I see others have said that Victoria Street dates from the 17th century, however a quick online search says the street itself dates from 1851 and is surely named after the Queen at the time?
A Lot of Railway Stations were named after Victoria. London Victoria Main Line Station was interesting as being two separate Stations, The London Brighton and South Coast Side and the London and South Eastern (London Chatham and Dover) Side. The dividing wall didnt come down until well into the Nationalisation Era ?
You haven't lived until you've travelled on the Victoria Line. Not only is every single stop except one (Pimlico) on the entirety of the Victoria line also an interchange, it's also the Lightspeed line. Ridiculously fast acceleration, it rockets through every tunnel. The highest train frequency of any tube line. It really gets you places. Friends of ours from overseas who regularly visit London but hadn't used the Victoria Line before came to our house and really were in awe at how far it had taken them in so little time.
@@noway2831 I include those services. Because if you look at a tube map diagram, every single stop on the Victoria Line (except Pimlico) is the hollow white dot. Pimlico is a small horizontal mark in the line in the same sky blue Victoria Line colour. The hollow white dot is the symbol for “interchange”. The the horizontal mark is the symbol for solitary station.
The Victoria Line is one of my favourite Tube lines, because any Londoner knows that you're allowed to have (and will have) favourites. It's the fastest way from North to South (or South to North), the trains are relatively fast, clean, frequent, and the connections are incredibly convenient (partly in thanks to those level platform interchanges). Every year there's a "vote for your favourite" poll, the Victoria is almost always one of the finalists (or winner). The Jubilee Line is my second favourite, because of the platform edge doors, the speed, and the cool sounds the trains make. :-)
Personally, the Victoria line is my least favourite Tube Line, but not because I hate it or something like that. I still think that the Victoria line is probably the Tube line that was best-planned and offers the best transit. However, as a Tube nerd, what I personally think is that the Victoria line feels kinda... meh. Because next to the old rusty soul of the Met, the lovely heritage stations on the Yerkes Tube lines, and the shiny capacious new stations on the JLE and Crossrail, the Victoria line stations just don't feel special. But of course, I know that this is attributed just to the fact that the line was built in the late 60s.
Transfer from Victoria Line to Bakerloo Line, and vice versa, at Oxford Circus makes a journey from King's Cross to Waterloo, and vice versa, seamless. Very often the 'second' train arrives just as you reach the platform. But, you do need to know where to be on the train so that you are right by the (short) transfer 'tunnel' to make it work really well!
Absolutely. And Victoria to Paddington is another using them lines, which i normally quicker than the circle which although direct, has longer waiting times
@@RMTransit a certain Geoff Marshall (you might have heard of him, tall friendly guy that's never been to the Isle of Wight) wrote an app that shows you the nearest doors at each station for the direction you need.
The Victoria line isn’t flashy in the way the JLE or Elizabeth lines are, so I agree it’s underrated. As a Londoner, a station on the Victoria line is very rarely my destination but I very often travel via it. I suppose that’s what makes it such a useful line to so many people. A very well thought out piece of infrastructure. Great video!
I love the Victoria Line....it's funny to think that it was built to relieve other lines, and yet now we have Crossrail 2 being planned to relieve the Victoria Line
My Dad laboured on the excavation of the 'Victoria Line' [ specifically around 'Green Park' ] tunnels, in the late-sixties. Before I was even a twinkle in his eye. And, yet, today, over 50 years into the future, my first-love is... 'Transport-Systems'. I'm so proud of my Dad.
My father was the superintendent for 3 sections of the Vic and I followed in his foot steps. After the Vic I have worked on the DLR into the Bank, Cross Rail, Cairo & KL metro's rail tunnels in Taiwan, Canada & Denmark. Road tunnels in London, Suez and KL. Sewer tunnels in Cheltenham, Cairo and Dawlish. Cable tunnel under the Rivers Severn and Wye. Now I'm digging weeds in Vietnam. I do wonder if I met your dad. God bless.
The frequency of the line is incredible. The replacement of the 1960s ATO with modern CBTC moving block signalling means we enjoy 36tph (every 100’) for 3 hours at peak! (A minor correction - since May 2019) The only good thing about the terrible 2000s Tube PPP - is that the companies ordered extra trains just in case. So there’s enough trains to run 40tph! However, the 1960s station platforms are too narrow, and the use is so high - that you can’t get people on and off the trains fast enough and clear the platforms fast enough to lower dwell times enough to be able to run more than 36tph. To increase to 40tph, massive costs would be required to widen platforms, improve circulation and add escalators deep underground - not worth the cost for only a few extra trains per hour. Better to invest that money in Crossrail 2, which will relieve the Victoria line. (But TfL have no money)
The Victoria's frequency could go higher than even 100-second headway in theory, but the current holdup is the amount of time it takes passengers to get onto and off trains at King's Cross St Pancras (a very busy station with a narrow platform). If they could jam more people in it'd go faster, but there's not really any space to improve access....
@@robotx9285 it’s theoretically possible, but extremely expensive for a very small increase (as in, single digit %) in train frequency. KCSP was already rebuilt in the 2000s, doubling the station size and adding lifts. Better spending the money rebuilding another station such as Holborn or Camden Town for 50% increase in capacity and accessibility improvements. TLDR, yes you could, but it wouldn’t be good value for money.
The Yūrakuchō Line in Tokyo was built around the same time for the same reason: to relieve congestion on the Marunouchi Line. They’re named after adjacent districts in Tokyo.
The Victoria has always felt like the workhorse of the Underground. And at least it gets recognition for it, unlike the Central, being ranked one of Londoner's favourite lines!
Great to see a line I know very well from a different viewpoint. I was at school in Walthamstow when the line was bored very close to under the buildings, so all my fellow transport nerds all immediately became tunnelling experts and followed the progress of the construction, especially the unusual aspects, like having to freeze the water-bearing gravel at Tottenham Hale in order to put in the escalator shafts. One of the reasons that the Vic line is so fast is that it was able to have a lot of straight track. The earlier tube lines were forced in many places to follow the lines of the streets above, which created many very slow and winding sections in places such as the Central Line between Liverpool Street and St. Pauls. I could bore for hours about this line (as my sons will attest) but I'll leave it at that. Thank you for your excellent work!
The cross platform transfer between the Northern Line and Victoria Line at Stockwell works incredibly well. Going northbound in the mornings, there is a massive amount of cross transfer between the lines - I'd estimate 25-50% of passengers swap trains with only a 25 metre walk or so between them!
And a pain in the backside coming back at night / peak evening with the eternity of a Northern Line train south (with space) arriving in a reasonable time
I wonder if you've considered doing a video on the Valencia metro? It's such a weird system. Heavy interlining, very bad on-train wayfinding, cool integration between tram and train, and VERY low frequencies on some lines. I was there the other day, trying to get on line 1 to explore the system a bit, and the lady at the information counter told me line 1 runs ONCE PER HOUR.
I guess it's sort of a metro-train (similar to a tram-train)? So combining traditional railways and a metro. Spain has another such system which I find very interesting, the Bilbao metro. Lines 1 and 2 are converted railways with a new city centre tunnel, and line 3 actually just interlines with regional trains to Donostia-San Sebastian and even France I believe
It also does something that only the Northern & Jubilee do (not counting the Bakerloo at Elephant) and that's actually serve parts of South London, including my own area at Brixton which is one of the busiest stations outside of Zone 1
I just visited Brixton for the first time about a week ago and loved it :D Unfortunately, there were tube strikes on the Victoria line, so we ended up walking from Stockwell, which is how I found out that the Victoria stations are spaced further apart 🤭
Wow, I loved this vid as much as I love Viccy line. It's so FAST and bright and straight to the point...for instance it makes Brixton a far more accessible place than let's say Stratford. That on platform change at Euston is truly magical, at least for London haha. Northern is still my favourite, but Victoria holds a place in my heart 💙
One strange and mysterious fact about London is that if one is travelling between Euston and Kings Cross/St Pancras on The Victoria Line one is heading NORTH but if one is travelling between Euston and Kings Cross/St Pancras on The Northern Line one is heading SOUTH!! 😄
And if one is travelling between Euston Square and Kings Cross on the Metropolitan Line one is travelling EAST, which is of course the actual situation.
