How can one search engine fail to find a specific result ‘even more’ than another?
It depends on how each website domain is indexed and the algorithms used to deliver what the AI believes is the most relevant results that the user would want.
You can also produce more relevant search results using various syntax. For example, you can search for pdf's in google using the following syntax before the search term:
filetype:pdf
Hence if you wanted to find a pdf document of TfL fares, you could try:
filetype:pdf tfl fares
Some search engines have more syntax (and therefore more capability to produce relevant results) than others.
It looks pretty cool although I don't think I would immediately associate the roundels (outside) with PS5. If I saw that on my travels, I would instead think it was some form of artwork piece.
Transport for London (TfL) already produces a co-ordinated map that shows all TfL services and other train operating companies, and this is widely available. However, it is looking into how the Thameslink service could be included on the Tube map as there could be some useful benefits given the pandemic and current social distancing requirements.
New TfL Commissioner Andy Byford agrees with @lontravelwatch that putting Thameslink stations on the Tube map is a no-brainer & @tfl will do this by December! A huge win for both London TravelWatch & #AssemblyTransport. We produced this map showing travel options in August.
Responding to new TfL Commissioner Andy Byford's announcement that Thameslink stations will be added to the Tube map by Christmas, London TravelWatch Director Emma Gibson said 'London TravelWatch has been campaigning for Thameslink stations to be added to the Tube map to give people more opportunities to socially distance on public transport. We even produced our own map this summer to give TfL a nudge. Now, new TfL Commissioner Andy Byford says that the idea is a 'no brainer' and that they will be added by Christmas. This is great news for Londoners.'
For the record, the TFL website confirms what is said previously:
Marylebone Underground Station: We are replacing the central staircase with an additional escalator and then replacing the two existing machines.To further reduce congestion, the ticket gates will be reconfigured creating more space to enter/exit.Throughout the work the station will remain open with two escalators in service. The project is due for completion in autumn 2023.
I always believed it will happen, but not for at least another 50 years, probably 100 at the earliest. I agree, it doesn't really seem the appropriate time to talk about these things. Instead, perhaps the PM could deliver some much needed funding for more realistic railway projects across, not just the capital, but the UK.
With the death of Belly Mujinga, a GTR booking clerk at Victoria, as a possible result of being spat on by a member of the public, I can't say that I think station staff will be very safe, especially with the increased passenger numbers.
This is a serious problem, and something to bear in mind when bashing the unions when they focus on staff safety. I believe a Northern Line driver was spat at a while ago too.
Much more of it and it would be a guaranteed mass walk-out from staff, and one which I would support fully.
I suppose that station staff on the underground, where possible, are staying within the former ticket offices behind the glass shield to limit close contact with the public? Is it possible to build more of those "temporary shelters" (the ones which allow staff to sit next to the gates but inside some shelter). Sorry I do not know what they are called.
On the BBC London News last night, there was an RMT official saying that the tube should be shut. All that would do is make the buses unmanageable as not everyone can drive, walk or cycle to work. He did say that any of his members that refused to work, they would support 100%. Looking forward to collecting my masks next week.
I wouldn't hold your breath. Despite management telling ASLEF on Thursday that the masks would be "FFP2 grade" what turned up were disposable single-use masks with instructions on how to put them on, take them off and dispose of them afterwards. They weren't issued, rather I was told I could have some if I wanted.
Mod note: Post edited to amend quotation and remove political statements
Single use masks can be FFP1, FFP2 or FFP3. Full or half mask reusable respirators come with cartridges that are are effectively FFP1, FFP2, FFP3 etc and need to be replaced regularly. With the one I used in the past, the cartridge needed to be replaced about once every three months or so if I remember correctly. Single use masks can be expensive, with the highest grade (FFP3) the most expensive. Reusable respirators are also expensive, both in terms of the base cost but also buying the cartridges.
As several experts and doctors have pointed out masks don't prevent you getting the virus.
They stop you passing the virus onto others.
Hard surfaces in cabs and elsewhere need to be cleaned with bleach based cleaners or sanitisers with a high level of alcohol.
Frequent hand washing with good old fashioned bars of soap is still the best way to avoid getting the virus.
There are two types of masks. Surgical masks collect droplets you exhale but they don't provide a tight seal between the mask and your face and therefore you can still breathe in droplets. Respirators or FFP masks if you like, have a tight seal between your face and the mask - they prevent both droplets being exhaled and droplets being inhaled.
So depending on the type of mask the individual wears, provided they wear it correctly, it can prevent you from breathing in the droplets, at least a percentage of them (nothing is 100% effective).
Actually it would only be totally effective if everybody wore one correctly. Based on my anecdotal observations when shopping, only around half those wearing masks are doing so completely correctly at all times.
