Category Archives: Train & Bus Travel

German Road Trip

30 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Hotels, Insects/Bugs, Restaurants and Bars, Sightseeing, Train & Bus Travel, Travel News & Tips

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We took a road trip around Germany, starting in Berlin, ending in Berchtesgaden. Rental car from Avis was a Mercedes E Class. Below is a series of links, or what will become links, of the hotels, restaurants and places visited.

Hilton Berlin

Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) Tour Berlin

German Museum of Technology (Berlin)

Das Meisterstück Restaurant (Berlin)

Dark Worlds Bunker Tour (Berlin)

Templehof (unused) Airport (Berlin)

Hilton Garden Inn Stuttgart

Porsche Museum (Stuttgart)

Ludwigsberg Palace Tour (Stuttgart)

Palm Beach Bar and Restaurant (Stuttgart)

Mercedes Benz Museum (Stuttgart)

Hotel AlpinaRos – Demming (Berchtesgaden)

Mount Everest Indian Restaurant (Berchtesgaden)

Hidden Tunnels Tour (Berchtesgaden)

Eagle’s Nest (Berchtesgaden)

Lake Königssee (Berchtesgaden)

Hilton Hotel Nuremberg

Valzner Weiher Restaurant (Nuremberg)

Rally Grounds (Nuremberg)

Documentation Centre (Nuremberg)

Annaberg-Bucholtz

London Underground ‘Thought for the Day’ – a fun idea that could fall foul of political correctness

24 Tuesday Apr 2018

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The London Underground was the World’s first rapid transit system and underground railway. The Metropolitan Railway opened in 1863 and is now part of the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. Another first was the London Underground map: Designed in 1931 by the civil servant Harry Beck it was revolutionary in that it wasn’t an exact geographic representation to London above it.

52% of the Underground now runs above ground, but Londoners still refer to it as ‘The Underground’ or ‘The Tube’ – after the shape of the tunnels. Other countries/cities have adopted different names; Paris – Metro, New York – Subway, San Francisco – BART. The name ‘Metro’ seems most popular across Europe and is even used for the underground system in Washington DC. If you call the London Underground/Tube, ‘Metro’, you may be criticised by locals. You could retort that as the London Metropolitan Railway was the first underground railway, the British invented the metro name as well, making it valid – this should appeal to local pride and get you off the hook. ‘Subway’ in Britain means an underground pedestrian road crossing – so don’t use that!

Another Tube first was ‘Thought for the Day’. In 2004, Oval Station customer services manager, Anthony Gentles, started writing inspirational quotes on the station noticeboard The quotes were from his favourite book Tao Te Ching.

The idea was soon replicated at other Tube stations. Many of the notices were pretty funny.

Then in January 2018, a staff member at Dollis Hill posted this:

The singer Lily Allen was ‘outraged’ by the message as she saw it as a celebration of colonialism. It was soon wiped off the board.

And Transport for London (TFL) wrote:
We apologise to any customers who were offended by the message on the whiteboard at Dollis Hill today.
Our staff across the network share messages on these boards, but in this instance the message was clearly ill-judged. We are speaking with our staff to remind them of what is and isn’t acceptable.

It’s very easy to cause offence these days – especially with internet users who are never slightly upset, but always outraged or appalled.

In February 2018, a staff member at Colliers Wood station posted this:

Clearly a joke, albeit in bad taste, but the internet went crazy. Ms. Evelyn Clegg wrote on Twitter:
Is this supposed to be funny, @tfl? Well this humourless feminist is genuinely appalled. Incredibly short-sighted & a waste of an opportunity for celebration.

And Transport for London (TFL) wrote:
This message was wrong and inappropriate in multiple ways, and completely unacceptable.
We apologise for the offence caused and the message has been removed as quickly as possible.
An investigation is underway in to who thought this was a good idea, and the appropriate action will be taken.
We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, and actively work to create more opportunities for women in our industry and celebrate those who fought for the rights of women.

Things calmed down and a series of sanitised messages, such as ‘Please Mind the Gap’ and ‘Please be careful on the escalators’ appeared on station notice boards. Then on Saturday April 22nd April (the hottest April day for 70 years), a staff member at Blackhorse Road station posted this:

Killjoy and, of course, Twitter user Michael Hawkes was quick to post:
Way to body shame @TfL
and other’s who were outraged and appalled were quick to jump on the bandwagon.

Transport for London (TFL) wrote:
We apologise unreservedly to customers who were offended by the insensitive message on the whiteboard at Blackhorse Road station.
Our staff across the network share messages on these boards, but in this instance the message was clearly ill-judged and it has been removed.
An investigation is underway to establish who thought such an unacceptable message was a good idea, so that the appropriate action can be taken.

So looks like three station staff have received warnings this year. I’m sure other staff are frightened to try and brighten passenger’s days with the odd joke. For example, this children’s joke:
What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back? A stick.
Would no doubt be tweeted by someone who was ‘appalled’ at the insensitivity shown towards the plight of the Australian aborigine.

I wonder if we’ll see anything but sensible messages on Tube notice boards now – and that for me is a shame.

