please empty your brain below
Hate speech against 'Way out' arrows.

Still Anon | 11.08.22 - 7:34 a.m. | #

A classic DG. Many people will have noticed these infelicities. But it takes DG to give a clear and apparently complete account of them, in words, pictures and diagrams, and go the step beyond, in making an intelligent conjecture about the reasons for them, and convincingly expounding these reasons.

Malcolm of Kent | 11.08.22 - 7:38 a.m. | #

I have now learned to make my own way at TCR. Similar strategies are employed in the older part of the station, especially for entry to Central Line - and at least in the rush hour, such restrictions make sense.

The Banbury Man | Homepage | 11.08.22 - 7:46 a.m. | #

My first courting in 1966 was centred on the unsignposted spiral staircase at TCR: my girlfriend was an expert at navigating the station but I was new to London.

Ian | 11.08.22 - 7:48 a.m. | #

Thank you for the research on TCR “exits” (or not). Just how long would it take with a stick and dodgy legs?
I will not be visiting any time soon.

Jo W | 11.08.22 - 8:34 a.m. | #

I can’t see how the future busy train at rush hour situation gets helped, as presumably many of the passengers in that event would be commuters that know the shortest routes, so you’d still get contra flow in the key corridor, while encouraging extra platform dwell time for newbies wandering about to the ‘correct’ exit.

TomH | 11.08.22 - 8:54 a.m. | #

This kind of nudging passengers by signage to reduce over-crowding and risk is common over dozens of stations. The difference with Crossrail is the scale of the station So whereas before it was a minor detour now it’s a minute plus.

TfL use incredibly detailed pedestrian modelling software to work out the optimal routing and signage which yes do take account of commuters and Londoners in the know ignoring the signs. I myself once oversaw a survey of half a dozen London stations to follow passengers and see which proportion went the correct signed route, the quicker route (ignoring the signs) and the surprisingly high number of passengers who fail to follow the signs and end up going an even more convoluted route.

David | 11.08.22 - 9:02 a.m. | #

All designed to link into new and exciting longer ways round when Crossrail 2 opens (which won’t be in my lifetime).

Philip Downer | 11.08.22 - 9:03 a.m. | #

I wish there was a shortcut to beat the new Victoria Line to Distict route at Victoria. It's fine when you are heading for the Victoria Line but in the other direction it's grim.

ap | 11.08.22 - 9:14 a.m. | #

And I thought Monty Python's vicious gangs of Keep Left signs were nasty...

daveid76 | 11.08.22 - 9:26 a.m. | #

These people should be grateful for their tour of Crossrail's beautiful architecture.

Scott | Homepage | 11.08.22 - 9:30 a.m. | #

I wonder how much pandemic-era social distancing has influenced the thinking here.

dg writes: These signs were already in place in July 2018

graybo | Homepage | 11.08.22 - 10:09 a.m. | #

Appreciate the heads up on this, although I can think of few instances when the extra 60 seconds would be game changing. Indeed, on days like today, an extra minute away from the furnace-like conditions of the street and tube would be a blessing!

Frank F | 11.08.22 - 10:25 a.m. | #

As I don't use the Liz that often, I haven't got to the stage of working out "regulars" routes, but going from the Northern to the Liz the other day, I was conscious that my route seemed suboptimal, and had thought to myself that I would try and work out an alternative the next time!

Mikey C | 11.08.22 - 10:27 a.m. | #

I think it's a cunning plan hatched up by the Government to get people moving as part of their aim to reduce levels of obesity!
They withheld funding until their evil biding was done!

Cornish Cockney | 11.08.22 - 11:44 a.m. | #

Once was more than enough at the then-new King's Cross Piccadilly LIne exit; ever since, I've avoided the route-march by reverting to the short route to the original ticket hall, so thanks for publishing all this detail for the Liz line.

An extra few minutes' walking may be more irritant than huge problem for the able-bodied, but, as DG says, anyone less able or with heavy bags, children, etc, won't relish tedious and unnecessary circumnavigations.

Labourer | 11.08.22 - 12:35 p.m. | #

I'm sure we walked much further than necessary at Bank some years ago. I wonder how long it would take a local to work out the quickest exit from TCR Station.

Andrew | Homepage | 11.08.22 - 12:42 p.m. | #

As David has mentioned, as these things are not left to chance, this must be some kind of modelled human traffic/congestion management - though I would have thought in an emergency, the priority would for the quickest route out versus always allowing the shortest route onto the platforms.

