please empty your brain below

Exactly, and this is the point. If you need to go between the two, you might have thought "I wonder if the W&C line is open? Oh, I dunno, I'll go another way"

Whereas now, you can be fairly sure, 6 days a week, that yes, it is open.
That is good news.
Many past times on a Saturday I have stood by the door on a Central Line train looking to see if the Waterloo and City line train indicator sign at Bank station was lit, which normally meant the line was still open. Much quicker way of getting from Liverpool Street or Bethnal Green to Waterloo than having to change at Tottenham Court Road. Perhaps the line should appear on the tube/rail maps in a darker colour so more people are aware of it. Although the route always seems busy when I use it.
Never on.a Sunday... Unless the Northern line is closed for engineering works anyway
Seeing as it's crewed by Central line drivers, and it's Central Line stock on the line, and it's controlled by Central Line management - perhaps it should be coloured red and become part of the the central line, just like the Aldwych branch of the Piccadilly was a spur, so could this be. The bright red colour might make more people use it.

The colour currently used on the w&c would then babe free to be used for Crossrail, or when they split the northern line officially in two which is slowly but surely coming, on the Edgware branch.

The other good thing that this means is that there will no longer be repetitive and tedious announcements on the PA at other stations telling us that the w&c is closed. (Except on Sundays)
I've been wondering about this -- perhaps it is to allow evening and Saturday closures of parts of the Northern line (if one central Northern branch closes every night at 9pm, say, this provides another route to the other branch)
I wonder also if it is in preparation for redevelopment at Bank station, providing a route towards South London while the Northern platforms are re-jigged and the interchange tunnels are less usable. (It's worth noting that there are alternative routes from the Bank area towards North London from Moorgate, but none head southwards)
Perhaps they're doing it so that Boris can say he's reduced overcrowding on the tube. The percentage of overcrowded trains will be lower after this.
I like the Drain, and its quirky history: it is, in different ways, both the second oldest and second newest Tube line, and shares with the Northern City Line the distinction of having been electrified on three different systems, and having been owned by British Rail for much of its history.

But with a six to ten minute interval, and several minutes more on the Travelator, the Drain is rarely faster than going via London Bridge, so I really can't see that it is worth running it except as a peak-hour jambuster.
I think the W&C should only run Monday to Friday between 0700-1000 and 1600-1900 as these are the only times this line is truly busy. At other times it should be signposted "Take Jubilee line to London Bridge and then Northern Line to Bank." (Vice versa for journeys starting at Bank).

This is because the Jubilee/Northern will be busy during peaks but not at other times, and the W&C trains are like a ghost train during off-peaks/Saturdays. Remember the W&C drivers also run the Central and I would rather more Centrals than W&Cs. I think the line should be coloured red but with casing to denote you can't go from Liverpool Street-Waterloo on one train and to indicate peak hour service.
And if you have a pay as you go travelcard the W&C gives tfl plenty of opportunities to overcharge you, give you a max fare fine etc etc.
It is, as I discovered recently, an awfully long way to go to the ticket machines to top up your Oyster if you discover, on arrival at the W&C barriers at bank, that your card is out of credit (or to buy a ticket if you have forgotten your card).

But yes, the absence of barriers to enter or exit the Drain at Waterloo is highly confusing - made more so by the nearby barriers controlling access to/egress from the quite separate SWT controlled area.
Part of the Bank station upgrade will, I believe, include a new entrance being constructed close to the Waterloo end of the Drain platforms (currently a dead end, and miles from the rest of the complex at that). This entrance will, ironically, be almost on the opposite side of the road to Cannon Street.

For those of us living in Waterloo-served main line territory, the W&C is by far the best way to cross the city, and its habit of closing early or never opening was a severe impediment to leisure travel. It also doubtless had a negative effect on the numbers of non-regular passengers using it (which is the same argument as the one against closing the District's Olympia service).
@swirly"Part of the Bank station upgrade will, I believe, include a new entrance being constructed close to the Waterloo end of the Drain platforms."

If only - the new entrance will be connected to the foot of the travelator - the Waterloo end of the platforms (which are actually quite close to Mansion House station's booking hall) would be much more useful - apart from anything else, it would spread the passengers over the length of the train instead of everyone cramming to the Bank end.
I remember when the Waterloo and City was part of Network South East. Were National Rail (or rather BR) tickets to "London Terminals" valid into Waterloo also valid to Bank then?

I don't think they are now so I'm curious to know if this changed.
No, I don't think "London Terminals" ever officially included Bank. (Although I understand the barrier staff there frequently encounter people who claim to believe that it does)
You can, of course, go via Waterloo East and London Bridge to Cannon Street
To amplify my previous - the W&C was built by the LSWR to remedy a major disadvantage it had over all the other companies serving London: it was the only one not to have direct access to the City - albeit the LNWR's route to Broad Street was a bit circuitous, and provided you allow a "near miss" for the Brighton, whose "City" terminus was the other side of London Bridge.
The Drain was an attempt to attract City gents to the LSWR hinterland. But it was a major investment, (and a bi risk, as the first Deep Tube to be built since the pioneer City & South London). Yes, they would charge attractive fares, but they needed some return on that investment, so couldn't afford to let people travel for free. So fares to from the SW suburbs to Bank have always been higher than fares to Waterloo.
I wonder if this change is due to the redevelopment of London Bridge.

Many trains from SE London won't go to Waterloo East or Charing Cross nor even stop at London Bridge in a year or so's time.

With everything ending up at Cannon Street, increasing access at Bank seems like a common sense (albeit half-hearted) solution to the problem of leaving passengers at what is, off peak, a bit of an awkward location.










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