The bleeping of Cockfosters! hahaha As a Londoner, I wouldn't say the Bakerloo line is boring. It has character and is unique. The 1972 trains are like a museum and sharing track with the Overground leads to a crazy low step from the platform as mainline trains have higher floors. Not saying any of that is ***good*** to the average person sense, but to enthusiasts, it's a nice change
Not just the trains, but a lot of the stations are themselves in particularly historic areas! Or so it feels to me - I always onboarded at Paddington on the Bakerloo, or occasionally Circle/etc, so I’m most intimately familiar with the whole Regent Street Baker Street etc section.
Bakerloo definitely feels like going back in time - and not in a particularly good way, as someone who had to regularly use it recently. The upkeep on those trains are extremely poor.
@@theblah12 I haven’t used it since 2015 or so, I must admit. It was a bit shonky but not TOO bad back then. That’s a bit of a shame, I suppose it’s because they want to replace it with the stock the Jubilee and Piccadilly are also getting.
I go back and forth on this the central core of crossrail is legitimately a lot more substantial and being integrated completely into tfl is an element that I think is actually incredibly important
Thameslink has full ticket integration (via contactless and oyster) as I'm sure you know. TfL just refuse to put it on their maps or list it as a separate mode - it is lumped in with all other National Rail services in Car Line Diagrams etc. It's pure pettiness for them not to include it, as it has a higher speed and capacity than the Northern Line, which it complements.
@@asdaneedsfunds I agree. It's now back on the tube map, but they still refuse to brand it seperatly on the signage, which is silly and arguably more confusing. I'm hoping with GBR coming, the Thameslink branding will be strengthend.
@@Wasserfeld. Unfortunately TfL aren't behooven to GBR, so I suspect the relationship between the two will remain the same for quite some time. We need a halfway house between the "Underground map" and the "Rail and tube" maps, with only the higher frequency heavy rail services shown - that would have the added bonus of putting South London on the map for a change.
@@asdaneedsfunds I meant GBR strengthening the brand. They could definitely work with TfL on that if TfL is willing to play ball. But with the DfT being how they are at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if they were forced to if they were strengthening the branding.
as amazing a pioneer as the underground is, the fact that it was never replicated in other UK cities is really damning of the British government over the last couple centuries, other than the Tyne and Wear metro and the Glasgow subway there's no other systems like the underground in the UK, especially not at any great scale
Liverpool has the Mersey rail which has some underground sections and Manchester was going to get the Picc Vicc line but your right most of our cities except Newcastle and Glasgow don’t have a proper underground metro they seem to go for tram based systems alot ,Manchester ,Nottingham Sheffield for example
Yeah exactly. Outside of London, mass transit in the UK is piss poor. All the money, effort and skills go into London and the South East (and Edinburgh to an extent) and the rest of the country is left to rot. Birmingham has a metro population of 3.5 million, and has one shitty tram line. Meanwhile, Berlin, a city with about the same metro population, has 10 metro lines, and many many frequent commuter rail lines and tram lines. And the UK government continues to do nothing.
@@bowlerstuff9589 The West Midlands Metro area isn't that compact. A western metro line would make a lot of sense, and the lack of electrification of the Snow Hill lines is ridiculous. No suburban rail service, let alone a major one should be deisel.
I rode the London Underground for the very first time in 2019 and I fell in love with it instantly. It is deep and can be like a maze but once you master it, it’s a piece of cake. Every line has its own unique charm to it. This video alone makes me want to go back to London just so I can ride on it again. Truly one of, if not arguably the best transit system in the world.
As a UK viewer, thanks for this. A very good potted history, although one point. The Waterloo & City was *not* the first tube line... this accolade goes to the City & South London Railway, now forming the eastern branch of the Northern Line through the city. It was opened in 1890 as the first electric underground railway in the world (although it was originally planned as a cable-hauled system) Still it's a minor point so congratulations!
The Stanmore end of the Jubilee Line was originally a branch of the Metropolitan Line. Then when the Bakerloo line was created, it was made a branch of that, and became its own line when the central section of the Jubilee Line was built. The Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line was originally a branch of the District Line, and the Piccadilly Line was created in part to relieve pressure on the District Line. The Heathrow branch was much more recent, planes hadn't been invented when it was first built. The East London Line section of the Overground used to be part of the Metropolitan Line, then became its own tube line before getting converted and joined up with other rail lines to form part of the Overground.
The Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly was originally the District, but only as far as South Harrow. From there on to Uxbridge it was originally the Metropolitan (but the District did run over it prior to Piccadilly trains using it). The Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly as far as the old 1883 Hounslow West terminus was originally the District, but both District and Piccadilly trains used it from 1933 to 1964 when it became Piccadilly only. The extension from Hounslow West to Heathrow in 1977 is Piccadilly only.
Not quite, controlled flight in a fixed wing aircraft was invented around the same time as the Piccadilly line was being built. Granted commercially viable passenger airliners came later but the prospect of strapping some aerofoils and flaps to an engine and getting a contraption you have a cat in hells chance of taking off in and living to recount the story was just about emerging. The oldest section of the Piccadilly (Then Great Northern) seems to have opened in 1906, Wilbur and Orville Wright's first successful controlled flight in a fixed wing aircraft was in 1903. In the grand scale of things these are essentially the same time, so controlled fixed wing flight was demonstrably achievable but yes it had yet to be commercialised.
These splendidly detailed comments (and others passim) just go to show the truth in our host's remark at the beginning that he had to whittle down over a hundred hours' worth of material.
