When the Victoria line was built, there were severe budget restrictions. As a result, the station infrastructure standards were lower than on older lines and on later extension projects. Examples of these lower standards include narrower than usual platforms and undecorated ceilings at Walthamstow Central, Blackhorse Road and Tottenham Hale. This also affects lighting levels. At most stations between the up and down escalators there is a concrete staircase where an additional escalator could be installed, but has not been fitted. It can cause severe congestion at peak times. This has been remedied at Brixton in 2004 and at Vauxhall in 2006 where an additional escalator has been installed in place of the fixed stairway.
In addition, there have been station closures for safety reasons, when both escalators have been unserviceable. Over many years, heavy equipment has been installed in fenced-off sections at the ends of platforms owing to the lack of anywhere else to install them. It is not clear from Transport for London's Five-Year Investment Programme whether these shortcomings are likely to be remedied.
The 1967 stock was replaced bit by bit from July 2009 as part of Transport for London's 5-year £10 billion redevelopment project. The replacement for the line's 1967 tube stock is the 2009 tube stock built by Bombardier Transportation. The first train was built in 2006. Testing of the new trains began in 2008. The main fleet began to be introduced in 2009 and went into main service in 2010. The last of the 1967 stock trains ran on 30 June 2011, after which the whole service was provided by 2009 stock.
Supporters of Tottenham Hotspur (and the club itself) have campaigned for a surface station to be opened next to Northumberland Park Station, next to the line's depot. This would provide an improvement in transport links, seen as essential if the club's wish to redevelop their ground and increase crowd capacity is to become a reality. The idea was looked into but Network Rail own the necessary land and need it for their own expansion plans.
When Crossrail 2 is built, it will lower the number of passengers on the Victoria line (there are too many at the moment). It will offer an alternative route across Central London between Victoria and King's Cross St. Pancras.
For many years there have been proposals to extend southwards from Brixton one stop to Herne Hill. Herne Hill is a railway station that can link passengers to Kent and other places. The tube station would be on a large reversing loop with one platform. This would remove a problem of having too many trains by getting rid if the need for trains to reverse at Brixton. However, this would cost too much money for how little it would actually help passengers. Given that the line is very overcrowded, this is the only extension that could ever happen.
Northumberland Park Depot is the service and storage area for trains on the Victoria Line. It is the only part of the line not in tunnel. It is next to Northumberland Park railway station, on Tottenham Marshes, Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey.
The Depot is connected to the Victoria Line by a tunnelled branch line to a junction to the north of Seven Sisters. It was opened with the first stage of the line in 1968.
There is a local campaign for platforms for the Victoria Line to be built at Northumberland Park station. This is supported by the Haringey Council and by Tottenham Hotspur F.C. because the club thinks the new platforms are necessary for their plans to increase capacity at their White Hart Lane ground.
Stern Review
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is a 700-page report released on 30 October 2006 by economist Lord Nicholas Stern for the British government.
It discusses the effect of climate change and global warming on the world economy. It is the largest and most widely known and discussed report of its kind.
Nicholas Stern, called the "world’s top climate economist", endorses 350 ppm as “a very sensible long-term target.”
Lord Stern is the co-chairperson of the of Global Commission for the Economy and Climate.
Manuel Pino
Manuel Pino is a professor at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. Opposition to uranium mining has played a big role in Pino's life. He has written about "The Destructive Impact of Uranium Mining on Native American Culture". He has spoken out at many international conferences about victims of uranium mining, depleted uranium, and associated cancer deaths. In 2008, Manuel Pino received the Nuclear-Free Future Award.
Jacqui Katona
Jacqui Katona is an Aboriginal woman who tried to stop the Jabiluka uranium mine in the Northern Territory. In 1998 the Mirrar Aboriginal people, together with environmental groups, created one of the largest protests in Australia's history. Katona won the 1999 U.S. Goldman Environmental Prize because she protected her country and culture against uranium mining.
Third rail
A third rail is a metal railway track that is placed on either side of a train track to provide electrical power to trains traveling along the tracks. They are often used on subways and local train services. Before third rails, electricity was carried in overhead wires.
In the 19th century engineers found ways to use electricity to power trains. Scottish engineer Robert Davidson designed and built an electric locomotive in 1837 using batteries. Locomotives powered by batteries could not be used on the main railways due to the frequent need to charge them.
German engineer Werner von Siemens in 1879 designed the first reliable electric locomotive to carry passengers. Siemens' design used a 2.2kW electric motor and had a top speed of just over 13km/h. This new locomotive hauled three passenger cars along a 300 meter circular railway track and carried about 90,000 people in four months during its trail run at the Berlin Industrial Exhibition. Siemens' electric locomotive was the first train to use a third rail and power was provided by a dynamo built for this purpose.
Early electric trains were unable to access a widely available and reliable source of electricity. A network of electricity that went wherever the rail line network went was needed. Whilst many modern long distance trains use an overhead wire system to provide power, the third rail was the first successful means of supplying power. It remains very much in use world-wide today, especially in local and rapid transit systems.
The third rail is usually located outside the two running rails, but occasionally between them. The electricity is transmitted to the train by means of a sliding shoe, which is held in contact with the rail. On many systems an insulating cover is provided above the third rail to protect employees working near the track; sometimes the shoe is designed to contact the side (called side running) or bottom (called bottom running) of the third rail, allowing the protective cover to be mounted directly to its top surface. When the shoe slides on top, it is referred to as top running. When the shoe slides on the bottom it is not affected by the build-up of snow or leaves.
Third rails typically carry hundreds of volts in high amperage current. This makes them very dangerous. In 2005 American James Maki fell onto the third rail at a Boston rail station and suffered extensive and disfiguring injuries. As part of his treatment he became the second American recipient of a face transplant. Many deaths occur around the world each year due to human contact with a third rail. In New York City, there have been multiple cases of people dying because they have urinated on the third rail.
Yonge Street
Yonge Street (pronounced "young") is a main street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and its northern suburbs. It was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world and is listed as a national historic site. It was the site of Canada's first subway line.