London's Least Served Railway Station

[@alexrobertssings]

"Longest walk from sign to platform” Dovey Junction : am I a joke to you?

[@NickBadley]

Yep.. had that thought after I'd uploaded the video!

[@kmkcheng]

Also served by one of the most frequent bus routes in the form of the 18

[@nathanw9770]

Most frequent and busiest route in London

[@robk23oxf]

Chiltern Turbos have air conditioning and so the windows are sealed, whereas the GWR Turbos don't have air conditioning.

[@NickBadley]

Ah that's it!

[@Abigail.elizz.]

Ca​@@NickBadley

[@Vanmanyo]

The GWR turbos alll have air con now! But they kept the opening windows in case the air con fails

[@DonaldTrumpIsGreat]

​@@Vanmanyo Yes I Can Confirm That Since I Use The Class 165s and 166s In The Thames Valley Regularly 👍

[@nathanw9770]

The GWR turbos do have air conditioning but it often fails which is why they have opening windows. So if the air con fails on a chiltern turbo you're doomed 😂

[@RaskoAndDiscoBeerReview]

Enjoyed seeing my local stations featured, especially Northolt Park, in 40- years I've never used Sudbury & Harrow Road because of the infrequent service and never understood why that and Sudbury Hill weren't more served especially with all the housing round there, its prime suburbia. Cheers.

[@brianparker663]

Yes, I have made this point in my comment. Very much agree.

[@nathanw9770]

They aren't served very often presumably because the Chiltern mainline is entirely 2 tracks besides some passing loops and because trains to Banbury, Oxford and Birmingham are so frequent having trains stop here would cause a jam. Northolt Park and Sudbury Hill Harrow are lucky to even have an hourly-ish service. A solution could be to stagger the services to stop at either Sudbury & Harrow Road or Sudbury Hill Harrow but don't know if residents would be happy with that either.

[@brianparker663]

@@nathanw9770 I'm sure that's the issue. In fact I suspect that Chiltern would like to abandon these stations altogether if they could. Back in the day they were even reluctant to stop at Harrow-on-the Hill with the Aylesbury service (an insider told me) - and that line is under less pressure. I think that has changed over time.

[@PamelaBane]

Thanks Nick for not editing out the bits where you went wrong, It happens to us all occasionally! Nice to know you can get back on track by taking the bus!

[@anthonytull1611]

Hi, I can show one of my friends whom I believe is scared of making mistakes. Mistakes provide an opportunity to learn. I'm trying tell him to not be scared of getting it wrong, simply talk about it instead and if applicable (it won't always be) what he would do differently next time. Cheers.

[@AutoUnder]

Great video Nick! The similarities of the systems used by Northern and Chiltern is indeed because Northern used to be part of Arriva. As time as gone on tho, they are starting to differ slightly with Northern's TVMs having more options and Celia's script between the two operators being slightly different

[@brianparker663]

As a semi-local, I have always thought it ridiculous how badly served this station is by Chiltern. 15 minutes or less into Marylebone - whereas the alternative is to trundle all around the houses on the titchy, clanky Picc trains from Sudbury Town. I'm sure it would be much better used if they would only treat it with a bit more respect. I use Northolt Park fairly often and that could do with more services too - especially now it is linked by the Superloop buses.

[@nathanw9770]

It's because the Chiltern mainline is only two tracks most of the way and since most trains are intercity there's not much room for them to stop between Northolt Park and Sudbury & Harrow Road. One solution could be to stagger the slow services to either stop at Sudbury Harrow Road or Sudbury Hill Harrow but that would probably cause more complaints from Sudbury Hill residents.