@@user-ed7et3pb4o All commuter services in London should be part of TfL to properly integrate them. There should also be more RER-style lines from the south that travel through central London, since right now commuter trains (except for Thameslink) just dump you at a terminus
Also would like to see a video on the sucess some rural transit agencies have had. It's common to hear people say "transit is just a city thing" but there are some rural sucess stories. For example, the entire burlington vermont metro area has about 215,000 people and outside of the city its quite rural but green mountain transit has made some very good strides recently and service here is better than serive in baltimore (pop 3 million)
I got you beat on a rural system. My home county has like 35k people. The biggest town is like 2k avg size being around 1k. We have had an on demand bus transit system for 40ish years now (started in 81) and its use often and really liked. No set routes, you have to call and order a pickup time. It helps that the people in charge know what they're doing and the drivers are competent and paid well and busses are clean. The system is building a new HQ on the other side of town so they have more room for all their busses lol
@@tomrogue13 Sounds like that could benefit from being updated with an app which would be relatively inexpensive in transit budget terms. The capital cost of the software development would be far less than the cost of acquiring even a single new bus. As for the ongoing cost it is probably even lower than said new bus would be, fully managed with that sort of client load you are looking at a couple of thousand dollars per year at most. A single bus burns that in driver salary alone in about a month let alone fuel and maintenance. If nothing else this seems like it would be worth it merely to improve accessibility, not all humans can readily pass the barrier of making a voice call for access. That pretty much locks out the deaf or dumb for example and is at best a disincentive to many others with communication disabilities such as autism.
Amongst my favourite things about the underground? - The 'different but the same' character or feel between each line - I presume as a consequence of different companies building the lines that were then brought together under one operator. The fact that each line generally has its own stock (tube limes at least, these days) helps add to that. - the extent of the system. The central line runs through some of the busiest parts of the city and Westend, but also through open fields north of Debden. Theydon & Chigwell are practically villages. And riding the metropolitan line you can get all the way from Aldgate, Farringdon, King's Cross or Baker Street to quaint, sleepy Chesham.
recently visited england and I really loved riding the system, and also the names always standed out for me, I don't know how to describe it but they just feel very "english"
Funnily enough the Jubilee Line was originally meant to open in 1977 as a celebration of Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee but as with most building projects in the UK there were numerous delays. As a kid growing up in the 70s I used to love the the old red tube trains that had a really quaint almost Art Deco interior this rolling stock was actually pre war
Confusing for tourists is that London is serviced by lines other than the Underground, and mostly you will not find them on your Tube map. Getting from Point A to Point B might involve using the Underground and transferring to another line - which you'll find on another map. Or one of these other lines might be a better alternative altogether.
@@Bobrogers99 This map has existed for years: "London Connections". Seen mostly these days just in stations although you certainly used to be able to get a fold-out paper version.
@@bigaspidistra You still can. It uses the lovely old fashioned dotted/cross-hatched &c. line markings you used to get in the black and white maps in the back of pocket diaries.
I think there is a real practical distinction between the Underground lines and the 'other' lines - which is that the Underground services are all (or very nearly all) frequent enough that you only need the map to get around, rather than a map+timetable (which you do need if your journey involves 'other' rail lines). I don't know why the 'train operating companies' of the 'main-line' railway have not cottoned on to the fact that half-hourly services, poorly integrated, just don't offer the range of journey opportunities that the 'tube' gives. The 'main line' rail map shows no indication of frequency on each line, which could be quite easily done by using a range of line thicknesses. But the better solution would be to offer 'underground' style service - frequent trains, simpler service patterns (mostly calling at all stations), combining routes to give more cross-London lines, and BIG, clear way-finding signs at interchanges.
I mean - this is a fantastic channel and video, and loving every second of it --- but wait! There's a Jago Hazzard crossover?! It gets even better! 😆😆😆 4 mins in and already lost my mind in the gap, hehe
Bakerloo Line boring??? It has the oldest tube stock. The stations are interestingly decorated. It interconnects with four major National rail terminuses. It goes through a train shed at Queens Park.
Can you please do a video on the wayfinding innovations on the London Underground (not least the Tube map!) that influenced or should influence other metro systems?
Australia is one of the most insignificant countries on Earth, no top country gives a rat’s ass about Australia. The most significant countries are U.S.A, Russia, India, China, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Germany, France, U.K., Canada, and U.A.E.
Great Video! I agree with you about the accessibility nightmare where deep-level and sub-surface trains share platforms. I think this is on just three stretches: Ealing Common-Acton, Uxbridge-Rayners Lane, and Kensal Green-Harrow & Wealdstone. This could be sorted by handing the Acton-Ealing Broadway District branch over to the Piccadilly, and, in the other cases, cutting the Piccadilly/Bakerloo services short (a dedicated Picc. platform would be needed at Rayners Lane) and putting on more Met/Overground trains. Almost all connections would be cross-platform. Transport for London has severe finance problems at present, so I don't see any of this happening soon!
Wow. Was really chuffed to find this. I love the London Underground system and your video really helped put my curious mind at ease as I was very curious know how it all worked. Thank you.
I just returned from a 4 day visit to London. The trains are convenient, however the fares and all the different operators working the same routes are confusing. Also, the train from Stansted Airport to Liverpool Street doesn't run at night, which was a bummer since we landed at midnight, and took forever to get through passport control. The Tube was very user-friendly thanks to the contactless payment system, which turns one's bank card into an adult rate ticket. Every public transportation system in the world should have this. However, all lines on The Tube don't run through the night either, and it was quite hot and noisy at all stations. I understand that the heat is a problem that's inherent with how that particular system is built and its heavy usage, and that they're working on solving the problem. I didn't ride the DLR or any buses or trams on my trip.
A particular delight about the London Underground is that, until 1939, some trains (on the Metropolitan line) actually had Pullman cars with a dining service.
Hi. Great vid as usual. One point to make: the Piccadilly line shares track with the District Line only as far as Hammersmith, not Earls Court. They both travel through the same stations between those two, but quite separately. The District remains sub-surface, but the Piccadilly dives into deep tunnel after leaving Hammersmith.
Of course, if you've read your Stovold you'll know the Bakerloo line is far from boring, as it opens up a wealth of strategies any skilled player can use to position their yellow tokens for a run up the Jubilee towards Mornington Crescent (assuming you haven't been knidded, of course, and that you're playing under a ruleset more modern than 1956 Grand Exposition. Also be aware that some shunting may be involved depending on how your opponent or opponents have - or indeed have not - consolidated their positions south of the river, which may offend some players).
