Last week, TfL surprised everyone (well, a lot of people) by announcing that the new Overground
station at Barking Riverside would be opening on the 18th of July this year.
Naturally, I planned to make a video on the subject. Now,
it's a little-known fact that I have a day job. YouTube is technically only a side gig for me.
If you're wondering how I can produce three videos a week and also work another full-time job,
the answer is by existing in a permanent state of near-burnout. The point is that the short
notice meant that there was no way I'd be able to get there for the actual opening. But hey, I've
had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride on the first train over a new line twice in the past
year. So it wouldn't be the end of the world if I zipped up there after work. It was a simple plan.
Get the Tube to Barking, get the train to Barking Riverside, film, make a video, profit.
Unfortunately, I had reckoned without Britain undergoing a record heat wave. This has caused
chaos across the country. Both the government and TfL have been advising people not to travel unless
necessary. Speed restrictions have been put in place on several railway and Tube lines. The
asphalt melted on the runways at RAF Brize Norton and Luton Airport. The Daily Mail this morning
claimed that these were symptoms of "snowflake Britain," but conspicuously did not show us the
working conditions of their editor, Ted Verity, to prove what a big toughie he is. Personally,
I think that since the staff of the Daily Mail imply by this front page that they are stronger
than runway asphalt, they should prove it by volunteering to have a jumbo jet taxi over them.
If they are unwilling to do so, they are cowards and hypocrites and must be exiled to space.
Anyway, the long and short of all this is that when I got to Barking, the Gospel Oak to Barking
Line had suffered signal failure. No trains were running. This is something i'm going to chalk up
to "these things happen." It's easy to blame this person or that person for unexpected problems,
but the fact is that there are certain exceptional circumstances that TfL can't plan
for. This is one of them. Having got all this way, I decided that I wasn't going to turn back now,
because i'm stupid like that, you see. The best way to get to Barking Riverside in the absence
of a train was to take the EL1 bus, which was like an oven. If the human body is 90% water,
then by the time I got to Barking Riverside, I was technically inside-out. So what is there to say?
Here's the station. There were still no trains running, nor were they promising any. No press,
no crowds, precious few enthusiasts taking photos, only one idiot from YouTube shooting footage.
Was it a disappointment? Yes, absolutely. Was it a waste of time? No, not really. I had a bit of
a wander around. The reason this station exists is to serve the new suburb of Barking Riverside,
which doesn't yet exist. It was a little bit eerie to be wandering around this place that
had a great big station and nothing around it. It was early evening, yet it was strangely quiet.
There was this navy ship, though, so that was interesting. My journey back was pretty
eventful, in fact. Thanks to various line closures, it took me about three hours.
The sacrifices I make for this channel, man. So that was my trip to Barking Riverside on opening
day. It was... different. After the Northern line extension, the new platform at Bank and the
Elizabeth line, it was strange to see a brand new station with no passengers. I guess this
video is like a making-of for another video that never got made. Basic plan is to come back and do
a proper video when there are actually trains running. So... look forward to that, I guess.
I hope you enjoyed today's video - or is it more like a vlog today?
I'm afraid it really wasn't the video I hoped to make, as you've probably gathered. if you
did enjoy it, then please do leave a like and subscribe for more on Barking Riverside,
the Overground and whatever else I feel like talking about. Thanks to my donors on Ko-Fi
and Patreon, you are the train service to my new station. And I'll see you all again very soon.