It would only be totally effective if everyone wore the correct mask correctly. Most of the masks, even if worn correctly only reduce the risk, not eliminate it.
Correct.
There are a number of issues wearing single use masks: - Ensuring a tight seal. - Handling the mask when putting it on, when the mask is in use and when disposing of it. - They don't cover your eyes and at least initially, the advice was that you shouldn't touch your face/eyes, so droplets could potentially impinge on the surfaces of your eyes. - Claims that they make you less likely to touch your face don't match reality. They can become uncomfortable and it is easy to just forget and scratch your face, adjust the mask (using contaminated fingers) etc.
It would probably be helpful if drivers drove the trains with the doors open - this would provide ventilation for the droplets to disperse or evaporate. Droplets remaining on any surfaces would also evaporate much more quickly.
You also have to remember as well, droplets can evaporate very quickly under some circumstances. So the thought process shouldn't just be "where do the droplets go" but also "how quickly can they evaporate" as well as what is the volume of droplets that needs to be exhaled to be problematic - e.g. is inhaling one droplet going to be problematic or does an individual need to exhale a large quantity of droplets containing the virus to become infected.
Counting all of LU, LO, DLR and Crossrail there are about 61 stations that can reasonably be described as a terminus (list below), 34 of them involve LU. If you only count stations where all TfL services stop there are 34, and there are 17 where all services stop. All these figures are inclusive about what counts as a single station, e.g. Euston is counted as 1 station which is not a terminus for all TfL services. Victoria is not counted as a terminus as no TfL services terminate there. Which intermediate reversing points count as terminals is subjective.
Trams have another 3 terminals (Wimbledon is counted already) and the Dangleway another 2. NR terminals with TfL services but which are not TfL terminals add another 9 (Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Greenford, London Bridge, Marylebone, Moorgate, Victoria and West Ealing). If you want to add NR terminals within Greater London that have no TfL services, that's another 8 (or 9 if you haven't counted the trams) (Beckenham Junction, Bromley North, Caterham, Chessington South, Epsom Downs, Fenchurch Street, Hampton Court, Hayes, Orpington).
The fast platforms at Harrow and Wealdstone I believe were in use at least until recently. It was only a few years ago when I took a delayed southbound Southern train from one of the platforms. They are usually locked with gates but can be opened by the station staff. I may have taken a picture though it won't show much because I was in a hurry.
I don't think there are any scheduled stops on the mainline platforms at Queen's park anymore. There was a scheme to introduce a new service from Euston to Preston(?) which had the intention to terminate at least for a short while at Queen's Park but it has not gone ahead for one reason or another.
With particular attention to the integrated rail network and underground network in London, I think it is probably very difficult to produce something that is both visually appealing to the majority and also clear to the majority. There are just so many lines that you quickly run out of colours and shades which really work well together.
The map is already made using advanced image software so I presume it is already made in "layers". I wonder whether in the future we will have a digital version where the customer can select/deselect which lines (with each line a different layer) to show on a digital map. The entire rail/tube map would be visible by electing to show all the layers.
You would not be able to avoid the dilemma of figuring out the best combination of all the colours/shades, but you could declutter the map and the map would be tailored specifically for each person's needs. Something similar is already done with Google Maps - you select how you want the map to be shown and can also select various things to show. Another example is the OsmAnd (open source) app. Infact, TfL already do this when showing the engineering works for the weekend on their website. The parts of the network suspended are coloured and the other parts of the network are greyed out.
On the subject of map clutter, I wonder if one reason we have yet to see the Overground and DLR "split" into different parts (on the tube map) is again related to figuring out the best shades of orange and green to use which works for the majority but also how to clearly explain what each shade of orange/green means in an already overcrowded legend.
I remember a time when the London Connections map used black and white patterns for the Underground to avoid confusion with the coloured main lines.
British Rail London Connections 1988 (first image only) thanks to Steve Collins [source]:
Later they also started using black and white shadings on the underground lines. Here is a map dated Sept 2002. I don't know when this started or stopped.
However TfL also had their own "London Connections" map! For example, here is one from October 2002 (see below). Between around 2007 and 2009, it got renamed to something like "Train Travelcard Zones" map on their website but the design and colour scheme stayed the same.
Between 2007 and late 2009, TfL also had a "High Frequency Services Map" which used the same design as "London Connections" map:
Towards the end of 2009, TfL stopped making the "London Connections" map as well as the high frequency map. Instead, they produced a "new" map, called "Oyster Rail services in London":
At a quick glance, I don't believe National Rail put this Oyster map on their website. Around the summer of 2011, the "London’s Rail & Tube services Map" was formed as a joint collaboration between TfL and National Rail and produced by ATOC (see below). On the National Rail website, it appeared at some point in Sept 2011 labelled as "London's Rail & Tube services map by TfL/ATOC". All other "London Connections" maps were removed from the main public page and it seems to have stayed this way ever since. Note that National Rail still produce the "London & the South East Map" which shows the greater area of South East England.