The heat in the deep level lines is a result of the London clay absorbing the heat of the trains (and the humans in them) over the past century. They try to cool it down over the winter to get some capacity back for the summer
The District at one point ran to Southend and the Metropolitan wanted to go to Oxford! (They only got to Brill, and when nationalised the Met was heavily cut back, first to Aylesbury and then to Amersham.)
It is a outright tragedy that the Metropolitan was cut back as far as Wembley Park, as stations west of Wembley are outside London. The Central shouldn’t go beyond Woodford as the rest of the route looks nothing like London. And the District should be cut back to Barking as the eastern most terminus; in doing so the Underground would look so much more like a urban railway
@@FART-REPELLENT Why though? What would actually be the benefit in that, besides looking so much more like an urban railway? London is quite a sprawled city and the lines serve their purposes.
Oh, reupload. Was going to point out something I did last time, that Jago forgot to mention where part of the Metropolitan line is shared with....DIESEL TRAINS! (And said Chiltern Railways DMUs that may run are marked that they're certified to run on the London Underground. Means they have LUL compatible tripcocks, among other things. Also, due to this, there will still be visible "signals" on that part of the Metropolitan, even though the rest will switch to no longer having any visible physical signals, with a switch to being semi-automatic and most signals being in-cab only) Also, part of what's now Bank station was originally called City. So yes, the Waterloo and City line originally served stations of that name. At times they contemplated connecting it to the Bakerloo line, to the now abandoned Piccadilly Aldwych Branch, to the Great Northern and City line (now a commuter route, once was officially part of the Northern) Also, the Northern got its name for two reasons...a) it was historically the furthest north of the pre-1933 "London Underground", because the Metropolitan wasn't considered part of this yet (only on nationalization, did the Metropolitan become under "common ownership" with the other lines), and b) there was the ambitious "Northern Heights" plan, that would have truly extended the line well into the north. The only parts of it that came to fruition, due to World War II, were the conversion of the Moorgate to Finsbury park section (which was never joined, and now part of the mainline rails) to 4-rail, the East Finchley to High Barnet extension (easier, because the tracks were already there, in fact for a year it was shared with LNER steam services), and the Mill Hill East branch (allowed to go ahead because there was an important Army barracks there)
Amazing videos and passion for rapid transit Reese/Rhys (not sure how you spell your name)!! I am sad though that the Bakerloo line is your least favourite though dear chum! Most people dislike it but I'm very fond of it as it is a real living museum of how far the Tube has come in general with new rolling stock; it's also a great line for linking some of the most iconic parts of central London (and it makes for a great and manageable Tube Pub crawl!!!! Keep up the great work mate - as long as there are well researched and informed RT fans out there like you then cities will have better transport systems!!!! :)
As you have done collaborations with Geoff Marshall, would you be looking to do another collaboration with Jago Hazzard the next time that you travel to London, and appear in one of his posts? Or better yet, if Jay Forman plans to do another entry where he needs cameos from other transit enthusiasts (Geoff Marshall, Jago Hazzard, The Tim Traveller, etc.) would you be up for that?
The Metropolitan doesn't just extend the furthest from the centre of London, it actively leaves London altogether. Chesham shown when mentioning this is about 30 minutes ride from the Greater London boundary (on a 90 minute journey).
That whole southwestern part of Germany is surprisingly dense, and it's made up of cities we usually don't talk about outside of the EU. What is that metro area called again?
Ok this is a re-up video but No London Overground or Thames-link did mention DLR and Elizabeth Line opens On 24 May 2022. Other sources London Transport Museum channel (is a must) and Crossrail channel (for Elizabeth Line)
I would love to see a video about what the heck is going on with the DC metro right now. With the 7000 out of service, 10 minute peak headways, and the delayed silver line extension......
the Circle and H&C both have 10 minute headway's for there curves but interlining means each platform has 5 or 2.5 minute headway basically all day (the other two lines put on a couple (about 2 ph) extra trains but not much for peak) 2.5 minute headway's being usual across the underground for off peak, though the tube lines can run a lot better at peak with the Victoria currently down to 100s
The Tube is my 4th choice after walking if possible, clipper boat, lizzy line, possibly even bus. It's good but nobody could spend a length of time in Tokyo, Seoul, or Taipei, and come away feeling like the London (or Paris/NYC) metros are brilliant.
Will you be doing a video on the other, non-Underground, lines in London? I know you've done videos on the Overground and DLR, but there are quite a number of other lines too!
Very expensive, takes a large chunk of your wages. New Elisabeth line has some stations where you need to pole vault just to get in. Accidents have been reported like broken legs. It is very brilliant and a pleasure to ride.
When are you going to make a video on London’s suburban railways, I would like to see you cover the commuter railways going into London’s termini station that aren’t TfL run. EDIT: You can also address the lack of Tube south of the Thames!
The deep tube scares me. In case of fire, you wouldn't be able to leave the train to the side because there is no room. The trains fit quite tightly into the tunnels. You need to leave to the front or the back through those doors - which would take for a really long time to evacuate a whole train. I wonder why this is not talked about more. Also, proposed new train models don't seem to have such a large door at the ends.
It’s not talked about more because it’s extremely rare . I only know of one serious fire which happened on a Piccadilly line train at the back in the 80s. Most tube stations are quite close together so only a fire in the middle of a long tunnel should be a very bad problem or one where there’s a train ahead blocking the way. The main danger underground apart from falling on the tracks or the passengers themselves is the dust getting into your lungs.
Dear all, Canny video as always:) And if you decide to make a video about the T&W Metro, don't forget the originally designed typeface, Calvert:) Regards,
Accessibility across the London transport network and even across the UK aren’t particularly great full stop. Greater Anglia’s 745 flirts are excellent and have an extendable ramp to support boarding and off boarding. The tube network as a whole isn’t great. There are some raised ‘humps’ on some platforms which allow level boarding for wheelchairs and pushchairs etc but nothing amazing. It seems that the only stations where any effort has been made are stations that already have accessibility features built in - lifts etc. otherwise, you’re stuck for want of a better word. I’m not a wheelchair user but my mobility is severely restricted and as much as I’d love to spend days riding the tube, I know I have to rely on being in good health and able to move freely on those days.
