Last year we had a good view of the fireworks from the Embankment but
the impossibility of getting into Charing Cross put us off ever going
back (we caught two night buses home instead, taking three hours to get
to our home, in Zone 6).

This year, however, we were lured back into London after all, to a great
party at the Royal Festival Hall. We finally left there at 01.40, and
crossed the footbridge to go to Charing Cross.

As we were crossing, we saw a twelve-carriage train to Dartford via
Bexleyheath departing on the railway bridge next to us. It was pretty
much empty - by which I don't mean only half the seats were taken, I
mean it was literally almost empty. I think there were more people on
the 05.55 Crayford to Gravesend train I caught one Friday in November.

All the back entrances to Charing Cross, and the whole of Embankment
station, were closed so we were forced around near Trafalgar Square and
past a load of police, some on horseback, etc. in the Strand.

Then we saw the most enormous queue of people waiting to get into
Charing Cross. The back end of the queue was almost at Aldwych. This was
a good 90 minutes or more after the fireworks had ended. In all the time
we were walking past the station we didn't see anyone getting let in
from the queue.

My question is this: when that many people are standing in a queue
outside a station, why on earth are twelve-carriage trains leaving that
same station completely empty? They could have filled that train up to
rush-hour levels and still had the same number left to go onto the next
one.

When we realised the night buses' starting points had been moved even
further from Trafalgar Square than last year, we decided to cross
Waterloo Bridge and go to London Bridge station instead. As we crossed,
we could again make out a distinctly empty-looking train leaving Charing
Cross in the distance.

Ultimately we got into Southwark tube without any problem to save a bit
of walking, then of course caught our train at London Bridge, which was
no busier than during a typical weekend 'closing time' period. The train
was of course about 75% empty (or nearer 90% by rush-hour standards!) so
we were able to choose from a wide selection of vacant double seats.

Quite why I'm posting that previous paragraph on the internet when my
plan for next year (if we go back) is to head straight for London Bridge
via Southwark, is anyone's guess - now our fast-track route will be full
of Usenet users

Does anyone know what on earth was going on at Charing Cross? Why did
they not let enough people in to fill the available trains? Is the crowd
management always that atrocious?

Paul

Paul Speller wrote:


Does anyone know what on earth was going on at Charing Cross? Why did
they not let enough people in to fill the available trains? Is the crowd
management always that atrocious?

Paul

The Met Police were probably in charge!

"chunky munky" wrote in message
...


Paul Speller wrote:


Does anyone know what on earth was going on at Charing Cross? Why did
they not let enough people in to fill the available trains? Is the crowd
management always that atrocious?

Paul

The Met Police were probably in charge!

They where...

Waterloo was the same when I left the office at about 02:00 - Huge queues
round the station, people waiting ages and ages to get in. Quick walk to
Southwark on a almost empty JLE train to green park - Waterloo platforms
where very quite upto Green Park for the Vic line (Was no worse than a week
day besides the tit who pulled the PEA because his mate missed the doors at
Euston) got back to KGX and was told by an LUL person all the trains had
gone (Which wasn't true) and on the 02:36 home!

I recall last year I ended up not using Waterloo for the same reason.

On Jan 2, 9:20*pm, Paul Speller wrote:
Last year we had a good view of the fireworks from the Embankment but
the impossibility of getting into Charing Cross put us off ever going
back (we caught two night buses home instead, taking three hours to get
to our home, in Zone 6).

This year, however, we were lured back into London after all, to a great
party at the Royal Festival Hall. We finally left there at 01.40, and
crossed the footbridge to go to Charing Cross.

As we were crossing, we saw a twelve-carriage train to Dartford via
Bexleyheath departing on the railway bridge next to us. It was pretty
much empty - by which I don't mean only half the seats were taken, I
mean it was literally almost empty. I think there were more people on
the 05.55 Crayford to Gravesend train I caught one Friday in November.

All the back entrances to Charing Cross, and the whole of Embankment
station, were closed so we were forced around near Trafalgar Square and
past a load of police, some on horseback, etc. in the Strand.

Then we saw the most enormous queue of people waiting to get into
Charing Cross. The back end of the queue was almost at Aldwych. This was
a good 90 minutes or more after the fireworks had ended. In all the time
we were walking past the station we didn't see anyone getting let in
from the queue.

My question is this: when that many people are standing in a queue
outside a station, why on earth are twelve-carriage trains leaving that
same station completely empty? They could have filled that train up to
rush-hour levels and still had the same number left to go onto the next
one.

