The Betterment of Bank

A look at the new, improved Bank station.
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[@jacksonmahr8915]

A testament to your enormous power - 1. You make a complaint video about Bank Station 2. TfL very, very quickly builds a new station a few months later!! Use this power wisely.

[@christianshields4164]

Is it possible to learn this power?

[@lawrencelewis2592]

The force is with him.

[@Darth_Tyranus_]

@@christianshields4164 Not from a Jedi.

[@christianshields4164]

@@Darth_Tyranus_, not sure you can learn it from a Sith either

[@battmarn]

now he needs to complain about how we still don't have a 24 hour tube service every day and watch tfl roll out the night tube all week

[@clickrick]

"...a Bank of escalators..." You spoil us, sir!

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

Is that now the official collective noun for escalators?

[@msg5507]

@@geirmyrvagnes8718 I, um, think it already was...

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

@@msg5507 I thought it made too much sense...

[@jumpinallans]

You are my moving walkway to the relocated platform. Great installment!

[@tardismole]

Extra.

[@stepheneyles2198]

Come on guys, it's a walking moveway! ;-))

[@rudeboystu69]

Apparently, the story that firefighters would only fight fires in buildings displaying badges for their respective insurance company is quite likely an urban legend. Tom Scott did a good video where he corrects a previous video he'd made, and explains the logic behind firefighters fighting all fires, regardless of whether the building owners were clients of a given brigade's employer or not. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZrJYnh3nKqEgas

[@srhvideo]

Thanks from saving me the time to mention Tom's video and dig out the URL

[@bigjaffa02]

Came here to say the same thing.

[@Elitist20]

In any case it's a property plaque of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors [sic], one City of London's livery guilds. But JH is still the 'Mind' to my 'Gap.'

[@1973Washu]

The next door neighbor's fire will soon be yours if you don't do something about it.

[@cyberwomble7524]

@@1973Washu The neighborhood's gone really downhill since the fire moved in next door. Really affected house prices. No, really.

[@asheland_numismatics]

THE BEST tube channel EVER!

[@umarrahman1914]

Now I know why Eden Hazzard is failing at Real Madrid. Spending all his time on KZbin rather than at training. 🤣🤣🤣

[@BroonParker]

Of course!

[@highvoltageswitcher6256]

2nd 🥈👍🧐

[@thegrudien4692]

I'd like to see a video about how to change between different lines at Bank. I think this would also be a great opportunity for a collab with Geoff Marshall.

[@SamSitar]

yes they should do that.

[@Jimyjames73]

I think that I've said that b4!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂

[@thegrudien4692]

@@Jimyjames73 ok? I havn't seen your comment, but the more people say it the more likely they'll do it :)

[@Berry-fr5wj]

Bank , you are better off exiting and walking , to either terminus or destination

[@Stringandsealingwax]

Don't be silly. Geoff Marshall isn't real. If you look closely you can see "he" is made of fabric (probably by the Jim Henson Workshop.)

[@johnclark2751]

The plaque at 2:48 isn't a fire insurance mark, it's the arms of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors - it's a property mark, the building that once stood on the site belonged to the city guild of Merchant Taylors - who may still own the freehold!

[@hoosiersands]

Yes I thought so too and mentioned it earlier. I thought it was the Drapers but you're right, it's Merchant Taylors.

[@eugenemurray2940]

There is a fee paying school.. Merchant Taylors All boys school uniform blazer and dark gray trousers is based on theirs!

[@tt-ew7rx]

I lived in London for five years during the 90's and acquired one of my worst recurring nightmares which is to find my ways around Bank-Monument. It ranks with one of those exam dreams where I sit down to an exam whose questions I know nothing about.

[@plaws0]

In the USA, where the same system existed, they are called "firemarks". In big cities like NYC where there were multiple volunteer fire companies, the competition for retrieving the firemark in order to claim the reward got to be a bit of an issue ...

