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What London Underground line do you least like?

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satisnek

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Anything with the voice of Sarah Parnell, particularly the Victoria Line ("THIS is Oxford Circus, CHANGE for the Bakerloo and Central lines" etc.). She has 'form' as one of those moronic radio voices which have replaced the melodic jingles of yesteryear.
 
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Techniquest

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When it was A stock, the Met was my least liked line. However, that title got swiftly moved onto the Piccadilly line some time ago. Most of the reasons are already mentioned, so I won't go over them again. The service level on the line, especially in the evenings and on Sunday mornings, is absolutely awful even when things are running normally, and the overcrowding that causes is insane. It is one line that needs a dire amount of investment and sharpish. The Bakerloo does too, but I can tolerate that line and it's ancient, clapped out trains. A ride on the Piccadilly line is less enjoyable than going to work...

I went on the Picc the other week, due to a farce on the WCML, and it was fine to begin with, got to the S stock depot (Acton depot? Never checked its name!) a little before Acton Town and to a halt we eventually came. Edged up, stopped. Edged up again, stopped, and these distances were beyond tiny. Eventually we got permission to move forward then slammed to a stop a few seconds later. After what was about 5 minutes after the first stop we FINALLY got into Acton Town and I was very happy to bail off there. I'd only joined the train at Alperton too, so it wasn't like I'd been on it for long!
 

Peter Mugridge

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...to a halt we eventually came. Edged up, stopped. Edged up again, stopped, and these distances were beyond tiny. Eventually we got permission to move forward then slammed to a stop a few seconds later.

That sounds like you were caught up in a signal failure.

The S Stock depot you mention would be Ealing Common.
 

rebmcr

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Acton Town has what seem like daily signal failures. I can only imagine there will be a plan to rip out a bunch of pointwork and replace with shiny new versions around Christmas?
 

Mojo

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Acton Town has what seem like daily signal failures. I can only imagine there will be a plan to rip out a bunch of pointwork and replace with shiny new versions around Christmas?
There’s no engineering work planned at Acton for the foreseeable future that involves line closures during the day. Whilst point failures do occasionally happen they are relatively infrequent and are not really something that would benefit from equipment replacement but normally things like a plastic bag in the points or dry slide chairs. Most of the failures are actual control system failures rather than an issue with the points, an interim control system is currently being rolled out at the moment.
 

Techniquest

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That sounds like you were caught up in a signal failure.

The S Stock depot you mention would be Ealing Common.

Thanks for the correction, knew I'd be wrong!

For what it's worth, last time I had a Piccadilly line train on the same section it was about the same situation, maybe it's a sign I should stop using that bit of the line lol
 

TFN

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There’s no engineering work planned at Acton for the foreseeable future that involves line closures during the day. Whilst point failures do occasionally happen they are relatively infrequent and are not really something that would benefit from equipment replacement but normally things like a plastic bag in the points or dry slide chairs. Most of the failures are actual control system failures rather than an issue with the points, an interim control system is currently being rolled out at the moment.

I could safely say the Piccadilly Line suffers a signal failure at Acton Town at most a couple times a week, knocking out the infrequent Acton Town-Uxbridge and the Acton Town-Ealing Broadway branches.
 

Mikey C

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I wouldn’t stake my pension on that. The Northern Line is getting some extremely underwhelming performance from the ATO/resignalling. This is, just about, masked when things are running on book, but when things go wrong it’s quite apparent that the system struggles to match the capability of the old signalling. The only good thing is the whole railway can’t be screwed up by a couple of drivers driving slowly, but instead gets screwed up by a couple of drivers taking forever to close doors at stations!

To me the Northern Line runs far more reliably than before the resignalling
 

bramling

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To me the Northern Line runs far more reliably than before the resignalling

It’s okay until there’s a problem of some sort, then all hell breaks loose unfortunately. The difference now is that it doesn’t have to be much going wrong to cause that. The other week the service was in total tatters for a complete day simply due to platform 5 at Golders Green being unavailable. The signalling simply couldn’t cope with running everything via platform 4, for various reasons.
 

F Great Eastern

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The worst line for me is the Central line, it's dark, dingy, lights frequently don't work properly, noisy, overcrowded to the extreme even outside peak and bad for tall people and in the summer it's awful and like being in hell, the Bakerloo isn't much better.
 

Hir

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Opposite to most of you, I hate the bakerloo line because of the old 1972 stock trains. I really like the central line because of how fast it goes.
 

BJames

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Central line is tolerable when it is off peak and not hot. Otherwise, I use any other route that I can.
Bakerloo line is fine but a bit slow and very old.
Piccadilly line winds me up as it always seems to have disruption when I need to use the line, and it needs the new trains faster than they're expected to be here.
Northern line I don't really have a problem with to be honest.

SSL and Victoria are the best for me, although the victoria can be hot, the speed and efficiency compensate for that in my book.
 

Ethano92

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Agreed, off peak I don't really dislike any line except the Piccadilly. It rides so incredibly roughly between Hammersmith and Acton town, and the whole section between green park and Acton just feels unnecessarily long for some reason, not just Hammersmith to Acton, I can't explain. I don't mind the section north of Kings cross though, some very nice stations.

I'm actually quite a fan of the central line. I like the dingy, neglected feel. Same reason I like the bakerloo except when I'm actually in a hurry to get somewhere. I'll be waiting at Oxford Circus whilst I hear another 3 Victoria line trains zoom in before my train trundles in.

I also simply don't like the Northern line central sections, they don't feel frequent enough
 

Techniquest

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I’d say King’s Cross to Stockwell in as little as 13 minutes is pretty quick.

It is aye. It never ceases to amaze me how quick a journey such as Vauxhall to Highbury & Islington is on the Victoria line. One of the most useful lines on all of LU, and certainly one (if not the top dog) of the quickest.

