Honestly! The fuss they make! Anyone would have thought it was complicated... :P
As expected, the Central line laid on a pretty extensive service today, with trains running from EAB - WHC, WER - NOA, MAA - HAI via NEP, LES - EPP and HAI - WOO. Now, let's start with HAI - WOO. This service was provided by a shuttle like the good old days, trundling endlessly back and forth between HAI and WOO. So, when I arrived at ROV there was about 5 minutes to go until it arrived on the outer rail, bound for HAI. Obviously I chose to get on it, rather than wait for it to get all the way to HAI, reverse, and come back round. It was a nice little trip to HAI, slightly foggy, which was very charming.
At HAI it was, of course, a simple matter of heading over to platform 3 (from platform 1) and hopping onto the next MAA train. This took me all the way to LIS, missing out only RED and BEG along the way. Easy money, no problems at all and nothing to report, apart from the train needing two attempts to get going at FAI. Doors close, slight jolt as we try for forward movement, only to be stopped immediately. Cab door opens, carriage doors open, carriage doors close, cab door closes, off we go.
And that was that, really, I arrived at LIS and was able to change for a Metropolitan line train for all stations to Harrow-on-the-Hill (HOTH). When I arrived at ROV I was informed by the boards and announcements that the Circle line wasn't running at all, that the Met was running Aldgate - HOTH and HOTH-Uxbridge and the H&C was running Egware Road - Barking and Hammersmith to Moorgate. By the time I got to LIS that seemed to have been upgraded to the H&C running Edgware Road - Barking and the Circle running Hammersmith - Aldgate. Actually Aldgate seemed to be accepting a huge number of trains, turn-arounds must've had to be pretty tight. But anyway, since the Circle and H&C are, essentially, operationally one line, the change was almost entirely formal.
Anyway, the Met took me to King's X, skipping out Barbican and that, really, was that. Although, actually, I should say that when we pulled into Moorgate there was a Met line train in platform 3. As we were informed that would be leaving first, I left my train and headed over to that one. Makes a change to leave from the bay platforms.
The journey back was, again, pretty easy and pretty uneventful. I took a Circle line train (Aldgate bound) and changed at LIS. A HAI via NEP train took me to LES, where I connected with an EPP train on platform 2. I obviously dunno who was driving, but I have never experienced driving like it, we must've been in Coded. The stops were unbelievably smooth, if Auto made those, I take everything back, they were silky. As well as that, though, power was applied in a way that's entirely new to me. We would pull away very slowly and gradually, then we'd get a hit more power, then full power. It was applied in what felt like three discrete dollops. Very unusual. After that it'd be ideally smooth all the way to the next stop, very smooth, very nice breaking profile and then a very gradual and delicate stop. Well done sir, is all I can say, although if I were to be very critical I'd like a little more smoothness in my acceleration :P
Anyway, anyway, it was good fun going east off platform 2 and watching the starter turn green. On the way up to WOO, I passed SNA, of course, which has been quite heavily vandalised. Aslef shrugged has also made reference to the graffiti there and I'm sorry to say it was very noticeable when I went through. A shame. SNA's nice.
More novelty was provided at WOO, where the HAI shuttle was being reversed off platform 2. That took me back to ROV. Commuter chaos my arse. Alright, fair enough, I know it can't've been a barrel of laughs in the rush hour and if you live out in, say Watford, or Northwood, you have my sympathy - you probably did have a tough journey in. Most Evening Standard readers, though...
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