[@stepheneyles2198]

I can imagine one firefighter sent up a ladder to retrieve the firemark, while the others went about putting out the fire! Please tell me that's NOT what happened!

[@CharlieFlemingOriginal]

Bonkument is what I call this station.

[@davidthorne7712]

Geoff Marshall once had a t-shirt with “Manumont-Bonk” emblazoned upon it

[@CharlieFlemingOriginal]

​@@davidthorne7712 I missed that one. I wonder if ANYONE likes Bonkument? I think if you get lost in there TfL give you a uniform and give you a job. Some may have been there decades 😯 lol

[@AndrewG1989]

Monubank Bankment

[@merlijnwiersma7801]

Sir, with your way of telling things, I'd probably would still like a video about the use of the rubbish bins in different stations. I've never been to London and I have no plans to do so, I have no particular interest in public transport yet here I am looking forward to your next video.

[@pleappleappleap]

I would love to see various walkthroughs of Bank/Monument interchanges.

[@highpath4776]

I notice the Royal Philatelic Society (London) is due to move into the offices. This is ideal for an interchange like Bank / Cannon Street etc as Philatterly will get you everywhere

[@Richardincancale]

You’ve got it licked!

[@aprilsmith1166]

😂😂😂

[@aprilsmith1166]

@ High Path That joke certainly has your stamp on it!

[@jgodfrey546]

The latest gem in your bank of videos is a video of Bank. Well done!

[@FelixElliottHe]

I love the alliteration of all Jago’s KZbin videos. An ICONIC, to be sure.

[@superlynx98]

I use this entrance all the time now! I was there under an hour ago actually hahaha

[@rogerwitte]

The insurance plaques were actually so the firemen knew which insurance company to bill. The firemen would not refrain from fighting fires insured by companies other than their employer, they would just submit an invoice once the fire was out.

[@chrisinnes2128]

They also got a reward for being the first get there

[@richard-mtl]

TfL watches your videos and scrambles to fix the problems *you* complain about. Well done!! 👏

[@ThatScottishAtlantic57]

Jago: *posts a video complaining about the underground or DLR* TFL: Write that down! WRITE THAT DOWN!

[@knownothing5518]

And there we have it. Modern architecture doesn't need to look like a baroque palace, it just needs to be like this and suddenly it's not ugly or bland anymore. It's elegant and actually a bit charming too.

[@emjayay]

I'm a huge fan of some of modern (1925 to now) architecture including the very simplest, but there just doesn't seem to be an aesthetic sense to that thing. The spear through the roundel isn't enough.

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

Navigating Bank - yes please. I work one day a week on Gutter Lane (great London name) and rather use Moorgate for the Northern Line - if that new Cannon St entrance makes it a breeze then maybe I should give it a try. Biggest test is always from train and finding the exit you want of course!

[@a11oge]

with a full map please @JagoHazzard 😀

[@dambrooks7578]

Bank as an exchange was always irritating, but then I was going to work...

[@TheEarlofK]

I've always thought that the Bank-Monument link was a practical joke played on people from outside of London expecting a quick connection to the Circle/District Line; anyone who's had the misfortune to walk it soon realises that you need to bring a packed lunch and fluids for sustenance. As to the development of the City, these are always long-term projects which is why you'll always find numerous half-completed projects and sometimes just holes in the ground where the money has run out or the project has stalled during an economic downturn, but the City is always looking to attract prestigious clients, whether from overseas or from Docklands and the West End; I think it's too early to tell whether the Pandemic has put an end to Office development, but the structure of where people work may have changed forever.

[@chrissaltmarsh6777]

It must be 15 years since I had to commute from Sarf of the River through Bank. It was deeply horrid.

[@peterjohncooper]

A couple of months ago I watched a video by Tom Scott in which he said that he (and everyone else ) had been wrong about the use of Fire marks. Apparently there is no evidence that Fire fighters stood around and watched buildings burn. The Fire Mark showed which insurance comapny the first to arrive could claim from. But still an excellent video.

