First Look into Bank Station's Capacity Upgrade | Hidden London Hangouts (S05E03)

[@shanegarvin117]

It’s mad to see so many people shocked at how quick things got done, actually we where digging for a couple of years, we used to access the site in a secret building and we hand dug in between the northern lines while they where still running! All this was just waiting to be exposed

[@alexgrundon2346]

It’s great, Shane. Hats off to you all.

[@CCA2020]

It’s incredible how quickly work has begun since the closure

[@uingaeoc3905]

Its been going on for several years, the tunnel closure is just the last tranche.

[@Hannahtheredhead2454]

I missed the live premiere yesterday for the first time in a year-my Saturday felt all wonky and dry as a result. I was on during the original Patreon filming, but the episode is twice as nice upon the second viewing. So many thanks for all the behind the scenes details and drawings and photos, and, of course, for your enthusiasm and expertise.

[@chrisnix6352]

Jennifer - we missed you in the chat! I presumed it was just that you’d seen the preview in Patreon. Look forward to seeing you on the next episode.

[@stephenquinn6485]

Excellent vid

[@paulgiffen6836]

Hi team, thank you so much for this amazing episode, this is incredible how fast the station has changed already top marks for the engineers. so looking forward to the next episode. cheers team 💖💖

[@iamsamarg]

31:01 please don’t forget about people with reduced mobility. For some people being able to stand on a travelator or escalator and get to where they’re going without having to walk can be transformative. As somebody with a back injury, I know somedays even a few less steps can mean a lot less pain

[@alexgrundon2346]

Good point!

[@chrisnix6352]

Of course! Travelling with luggage or reduced mobility on a travolator - no one would quibble with standing - I’ve had those times myself with broken bones and returns from holidays. We were referencing the experience of being stuck behind people who’ve rushed through corridors then board the travolator and only to stop in the middle of it and send an email without obeying the same “stand to the right” etiquette they would on an escalator. Anyone who wants to take a rest is just fine with me if they stand to the right as the signs ask.

[@pageuk]

I wear a "please offer me a seat" badge because my disability is not visible and I will be one of the people standing on a travelator. All the presenters had to say was "if you are able" and rather than stigmatise you, me and everyone else who cannot walk long distances they would have reminded their audience that some disabilities are not visible. I am glad you raised the point as most people are understanding once they know why we are not moving out of their way.

[@BenTaylor.]

I have been thought there in the cab many times and I was on the Last Southbound train I Think its going to reopen on the 16th of May 2022

[@chrisnix6352]

Good work - sorry I couldn’t be on the last one. Fingers crossed for mid May reopen - the project team are amazing so is anyone can…

[@BenTaylor.]

@@chrisnix6352 there was a decent amount of train enthusiast who turned out to ride the last train I also spoke to the driver when it reach Morden station he said he was the last one to be trained up on TBTC/ATO what a coincidence

[@jubeleesimon3100]

im acctually so excited for this mate,amazing vid

[@bpb235]

There certainly not hanging around with the work, another great episode, many thanks 😊

[@JamesScantlebury]

I'm just surprised TfL's PR team aren't taking advantage of your wonderful footage - it's fascinating!

[@alexgrundon2346]

Bring it on! TV production companies - please come and work with us too! Help us make this show grow!!!!

[@dennoko]

Just found you after seeing your TV series, you guys are great. Hello from New Zealand!

[@jacksugden8190]

Hard to take it all in, I remember how it was as in the descriptions, I always found it confusing enough to navigate, be interesting to see the finished product.

[@shaney130]

27:00 Many, many mornings getting off the last carriage at Bank to go up them stairs to the Central Line!

[@JamesThePlonker]

i think it would be cool to get a bts of the engineering teams and what equipment they use to keep the system moving you've also got to do an A.J Wells and a McKenna Brothers Episode too

[@jacksugden8190]

Looking forward to seeing this one 👍

[@kevinreed9232]

Thank you very much for showing us the work that is going on at the bank station. I have traveled from there on the DLR.it is a very long way from street level. so it must be deeper than Hampstead on the tube. very interesting. take care Fantastic Four.

[@chrisnix6352]

The DLR is very deep at Bank. It’s not deeper below ground level than Hampstead (as that’s under a hill) but the DLR is deeper below sea level than Hampstead. We always enjoy a bit of sport on the datum level chosen for reference - makes for a more interesting chat!

