Your passport to TfL

So yesterday morning I made a little detour on the way into work to get a passport for my newborn son.  We're attending a wedding in Berlin at the end of July, so need to use the Fast Track service to make sure the passport's ready in time.  I won't bore you with the details of the bust that appointment proved to be, but I will bore you with the transport details: train from Hersham to Vauxhall was two minutes late (inside TfL's network).  Didn't affect the connecting Victoria Line to Victoria, which was a minute early.  Four minute delay taking the circle line from there to Paddington after my appointment (Circle line train simply didn't turn up when it was supposed to).  Five minutes overall for £12.50.

Going home that night, the tube from Paddington was two minutes late arriving at Waterloo, so I missed the fast train home, and the slow train was four minutes late (within TfL's network).  Meant I was 31 minutes late overall for £77.50.

This morning, the train from Hersham to Waterloo was bang on time - nice one - but the tube to Paddington was two minutes late.  And another two because it was Paddington, not Edgware Road.  Four minutes for £10.

So, overall since the last update, TfL owes Signal Failure another £100 for 40 minutes of wasted time.

Elsewhere, TfL has refuted claims it might sell the "mind the gap" announcement to some stupid drinks company.  Though the sponsorship money this would raise (reputed to be six figures) could be used to cut/maintain fare levels or fund network improvements, I have to approve of TfL's decision:

"This is a safety critical message and we have no intention of changing this for commercial sponsorship. We have been clear about this with Frank PR [representatives of drink firm Upbeat - ed.]"