[@DavidShepheard]

That line should be handed over to London Overground, so that it can be widened and given four tracks through the stations. Built two new side platforms hanging off of both sides of the viaduct and demolish the existing station platforms, so that express Chiltern trains can go through the middle with London Overground stations waiting at Sudbury & Harrow Road to let the Chiltern trains thunder past without stopping. Chiltern get to maintain their "we don't like these people" attitude, locals get four trains per hour all day. Northholt Park used to have four tracks but houses have been built right up to the railway. But slightly to the east of that station is an old bridge with four track worth of space under it. So if the current station is replaced with one slightly to the east, there can be two platforms for London Overground with two passing tracks in the middle for the "we don't want to stop" Chiltern trains. Sudbury Hill Harrow looks like it once was wider and that the current platforms have been pushed inwards, so demolish the platforms and pull them back and you again get space for two extra lines where friendly London Underground trains stop and Chiltern trains snub local passengers by thundering through. Wembley stadium still has a massive gap between it's two side platforms. So the only thing that needs to be done is to bin off the central siding and put back two express tracks for those Chiltern trains that are managed by people who hate the passengers living in that part of London. Suddenly the stations all turn from assets into viable places to run a good service without getting in the way of express trains. With a little bit of work, a new station could be built close to Neasdon (just to the west of where the railway line turns away from Neasdon) and the Jubilee Line platforms could be extended west to join with a bridge that connects the new station to the old one. This is the sort of thing that was done during the New Works Program, when the UK government helped London make the Underground less rubbish. This stuff can be done again. I hope that people like you can help make this sort of thing happen Nick.

[@WilliamSmith-mx6ze]

Where's the money for all this? Where's the business case - would the station actually be used if all this work was done?

[@LeeWestwick]

When Nick is in your area and does not invite you for a train journey 😞 I would of loved a train and data input of info with and from you Nick Fun side note …. We was filming one of our movies on Chiltern and was only supposed to go one stop but it was so good we ended up all the way in Marylebone !

[@Thornaby37]

A station with four trains per day seems out of place for London Full credit to you for coming up with a backup plan that worked very well

[@joshtrains-qr8ie]

Hi nick! i volunteer at the ruislip lido railway. its a great place to spend the day and has londons least used station at it. hope you can make a vdeo about it and visit soon :)

[@stevewareing8525]

Nick I love your videos that go wrong for whatever reason, unforeseen or cock-up, they show just how you adapt, improvise and overcome and I'm not talking about the editing. 👍.

[@berillyispog]

Chiltern is my favourite TOC - their livery looks so great on the 165s

[@Ravingamer1981]

I like to add that James Cook train station in Teesside has a national rail station pole thingy that is roughly a 5 walk away from the station that is also down a public footpath.

[@topgeardog07]

Have measured this myself and the distance between the sign and the station entrance is 590 metres

[@BritishTrainspotting]

I believe the reason chiltern 165s have no hopper windows is only those 165s came with AC from factory. I do believe the refurbished GWR turbos have AC retrofitted but it is absolutely terrible.

[@ps.montreal5551]

What a super video !! Most enjoyable.

[@mattpilgrim2607]

Wow! Can't believe that this station only gets 4 trains in each direction! I absolutely love your content Nick ❤

[@williamcoleman4589]

Great video and very entertaining! Quite like full length shots of you walking around sometimes thanks 👍

[@andyt2510]

The Chiltern 168's are just starting to get refurbed now

[@tomtope7064]

My fav type of vid, Nick battling the weather, his sense of direction and overcrowded transport.

[@TransportGeekery]

I used to work in Harrow, and on nice evenings I would walk to Sudbury Hill Harrow to get the train home to central London. Lovely walk over Harrow on the Hill through the school, and then always a comfortable contraflow peak ride on Chiltern into Marylebone. Not the quickest route home, but certainly pleasant and interesting.

[@mentaldavethefirst]

Unrelated to this video but just got off an old Merseyrail train running on the Wirral line! Was very surprised to see it arrive in Chester!

[@jacobporrett]

Got to love a super loop bus journey 🙂 thank you for sharing Nick. I enjoyed watching.