I've been poking Jago for a video just about the Victoria line's cross platform interchanges and how they were designed for a while so thanks for this. The Euston one was always a curiosity as well as how they managed to do so many with so many other lines including the Bakerloo at Oxford Circus and the Northern Line again at Stockwell. The subject of humps/troughs between stations is a bonus subject I've wondered about with where in the world they use the gravity to help.
That line is why I moved to Brixton over 30 years ago - a seat on the fastest tube, guaranteed at any time of the day and it's rare to wait for more than a minute. Sometimes the train describers indicate the 4th train coming in 3 minutes. It used to be even hotter but the regenerative braking on the 09 stock has helped make it cooler, even though the ventilation shaft fan between Stockwell and Vauxhall is out of action because it kept residents for miles around awake at night. It's easy to forget the 'old days' when you could feel the hot air rising from under the old trains when stepping into the door.
The Victoria line does a great job of increasing capacity and connectivity. Of all its 16 stations there's only one (Pimlico) that isn't an interchange with another underground, overground or national rail line. It also gives the underground passenger another way to cross the Thames, taking pressure off the services going through Waterloo and London Bridge. Also, here's an interesting Victoria line fact- while the line was being planned and built, Harry Beck, the creator of the original Underground Map, designed and proposed a new version of his creation, that would have incorporated the new line as a single diagonal line between Victoria station and the terminus at Walthamstow. A cleaver and beautiful adaptation of his existing map that would have subtly emphasised the new line and the connections that you could make with it. Sadly, this version didn't see the light of day.
Thanks for this. I'm a short bus ride away from Finsbury Park and usually use the Victoria Line to get more or less anywhere. For anything else I use the Piccadilly. I've always wondered why there was a section running with platforms on the right. Now I know. By the way, Finsbury Park has a kind of hidden direct link to the Elizabeth Line - the Northern City Line goes to Moorgate and Moorgate has 'in station transfer' to Liverpool Street. However, Moorgate is on the Elizabeth Line on the Tube Map but not on the complete rail map - if TfL put the Northern City Line back onto the Tube Map as it used to be the link would be obvious. The online Journey Planner doesn't know about it either.
Enjoyed the video especially being a former passenger. As a coincidence you mention Crossrail 2 which is a modern updated / enlarged version of a previously proposed "Chelsea - Hackney" tube. This was part of London Transport proposals back in the 1950s, 1960s which also included the Victoria Line. Urban legend suggest there is a secret access to the Victoria Line for the Royal Family as the line runs very close by Buckingham Palace between Victoria and Green Park.
One thing that does not cease to amaze about the Victoria Line is, during peak, you'll see one train leaving the platform and the next train already approaching, with maybe 20 seconds between them.
One of the fun things to note is that it is possible to travel southbound on the Victoria line from Kings Cross to Euston, and then change to the Northern Line and travel southbound from Euston to Kings Cross. Nobody has ever tried it northbound because they got bored.
The s stock feel newer than the 09 stock despite just being a few years newer. Even the 96 stock feel cleaner. I think the busyness of the Vic Line and probably lack of cleaning make them feel more older. They don’t feel old, from my experience, but more worn out or not kept fresh.
I was born in London before moving to Australia’s a child, however I remember the Victoria line opening just before we left. Riding it was like a new world compared to the other lines at the time, so modern and fast!
When it first opened the train control system was designed so that at busy times the front of the next train would already have started entering the platform before the rear of the departing train had fully left the station. However, despite being a design feature this upset passengers waiting on the platform, who thought that a crash was likely, so the system was changed to prevent it from happening. This was not a new feature for London - apparently many decades earlier something similar happened on the sub-surface network, especially in the rush hours where as many as 40 trains an hour were run, albeit at lower speeds than on the Victoria line.
Great. I am very familiar with the Victoria Line. I was there just a few years after it’s opening (yes I’m old) and I’m glad you showed Seven Sisters ‘cause that’s how we got to Nanny and Grandad’s in Tottenham - SPURS! It is fast and the distance between stations is long. A great line!
I'm amazed a non-native would have such interest, and better yet, such a deep knowledge of the London Underground system. This guy should be in charge of the thing!
I was in London, just a week ago. My only complain against the Victoria line is how loud it is. I will not complain anymore about the noise in Paris metro compared to it. Also the 2009 stock kinda have aged, I was a bit disappointed. The previous time, I've used the Victoria line, it was the 67's stock. Anyway, it's a great line. The ingeering work was quite incredible for its construction despite a conservative look of its stations due to budget constrains.
@@OnTheRailwayOfficial Victoria line was the first line, I've used arriving in London. I did Jubilee extension at the end of the day, so this was less a surprise. I've used the London Underground several times in the past (2009, 2015) but the noise didn't strike me, maybe I was less sensitve to sound back then or I've forgotten this detail.
If you think the Victoria line is noisy you should try the Northern Line before and after Camden Town! I carry foam earplugs which I put in my ears before Euston going north and keep them in until the end of my journey.
The Victoria line was the first to use Tunnel Boring Machines and an experimental length of tunnel was constructed at Finsbury Park. I worked for Chas Brand & Sons who won the contract to cast the concrete tunnel lining that the TBM's would install. This was for the tunnel between stations. Later CB&S won three construction section contracts Euston, Finsbury Park to Seven Sisters and the next section to Walthamstow Central. I was just a teenager and helped the Engineers/surveyors survey the streets and existing tube tunnels at Euston. I then transferred to the work site for the FP tp WC sections where hand dug shafts and service tunnels were constructed and the chambers to assemble the TBMs. At the age of 18 I drove each of the TBM's in turn, my wages soared and could now buy a new Mini Cooper each month and have enough money for mum and beer. After the tunnels were completed and yes you were correct in mentioning the grade of the stations, but in fact it was the tunnels that sloped towards a low point midway each station. This to save motive power when the train pulled away from the station downhill, it would then coast up the grade into the station saving on power and brakes. I then operated the Station Ground Shields where the face was hand dug using compressed air spades and hand shovels to clear the muck. In 1994 I headed out your way and was Senior Inspector of Works on the St Clair river rail tunnel that ran paralle to the old steam tunnel built 100 years previous. The worksite was at the oil town of Sarnia, the contact lasted just over a year and I had a wonderful time, we worked shifts inspecting the tunnel dug by a TBM manufactured by Lovatt of Mississauga.
@@johnburns4017 I think you will find it's was a Tunneling Shield not a Boring Machine. We used similar Shields to excavate the Station Platform sections and they consisted of a steel can that supported the ground with platforms dividing the can into three working areas. Miners would break out the clay face using air powered clay spades and laborer's would shovel away the spoil down chutes onto a conveyor belt. The can would be pushed forward with hydraulic powered rams trimming the side as it went. One of the shields used on the Victoria Line was made of cast iron segments and the hydraulic fluid was water, so very easy to clean up if there was a leak.
The Victoria Line is my childhood as I used to live near Brixton. To this day I remember going on it with my mum, with the wind going though my afro. Those were the days. Being a bit older now I realise how unbelievably hot the 2009 trains are compared to other tube stock crowded or not. I never understood why people complain about the Central line more than the Victoria line. The Central line trains are far less stuffy and hot. Still love the Vic somehow 🔷🔷🔷
I love the Victoria Line. Our nearest tube is Bounds Green (Piccadilly) stops at Finsbury Park where we just cross the platform and join the Victoria Line to speed up our journey into Central London.
One of the reasons why the Victoria and the Jubilee lines a faster than earlier tube lines is that they were willing to tunnel under buildings, earlier lines were constructed under the roads to avoid damaging buildings and avoiding paying for the privilege. The Bakerloo line has many bends to follow the road.
