Category Archives: Train & Bus Travel

Hidden London – Charing Cross Station, London, England

11 Wednesday Oct 2017

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London Transport Museum regularly run tours of disused Underground stations and tunnels. These tours are always popular and sell out really quickly. I previously visited the old/disused Strand/Aldgate station and really enjoyed that, Euston not as much.

The Museum website wrote this about the tour:
Enjoy this opportunity to explore the disused areas of Charing Cross Underground station. Go behind closed doors to exclusive areas not accessible to the public, walk under Trafalgar Square and see the London Underground from a different angle. Closed to the public since 1999, the Jubilee line platforms are now synonymous with movie and TV filming. This is a unique opportunity to view the sites where blockbuster movies such as Skyfall (2011/12) Paddington Bear (2013) and TV’s 24 (2014) were filmed.

We met our guides at the bottom of the stairs of exit 3 of Charing Cross mainline and Underground station. Our names were checked and we were provided with high-visibility jackets.

If you’re interested in matching my pictures to scenes from the James Bond movie Skyfall, then watch this excerpt from the movie first:

We were waved through the ticket barriers and led through a secret door to find a set of modern escalators. We had to walk down these.

At the bottom of the escalator was a sign for Jubilee Line – there was an original plan for this line to run from Charing Cross, hence the modern station, now abandoned.

A similar sign was on the platform wall.

The platform was modern, but missing the ceiling. You can see this same ceiling in the Skyfall video.

We then found another set of escalators. Notice how the triangles that normally stop anyone from sliding down the middle were removed – this for this scene near the end of the above video.

The scene from Skyfall was projected onto the end wall so we could identify the locations.

We then went back up, through the main station and through another secret door that lead to the hidden tunnels and walkways behind the station. Below is a picture taken looking down onto an in-use platform.

And a video of a train and passengers unaware of who was above.

We walked along some earth-removal tunnels that ran under Trafalgar Square.

Then we visited an underground cooling tower that exhausts hot air into the street.

The bottom of the tower has some steps – used by Bond in the Skyfall chase scene.

We completed the tour by exiting the door that Bond opens onto the passenger walkway.

This was an interesting tour, especially for James Bond fans. The volunteer guides, as always were friendly. I still prefer the tours of long-abandoned stations, with posters reflecting the era from when they closed.

Tour duration: 75 minutes approx.
Location: Charing Cross
Tickets: Adult £36.50; Concession £31.50 (+ £1.50 booking fee per transaction)

https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/hidden-london/charing-cross

Mail Rail at the London Postal Museum, London, England

06 Friday Oct 2017

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The mail rail was an underground network of automated trains stretching from Paddington to Whitechapel. For 75 years, millions of items of mail each day were transported beneath the streets of London. The system was retired as over-ground transport by van was cheaper.

I previously wrote about the opening of a Postal Museum and the chance to ride on the mail rain trains here. This post is about our visit on Saturday 23rd September.

It’s hard to get there

Mail Rail and the Postal Museum opposite aren’t that close to any of the three nearest underground stations. London Black Taxi drivers don’t know the street – I guess because nobody went there until September this year.

But we found the place – well Postal Museum first and then had to cross the road and walk down a little to Mail Rail.

Once inside we went downstairs to a large hall.

At one end was a platform.

And then the Mail Train arrived.

 

The carriages are quite small – with gull-wing doors.

We boarded the train.

Then we set off down a warren of tunnels.

Past empty platforms where postal workers used to be busy loading mail.

With maybe the odd game of darts between trains.

There were also stops with interesting video projections. All too soon we were back and found ourselves stepping out of the door opposite to the one we entered – the train takes a loop.

We left Mail Rail and crossed to the Postal Museum. The entrance has a modern café with themed outdoor seating.

We were a little late and didn’t have much time to spend there – but there were some interesting exhibits.

We all enjoyed the Mail Rail and Postal Museum and I’d recommend a visit. Just leave early so you get there in time.

