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Post by jamesb on Jul 8, 2019 20:14:17 GMT
I used TfL rail to get from Roding Valley to Heathrow airport yesterday. Very impressive service... £1.50 in addition to my 1-4 travelcard, about 21 minutes vs paying over £20 for the Heathrow Express. The train skipped some stations, so it was faster than the advertised 30 minutes.
However, on my way home (carrying a case for my brother) we decided to change over to the Central line at Ealing Broadway.
The gap between the train and platform was unbelievable - with a heavy suitcase I very nearly went flying - I had to jump from the train to the platform. There was no lift, so I carried the case over the stairs.
Are there any limits on how far a gap can be?
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Post by jamesb on Jul 6, 2019 20:59:57 GMT
They are frustratingly small, surely there must be a bigger off the shelf varient - 'the next size up' type of thing.
Or projecting next train info onto the wall opposite the platform, combined with adverts - in that way, people would have to look at the adverts to see the next train info! True, people couldn't see the next train info when a train was in the platform, but they could at least see it before the train is in the platform, which is more than we can do at the moment !
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Post by jamesb on Jun 3, 2019 22:04:17 GMT
My experience of the most recent Central Line RRB from Loughton to Stratford is that it is quite efficient. Stratford -> Snaresbrook -> South Woodford (or near to South Woodford!) -> Woodford -> Roding Valley -> Buckhurst Hill -> Loughton. It seemed to be well thought out, running straight up an A road from Snaresbrook to Stratford. I wish there were more closures (living in Roding Valley) - we never had so many busses
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Post by jamesb on May 24, 2019 2:02:43 GMT
I spotted a unit with a new type of inter-car barriers between two cars on an 8 car unit. They were made of rubber. I haven't seen any more units with this mod since a week ago. I had thought all ‘92s were fitted with the rubber sharks-teeth between the cars after the Holland Park incident in August 2013 ? I think that plasmid was referring to the inter-car barrier that is made of synthetic material and held in place by shock cords. I've seen the rubber replacement as well, but that was a few months ago. Maybe they are testing out the new design, which would reduce the need to check that the existing ones are secured in place (3 customers were struck by a loose inter-car barrier at Mile End in 2009). I thought that rubber sharks-teeth were already in place when the incident at Holland Park occurred in August 2013, but they actually ended up being used as steps. After the Holland Park incident, additional rubber barriers were placed above the door, to make it harder to climb up between the cars?
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Post by jamesb on May 21, 2019 8:51:44 GMT
I was a bit puzzled by a train that I was on that appeared to be running perfectly normally, but was taken out of service (at Leytonstone) because it had developed a fault.
Are there certain situations where the computer in the driver's cab indicates a fault that obligates the driver to remove the train from service, even though the train seems to be behaving normally? Can it ever be the case that the computer is falsely indicating that the train is faulty?
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Post by jamesb on Mar 13, 2019 11:51:46 GMT
I was on a train which departed Leytonstone sometime between 8.30am and 9.00am (presumably just after the decision to briefly suspend the service). We were held for what felt like ages (? 10 minutes) outside Leyton. Then the driver announced that the train at Leyton was being detrained. That train must have departed Leyton empty, to let us in. We pulled into Leyton and, after a few minutes, the driver announced that the service was suspended for at least 15 minutes, 'quite possibly longer'. So a packed train of people offloaded on top of a platform already packed with people. We were advised to use local buses. Then, all of a sudden, it was announced 'we are on the move again' but would pass slowly through the Bethnal Green area.
The platform could do with a few fire exits or something because 800 people from the previous train + 800 people from my train is a lot of people to walk up one staircase!
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Post by jamesb on Mar 11, 2019 6:12:52 GMT
Does the arcing mean that more electricity is used in damp/frosty conditions, since it is "wasted" during the process of arcing? Does that mean that the electricity bill goes up when it's raining?!
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Post by jamesb on Mar 3, 2019 7:15:04 GMT
This has been going on since yesterday, with the service currently suspended Waterloo - Willesden Green.
What's gone wrong with it?
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Post by jamesb on Feb 17, 2019 2:59:00 GMT
I thought that staff were all working for the Emirates Air Line the first morning.
I always think that TfL staff are exceptionally good and friendly - that has always been my experience. The fact that they are all wearing the vests is a testament to their professionalism.
If I see a member of staff displaying their orange side, does that mean that they are performing safety duties and therefore shouldn't be approached? Yesterday I saw three staff members on the ticket hall side of the gate line, 2 red, 1 orange. They therefore looked different from each other, but were performing the same job.
