I went for a look this morning. Boarding southbound at Bank, one finds one of the narrowest platforms on the whole of the Underground, at one of its busiest stations, which has had to handle it for well over a century. Getting off at Battersea, with it's infrequent 10 minute service, there were just a handful around in the cavernous (and it is) new station. I always thought that Bermondsey had been the exemplar of overbuilt new Underground wayside stations for the traffic offering, but on a square metreage per passenger basis we seem to have two new leaders. Outside Battersea station is an absolute wasteland, it's also not apparent why, with the huge developments seen in the middle distance, the area right around the new station in all directions is the last to be developed.
Meanwhile, along the road at the much more urban area around Battersea Park main line station, I had forgotten how awful the access at that station is - the steep and narrow stairways almost feel like climbing up ladders.
The crowding was particularly envisaged because of the vagaries of the Oyster zone charging, which would have seriously depleted main line service revenue from the suburbs who would now only travel with them to zone 2, in a sort of reverse-Orcats Raid - the same reason for not inserting a Central Line station at Shoreditch where it, usefully, passes beneath the Overground station.
As far as fare revenue funding urban transport construction goes, those days are passed. Even substantial and well used systems with high fares (eg London) do not even cover their operating costs nowadays - any contribution to capital investment is way beyond them. It's just as well this was not the case when, to get back to the beginning of the post, the majority of the central Underground network, with "tuppeny tube" fares, was built.
Meanwhile, along the road at the much more urban area around Battersea Park main line station, I had forgotten how awful the access at that station is - the steep and narrow stairways almost feel like climbing up ladders.
The crowding was particularly envisaged because of the vagaries of the Oyster zone charging, which would have seriously depleted main line service revenue from the suburbs who would now only travel with them to zone 2, in a sort of reverse-Orcats Raid - the same reason for not inserting a Central Line station at Shoreditch where it, usefully, passes beneath the Overground station.
As far as fare revenue funding urban transport construction goes, those days are passed. Even substantial and well used systems with high fares (eg London) do not even cover their operating costs nowadays - any contribution to capital investment is way beyond them. It's just as well this was not the case when, to get back to the beginning of the post, the majority of the central Underground network, with "tuppeny tube" fares, was built.
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