[@Saint_Dan132]

you managed to get a Chilton train that's rare, omg thank god for shelters you sure can pick your days

[@MrGriser]

2:29 no they were refurbished between 2003 and 2005 but the seats were re-upholsted in 2011!

[@paulharvey9149]

It's not scuffed at all, Nick - it's a portrayal of everyday life down in the Big Smoke, where people have to alter their travel plans by whichever alternative means is available, all the time! The only difference is that it wasn't the train company's fault, for a change...!! (And it's also an accurate portrayal of how London is so much better provided for than the rest of the UK, where more often than not, there are no alternative means available...). But, Cockfosters is a funny name? How old are you, exactly??

[@skin150263]

It's not so much Nick being puerile in not mentioning the name of the station at the northern end of the Piccadilly line, but Google's broken editorial algorithm that flags it as 'adult content' and is likely to get the video banned or de-monetised or some similar fate. I think it was Jago Hazzard who made a video about the station and had to be careful not to mention its name.

[@paulharvey9149]

@@skin150263 America's immature algorithm, more like.

[@Nooticus]

This video wasnt scuffed at all! You still boarded/alighted at every station on this stretch of line! This is the real ‘secret line’ of London for me, not the Northern City Line!

[@nerd8192]

Back in the day (and to a certain extent it's still the case) Chiltern had a certain level of reputation and their 165's had air conditioning that actually worked rather than the former Thames trains (now GWR) 165s.

[@stephenmcculley7]

Two carriage trains in London doesn't feel quite right either! It's reassuring to know that some parts of the Capital also suffer from having to put up with very small (in terms of capacity) trains.

[@highpath4776]

And waiting 6mins for a tube train, well thats terrible, anything more than 2mins is a pain

[@stevelknievel4183]

There's no need to apologise, this was a fun video! Also, if you ever want a live-ish map of where its raining, you can do worse than look at the Met Office's rainfall radar.

[@teecefamilykent]

Brilliant video sir.

[@Person1-d9u]

Omg i love this so much, Nick! I need more tube videos!

[@terrymoore9388]

I love the way your videos sometimes go wrong and it's great how you get back on track

[@Andrewjg_89]

I have never been to Sudbury and Harrow Road station and I didn’t even know it still exists. I have been to West Ruislip before.

[@melodydunn1]

The SL9 does come from Heathrow Airport, so it might have something to do with that

[@kevanhubbard9673]

I think that it's the only remaining restrictive service station remaining within Greater London but there use to be quite a few of them.Kennsington Olympia is restricted service for LU but is serviced by frequent mainline services.That Sudbury one does have an LU one near it but it is a completely different station.

[@VinnyBoynton]

yes you are right about announcements because before arriva bought northern most of the stations including the tiniest rural stations used atos anne

[@aaronsmith9209]

It is bizarre that the odd station in London can have such an infrequent service but when I was growing up in the 2000s, my nearest station was Angel Road, which I think vaguely remember only got trains at peak times as well. As there was a lack of space on the ever busy 2 track West Anglia Mainline for services to stop. Despite being close by, it was very awkward to access and we never used it, it was much more convenient to get a bus to Seven Sisters. Capacity is definitely the issue with these suburban Chiltern stations, in my formerly local case, Angel Road had to be replaced by a new station (Meridian Water) with a 3rd set of tracks so it could get a much better, actually usable service. London luckily has the tube but in most other towns and cities, I think much more needs to be done to separate intercity and regional services, so decent suburban/ metro ones have the space to exist.

[@Fergal283]

the area I grew up in, nice to see it again. great vid

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

Geoff Marshall went there as well as he’s done a video of Sudbury and Harrow Road. Mind you Sudbury London is quite nice. Same with Sudbury in Suffolk that is on the Gainsborough Line from Marks Tey.

[@Strategygeneral]

The lack of air conditioning and the overcrowding on the central is too much.