Could the vests be reserved for special occasions, e.g. the London marathon, football match days etc. ? To wear them all the time seems a bit over the top...
Staff also multitask, e.g. performing a mixture of safety and customer related duties. Reversing their vests back and forth (e.g. when closing the doors of a terminating train) just gives them another thing to do. Likewise during a station evacuation - will everybody turn orange when inspector sands says hello?
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Post by jamesb on Jan 23, 2019 11:17:54 GMT
I thought that Thameslink trains driven in the 'core' with ATO already automatically release the doors when the train has come to a stop in the platform- or soon will?
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Post by jamesb on Jan 22, 2019 2:56:03 GMT
The cab on those class 345 trains looks like a cockpit; it isn't like the driver can open his door and put 'one foot on the platform' as could be done on an Underground train. Why does the driver need to exit a cab where there is live video of the train side for him to view? I was thinking of the procedure to override CSDE on the tube - I remember reading somewhere that as an extra precaution, the driver opens their side door to ensure that s/he is on the platform side, preventing inadvertent opening of the wrong side. Although I am comparing the incomparable, if TfL rail doesn't have CSDE.
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Post by jamesb on Jan 21, 2019 21:50:43 GMT
The cab on those class 345 trains looks like a cockpit; it isn't like the driver can open his door and put 'one foot on the platform' as could be done on an Underground train.
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Post by jamesb on Jan 14, 2019 7:17:58 GMT
Will any morning [Westbound] through trains [i.e. not terminating at Woodford] still run with the new timetable? I am guessing not.
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Post by jamesb on Dec 25, 2018 11:20:22 GMT
I noticed what looked like new digital advertising boards at Tottenham Court Road going up the escalators - one continuous display. It seemed to be an advert for the advertising space itself. When I looked at it, standing on the right, it made me feel a bit dizzy/disorientated.
The digital boards are becoming more sophisticated and bright, and now moving images in one continuous display (so that the whole display is at an angle to line of sight) has the potential to make people feel a bit dizzy going up the escalator - not a good combination!
Maybe us humans are expected to multitask in this digital age, but I was ascending an escalator, not sitting in the front row of a cinema!
Merry Christmas, by the way.
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Post by jamesb on Dec 5, 2018 22:13:09 GMT
I should be there, my first time coming, having been a member of the forum since 2006!
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Post by jamesb on Dec 2, 2018 20:48:50 GMT
superteacher , So are the trains. The infrastructure on the line is getting a pummelling without the necessary rolling programme of repairs to counteract this fast enough. Given the intensive service pattern that dominates relatively light demand on the outer reaches of line, management taking pot shots at the unions is wearing down alot more than just rolling stock. The signalling system may be more modern, but it still has thousands pieces of kit that wear with every train that passes. Computer control systems arguably require as much care and attention as the conventional electromechanical types of conventional signalling just in a different medium. I would say that the signalling system is relatively modern, but not modern. Imagine using a mobile phone or desktop computer from the early 1990s in 2018...
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Post by jamesb on Nov 17, 2018 13:27:34 GMT
If the Thames Clipper service was part of the same fare zones as the Underground, it might make sense for it to be included on the map, and would encourage more people to use it?
I love using it but it is more expensive.
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Post by jamesb on Nov 16, 2018 4:40:01 GMT
It was about the third car if I remember correctly
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Post by jamesb on Nov 13, 2018 7:54:45 GMT
Thanks for the insight into how decisions get taken.
Going back to the train at Stratford, what would the alternatives have been to allowing the train to depart without a member of staff in the affected car? Part suspending the line and evacuating the train behind, pending the arrival of an extra member of staff? Allowing a member of staff to depart with the defective train, and closing [the London Underground bits of] Stratford station because it fell below minimum staffing levels?
Taking the above, vs. moving the train 2 stops forward to the central platform at Leytonstone, it seemed a reasonable decision to my untrained eye.
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Post by jamesb on Nov 10, 2018 21:22:07 GMT
I don't think that there was a member of staff on board the car with the orange light when the train departed, but the doors appeared to be shut.
The train only had to get as far as Leytonstone initially (2 stops away), plus there was a busy train stuck behind it.
The train passed through Woodford as I was waiting for my Hainault train, with the orange light disappearing off into the darkness.
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Post by jamesb on Nov 9, 2018 23:10:01 GMT
I saw a train getting taken out of service at Stratford this evening. I had nothing but admiration for the driver.