[@mickavoidant4780]

Go for it with seeing how easy it is to get from train to train.

[@paulhaynes8045]

If I remember correctly (not a given these days...), the Northern Line platform is equidistant from both Bank and Monument. So Monument could justifiably be called 'Bank'. Or, equally, the Northern Line platforms could be included as part of Monument station, instead of Bank. I quite like that idea, as Bank becomes instantly less confusing - and at very little cost! Just show the two stations linked on the Underground map and job done. As the original City terminus of the C&SL line was physically at Monument (the actual thing, not the station) I think this also has a nice historical feel to it.

[@sanders2378]

Reminising over the shot at 2:17, I used to work at Eastcheap and can just about make out the bank in the distance, so the new station entrance would've been handy in the mornings. In the evenings, I used to walk down to the mainline (now Elizabeth line) at Liverpool St for an empty train; no matter how many entrances/exits there are, the Central Line is still overcrowded!

[@TheInselaffen]

Jago, Geoff, and Tim. An Ambassador's Party of rail geekory!

[@h.martinsmith7839]

As a Londoner and occasional visiter to the City, I have two problems at Bank. One finding the correct street exit I need despite the plethora if signs. (I found myself at the new CH lookalike last time and was even more confused). The second is finding the correct access back down from the street level. I don't think I have ever got to go down the way I came up!!!!!!!!!! Each exit has a number INSIDE the station. However the steps outside all look very alike but have no entry No so when one returns no way of knowing where you came up. An external No notation would help.

[@ThatScottishAtlantic57]

Bank gotta glow up ya'll! Great vid Jago 👍

[@apolloc.vermouth5672]

Nicely put!

[@LeeSmith-cf1vo]

It actually might be interesting to have a video series of every possible interchange, perhaps even including alternative routes. I count at least 10 at bank, 20 if you do it both ways. More if you do both platforms at monument. More still for alternate routes. Could be a long video lol I doubt there would be much to say about most of them, but some do have some interesting tidbits, like the tunneling shield in the corridor between the w+c and dlr for example (and why that makes w+c extensions problematic )

[@paulhaynes8045]

Include St Pancras to Kings Cross - I've never understood why this takes SO much longer than just walking between the two!

[@nigelclark1823]

This as with the other episodes is like a popular serial, each episode eagerly awaited and much enjoyed.

[@andrewmarch7891]

A trip across the tubes at Bank might be fun!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Building on fire: (has Insurance badge) Insurance Companies: “Have no fear, we’re here!” Another Building on fire: (has no insurance badge) Insurance Company: (retreats into the bushes like Homer Simpson)

[@eattherich9215]

😂😂😂

[@stephenlee5929]

Worse, Building on fire, has insurance badge, Fire brigade, is that our badge, no Wait around, get in the way so their fire brigade can't reach it.

[@eattherich9215]

@@stephenlee5929: worse of all: badge is consumed in the fire so nobody knows if they should be putting out the blaze.

[@michaelcampin1464]

I used to see a girl from Milton Keynes but lived in Dagenham. Many a time I changed trains from Northern to District at Bank late on a night. Are the blast doors still there????

[@highpath4776]

not sure if they were blast or flood protection (prob work as both)

[@Littletime839]

I watched your worst station video about a week ago but earlier this week found myself walking past Bank thinking 'oh ok, that's new'

[@ianmcclavin]

The escalators from the DLR used to travel up to above the kevel of the Northern Line platforms, and you then used to have to go DOWN some steps to reach them; now they go directly up to the Northern Line platforms. This and the moving walkway between the Northern and Central Line are great improvements.

[@TheMusicalElitist]

I love how a set of moving walkways was opened and immediately one of them is out of use, lol!

[@johnwoodhead5950]

I work on LUL, on engineering hours, this one has took years to complete but I am certainly not complaining, the boys on it are getting back what they give out

[@zetectic7968]

Very interesting! I always found Bank to be crowded and confusing. The rare times I tried to get to or from Monument was a slog. So the addition of "travelators" has to be a bonus to boost the flow of passengers. The change at Kings X to Piccadilly seems to involve walking a mile. So anything that modernises stations has to be a plus.

