The last place you want to be on a boiling hot day like today is one the Tube, the Central Line is more like a sauna than a form of transport in the summer months.
Anyone who has spent a journey crammed against a sweaty persons’ armpit will testify that the tube can be a cruel place. So to overcome this situation Transport for London has launched a Walking Tube map, that shows how far is from station to station. It is true that it is definitely quicker to walk to certain station than jump on the tube. For example Charing Cross to Embankment is 300 steps, Cannon Street to Mansion House is 400 steps and Leicester Square to Covent Garden is 400 steps.
However there are some stations it would be wise to jump on the tube instead of using your own two feet, Denmark Hill to Clapham High Street is 4,500 steps, Surrey Quays to Queen’s Road Peckham is 3,800 steps and Shoreditch High Street to Liverpool Street: 3,300 steps.
It is feared that by 2026 the tube will be too full with 1.7bn people projected to be using the creaking system that year. Encouraging people to walk should hopefully reduce the overcrowding on the tube network and also get people fitter.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says the map will be a fun and practical way to help busy Londoners walk around the capital at ease and without spending any money using public transport.
Mr Khan said: ‘We need to make it easier and more enjoyable to walk around London. We all hop on the Tube to take short journeys around central London, whether for work or when we’re out in the evening.
‘The new steps map will encourage more of us to walk these short journeys instead – it’s good for our health and it will help support London’s small businesses.
‘We’ve made clear our commitment to tackle air pollution and get more walking and cycling in London, and this is a fun and practical way to help busy Londoners who want to walk more as part of their everyday lives.’
Enjoy the walk and maybe you will discover new parts of the capital you had never seen while stuck on the tube sweating and counting the seconds until you get off.