I don't know if TfL ever made a black and white version of their London Connections map.
National Rail, rather confusingly, also made a map called "London & the South East Map by Network Rail" and the underground lines that were left in were shown in black and white. This seems to have ended in Sept 2016 though I may be wrong. Here is an example from 2014:
One individual has written about the history of the "London Connections" map but I've not had a chance to read it:
- Do the Jubilee and Northern Line have the same colours on the black and white map as the colour map? - Has the cross hatching styles for the other lines changed over the years?
I've dug out my very tatty copy of the 1963 edition of the Ian Allan ABC of London Transport Railways which has an official LT black and white map. Unfortunately when I was a small kid I scrawled over it but here's the index panel showing the styles used then for each line:
Whilst I was trawling through the archives I found a full scanned copy of the black and white map. Presuambly it comes from a diary (the scan is slightly slanted).
I managed the production of the first vector graphics maps.
The map on the link pre-dates this by several years and the work was after the Jubilee Line Extension opened and the North London line had been removed.
You are quite right about the map I posted, I've made a mistake there. I never bothered to zoom extremely closely before because the resolution was very good it always seemed like a vector graphic*, but if you do zoom really closely into that map, it is indeed actually a gif/jpeg (or whatever) inserted into a pdf! My eyes really are fading me! I will ammend that post shortly.
Interestingly, if you look at the next earliest link (that I can find on the archives) [here], it was archived on July 2003, has the North London Line and doesn't seem to lose any quality when you zoom in up to 6400%. Yes, I really did zoom in 6400% in Adobe . But this is a large print map.
*What is the definition of a "vector graphic" because it appears I am lacking some understanding here?
May I also ask a few questions about it:
- Do the Jubilee and Northern Line have the same colours on the black and white map as the colour map? - Has the cross hatching styles for the other lines changed over the years?
The Central line always appeared orange to me through the 60s and 70s. It may have been that red fades, but even car line diagrams appeared orange from new. Even platform roundels appeared more orange with a blue bar across the system than red!
I have a similar childhood memory, when drawing underground maps I would always select an orange pencil or felt-tip for the central line, although I did perceive the bar on the roundel/bullseye as red.
I was definitely an adult before I realised that the Central line colour was red. It was possibly only when, for a while, the British Rail lines were shown in orange on the "tube" map that I finally accepted the red of the Central line.
Slightly not related, I always liked the monochrome versions from the 1960's and 1970's such as this black and white map. It was something about the way that there were many pairings e.g. the District and Piccadilly lines. I certainly saw versions of this map with the Jubilee line on, and some with the East London Section and Highbury Branch with their own distinct patterns.
Age, experience, state of mind and language all may play a role in how we perceive colour:
You may also be interested to know that TfL continue to produce the black and white tube map. There are digital copies (vector graphics format) dating back to at least March 1996. Vector graphics format (.ps, .eps, .pdf, .svg etc) allow you to zoom in and out without loss of quality and see more clearly the details and patterns you speak of. (Note sometimes a jpg/gif is placed in a pdf, these are not vector graphic images). It took a bit longer for a printable version of the digital colour map to be made available - presumably because of the larger file sizes and the slow download speeds of modem connections at the time. There were still interactive digital maps but many of these no longer work in the archives.
The earliest (vector graphic) black and white digital map seems to be [here].
As promised earlier, I've updated the map. The v3.9 is online now : cartometro.com/metro-tram-london/ I couldn't list all the changes, but the most important are: - Opening of Meridian Water station - Layout changes at Uxbridge, Neasden & Ealing Common Depot - Paddington NR approch (up to the connection to the Elizabeth line, ready for the opening )
Thanks you for all your emails, I hope I didn't miss one !
Franklin
PS : the london line map is also updated to mention the Lea Valley Reversible line (thanks you rincew1nd for merging the threads)
I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes the say thank you for providing not just the maps, but also for taking the time to update them!
Mornington_Crescent closed on the 23 October 1992, only opening in 1998 [wiki].
As you said, Waterloo and City Line transferred to LU in 1 April 1994 [wiki]:
From the legend provided with the map [link], this must mean the map dates between 1992 and 1994. According to [this] website, there can only be three tube maps which it could have been:
March 1992 November 1992 January 1993 December 1993 May 1994
If you look at ebay pictures of the Nov 1992 map [link] and Jan 1993 [link], they both have the text below in their legends, which is not present in the legend we have.
