The Flying Scotsman at King's Cross

 I don't have any particular interest in trains or the history of railways, but when I read that the Flying Scotsman steam train was at London's King's Cross station for a weekend, I went to have a look. 

The locomotive or steam train was in London for the weekend of 15-16 October 2022. This weekend marks the 170th anniversary of King’s Cross station. The station first opened its doors to rail passengers on 14th October 1852. It is also coming up to the 100th anniversary of the Flying Scotsman that was built in 1923. It was the first locomotive for the newly formed LNER (London and North Eastern Railway). Its name was given in 1924 when it was selected to appear at the British Empire Exhibition in London and named after the daily 10 am London to Edinburgh rail service.

The locomotive was in service until 1963. It was then privately owned until it was bought by the National Railway Museum in 2004 for £2.3 million after a major fundraising campaign to save it for the nation. I visited this museum in York in 1967, before the Flying Scotsman was owned by them. After about 10 years of renovation, the Flying Scotsman now does heritage train trips.

At King's Cross I was only able to see it from a distance, as you had to buy a ticket to get up close (in any case the tickets were all sold out). I could smell the steam as soon as I entered the station, and whilst I was there, there were occasional blasts from the engine letting off steam.

Nearby in the station there were stalls selling souvenirs of the Flying Scotsman. 

This weekend is just the start of the Centenary Programme which last until Nov 2023.

London's Elizabeth line opens

The new Elizabeth underground line finally opened in London on 24 May 2022. It was a big day for London. The Crossrail project - known as the Elizabeth line - links Reading and Essex via central London.

It opened almost 4 years late and cost £18.8bn - at least £4bn over-budget. It is one of Europe's biggest construction projects. The line is 118 km long.

The line's 2 western ends are Reading in Berkshire and Heathrow, the eastern terminals are Shenfield in Essex and Abbey Wood in southeast London. The line is not completely finished and currently passengers have to change at Paddington and Liverpool Street. Ten new stations have been built for the central London section, but Bond Street is not yet open. 

The first train left from Paddington at 6.33 am on 24 May. I took the train from Canary Wharf later in the morning, after the main rush had gone. 

All the London Underground lines have different colours, and Elizabeth is purple. It is also shown on the tube map as a double line rather than a solid colour. 

The train seats have a purple colour. This moquette is a mix of purples, blues, greys, and beige, with small flashes of orange and red – a colour scheme reflecting the line’s royal associations and echoing the purple of the new line signage. Even the adverts on the platform are purple coloured.

I got off at Paddington, which is the current end of this section. I was surprised how big the station is. The underground passenger tunnels are really high and the main entrance lobby is bright and light - 

I had a quick look round Paddington Station and thought about going onto Reading, but decided to leave that for another day. So I went back down, and took the train to Whitechapel.

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Last year the new extension of the Northern line to Battersea Power Station opened.

London Underground Northern line extension to Battersea Power Station

One of several ongoing projects I have in London is to go to the end of every underground line. The London underground is very extensive and has 11 different lines. The underground opened in 1863. Parts of the line are on the surface, but a lot is underground, and the whole system is commonly known as the Tube. Nowadays there is not much new construction.

Monday 20 September 2021 was a special day, as 2 new stations on the new Northern line extension to Battersea opened. These are Nine Elms and the terminus Battersea Power Station. Construction began in 2015, and the extension is the first major expansion of the Underground since the Jubilee Line Extension opened in 1999. 

The gates to Battersea Power Station opened around 5.20 am and the first train to Kennington left soon after. Currently the trains are only running about every 12 minutes out of peak time. I went from Kennington about 10.30, where the new line was signposted -

There were quite a few people waiting for the train. It took us through Nine Elms to Battersea Power Station. Needless to say both stations are big and bright and modern. Most people were taking photos and there were lots of staff and also some media, even though it was already mid morning. 

There are no platform screen doors, unlike at some stations on the new Jubilee Line. I went up to the ticket hall -

and then up the escalator to street level -

The old power station with its iconic 4 chimneys has recently been developed as luxury apartments, having been bought by one of Malaysia's largest companies, Sime Darby. See my blogs on the power station and another blog on the chimneys.

The tube station is located between Battersea Power Station with all the new apartment blocks and the new Covent Garden market. This is the largest wholesale fruit, vegetable, and flower market in the United Kingdom, located in Nine Elms, having relocated from central London.

