Great Western Coffee Shop

Journey by Journey => Transport for London => Topic started by: grahame on March 12, 2025, 14:43:45



Title: Dangers of the underground
Post by: grahame on March 12, 2025, 14:43:45
From The Metro (https://metro.co.uk/2025/03/12/tube-station-book-exchanges-forced-close-fire-safety-issues-22712434/):

Quote
Commuters say their last shreds of ‘joy’ were taken away after London Underground station book exchanges suddenly closed.

Tube stations across London were dotted with community bookswaps, where people can drop off and pick up something to read for free.

However, the Tube station bookswaps now face the end of the road after London Fire Brigade told them to close due to safety concerns the ‘combustible material’ poses.

Book lover Ryan Seller, from Clapham, was left confused when he found the shelves stripped empty with a note saying all book exchanges have been ‘forced to close’ with ‘immediate effect.’


Title: Re: Dangers of the underground
Post by: grahame on March 12, 2025, 15:05:35
From The Standard (https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/tube-union-strike-ebikes-banned-london-underground-tfl-b1216246.html)

Quote
Tube union threatens strike unless e-bikes are banned from London Underground after platform blaze

The fire at Rayners Lane station sent toxic fumes billowing across the station and caused temporary disruption to the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines


Title: Re: Dangers of the underground
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on March 12, 2025, 15:48:02
Hmm.

The King's Cross fire in 1987 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Cross_fire) showed why you really don't want flammable materials on the London Underground.



Title: Re: Dangers of the underground
Post by: Ralph Ayres on March 12, 2025, 19:59:28
I see the article quotes the somewhat clumsy description of "Non-subsurface stations" so on that basis a book exchange would still be allowed at Rayners Lane for example.  Books are actually pretty hard to set light to, particularly when packed close together, so low risk at an above-ground station.  Try it some time with an unloved book! They would eventually burn if the station building went up in flames but would be a trivial part of the overall blaze rather than the cause.  One reason piles of Metro newspapers (clearly visible in one of the photos) are allowed. 

The book exchanges are not on the train where there might be rather more concern, so the (almost certainly dodgy) e-bike is very different in that respect, though modified/non-compliant ones ought to be dealt with on a wider level than just by LU as they're a safety hazard wherever they are.



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