West India Quay closed for rebuilding
This leads me to believe that it is likely a map based on the Dec 1993 tube map which does not have the message [link]. Curiously though, in the tube maps, there are two legends, one on the bottom left and one on the bottom right. The authors of the archived website seemed to have merged the two legends, but left out the specific details about the station opening times. They presented this merged legend as a separate image on the website. On the thumbnail of the map located on the archived website*, only one legend is visible, the one on the left. Perhaps this was a poster then?
*The thumbnail of the entire map from the archive is located [here] but is sadly so small that it is almost imperceptible.
That's interesting as it clearly dates from before the Waterloo & City line transferred to TfL in April 1994.
What was frustrating is that the other images (for other areas of the map) failed to load. The rest of the webpage loaded properly! This is one of the reasons I tried to look on railway sites - in case they put the tube map on their websites as well. Couldn't find anything though sadly.
It also has step-free information on it in a far less disruptive and more informative manner than the present map does!
Ha!
I'm not including the in-car diagrams in this archive at the momemnt. I'll see about adding them in the future though.
If it is a matter of time, I am more than happy to help with this. I am about 40% of the way through decompiling, renaming (by date) and reorganising the car diagrams from TFL's current website. Basically I download the diagrams for each line, split the x-page document into x single paged pdf documents, and then rename manually all the documents by checking the date listed in each one on the bottom right. I don't bother to verify that the text date listed on the bottom right in the images, matches the extremely small (but still viewable if you zoom really close) numbered date listed just above the text date. This would take much longer and is probably uncessary - TfL are unlikely to have made a mistake and you need a consistent way of labelling the dates of the car diagrams anyway.
I'll probably finish this very soon. I had a look through the car diagrams on the FOI requests. Many seem to have faint blue lines, I think to show where to cut the poster to size. So these are slightly larger. If I remember correctly, a few had part numbers on them but I don't remember if they had the faint blue lines or not.
This is interesting. The DLR is shown as running from Poplar to Beckton but not through to Bank/Tower Gateway, which represents the period from 1994-03-28 to 1995-07-31. Aldwych and Ongar are open, meaning it's before 1994-09-30. The map I have that I've dated 1995-01 (I don't know how I didated that though) shows the DLR running all the way through. The Bakerloo line is shown only to Queen's Park, which might represent the 10-day period at the end of October 1999 when the Bakerloo line was cloesd north of Queens Park for engineering work, but it would be odd to produce a map just for that, when the line was cut back in the 1980s it was only to Stonebridge Park not Queen's Park, CULG has no changes of note on the Bakerloo line in 1994. I don't know whether it is official or not and have run out of time I can spend looking for now.
Regarding the unofficial map, I found it [here]. The author calls it "Central London Map" but he doesn't put "official next to it", either because he doesn't know, or indeed it is unofficial. Note he does not put "official" next to the jle website, which was a website designed by the original JLE team***. From the original image link, it seems someone has uploaded the image to a hosting company called "Odyssey".
When you get the time, I definitely recommend (for fun) having a look at a [website] in the archives that I came across. From this link, you can see several things:
1) The website was created by someone called "John Francis Rowland" and he has created many wonderful unofficial maps. If anyone knows him, he may be able to give more information about that "unofficial" tube map listed above. 2) It provides evidence of an early version of a geographically accurate tube map posted on the London Transport website, which sadly [doesn't load]. 3) From this website, you can access another website which shows an [unofficial map] of how many stations had step free access. Quite interesting to see how far (or not) we have progressed since then!
4) This website has many links to other websites, with lots of interesting historic transport photos.
I also thought this was pretty cool. TfL had a [webpage] on ghost stations!
*** In case anyone has any objections regarding the jle website, (Jubilee Line extension and Aldwych images), if you go [here], there is clearly a link to the jle website. When you visit the jle website homepage, it was created by "Clayton Delamere Ltd." Visiting earlier in the archive of the site [here], you can see that the site was designed by the team delivering the project.
Last Edit: Apr 25, 2020 13:51:12 GMT by londoner: made it easier to read.
Hi Chris, thanks for the swift response. I apologise if some of the maps were indeed repeats. Its hard to tell. I've gone through the FOI requests as well. I had already added all the links I found for the car diagrams before reading your post so apologies for that! Some of these stretch a little the definition of what should be included, but I've tried to move the more obvious inclusions near the front! I also put the ones which perhaps aren't going to be considered into a reference one below, but yeah its entirely up to you!
I'm not sure if these maps meet your criteria either, but these are all the ones I've found from "whatdotheyknow.com". Again, please check dates, I've tried my best here:
I found some more maps. They may or may not fit the criteria which can be added to the collection but I'll post them here at least for reference. I made a best guess of the dates.
There is a version of the DLR route map which doesn't have the text about things changing in January 2000. Unfortunately I don't think the large version of the map is available.
I'm sure I've read before that there is a national rail station which has a cat which regulaly wonders around the station but I can't remember the name of the station.