Really enjoyed this video and I learned several things. I have been a huge fan of the Vic for many years. When I used to occasionally travel up to East Anglia from SW London, changing from mainline trains at Vauxhall and on to the Vic saved tons of time as I could get to Tottenham Hale fast and then take Anglia trains from there. It's an often-ignored line and that's probably because it does its job in a modern, efficient way and doesn't draw the sort of attention that an older line would (for reasons of both inefficiency and nostalgia). It is, in point of fact, the most modern, complete line of the tube and the first and only one that was planned and completed during that golden period from 1933 til the early 70s, when money was not the prime objective, but benefit to the ordinary travelling public. This was the people's tube (and Gawd bless both Queen Vic and Liz)
I appreciate that you are focused on City wide Transit; but when you hope Cross Rail 2 comes the rest of the UK really hopes that we will get some improvements first!! You've already been to Leeds which doesn't even have a Mass Transit system and is the 5th Biggest city in the UK !! We also really need an East West Inter City Railway in the North of England (which ironiocally would probably be shorter than the Elizabeth line)
Thanks for focussing on this line. Some time ago, I spent a bit of time on Google Maps, comparing best times between places in north and south London, by car and by transit. A whole lot of the best transit times involved using the Victoria line for part or all of the journey; because it connects so well (as you point out, this is what it was designed for) and has relatively few, but well-placed stations, it can contribute to many journeys. Transit journeys with a V-line component are almost always shorter than the same journey by car. As you say, the cross-platform interchanges put the Elizabeth line to shame. It's sad that theVictoria line didn't manage a couple more: Green Park is a station regular London travellers try and avoid changing at - at the time of building, CPI with the Piccadilly was apparently not possible, and there is after all CPI between the two lines at Finsbury Park; but passive provision for CPI with the Jubilee line - which they must have had an inkling was coming - would have been good. Also I read ages ago that they had wanted to create a CPI with the Northern line Charing X branch at Warren Street, but finances would not allow that. Brixton is - at present - as well as being a shopping and entertainment centre in its own right, a good bus-tube interchange for quite a lot of south London. Transferring to/from the South-Eastern suburban rail Brixton station is awkward and time-consuming, and there is no transfer possible to the Overground, though it passes right above both rail and tube. I believe that at one time there was a plan to extend the Victoria line - under ground - due south to Brixton Hill and Streatham, but I have not heard that mentioned for many years.
As a long-time transit geek I love the Victoria line and I have travelled on it many times with trips to London and surrounding areas!! It's a fascinating transit line!! Love seeing your SFU sweatshirt!! I loved my time at U of T and SFU!! Terrific video!! Cheers!! 🙂
Great video. Thanks. I love the Victoria line. And when it was built they didn't have the technology of today so even more impressive. Also with running 34 trains, that's two more than platform spaces available. So I think if there is a shutdown two trains have to be diverted to the depot for evacuation. All other trains can then come to a halt in a platform.
Excellent video. I have to say, I learned a few things here and I've lived in London for 40 years. I don't take the Victoria line too often, but when I do, it's usually very quick. Those new trains might not be super comfy, but they accelerate and brake bloody fast.
The layouts at Oxford Circus (on the Bakerloo line) and Stockwell (on the Notthern Line) made it easy to provide cross platform interchange with the Victoria Line without diverting the other lines. At Euston, Highbury & Islington and Finsbury Park, Northern and Piccadilly Line tunnels were diverted to acheive the same.
Love the research that goes into this. That piece on the cross platform transfers and how the tracks were flipped to maintain same direction transfers was very interesting. Thanks for this.
There's a really good documentary showing the construction of the Victoria Line on here. Definitely recommend to watch it. The Victoria is brilliant, just slices through Central where you need it to. I do wish they did install platform doors when they had the chance in the early 2010s, it being so busy and fast, crowded platforms are not nice. Some maps show it goes under Buckingham Palace, although I'm not sure if that's actually true. But the line is so popular it's said it can't be extended as it'll overload. Which is a shame because getting it to Streatham would've made a lot of sense.
I've been begging for Tfl for more than 3 years to finally add a working ventilation system on the Victoria line because it's impossible to breathe. They still haven't done it and it's the only thing that makes it unbearable at times, the fact that it's the hottest line to ride.
4:40 Victoria line trains aren't the newest on the London Underground. The Victoria line 2009 stock were built between 2007 and 2011, and first entered into service in July 2009; but the S7 and S8 on the sub-surface lines were built between 2008 and 2017, with the first S8 entering service in July 2010 (S7 in July 2012), so the S-stocks are marginally newer than the 2009 stock
I believe that the line still uses electromechanical relays. There's a story out there about the accidental flooding of the control room with cement. An accident that was dealt with by the rapid application of copious amounts of sugar - allowing them to remove it before it set. The line was closed for 12 hours, had it set would have been a week or longer.
RMTransit : "a complete new metro line" parisian : hmm like line 14 ? RMT : "a relief line" parisian : "yes, like line 14" RMT : "super fast" parisian : "you guess it..." RMT : "high frequency" parisian : "meh, we get 42 tph" RMT : " cross-platform interchanges" parisian : "wat ? We don't do that here" This last point is completely missed in France, with only one notable exception in Châtelet-Les Halles (lines A and B). Even the Grand Paris Express almost deliberately misses convenient interchanges, with absolutely no meaningful cross-platform transfer planned.
the victoria line will always be my favourite tube line because of how insanely useful it is. if my memory is correct its probably my most used tube line
Lived in and used the Victoria Line all my life and always found the connections at Finsbury Park and Euston super-useful, I should have known that was by design. Thanks for explaining @RMTransit I never knew how they did that!!
The combination of rapid acceleration and automation make these some of the fastest trains on the LU network. The peak service frequency is so high that as one train is leaving the platform, another is already visible in the tunnel coming towards you. A couple of fun facts: the ATO (Automatic Train Operation) technology for the Victoria Line was trialled on the Central Line in the 60s using 1962 stock (there is a video showing this on UA-cam). The Hainault loop was used during testing because the line was quiet during off peak hours. The other fun fact is that the operator sits on the right in the 2009 stock. All other trains are driven/controlled on the left.
Actually it was the 1960 tube stock - new build driving motor cars hauling 1920s 'Standard Stock' unpowered trailers. However, 1962 tube stock trains also used much of the Hainault - Woodford route , especially in the form of peak hour extras travelling between Woodford and Grange Hill, which is at the far end of Hainault depot. The automation technology was created 'in house' by London Transport and although it involved collecting coded pulses from the tracks the technology was 'clockwork', - computers were not yet far enough advanced for such things. In addition to automated 1960ts trains and human driven 1962ts trains the section of automated railway railway in the Woodford area was also used by some British Railways diesel multiple unit passenger trains. These were mainly for railway staff and were withdrawn in 1970. The last freight trains on the route to Epping / Ongar and Newbury Park via Woodford ran in the mid 1960s. These mostly ran at night and by the time the automation trials had began were hauled by diesel locomotives. In a way this is a shame - it would have been fantastic to have had steam trains (in normal service) travelling over tracks used by self-driving automated trains. One 1960ts train was converted for trials with fully automated unstaffed trains, but the trials were halted due to lack of finance.
The cross platform interchanges, frequency, and speed are great. But in general the stations were badly designed. Remember that the trains are a third longer than the Northern line, and passengers are often travelling shorter distances, so the number of people joining and alighting at each station are significantly higher but the platforms, passages, stairs, and escalators are neither wider nor more numerous than the Victorian era stations which leads to them feeling so overcrowded. At Victoria, one of the busiest stations on the line the main access to the northbound platform was right at the rear of the train, an area which became so crowded that the access gates from the ticket hall frequently had to be closed to allow the crowds to dissipate. The reconstruction of the station has resolved this issue at considerable expense, but the problem should have been foreseen at the time. Similar issues arose at King's Cross where the layout was even more unsatisfactory with twisting and narrow stairs connecting to the other deep level tubes.