I came across your videos today and so far I think they’re pretty cool. I was wondering, do you have any videos on the different safety systems used in train transit and if not do you plan on making any?
Doesn’t the Piccadilly line cross the central line 3 times, 8:24, just before West Ruislip, around Park Royal on the Pic, and just before it joins the District line?
Re lack of Metro's in other UK cities, small government in the early days of the UK Metro system meant that much of the work, investment was private and based upon estimated use and the return on investment, there was no Plan to ignore the big industrial cities of the North of England, the plans to build smaller Metro's just never made economic sense, remember most cities had above ground Tram systems and buses as well.
Do you plan on doing any developing country's metro system? I really like your videos, but they seem to focus way too much on US/Canada and Europe (also Tokyo and HK). We have amazing metro systems in places like Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Argentina... (I am from Latin America btw)
Northern line: "2 large southern [branches], one which passes through the main commercial area of The City, and the other that passes through the traditional financial district". The City is the traditional financial district! I think you mean West End rather than The City for 'main commercial area'. And the line is not isolated at Kennington. Most of the time it runs separate, but at peak times there's trains between Charing Cross and Morden.
You're confusing him! London has like 6 football teams for christs sake, it makes no sense and the tube's head-designers did a good job considering the mess they were dealing with!
@@charlesdarwin7253 6 football teams? There's 7 in next season's Premier League alone. There's another 6 (maybe 7) teams in the rest of the Football League as well.
@@cujoyyc4453 Obviously, but that's The City, which was explicitly named as the place being where the other branch went through. ie the Bank branch was described twice.
But its not a London Underground line. Its a mainline route that just so happens to go underground through London. Think Paris Metro and the Paris RER.
Hi Reece. I like this video but there is still a thing that bugs me is how the branches works? Like you said you like the Piccadily line OK but how do you get a train going to Heathrow instead of going on the same line to Northwest. So how people know where their train is going to the right place? As a Montrealer it's easy for me to go from one station to the other because there's no branches. Itis weird for me so could you try to explain how it is working? Thank you very much.
Also the driver annnounces a couple of times before and certainly at the last station Acton Town before the Piccadilly line train goes off to Heathrow and there's no turning back.
I'm enjoying your videos, but I was wondering if it would be possible to incorporate subtitles? I find auditory processing difficult, and it would be so helpful!
At ~7.30 you make a contentious statement that there is some sort of problem on the Northern Line at Camden that TFL intends to 'sort out'. The amazing tunnels south of the Camden Town that allows the Edgeware and High Barnet branches to go down either the Bank and Charing Cross lines build resiliency into the line, albeit at the cost of peak train frequency. If any of the branches have a blockage then trains can be automatically re-routed down the remaining lines to maintain cross-city services and therefore should not be so easily dismissed as some sort of problem that needs to be rectified. I've lived on the High Barnet branch for 15 years and I can assure you that while the initial complexity of the line compared to simplicity of a line like more conventional single route service makes things confusing for tourists (I've helped to redirect many lost souls over the years), for people who use the service every day the removal of through-routes you get from the splitting of the line would slow our journeys considerably having to interchange at a redeveloped Camden Town. Improving capacity on the southern section where commuters literally have to travel south before interchanging onto a north bound train to find capacity is a far higher and more cost effective priority than the Camden Town limitations.
This is a reupload due to technical issues, please enjoy if you haven't seen it before!
hi
I'd love it if you did a video on Hong Kong's MTR system. Amazing metro+light rail!
@@racecardriverrr4201 have one here! ua-cam.com/video/XekhaIbzEJk/v-deo.html
Ohh ok!
This video seemed super familiar…
Is everything ok with the technical issues??
@@RMTransit Oh fab I don't know how I missed that, sorry! Love your vids mate, keep it up
The bleeping of Cockfosters! hahaha
As a Londoner, I wouldn't say the Bakerloo line is boring. It has character and is unique. The 1972 trains are like a museum and sharing track with the Overground leads to a crazy low step from the platform as mainline trains have higher floors. Not saying any of that is ***good*** to the average person sense, but to enthusiasts, it's a nice change
Agree with your thoughts on the Bakerloo, I do like a ride on the ‘72 stock
The Bakerloo boring? I'd say it's probably the most interesting and characterful line.
Not just the trains, but a lot of the stations are themselves in particularly historic areas! Or so it feels to me - I always onboarded at Paddington on the Bakerloo, or occasionally Circle/etc, so I’m most intimately familiar with the whole Regent Street Baker Street etc section.
Bakerloo definitely feels like going back in time - and not in a particularly good way, as someone who had to regularly use it recently. The upkeep on those trains are extremely poor.
@@theblah12 I haven’t used it since 2015 or so, I must admit. It was a bit shonky but not TOO bad back then. That’s a bit of a shame, I suppose it’s because they want to replace it with the stock the Jubilee and Piccadilly are also getting.
When mentioning crossrail, it feels wrong to not mention Thameslink. It’s one of the most frequent services and cuts through the core of the city too
I go back and forth on this the central core of crossrail is legitimately a lot more substantial and being integrated completely into tfl is an element that I think is actually incredibly important
Thameslink has full ticket integration (via contactless and oyster) as I'm sure you know. TfL just refuse to put it on their maps or list it as a separate mode - it is lumped in with all other National Rail services in Car Line Diagrams etc. It's pure pettiness for them not to include it, as it has a higher speed and capacity than the Northern Line, which it complements.
@@asdaneedsfunds I agree. It's now back on the tube map, but they still refuse to brand it seperatly on the signage, which is silly and arguably more confusing. I'm hoping with GBR coming, the Thameslink branding will be strengthend.
@@Wasserfeld. Unfortunately TfL aren't behooven to GBR, so I suspect the relationship between the two will remain the same for quite some time. We need a halfway house between the "Underground map" and the "Rail and tube" maps, with only the higher frequency heavy rail services shown - that would have the added bonus of putting South London on the map for a change.
