On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 01:24:09 -0000, Tristán White
wrote:

What a mess. Just had a frustrating time there. I was going from Wembley
Park to Canning Town so was considering taking the Met to Baker Street
then
changing at Baker Street. Unless there happened to be a train across the
platform at Finchley Road, in which case I'd change there.

To begin with, both platforms 5 and 6 are southbound Met lines. I ran
down
the stairs of platform 5 and didn't make the Met train that was on the
platform. Doors closed in my face.

Looked up at the board: 8 minutes till the next one.

So I looked over at the dot matrix display on platform 6, which is up the
stairs and across and down again. There was a Jubilee Line train coming
in
1 minute so I figured that I would take that, but if a Met was arriving
on
platform 6 in a minute or two then I'd go and take that instead.

Nothing on the dot matrix, just something about the Metropolitan Line.

And then a Baker Street Met line train pulls into platform 6. Just as the
Jubilee line train arrives. I made a dash for it up the stairs, but
slipped
and almost hurt myself. I didn't make it, and when I returned to the
Jubilee platform that one had also departed.

What a mess. How easy would it be to put a display between platforms 5
and
6 giving the times of the next trains so you could make a decision, with
time? Or to make sure the display on platform 6 is accurate. Or better
still try and find a way to get ALL trains to arrive at platform 5 (and
leave platform 6 just for those fast ones that don't stop at Wembley
Park).
Grrrr.

I can just see thousands of ****ed up football fans or concert goers all
trying to get to platform 6 suddenly, like I did.

It's a swine, I agree.
As one who used to commute from Willesden Green to Uxbridge daily [same
probs on plats 1&2] I'm afraid I can't offer much advice. I still use WP
quite often and the best advice is to hang about on the bridge where you
can observe all 3 platforms. Still no guarantee because you have to watch
the front of the train to make sure the one pulling into plat 6 isn't
terminating there for Neasden depot, and even then, it's quite often that
a Baker Street / Aldgate train arriving on one plat will leave after one
that arrives on the other later. [does that make sense?]

Bottom line:
Forget the Jubly. If you are going south of Finchley Road then the Met
will almost always be quicker.
Wait on the bridge and observe destination blinds of trains arriving at
plats 5&6.
Go down stairs to first Baker Street or Aldgate train and ask driver if he
is first out of Wembley. [The stairs take you to the front of the train
and the driver is usually on the platform phone by then, because he/she
never has a clue what is going on either, but at least they are talking to
the line controller.]
On arrival at Finchley Road, unless a Jubly is indicated as 1 min or less,
stay on Met and change at Baker St.

I think the intention is that eventually all Metropolitan stopping trains
at WP will use plat 5. Not sure if I'm correct in that assumption, or when
it will ever happen. Till then, wait on the bridge in the warm & dry.

Happy travels,

--
Fig