One clever feature of the Victoria Line, the track gradually drops a few feet when leaving each platform , and goes up a few feet when arriving at the next platform, providing natural and free acceleration and braking. The 09 trains are not as comfy as the original Victoria Line stock but they're OK. The LED lighting is harsh but probably reduces crime. I think you were spoilt on the Elizabeth Line. Next time you're here try the Bakerloo Line which has trains the same as the old Vic line trains :)
The Victoria Line was ahead of its time being one of the first automated underground trains in the world. That said , the Central Line has been my favourite since first riding it in 1987. Love the sound of the current 1992 stock.
Before the pandemic it was probably one of the best 'people-eaters' out there. Trains every 100 seconds, ten minutes from one side of the central city area to the other, incredibly reliable, and half a million people a day. In the morning peak when passengers know where they're going, where to walk or stop, let people off, board etc, watching it was seeing an amazing but of human/machine choreography.
There is also the interchange at Oxford Circus, cross platform with the Bakerloo Line. I wasn't aware of Stockwell, but, although a Londoner by birth, most of my time is spent in the centre, north and east of the city and I'm more likely to travel outside of London than go anywhere in South London!!
Great video. Big fan of the Victoria Line myself. Spend a lot of time (or rather, thanks to its frequency *not* a lot of time) changing cross platform at Finsbury Park or Highbury & Islington. However, I don't quite get the point of the cross platform interchange at Euston. Because if I come here on the southbound the Victoria line I can get on the southbound Northern line but that takes me to King's Cross, back where I just came from... It's definitely easier but I can't imagine it's *quicker* than changing trains on King's Cross.
Interesting video. At peak times, the operating window between trains is just over a minute. You can watch one go out and the next one is already in the tunnel heading towards the station. The 2009 stock's speed of acceleration coupled with automatic operation means their performance is blistering - and they will come into a terminal station (Brixton/Walthamstow Central) at almost full line speed. One other fun fact is that the 2009 stock is controlled (driven) on the right whereas all other LU trains are driven on the left.
Should also be worth mentioning that this line was built in the 60s, when everyone thought cars were the future. It's amazing that they still built such an amazing line!
As a Brixtonite, I am within a 5 minute walk of the Victoria Line and it is indeed all of those things you mentioned Reece: fast, frequent (every 100 seconds in the morning and afternoon peak), great for transfers onto other lines and interchange with National Rail termini. One thing you didn't mention, and it something you have to "experience" is that due to being entirely underground and without air-con, it is also hot, hot, HOT! The busier it is, the hotter it is too. It's going to be 33c/91f in London today so I'm not going anywhere near it.
Another super video, Reece! Have you already done or are you thinking of doing a Crossrail 2 video? I know XR2 is all very speculative but I don't think that has stopped you before.
Interesting engineering. I can’t get over how antiquated and weird the curved walls of the cylindrical stations look. They look like there’s feel cramped as well as old-fashioned, really dated in design. I guess Londoners will have to suffer that forever. Interesting that much of the Elizabeth Line keeps that sensibility but so much more spacious I suppose it feels very different. The videos of it by you and Geoff Marshall certainly look cool. Hope I get to ride it one day. I’ve watch the entire BBC series on the Underground, more on Spark. Interesting how differently it works with station offices, so many personnel on the platforms and around the stations, and ticket checkers on the trains. Tremendous employment compared to other systems I was surprised to see. Are there any other metro systems on the planet with a very high number of staff, or is that unique to the London Underground??? A system like Vancouver has, and Toronto will with the Ontario Line, seem so cost efficient by comparison.
This is what it's gonna be like when California is finally finished, everyone forgets about the delays and cost overruns immediately, and just talks about how its so amazing and worth it
Hi there. I know this is off topic,but could you tell me where you got the map behind you in the video? I came back to the US from London Sunday and I loved it!
You have to check out the video of the construction of the Victoria line (it’s somewhere on UA-cam). 1960s style health and safety, shirtless guys with bits of clay falling on them whilst tunnelling and then having a drink from a fire bucket!
Hello, I love your videos, I feel that watching them, in some way, I know and I am in all the subways that you share. I also wanted to ask you if in the future you could cover the Buenos Aires subway, in Argentina, perhaps it is not known but it has some interesting things, for example Line A, it was the first subway/metro line in Latin America in 1913, the line B has the oldest rolling stock in service in the world, its trains are from 1954, line C has several abandoned tunnels due to calculation errors and closed sections. Greetings from Argentina!
There was also a plan To split the Victoria line into Victoria line, which would’ve took on the Original route to Euston then route B would’ve took the rest of the line from Brixton and it would’ve had three new stops a chase it to the ones from Euston to King Cross which would’ve sped up more space for trains to be filled, which is kind of crazy we think about that. The Victoria line is still at a tiny percent of capacity.
I went on the Victoria Line recently, just from H&I to Kings Cross, but must say the Northern City line platform on the other side of the wall/platform walkway was pretty creepy to look at. It was at 11:10 at night, but i realised i haven't been on the Victoria line enough and it's underated.
the problem with the euston interchange, is that going southbound on the victoria line, if you then go south on the northern.. you just end up back at kings cross... which you just travelled through... bit given the aim was to take people off the northern line this probably wasn't seen as a bad thing... i
4:44, incorrect, the S stock on the Circle, District, H&C and Metropolitan lines is newer. That therefore should have been the newest trains on the deep level lines.
Yes the Victoria Line is named after Victoria station which is cyclically named after Victoria Street (which IIrC is named after the station!).
I see others have said that Victoria Street dates from the 17th century, however a quick online search says the street itself dates from 1851 and is surely named after the Queen at the time?
Hey. You got one fact wrong. The 09 stock is actually the second newest fleet. The S-Stock was produced from 2010 onwards
@@theunknown2470
He was talking about tube stock
S stock is for sub surface lines
@@hairyairey Not to mention that the name Victoria was extremely rare before she became Queen.
A Lot of Railway Stations were named after Victoria. London Victoria Main Line Station was interesting as being two separate Stations, The London Brighton and South Coast Side and the London and South Eastern (London Chatham and Dover) Side. The dividing wall didnt come down until well into the Nationalisation Era ?
You haven't lived until you've travelled on the Victoria Line. Not only is every single stop except one (Pimlico) on the entirety of the Victoria line also an interchange, it's also the Lightspeed line. Ridiculously fast acceleration, it rockets through every tunnel. The highest train frequency of any tube line. It really gets you places.
Friends of ours from overseas who regularly visit London but hadn't used the Victoria Line before came to our house and really were in awe at how far it had taken them in so little time.
Only if you include National Rail Services. For the Tube: Brixton, Vauxhall and Tottenham Hale also do not interface with any other line.
@@noway2831 I include those services. Because if you look at a tube map diagram, every single stop on the Victoria Line (except Pimlico) is the hollow white dot. Pimlico is a small horizontal mark in the line in the same sky blue Victoria Line colour. The hollow white dot is the symbol for “interchange”. The the horizontal mark is the symbol for solitary station.
The Victoria Line is one of my favourite Tube lines, because any Londoner knows that you're allowed to have (and will have) favourites. It's the fastest way from North to South (or South to North), the trains are relatively fast, clean, frequent, and the connections are incredibly convenient (partly in thanks to those level platform interchanges). Every year there's a "vote for your favourite" poll, the Victoria is almost always one of the finalists (or winner).
The Jubilee Line is my second favourite, because of the platform edge doors, the speed, and the cool sounds the trains make. :-)
It does not make cool sounds between Canada Water and Bermondsey though! Thank god for noise cancelling headphones!
Those cool sounds actually sound just like the Vancouver SkyTrain haha
The platform edge doors is something enthusiasts should loathe because those platform edge doors prevent us from photographing arriving Tube trains
Personally, the Victoria line is my least favourite Tube Line, but not because I hate it or something like that. I still think that the Victoria line is probably the Tube line that was best-planned and offers the best transit.