[@gazwj]

I know for northern trains if they dont have openable windows its due to the trains having air con Whether the train uses said aircon is different but hey 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@marthaanderson2656]

Im surprised a packable rain jacket is not part of the standard survival kit in your backpack. But like here in western Washington, often you only need wait 5 minutes to get a change in weather

[@juliehedley9190]

The Chiltern commuter services are a total mess in London with their stopping patterns. Only 10 trains actually stop at both West Ruislip and South Ruislip. Whereas West Ruislip actually gets 20 services per day to Marylebone, and South Ruislip gets 25 services per day to Marylebone.

[@davejoey]

Great video as usual Nick! The heavy rain and flooded shelter reminds me of a recent GLovesTrains video she did with Simon. Also the platform for Rice Lane on Merseyrail is, in my opinion, very narrow as well

[@Sim0nTrains]

Honestly that what I thought when the waiting shelter began to flood at South Ruislip.... but not as back as myself and G encountered at Pilning

[@HesterClapp]

1:42 I think West Midlands Railway uses her too on the Snow Hill Lines

[@matthewroebuck256]

Hello :) Love your videos which ticket or tickets did you use in the video to complete your journey today?

[@WithCars9]

I actually live somewhat nearby to that sudbury station and pass it to go to sudbury town station

[@IRNSBRU]

Definitely did not expect Northolt Park to feature so heavily on any video. I grew up behind the station and used to use the station frequently for years.

[@djk2509]

That's the same inside of the train as when filming series 1 of Gavin & Stacey in 2007. 😂

[@ljjordanscottcrawford2008]

nick i have just counted up i have visted 43 stations

[@Harrynhoughton13]

You've got a long way to go buddy

[@jimbo6059]

Ahhh, the Network Southeast platform shelter. Thought most had been taken away but now as NSE was some 25 to 30 years ago.

[@johnrafferty8087]

Great Video. Used both vSubryd multiple occasions.

[@davidflett2723]

The Chiltern 165s were built by BR with opening windows. However Chiltern invested in then to install air-conditioning. As Late Western are owned by Worst Group they wouldn't spend any money they don't have to!

[@katrinabryce]

Arriva also don't spend money on anything they don't have to. They still had Pacers when they owned Northern.

[@DonaldTrumpIsGreat]

Pacers Are The Least Popular Trains In My Lifetime

[@hamshackleton]

That mini-coke is tonguiling your tang! - - - For narrow platforms, have a look at Blaenau Ffestiniog's one, at the opposite end to the pedestrian bridge! Last time I was there, the only shelter from the weather was a 'bus shelter' with a hole in the glass roof!

[@highpath4776]

the 5 min walk time probably allowed for footbridge crossing time to the far platform (unless it meant 3 mins mistype)

[@budapestkeletistationvoices]

Nick. I need you so Badley

[@-MapEnthusiastjj4eu]

1:37 South West Trains used Celia Drummond as the announcement voice

[@melodydunn1]

The 1992 stock on the Central line is made of plastic 😮

[@ReubenAshwell]

Brilliant video Nick, I never noticed the Chiltern Thames Turbo's didn't have windows lol.

[@brilliantbuilder4228]

Another fun video. Love it. You should do another least used video in London lime least used Underground.

[@RichardFelstead1949]

Geoff may get jealous. lol

[@Abigail.elizz.]

You said you wiil do the all merseyrail staition on the class 777

[@thomascook578]

Id call that a ninja shower, cones out of nowhere, creates havoc, then disappears as fast as it appeared

[@damianc.0.681]

Nice chiltern mainline is my local line awesome to see someone visiting it!!

[@NicButcher]

Nick you need Kat with you to keep you organised, she would have made sure you got off at the right station first time 😂

[@RyanWBassist1990]

Chiltern have an odd calling pattern with some of their trains 😆 if I'm not mistaken most of the indivual services run hourly 🤔

[@rogerhill138]

You often get water during a Monsoon!

