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-   -   London Paralyzed by the 'Wrong Kind of Snow' (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/london-paralyzed-by-the-wrong-kind-of-snow-765097/)

PalenQ Feb 2nd, 2009 07:17 AM

London Paralyzed by the 'Wrong Kind of Snow'
 
BBC reports that 'the worst snowfall in 18 years' has brought London to a halt. Both runways at Heathrow were closed and all London buses did not venture of their garages. The Tube even was seriously effected.

All this because of a relative dusting of snow - but in the words of London Mayor Boris Johnson (Johnston?) "it was the wrong kind of snow." (a sarcastic reference to what some train line said once about the inability to run trains after a snowfall).

BBC interviewed some bloke from the Independent paper who said:

"i found it a little QUAINT" when the country shuts down after a dusting of snow (3" however in Leeds) and said that London - recently recognized as the capital of the world - was a laughing stock at the inability to cope with any snow or ice.

I was in London two years ago in early Feb when a similar dusting of snow hit and the city came to a standstill - even the Tubes then.

But seeing London even under a tad of snow was fun and really bizarre.

bilboburgler Feb 2nd, 2009 07:25 AM

I heard Boris too, it is great having a Mayor who can speak ancient greek and latin so he tried to decline the verb To Grit.

Rest of country doing great this day as we had loads of time to prepare (says he with coffee in hand and cat on lap).

Still falling in yorkshire

jamikins Feb 2nd, 2009 07:25 AM

Well that 'dusting' was 8 inches in Clapham (south London)this morning, with more all day!

KayF Feb 2nd, 2009 07:25 AM

It is actually more than a 'dusting of snow'. I reckon about there is at least 6 inches on the ground and it's been falling all last night and all today.

It does astonish me that public transport just can't cope, there are no London buses at all today and only two tube lines out of about ten that are working, and even then they were working pretty badly.

I feel sure that trains in Switzerland do not grind to a halt in snowy weather. What is the deal?

Kay

hetismij Feb 2nd, 2009 07:27 AM

Given the amuont of snow they have had in parts of the US this winter I can understand Pal referring to it as a dusting of snow.

No snow here :)

hetismij Feb 2nd, 2009 07:28 AM

amount of snow - must learn to proofread before pressing enter :)

tomboy Feb 2nd, 2009 07:31 AM

How is it that the subways can't run in snow? I thought that's why one built them.

Easy for me to say, we're pushing toward a (cumulative) 140" record this year. It's been too cold for it to melt, so it just keeps piling up.

So, what's wrong with a little global warming anyway? Isn't that why people move to CA, FL, and AZ when they retire?

yk Feb 2nd, 2009 07:31 AM

Here's a thread over at the Lounge with photo links posted by our UK Fodorites.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35180545

PalenQ Feb 2nd, 2009 07:34 AM

How is it that the subways can't run in snow? I thought that's why one built them.>

Well most Tube lines actually are above ground when they leave central London - so where the trains stop are exposed tracks.

PalenQ Feb 2nd, 2009 07:35 AM

And Boris had the chutpah to say he 'was proud of how London was coping with the snow'

flanneruk Feb 2nd, 2009 07:38 AM

Boris DIDN'T say it was the wrong kind of snow.

He said "There's no doubt about it, this is the right kind of snow, it's just the wrong kind of quantities."

Not much help if your day's been messed up. But at least a good example of grace under pressure.

PalenQ Feb 2nd, 2009 07:49 AM

On BBC radio they had Boris saying 'it was the wrong kind of snow' and explained his reference to what a train franchise once famously said.

jamikins Feb 2nd, 2009 08:03 AM

Well coming from Vancouver I can understand how this paralyzes a city. I grew up in Canada where we had tonnes of snow in the winter...but we also had snow ploughs and infrastructure to deal with it...also everyone was used to driving and dealing with it.

In Vancouver it usually only snows a couple days a year and shuts down the city as no one knows how to drive in it, nor do they have snow tires. The public transit also isnt able to cope with it, and the city owns I think 2 snow ploughs. I imagine its the same for London!

RM67 Feb 2nd, 2009 08:20 AM

Apparently most of the motorways (with the possible exception of the M20) were fairly clear - it was the more rural roads leading to them that were a problem - hence low traffic levels this morning.

Also, I think many firms are becoming more H&S conscious - my old company used to insist we all try and come in no matter what the weather. When several employees had serious car accidents on the same day, they had a radical overhaul of the 'severe weather policy' and from that day on, site shut every time it snowed, no matter how light a dusting....

The UK has a temperate climate, with heavy snow in the south not that common an occurrance. Thus councils don't invest in much bad weather infrastucture.

nytraveler Feb 2nd, 2009 08:27 AM

I can understand drivers not used to snow - or shoveling and with no brushes ro scrapers in their cars not wanting to drive.

But there's no reason a little snow should affect buses, subways or airports - unless the authorities had no snow plows ready to clear the runways.

If we shut down every time ther wer 5/6" of snow we'd be closed a good part of the winter - never mind the people up in the snow belt - who've had 140" so far this year.

yk Feb 2nd, 2009 08:33 AM

nytraveler - 6 inches is not "a little snow" for SE England. If you look at the thread in the Lounge, the UK Fodorites have posted their own pics. The regular streets in the city are not plowed - which makes it dangerous for buses to go around. Plus majority of the tube lines run overground once they leave the city center, so I can imagine how they aren't running as usual.

Basically, they are not equipped to deal with 6 inches of snow, and for a good reason. Why store a ton of snow plows when they get snow like this once in a decade (or probably less)?

Your argument is like asking why Dallas Texas shuts down when it gets more than a little snow flurries.

jamikins Feb 2nd, 2009 08:33 AM

Well I have yet to see a snow plough in Clapham and I live on a main road and there is no way I woud get on a double decker bus today! They werent even running most of the day.

We get very little snow in London (at least so I've heard and in my experience in the last 2 years) so I doubt London has a lot of winter infrastructure.

flanneruk Feb 2nd, 2009 08:48 AM

I'd be extremely angry if my local council wasted money on infrastructure and staff training for an event that occurs about two days in every ten years and which, if left to itself, simply means lots of people work from home.

Unlike New York, London doesn't share a climate with Moscow.

Liz5959 Feb 2nd, 2009 08:55 AM

My DD was on her way to Rome, from St. Louis, for her semester abroad. She, of course, is stuck at Heathrow.
BA cancelled the flight to Rome and told everyone who lived in London to go home, everyone else was on their own, and they needed to rebook either on the phone or online. Not really much help.

Since she was on an AA FF flight, I rebooked her through AA on the same BA flight tomorrow and got her a room at the airport Hilton. Because of the snow, the terminal shuttle busses were not running, she ended up taking the tube (which was running) from terminal 5 to terminal 4.

BBC online is reporting that it is still snowing. Anyone think that flight will go out tomorrow, at 10:30am??



PatrickLondon Feb 2nd, 2009 08:56 AM

>>I feel sure that trains in Switzerland do not grind to a halt in snowy weather. What is the deal?<<

What flanner said. It's not worth tying up the capital in equipment (that has to be maintained and tested regularly) for a couple of days' disruption every few years. In the Swiss mountains, it is.

If there's any "why oh why"-ing to be done, it's about the people who simply can't cope with a change to their routine and can't welcome the opportunity to go and play for a bit.

http://autolycus-london.blogspot.com...ah-pretty.html


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