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Within two years, there could be a single smart card allowing travellers to ride the London Underground, the Paris Metro and the New York Subway.

The company running the tube, Transport For London (TfL), is speaking to its counterparts in the United States and Europe about the possibility of harmonising the ticketing systems. With millions of tourists crossing the globe to visit major cities for business and leisure, the aim is to simplify their travel and spare them the bureaucracy of buying a local card.

In London, most commuters pay for travel using a top-up card known as an Oyster, which has been in place since 2003 and is used by about seven million people. TfL plans to run a ‘contactless payment’ scheme as an alternative to Oyster, allowing people to use public transport by scanning their debit or credit cards on a special reader.

The next technological step would be to develop a common internationally accepted card, making life considerably easier for the tourist.

• London’s museums and galleries enjoyed a blockbuster summer as recession-hit Britons stayed at home and an influx of foreign tourists swelled visitor numbers. Attendances were up by an average of 11 per cent, with some attractions enjoying a 24 per cent boost

by Andy Moreton

Luxique has an unrivalled selection of the finest luxury hotels in London – some large and traditional, some small and chic.

A London Underground (subway) station that closed sixteen years ago was re-opened for a few days to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Tube stations across London became impromptu shelters during the war, providing refuge for thousands of people from the waves of air attacks (‘the Blitz’). For the anniversary, Aldwych station, one of the first to be used in this way, was recreated to look as it would have done in 1940.

An original 1938 train stood in the station and a vintage bus was parked outside to enhance the wartime atmosphere. Guided tours of the station proved to be a sell-out.

Blitz survivors were invited to the station to relive their experiences. Margaret Clark, aged 78, said: “At first we just went down for an hour or two, then we’d go home after getting the all-clear. After that it started lasting all night – we weren’t exactly sleeping, we had no bedding, we just sat, sat on the floor, sat on a bench … My mother had a corner at the bottom of one escalator and my Auntie the corner of the other escalator.”

Aldwych tube station, originally and briefly called Strand station, was first opened in 1907 on the site of the Royal Strand Theatre and is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of an actress trying to return for a final curtain call.

Since its closure in 1994, the station has often been used as a film set and featured in the Lara Croft computer game Tomb Raider.

by Andy Moreton

London is steeped in hundreds of years of history and is a great city to explore at any time of the year, so take a look at Luxique’s comprehensive selection of luxury hotels in London.

The full roll-out of London’s much anticipated bicycle hire scheme has been delayed.

Most Londoners and visitors to the capital will now have to wait until the end of August before being able to use the new bikes. They’ll be available only to pre-registered members when the £140 million ($213 million) scheme is launched on Friday.

The original intention had been to allow casual users to hire a bike simply by inserting a credit card at one of 400 ‘docking stations’ in central London. But there are concerns that there will not be enough bikes on the streets to meet demand after problems installing these stations. Around 100 sites had to be abandoned or were refused after battles with local councils.

The project has been a flagship of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson – himself a keen cyclist – who sees it as rivalling Paris’s extremely successful ‘Velib’ scheme.

by Andy Moreton

Sightseeing by bike (eventually) is just one of the experiences awaiting you in London. Luxique’s Top Destination guide will help you get the best from your visit and we have a hand-picked selection of the finest luxury hotels in London.

A curious thing happened here in London last week – the River Thames disappeared.

Transport for London (TfL) planners wanted to make the underground (subway) map less cluttered and more simple, so they distributed new versions of it without the stylised Old Father Thames and the fare zone grid that helps you decide what sort of ticket you need.

That was the cue for what was described as ‘an overwhelming public reaction’. At the head of the queue of complainants was London’s Mayor, Boris Johnson. He was said to have ‘hit the roof’ after arriving back from New York. He messaged his Twitter followers: “Can’t believe that the Thames disappeared off the tube map whilst I was out the country! It will be reinstated …”

And, guess what? A TfL spokesman said: “The overwhelming public reaction is that the tube and Thames should be reunited, so that’s exactly what we will do.” They were also looking again at zonal information, he said.