@@asdaneedsfunds I meant GBR strengthening the brand. They could definitely work with TfL on that if TfL is willing to play ball. But with the DfT being how they are at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if they were forced to if they were strengthening the branding.
as amazing a pioneer as the underground is, the fact that it was never replicated in other UK cities is really damning of the British government over the last couple centuries, other than the Tyne and Wear metro and the Glasgow subway there's no other systems like the underground in the UK, especially not at any great scale
Liverpool has the Mersey rail which has some underground sections and Manchester was going to get the Picc Vicc line but your right most of our cities except Newcastle and Glasgow don’t have a proper underground metro they seem to go for tram based systems alot ,Manchester ,Nottingham Sheffield for example
Thank you thatcher!
Yeah exactly. Outside of London, mass transit in the UK is piss poor. All the money, effort and skills go into London and the South East (and Edinburgh to an extent) and the rest of the country is left to rot. Birmingham has a metro population of 3.5 million, and has one shitty tram line. Meanwhile, Berlin, a city with about the same metro population, has 10 metro lines, and many many frequent commuter rail lines and tram lines. And the UK government continues to do nothing.
The reason they don't need to is because Birmingham is very compact and basically has a bus network that covers it
@@bowlerstuff9589 The West Midlands Metro area isn't that compact. A western metro line would make a lot of sense, and the lack of electrification of the Snow Hill lines is ridiculous. No suburban rail service, let alone a major one should be deisel.
Love that Jags made an appearance! I absolutely love his channel
Jago and Bleepfosters in one video. Love it!
I rode the London Underground for the very first time in 2019 and I fell in love with it instantly. It is deep and can be like a maze but once you master it, it’s a piece of cake. Every line has its own unique charm to it. This video alone makes me want to go back to London just so I can ride on it again. Truly one of, if not arguably the best transit system in the world.
Love the surprise collaboration with Jago Hazzard!
As a UK viewer, thanks for this. A very good potted history, although one point. The Waterloo & City was *not* the first tube line... this accolade goes to the City & South London Railway, now forming the eastern branch of the Northern Line through the city. It was opened in 1890 as the first electric underground railway in the world (although it was originally planned as a cable-hauled system) Still it's a minor point so congratulations!
PS Nice cameo from Mr Hazzard!
**existing creature**
as a londener whos just got back from the west coast USA, I'm so happy and grateful for our metro/transit system.
I liked Jago's little interjection there. I regularly watch his videos as well as Geoff Marshall's.
The Stanmore end of the Jubilee Line was originally a branch of the Metropolitan Line. Then when the Bakerloo line was created, it was made a branch of that, and became its own line when the central section of the Jubilee Line was built.
The Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line was originally a branch of the District Line, and the Piccadilly Line was created in part to relieve pressure on the District Line. The Heathrow branch was much more recent, planes hadn't been invented when it was first built.
The East London Line section of the Overground used to be part of the Metropolitan Line, then became its own tube line before getting converted and joined up with other rail lines to form part of the Overground.
The Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly was originally the District, but only as far as South Harrow. From there on to Uxbridge it was originally the Metropolitan (but the District did run over it prior to Piccadilly trains using it).
The Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly as far as the old 1883 Hounslow West terminus was originally the District, but both District and Piccadilly trains used it from 1933 to 1964 when it became Piccadilly only. The extension from Hounslow West to Heathrow in 1977 is Piccadilly only.
Not quite, controlled flight in a fixed wing aircraft was invented around the same time as the Piccadilly line was being built. Granted commercially viable passenger airliners came later but the prospect of strapping some aerofoils and flaps to an engine and getting a contraption you have a cat in hells chance of taking off in and living to recount the story was just about emerging. The oldest section of the Piccadilly (Then Great Northern) seems to have opened in 1906, Wilbur and Orville Wright's first successful controlled flight in a fixed wing aircraft was in 1903. In the grand scale of things these are essentially the same time, so controlled fixed wing flight was demonstrably achievable but yes it had yet to be commercialised.
These splendidly detailed comments (and others passim) just go to show the truth in our host's remark at the beginning that he had to whittle down over a hundred hours' worth of material.
Thank you for properly centering your map of the tube, makes it so much clearer how little tube there is for us suckers in south east london!
plenty of other 'national' rail though! Just a bit of a faff compared to the easy umbrella system under TfL.
@@user-ed7et3pb4o All commuter services in London should be part of TfL to properly integrate them. There should also be more RER-style lines from the south that travel through central London, since right now commuter trains (except for Thameslink) just dump you at a terminus
My favourite collab of all time.
Also would like to see a video on the sucess some rural transit agencies have had. It's common to hear people say "transit is just a city thing" but there are some rural sucess stories. For example, the entire burlington vermont metro area has about 215,000 people and outside of the city its quite rural but green mountain transit has made some very good strides recently and service here is better than serive in baltimore (pop 3 million)
I got you beat on a rural system. My home county has like 35k people. The biggest town is like 2k avg size being around 1k. We have had an on demand bus transit system for 40ish years now (started in 81) and its use often and really liked. No set routes, you have to call and order a pickup time. It helps that the people in charge know what they're doing and the drivers are competent and paid well and busses are clean.
The system is building a new HQ on the other side of town so they have more room for all their busses lol
@@tomrogue13 Sounds like that could benefit from being updated with an app which would be relatively inexpensive in transit budget terms. The capital cost of the software development would be far less than the cost of acquiring even a single new bus. As for the ongoing cost it is probably even lower than said new bus would be, fully managed with that sort of client load you are looking at a couple of thousand dollars per year at most. A single bus burns that in driver salary alone in about a month let alone fuel and maintenance. If nothing else this seems like it would be worth it merely to improve accessibility, not all humans can readily pass the barrier of making a voice call for access. That pretty much locks out the deaf or dumb for example and is at best a disincentive to many others with communication disabilities such as autism.
Amongst my favourite things about the underground?
- The 'different but the same' character or feel between each line - I presume as a consequence of different companies building the lines that were then brought together under one operator. The fact that each line generally has its own stock (tube limes at least, these days) helps add to that.
