UNDERGROUND MARVELS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 667, 20 May 1929, Page 2

UNDERGROUND MARVELS

NEW LONDON TUBE HOW LIGHTS ARE USED Another “wonder” station in underground London, capable of handling at least 50,000,000 passengers a year, j is now practically completed. With its labyrith of brightlylighted passages, its numerous escalators and its many other ingenius devices for enabling passengers to j get quickly to and from the trains, the new Charing Cross Tube j and Underground station is vaster 5 and more surprising than the Picca- ; dilly Circus “tube” marvel. Combining under one roof access to ■ three railway systems—District Railway, Hampstead and Bakerloo Tubes —the new station possesses: A “follow-the-light” guide to each of the various systems. Change-giving kiosks. Twenty automatic ticket machines, j Eight escalators. New system o£ station name-plates. !

New' booking hall covering 19,960 square feet. A tour of this underground world reveals surprises at almost every turn. Most striking perhaps are the coloured light routes, which are being tried as an experiment in place of “subway guides.” A passenger arriving at Charing Cross by the Bakerloo on his way to Victoria will follow green lights to the w’est-bound platform of the District Railway, from which every train goes to Victoria. Red lights lead to the Bakerloo platform from Piccadilly Circus, and dark blue lights to the Hampstead platform for Waterloo and Morden. It is believed that this system will speed up 70 per cent, of the passeDger traffic at Charing Cros3.