many to classify the parts of the railway. Saying "the system has three main types of route" in the lead implies it is the most important classification, or is somehow "official" which is an unreferenced and inexpert assertion. "The first…", "the second…", "the third…" - we are not certain that it's merely an enumeration so "the first" could mean "the earliest" or "the most important". "Bored tunnels" - an unfortunate phrase, what about bored readers? The first paragraph has already said the Underground is called "the Tube" because of its shape, so that is redundant information. The first paragraph already said that most of the network is above ground, so this is also redundant. So in the first seven sentences of the article we are told two things twice. I notice that three users have now all independently removed this information from the lead (Mpk, me and, after it was rewritten following my comment above, an anon). I deduce from this a rough consensus to exclude this information from the lead (it is already in the main part of the article). After each of the edits to remove it, Canterberry (talk · contribs) has used the "undo" button as if the paragraph's removal was vandalism (here, here and here) which is very bad form. --Ferstel 06:46, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I would caution you on the tone of your wording. It does not conform to WP:CIVIL in many aspects, and is highly condescending. (e.g. "... what about bored readers", "... an unreferenced and inexpert assertion.". I shall not re-insert the the wiffly-waffly piffle as you refer to it (again, a very insulting and demeaning experession, which is not WP:CIVIL in the slightest). I urge you to be more polite in the future. Canterberry 09:36, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Disabled Access

according to the TFL book i received on access a category "C" station has a step of 200-300mm therefore i have changed the maximum step height to 300mm on the main page.

Ianburnip 00:28, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Largest?

The lead paragraph says that the London Underground "is the largest in terms of route length" and the information box says the system length is 408 kilometres. Yet the information box for the New York City Subway says it's system length is 1056 kilometres (for revenue track). This seems to be a contradiction. --Gerry Ashton 04:10, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Gerry, you are very biased and prejudiuced, and I am minded to issue you with a WP:CIVIL. As the Bible states, "take the plank out of your own eye, before removing the splinter from others". You have added a "citation needed" to the London Underground article, and questioned it's status as the longest by system length. Yet, the NYC subway article has no citation either ... yet you have accepted its authenticity without question. I suggest you add a "citation required" to the NYC subway article, and then we can discuss things on a "level playing field" as they say. Canterberry 22:10, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

The New York Subway article does not claim that system is the longest in the world, only the London Underground article makes that claim. Also, I am not prejudiced; I have ridden both the London Underground and the New York Subway, and I liked the London Underground better. --Gerry Ashton 22:26, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Gerry, Gerry, Gerry ... you have missed the point! Both the LUL and NYC articles "claim" all sorts of superlatives ... but NEITHER has the citations/references to back them up. Score at half-time = nil-nil. Canterberry 22:41, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

I found a citation from the BBC in 2000 which states "As it is, there are currently over 400 miles of track in the subway system, which makes the NYC subway the biggest in the world." This suggests the New York Subway article's claim of 656 miles may be exaggerated, but even so, 400 miles is longer than the 253 miles claimed in the London Underground article. --Gerry Ashton 22:50, 11 June 2007 (UTC)