The Postal Museum
15-20 Phoenix Place
London WC1X 0DA

https://www.postalmuseum.org/

Prague Metro Line A running historic metro cars – Saturday 12th August 2017

11 Friday Aug 2017

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Prague Metro Line A (the green line) celebrates its 39th anniversary on Saturday 12th August 2017. From 10:15am – 3pm the DPP will run an older style 81-71 model (ran from 1990 to 2005) with drivers in period uniform. There should also be older-style announcements – although I’m not sure how different they will be.

To my non-trainspotter eye, the 81-71 model doesn’t actually look that much different to the current versions. I’m hoping that the differences will become more apparent on the day.

A standard metro/tram ticket is enough to ride. The timetable is as follows:

 

So it looks like it misses four new stations at one end of the line and Depo Hostivař from the other end – the asterisks in the table indicate stop and go back.

 

I imagine that if you waited at Dejvická or Skalka, you might see more. But probably no need to get carried away – if you happen to live near a Line A metro station and are around at the right time then go and have a look.

The Facebook event page (in Czech) is https://www.facebook.com/events/1880186208969832/permalink/1880501552271631/

Mail Rail at the London Postal Museum – Starts 4th September 2017

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

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The mail rail was an underground network of automated trains stretching from Paddington to Whitechapel. For 75 years, millions of items of mail each day were transported beneath the streets of London. I’ve no idea why the system was retired.

From the 4th September 2017 you can take a 20 minute ride underground on the mail rail lines. The original date was supposed to be July 28th but looks like they’ve had some technical issues. Tickets go on sale Thursday 13th July 2017.

Here is a promotional video:

https://www.postalmuseum.org/

Heathrow Connect – avoid the Heathrow Express rip off

21 Sunday May 2017

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The Heathrow Express runs from London Paddington to London Heathrow airport. The journey is advertised as taking 15 minutes – although I’ve been on journeys that have taken up to 30 minutes. Fare is £25 peak or £22 off-peak. Their website has this little infographic:

What they don’t mention is the Heathrow Connect service. Journey time is 30 minutes. Fare is £10.30 – less than half the cost. The Heathrow Connect website doesn’t do much of a job selling the service and uses this tagline:
“When time is not an issue.”
Whereas they should say:
“Only 30 minutes to Heathrow for less than half the cost.”

I had been staying at the Hilton Paddington and so it was just a short walk from the rear exit of the hotel to the platforms and ticket office.

My Heathrow Connect train was empty:

I could see a full Heathrow Express on the adjacent line:

My train pulled into Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 on the same platform as the Heathrow Express. If you need T4 or T5, you need to change to the Heathrow Express, but that is free.

So unless you’ve just missed a Heathrow Connect, or cost isn’t an issue, just ignore the Heathrow Express and make yourself comfortable on the Connect train.

London Euston – The Lost Tunnels (Tour)

14 Sunday May 2017

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London Transport Museum regularly run tours of disused Underground stations and tunnels. These tours are always popular and sell out really quickly. I previously visited the old/disused Strand/Aldgate station and really enjoyed that – so was pleased to get tickets to a new tour of the lost tunnels of London Euston.

The Museum website wrote this about the tour:
Discover a labyrinth of dark and deserted passageways which were once used by the travelling public and see a gallery of preserved vintage poster fragments that have been hidden for over 50 years. This secret space is located below a busy Tube station that serves almost 42 million passengers each year and Euston national rail station.
Tour duration: 75 minutes approx.

We met in Melton Street, outside one of the original station buildings at 17:45 – tour scheduled to start at 18:00.

Tickets and ID checked, high-vis ‘Hidden London’ jackets issued and we were ushered inside the old station building. There wasn’t much to see there, but the room was used to display some slides and allow our guide to talk about the history of Euston Station. Our guide was well-informed and obviously keen on the subject, but as they always hand out a booklet related to the tour, I can read that later – so you can imagine we were a little impatient and keen to see some hidden tunnels after 30 minutes.

