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Comment by TheOtherHobbes | Hacker News Reader

It's been held up because the numbers didn't work and there were numerous false starts - partly because the market for high-end flats is bubbly, and partly because the area has relatively poor transport links.

Apple is leasing new offices, not organising the work directly.

Work has started on a Northern Line extension to the area, which should open in 2020. That will make flats and offices more valuable, because they'll be on the end of a (relatively) easy commute to central London.

Currently the nearest tube is a significant walk away, which isn't very fun in a London winter.

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Right now all those staff are in central London, not a 15-30[1] minute tube trip away from it. But hey, on the plus side, it's the famously-reliable southern half of the Northern Line. And when you get there it definitely won't be wall-to-wall chinless posh kids.

Yuck.

[1] Fifteen being the minimum time it could possibly take door-to-door to Tottenham Court Road tube, assuming no waiting of any kind en route)

It's possible that when the Northern Line is extended to Battersea it will be split into two lines. That should significantly increase reliability.

They're splitting the charing cross branch to run to Battersea Power station, while the bank branch will run to Morden. Kind of how it currently works (Charing Cross trains almost always start at Kennington), so can't see it decreasing reliability. https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-proje...

That's a totally separate idea and won't be done anytime soon. From what I read Camden Town station would need to be rebuilt and plus a lot of other upgrade works: http://www.londonreconnections.com/2013/we-need-to-talk-abou...

I'd guess the staff work in Central London, but don't necessarily live there.

If some percentage move closer to the offices, that might not be a bad plan for them - although not so good for those further north.

The Northern Line is the reason I not only left London, but vowed never to have another job with a daily commute. So I certainly wouldn't wish it on anyone.

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