Anyone unfortunate enough to be dependent on public transport in London will know the usual irritation of the constant shut-downs over weekend after weekend. One always feels humiliated by the "welcome" extended to, and enormously sorry, for visitors and tourists to the capital on weekends, especially those who are not fluent in English, who arrive and expect to be able to use a service (they, poor people, apply the logic of the rest of the civilised world and therefore think that something ought to work) - when they ask an LU employee, they get a shrug and a weary variation on "Didn't you know? This is London - the city's closed on weekends." For those of us who live here there is, of course, no reduction in the price of the season ticket to reflect the fact that the service is not delivered as advertised when you bought said ticket, and indeed Boris has just jacked up the price of the tickets once again.
Rather than any more hyperbole from me, just take a look at this in their own words:
If you are planning to travel this weekend 9/10 January 2010, please check if any of the following works will affect you.
Between Queen's Park and Harrow & Wealdstone there is no service due to Network Rail engineering work on Sunday. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
There is no service on the entire line due to track replacement work. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
Between Edgware Road and High Street Kensington there is no service due to track replacement work. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
Between King's Cross St. Pancras and Hammersmith there is no service due to track replacement work. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
There is no service on the entire line due to line upgrade work. This will affect services to North Greenwich station (for The 02). For further details and alternative routes, please click here
Between Aldgate and Harrow-on-the-Hill there is no service due to signalling work. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
Archway, Clapham South and South Wimbledon stations are closed for improvement work on Sunday from 2200. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
Between Warren Street and Brixton there is no service due to track replacement work on Saturday. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
Between Highbury & Islington and Brixton there is no service due to track replacement work on Sunday. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
Bank station is closed until late January 2010. For further details and alternative routes, please click here
Between Gospel Oak and Stratford there is no service on Saturday.
Between Queen's Park and Wembley Central there is no service on Sunday.
Between Willesden Junction and Shepherd's Bush there is no service on Sunday.
Between Richmond and Stratford there is no service on Sunday.
For more information on these engineering works click here
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Great, isn't it?