We were taken into the main station and down the escalators to a regular underground platform.

At the end of the platform was a normally-locked door – we were lead through into a series of disused tunnels.

The most impressive sight was an old ticket booth, where tickets were sold to passengers connecting between two different railway companies:

I couldn’t resist a picture as the spooky ticket seller – the light really helped with that.

Most of the tour then decided it was a good idea and quite a few similar photos were taken.

The posters were in pretty bad shape and not as interesting as those in Strand/Aldwych.

We walked along a completely circular tunnel.

Viewed an old elevator shaft, now used for ventilation (this picture taken looking straight up).

And looked down onto a working platform above:

We enjoyed the tour, although nowhere near as much as Strand/Aldwych. There wasn’t as much to see and only 40 minutes our of 75 were spent in hidden tunnels.

Shinkansen – the Japanese Bullet Train using the Japan Rail Pass

09 Tuesday May 2017

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Shinkansen disappointingly means ‘new trunk line’ and not ‘bullet train’ – just one of those words that sounds more exciting than it’s actual meaning. Bullet Train is actually a literal translation of the Japanese term ‘dangan ressha’ which was the original project nickname.

The first route built ‘Tōkaidō Shinkansen’, connects the largest cities of Tokyo and Osaka and is the world’s busiest high-speed rail line. At peak times, the line carries up to thirteen trains per hour in each direction with sixteen cars each (1,323-seat capacity and occasionally additional standing passengers) with a minimum headway of three minutes between trains.

Last October/November, we visited Tokyo for four days, staying at the Mercure Hotel. Then flew to Sydney (Hilton) for four days and back to Tokyo where we took the bullet train to Osaka (Hilton), then back four days later. We looked at the Japan Rail Pass and even though it is only sold as a seven- or fourteen-day ticket, it was still cheaper than a Tokyo-Osaka return. The pass also allows unlimited free seat reservations. Local routes, including Osaka-Kyoto are included. The JR Pass is only available to tourists and should be purchased before you visit Japan – although I’ve read that you can now purchase on arrival, it’s still easier to order and pay for before you go.

We ordered the pass online (currently £235 per person) from https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/ and everything arrived quickly, including a travel guide. On arrival in Tokyo Haneda, we took our vouchers to the JR office and exchanged them for actual tickets (with a start date for when we returned from Sydney). That office isn’t 24-hours so don’t rely on being able to change the vouchers there if you arrive early or late.

Back from Sydney, we should have taken the monorail into Tokyo using our JR Rail passes, but instead made the mistake of paying for the metro. At the Shinkansen station we went to a ticket office where they booked us on to the next train. The travel guides say you should book in advance, there were plenty of seats available, although they were in the rows with three seats and not two. The rows with two seats were also on the right side of the train – the Mount Fuji side. We took the three seat row.

The signs are also in English and it wasn’t difficult to work out what platform and where to stand for the number of our carriage. The staff are all polite and wave your JR Rail pass through without a second look. The bullet train arrived in spectacular fashion:

There was more space than we thought on board, but we were still glad that we’d sent our large case from the Mercure Hotel to the Hilton Osaka.

The train was away quickly and soon we were speeding through the countryside. Top speed is 200MPH but sadly there isn’t a readout to show how fast the train is going. Instead I downloaded an app on my iPhone and got this readout:

That was the fastest speed I saw during the journey – still pretty fast though!

A trolley service came along with a poor selection of sandwiches and snacks – no sushi!

There was a Chinese couple in the two seat row  the man spent most of the time coughing and snorting mucus in the most disgusting way possible. I went for a walk.

I couldn’t find a dining car, although some Shinkansen have them. There were tiny smoking rooms in the same area as the toilets. Apart from that, the train looked the same in every carriage.

Within three hours we arrived to Osaka. Again, we made the mistake of taking the metro to the stop we needed for the Hilton Osaka, instead of using our JR Pass on a different, faster route for free.

