London’s graffiti artists and taggers have been especially busy on Bakerloo and Central line trains recently. There has been an explosion both of large, colourful pieces along the sides of trains – presumably the result of artists somehow getting access to depots or sidings — and smaller tags on the inside of the trains.
TfL has called it a “significant increase”.
Some of us here at Tubeworker HQ think some of the larger pieces are impressive and have considerable artistic merit. It’s hard to make a similar case for a cab door covered in hastily-done, overlapping tags, like the one shown here.
But whilst the tags inside the trains are unsightly, the larger pieces pose more of a safety risk. They sometimes obscure the windows, meaning detrainment staff can miss passengers, increasing the risk of overcarries. It also means hearing impaired passengers may not be able to see station signage out of the windows, meaning they may miss their stops.
Loath though we are to restrict the artistic expression of graff writers and taggers, the situation needs to be addressed. Drivers need to ask ourselves: if the view into and out of windows is obscured, is it safe for the train to be in service? LUL’s existing policy already states that trains shouldn’t run in service with offensive graffiti or stickers on the inside. If we can’t be certain that a jumble of partially-legible tags doesn’t contain offensive messages, shouldn’t we err on the side of caution there, too?
How come it’s gotten so bad? Firstly, security guard staffing levels at depots are pretty minimal, meaning it’s easier for people to gain access unobserved. Secondly, cleaner staffing levels are similarly minimal, meaning there often aren’t enough cleaners to properly clean trains. LUL could remedy this immediately by insisting that Mitie and ABM hire more staff — or, better still, by taking security and cleaning in house and increasing the staffing level directly.
It also highlights the need for more investment in the Tube. The Bakerloo line stock is 53 years old, and should have been upgraded 17 years ago. On current estimates it’s unlikely to get an upgrade until well into the 2030s. When the company itself clearly doesn’t have much respect for the stock, is it any wonder that the trains have become a communal doodle pad?
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