Patrick | 11.08.22 - 1:12 p.m. | #

Most of these connecting passageway are so wide you could drive two cars down them side by side. They don't need to be one-way.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 11.08.22 - 1:13 p.m. | #

I thought the same, Patrick.

Before seeing the diagram I had a picture in my head of passengers alighting at the front and the rear being directed to a single central exit for some reason.

anonymous | 11.08.22 - 2:43 p.m. | #

There is something similar going on at Moorgate changing to northern line. Following the signs at one point takes you up, out a ticket barrier, through another ticket barrier and back down. I know this isn’t the only connection as it only prompts you to do this Elizabeth to Northern, not Northern to Elizabeth.

Josh Gordon | 11.08.22 - 6:10 p.m. | #

"Ignore all 'Keep Left' and 'Keep Right ' signs they are merely political slogans"! (Circa 1948)

Mike D | 11.08.22 - 9:24 p.m. | #

I would guess that you spent a good deal of time wandering up and down an almost empty set of corridors, perhaps going back on yourself, timing your progress and taking numerous photographs, and no-one in the Control Room thought that there was anything at all odd going on. Unless of course some-one said "Here, who is that geezer ..."

strawbrick | 11.08.22 - 9:59 p.m. | #

I find your use of the words 'the bastards' (about 6 times) both unamusing and gratuitously offensive. Surprising, as your use of the English language is usually so sound and expressive.

arthur | 11.08.22 - 10:24 p.m. | #

Seven.
There are seven bastards.

Paul | 11.08.22 - 11:48 p.m. | #

On at least 4 photos the “lift” signs do not appear to have arrows indicating which way to go to reach them.

Kev | 12.08.22 - 12:01 a.m. | #

I imagine these extra minutes were not considered when journey time savings were calculated for Crossrail's cost/benefit analysis. It seems that the value of a minute's time (multiplied by millions of passenger journeys) can either be massive or negligible depending on the answer one wishes to get.

Alan | 12.08.22 - 6:48 a.m. | #

Whenever I leave an LNER train at Kings X to access the Victoria Line for my journey to Victoria I feel sorry for the tourist, encumbered with heavy luggage, who descending the nearest steps is shown an arrow to go right which takes them for a tour of the subways and will probably put them at the back of a Victoria Line for Victoria where the exit is of course at the front. I understand this may have been to spread the flow but why inconvenience so many passengers?

JOHN PARKIN | 12.08.22 - 5:19 p.m. | #

I nearly included five more paragraphs about the evil arrows leading to the Central line, but I thought that might be overdoing it.

Here's what I edited out...

And there's more.

Tottenham Court Road isn't meant to be a good connection between Crossrail and the Central line. If travelling west you'd be better off changing at Liverpool Street and if travelling east changing, eventually, at Bond Street. But if you do try it my word it's a long trek, and TfL have again deliberately made it much longer than it needs to be.

There's no direct connecting passageway, they chose not to waste money on one, so instead you have to go up the main escalators to the ticket hall, tap out, cross the concourse, tap in and head down the bank of escalators on the far side. They've even had to add a poster halfway to convince sceptical interchangers that they're on the right track.

The true deception starts at the foot of the Central line escalators with an evil arrow directing you left into a sidepassage. A much shorter route exists down steps to the right but this has been labelled 'No entry' to deter usage. Those in the know often ignore the sign, skip down two flights of stairs and are on the platforms within 20 seconds. Those who obey the signs instead find themselves in the Evil Overshoot Passage, which was very much the creation of a team of bastards.

The Evil Overshoot Passage has been operational for several years now and exists to funnel arriving passengers the full length of the Central line platforms. After you've walked past two more unsigned staircases, probably a busker and down the final narrow set of steps you'll have walked a full two minutes longer than if you'd taken that first shortcut, arriving on the platform at the very back of the train instead of the very front.

Congestion is much more of an issue here, so you can see why they've done it, but it's still embedded cruelty to make everyone walk the full length of a train down a deliberately-built really long passage every single time. The bastards.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 12.08.22 - 10:34 p.m. | #

Top content. I noticed the old trap at TCR central line last time I used it, and, I've not lived in London for 23 years. Fairly sure it wasn't that evil in the 90s :-)

Oddly enough one thing the New York subway doesn't seem to suffer from is these sorts of games, save for a bit at Times Square. Not sure I am ready to do a mapping expedition yet.

Andrew | 20.08.22 - 5:45 p.m. | #











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