How many bombers? The map says: one two

Looking this morning at the map of bombings in London, I was struck by the relatively narrow slice arc of London geography the bombers chose to attack. Why didn’t they also go for the tourist-strewn West End or posh Belgravia or strike right in the heart of the pin-striped City?

Looking again tonight, I notice that all those three trains and the bus passed through one junction — Kings Cross/St. Pancras tube/train/bus station. (I used to live right around the corner.)

Here’s the tube map. Edgeware road, Liverpool Street and Aldgate are all on the Circle line (yellow). And Russell Square is on the Picadilly line (blue), which also passes through Kings Cross.

TV commentators this morning suggested that the bombings may have been the work of 10 or 12 people. But the subway map suggests one person could have planted all three bombs simply by strolling around in the Kings Cross station and then surfacing to plant the final bomb on the bus on nearby Tavistock Square. And if the “cell” had more than one person, we’d have seen bombs on other transport axes.

Update: The NYT’s recap states that the two Circle Line trains were headed toward Kings Cross, but doesn’t specify the direction of the Picadilly Line train. If the latter was headed north, it’s conceivable that all three bombs were dispatched from the South Kensington station in the south west corner of the Circle Line, which is where all three trains might have crossed at roughly 8.30AM. But the Tavistock bus is tough to fit into this scenario. If there’s any truth to the lone bomber scenario, the good news is that he’ll be easier to identify in London’s omnipresent security cameras. The scenario also opens the door to non-jihadist Eric Rudolph-like culprits.