[@davidgarratt5518]

Throughly enjoyed that sat here at my level crossing waiting for someone to ring the bell to cross. Oh well another 11hrs to go

[@macstyle2012]

I think Dovey Junction is quite a long walk from the sign to the station.

[@MrBusley_123]

SL9 is always packed

[@Transportationspotting]

Nice video, everyone makes mistakes and this is just proof of that, doesn’t change my opinion of your content!

[@DimasFajar-ns4vb]

peace be upon you sir from java island

[@europejski2492]

9:36 lmaooooo

[@draconicruns]

you really start to get sick of 165s when they're almost every train on Chiltern outside of the mainline route

[@davidflack6430]

92 bus from Sudbury Hill may have been quicker and saved a walk.

[@MichaelCampin]

Have you been to Acklington in Northumberland yet???

[@highpath4776]

How many Sudbury stations in London (and is there one in Suffolk?)

[@nathanw9770]

There's four: two national rail and two underground

[@SimonBanfield]

Does Birkbeck still get an infrequent service?

[@shaunhouse8469]

Why surprised that benches are painful to lay on, they are that by design or at least very comfortable to discourage the unhoused

[@Eeveevolve]

Would love to know what your predictive text brought up that you blured out.

[@Saint_Dan132]

you look like a giant holding that can of cola lol

[@Nathan_Silver]

How would I got about becoming a channel member and how much per month is it?

[@frenchhufflepuffie83]

Why not do a Pointless journey from West Ruislip (tube) to West Ruislip (Chiltern)? Or maybe you've already done it and I'm forgetful

[@mattevans4377]

Why is everyone in the UK so surprised now when it rains in the UK? Like have people forgotten it's the UK?

[@goldenclouds75]

Arriva Era

[@Ultra-t3o]

Visit clapham high st london overground pls

[@Andrew-rd4ig]

Underground super loop and trains all video wasn’t that bad😂

[@hhgttg69]

platform 2 is as good as platform 1 at South Kensington in Melbourne

[@HailesJaneSanders]

Hey nick

[@geoff1201]

Marylebone NOT Marleybone.

[@AFCManUk]

Oh dear,,,,I'm sorry you had to suffer the indignity of riding a diesel 165! My local service,,,,and the struggle is real every time I go to London! :(

[@kieranspeirs4944]

As someone who gets chiltern railway trains a lot from Aylesbury to London they are very outdated and unreliable so surprised you got anywhere with them😂

[@Sim0nTrains]

Shame that the plan got messed up but awesome that you got the plan.... back on track!

[@quintuscrinis]

Why start from West Ruislip? Not too bad as an area, but I may be biased having grown up just roubd the corner, but it is a long way from anywhere significant.

[@brianparker663]

Yes, it's not quite in Ruislip...nor quite in Ickenham. Wonder how it got there? 😄

[@quintuscrinis]

@@brianparker663 definitely Ickenham to the locals (always feels closer than the actual Ickenham station). And mainly because the GWR/GCR joint line went through there so it was the easiest place for the Central line to extend to.

[@brianparker663]

@@quintuscrinis Planned to go on via South Harefield (i.e. nowhere) to Denham at some point I believe. I guess it was just a stop on the way...Rayners Lane was nothingness before the Met got there of course!

[@SCRguy-k3d]

for some reason i think the chiltern 165 looks like a brick

[@anthonywarrener1881]

The. chiltern Turbos are far better than those of GWR !

[@MidlandTrainReviews-u7y]

Wrong

[@60_Degrees_North]

😑Harrow!!

[@RichardFelstead1949]

Greetings from Australia. England, and in particular the railways, is on my bucket list. As always a very interesting video.

[@quintuscrinis]

Bus 92 goes directly between the two Chiltern stations (H17 isn't far off either).

[@GeorgeSimmstrains]

Thanks for the inspiration my next video is let’s go Bristol every station Bristol