Over the next four days, we wised up a bit and managed to use the JR Pass within Osaka and also to visit Kyoto.

We booked (two-row) seats for our return and managed to JR Pass all the way to Tokyo Haneda, where we stayed overnight at the Royal Park Haneda Hotel.

If your Japan plans include at least one return trip between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto, the JR Pass is worth buying. Travel further than that and you’ll be saving a fortune.

We ordered the pass online (currently £235 per person) from https://www.japan-rail-pass.com/

Tram 23 returns in March 2017 and will run classic T3 trams, Prague, Czech Republic

13 Friday Jan 2017

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The 23 line first ran in 1929 and connected Prague 4 to Prague 6. It saw many route changes and then was put out of service in 1991. It came back in 1999 and ran along part of the same route as the 22, in the most touristy areas, but was canceled again in 2008. It has made sporadic appearances since then, notably in 2012 and 2014.

From March 2017, the 23 is back and running the following route:
Zvonařka – I.P.Pavlova – Karlovo náměstí – Národní třída – Staroměstská – Malostranská – Pražský hrad (Prague Castle) – Pohořelec / Hládkov – Malovanka

So it starts on the almost un-used track at Zvonařka, currently only used by the Number 13 tram, then joins Bělehradská street where the Trams 6 and 11 run. From I.P.Pavlova it mirrors the 22 route until Národní divadlo where it turns right along the river. Then crosses the river to re-join the 22 route at Malostranská.

At Zvonařka you should pop in to Le Bouquet for a glass of wine or visit Beckett’s Irish Pub for a pint of Guinness. Jump off at I.P.Pavlova  and walk down to Žitná street for dinner at Cicala. Not far from Staroměstská is Wine O’clock – another great place for a glass of wine.

Initially, the line will run four or five trams running at half hour intervals. In the summer, there will be a tram every 15 minutes.

The 23 route will only run the older Tatra T3-type tram cars – the popular red and beige models with the high steps.

In celebration of this route and the classic T3 tram, I’ve included a series of T3 tram paintings by kind permission of Czech artist Martina Krupičková:

mini-no24-60x60 mini-no-22-500 mini-no14 mini-no-8-500 mini-no-7-500-1

 

Virgin Trains – London Kings Cross to Darlington Return

06 Monday Jul 2015

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I booked a First Advance fare for the following journey:

  • Friday 26th June 2015 depart Kings Cross 19:00 arrive Darlington 21:19
  • Sunday 5th July 2015 depart Darlington 16:49 arrive Kings Cross 19:23

And the fare, including local train connections at either end was £175.50. The return was £73.00.

Outbound

I arrived at Kings Cross with enough time to visit the Virgin Lounge. On arrival at the lounge, a lady checked my ticket and advised that ‘Advance First’ ticket required an additional payment of £5. I asked if my Virgin Atlantic Gold Card made any difference – it didn’t.  The glasses of sparkling wine at the lounge entrance convinced me that £5 was probably worth paying. I didn’t have change and gave her £10. Luckily it seemed that she didn’t have any change and within a few minutes my £10 was returned and I was advised that my visit would be complimentary. If you decide to visit (and I wouldn’t bother if I were you) then take a £50 note and hope it can’t be changed!

There were quite a few spare chairs and found one by the television. I wandered around and found that only soft drinks and a few apples were available. There was also a sign that said ‘Fizz Friday’ – so it seems that sparkling wine is a Friday thing. I had another glass of that. So a pretty disappointing lounge and certainly not worth paying £5 for entry – especially if it isn’t a Friday.

The train was on time and I found my comfortable seat which was in the quiet coach – mobile conversations are discouraged.

Soon after departure we were offered hot drinks, soft drinks, beer, wine, spirts, biscuits, crisps and a dinner menu. I was pleasantly surprised as the Virgin website seems to indicate that post 19:00 departures don’t include a hot dinner menu.