[@kevinreed9232]

@@chrisnix6352 Hi Chris. thanks for answering my question. Bull and Bush station that never opened would have the deepest I think.it would be great if did an episode there.subject to health and safety of course.

[@jacksugden8190]

Just watched this again

[@owenchuarbx]

Good job TfL. Can't wait to see the final result

[@tmdntmdn6929]

Hi guys. Thx for this episode. Appreciated your amazing work!

[@paulwheeler4283]

Another Brilliant and informative episode thank you so much I really really really wish I could become a Patron member but being a full-time volunteer for two charity's I can't afford it atm but I do appreciate all the hard work you all do.

[@alexgrundon2346]

All good. We’re still doing all the free stuff but it’s been such a tough time for museums to survive so for anyone who can spare a few quid, we’ve created a little service for people who would like to chuck some our way. When I got involved with this, it was my own personal priority to keep the Hangouts free to view, because it was about preserving mental health during lockdowns - offering a community of kindness and fun. But as time has gone on, the simple truth is museums need cash to stay open. So Patreon is a lovely way to offer those who can and want to give a bit of bang for their buck. And the stuff is really cool. Keep up the good work btw. And thank you for watching. We’ll keep the free stuff fun and full of stuff that makes you go “ooh”, I promise x

[@paulwheeler4283]

@@alexgrundon2346 I completely understand what you mean I mean times of really hard time for museums with some of them sadly closing or reducing their hours due to funding problems it's really sad the pandemic has only made the situation worse we have to keep history alive for future generations i am so thankful to all of you for everything you have done and continue to do and thankful to you're patreon members as well and thank you so much I enjoy doing what I do because I like making making a difference to people's lives and for me that's most rewarding thing in the world X keep up the good work and say hello to the team for me x

[@alexgrundon2346]

❤️❤️❤️

[@paulwheeler4283]

@@alexgrundon2346 ❤️❤️❤️

[@aaronmread]

First, great insight to history in the making. As what to paraphrase someone said, "Hidden London Hangouts: Series 94" type of stuff going on. Second, what is the official name of the complex? Is it Bank-Monument or Monument-Bank? Or is it technically two separate stations that happen to be joined? And Third, looking at that Axonometric view of the station. I knew the DLR was below the Northern line but didn't realise how much directly below it.

[@HomemadeBrownies1]

Operationally it is known as Bank Monument complex 😀

[@chrisnix6352]

Thanks Jack - what you said

[@pb4rton]

Thanks again for this! Is there a possibility of a hidden London tour of the disused parts once the work has been completed?🤔

[@alexgrundon2346]

There will be some Liz line tours to follow!

[@OKB1133]

Yet...despite ALL this upgrade work, they leave the cheap 90s white bathroom tiles throughout the old parts of the station! Laura must be ecstatic lol.

[@1983now]

Another enjoyable video. Has the LT Museum ever considered producing a book containing the layout diagrams of the tube stations.

[@alexgrundon2346]

Nice idea - but for security reasons (and since much of the original station remains in a lot of these locations, behind locked doors, the info is probably better kept out of the public domain for the time being unless we use it to illustrate a point we’re making. One day it will make a gorgeous coffee table book tho as they are all in colour.

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

Commenting on a watch-back: I'm not really sure as to how many non-nerdy regular people nowadays know that escalators and travelators are actually for speeding up your journey/walk. I mostly used escalators as a lazy means of changing levels, just like elevators. And so viewed even the travelators, the first I stumbled upon being in airports. To me that all was just a "lazy" means of getting forward. I only learned of their actual use or sense through learning the different bibs and bobs of how the London Underground came to be and evolved (via YT videos in general). And I'm pretty confident to state that most people, most regular people, most regular users of such systems also see travelaters and escalators as a lazy means of moving, using them primarily standing still. Also: escalators - in German _Rolltreppe_ ("rolling stairs") - when out of order are still stairs. However, as their steps are higher than regular steps (20 cm instead of 17 cm, as I just measured the other day), they are harder, less easy, to use as a stairway. Which might also explain, why most people intuitively don't use escalators like a regular staircase. And as travelators are just flat escalators, they are bein used pretty the same. Bears the question: Why are the steps of escalators 3 cm higher than regular steps, making them less easy to climb/descend? And couldn't they be built with (close to) 17 cm steps? Greetings from Cologne, Germany

[@ACELog]

It'll be a real inprovement over the stuffy station conditions previously, particularly replacing the Northern to Central spiral stairs link with the travellators! Not sure if the latter will still be in use untill then, I assume they will - no other way to link between the lines otherwise. In case the spiral stairs were not ever gong to be used after the Soubound platform upgrade, I went there on Friday 14th January to film them, see my video at: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYiZdaysoa2AoNE

[@HomemadeBrownies1]

I’m not sure the northern to central stairs are needed at the minute, considering no northern trains are calling there?