However, as a Tube nerd, what I personally think is that the Victoria line feels kinda... meh. Because next to the old rusty soul of the Met, the lovely heritage stations on the Yerkes Tube lines, and the shiny capacious new stations on the JLE and Crossrail, the Victoria line stations just don't feel special. But of course, I know that this is attributed just to the fact that the line was built in the late 60s.
Transfer from Victoria Line to Bakerloo Line, and vice versa, at Oxford Circus makes a journey from King's Cross to Waterloo, and vice versa, seamless. Very often the 'second' train arrives just as you reach the platform. But, you do need to know where to be on the train so that you are right by the (short) transfer 'tunnel' to make it work really well!
That kind of local knowledge is what makes riding a system like the Tube so cool!
Absolutely. And Victoria to Paddington is another using them lines, which i normally quicker than the circle which although direct, has longer waiting times
@@RMTransit a certain Geoff Marshall (you might have heard of him, tall friendly guy that's never been to the Isle of Wight) wrote an app that shows you the nearest doors at each station for the direction you need.
@@hairyairey I’d forgotten about this! What’s the app called?
@@AidanMmusic96 Station Master. It's only available for iOS unfortunately.
The Victoria line isn’t flashy in the way the JLE or Elizabeth lines are, so I agree it’s underrated. As a Londoner, a station on the Victoria line is very rarely my destination but I very often travel via it. I suppose that’s what makes it such a useful line to so many people. A very well thought out piece of infrastructure. Great video!
I love the Victoria Line....it's funny to think that it was built to relieve other lines, and yet now we have Crossrail 2 being planned to relieve the Victoria Line
My Dad laboured on the excavation of the 'Victoria Line' [ specifically around 'Green Park' ] tunnels, in the late-sixties. Before I was even a twinkle in his eye. And, yet, today, over 50 years into the future, my first-love is... 'Transport-Systems'. I'm so proud of my Dad.
Yay! 🥰
People like your Dad made/make this country run like a well oiled machine. 😁👍🇬🇧
That’s pretty awesome! Imagine that, still having people raving about something like this so far after it was completed!
My father was the superintendent for 3 sections of the Vic and I followed in his foot steps. After the Vic I have worked on the DLR into the Bank, Cross Rail, Cairo & KL metro's rail tunnels in Taiwan, Canada & Denmark. Road tunnels in London, Suez and KL. Sewer tunnels in Cheltenham, Cairo and Dawlish. Cable tunnel under the Rivers Severn and Wye. Now I'm digging weeds in Vietnam.
I do wonder if I met your dad. God bless.
@@RMTransit Plus, I learnt some things [ especially re. 'the station-hump' ] about 'The Victoria-Line', from your video. Keep up the great work, Sir.
The frequency of the line is incredible.
The replacement of the 1960s ATO with modern CBTC moving block signalling means we enjoy 36tph (every 100’) for 3 hours at peak! (A minor correction - since May 2019)
The only good thing about the terrible 2000s Tube PPP - is that the companies ordered extra trains just in case. So there’s enough trains to run 40tph!
However, the 1960s station platforms are too narrow, and the use is so high - that you can’t get people on and off the trains fast enough and clear the platforms fast enough to lower dwell times enough to be able to run more than 36tph.
To increase to 40tph, massive costs would be required to widen platforms, improve circulation and add escalators deep underground - not worth the cost for only a few extra trains per hour.
Better to invest that money in Crossrail 2, which will relieve the Victoria line. (But TfL have no money)
The Victoria's frequency could go higher than even 100-second headway in theory, but the current holdup is the amount of time it takes passengers to get onto and off trains at King's Cross St Pancras (a very busy station with a narrow platform). If they could jam more people in it'd go faster, but there's not really any space to improve access....
@@Adarisa Yes, that's what my comment says. London Reconnections has more on the topic.
@@AdarisaIs there enough room to add extra platforms/tracks?
@@robotx9285 it’s theoretically possible, but extremely expensive for a very small increase (as in, single digit %) in train frequency.
KCSP was already rebuilt in the 2000s, doubling the station size and adding lifts.
Better spending the money rebuilding another station such as Holborn or Camden Town for 50% increase in capacity and accessibility improvements.
TLDR, yes you could, but it wouldn’t be good value for money.
The Yūrakuchō Line in Tokyo was built around the same time for the same reason: to relieve congestion on the Marunouchi Line. They’re named after adjacent districts in Tokyo.
The Victoria has always felt like the workhorse of the Underground. And at least it gets recognition for it, unlike the Central, being ranked one of Londoner's favourite lines!
Great to see a line I know very well from a different viewpoint. I was at school in Walthamstow when the line was bored very close to under the buildings, so all my fellow transport nerds all immediately became tunnelling experts and followed the progress of the construction, especially the unusual aspects, like having to freeze the water-bearing gravel at Tottenham Hale in order to put in the escalator shafts. One of the reasons that the Vic line is so fast is that it was able to have a lot of straight track. The earlier tube lines were forced in many places to follow the lines of the streets above, which created many very slow and winding sections in places such as the Central Line between Liverpool Street and St. Pauls. I could bore for hours about this line (as my sons will attest) but I'll leave it at that. Thank you for your excellent work!
The cross platform transfer between the Northern Line and Victoria Line at Stockwell works incredibly well. Going northbound in the mornings, there is a massive amount of cross transfer between the lines - I'd estimate 25-50% of passengers swap trains with only a 25 metre walk or so between them!
And a pain in the backside coming back at night / peak evening with the eternity of a Northern Line train south (with space) arriving in a reasonable time
Paris's RER A runs alongside metro line 1, with the aim to make journeys quicker and de-congest what was indeed the busiest line on the metro !
I wonder if you've considered doing a video on the Valencia metro? It's such a weird system. Heavy interlining, very bad on-train wayfinding, cool integration between tram and train, and VERY low frequencies on some lines. I was there the other day, trying to get on line 1 to explore the system a bit, and the lady at the information counter told me line 1 runs ONCE PER HOUR.
Yep I am currently working on one!
It reminds me of the Rotterdam metro (System layout and vehicles), but with worse frequencies
You mean, Valencia, in Spain? There is a metro here? ^^' Looks like i've visited most of the town without noticing it.
@@Damien.D Yep, there aren't any stations in the actual old town which is the place most tourists go, so I guess that's another flaw of the system
I guess it's sort of a metro-train (similar to a tram-train)? So combining traditional railways and a metro. Spain has another such system which I find very interesting, the Bilbao metro. Lines 1 and 2 are converted railways with a new city centre tunnel, and line 3 actually just interlines with regional trains to Donostia-San Sebastian and even France I believe
It also does something that only the Northern & Jubilee do (not counting the Bakerloo at Elephant) and that's actually serve parts of South London, including my own area at Brixton which is one of the busiest stations outside of Zone 1
I just visited Brixton for the first time about a week ago and loved it :D Unfortunately, there were tube strikes on the Victoria line, so we ended up walking from Stockwell, which is how I found out that the Victoria stations are spaced further apart 🤭
Yep which is certainly quite neat!
Don't forget the Wimbledon and Richmond branches of the District line!
@@synchromystici5m ah yes, forgot those lol
The northbound Victoria to Northern line transfer at Euston is my favourite transfer on the entire tube map, and now I know why! Great video 🙌
Wow, I loved this vid as much as I love Viccy line. It's so FAST and bright and straight to the point...for instance it makes Brixton a far more accessible place than let's say Stratford. That on platform change at Euston is truly magical, at least for London haha. Northern is still my favourite, but Victoria holds a place in my heart 💙
One strange and mysterious fact about London is that if one is travelling between Euston and Kings Cross/St Pancras on The Victoria Line one is heading NORTH but if one is travelling between Euston and Kings Cross/St Pancras on The Northern Line one is heading SOUTH!! 😄
Boom
And if one is travelling between Euston Square and Kings Cross on the Metropolitan Line one is travelling EAST, which is of course the actual situation.
