You could be reading more interesting transport news today. This is not it.
🚇 A new Central line timetable starts on Monday. It recognises that the line is in a slightly better state than a few years ago when lots of trains were breaking down and they had to reduce the service a bit. It means they can now run 72 trains at peak times, previously 71. It's particularly good news offpeak between White City and Leytonstone which currently sees 21 trains an hour but next week this rises to 24. The same applies on Saturdays. On Sundays this central section will now get 21-22 trains per hour (boosted to 24 between 4.30pm and 6pm).
Passengers on the eastern branches won't see much change in frequency. However it's a different matter out west, sorry. The Ealing Broadway branch will be reduced to a regular 10 minute service all week. It's currently 8 trains an hour offpeak but will now be 6. Meanwhile the West Ruislip branch is being slimmed to 8 trains an hour off-peak, down from 9. There'll also be no more off-peak trains terminating at Northolt which'll thin out services on this branch still further. Essentially if you live in Ealing you'll probably notice longer waits for trains (and if you live anywhere else you probably won't).
❓ TfL haven't published the results of any FoI requests since 3rd July. I guess someone's on holiday.
🚌 A few Hertfordshire bus changes(from 30th August)
• Route 242 (Waltham Cross to Hatfield) will be halved in length to run from Waltham Cross to Potters Bar only. The 243 will still run from Potters Bar to Hatfield.
• Route 322 (Rickmansworth to Hemel Hempstead) is losing its Sunday service. I think that means the only buses you'll be able to catch in Croxley Green on Sundays will be the long distance 724/725.
• Route PB1, the circular route round Potters Bar, is being withdrawn. It's been operated by Uno for less than 18 months. Herts County Council are investigating a replacement service.
🚇 The Next Train Indicators at Bounds Green station have been replaced. They used to have three rows of information and now they have four, also they're easier to read. This is of course excellent. However it means I'll no longer be able to write my planned blogpost 'The passive aggressive Next Train Indicators of Bounds Green'. The bottom row was an almost never-ending stream of messages warning passengers to stand back and not to drop things on the track and to respect other passengers and to watch for suspicious people and the like, and one day I was going to stand there for half an hour and note down the lot. By replacing the electronic sign the miserable finger-wagging undertone appears to have vanished for good, which is also excellent but rids me of the opportunity to tut. No other tube station was ever this jobsworth, so hurrah that it no longer is.
🚆 The Liberty line will be suspended on the second, third and fourth weekends in January 2027. It's not yet clear if the fifth weekend will be affected, not until TfL next update their rolling six-month pdf of line closures. However the first weekend looks clear, should you have January Sale plans in the Emerson Park area.
🥔 It's great to see that TfL have approved use of a TfL roundel at Spud Stop inside Wood Green Shopping Centre.
🛫 The new draft London plan proposes that expansion at Heathrow and other airports should be refused unless no unacceptable environmental, transport, and congestion impacts are demonstrated. Also new heliports should be refused, except for the exclusive use of emergency services. The draft plan has entered a consultation phase and won't be signed off by Whitehall until 2028, but it's always useful to confirm Lord Khan of Tooting's position on the matter.
🎟️ The government is to trial extra-tall, extra-low, extra hard-to-push-through ticket gates at 18 stations nationwide. The two chosen stations in London are Elephant & Castle (Thameslink) and Gipsy Hill. Installation continues into 2028, but the side entrance at Gipsy Hill is due to get barriered later this year.
🚌 As of yesterday route 186 no longer directly serves Harrow bus station, with buses remaining on Station Road instead. The official advice is that passengers travelling between Harrow Bus Station and Northwick Park Hospital "should use bus routes 182, 223, 483, H9/H10 or H14 instead". However the H10 runs clockwise so takes 70 minutes to reach the hospital so don't take that, take the H9 which goes anti-clockwise and takes 10 minutes.
🚇 The Northern line's Morden extension opened on 13th September 1926. To celebrate the centenary TfL will be running two special events in conjunction with Open House (which this year conveniently runs 12th-20th September). On 12th September there'll be a Treasure Hunt with clue packs available at Morden station from 11am. Those who successfully reach Clapham South station by 3pm will win a prize. I bet it's a tote bag, it's always a tote bag. A week later on 19th September they're running 90-minute Morden extension station tours, nothing behind the scenes but bound to be good. Booking begins on 19th August.
🎨 Art on the Underground are to introduce a Spaghetti Map next week. It's not a tube map, it's an art leaflet aimed at inspiring arty kids to reflect on art at tube stations and do some arty creative scribbling. The launch has been designed to coincide with the start of the school summer holidays. The Spaghetti Map will be available at just ten stations - South Kensington, Battersea Power Station, Nine Elms, Westminster, St James' Park, Edgware Road, Tottenham Court Road, Whitechapel, Manor House, Arsenal and Blackhorse Road. If your kids would enjoy colouring roundels creatively then look out for a copy, but if it's anything like previous Art Maps it'll vanish vanishingly fast.