The tube map was drawn up in the 1930s by Harry Beck, an engineering draughtsman. His plan, based on an electrical circuit, has since been hailed as a design classic.

by Andy Moreton

The tube is just one of the delights awaiting you in London. Luxique’s Top Destination guide will help you get the best from your visit and we have a hand- picked selection of the finest luxury hotels in London.

Picture the scene: you’re travelling on London Underground’s Piccadilly line (the dark blue one) towards Heathrow Airport and the driver’s public address system crackles into action.

You’re expecting no more than the standard ‘mind the gap between the train and the platform’, or ‘change here for the Northern line,’ but what you hear is: ‘without music, life would be a mistake’.
Alternatively, it could be ‘to live is to dream’, or ‘beauty will save the world’.

It’s the latest idea to ease the strain of travelling on London’s crowded ‘tube’ system – the thoughts of history’s great philosophers.

Jeremy Deller, who’s compiled the selection of quotes given to drivers, said: “I often wish announcements were more personal and reflected the realities and absurdities of living and working in a big city. I think the travelling public will enjoy some humour and unexpected insight during their journey.”

The quotes above came from Nietzsche, Schiller and Dostoevsky. Another suggestion on a message board is a line from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: ‘In delay there lies no plenty.’

by Andy Moreton

The tube is just one of the delights awaiting you in London. Luxique’s Top Destination guide will help you get the best from your visit and we have a hand- picked selection of the finest luxury London hotels.

If you’ve ever been in a crowded London underground train in high summer (well, as high as it gets in London!) you’ll know what a stuffy and unpleasant experience it can be.

For years, experts have been trying to find an air-conditioning system that will operate efficiently that far under ground. Now, it seems, the problem’s been solved and soon, riding the Tube will be cool. London’s Mayor, Boris Johnson, unveiled an example of a new train model last week.

The new air-conditioned trains will serve the Underground’s Metropolitan line beginning in 2010 and additional lines after that. They are all expected to be up and running by 2015.

“I can assure passengers who will use them that, rather than arriving at their destinations drenched in perspiration, they will emerge as cool as cucumbers and ready to enjoy all that the capital offers,” said Mr Johnson.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique offers a range of luxury hotels in London - all close to Underground stations - and a London city guide.

Frequent travellers to Europe will be familiar with the traditional trams that provide transport for commuters and tourists alike in many cities.

Some can be a bit basic and give a bumpy ride, but I’ve always found them extremely efficient, punctual and inexpensive. Here in London, trams in the centre of the city were seen to be too old-fashioned, noisy and dangerous and were withdrawn in 1952 to be replaced by buses.

However, transport planners in London have been having a re-think and the idea of a new generation of trams - quieter and more comfortable than their predecessors – seems to have found favour. There’s already a very successful tram system in Croydon, south of London, and other schemes are being looked at, including a north-south cross-river service to provide an alternative to crowded underground journeys. It would run on electricity and produce no Co2 emissions. Other British cities such as Manchester and Nottingham have had tram systems for some time.

Just over a year ago, the Mayor of Paris introduced a sleek, high-tech five-mile tramline through the city centre – the first since 1937 - and there are plans to extend it.

Planners always have to tread carefully, though, as they’re finding out in Florence. Designs for a new tram service in that most beautiful and historic of Italian cities were laid last October, but the idea has caused uproar and outrage with 13,000 residents signing a petition and taking to the streets to protest.

Everyone agrees that the congestion and pollution in Florence need to be drastically reduced, but the protesters fear that the tram’s vibrations will damage historic buildings and squares. Florence city council says state-of-the-art technology will keep those vibrations to a minimum and actually save monuments rather than damage them.

One of the problems is the sheer number of tourists – officials say the annual influx is becoming increasingly unsustainable, with the statue of David being admired by 1.3 million people a year. For more information visit the Florence Luxury Hotel and City Guide from Luxique.

By the way, if you’re a ‘tram fan’ and happen to be in New York, try the Roosevelt Island Tramway, which offers a 4-minute aerial ride from mid-town Manhattan to the island. At its peak, it climbs 250 feet above the East River. You might have seen it in Billy Crystal’s City Slickers or Sylvester Stallone’s Nighthawks.

by Andy Moreton