Mind the popularity gap: passengers hate Bank station but love Canary Wharf

 
“Cathedral-like”: clean, light Canary Wharf station, right, is loved by Tube travellers, along with Charing Cross, Baker Street and London Bridge

Tube commuters have voted Canary Wharf, Charing Cross, Baker Street and London Bridge as their favourite stations.

Among the most hated stations, Bank easily made it into first place, followed by Elephant & Castle, King’s Cross and Oxford Circus.

Two-thirds of those questioned in a YouGov survey put Canary Wharf — served by the Jubilee line — at the top of their lists because it was light, clean and close to good restaurants and shops.

However, they said Bank was like a “maze” because of its 10 exits and entrances. During the morning peak, it is used by 96,000 people and it is estimated its absolute capacity of 100,000 will be reached by 2016.

Bank is linked to Monument by long underground passageways, slopes, stairs and escalators. The two stations are served by the Central, Northern, Circle and District lines, as well as the Docklands Light Railway.

With so many exits situated so far apart, passengers often find themselves emerging in a different section of the City from which they intended. “The fact that two-thirds of Londoners have a favourite Tube station and six in 10 have a station they dislike most shows how central the London Underground is to the daily lives of people living in the capital,” said YouGov pollster Laurence Janta-Lipinski.

“While there isn’t a great deal of consensus as to what is the best station, what’s interesting is that Bank has clearly come out as the most disliked.

“Perhaps this poll will have Transport for London bosses asking how they can make it a more pleasant experience for customers.”

A YouGov spokesman said the poll was one of a number being carried out about life in London.

Commuter Ben Koslowski, 28, an architect from Dalston, told the Standard: “Canary Wharf is very grand, almost like a cathedral.”

Kate Prance, 26, an account executive from Fulham, said Charing Cross was her favourite but added: “The one thing that lets it down is the lack of seating — there is nowhere to sit except a bar, which isn’t ideal at 8.30am.”

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