Certainly I found it useful when I was last in London and there was a signal failure (or a TCF) on the south side of the Circle. The Victoria line certainly bailed me out and got me moving again quickly, very handy considering it was only a short day trip to London.
 

J-2739

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Personally, I love the intensity and chaos the Victoria Line brings!

Meanwhile, the Northern Line is dull and feels slow, and although I like the Bakerloo, it feels very drab north of Queens Park.
 

lxfe_mxtterz

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Don't forget the dim lights, dark fittings, and tinted windows making the inside very gloomy.
^ (Sorry to resurrect a long-bygone post!) ^

This is exactly why I dislike having to travel on the Central Line, and would probably rank it as my least favourite line. The trains just seem so drab and unpleasant - almost depressing - in comparison to the trains on other lines, for the aforementioned reasons.

The only redeeming factor I can think of regarding the Central Line is the relatively good frequency (from what I've experienced anyway). I've, on a few occasions, had trains pulling into the platform less than a minute after the previous train has left.
 

tom73

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although I like the Bakerloo, it feels very drab north of Queens Park.

Could that be because the stations north of Queens Park were originally British Rail stations and haven't had the TLC that London Underground occasionally lavishes on its stations. On the other hand, if a station remains totally functional and the only aesthetic issues are age along with a lot of disused rooms once used by grades that no longer exist, you don't need to do anything to it other than keep it clean and litter free.
 

Bucephalus

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Central line for rolling stock. Circle and h&c for pointlessness (might as well absorb them into the district line). Vic is probably my favourite
 

TRAX

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Piccadilly Line because it’s so boring and slow.
My favourite would be the Jubilee, with its amazing speeds and the great rolling stock.
 

bionic

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Picc line is painfully slow and service on the Rayners Lane branch is a scandal. Jubilee line is characterless, apart from Swiss Cottage and St John's Wood. Central is always very grotty but the stations have real character. I loved the Northern when it had guards and the south end had a serious air of danger about it late at night. The vic is horrible and boring, but fast.The sub surface lost a lot of its appeal when it went all S-stock. The East London was one of my faves when it was LU A stock operated. These days I'd have to say the Bakerloo is my favourite. The only proper trains left on the combine and quite a few quirks.
 

Enthusiast

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The East London was one of my faves when it was LU A stock operated.

I first travelled on the EL Line on 'F' stock. Loved the oval windows in the car ends. Only drawback was when they pulled away the lights went so dim you could barely see! I remember alighting at Wapping. There was an illuminated sign "Men working in pump room at end of tunnel". Travelling up in the lift which was situated in what was probably a construction shaft for Brunel's Thames Tunnel you got a birds eye view of the tracks. On the surface? A dingy collection of streets with high walled warehouses, some connected by high level footbridges. A bit different to today!
 

Peter C

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The Central line is going to have to be my least favourite line - Bank station, with the horrible curved platform! No thanks! :)
My first Central Line journey went from Stratford to Bank, and it was horrible. The trains going through the tunnels are so amazingly loud it hurts! I've also done St. Pauls - Bank, which is also horrible. Just the Central line in general - horrible!

-Peter
 

Lucan

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Where I grew up, Morden was my LU railhead for some years so I often travelled on the southern section of the Northern into central London, and I heartily disliked it. I was into my teens before I discovered to my surprise that not all the London Underground was under the ground!

What I found particularly tedious was the unimaginative naming of certain stations : Tooting Broadway followed by Tooting Bec (Bec = stream, but has anyone actually seen it?) and then no less than three Claphams (only Clapham Common sounded interesting). The naming made me feel that we were getting nowhere. It did not help that Clapham Common and North had those narrow island platforms, which, just looking at them out of the window, gave me a kind of nauseous vertigo feeling.
 

Bayum

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Just one?
I find the whole system quite depressing as far as accessibility is concerned. Huge walks along corridors at stations like Kings X St Pancras, the number of stations that do not have step free ground to platform is interesting. Granted, some of the older lines are worse for it, but that’s all I can say really.
I dislike any line that is deep underground - Victoria, Northern, Bakerloo - they’re all stifling
 

AlbertBeale

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Just one?
I find the whole system quite depressing as far as accessibility is concerned. Huge walks along corridors at stations like Kings X St Pancras, the number of stations that do not have step free ground to platform is interesting. Granted, some of the older lines are worse for it, but that’s all I can say really.
I dislike any line that is deep underground - Victoria, Northern, Bakerloo - they’re all stifling

If by the huge walks you mean what happens if you follow the signs through the new routes and corridors connecting the 3 deep tube lines - then yes. But if you ignore the signs and go by the old connections (at the "south" ends of all the lines) it's 30 seconds between platforms for any two of the three lines... (OK, a few seconds more from the Vic to the Northern). And that interchange route is also the quickest way to the sub-surface lines.
 

whhistle

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Bakerloo?
It's old and dusty compared with some of the other lines.
It does have a certain old fashioned charm though, which I would miss when it gets modernised.
 

Jona26

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Where I grew up, Morden was my LU railhead for some years so I often travelled on the southern section of the Northern into central London, and I heartily disliked it. I was into my teens before I discovered to my surprise that not all the London Underground was under the ground!

What I found particularly tedious was the unimaginative naming of certain stations : Tooting Broadway followed by Tooting Bec (Bec = stream, but has anyone actually seen it?) and then no less than three Claphams (only Clapham Common sounded interesting). The naming made me feel that we were getting nowhere. It did not help that Clapham Common and North had those narrow island platforms, which, just looking at them out of the window, gave me a kind of nauseous vertigo feeling.


The Bec part of the name comes from Bec Abbey in Normandy which was given land in the area after the Norman Conquest.
 
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