TfL Journey Planners take roundabout routes

I have previously criticised some stupid results that the Transport for London (TfL) journey planner has generated. But even I was amazed to be told by a reader of his attempts to travel from Farringdon to Paddington on a weekend when both the Tube and the Elizabeth line were suspended for part of the day.

He didn’t want some circuitous Tube route, so switched off London Underground. He was directed on Thameslink to London Bridge, then Waterloo East, cross to Waterloo for Basingstoke, Reading and into Paddington, two and a half hours later.

Not surprisingly, it quoted no fare! It did, however, helpfully add that it takes 38 minutes by bus, 79 minutes to walk, or 30 minutes to cycle.

Returning to July 18, despite the heatwave the new Barking Riverside branch opened, but closed the following day - not because of the heat, but because a train failed towards Gospel Oak.

I was intrigued as to what the TfL Journey Planner would advise if I wanted to go from Barking Riverside just to Barking - normally a six-minute Overground journey.

It told me to walk to Barking Riverside Pier (five minutes) for a 20-minute river trip to North Greenwich Pier, then a ten-minute walk to North Greenwich station for the Jubilee Line to West Ham, then c2c to Barking… 55 minutes in all.

I guess that’s considerably longer if you just missed a ferry! I did ask how long it would take to walk, and it suggested a 47-minute walk to Upney for a two-minute District Line journey to Barking. Well, at least Basingstoke didn’t feature this time!