[@highpath4776]

There is a shortcut on the Piccadilly Interchange to Northern but I cannot quite remember it (its the old routing before they messed with the signage)

[@marcelwiszowaty1751]

Ironically the mile-long change at King's Cross was a result of modernisation. 😉

[@marchampson006]

I must admit Jago ive struggled with navigating around Bank over the years also London Bridge i found difficult. Favourite station to get around is Euston done that journey so many times. Another good video I think old Geoff may have recently covered it. Marc in Bletchley G6XEG

[@seanbonella]

I'm really into these videos Jago, keep them coming

[@DoktorJest]

It's the shrieking on the Central line that does my head (and ears) in.

[@keith800]

Lovely tale again , I expect we will soon see apartment blocks on top of tube stations instead of office's with the way things are going , all looks a very efficient way of " people flow " I wonder what it is like in the rush our ? , and I love to see they have retained the fire insurance badges as this retains a sense of history in these modern austere days.

[@MrGreatplum]

Another great video, Jago. At Christmas I was singing at St Stephen’s Walbrook (worth a look architecturally!) around the corner and the entrance was nearly completed - great to see it open now.

[@ds_e5202]

Interesting New Series idea based off of this video: Change Challenge. Seeing how easy it is to change lines at various interchanges on the network.

[@rwadley15]

1:42 a set of new moving walkways was opened. Cut to clip of a closed walkway 😂 I commuted to and from Bank every day until lockdown, great video as always. Thanks, Jago.

[@AidanMmusic96]

I found the travelators at Bank quite by accident a couple of weeks ago changing from the Central line. Very exciting!

[@ottermanuk]

The station frontage looks really smart and modern, very crisp. Depending on what building goes on top it could look very chic

[@myonlydemandisbacktowork8759]

Yes a bank interchange video will be very practical for city workers like myself 👍

[@DavidJCane]

Certainly a stripped down configuration. Frank Pick who commissioned Holden's stations for the Modern extension would have improved. He wrote that his aim was that "[t]he station will be simply a hole in the wall, everything being sacrificed to the doorway and some notice above to tell you to what the doorway leads."

[@jamesmartin3004]

I have 3 channels I like before I watch, this is one of those channels - never disappoints 👍

[@NotSoFinalProductions]

At some point, I feel a video on "art in the underground" would be perfect. Perhaps starting with the spectacular Eduardo Paolozzi mosaics at Tottenham Court Road.

[@JagoHazzard]

Paolozzi is definitely in the planning stages.

[@RobCCTV]

Yes, I would like to see the changing train videos. Fanx muchly.

[@johnmurray8428]

Last visit to London (Oct 2022) your wise advice was to get the DLR from Tower Gateway, that worked fine, Thank you. Next trip I will have try Bank, it sounds a lot better than it was circa 2017. Great video as ever.

[@Clivestravelandtrains]

There may be other videos about Bank station Jago, but yours are always so watchable it's the first one I've seen. Your comment about Banks growing on people gave me a wry smile, reflecting on the crash of 2008. (I don't mean train crash, for the benefit of younger viewers!!)

[@jayfielding1333]

I think it's a very simple but elegant entrance.

[@apolloc.vermouth5672]

Agreed - minimal while avoiding the 'sensory deprivation cell' look that urban architects seem to like these days

[@ZGryphon]

If you do the thing where you go back and try different combinations, be careful not to do the one that undoes the binding of whatever dread chthonic being is responsible for maintaining the station's non-Euclidean geometry. The last thing London needs is another hellmouth.

[@hb1338]

I regret to tell you that all stations on the Underground are subject to non-Euclidean geometry. Such are the consequences of a) living on a planet which is not quite spherical b) the theory of general relativity.

[@ZGryphon]

There's always one...

[@wta1518]

@@hb1338 Yeah, so don't do this at any other station either.

