Our first venture on the UK underground train system, not counting the trains used to get around Heathrow airport, was at the Uxbridge train station. Our first challenge was working out which train to get on, but as we walked around the rather outdated slightly grubby station we saw help in sight! That help was by way of an underground train staff member who was standing near the electronic gate system used to control passengers getting off and on the trains. She seemed to look worried the closer we got to her, I am guessing she was used to having to deal with confused foreign tourists and the dramas such dealings can bring. But hey, we were just two down to Earth pretty laid back Kiwis – what problem could we possibly create? Our conversation went something like this: .
“Hi, how are ya?” I greeted her
“Pardon?” she replied.
Remembering my experience with the sim card shop worker and the debacle of bus “A10 / 18” I decided to skip any more attempts at pleasantries, and just get to the point.
“Hi, um, we are needing to get to Aldridge please.”
We had tickets for London Tower and Madame Tousards in London this day, which is why we were catching the train.
“Oh, I see, where is it you are wanting to go?”
“Aldridge, we need to get to Aldridge in London?”
“Aldridge?”
Seriously, how can a train staff member not know which train goes to Aldridge!
“Yes, Aldridge, in London.” I replied, attempting a slight English accent, but realising I just sounded more Indian now than English, which resulted in her looking even more puzzled.
“Oh, ah, well the Piccadilly line will take you to London.”
“Ok, but will that take us to Aldridge?”
At this stage she was starting to look at me and Di a bit like a highly nervous member of the public who had just inadvertently walked down a no exit dark alley and been confronted by an adult in a chicken costume singing “My ding a ling”
“Ah, w-well, I think it is the Piccadilly line you want, that will take you into L-London” She said, this time with a slight nervous stutter.
I decided it was time to politely smile, slowly move away backwards, one step at a time and say “Thanks.”
But as I made this tactical retreat, and Di followed my lead, I realised I still had no idea how you pay, where you pay or when you pay. So, much to the staff member’s terror I stopped moving away and approached her again. She appeared to be checking out her options for a quick exit, but realised there was no escape from the Aldridge seekers!
Luckily for her and us it was a quick easy instruction, just swipe or tap your credit card at the electronic gate/barrier to get to and on the train, then at the station you get off at swipe it again to get out the station – your card gets charged accordingly.
It is actually a great system, as long as you use the same credit card, the charge will just appear on your account. As mentioned earlier the London bus system is similar, but you only need tap/swipe your card once – as you get on. However the buses are way cheaper at just a pound, and though I can’t remember the exact charges for the trains, by memory it varied from around 3 to 6 pounds per journey depending on how far you travelled.
Once we were onboard our first London destined train I looked up at one of the signs that showed all the different stops. This was when I had an “Ohhhhh” moment. The train station we were needing was called Aldgate, not Aldridge. Aldridge, though it is a town that does in fact exist somewhere in England, certainly is not a train station name. Somehow in my still jet lagged brain I had combined the town names of Uxbridge and Aldgate and come up with the name Aldridge.
Dear train station staff member – if you happen to be reading this, I’m so sorry! I’m sure they have a workers counselling service that you can access – if you have still not recovered from your encounter with us.
One of my surprises using the underground train system that serves the greater London area so well is, not all of it is underground! In fact more of it (55%) is actually above ground rather than underground. However, this does not change the fact it is an amazing system that can take you from almost any main town within greater London to another main town quickly and easily. In saying that, some trains are much faster than others, where some will stop at every or almost every station, others will go direct from one main stop to another and appear to travel at a higher speed accordingly. In total there are 250 miles of track on the London Underground train system, with 270 stations.
Beware that, as I have said before, we didn’t find signage to be very good in the UK, neither directional or information based. For example, we didn’t notice any clear signage explaining which trains were direct, and which stopped at most stops. Not to say there wasn’t any, it’s just that it wasn’t that obvious to a degree where you couldn’t help but see it and take notice of it. I guess my advice in this regard is – have a good look around – there may just be signs providing the information you need, but in some cases you will need to look long and hard to find them!
Once on the train, hoping you have the right one, there are fairly regular voice overs that tell you the final stop of that train, and what stations it will stop at. So if you are worried you aren’t on the right train, listen in for the in-train announcements and that should put your mind at rest – or conversely it will put you in a state of panic and you will try and exit the train as fast as you can before the doors close. There are also signs up in the carriages that show the different stops which will be helpful for most tourists – and there are apps available to help with your travel plans using the underground system.
One of the real “treats” on the underground trains is hearing the message “Mind the gap” over, and over again, every time the train is stopping at a station, and as new passengers are boarding the train. Seriously – though I am sure most people would say it is very monotonous and after you have heard it the 2764th time, you never want to hear it again – I found hearing it great! It was that real touch of Britain that I wanted to experience.