18 April (Part 1) - Trouble for London
The sanctimonious pointless people (to quote Bexley Councillor Gareth Bacon) or
brainless soap dodgers as they are better known who have wrought havoc on London
in recent days under the nose of a supportive Mayor and utterly useless police force could have
waited for the weekend when the various transport authorities are taking on the job for them.
I need to be in Richmond tomorrow. There are no trains to London on the Dartford
via Abbey Wood and Greenwich line and if I take the bus to Bexleyheath station I
won’t find any trains to London there either.
The obvious answer is a taxi to Woolwich Arsenal - I will be accompanied by
someone who cannot walk too well - and get the DLR to the Bank/Monument for a
Richmond bound District line train. But that’s no good either. There is no DLR
service from Woolwich Arsenal to London tomorrow.
I know; get a DLR train to West Ham and get on the District line there. Forget
it, the District line isn’t running tomorrow.
So that leaves two options. Jubilee from Canning Town to Waterloo and the half
hourly fast train to Richmond or DLR to Stratford and Overground direct to
Richmond. The scenic route via North London.
Has Andrew Bashford been put in charge of rail planning now?
I’d probably use the Jubilee if it was just me but it will be packed solid and
my friend isn’t up to standing all the way.
Incidentally Stratford to Richmond costs £4·60 single on the Jubilee line route
but only £1.50 on the Overground.