Stations Of The Dross

By london_will Last edited 217 months ago
Stations Of The Dross
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A public-spirited chap called Carl Court has provided the BBC with a dossier of photos that reveal the shocking state of many railway stations in London and the South-east. London stations that get named and shamed include London Bridge, Battersea Park and Charlton.

It's depressing stuff, a record of a network crumbling under the combined burdens of public disregard and official neglect.

In related transport news, it's hard to explain why we missed this interview in yesterday's Grauniad. It's with Peter Hendy, who is London's new transport supremo, taking over from Bob Kiley. He is most famous for introducing the cursed Bendy Bus ("What will mark me for the rest of my life is experiencing people being prepared to advocate active discrimination against people with disabilities for the sake of nostalgia"), defends the Tube public-private partnership ("These are consortia of listed companies; one assumes that shareholders don't want them to fail"), runs the Congestion Charge (which means he is "never alone at a party"), and castigates cyclists ("Cyclists are the bloody last people to talk about bad behaviour on the roads ... Jumping red lights ... unbelievable").

Despite this possibly making him unpopular among bus users, Tube passengers, motorists and the lycra fraternity, he comes across as a very pleasant, pragmatic and capable chap. And let's face it, this must be the most thankless job in London. The very best of luck to him.

Last Updated 02 February 2006