PGtrips
Ahh... don't you just love PG?
Posts: 113
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Post by PGtrips on Feb 17, 2008 19:27:01 GMT
Just a few queries about the special working this weekend in connection with the engineering work west of Hammersmith.
Do Acton drivers, being on the 'wrong' side of the break, get a very quiet weekend off or do they have massive amounts of extra travel time built into their rosters to pick duties up at Earls Court?
Also, I noticed when on South Kensington westbound yesterday that although the DVA and train destination were OK with West Ken (and Olympia), the platform TD was for Ealing - no wonder the punters looked dazed and confused. Is it not possible to show a West Ken or Olympia description east of Earls Court? In terms of the service, would I be right in thinking that what should have gone to Ealing went to West Ken and what should have gone to Richmond went to Olympia, with the the Olympia - High Streets suspended entirely?
Also, at West Ken itself, I noticed that the trailing crossover at the west end is very tight with the end of the switches actually in the platform. Is this a tight venue to reverse at and how often do people normally get to do this move?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2008 19:33:15 GMT
You are correct that the platform TDs can't show West Ken. I believe the unrefurbed D stocks didn't have West Ken on the destination blinds either.
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Oracle
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RIP 2012
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Posts: 3,234
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Post by Oracle on Feb 17, 2008 19:36:37 GMT
There used to be early morning Picc West Ken reversers, and film exists of these moves with 1959 Stock.
Is OLYMPIA able to be shown east of Krakatoa, sorry Earls Court?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2008 19:51:37 GMT
no olympia or west ken is not possible on the t/d east of earls court the reason for a ealing description being put up was incase the service went up the pipe (nothing new) then the programme machines could be put in first come first serve mode this would let it route the correct was upon reaching earls court once at earls court then can a olympia t/d be put up
on the west side of west ken it is possible to show a west ken description and also a west ken special which infact would route the train into lillie bridge depot
when a train wants to reverse east to west and west ken it has to go just past the starter to enable it to reverse die to the length of the train
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Post by District Dave on Feb 17, 2008 20:16:26 GMT
There used to be early morning Picc West Ken reversers, and film exists of these moves with 1959 Stock. Is OLYMPIA able to be shown east of Krakatoa, sorry Earls Court? Although I think the Picc T/Op's are briefed that the move is possible, I don't think they're now even taken over the route (as we do with our trainees with the fast to/from Hammersmith down the 'fast'. The last time I heard that a Picc was being taken to West Ken the T/Op had to wait at Hammersmith for a pilot. No - the platform displays cannot display Olympia east of Earls Court and it causes great confusion! |
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Post by District Dave on Feb 17, 2008 20:27:34 GMT
In answer to PGTrips original question, the result of this working is a mixed blessing for Acton drivers!
A few become 'additional spares', a few are conveyed to and from Earls Court and their duty works from there, but a few REALLY unlucky ones end up doing Ealing Broadway ,_. Acton Town shuttles which, believe me, are almost as tedious as Olympias.
As aetearlscourt has stated, to do the east -> reverse, we have to move towards Earls Court by about a car's length (there is a marker in the four foot) and the train is the moved back into the platform which then allows the train to clear the points at the west end of the platform and for the doors to be opened, albeit that the end doors will be cut out.
It sounds more complicated than it actually is!
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Post by c5 on Feb 17, 2008 22:26:29 GMT
Olympias are normally displayed as Putney Bridge when heading west toward Earls Court from the east.
It is possible to show an WB West Ken Special (this routes to Olympia but then clears the shunt to Lillie Brudge ASIU) I dont know what comes up on the DMI.
Another one is Wimbledon Non Stop which comes up as Not In Service.
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Post by District Dave on Feb 18, 2008 9:24:05 GMT
I think the question relays to the platform DMI's and other destination boards rather than what your TD's come through as on the signalling equipment.
I have to say that on the few occasions I've been told to reverse a w/b train at Olympia I can't remember what the DMI's have shown - I'm usually too busy making PA's confirming that the train will be for Olympia!
As for West Ken reversers I *think* the timetable used to instruct that destination blinds should show Ealing Broadway so that the pax would at least head in the right direction. Of course that's now different with the CIS system that can be set to show any staion as the destination.