I've been poking Jago for a video just about the Victoria line's cross platform interchanges and how they were designed for a while so thanks for this. The Euston one was always a curiosity as well as how they managed to do so many with so many other lines including the Bakerloo at Oxford Circus and the Northern Line again at Stockwell. The subject of humps/troughs between stations is a bonus subject I've wondered about with where in the world they use the gravity to help.
That line is why I moved to Brixton over 30 years ago - a seat on the fastest tube, guaranteed at any time of the day and it's rare to wait for more than a minute. Sometimes the train describers indicate the 4th train coming in 3 minutes. It used to be even hotter but the regenerative braking on the 09 stock has helped make it cooler, even though the ventilation shaft fan between Stockwell and Vauxhall is out of action because it kept residents for miles around awake at night. It's easy to forget the 'old days' when you could feel the hot air rising from under the old trains when stepping into the door.
This is a Victoria line train to Walthomst--
Please stand clear of the closing doors
The Victoria line does a great job of increasing capacity and connectivity. Of all its 16 stations there's only one (Pimlico) that isn't an interchange with another underground, overground or national rail line. It also gives the underground passenger another way to cross the Thames, taking pressure off the services going through Waterloo and London Bridge.
Also, here's an interesting Victoria line fact- while the line was being planned and built, Harry Beck, the creator of the original Underground Map, designed and proposed a new version of his creation, that would have incorporated the new line as a single diagonal line between Victoria station and the terminus at Walthamstow. A cleaver and beautiful adaptation of his existing map that would have subtly emphasised the new line and the connections that you could make with it. Sadly, this version didn't see the light of day.
Thanks for this. I'm a short bus ride away from Finsbury Park and usually use the Victoria Line to get more or less anywhere. For anything else I use the Piccadilly. I've always wondered why there was a section running with platforms on the right. Now I know.
By the way, Finsbury Park has a kind of hidden direct link to the Elizabeth Line - the Northern City Line goes to Moorgate and Moorgate has 'in station transfer' to Liverpool Street. However, Moorgate is on the Elizabeth Line on the Tube Map but not on the complete rail map - if TfL put the Northern City Line back onto the Tube Map as it used to be the link would be obvious. The online Journey Planner doesn't know about it either.
Enjoyed the video especially being a former passenger. As a coincidence you mention Crossrail 2 which is a modern updated / enlarged version of a previously proposed "Chelsea - Hackney" tube. This was part of London Transport proposals back in the 1950s, 1960s which also included the Victoria Line. Urban legend suggest there is a secret access to the Victoria Line for the Royal Family as the line runs very close by Buckingham Palace between Victoria and Green Park.
One thing that does not cease to amaze about the Victoria Line is, during peak, you'll see one train leaving the platform and the next train already approaching, with maybe 20 seconds between them.
The Victoria Line is splendid in everyway, its so regal, and it takes you from north to south London via Victoria Station
One of the fun things to note is that it is possible to travel southbound on the Victoria line from Kings Cross to Euston, and then change to the Northern Line and travel southbound from Euston to Kings Cross. Nobody has ever tried it northbound because they got bored.
I live next to and have used the Vicky line for the last 31 years, I cannot live without it.
The s stock feel newer than the 09 stock despite just being a few years newer. Even the 96 stock feel cleaner. I think the busyness of the Vic Line and probably lack of cleaning make them feel more older. They don’t feel old, from my experience, but more worn out or not kept fresh.
I was born in London before moving to Australia’s a child, however I remember the Victoria line opening just before we left. Riding it was like a new world compared to the other lines at the time, so modern and fast!
When it first opened the train control system was designed so that at busy times the front of the next train would already have started entering the platform before the rear of the departing train had fully left the station. However, despite being a design feature this upset passengers waiting on the platform, who thought that a crash was likely, so the system was changed to prevent it from happening.
This was not a new feature for London - apparently many decades earlier something similar happened on the sub-surface network, especially in the rush hours where as many as 40 trains an hour were run, albeit at lower speeds than on the Victoria line.
Great. I am very familiar with the Victoria Line. I was there just a few years after it’s opening (yes I’m old) and I’m glad you showed Seven Sisters ‘cause that’s how we got to Nanny and Grandad’s in Tottenham - SPURS! It is fast and the distance between stations is long. A great line!
My local line. Love the Victoria line. Its super fast and not as busy as other lines.
I'm amazed a non-native would have such interest, and better yet, such a deep knowledge of the London Underground system. This guy should be in charge of the thing!
I was in London, just a week ago.
My only complain against the Victoria line is how loud it is. I will not complain anymore about the noise in Paris metro compared to it.
Also the 2009 stock kinda have aged, I was a bit disappointed. The previous time, I've used the Victoria line, it was the 67's stock.
Anyway, it's a great line. The ingeering work was quite incredible for its construction despite a conservative look of its stations due to budget constrains.
If you thought the Victoria line was loud you must not have gone on the Jubilee line extension
@@OnTheRailwayOfficial Victoria line was the first line, I've used arriving in London. I did Jubilee extension at the end of the day, so this was less a surprise.
I've used the London Underground several times in the past (2009, 2015) but the noise didn't strike me, maybe I was less sensitve to sound back then or I've forgotten this detail.
@@Furitokama not sure if you mean you went on the JL extension a week ago? Anyway if you havent gone on it for a while, it is quite bad now.
If you think the Victoria line is noisy you should try the Northern Line before and after Camden Town! I carry foam earplugs which I put in my ears before Euston going north and keep them in until the end of my journey.
The Victoria line was the first to use Tunnel Boring Machines and an experimental length of tunnel was constructed at Finsbury Park. I worked for Chas Brand & Sons who won the contract to cast the concrete tunnel lining that the TBM's would install. This was for the tunnel between stations.
Later CB&S won three construction section contracts Euston, Finsbury Park to Seven Sisters and the next section to Walthamstow Central. I was just a teenager and helped the Engineers/surveyors survey the streets and existing tube tunnels at Euston. I then transferred to the work site for the FP tp WC sections where hand dug shafts and service tunnels were constructed and the chambers to assemble the TBMs. At the age of 18 I drove each of the TBM's in turn, my wages soared and could now buy a new Mini Cooper each month and have enough money for mum and beer. After the tunnels were completed and yes you were correct in mentioning the grade of the stations, but in fact it was the tunnels that sloped towards a low point midway each station. This to save motive power when the train pulled away from the station downhill, it would then coast up the grade into the station saving on power and brakes.
I then operated the Station Ground Shields where the face was hand dug using compressed air spades and hand shovels to clear the muck.
In 1994 I headed out your way and was Senior Inspector of Works on the St Clair river rail tunnel that ran paralle to the old steam tunnel built 100 years previous. The worksite was at the oil town of Sarnia, the contact lasted just over a year and I had a wonderful time, we worked shifts inspecting the tunnel dug by a TBM manufactured by Lovatt of Mississauga.
Tunnel boring machines date from he 1800s. The Mersey rail tunnel was cut using one in 1886
@@johnburns4017 I think you will find it's was a Tunneling Shield not a Boring Machine. We used similar Shields to excavate the Station Platform sections and they consisted of a steel can that supported the ground with platforms dividing the can into three working areas. Miners would break out the clay face using air powered clay spades and laborer's would shovel away the spoil down chutes onto a conveyor belt. The can would be pushed forward with hydraulic powered rams trimming the side as it went.
One of the shields used on the Victoria Line was made of cast iron segments and the hydraulic fluid was water, so very easy to clean up if there was a leak.
@@TheByard
Do a search on W pedia, tunnel boring machines. Note the TBM on the 1886 Mersey rail tunnel.
The Victoria Line is my childhood as I used to live near Brixton. To this day I remember going on it with my mum, with the wind going though my afro. Those were the days. Being a bit older now I realise how unbelievably hot the 2009 trains are compared to other tube stock crowded or not. I never understood why people complain about the Central line more than the Victoria line. The Central line trains are far less stuffy and hot. Still love the Vic somehow 🔷🔷🔷
Damn, Reece. You took full advantage of your trip to London! Can't wait to see how many more TFL videos you have coming.