London Transport Hidden London Tours – On Sale from 21st November 2017

19 Sunday Nov 2017

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London Transport regularly run tours of disused Underground stations and tunnels. These are my reviews of three of their tours:

These tours are always popular and usually sell out in the pre-sale to London Transport Museum email subscribers. This is probably one reason why LTM have increased the prices of the tours. For example:

  • Euston Lost Tunnels was £35 in 2016 now £41.50
  • 55 Broadway was £32.50 now £38.50
  • Clapham South was £35 now £41.50

I always wonder where this money goes as the tours are all run by volunteers. Nonetheless, if you want to do the tour then that’s the price.

Tickets for five tours/events will go on sale to LT email subscribers at 10am 21st November 2017:

  • Euston: The Lost Tunnels
  • Euston: The Photography Tour
  • 55 Broadway: London’s First Skyscraper
  • Clapham South: Subterranean shelter
  • Clapham South: Subterranean Screenings

Sales to the general public start 22nd November. My previous booking experience, using the priority link that is sent on the 21st November, was:

  • Click at 10am
  • Find myself in a queue behind hundreds of others and eventually have the chance to buy after 40 minutes or so.

So if you want to go on one of these tours:

Register here: https://ticketfeed.ltmuseum.co.uk/ and ensure you receive an email confirming that you registered.

  • Choose a tour.
  • Decide the dates (see below) when you can make the tour.
  • Check your emails on Tuesday 21st November morning and click at 10am.
  • Don’t forget that tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable.

Here is some detail about the tours and dates:

Euston: The Lost Tunnels

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.

Dates: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
20 January – 4 February, 14 – 25 February, 7 – 18 March 2018
Times: various
Tour duration: 75 minutes approx.
Location: Euston, NW1 2EA
Tickets: Adult £41.50; Concession £36.50 (+ £1.50 booking fee per transaction)

I personally don’t think this tour is worth £41.50 – see my review here.

EUSTON: THE PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR

This tour is an abbreviated version of Euston: The lost tunnels tour. It will be led by an expert tour guide with additional time structured in for photography. Please be aware this tour is a non-instructional photography tour and there will not be a professional photographer on site for instruction. You will need to have a good working knowledge of and provide your own photographic equipment. You must be self-sufficient in the use of your equipment.

Dates: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
7 – 11 February, 28 February – 4 March, 21 – 25 March 2018
Times: various
Tour duration: 150 minutes approx.
Location: Euston, meet at 16 Melton Street, NW1
Tickets: Adult £100; Concession £95 (+ £1.50 booking fee per transaction)

I think £100 is too expensive and unless you need a lot of time to set up equipment, you’d find time to take some good photos on the regular tour – here’s one of mine (taken on my iPhone):

55 Broadway: London’s First Skyscraper

55 Broadway was the headquarters of London Transport and later London Underground until 2016. This Grade I listed structure – London’s first skyscraper – was considered radical and offensive when unveiled in 1929. Now a fabulous example of Art Deco London, visitors will be able to see beautifully detailed offices, grand meetings rooms, and stunning rooftops views.

Dates: Saturday, Sunday
27-28 January, 24-25 February, 24-25 March 2018
Times: various
Tour duration: 90 minutes approx.
Location: 55 Broadway, SW1H 0BD
Tickets: Adult £38.50; Concession £33.50 (+ £1.50 booking fee per transaction)

Clapham South: Subterranean shelter

Opened to the public in July 1944, Clapham South deep-level shelter has over a mile of subterranean passageways that reveal the extraordinary stories of those who sheltered here. Find out how Londoners took refuge underground during the Blitz and how it was home to Jamaican migrants in the 1940s as well as visitors to the Festival of Britain in the 1950s.

Dates: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
13 – 26 January, 7 – 23 February, 28 February – 4 March, 14 – 23 March 2018
Times: various
Tour duration: 75 minutes approx.
Location: Clapham South deep-level shelter, SW12 9DU
Tickets: Adult £41.50; Concession £36.50 (+ £1.50 booking fee per transaction)

CLAPHAM SOUTH: SUBTERRANEAN SCREENINGS

Cosy up underneath a blanket 180 steps underground and watch a bespoke Second World War film reel curated by London Transport Museum. See one of 16 sub-shelters in the vast complex of tunnels and learn about the realities of being a Londoner during the Second World War whilst sitting in one of eight deep-level shelters that exists across London.

With first hand oral histories and footage from people that actually sheltered here during the V-weapon raids and throughout the end of the war, Ministry of Information propaganda films, cartoons and newsreel clips of the day, this unique event will transport you to a time encapsulated in history in this shelter hidden deep underground.

Dates: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
31 January – 4 February, 7 – 11 March 2018
Times: various
Tour duration: 70 minutes approx.
Location: Clapham South deep-level shelter, SW12 9DU
Tickets: Adult £46.50; Concession £41.50 (+ £1.50 booking fee per transaction)

Hidden London – Charing Cross Station, London, England

11 Wednesday Oct 2017

Posted by in Sightseeing, Train & Bus Travel, Travel News & Tips

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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/