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Post by c5 on Feb 18, 2008 9:45:54 GMT
I think the question relays to the platform DMI's and other destination boards rather than what your TD's come through as on the signalling equipment. I have to say that on the few occasions I've been told to reverse a w/b train at Olympia I can't remember what the DMI's have shown - I'm usually too busy making PA's confirming that the train will be for Olympia! But as there is no TD button for West Ken or Olympia they are usually put up as a rare TD to pick it out. That was what I was tryin'to say! ;D |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2008 13:21:16 GMT
At Bow Road, when I looked out of my Olympia train it was showing Hammersmith via KC. I couldn't see all of the describers where I was sitting.
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Post by trainopd78 on Feb 18, 2008 22:17:21 GMT
For Olympia, Putney Bridge is generally diaplayed through the road and it changes once we get to South Ken.
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PGtrips
Ahh... don't you just love PG?
Posts: 113
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Post by PGtrips on Feb 19, 2008 0:38:24 GMT
Interesting. None of this is heading towards 'world class customer service'. The amount of confusion on South Kensington platform on Saturday had to be seen to be believed. Firstly, there were no live announcements, only pre recorded ones being played over and over. The most irritating of these said that because of engineering works, passengers should re plan their journeys before they traveled - one assumes that most people on a station platform are in the process of travelling (unless they are looking for unrefurbished D Stock a day too late  ) Secondly, you could eventually extract the key information (take the HeX to Heathrow, any ticket with zones 1-6 on it is valid on HeX, take the next Circle to Paddington and change there, don't attempt the buses from Hammersmith - Acton Town except for local journeys) but this was buried in a load of other waffle and was not succinct and to the point. Surely at such a key location as South Kensington, there should be some live PA so that announcements for when Districts and Circles come in are appropriately differentiated. Also, if the DMIs can't be made to show West Ken or Olympia, wouldn't it be better to turn them off altogether or to get them to show 'Check front of train for destination'? As a neutral observer, it just seemed like an already complex situation was exacerbated further by conflicting and unfocused information. |
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Post by Tomcakes on Feb 19, 2008 1:22:46 GMT
Unfortunately, as I have said before, with the number of pointless announcements forced on passengers, it's no wonder people tune out after a while. People don't care about management "targets" on how many Oyster PAs there are every second, they would like said "succinct and to the point" announcements, not waffle. However, what would the passengers know  ? |
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Post by c5 on Feb 19, 2008 4:27:43 GMT
Victoria had done the correct thing and turned the DMIs off. Though that might be because they had been wrong all week there!
That is the only option when they are incorrect, they cant show Check Front Of Train.
I'm sure that they were doing live announcements about using the Hex and changing to the Piccadilly for local journeys when I went though?
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Post by markt on Feb 19, 2008 5:51:42 GMT
Last time I passed through Victoria eastbound it was still one train behind on the DMIs - the second train on the board was the one actually on the platform...!
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Post by District Dave on Feb 19, 2008 11:01:33 GMT
Interesting. None of this is heading towards 'world class customer service'. The amount of confusion on South Kensington platform on Saturday had to be seen to be believed. Firstly, there were no live announcements, only pre recorded ones being played over and over. The most irritating of these said that because of engineering works, passengers should re plan their journeys before they traveled - one assumes that most people on a station platform are in the process of travelling (unless they are looking for unrefurbished D Stock a day too late ) Secondly, you could eventually extract the key information (take the HeX to Heathrow, any ticket with zones 1-6 on it is valid on HeX, take the next Circle to Paddington and change there, don't attempt the buses from Hammersmith - Acton Town except for local journeys) but this was buried in a load of other waffle and was not succinct and to the point. Surely at such a key location as South Kensington, there should be some live PA so that announcements for when Districts and Circles come in are appropriately differentiated. Also, if the DMIs can't be made to show West Ken or Olympia, wouldn't it be better to turn them off altogether or to get them to show 'Check front of train for destination'? As a neutral observer, it just seemed like an already complex situation was exacerbated further by conflicting and unfocused information. The problem is the announcements that are made are prescribed by the Powers That Be and often broadcast centrally from the Network Operations Centre (I think). But bear in mind that on entry to the system there will have been leaflets and posters plastered all over the place; doen't mean to say that people either read or listen however..... Of course there could be a suggestion that the South Ken station staff had simply opted for the easy option and let the 'system' do the talking..... |
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