Tube (Underground, Subway, Metro)., London

There are works on various underground lines on week ends.
Circle line, District, H'smith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria line.
Most London underground lines have no service or partial service on week ends in August, September & October 2011!

You might have booked a hotel near a tube station and find out that there is no service on the chosen WE.
On the August WE when I was in London staying near Tower Hill station there was no service on Circle line and District line.
People visiting the Tower of London had to come by bus nr 15 (every 12 minutes on Sunday and crowded off course) or the more expensive boat services on the Thames.

Before booking a hotel and preparing your visits look on the website:
www.tfl.gov.uk Line Travel News - Planned Works Calendar.

After recently enocuntering yet more visitors obviously in complete confusion, I thought I would post this tip.

Update May 2011

I like to keep my tips up to date when possible, so here is an update to a tip I wrote in 2005 shortly after joining VT. I regret to inform readers that in the intervening six years since this tip was originally posted thing have not improved at all. If anything, they have got worse. There is still massive disruption on the Tube at the weekend, and this is scheduled to go on until at least 2012. sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that is the way it is.

Original tip.

It refers to weekend travel on the Tube (Underground / Metro, call it what you will).

Firstly, be aware that the trains all start later on a Saturday than during the week, and later again on a Sunday, so don't assume that the early train you caught on Friday will go the same time at the weekend.

Also, the operators use the weekend to carry out engineering works. This is not just at night as during the week, but ALL weekend. For example, yesterday (23/04/2005), the Circle Line was closed, the Hammersmith and City and District lines were seriously affected, and the Jubilee line affected to a lesser degree.

There are usually replacement bus services, but they invariably take much longer. The website shown should assist you with all the disruptions.

2 more images

This may well be one of the most confusing tips I have ever had to write on VT and I offer it to try to clarify some things about the London transportation system which, i understand, is very difficult for the visitor. Please bear with me.

Most people will know about the London Underground, generally known as the Tube (especially by locals) and you may understand as a Metro or Subway depending on where you come from. however, just when you thought you had that sorted, there is a new kid in town, the Overground (upper case deliberately used). Firstly, don't panic. If you have your Oyster Card or Travelcard for the relevant zones, you are OK and can use this system. Allow me to explain.

If you are using an oldish Tube map (pre-2008) you will see the East London Line as an underground line connecting Shoreditch and New Cross / New Cross Gate. It is the small yellowish line running up and down towards the right hand side of your map. After about three years of terrible inconvenience and undoubtedly a huge amount of money, this line has been integrated into a much larger system allowing travel between places as far apart as West Croydon in the South and Watford Junction in the North.

The concepts of Underground and Overground are slightly misleading (as is most of the transport here) as the majority of the Underground actually is above ground and the Overground goes between Wapping and Rotherhite in a tunnel which was the first built underneath a tidal river and built by the great engineer Brunel. Confused, you will be. Again, I must tell you, don't panic! It is easy.

The rolling stock looks more like rail stock than Underground trains but is all brand new and actually quite comfortable. The signage bears more resemblance to Tube than National Rail. Just consider the Overground as a rather large and useful tube line and you will be OK. The website attached is the absolute oracle on all matters transport related in London. Of course, the caveat is that, even though it is brand new, like most "rail" transport in London, it closes down to a considerable degree every weekend. Why it needs upgrading already after all the previous disruption, I don't know. I am told this will continue until at least mid 2012. Welcome to my world!

Yes, December can be very cold but there are lots of things to see and do during the Christmas season. I was there last December. My flight going was re-scheduled bec. Heathrow shut down due to unprecedented snowfall. Thought my trip was ruined but no, it was a wonderful experience once there.

If you intend to use public transport (the most practical and economical way to go) around the city, check London station closures at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/realtime/tube/default.html before you venture out. They are updating and renovating several stations and there are scheduled closures. They do have alternative routes and replacement buses.

Again, don't shy away because Dec. is cold. Just bring layers and a good coat. And good walking shoes/boots.

As most foreigners will know, Londoners spend a good amount of their time queueing and get very shirty if people are perceived to be queue jumping!

One place that London commuters spend a lot of time queuing is on the escalators linking the Tube to surface. Just in case you are worried about the etiquette, never fear, it's the same as driving: Brits queue on the left hand side (adjacent to the posters on the wall) and pass on the right!

I fully understand how complicated the London Tube (Underground, subway, Metro) can be to people not familiar with it, and they are just about to make it moreso. One of the things you could bank on (no pun intended, as one station is called Bank) was that the Circle line, well, went round in a circle. Be aware that as of 13th December, 2009, it won't.

As the attached webpage shows, the so-called Circle Line will now start (clockwise) at Hammersmith, complete a full circle and terminate at Edgware Road. Anti-clockwise will be an exact reciprocal of that.

If you want to check your standard Tube map, the Circle Line is the yellow one. I submit this tip to hopefully assist travellers as I see enough poor souls wandering lost on the Underground system as it is.

Travel around London in sterling compared to other currencies is pretty expensive - we hated it when we were here as tourists converting to Aussie and Kiwi money - and unfortunately prices went up heaps last year and horridly again this year!

Now i have quite excitedly found out that the new Oyster card system enables much cheaper tube travel. Usually i use saver ticket bus tickets to get from home into the city - £6 for 6 tickets(dont know if their price has just changed again as single tickets have dropped from £1 to 90p) - or if travelling a bit in one day i used to splash out and get a one day travel card - or even better a weekend travel card which inclides the faster overground train routes - but now they are even more expensive.

carnets are now no longer available (used to get 10 tickets for £11.50)

now i have found out that by getting a £3 oyster card then adding value of whatever amount you decide, you then can use it to get one zone travel for £1.50 each and buses for 90p a ride. This saves from the enormous price increase of a one zone tube ride from £1.50 to £3 for those not using an oyster card!

Also handy I find is having a zone 2 and 3 travel pass for the week which covers all the underground and overground except zone 1 and includes all buses everywhere - then use the single swipe for any zone 1 tube trips plus there are so many bus routes in the city centre that I only use the tube if in a hurry. Tube stations such as Vauxhall - which connects with the overground - and Earls Court are handily both Zone 1 and Zone 2 stations.

I would reccommend when coming to London to definately use the tube as your means of getting around. I found that black cabs were extremely expensive. The tube is cheap and very easy to figure out. it's also a good way to mix with the locals, though I wouldn't recommend starting a conversation with them. Peope just seem to be in their own world on the tube and that's ok. I did come across a minor delay once and I'm sure it happens often, but the delay was only 5 minutes and there are other lines to get you where you need to go if one line is closed or delayed. Also check if you can before planning your day.
The only complaint about the tube is that some- not all-can be dirty.

I would reccommend when coming to London to definately use the tube as your means of getting around. I found that black cabs were extremely expensive. The tube is cheap and very easy to figure out. it's also a good way to mix with the locals, though I wouldn't recommend starting a conversation with them. Peope just seem to be in their own world on the tube and that's ok. I did come across a minor delay once and I'm sure it happens often, but the delay was only 5 minutes and there are other lines to get you where you need to go if one line is closed or delayed. Also check if you can before planning your day.
The only complaint about the tube is that some- not all-can be dirty.

We primarily got around London through the use of the Tube, or the Underground as some might call it. From our home base in Kensington, we were able to jump right onto the Tube and get to all of the sights pretty quickly. We bought books of ten tickets...saved a little money, yet left us the flexibility to travel when we wanted without wondering/worrying "did we get out money's worth?" which goes with day passes.

We were always amused by the automated "mind the gap" audio and visual warnings, intended to warn passengers of the gap between the platform and the trains.