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Having spent the last couple of days scooting around London I've really begun to realise how important 'The tube' is to London, its commuters and its tourists.<br />

The Tube

Chris Jack
2006-02-28 19:45:58

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Having spent the last couple of days scooting around London I've really begun to realise how important 'The tube' is to London, its commuters and its tourists.

So as you can imagine, the devastating bombings on the 7th July, that could have torn the heart out of this city and its occupants, didn’t. I don't think it’s because of the citizen's resilience (yet there is no doubting they are a resilient bunch) or the city’s history in dealing with violent attacks - through the Second World War and the IRA bombings during the 1970s and 1980s. I think it comes down to one thing: They are too damn busy to worry about it.

In the overall timeline of the city of London, the Tube bombings were a mere heart flutter and although there are undoubtedly a number of people affected by what happened on July 7th and then again with the failed bombings on July 21, the vast majority of people have to get on with what they are doing because the city of London is a darn busy place and everybody has to be somewhere!

I experienced the most packed tube ride ever last night. I jumped on a southbound train on the Northern line which was so full of people and when I mean full, I’m not talking Sydney-full(which is an experience in itself), you need to double the discomfort, halve the air and multiply the numbers of fellow passengers by two to get an idea of a peak hour tube experience. Yet it doesn’t stop people from catching it.

I’m sure there are many people who could walk to work (during the summer months at least) but they all seem to choose to catch this crowded, overheated but very efficient means of transportation, yet it is fast overtaking weather as Londoners’ favourite gripe. Funny really, compared to public transport in Sydney, the tube is from another planet as far as efficiency is concerned.

I've caught about a dozen trains so far in my time in London, never waiting more than four minutes for one to arrive at a station. Trains just keep arriving and its brilliant.

I will leave you with a couple of interesting (if somewhat quirky) facts about the London Underground

§ Travelling on the tube for 40 minutes is the equivalent of smoking two cigarettes - so save yourself a packet, all you smokers and get on the tube more often

§ Pigeons regularly travel from West Ham in east London to central London on the tube in order to get more food.

So if the pigeons prefer The Tube to flying, how could anybody doubt its great importance to the city of London and the need people have to keep on using it despite the bombings on July 7th?