London Underground 2009 Stock

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The 2009 Tube Stock took me from London Euston to Victoria via the Victoria Underground Line on the second last day of my trip. I hadn't used the London Underground service much because I tended to stay out of the crowd the couple times I visited England. Nevertheless riding the London Underground was a very interesting experience and would intrigue any rail buff. Tube stations were bigger than most passenger train stations in North America, imagine yourself in a subway station trying to get to say Platform 8 to make a connection from Platform 3? Nice eh? Well this time I didn't have to change trains in the Tube though, because the Victoria Line directly connected 4 major Central London National Rail terminals, St Pancras, King's Cross, Euston, and Victoria (last time I visited England, in 2009, I did do some changing around to get from Paddington to Euston, Waterloo, and some other places). TTC Subway riders will find the 2009 Tube Stock familiar in the very faint sense. Well, both the 2009 Stock and the Toronto Rocket are from the Bombardier Movia family, although indeed they look very different and are born thousands of miles apart (Derby vs. Thunder Bay). The 2009 Stock is the widest of all London Tube trains by 1.6 inches at 8 ft 10 in. However, this means that they can't ever leave the Victoria Line on rails. They also form the longest of London's deep-level tube trains at 8 cars, or 437 feet. Thanks to the advanced ATO (Automatic Train Operation) system, the motorman on the 2009 Stock (same as the older stocks used on this line) monitors train operation and operates the doors. Running and stopping of the trains are automated.


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