I love the Victoria Line. Our nearest tube is Bounds Green (Piccadilly) stops at Finsbury Park where we just cross the platform and join the Victoria Line to speed up our journey into Central London.
One of the reasons why the Victoria and the Jubilee lines a faster than earlier tube lines is that they were willing to tunnel under buildings, earlier lines were constructed under the roads to avoid damaging buildings and avoiding paying for the privilege. The Bakerloo line has many bends to follow the road.
Really enjoyed this video and I learned several things. I have been a huge fan of the Vic for many years. When I used to occasionally travel up to East Anglia from SW London, changing from mainline trains at Vauxhall and on to the Vic saved tons of time as I could get to Tottenham Hale fast and then take Anglia trains from there. It's an often-ignored line and that's probably because it does its job in a modern, efficient way and doesn't draw the sort of attention that an older line would (for reasons of both inefficiency and nostalgia). It is, in point of fact, the most modern, complete line of the tube and the first and only one that was planned and completed during that golden period from 1933 til the early 70s, when money was not the prime objective, but benefit to the ordinary travelling public. This was the people's tube (and Gawd bless both Queen Vic and Liz)
I appreciate that you are focused on City wide Transit; but when you hope Cross Rail 2 comes the rest of the UK really hopes that we will get some improvements first!! You've already been to Leeds which doesn't even have a Mass Transit system and is the 5th Biggest city in the UK !!
We also really need an East West Inter City Railway in the North of England (which ironiocally would probably be shorter than the Elizabeth line)
Thanks for focussing on this line. Some time ago, I spent a bit of time on Google Maps, comparing best times between places in north and south London, by car and by transit. A whole lot of the best transit times involved using the Victoria line for part or all of the journey; because it connects so well (as you point out, this is what it was designed for) and has relatively few, but well-placed stations, it can contribute to many journeys. Transit journeys with a V-line component are almost always shorter than the same journey by car.
As you say, the cross-platform interchanges put the Elizabeth line to shame. It's sad that theVictoria line didn't manage a couple more: Green Park is a station regular London travellers try and avoid changing at - at the time of building, CPI with the Piccadilly was apparently not possible, and there is after all CPI between the two lines at Finsbury Park; but passive provision for CPI with the Jubilee line - which they must have had an inkling was coming - would have been good. Also I read ages ago that they had wanted to create a CPI with the Northern line Charing X branch at Warren Street, but finances would not allow that.
Brixton is - at present - as well as being a shopping and entertainment centre in its own right, a good bus-tube interchange for quite a lot of south London. Transferring to/from the South-Eastern suburban rail Brixton station is awkward and time-consuming, and there is no transfer possible to the Overground, though it passes right above both rail and tube. I believe that at one time there was a plan to extend the Victoria line - under ground - due south to Brixton Hill and Streatham, but I have not heard that mentioned for many years.
As a long-time transit geek I love the Victoria line and I have travelled on it many times with trips to London and surrounding areas!! It's a fascinating transit line!! Love seeing your SFU sweatshirt!! I loved my time at U of T and SFU!! Terrific video!! Cheers!! 🙂
Man you’re so fantastic and so knowledgeable. I always learn something watching your videos. I hope one day I’ll know as much about transit as you do!
Great video. Thanks. I love the Victoria line. And when it was built they didn't have the technology of today so even more impressive. Also with running 34 trains, that's two more than platform spaces available. So I think if there is a shutdown two trains have to be diverted to the depot for evacuation. All other trains can then come to a halt in a platform.
6:43 you got the Victoria line arrows the wrong way round. It’s left hand running at H&I.
Victoria Line was the first London Underground Line I ever been on back in 2010, really enjoyed watching this
Excellent video. I have to say, I learned a few things here and I've lived in London for 40 years. I don't take the Victoria line too often, but when I do, it's usually very quick. Those new trains might not be super comfy, but they accelerate and brake bloody fast.
I'm planning to this tube from Victoria Station to Euston on Friday afternoon. What is the best time slot to travel regarding crowds?
The layouts at Oxford Circus (on the Bakerloo line) and Stockwell (on the Notthern Line) made it easy to provide cross platform interchange with the Victoria Line without diverting the other lines. At Euston, Highbury & Islington and Finsbury Park, Northern and Piccadilly Line tunnels were diverted to acheive the same.
Love the research that goes into this. That piece on the cross platform transfers and how the tracks were flipped to maintain same direction transfers was very interesting. Thanks for this.
Great video. ☺️
Edit: U showed a Northern line train when u was talking about the Piccalilli line trains being refurbished.
There's a really good documentary showing the construction of the Victoria Line on here. Definitely recommend to watch it.
The Victoria is brilliant, just slices through Central where you need it to. I do wish they did install platform doors when they had the chance in the early 2010s, it being so busy and fast, crowded platforms are not nice.
Some maps show it goes under Buckingham Palace, although I'm not sure if that's actually true. But the line is so popular it's said it can't be extended as it'll overload. Which is a shame because getting it to Streatham would've made a lot of sense.
I love learning about a city I’ve lived in for over 10years from a man that came here on holiday!
I've been begging for Tfl for more than 3 years to finally add a working ventilation system on the Victoria line because it's impossible to breathe. They still haven't done it and it's the only thing that makes it unbearable at times, the fact that it's the hottest line to ride.
As a Londoner, he explains this a lot better than anyone living here
4:40 Victoria line trains aren't the newest on the London Underground. The Victoria line 2009 stock were built between 2007 and 2011, and first entered into service in July 2009; but the S7 and S8 on the sub-surface lines were built between 2008 and 2017, with the first S8 entering service in July 2010 (S7 in July 2012), so the S-stocks are marginally newer than the 2009 stock
I believe that the line still uses electromechanical relays. There's a story out there about the accidental flooding of the control room with cement. An accident that was dealt with by the rapid application of copious amounts of sugar - allowing them to remove it before it set. The line was closed for 12 hours, had it set would have been a week or longer.
RMTransit : "a complete new metro line"
parisian : hmm like line 14 ?
RMT : "a relief line"
parisian : "yes, like line 14"
RMT : "super fast"
parisian : "you guess it..."
RMT : "high frequency"
parisian : "meh, we get 42 tph"
RMT : " cross-platform interchanges"
parisian : "wat ? We don't do that here"
This last point is completely missed in France, with only one notable exception in Châtelet-Les Halles (lines A and B). Even the Grand Paris Express almost deliberately misses convenient interchanges, with absolutely no meaningful cross-platform transfer planned.
The viccers line is FAASSTTTT which is one of the reasons why we love using it.
the victoria line will always be my favourite tube line because of how insanely useful it is. if my memory is correct its probably my most used tube line
Lived in and used the Victoria Line all my life and always found the connections at Finsbury Park and Euston super-useful, I should have known that was by design. Thanks for explaining @RMTransit I never knew how they did that!!
The combination of rapid acceleration and automation make these some of the fastest trains on the LU network. The peak service frequency is so high that as one train is leaving the platform, another is already visible in the tunnel coming towards you. A couple of fun facts: the ATO (Automatic Train Operation) technology for the Victoria Line was trialled on the Central Line in the 60s using 1962 stock (there is a video showing this on UA-cam). The Hainault loop was used during testing because the line was quiet during off peak hours. The other fun fact is that the operator sits on the right in the 2009 stock. All other trains are driven/controlled on the left.
Actually it was the 1960 tube stock - new build driving motor cars hauling 1920s 'Standard Stock' unpowered trailers. However, 1962 tube stock trains also used much of the Hainault - Woodford route , especially in the form of peak hour extras travelling between Woodford and Grange Hill, which is at the far end of Hainault depot. The automation technology was created 'in house' by London Transport and although it involved collecting coded pulses from the tracks the technology was 'clockwork', - computers were not yet far enough advanced for such things.
In addition to automated 1960ts trains and human driven 1962ts trains the section of automated railway railway in the Woodford area was also used by some British Railways diesel multiple unit passenger trains. These were mainly for railway staff and were withdrawn in 1970.
