6 ms·

Well that was one part of the presentation that surprised me, I never expected the trains to not be cooled and heated. This may be simple ignorance on my part h

Well that was one part of the presentation that surprised me, I never expected the trains to not be cooled and heated. This may be simple ignorance on my part having not used most public transport systems, so is this common for underground services? How is humidity on these lines?

ido 12y ago
London has very mild weather. In developed countries public transit is usually climate controlled in less mild climates.
iaskwhy 12y ago
Here's an infographic for temperatures: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/24/article-1208723-062B1811000005DC-35_468x591.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/24/article-1208723-06... The original article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208723/Cooking-Central-Line--map-shows-hot-spots-London-Underground-unfit-transporting-cattle.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208723/Cooking-Cent...
msmithstubbs 12y ago
Part of the problem is that much of the London tube is quite deep underground. New trains on the sub-surface lines have air conditioning, but on the deeper lines it's difficult to extract the waste heat. It can be a problem in summer. I've seen a couple of passengers faint from the heat on hot days.
davb 12y ago
I was surprised on my first visit to London to see posters advising passengers to carry a bottle of water and not travel when sick due to the heat and humidity on the underground. We'd get on at one station freshly showered and hydrated then get off at another drenched in sweat and ready to pass out. We used the tube extensively on our visit and it was by far the most uncomfortable (from an environmental perspective) public transport system we've used. I'm not sure what makes the London underground so different from the systems in Glasgow (admittedly very small), Munich, Barcelona or LA. Perhaps it really is so much deeper under ground. That said, the contactless payment system was fantastic. Being able to use my credit card to move around the city without buying a separate ticket was very convenient.
- k-mcgrady 12y ago
  >> "We'd get on at one station freshly showered and hydrated then get off at another drenched in sweat and ready to pass out." Imagine the tens of thousands of people turning up to work like that every morning.
  - davb 12y ago
    I did have this thought. I figured people must just accept it (like people living in humid countries might), or shower at work (if they have those facilities). Or perhaps it's only that bad during some months of the year.
- gsnedders 12y ago
  It really is deeper than the others you list — only Barcelona comes at all close. The other issue is it has a few lines that are really crowded, which means what cooling ability it has is pushed to its limits. The fact the subsurface lines have had many of their historic vents closed off for above-ground development now steam trains are a thing of the past doesn't help there, either. At least Glasgow has other environmental factors keeping it cool — the fact it's a short circle with two underground crossings of the Clyde (which keeps the surrounding tunnels cool) really helps it in the summer, as well as moderating the temperature in the winter. It does get pretty ridiculously humid in the winter compared with outdoors — I have many memories of walking into the stations just to have my glasses steam up and be unable to see anything! It's also much, much shallower than the deep level lines in London (the deepest station in Glasgow is something like half the depth of the deepest in London).
  - davb 12y ago
    I didn't realise passing under the Clyde had such an affect, that's quite interesting. I would have thought, however, that being mixed overground/underground (on many London lines) would make air circulation an easier problem to tackle. Ah, I do have similar memories of my (possibly rose tinted) glasses steaming up, but it was always so much cooler and I never felt that I couldn't catch a breath of clean air.
- 12y ago

ido 12y ago

London has very mild weather. In developed countries public transit is usually climate controlled in less mild climates.

iaskwhy 12y ago

Here's an infographic for temperatures: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/24/article-1208723-062B1811000005DC-35_468x591.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/08/24/article-1208723-06... The original article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208723/Cooking-Central-Line--map-shows-hot-spots-London-Underground-unfit-transporting-cattle.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208723/Cooking-Cent...

msmithstubbs 12y ago

Part of the problem is that much of the London tube is quite deep underground. New trains on the sub-surface lines have air conditioning, but on the deeper lines it's difficult to extract the waste heat. It can be a problem in summer. I've seen a couple of passengers faint from the heat on hot days.

davb 12y ago

I was surprised on my first visit to London to see posters advising passengers to carry a bottle of water and not travel when sick due to the heat and humidity on the underground. We'd get on at one station freshly showered and hydrated then get off at another drenched in sweat and ready to pass out. We used the tube extensively on our visit and it was by far the most uncomfortable (from an environmental perspective) public transport system we've used. I'm not sure what makes the London underground so different from the systems in Glasgow (admittedly very small), Munich, Barcelona or LA. Perhaps it really is so much deeper under ground. That said, the contactless payment system was fantastic. Being able to use my credit card to move around the city without buying a separate ticket was very convenient.

k-mcgrady 12y ago
>> "We'd get on at one station freshly showered and hydrated then get off at another drenched in sweat and ready to pass out." Imagine the tens of thousands of people turning up to work like that every morning.
- davb 12y ago
  I did have this thought. I figured people must just accept it (like people living in humid countries might), or shower at work (if they have those facilities). Or perhaps it's only that bad during some months of the year.
gsnedders 12y ago
It really is deeper than the others you list — only Barcelona comes at all close. The other issue is it has a few lines that are really crowded, which means what cooling ability it has is pushed to its limits. The fact the subsurface lines have had many of their historic vents closed off for above-ground development now steam trains are a thing of the past doesn't help there, either. At least Glasgow has other environmental factors keeping it cool — the fact it's a short circle with two underground crossings of the Clyde (which keeps the surrounding tunnels cool) really helps it in the summer, as well as moderating the temperature in the winter. It does get pretty ridiculously humid in the winter compared with outdoors — I have many memories of walking into the stations just to have my glasses steam up and be unable to see anything! It's also much, much shallower than the deep level lines in London (the deepest station in Glasgow is something like half the depth of the deepest in London).
- davb 12y ago
  I didn't realise passing under the Clyde had such an affect, that's quite interesting. I would have thought, however, that being mixed overground/underground (on many London lines) would make air circulation an easier problem to tackle. Ah, I do have similar memories of my (possibly rose tinted) glasses steaming up, but it was always so much cooler and I never felt that I couldn't catch a breath of clean air.
12y ago