|
|
Post by alex92ts on Oct 31, 2011 0:16:39 GMT
Only just found about this service.
It is operated by Southern, and goes Olympia-Wandsworth on weekday mornings (arriving 10.14) and returns from Wandsworth Road at 16.12, arriving at Kensington Olympia 16.29.
Has anyone here ever used the service? If so, are there any other passengers who use the rather pointless service?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2011 0:52:58 GMT
I've travelled on the afternoon service from Wandsworth Road. The train crew did seem a bit surprised that anybody wanted to board it - and I was the only passenger onboard! I have a plan to do the morning service, in the other direction, one day soon.
As I understand it, it provides a (very limited!) passenger service over part of a route that Cross-Country trains to and from Brighton used to use. It runs purely so that statutory proceedings for the withdrawal of passenger rail services over various bits of track can be avoided.
There used to be a bus (or maybe it was actually a coach) that ran once a day, one day a week, as a rail-replacement service covering the Ealing Broadway to Kensington Olympia section of the withdrawn rail passenger service. The bus (or coach) used to go on to terminate at Wandsworth Road. I don't know whether or not this bus/coach still runs - does anyone else know? (I think that it used to run on a Tuesday .... but I might have got the day wrong!)
I'm sure that I read that there will eventually be a train running once a day from Wandsworth Road to Ealing Broadway and then back again, but I'm not sure when this might start.
The current service is actually not, I think, quite as stupid as it may seem. It's a 455 unit and is the one that does Shepherd's Bush / Olympia - Clapham Junction shuttles during the peaks. I guess that it runs from and to Selhurst Depot, so sending the return trip after the morning peak and the outward trip before the evening peak round via Wandsworth Road instead of via the more usual route via Clapham Junction might not be too inconvenient for Southern - indeed it might help in maintaining drivers' route knowledge of an alternative route!
|
|
Oracle
In memoriam
RIP 2012
Writing is such sweet sorrow: like heck it is!
Posts: 3,234
|
Post by Oracle on Oct 31, 2011 8:14:15 GMT
I think I read recently that the service is extended slightly with the new timetable at the southern end..to/from Clapham High Street? And stops at the two intermediate stations between KO and Wandsworth.
|
|
slugabed
Zu lang am schnuller.
Posts: 1,480
|
Post by slugabed on Oct 31, 2011 9:41:34 GMT
I used it shortly after it started....apart from the guard there was me,another obvious track-basher and one "real" passenger.
They keep threatening to extend this service to Ealing Broadway,but no sign yet...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2011 12:43:00 GMT
I've seen the odd apparent 'real' passenger get off the 1612 Wandsworth Road-Kenny O. The continuation services are good for track bashers as they cover the crossovers south of the station. The 1612 arrives P2 and sets off from there 1634 to Clapham Jn. The next arrival from Clapham crosses to terminate in P3 then sets off 1704 back to Clapham from there. There was route-learning for the Ealing service last year (or even 2009) using a 171. IIRC it was due to start from the May 2011(0) timetable but someone DaFT/ORR/NR/FGW? decided the risk of it sitting down in a foreign land and not being able to be recovered was too great so it was postponed (permanently?). Doesn't time fly. Just Googled www.londonbanter.co.uk/london-transport/10456-ealing-broadway-wandsworth-road.html and it seems I was a year out with my recollections. A quick search didn't reveal anything about the coach after 2010. Andy |
|
|
|
Post by uzairjubilee on Oct 31, 2011 16:25:16 GMT
I only just found about this parliamentary service yesterday.
A Wandsworth Road - Ealing Broadway service would be interesting, however I'm wondering where trains would terminate at the latter...
