Brighton – Clapham Junction / Waterloo cheap ticket blocked
Contacting customer service about the use of a valid ticket combination results the combination becoming invalid.
Avoiding the world’s most expensive metro fare for my commute
It has been a long time since my last post about my life in the UK. I have finally got a job which goes well in London since March this year, which is a rail consulting company, and I am a full-stack developer in the company. Unfortunately it is located in Central London (the closest stations are Chancery Lane and Farringdon), understandable because the company wants people to commute by rail as Farringdon is the central point of the rail…
Changing routes on National Rail
In the National Rail system, there may be different reasonable routes between two stations to make a journey. For example, to travel from Bournemouth from Horley (one stop north of Gatwick Airport), I can either first take a South Western Railway service to Southampton Central and change to a Southern service to London Victoria alighting, or take the South Western Railway service all the way to Clapham Junction and change to a Southern service back to Brighton there. Now these…
Is it practical to boycott the MTR? My personal experience since last September.
The MTR is one of the best metro system in the world. It is punctual, efficient and clean. It is a pride of Hong Kong. It is an integral part in the public transport network in Hong Kong, forming nearly half of the market share in the city where public transport usage is the highest in the world. The government has a policy to use railways as the backbone of Hong Kong’s public transport system (以鐵路為骨幹, alternatively railway priority policy,…
Ho Man Tin Station is not in Ho Man Tin
MTR Kwun Tong Line was extended with two new stations added this month, called “Ho Man Tin” and “Whampoa”. However, “Ho Man Tin” station is a complete misnomer: it is not located in Ho Man Tin at all, similar to “Lai Chi Kok” station which is located in Cheung Sha Wan. Ho Man Tin Station is located at former Valley Road Estate, as the name suggests, near Valley Road. That particular place has its own name: Lo Lung Hang (老龍坑),…
My view on public transport efficiency
I have records of some journeys made by public transport for my analysis. The model I use is the generalised cost of the journey taken in isolation. In the value of time conversion, I currently use HKD 12.0 per hour as a passenger and HKD 18.0 per hour for walking, waiting or driving, using the price index of January 2015. These figures may be adjusted if I find them contrary to my personal preferences. I consider, if the generalised cost…
Typhoon and the MTR
Last week, typhoon Vicente blew Hong Kong down. It caused the first signal No. 10 in the millennium. When the signal No. 8 is in effect, most bus routes stop operation while the MTR still gives limited service after the peak period. However, when the signal is raised to No. 9, for safety reasons, the above-the-ground lines have to stop service. In the night between 23 and 24 July, when the signal No. 9 came to effect, MTR announced that…
The art of bus photography
There are many kinds of bus photos. One kind is just for pure record. For example, a single-decker bus running on KMB route 5C is rare enough for a photo. In this case, the quality is not important. You just have to be able to see the route plate and the bus. Another kind is for art. This kind of photos is just like any other form of photography, which is an expression of art. There is no standard. The…