The route maps on all the trains has been updated to show the new extension -

A leaflet on the new extension

BBC news report on 20 Sept

A stream train on the London underground

I'm not a train or railway enthusiast, but when I read that a steam train would be running on the London underground, I had to go and have a look.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the District line, a steam train ran along parts of the London Underground. This was the last time steam trains are expected to travel into central London on the Underground network, due to signalling modernisation that will provide more frequent services and improved reliability on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.

Steam trains served the District Railway when it first opened to the public between South Kensington and Westminster on Christmas Eve, 1868.

There were 3 journeys each day on June 22 and 23. The route was from Ealing Broadway to High Street Kensington and back. On the outward journey the train ran "backwards" towards High Street Kensington, pulled by the 1923 Sarah Siddons electric locomotive. For the return journey, the steam loco Metropolitan 1 pulled it back to Ealing Broadway.

The train was comprised of the following locomotives and carriages:
Metropolitan No.1 steam locomotive
Bluebell Chesham Coaches, 387, 412, 368 & 394
District Railway Coach No.100 from the Kent and East Sussex Railway
London Transport Museum’s Metropolitan Jubilee Coach 353
Sarah Siddons electric locomotive

Tickets to ride the train were sold out in advance, despite costing over £150.

I went to Earls Court station for my first viewing. I was standing right on the platform as the train came in, which was too close for good photos

I then jumped on the regular underground train and went to Ealing Broadway, where the steam train was being watered, in preparation for the 2nd journey. People were dressed in Victorian costume and there was heritage Victorian brass instruments playing. Only ticket holders could go onto the platform where the train was standing.

And a view looking down

Komuter train - ladies only coach

I've only used the KTM Komuter train once or twice in the past, as I rarely travel by train.

This week I decided to check out the new bus terminal, Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (photos) at Bandar Tasik Selatan (TBSBTS). I took the Komuter train.

Had to wait more than 25 mins for the train which was crowded. It was hard to get on as there were several passengers with luggage standing near the doors. The train totally filled up and Polis Bantuan were trying to get people to move into the carriages and not crowd the doors. It was horrible.

So I was quite amazed when an Indian immigrant tapped my arm and offered me his seat, and made sure no one else grabbed the seat before I could sit down. Such kindness is rare in Malaysia and I made sure to thank him. I found the seats were rather narrow and I was in physical contact with the people either side. Maybe this is one reason why KTM decided to introduce the Ladies Coach last year.

The webpage says
Ladies Coach – Ladies Only At All Times (First in Malaysia)

The Ladies Coach is a coach specially reserved for lady passengers as an option when using KTM Komuter train service. It has been introduced in an effort to provide female commuters with a comfortable and safe journey, avoiding the risks of sexual harassment in a congested environment.

Apart from being located in the middle of each train, the colour Pink plays an important part in the Ladies Coach. Special stickers in pink are found on windows and doors inside the train and certain areas of the exterior.

At stations, banners are found at designated areas on poles painted in pink.

The Ladies Coach is located in the middle of each KTM Komuter train made available at all times inclusive of weekends and public holidays unless notified otherwise. Lady passengers of all ages and boys below the age of 12 accompanied by a female guardian / relative.

The Ladies Coach will be operational effective 28 April 2010. For a start, the Ladies Coach will be made available on the Sentul – Pelabuhan Klang – Sentul sector.

Needless to say the rules of Ladies Only are not adhered to, and I did see men in the ladies coach. And when I got back to Sentral quite a few men got into the ladies coach. Read this amusing blog.

I had the impression the ladies carriage occupied a good proportion of the train, but according to KTM, "The ladies coach only makes up 33.5 % of the space available in the train, while the other 66.5 % is still meant for normal passenger coaches".

At Bandar Tasik Selatan I felt sorry for those people with luggage. They had to walk up stairs with the luggage, then queue to exit, as there was only one exit aisle, which was being manned, so everyone had to hand in their ticket for inspection, or swipe the Touch n Go.

Considering BTS station will now be getting heavy use as it is the exit for the bus terminal, they really need to increase the number of exit lanes.

And when I returned to Mid Valley station the monsoon rain was pouring through the roof of the covered walkway.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission