A Conversation for The London Underground
Camden Town Station
YompeR Started conversation Aug 6, 2002
Camden Town is, arguably, the oddest station on the network, both for
its multi-directional travel posibilities (on no less than four different branches of the same line) and for it's unique clientele.
Camden is the bohemian capital of London, particularly at the weekend, and you can be sure that, if you are traveling on the Northern Line on a saturday or sunday, a negligble proportion of your fellow travelers would get through an airport check-in unhindered (either because their faces would set off the metal detector alarms or they would be savaged by the sniffer dogs).
These "people" are drawn by the weekend markets which are a topic for elsewhere.
This teaming multitude causes a significant problem of overcrowding, and Camden Town tube station approaches the problem by engageing in a major confusion offensive including such tactics as:
-Randomising the "dot matrix" indicators on the platforms (so they tell people the next train will be in 72 minutes and is heading for Glasgow)
- Occasionally making the station "Exit only", and advising people at the top to go to Chalk Farm or Mornington Crescent (but only if they know the rules)
- In extreme circumstances, switching off the lights and pretending there's nobody in.
Unfortunately, none of these tactics appear to disuade anyone from
going there, but, in my presence, have been used to justify one of the more colourful characters urinating copiously over a bench on platform 3.
TOP TIP: Ignore the information screens at your peril! At Camden Town they are an invaluable resource. They will inform you exactly when the next train won't arrive and tell you exactly what it's destination isn't.
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Camden Town Station
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