- the extent of the system. The central line runs through some of the busiest parts of the city and Westend, but also through open fields north of Debden. Theydon & Chigwell are practically villages. And riding the metropolitan line you can get all the way from Aldgate, Farringdon, King's Cross or Baker Street to quaint, sleepy Chesham.
recently visited england and I really loved riding the system, and also the names always standed out for me, I don't know how to describe it but they just feel very "english"
Funnily enough the Jubilee Line was originally meant to open in 1977 as a celebration of Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee but as with most building projects in the UK there were numerous delays. As a kid growing up in the 70s I used to love the the old red tube trains that had a really quaint almost Art Deco interior this rolling stock was actually pre war
Was originally going to be known as the Fleet Line.
Would u consider doing a vid about the buses in London by any chance?
You mean the ones Boris Johnson makes with boxes as a hobby?
@@charlesdarwin7253 lol
Confusing for tourists is that London is serviced by lines other than the Underground, and mostly you will not find them on your Tube map. Getting from Point A to Point B might involve using the Underground and transferring to another line - which you'll find on another map. Or one of these other lines might be a better alternative altogether.
@@danielkelly2210 I'm sure that's why we haven't seen a comprehensive map. It would have to be printed on a huge fold-out sheet.
@@Bobrogers99 This map has existed for years: "London Connections". Seen mostly these days just in stations although you certainly used to be able to get a fold-out paper version.
@@bigaspidistra You still can. It uses the lovely old fashioned dotted/cross-hatched &c. line markings you used to get in the black and white maps in the back of pocket diaries.
I think there is a real practical distinction between the Underground lines and the 'other' lines - which is that the Underground services are all (or very nearly all) frequent enough that you only need the map to get around, rather than a map+timetable (which you do need if your journey involves 'other' rail lines). I don't know why the 'train operating companies' of the 'main-line' railway have not cottoned on to the fact that half-hourly services, poorly integrated, just don't offer the range of journey opportunities that the 'tube' gives. The 'main line' rail map shows no indication of frequency on each line, which could be quite easily done by using a range of line thicknesses. But the better solution would be to offer 'underground' style service - frequent trains, simpler service patterns (mostly calling at all stations), combining routes to give more cross-London lines, and BIG, clear way-finding signs at interchanges.
I love where Jago Hazzard pops up in the audio. I watch his and Geoff Marshall's videos.
Great video Reece, detailed yet concise!
I mean - this is a fantastic channel and video, and loving every second of it --- but wait! There's a Jago Hazzard crossover?! It gets even better! 😆😆😆
4 mins in and already lost my mind in the gap, hehe
Bakerloo Line boring??? It has the oldest tube stock. The stations are interestingly decorated. It interconnects with four major National rail terminuses. It goes through a train shed at Queens Park.
It is his subjective view. Please get over it, really isn’t a big deal.
And the most comfortable seats.
Can you please do a video on the wayfinding innovations on the London Underground (not least the Tube map!) that influenced or should influence other metro systems?
Great video! Could we get a Melbourne explained sometime in the future? I’d really love for you to talk about my city more.
Australia is one of the most insignificant countries on Earth, no top country gives a rat’s ass about Australia. The most significant countries are U.S.A, Russia, India, China, Japan, Brazil, Israel, Germany, France, U.K., Canada, and U.A.E.
Great Video! I agree with you about the accessibility nightmare where deep-level and sub-surface trains share platforms. I think this is on just three stretches: Ealing Common-Acton, Uxbridge-Rayners Lane, and Kensal Green-Harrow & Wealdstone. This could be sorted by handing the Acton-Ealing Broadway District branch over to the Piccadilly, and, in the other cases, cutting the Piccadilly/Bakerloo services short (a dedicated Picc. platform would be needed at Rayners Lane) and putting on more Met/Overground trains. Almost all connections would be cross-platform. Transport for London has severe finance problems at present, so I don't see any of this happening soon!
Wow. Was really chuffed to find this. I love the London Underground system and your video really helped put my curious mind at ease as I was very curious know how it all worked. Thank you.
I just returned from a 4 day visit to London. The trains are convenient, however the fares and all the different operators working the same routes are confusing. Also, the train from Stansted Airport to Liverpool Street doesn't run at night, which was a bummer since we landed at midnight, and took forever to get through passport control. The Tube was very user-friendly thanks to the contactless payment system, which turns one's bank card into an adult rate ticket. Every public transportation system in the world should have this. However, all lines on The Tube don't run through the night either, and it was quite hot and noisy at all stations. I understand that the heat is a problem that's inherent with how that particular system is built and its heavy usage, and that they're working on solving the problem. I didn't ride the DLR or any buses or trams on my trip.
Great video! Love Jago Hazzard’s cameo ❤️
A particular delight about the London Underground is that, until 1939, some trains (on the Metropolitan line) actually had Pullman cars with a dining service.
Hi. Great vid as usual. One point to make: the Piccadilly line shares track with the District Line only as far as Hammersmith, not Earls Court. They both travel through the same stations between those two, but quite separately. The District remains sub-surface, but the Piccadilly dives into deep tunnel after leaving Hammersmith.
Barons Court after Hammersmith an Easy cross platform interchange from District to Piccadilly lines
it’s after Barons Court not Hammersmith
@@jimmytraveller2970 Quite right, my error.
Quite right. My error.
Amazing video dude! The fact you covered all of the tube in just 20 minutes is impressive
Of course, if you've read your Stovold you'll know the Bakerloo line is far from boring, as it opens up a wealth of strategies any skilled player can use to position their yellow tokens for a run up the Jubilee towards Mornington Crescent (assuming you haven't been knidded, of course, and that you're playing under a ruleset more modern than 1956 Grand Exposition. Also be aware that some shunting may be involved depending on how your opponent or opponents have - or indeed have not - consolidated their positions south of the river, which may offend some players).
The heat in the deep level lines is a result of the London clay absorbing the heat of the trains (and the humans in them) over the past century. They try to cool it down over the winter to get some capacity back for the summer
Was on the LU for the first time in about ten years last Saturday - forgot how NOISY it is!
Was a lovely surprise to hear Jago in this video :)
17:55 Must be a busy employee, that one person.
The District at one point ran to Southend and the Metropolitan wanted to go to Oxford! (They only got to Brill, and when nationalised the Met was heavily cut back, first to Aylesbury and then to Amersham.)