When we realised the night buses' starting points had been moved even
further from Trafalgar Square than last year, we decided to cross
Waterloo Bridge and go to London Bridge station instead. As we crossed,
we could again make out a distinctly empty-looking train leaving Charing
Cross in the distance.

Ultimately we got into Southwark tube without any problem to save a bit
of walking, then of course caught our train at London Bridge, which was
no busier than during a typical weekend 'closing time' period. The train
was of course about 75% empty (or nearer 90% by rush-hour standards!) so
we were able to choose from a wide selection of vacant double seats.

Quite why I'm posting that previous paragraph on the internet when my
plan for next year (if we go back) is to head straight for London Bridge
via Southwark, is anyone's guess - now our fast-track route will be full
of Usenet users

Does anyone know what on earth was going on at Charing Cross? Why did
they not let enough people in to fill the available trains? Is the crowd
management always that atrocious?

Paul

As far as I know, Charing Cross wouldn't have been open at all for
trains at twoish in the morning, as the last trains leave some time
around midnight, and dont start till about five.

On 2 Jan, 22:53, BVETubeTrains wrote:
On Jan 2, 9:20 pm, Paul Speller wrote:


Last year we had a good view of the fireworks from the Embankment but
the impossibility of getting into Charing Cross put us off ever going
back (we caught two night buses home instead, taking three hours to get
to our home, in Zone 6).

This year, however, we were lured back into London after all, to a great
party at the Royal Festival Hall. We finally left there at 01.40, and
crossed the footbridge to go to Charing Cross.

As we were crossing, we saw a twelve-carriage train to Dartford via
Bexleyheath departing on the railway bridge next to us. It was pretty
much empty - by which I don't mean only half the seats were taken, I
mean it was literally almost empty. I think there were more people on
the 05.55 Crayford to Gravesend train I caught one Friday in November.

All the back entrances to Charing Cross, and the whole of Embankment
station, were closed so we were forced around near Trafalgar Square and
past a load of police, some on horseback, etc. in the Strand.

Then we saw the most enormous queue of people waiting to get into
Charing Cross. The back end of the queue was almost at Aldwych. This was
a good 90 minutes or more after the fireworks had ended. In all the time
we were walking past the station we didn't see anyone getting let in
from the queue.

My question is this: when that many people are standing in a queue
outside a station, why on earth are twelve-carriage trains leaving that
same station completely empty? They could have filled that train up to
rush-hour levels and still had the same number left to go onto the next
one.

When we realised the night buses' starting points had been moved even
further from Trafalgar Square than last year, we decided to cross
Waterloo Bridge and go to London Bridge station instead. As we crossed,
we could again make out a distinctly empty-looking train leaving Charing
Cross in the distance.

Ultimately we got into Southwark tube without any problem to save a bit
of walking, then of course caught our train at London Bridge, which was
no busier than during a typical weekend 'closing time' period. The train
was of course about 75% empty (or nearer 90% by rush-hour standards!) so
we were able to choose from a wide selection of vacant double seats.

Quite why I'm posting that previous paragraph on the internet when my
plan for next year (if we go back) is to head straight for London Bridge
via Southwark, is anyone's guess - now our fast-track route will be full
of Usenet users

Does anyone know what on earth was going on at Charing Cross? Why did
they not let enough people in to fill the available trains? Is the crowd
management always that atrocious?

Paul

I don't have an answer to your question Paul, but I have just perused
the TfL New Year's Eve travel info leaflet and there's no specific
information about closures of Charing X station on NYE. It might be
the Met Police being overzealous, I don't know.


As far as I know, Charing Cross wouldn't have been open at all for
trains at twoish in the morning, as the last trains leave some time
around midnight, and dont start till about five.

Aha - but there were special services in the early hours of New Years
day, sponsored by TfL and free to use. Charing X was the start point
of four separate half-hourly services.

On Wed, 2 Jan 2008 16:12:52 -0800 (PST), Mizter T
wrote:
I don't have an answer to your question Paul, but I have just perused
the TfL New Year's Eve travel info leaflet and there's no specific
information about closures of Charing X station on NYE. It might be
the Met Police being overzealous, I don't know.

I was stuck on Villiers Street for a while, the police said that the
exit south to Embankment wouldn't open until 0200 and it seems they
meant it. They were also very well trained with "well I wouldn't
start from here..." type answers to why people couldn't get through to
see the fireworks, etc. I went round by Northumberland Avenue in the
end.

