Waiting for a tube train on the Eastbound Central Line platform at Bond Street. I was soaked to the skin through my shirt and trousers due to the torrential rain above ground. But in the few minutes that I stood there waiting for the train to arrive - I was “as dry as a bone” as they say. The fiercely warm breezes that occur on the platforms and stairways of the London underground really do serve a good purpose sometimes.
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Ah! Finally something to warm your lunch with!
Posted by: Anand on June 24, 2004 04:43 AMOne of the reasons why I dislike using the tube. I work part-time near bond street and I am not looking forward to summer months because I bet the heat in the station gets worse.
I thought Mayor Ken was planning some cooling system for london transport, what happened to that?
Posted by: Remi on June 24, 2004 11:07 AMexcept when it’s 30 degrees outside .…
Posted by: Jaina on June 24, 2004 05:26 PMLooks brite and snazzy.
Wonder why they dont keep it cool?
Sat: The debate about aircon on the underground has been raging for years. It seems that there is no straightforward solution. See:
http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/faq/tipsac.asp
They shud evolve some form of natural ventilation, something of the sort that is in present in Calcutta’s, sorry Kolkata’s underground. It seems to be naturally cool.
And I doubt if they would open the front and back end windows of the train.…
Was this snapped on your new snazzy phone??
Posted by: alex on June 25, 2004 08:43 PMAlex: no - not snapped on my phone - the picture quality on the phone is not good. Taken with my Sony DSC-V1 - as usual.
Posted by: Jag on June 25, 2004 09:53 PMsat - the problem is that the Tube system was designed over 150 years ago and any a/c design has to fit around the existing infrastructure (it’s a bit late - and would be prohibatively expensive - to widen the tunnels). The ‘natural’ ventilation provided by the trains through the tunnels was efficient enough, even a couple of decades ago, to prevent overheating. The Tube is so overcrowded, and the average ambient temp/RH in London has risen over successive summers, that it simply can’t exchange enough air effectively any more.
My answer is to carry a cheap paper fan (chinese for preference). You feel like an idiot the first time you use it, but you make a lot of friends.
Posted by: Mags on June 30, 2004 05:30 PM