[@wilting_alocasia]

I love the insurance badges!

[@carolinegreenwell9086]

that's got to be the ultimate accolade - Holden would approve

[@philipgibbard304]

Thanks Jago, as ever. Incidentally, have you ever thought that the individual tube lines being referred to as northbound, southbound, eastbound or westbound is yet another example of how the Underground reflects its American heritage?

[@hb1338]

The Underground does not have American heritage.

[@JagoHazzard]

Yep, you’re spot-on with that suggestion.

[@paulhaynes8045]

An aspect of the Underground that constantly annoys me. All too often the line might, ultimately, go in the direction stated, but the bit you're on or want doesn't! Perhaps I'm too literal, but I prefer the continental system where they just use the termini of the lines, so you always know which train to get. Although you do have to have a reasonable idea of geography of the system.

[@michaelwant8501]

​@@hb1338Charles Tyson Yerkes would like a word!! He's a frequent demon-king style American participant in Jago's videos, without whose early twentieth century activities the underground would be a shadow of its current self.

[@davidemmott6225]

@@hb1338 you must have missed those many references by Jago to the Tube's anti-hero Mr Yerkes.

[@nigelcole1936]

Wow that's quite a way to make and entrance, much better than most of the current entrances to Bank which I agree have always been poor. I work in insurance and its great to see the fire marks on the new building. Great video thanks Jago

[@AndrewG1989]

I like what Transport for London has done to Bank station including a new travelator and of course the new Northern Line southbound platform. With other London stations to be upgraded to cope with more passengers using the tube on a daily basis. And DLR is getting new trains which should be in service from next year that are being manufactured by CAF in Spain.

[@aprilsmith1166]

On the subject of interchanges, I believe the only tube line which connects with every other tube line during its trajectory is the Jubilee Line. I'm happy to be corrected.

[@wta1518]

I'm pretty sure the Central does too. Bakerloo at Oxford Circus Circle at White City District at Ealing Broadway Hammersmith and City at White City Jubilee at Bond Street Metropolitan at Liverpool Street Northern at Tottenham Court Road Piccadilly at Holborn Victoria at Oxford Circus Waterloo and City at Bank

[@ajs41]

Hi Jago, that additional Bank video sounds like a great idea.

[@comicus01]

Jago, you are the new and improved entrance, to my really old and confusing station. An office building built directly upon the entrance to Bank station? London's office market may not be as hot as it once was, but I'm going to guess they won't have any trouble finding tenants. And I'm hopeful it will look even better once an office building is finished.

[@digitalshackonthelane]

Changing trains extravaganza at bank,"Yes, please!"

[@robertbelcher6713]

Its the central-district interchange I always struggle with, used to end up at the DLR for some reason!

[@davidwong9230]

Many thanks for another informative,entertaining vlog on the KZbin platform, which doesn’t involve too many interchanges…one can bank on that

[@frogandspanner]

2:44 Carving the name into stone - sound's like they're preparing for it to become a Wetherspoons. Incidentally, a wether is a castrated ram, and the spoons are the tools used for the procedure.

[@brick6347]

I haven't seen it in person yet, so I'll wait till then to pass final judgement... But it does look a bit like it was designed in Minecraft three hours before the Friday deadline.

[@frankupton5821]

Concerning fire insurance marks, Wikipedia says "An urban myth around fire marks claimed that if a building was not insured with the fire mark of a particular fire brigade or a company they had a reciprocal agreement with, they would let the building burn. However, following a review of contemporary evidence, it has been argued that this was not the case in the vast majority of fire incidents, and fire brigades would attempt to extinguish any fire regardless of insurance status due to threats to nearby structures, financial incentives and the publicity it gained."

[@neilforbes416]

Having a "Ball" on Cannon Street! "Cannonball!" LOL😁

[@mikekay6124]

A current advantage of the new entrance is that it allows a view of St Mary Abchurch from Cannon Street... long may that last!