The last freight trains on the route to Epping / Ongar and Newbury Park via Woodford ran in the mid 1960s. These mostly ran at night and by the time the automation trials had began were hauled by diesel locomotives. In a way this is a shame - it would have been fantastic to have had steam trains (in normal service) travelling over tracks used by self-driving automated trains.
One 1960ts train was converted for trials with fully automated unstaffed trains, but the trials were halted due to lack of finance.
Really nice to see recognition for the line, I’m a 2 min walk from Brixton station so always guaranteed a seat :)
The cross platform interchanges, frequency, and speed are great. But in general the stations were badly designed. Remember that the trains are a third longer than the Northern line, and passengers are often travelling shorter distances, so the number of people joining and alighting at each station are significantly higher but the platforms, passages, stairs, and escalators are neither wider nor more numerous than the Victorian era stations which leads to them feeling so overcrowded. At Victoria, one of the busiest stations on the line the main access to the northbound platform was right at the rear of the train, an area which became so crowded that the access gates from the ticket hall frequently had to be closed to allow the crowds to dissipate. The reconstruction of the station has resolved this issue at considerable expense, but the problem should have been foreseen at the time. Similar issues arose at King's Cross where the layout was even more unsatisfactory with twisting and narrow stairs connecting to the other deep level tubes.
One clever feature of the Victoria Line, the track gradually drops a few feet when leaving each platform , and goes up a few feet when arriving at the next platform, providing natural and free acceleration and braking. The 09 trains are not as comfy as the original Victoria Line stock but they're OK. The LED lighting is harsh but probably reduces crime. I think you were spoilt on the Elizabeth Line. Next time you're here try the Bakerloo Line which has trains the same as the old Vic line trains :)
Bakerloo has the most comfortable seats on the whole network. Those things cuddle you!
He mentioned the gradients around the stations in the video
Haha I mentioned the station humps!
I think the gradients are common on the underground - they also help stop runaway trains.
@@RMTransit eek sorry! :)
The Victoria Line was ahead of its time being one of the first automated underground trains in the world. That said , the Central Line has been my favourite since first riding it in 1987. Love the sound of the current 1992 stock.
Also, got to love the very enthusiastic announcements
Great video. I love the Victoria Line for how quick it is.
Before the pandemic it was probably one of the best 'people-eaters' out there. Trains every 100 seconds, ten minutes from one side of the central city area to the other, incredibly reliable, and half a million people a day. In the morning peak when passengers know where they're going, where to walk or stop, let people off, board etc, watching it was seeing an amazing but of human/machine choreography.
There is also the interchange at Oxford Circus, cross platform with the Bakerloo Line. I wasn't aware of Stockwell, but, although a Londoner by birth, most of my time is spent in the centre, north and east of the city and I'm more likely to travel outside of London than go anywhere in South London!!
the best line by far (I am being biased, living five mins walk from Brixton)
As a fellow Brixton resident, I fully agree
As you would be haha
Great video. Big fan of the Victoria Line myself. Spend a lot of time (or rather, thanks to its frequency *not* a lot of time) changing cross platform at Finsbury Park or Highbury & Islington. However, I don't quite get the point of the cross platform interchange at Euston. Because if I come here on the southbound the Victoria line I can get on the southbound Northern line but that takes me to King's Cross, back where I just came from... It's definitely easier but I can't imagine it's *quicker* than changing trains on King's Cross.
Brilliant video!
Thanks Simon!
Interesting video. At peak times, the operating window between trains is just over a minute. You can watch one go out and the next one is already in the tunnel heading towards the station. The 2009 stock's speed of acceleration coupled with automatic operation means their performance is blistering - and they will come into a terminal station (Brixton/Walthamstow Central) at almost full line speed. One other fun fact is that the 2009 stock is controlled (driven) on the right whereas all other LU trains are driven on the left.
its more close to 2 minutes really
Stockwell was a real blessing to transfer from the northern to access west london
The Victoria Line is simply the best deep tube line!
Should also be worth mentioning that this line was built in the 60s, when everyone thought cars were the future. It's amazing that they still built such an amazing line!
Line 14 in Paris is also a similar concept as a relief line with wider spacing between stations and lots of connections.
As a Brixtonite, I am within a 5 minute walk of the Victoria Line and it is indeed all of those things you mentioned Reece: fast, frequent (every 100 seconds in the morning and afternoon peak), great for transfers onto other lines and interchange with National Rail termini. One thing you didn't mention, and it something you have to "experience" is that due to being entirely underground and without air-con, it is also hot, hot, HOT! The busier it is, the hotter it is too. It's going to be 33c/91f in London today so I'm not going anywhere near it.
love vicky line it just gets to places no bs💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
I hope London gets Crossrail 2, but not before the North of England gets Crossrail for the North. We're dying of transit thirst up here.
Another super video, Reece! Have you already done or are you thinking of doing a Crossrail 2 video? I know XR2 is all very speculative but I don't think that has stopped you before.
Interesting engineering. I can’t get over how antiquated and weird the curved walls of the cylindrical stations look. They look like there’s feel cramped as well as old-fashioned, really dated in design. I guess Londoners will have to suffer that forever. Interesting that much of the Elizabeth Line keeps that sensibility but so much more spacious I suppose it feels very different. The videos of it by you and Geoff Marshall certainly look cool. Hope I get to ride it one day. I’ve watch the entire BBC series on the Underground, more on Spark. Interesting how differently it works with station offices, so many personnel on the platforms and around the stations, and ticket checkers on the trains. Tremendous employment compared to other systems I was surprised to see. Are there any other metro systems on the planet with a very high number of staff, or is that unique to the London Underground??? A system like Vancouver has, and Toronto will with the Ontario Line, seem so cost efficient by comparison.
The Spark series on the tube is nearly 20 years old, there's a lot less staff now.
This is so interesting and educational.
This is what it's gonna be like when California is finally finished, everyone forgets about the delays and cost overruns immediately, and just talks about how its so amazing and worth it
Hi there. I know this is off topic,but could you tell me where you got the map behind you in the video? I came back to the US from London Sunday and I loved it!
Excellent video
You have to check out the video of the construction of the Victoria line (it’s somewhere on UA-cam). 1960s style health and safety, shirtless guys with bits of clay falling on them whilst tunnelling and then having a drink from a fire bucket!
Hello, I love your videos, I feel that watching them, in some way, I know and I am in all the subways that you share. I also wanted to ask you if in the future you could cover the Buenos Aires subway, in Argentina, perhaps it is not known but it has some interesting things, for example Line A, it was the first subway/metro line in Latin America in 1913, the line B has the oldest rolling stock in service in the world, its trains are from 1954, line C has several abandoned tunnels due to calculation errors and closed sections. Greetings from Argentina!
There was also a plan To split the Victoria line into Victoria line, which would’ve took on the Original route to Euston then route B would’ve took the rest of the line from Brixton and it would’ve had three new stops a chase it to the ones from Euston to King Cross which would’ve sped up more space for trains to be filled, which is kind of crazy we think about that. The Victoria line is still at a tiny percent of capacity.
this video is really helpful for planning undergrounds in city skylines
Victoria line is by far the best !
I went on the Victoria Line recently, just from H&I to Kings Cross, but must say the Northern City line platform on the other side of the wall/platform walkway was pretty creepy to look at. It was at 11:10 at night, but i realised i haven't been on the Victoria line enough and it's underated.
the problem with the euston interchange, is that going southbound on the victoria line, if you then go south on the northern.. you just end up back at kings cross... which you just travelled through... bit given the aim was to take people off the northern line this probably wasn't seen as a bad thing... i
I was riding the Victoria line the day you were filming. You can see a couple of my rugby team's supporters on the final platform and train.
Great video. Although not my favourite necesarily, Victoria line is always my preffered line to travel on due to how efficient it is.
I appreciate your channel so much…
4:44, incorrect, the S stock on the Circle, District, H&C and Metropolitan lines is newer. That therefore should have been the newest trains on the deep level lines.