Obviously the wall to wall coverage of the London bombings is continuing today, but here are a couple of things that have raised my ire over the morning.
Lots of reporters were out and about at the major stations this morning seeing how Londoners were coping with transport in this morning, and would they get back on the tubes. Many of the reporters noted that trains seemed quite empty this morning and then asked the question, was it because they’d been warned to stay away this morning (yes) or was it because they were scared of using the tube (emphatically no). OK – so a few people won’t want to get on a train again, but then some people won’t get on a plane again after learning of a plane crash. And plenty of people die every day on the roads, often in circumstances in which they were entirely blameless. Sometimes, they might not drive again. But the reality is that we all “get back on the horse”. We have to. We work in London, and short of moving out, we’ve got no choice.
Three million people a day use the tube. How else are they going to move around London? Bus? Bike? Walk?
There’s also the small matter of several lines being closed or as good as closed. For example, the Picaddilly line is closed between Arnos Grove and Hyde Park – ie. the whole of north and central London. As a consequence, the Victoria Line is hit hard, and GNER services are still not coming any further that Peterborough, hitting WAGN services with extra travellers.
And it seems as thought the Picaddilly Line in particular is likely to be closed for some time to come – probably months – since bodies are still being recovered and there are reports that the tunnel might actually be in danger of collapse.
The other thing is talk about how ID Cards may or may not have prevented this outrage. Even Charles Clarke isn’t claiming that the cards would have made any difference.
And one final thing. Let’s name and shame those hotels that were stinging commuters stuck in London for hundreds of pounds more than their normal rates last night.