[@someoneno-one7672]

I quite like this little smoothly caving in depression at the top of the front… 😀 I often changed from Cannon Street mainline to Bank tube via Walbrook entrance - a minute walk up Walbrook. To my surprise, many Londoners didn’t know that two stations are so close. Walbrook entrance is still good to get to the Central line. The new entrance will help a lot in getting to the Northern line and DLR

[@pleappleappleap]

I love me some Friday Jago videos.

[@Maino88]

The Bloomberg entrance is often not open due to chronic staff shortages. It's bad because that's the entrance which guarantees step free access.

[@rikardottosson1272]

Going to have to disagree re northern line, going “straight up” the old exit via the lifts if you are headed towards the insurance ghetto around leadenhall market and are fortunate enough to be able to scale shorter stairs, it’s super convenient.

[@BroonParker]

Good to see so many bollards on parade at the new entrance. And also good to see that Bank will no longer be the expedition it once was. Thanks for the review.

[@neuralwarp]

What they really need at Bank is a new tube line that takes you between all the different platforms.

[@luisstransport]

Great video Jago

[@roadhog6]

Hi Jago ! Yes indeed I would like to see those lines changes to see how easy it is … or not. Thanks

[@jamesmee4227]

absolutly the differnt train changing between a variety of lines would be a great

[@teecefamilykent]

Sir, you rock!

[@martyonline1957]

In the commuting days in the late 70's early 80's, the were occasions when if the Central Line was playing up, almost every day I'd say, we had to walk along this huge long corridor down to Monument for the Circle line, not ideal when you car was parked at West Ruislip and you had to the get back there. Moving walkway ? Modern commuters have it so easy

[@PokhrajRoy.]

One can bank on Bank to be overcrowded. I can’t fathom the pressure it has to face on a daily basis.

[@lorna_alice]

I learned today that it's the Anniversary of the opening of some of the Bakerloo line. I'm just home today after being in the city, and the Bakerloo line feels old. I know it uses 72 stock but God it was depilated and awful. But as I turn 30 today, and it turns 117, both of us could do with a facelift. 😆

[@racosin]

yes please! can we have a video on changing between trains at bank. it is such a labyrinth!

[@eattherich9215]

I haven't had a chance to use the new Cannon Street entrance and is something that I will have to make a concerted effort to try as all my trains now go to Charing Cross. 😡

[@highpath4776]

They are adding back 2tph off peak in the May timetable change

[@eattherich9215]

@@highpath4776: thanks.

[@PoloABD]

I like it. I think the stone entrance will last in terms of aesthetics.

[@iankemp1131]

Ah, so TfL listened to Jago's video and decided they needed to improve Bank :) Talk about influence!

[@isashax]

I also hated changing in Bank. So much walking! This sounds much better.

[@iankemp1131]

All seems very logical and good. The distance between Cannon Street and the Central Line is pretty considerable, so the moving walkways (why not "travolators"?) are a clear bonus. I'm surprised they haven't already built an office building on top of the flat roof, it seems obvious, and a much less architecturally disruptive location that Liverpool Street. But no doubt the foudations will only support a few stories, not a skyscrper.

[@letmelooktv]

totally agree with the most avoided station sentiment. But i will give it a go next time its an option.

[@malcolmfairs7752]

Great video as usual, Jago. Out of curiosity, is the old spiral staircase from the Central Line still there or have they been taken out of use?

[@JagoHazzard]

Good question - I’m not sure, to be honest. I assume it’s still an option. I will have to check.

[@richardsingh5827]

Interesting video, I still hear Morden via Bank although I haven’t been there for 20 years

[@highpath4776]

Didnt Tom Scott debunk the fire insurance only protecting there own insured premises ?

[@GeorgeChoy]

I will be going there this weekend

[@mediacityavid]

Well done Jago. Another mature appraisal. I watched the Mike Reid 'Runaround' style reports on this feature by another Vlogger, but much prefer your leisurely style.

[@admirald2680]

Good one Jago 👍