I would say it's no different to rush hours anywhere else to be honest they are hell where ever you are but you just make do, a good book, your ipod etc help. I used to experience the Friday afternoon London rush hour and other than the tube where you may not have got a seat at least London was the start of the mainline train journey so you got a seat.
I find the overground from east london isnt too bad
There tend to be fewer tourists on overground trains too, unless they're the ones that call at Luton and Gatwick and so on, which cuts down the crowding.
I'm actually NOT complaining. This happens to me a lot on here, people think i'm moaning when i'm not. I just wanted to hear other people's take on it. Yes i said it's horrible etc but we can have our view on something, it doesn't mean we're always complaining just for saying we don't like something. Most things i start on here is for a discussion/other people's views
I'm not surprised people think you're complaining if all your posts are worded like your OP.
If nobody's complaining then it's the other poster BrokenArrow who's mistaken.
Essentially twice a day everybody wants to go to the same place, in the same direction at the same time.
Yes it is unpleasant but if your job is in central London or a part of London you have to travel through the centre to get to then you have to put up with rush hour.
My commutes in aren't too bad as I live at the start of the Victoria Line so can always get a seat. Unfortunately on the way home I have to get on at Oxford Circus so quite often don't get a seat and have to stand in a space that would be considered illegal for animals to be transported in.
As anyone who used the Underground when they had smoking carriages knows, today`s commuters have it easy by comparison. At least there`s less chance of you getting cancer now as a result!!
The most annoying thing was when you'd hear the door between the carriages open and some filthy inebriated tramp or a busker with a guitar would come through and expect you to give them money.
If thoughts could kill those ****ers would be dead 200 times over as soon as they stepped in a carriage.
But what if you're standing pressed in with someones armpit in your face and someones elbow digging in your back?
It's really not that bad most of the time, and anyway even on a crowded train you can usually manage a read of a magazine or do something on your phone.
It's not too bad for me, as long as my usual tube line is working ok. I get an early-ish train, so get a seat. And then I get the Circle Line, which is now air-conditioned and not too busy. If that's up the spout, I have to get the Northern Line, and then I get grumpy.
I never understand how some people view it as some sort of 'hell on earth', when at best it is a daily inconvenience that millions of Londonders go through every day.
Have you ever had to get the Northern Line during the rush hour? Particularly the morning rush hour?
It's not too bad for me, as long as my usual tube line is working ok. I get an early-ish train, so get a seat. And then I get the Circle Line, which is now air-conditioned and not too busy. If that's up the spout, I have to get the Northern Line, and then I get grumpy.
Have you ever had to get the Northern Line during the rush hour? Particularly the morning rush hour?
Yep. I've lived in Highgate, Kentish Town and Camden Town.
I did a stint working in Central London for 4 months over the summer several years back. The train to London Waterloo was fine as mine was one of the first stops, and the Underground was pretty ok as I had a seat more days than not, but it was the unbearable heat on the Tube that really got my goat.
The journey home was always worse though because invariably, I'd rarely get a seat so stood most days.
However, the 2 hour door-to-door journey was made bearable by the rate I was being paid whilst contracting, so unfortunately it was a necessary evil.
I commuted from South Norwood to the West End for a year in 1978/9 and vowed never again. Unreliable, overcrowded, hot, dirty and smelly - it was purgatory. God knows what it's like now, I gather it's much more crowded.
My commute is lovely. It's a mile door-to-door and on days when I don't have to go out for appointments I walk. If it's nice weather, I allow a bit of extra time so I can do the first bit across the downs, and most of the second half is through a cemetery, full of trees and wildlife and with lovely views.
If you leave early enough and you're on a halfway decent line, it's not so bad. Plus there are overground options and buses. There are ways around it for most people. I view it as reading time.
I agree, I reckon some people have the image that using the underground during rush hour is like one of those Japanese train commutes where train staff push people in for the train doors to shut! It's not that bad at all; most of the time I travel quite early in the morning and I'm also fortunate to start my journey at a station where some tube trains start from., but there's been times where I've worked late or chance my working times and yes, it's busy but it's manageable.
But what if you're standing pressed in with someones armpit in your face and someones elbow digging in your back?
In all my years of using the underground, the only time this has happened was when there was a tube strike - and had been something I expected. Even then, it occurred on the first day of a strike and then petered out on the subsequent days. It's not been a regular occurrence on daily journeys for me.
Lol it really isn't that bad, you just kind of zone out for the duration and then hey presto you're home. The people who seem to hate it most are those that don't do it very often. Then it would be a bit of horrible shock I suppose. Anyway my stop is the next one, toodle pip ;-)
I've been doing it every day for the past three years and it's f***ing horrible. Moving out of London soon because I'm not about this busy crowded life.
Comments
There tend to be fewer tourists on overground trains too, unless they're the ones that call at Luton and Gatwick and so on, which cuts down the crowding.
If nobody's complaining then it's the other poster BrokenArrow who's mistaken.
Yes it is unpleasant but if your job is in central London or a part of London you have to travel through the centre to get to then you have to put up with rush hour.
My commutes in aren't too bad as I live at the start of the Victoria Line so can always get a seat. Unfortunately on the way home I have to get on at Oxford Circus so quite often don't get a seat and have to stand in a space that would be considered illegal for animals to be transported in.
If thoughts could kill those ****ers would be dead 200 times over as soon as they stepped in a carriage.
It's really not that bad most of the time, and anyway even on a crowded train you can usually manage a read of a magazine or do something on your phone.
Have you ever had to get the Northern Line during the rush hour? Particularly the morning rush hour?
Thanks,my commute is 35 minutes door to door and is easy as pie.
Guess I deserve it!
Yep. I've lived in Highgate, Kentish Town and Camden Town.
Yes the cut and cover lines like the circle line aren't that bad. The deep level lines like the Northern line less pleasant.
The journey home was always worse though because invariably, I'd rarely get a seat so stood most days.
However, the 2 hour door-to-door journey was made bearable by the rate I was being paid whilst contracting, so unfortunately it was a necessary evil.
My commute is lovely. It's a mile door-to-door and on days when I don't have to go out for appointments I walk. If it's nice weather, I allow a bit of extra time so I can do the first bit across the downs, and most of the second half is through a cemetery, full of trees and wildlife and with lovely views.
That's Gods way of telling you to go in early ;-)
In all my years of using the underground, the only time this has happened was when there was a tube strike - and had been something I expected. Even then, it occurred on the first day of a strike and then petered out on the subsequent days. It's not been a regular occurrence on daily journeys for me.
If only it was as simple as that.