Food, drinks and service were good throughout the journey.

Wi-fi was poor and I wouldn’t want to rely on that to maintain a connection for business purposes.

Return

The train was on time and I boarded the quiet coach – it was hot. Soon after departure I was offered hot drinks, soft drinks, biscuits, crisps, a sandwich and cake. No alcoholic drinks or hot food on Sundays – but then I knew about that. I’m surprised they don’t have alcohol available for sale though.

After my tea was poured and I had a sandwich, the attendant advised that I was free to move to a non-reserved seat in another carriage as the air conditioning had broken in my carriage. This was a bit late as I already had my tea in front of me – I decided to see how things would be with the curtains closed.

After eating, it was clear that the carriage was too hot to sit in for a few hours and so I moved myself and my luggage to the next carriage – which was, of course, almost full. I found a rear-facing seat – I don’t really like travelling backwards. But at least it was cooler.

There was another round of drink and snack service. Wi-Fi was again poor.

The train arrived on time – which I suppose was the most important. However, I’m planning to write to Virgin and complain about the loss of my forward-facing seat – mainly because I’m hoping they’ll send me some money! I’ll update this post with their reply.

And here is the disappointing reply:

Thank you for your correspondence received on 27 July 2015 regarding your recent journey.

I am sorry to hear that you had to move seats due to their being an air conditioning fault in your original carriage. I do understand that inconvenience of having to do this; however I hope you understand that in the event of their being a fault it is in the interests of the passengers to move seats.

I also understand why you are unhappy that you did have a rear-facing seat when previously you had a forward facing seat. I appreciate that you selected a specific seat preference whilst booking your seat, and I am sorry that you were unable to find a seat that fitted your preference. Our on-board staff would have been happy to try and locate an alternative seat if you had made them aware of the issue.

I would like to thank you for getting in contact with us regarding this issue.

Yours sincerely

Myles Roberts
Customer Relations Advisor
Virgin Trains East Coast

So thanks for nothing Myles.

Student Agency Bus Service, Czech Republic

25 Wednesday Mar 2015

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We wanted to travel from Prague to Karlovy Vary for the weekend – out Saturday, back Monday. I’d normally take a train and wouldn’t normally consider a bus. The train takes an indirect route with a journey of over three hours. The bus, run by a company called ‘Student Agency’ is direct and takes just over two hours.

The cost for a one way ticket was 160Kc (approx. 6EUR).

I’m sure like me, before I took the journey, you are picturing a completely different level of service from a student agency bus service than what is provided.

We arrived at the Florenc Bus Station (around the corner from the metro station) with e-tickets and assigned seats. It was easy to find the departure stop.

The bus was on time. The bus was modern, clean, with comfortable seats, each with a seat-back video screen. The overhead lockers were quite small and the doors were on a strong spring. That made it hard to put anything in the locker as I needed one hand to hold the door open, leaving only one hand to put a small case and coat inside.

After departure we were offered free headphones – it’s nice that they don’t nickel and dime you and charge extra for these. The movie selection was excellent and included movies in English.

There was free wi-fi and this worked really well.

An attendant came around and offered free tea and coffee. You could also buy beer and snacks for very reasonable prices. I only bought one can of beer and wish I’d bought two as they ran out later in the journey. On the return journey, I bought two and later found they’d run out of beer again.

There is a toilet on board.

We arrived on time after what was a really comfortable journey – better than most short haul airline flights I’ve taken.

I’d certainly recommend this company’s bus service – apparently they also fly planes and run trains. It’s a pity they are called Student Agency as this gives a different impression – they are a luxury bus service. I think they’ve grown from what was a student travel agency and are aware of the name issue as their website states:

It may seem we only have products for students but the opposite is true! We have something for everyone 🙂 STUDENT AGENCY offers flight tickets, euroweekends, insurance, visas, language and study programs abroad for all ages, work and au pair programs abroad, and operates luxury yellow coaches to domestic as well as European destinations.