It is a outright tragedy that the Metropolitan was cut back as far as Wembley Park, as stations west of Wembley are outside London. The Central shouldn’t go beyond Woodford as the rest of the route looks nothing like London. And the District should be cut back to Barking as the eastern most terminus; in doing so the Underground would look so much more like a urban railway
@@FART-REPELLENT Why though? What would actually be the benefit in that, besides looking so much more like an urban railway? London is quite a sprawled city and the lines serve their purposes.
I was prepared for C**kfosters thanks to a previous comment but still laughed (and every time I rode the Piccadilly line northbound still laughed)
Another informative, and well made vid! Thx!
Oh, reupload. Was going to point out something I did last time, that Jago forgot to mention where part of the Metropolitan line is shared with....DIESEL TRAINS! (And said Chiltern Railways DMUs that may run are marked that they're certified to run on the London Underground. Means they have LUL compatible tripcocks, among other things. Also, due to this, there will still be visible "signals" on that part of the Metropolitan, even though the rest will switch to no longer having any visible physical signals, with a switch to being semi-automatic and most signals being in-cab only)
Also, part of what's now Bank station was originally called City. So yes, the Waterloo and City line originally served stations of that name. At times they contemplated connecting it to the Bakerloo line, to the now abandoned Piccadilly Aldwych Branch, to the Great Northern and City line (now a commuter route, once was officially part of the Northern)
Also, the Northern got its name for two reasons...a) it was historically the furthest north of the pre-1933 "London Underground", because the Metropolitan wasn't considered part of this yet (only on nationalization, did the Metropolitan become under "common ownership" with the other lines), and b) there was the ambitious "Northern Heights" plan, that would have truly extended the line well into the north. The only parts of it that came to fruition, due to World War II, were the conversion of the Moorgate to Finsbury park section (which was never joined, and now part of the mainline rails) to 4-rail, the East Finchley to High Barnet extension (easier, because the tracks were already there, in fact for a year it was shared with LNER steam services), and the Mill Hill East branch (allowed to go ahead because there was an important Army barracks there)
You n Jago Hazzard kick ass!
I love the tube as well!
just visited england! love it and can't wait to come back!
You can do Vienna if you need a brake with a more sympel system
Thank you young man for that production 👏👏👏
Amazing videos and passion for rapid transit Reese/Rhys (not sure how you spell your name)!! I am sad though that the Bakerloo line is your least favourite though dear chum! Most people dislike it but I'm very fond of it as it is a real living museum of how far the Tube has come in general with new rolling stock; it's also a great line for linking some of the most iconic parts of central London (and it makes for a great and manageable Tube Pub crawl!!!! Keep up the great work mate - as long as there are well researched and informed RT fans out there like you then cities will have better transport systems!!!! :)
I love the Jago cameo
Great video Reece!
As you have done collaborations with Geoff Marshall, would you be looking to do another collaboration with Jago Hazzard the next time that you travel to London, and appear in one of his posts? Or better yet, if Jay Forman plans to do another entry where he needs cameos from other transit enthusiasts (Geoff Marshall, Jago Hazzard, The Tim Traveller, etc.) would you be up for that?
RMTransit and Jago Hazzard on one video? Fantastic!
The Metropolitan doesn't just extend the furthest from the centre of London, it actively leaves London altogether. Chesham shown when mentioning this is about 30 minutes ride from the Greater London boundary (on a 90 minute journey).
Great video! Can you do a video about the cologne Ubahn/Straßenbahn (which is how it's called in cologne even though it's technically a Stadtbahn)?
That whole southwestern part of Germany is surprisingly dense, and it's made up of cities we usually don't talk about outside of the EU. What is that metro area called again?
@@jandron94 Variety is the spice of life, non?
The one I really have problems with is, of course, Paris...
Information dense yet fascinating and entertaining!
Thank you! Wonderful explainer!
You should talk about buses in North American Cities. Shuttles, Local, city buses, express, and reginal.
Ok this is a re-up video but No London Overground or Thames-link did mention DLR and Elizabeth Line opens On 24 May 2022. Other sources London Transport Museum channel (is a must) and Crossrail channel (for Elizabeth Line)
Yes! He likes the Piccadilly line. I'm not from London some of my family live beside the Piccadilly line's route
I would love to see a video about what the heck is going on with the DC metro right now. With the 7000 out of service, 10 minute peak headways, and the delayed silver line extension......
the Circle and H&C both have 10 minute headway's for there curves but interlining means each platform has 5 or 2.5 minute headway basically all day (the other two lines put on a couple (about 2 ph) extra trains but not much for peak)
2.5 minute headway's being usual across the underground for off peak, though the tube lines can run a lot better at peak with the Victoria currently down to 100s
Ah, gotta love a little Jago!
I still don't know why you're proud of shorter videos. I like listening to you
make them longer
excellent video as always!
The Tube is my 4th choice after walking if possible, clipper boat, lizzy line, possibly even bus. It's good but nobody could spend a length of time in Tokyo, Seoul, or Taipei, and come away feeling like the London (or Paris/NYC) metros are brilliant.
Will you be doing a video on the other, non-Underground, lines in London? I know you've done videos on the Overground and DLR, but there are quite a number of other lines too!
You got me with the bleeping of Cockfosters station. Good one my friend
The Elizabeth line in the map is missing its southern section in the East!
It's just truly iconic
Very expensive, takes a large chunk of your wages. New Elisabeth line has some stations where you need to pole vault just to get in. Accidents have been reported like broken legs. It is very brilliant and a pleasure to ride.
Please do a video on loading gauges!
the team up we didn't knew we needed - RMTransit and Jango Hazzard
When are you going to make a video on London’s suburban railways, I would like to see you cover the commuter railways going into London’s termini station that aren’t TfL run.
EDIT: You can also address the lack of Tube south of the Thames!
god imagine him covering Southern which was a f--king fiasco of a service
Me and my friend used to just travel the tube for fun when we were young oh the joys of the 80s.