[@ACELog]

@@HomemadeBrownies1 Agreed. They'd presumably be closed now, until at least after mid-May, while both the northbound and southbound northern line section is closed. The reason I filmed them was in case they never open again, although I suspect they will after mid-may, until the travellators are up and running.

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

Chris' "blue" sounds a bit like "bloom" - actually quite nice :D It also goes a bit into the French "bleu", with the U maybe sounding a bit like the one in "cru" (as in the Wine terminology).

[@alexgrundon2346]

Blau, wirklich?

[@chrisnix6352]

Thank you for this analysis - I concur. It was a revelation to me when Alex said he thought my pronunciation was unusual. I just thought I was saying “blue” I am fascinated by the amount of thought that has gone into unpicking the way I say it. I particularly like the bleu/cru - any excuse for a cheeky glass!

[@Citydwellerpodcast]

I love getting on the travelator and seeing how fast I can walk. It’s so annoying though to get stuck behind someone who’s just standing, particularly if they’re standing right in the middle.

[@alexgrundon2346]

Ministry of Silly Walks

[@asldkjaslkdj]

Can you see the old connection to the new running tunnel at Bank from a train?

[@benjamindenton]

Did they pour concrete over the tracks or were they taken out? And if the travelators won't be open does that mean the spiral staircase link will be.

[@alexgrundon2346]

Good questions. Would suspect “yes” to the first question - and will consult the plans to answer the second. You mean the Central to Northern passage spirals?

[@chrisnix6352]

Yes the tracks were lifted on the first weekend of closure before the concrete was poured to fill the trackbed. Yes the existing link from Central to Northern will remain in place. I think it will be left after the travolators open as I don’t think there’s a reason to get rid of it and multiple routes are usually useful.

[@daveharris7224]

Is there any chance that Monument station will be renamed Bank once the station reopens?

[@alexgrundon2346]

I doubt it. It’s right by The Monument (to the Great Fire) and if you’ve ever walked it, the distance between the stations is a fair wander underground

[@raynoldchow]

Probably they should rename the whole station to Banknument (a.k.a Bank and Monument)

[@daveharris7224]

I use the stations regularly for all the lines. It is indeed a long walk from the Central Line to the Monument lines, but it is one complex. Anyway, it was just a thought! I'm looking forward to the completion of the Northern Line upgrade, which has been needed for so long.

[@chrisnix7981]

@@raynoldchow well that would be marginally better than Monumank.

[@srfurley]

At a LURS lecture, I think it was during the extension of the DLR to Bank, the speaker said that the whole complex would be named Bank after completion of the project, but it never happened.

[@Renish2001]

Will there be updates before the work is finished

[@alexgrundon2346]

Yea!

[@coshatiuav]

36:51 "BLOO passport" - Boris Johnson

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

How about some (lapel) mics, for (noisy) on-sight visits? An investment worth a thought?

[@alexgrundon2346]

We have them already

[@chrisnix6352]

Yes we did use lapel mics (you’ll see them in most of our OBs) but it that kind of extreme environment they don’t always preform in the way one might expect - We did reference the noisy machinery but you have no idea how loud it was there! The broadcast standard lapel mics clipped horrendously and were unusable but thankfully I also ran an iPhone recording as backup and the Apple wizardry was much better.

[@eatinghealthy2893]

I would love to see that what is beneath me I have the Victoria line very close to my house and the high speed train service from st. Pancras Google map does Show where run

[@rachelcarre9468]

I love this channel, I like all the presenters but I’m not keen on the format of having three or four in the same video. It feels a little clunky and I think more of the content should be presented single or double headed presentations.

[@alexgrundon2346]

Hi Rachel! Welcome aboard. I genuinely have no idea what you’re going on about but I love that fact you like us in some way. Stay long. Enjoy whatever you enjoy!

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[@fintytin5771]

Un subscribed Sorry but from a personal point of view its stopped being fun for a while now Peace and blessings

[@chrisnix6352]

No worries. Glad you enjoyed the early albums!

[@stephenquinn6485]

Excellent vid

[@stephenquinn6485]

Excellent vid