Also, why can't this service be extended to Willesden Junction? Looking at the track map, it seems as crossovers at Kensington Olympia and Shepherds Bush are in slightly weird places.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2011 18:34:01 GMT
I only just found about this parliamentary service yesterday. A Wandsworth Road - Ealing Broadway service would be interesting, however I'm wondering where trains would terminate at the latter... Also, why can't this service be extended to Willesden Junction? Looking at the track map, it seems as crossovers at Kensington Olympia and Shepherds Bush are in slightly weird places. The service would terminate at Ealing Broadway, run empty to a loop just west of West Ealing Station, Reverse there and return I remember seeing the timings for the service (Clapham High St-Ealing Broadway) it arrives at Ealing Broadway around 21:00 For the training runs, they first used a Class 73 and then eventually a Class 171 |
|
Oracle
In memoriam
RIP 2012
Writing is such sweet sorrow: like heck it is!
Posts: 3,234
|
Post by Oracle on Oct 31, 2011 18:58:53 GMT
From PSUL:
Latchmere No 1 Junction - Latchmere No 3 Junction - Longhedge Junction - Factory Junction WB
2112 SSuX Ealing Broadway - Clapham High Street (pathway provided but not used)
1004 SSuX Kensington Olympia - Wandsworth Road
2017 SSuX Clapham High Street - Ealing Broadway (pathway provided but not used)
1612 SSuX Wandsworth Road - Kensington Olympia
From the new December timetable:
A quick check shows the new train
SSuX Clapham High Street 16.11 Wandsworth Road 16.12, Imperial Wharf 16.24 and West Brompton 16.26.
- Kensington Olympia P2 16.29.
The other direction:
1004 SSuX Kensington Olympia; West Brompton 10.04, Imperial Wharf 10.07- Wandsworth Road 10.20
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2011 21:00:14 GMT
I have used the southound service from Olympia to Wandsworth Road but it does not show on the (P)ublic (I)nformation (S)ystem at Olympia and being only a few minutes before an East Croydon service causes some confusion for joe public. I saved a young woman from a misguided journey.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2011 22:29:17 GMT
It will be interesting to see what appears in the December NR timetable.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2011 22:53:07 GMT
This poster is on display at Kensington Olympia  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2011 22:54:46 GMT
Oops it wasn't meant to be that large, have not done this before I must have done something wrong.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2011 23:10:31 GMT
Very interesting! Maybe we should have a grand Forum excursion on said coach service, to make it look busy! ;D ;D
|
|
castlebar
Planners use hindsight, not foresight
Posts: 1,316
|
Post by castlebar on Nov 1, 2011 8:39:57 GMT
The trick would be to arrange to all turn up together one day and overload the coach.
They could hardly tell those who couldn't get on to wait for the one behind. Would they have to find a duplicate? They could always try and save money by trying to turn this into a driverless coach (see other thread), meaning of course, no coach at all. Play them at their own game.
|
|
|
|
Post by claphamomnibus on Nov 5, 2011 20:03:33 GMT
Well I have been lobbying with Southern Trains and Network Rail for two years to bring this service to Clapham High Street. It is frustrating that whilst there will be a service from CHS, there's not the service the other way.
It is literally a matter of 1 minute. Southern had to withdraw its excellent proposal for an Ealing Broadway-CHS service because the DfT couldn't decide whether or not to fund it even though the ORR granted the pathways. The DfT have also said that Wandsworth Road doesn't have to be served, so in May 2012 you could have a Kensington Olympia-West Brompton-Imperial Wharf running direct to Clapham High Street thence Selhurst Depot.
Or of course if the service began at Kensington Olympia a few minutes earlier: effectively the train would need to depart Clapham High Street at 10:21 to be able to run to Selhurst Depot without delaying other services.
I really do think if Southern and Network Rail made a final push, Clapham High Street can be the full terminus for the service.
And if you think about in future under London Overground - why should n'twe have ELLX2 terminating at Clapham High Street to then 'become' additional West London Line trains to Willesden Junction late night/early morning?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2011 14:19:14 GMT
I have used this service after reading about it on IanVisits Website. There were only the 4 of us plus 2 drivers and a guard . Stayed on when we got to Olympia and it took us back to platform 17 at Clapham junction. Was good fun as it ran non stop to olympia. I have also read that from 12 th December it's going to start from Clapham High Street and actually make some stops , so perhaps it will be of more use .
|
|