Still, at least we had some proper beer in the Ship and Shovell and
saw 25% of the fireworks round the side of the office blocks by
Embankment station. This beats last year, when I saw the 1% that
poked over the top of the buildings on the south side of Trafalgar
Sqaure.

Aha - but there were special services in the early hours of New Years
day, sponsored by TfL and free to use. Charing X was the start point
of four separate half-hourly services.

In my addled state, I bought a ticket to Kingston, as these seemed to
be the only services running from Waterloo after the (SWT-paid-for,
presumably) later than usual "last" services. I thought that TfL may
have provided them but couldn't find any publicity. Everyone knows
that the underground and buses (etc) are free but there seems little
effort to inform us about the trains. Perhaps I wasn't observant, but
at Wimbledon we were joined by a Woking service (at about 0300) that I
hadn't seen on the screens at Waterloo at all. Although on the Down
Fast it didn't sneak past us before New Malden and I was able to get
back to Surbiton by train after all.

Richard.

Richard wrote:
On Wed, 2 Jan 2008 16:12:52 -0800 (PST), Mizter T
wrote:
I don't have an answer to your question Paul, but I have just perused
the TfL New Year's Eve travel info leaflet and there's no specific
information about closures of Charing X station on NYE. It might be
the Met Police being overzealous, I don't know.

I was stuck on Villiers Street for a while, the police said that the
exit south to Embankment wouldn't open until 0200 and it seems they
meant it. They were also very well trained with "well I wouldn't
start from here..." type answers to why people couldn't get through to
see the fireworks, etc. I went round by Northumberland Avenue in the
end.

They made such a pigs ear of it two years ago that I didn't bother this year
(last year was a logistical disaster as well).

Two years ago we were near Hungerford Bridge. I had to get back up to
Marylebone - which I intended to do on foot. In view of the number of people
heading for public transport - and mindful of the numbers in Trafalgar
Square from previous years - I decided to head down Northumberland Avenue,
through into Whitehall and down to Parliament Square before heading north.
The last place that I wanted to be was Trafalgar Square or the West End.
Emerging into Whitehall I was immediately ushered back towards Trafalgar
Square, adding to the numbers crushing into the square. It took over half an
hour to get from Great Scotland Yard, until I was in a position to duck out
towards Pall Mall and up into Piccadilly and down to Hyde Park Corner and
Park Lane. It was nothing short of a farce of Met Police disorganisation,
forcing people who could have relieved the congestion into making it worse.

I stayed at home this year and watched it on the telly. Much less hassle.

In article
,
(BVETubeTrains) wrote:

As far as I know, Charing Cross wouldn't have been open at all for
trains at twoish in the morning, as the last trains leave some time
around midnight, and dont start till about five.

Not on New Year's morning, though, surely?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 3 Jan, 00:14, (Colin Rosenstiel) wrote:
In article
,

(BVETubeTrains) wrote:
As far as I know, Charing Cross wouldn't have been open at all for
trains at twoish in the morning, as the last trains leave some time
around midnight, and dont start till about five.

Not on New Year's morning, though, surely?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Charing X remained open with regular half hourly services to a variety
of destinations, except the one I wanted as there was no service
between Hither Green and Petts Wood (served from Victoria). The
problem was that you couldn't get into the station because the two
nomimal queues (over and underground) which started half way up the
Strand were actually mostly Underground passengers - when we finally
struggled into CX after an hour queueing it was practically deserted.
Outside, the queues were still several hundred yards long from
Trafalgar Sq, up to nearly the Savoy and then back again.

Rubbish organisation - next time (if ever) I will just stay on the
platform at CX, watch the fireworks, and hop on the train.

MaB

On Jan 3, 9:03 am, MaxB wrote:
On 3 Jan, 00:14, (Colin Rosenstiel) wrote:

In article
,

(BVETubeTrains) wrote:

The
problem was that you couldn't get into the station because the two
nomimal queues (over and underground) which started half way up the
Strand were actually mostly Underground passengers ...

Rubbish organisation - next time (if ever) I will just stay on the
platform at CX, watch the fireworks, and hop on the train.

I don't see how it could be organized to have two separate queues into
CX, for overground & Underground, without punters trying to bypass the
Tube queue by using the shorter overground queue.
There is a usable walkway along Villiers Street, high above the
pavement - could you perhaps have used this?