The deep tube scares me. In case of fire, you wouldn't be able to leave the train to the side because there is no room. The trains fit quite tightly into the tunnels. You need to leave to the front or the back through those doors - which would take for a really long time to evacuate a whole train.
I wonder why this is not talked about more. Also, proposed new train models don't seem to have such a large door at the ends.
It’s not talked about more because it’s extremely rare . I only know of one serious fire which happened on a Piccadilly line train at the back in the 80s.
Most tube stations are quite close together so only a fire in the middle of a long tunnel should be a very bad problem or one where there’s a train ahead blocking the way.
The main danger underground apart from falling on the tracks or the passengers themselves is the dust getting into your lungs.
@@Lifelongloser I can't find any reference to a fire on a Piccadilly Line train, only the big fire at Kings Cross station.
"Few systems have stations quite as gargantuan and mazelike as London"
I think Town Hall Station in Sydney would beg to differ on the mazelike point.
YAY. Jago Hazzard cameo!
Dear all,
Canny video as always:) And if you decide to make a video about the T&W Metro, don't forget the originally designed typeface, Calvert:)
Regards,
Thanks for the vid though you present things very well 😁👍
Accessibility across the London transport network and even across the UK aren’t particularly great full stop. Greater Anglia’s 745 flirts are excellent and have an extendable ramp to support boarding and off boarding. The tube network as a whole isn’t great. There are some raised ‘humps’ on some platforms which allow level boarding for wheelchairs and pushchairs etc but nothing amazing. It seems that the only stations where any effort has been made are stations that already have accessibility features built in - lifts etc. otherwise, you’re stuck for want of a better word. I’m not a wheelchair user but my mobility is severely restricted and as much as I’d love to spend days riding the tube, I know I have to rely on being in good health and able to move freely on those days.
I came across your videos today and so far I think they’re pretty cool. I was wondering, do you have any videos on the different safety systems used in train transit and if not do you plan on making any?
Doesn’t the Piccadilly line cross the central line 3 times, 8:24, just before West Ruislip, around Park Royal on the Pic, and just before it joins the District line?
You should make video about all transit in London area so we will get complete scholastic and not fragmented view on full system.
Re lack of Metro's in other UK cities, small government in the early days of the UK Metro system meant that much of the work, investment was private and based upon estimated use and the return on investment, there was no Plan to ignore the big industrial cities of the North of England, the plans to build smaller Metro's just never made economic sense, remember most cities had above ground Tram systems and buses as well.
Do you plan on doing any developing country's metro system? I really like your videos, but they seem to focus way too much on US/Canada and Europe (also Tokyo and HK). We have amazing metro systems in places like Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Argentina... (I am from Latin America btw)
Northern line: "2 large southern [branches], one which passes through the main commercial area of The City, and the other that passes through the traditional financial district". The City is the traditional financial district! I think you mean West End rather than The City for 'main commercial area'.
And the line is not isolated at Kennington. Most of the time it runs separate, but at peak times there's trains between Charing Cross and Morden.
You're confusing him! London has like 6 football teams for christs sake, it makes no sense and the tube's head-designers did a good job considering the mess they were dealing with!
@@charlesdarwin7253 6 football teams? There's 7 in next season's Premier League alone. There's another 6 (maybe 7) teams in the rest of the Football League as well.
Pretty sure he meant the "traditional financial district" versus what may be called the "new financial district" in Canary Wharf.
@@cujoyyc4453 Obviously, but that's The City, which was explicitly named as the place being where the other branch went through. ie the Bank branch was described twice.
@@sihollett I think he meant the city as a whole and not The City specifically
Still waiting for that video on London's suburban railways that was mentioned, is that still in the works?
Hi, probably you could do the Greater Kuala Lumpur trains (Malaysia) soon.
Could you pls make a video about the metro system and Sbahn system in Dortmund, Germany?
I could've sworn I've seen this before. Hmm ok I guess I'll watch it again.
I'm interested if you talk about the Elizabeth line as that is the most newest railway
But its not a London Underground line. Its a mainline route that just so happens to go underground through London. Think Paris Metro and the Paris RER.
Hi Reece. I like this video but there is still a thing that bugs me is how the branches works? Like you said you like the Piccadily line OK but how do you get a train going to Heathrow instead of going on the same line to Northwest. So how people know where their train is going to the right place? As a Montrealer it's easy for me to go from one station to the other because there's no branches. Itis weird for me so could you try to explain how it is working? Thank you very much.
There are signs on the platform & on the trains to tell you where the train is going, so you always know!
Also the driver annnounces a couple of times before and certainly at the last station Acton Town before the Piccadilly line train goes off to Heathrow and there's no turning back.
15:48 they can't get rid of the iconic white, red, and blue trains with the arched roof.
Northern line also comes together at Euston :)
Did they delete his other video 🤔
I'm enjoying your videos, but I was wondering if it would be possible to incorporate subtitles? I find auditory processing difficult, and it would be so helpful!
16:39 is it just me or does that station look a *lot* like the Copenhagen metro?
C**kfosters, Jago cameo, articulate presentation, great video!
At ~7.30 you make a contentious statement that there is some sort of problem on the Northern Line at Camden that TFL intends to 'sort out'. The amazing tunnels south of the Camden Town that allows the Edgeware and High Barnet branches to go down either the Bank and Charing Cross lines build resiliency into the line, albeit at the cost of peak train frequency. If any of the branches have a blockage then trains can be automatically re-routed down the remaining lines to maintain cross-city services and therefore should not be so easily dismissed as some sort of problem that needs to be rectified. I've lived on the High Barnet branch for 15 years and I can assure you that while the initial complexity of the line compared to simplicity of a line like more conventional single route service makes things confusing for tourists (I've helped to redirect many lost souls over the years), for people who use the service every day the removal of through-routes you get from the splitting of the line would slow our journeys considerably having to interchange at a redeveloped Camden Town. Improving capacity on the southern section where commuters literally have to travel south before interchanging onto a north bound train to find capacity is a far higher and more cost effective priority than the Camden Town limitations.
And today you were in London for the Elizabeth Line opening.
A wild Jago appears……oh no, it has run away
Please do a video on track/loading gauges.