Crowded eastbound platform, crowded train. Close doors, orange light stays on outside a car, open/re-close the doors. Ask for assistance from platform staff. Check the doors. Platform staff walking up and down outside of train (? reports of youth running through the train), talking into their handheld radios. In the meantime, a train waiting behind. Problem appears to be resolved, close doors, problem still there. Tell passengers that the train is out of service. Walk to back of train to do something in the rear cab. Orange light stays on. Passengers on platform getting irritated, difficult to walk up yellow line to get back to the front cab.
I watched very carefully how it was handled, and the driver looked as cool as a cucumber throughout.
I am sure that such instances aren't uncommon, and the train ended up driving away out of service with the yellow light still on (presumably something had to be isolated to allow this to happen).
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Post by jamesb on Nov 2, 2018 12:03:46 GMT
The emergency access covers have been improved I noticed, with properly fitting 'break glass' covers replacing the poor fitting plastic pull ring covers. That should improve cab security a bit?
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Post by jamesb on Oct 26, 2018 15:29:13 GMT
I had the thought that in many cases 'fainting' is a result of our unrealistic lifestyles. Not eating regularly. Not having breakfast. Rushing to the station. Sign of the times!
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Post by jamesb on Oct 17, 2018 11:45:51 GMT
I am a creature of habit and have noticed a change in the last couple of weeks, with trains frequently held outside Leytonstone, and again between Leyton and Stratford, due to the volume of trains in the area - normally between 8.30am and 8.45am.
Maybe compounded yesterday by a passenger alarm at Leyton, and today by an out of service train occupying platform 2 at Leytonstone.
Could this be a sign that fewer trains are out of service during the peaks, contributing to the congestion?
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Post by jamesb on Oct 10, 2018 23:34:30 GMT
I have re-read the report and (perhaps controversially) it is my opinion (as a passenger) that if the driver tells me to walk down from his cab, I would assume that the driver was satisfied that it was safe for me to do so, regardless of him/her having authority to do so or not. To be 300mm from a live power rail, without any fail-safe (e.g. short circuiting device) and without any Network Rail staff etc. standing track side would make me nervous...
The driver is responsible for the passengers while they are on the train, and technically, climbing down the steps from the cab, I would still be on the train, 300mm from a live rail.
Easy to say this in retrospect, but there has to be one person responsible for passenger safety 'on the ground', be it a manager, station supervisor or driver. The only one of these people present when the detrainment started, was the driver. To take on this responsibility maybe drivers need to be paid more/trained more, but the buck has to stop somewhere, and it isn't clear to me that the driver believed that traction current was off or on.
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Post by jamesb on Oct 10, 2018 14:32:19 GMT
While there might be more trains, one drawback of this new timetable is rush hour (especially in the morning) on the Jubilee line platforms at Stratford (14/15).
The platforms become very congested, and for some reason (e.g. this morning) sometimes the first train to leave isn't the first one in - I have seen that the Stanmore train tends to leave first.
This morning, there were no trains on the platforms at about 8.45am. Then a train arrived on platform 14 (despite the indicator board showing next train would be from platform 15). The crowd of people migrated over to the train on platform 14. Then the indicator board flashed with an information update, that the next train would be from platform 15. Then, almost as soon as the train arrived on platform 15, it was ready to depart, while people were running back towards it from the opposite train.
No system is perfect, and I'd rather have more trains and put up with the congestion, but it can be a bit confusing!
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Post by jamesb on Oct 10, 2018 9:50:42 GMT
The key issue seemed to be communication, but I can't work out if the driver believed that traction current had been discharged or not? In my mind, as a passenger, if the driver instructs me to detrain, I would hold the driver responsible for ensuring that it was immediately safe for me to do so. The driver (or guard) is responsible for passenger safety while they are on the train, once the passengers leave the train their safety is the responsibility of Network Rail which is why a driver cannot detrain without authority. This driver was given authority to detrain so it seems they assumed someone had discharged current. Ah, I see. But in the context of a tunnel, unless it was an extreme emergency, wouldn't the driver expect there to be staff in orange jackets meeting him to hand the passengers over to? Surely the driver wouldn't just help them off the train and point them in the right direction to walk up the tunnel without a member of Network Rail staff? Even helping passengers climb down the steps could be a two man job? From reading the report, the (agency) member of staff was on the platform when the detrainment started and went to assist the passengers only when he saw them walking up the track. Does a short-circuiting device exist on National Rail, rather like those on the Underground?
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Post by jamesb on Oct 10, 2018 6:54:29 GMT
The key issue seemed to be communication, but I can't work out if the driver believed that traction current had been discharged or not?
In my mind, as a passenger, if the driver instructs me to detrain, I would hold the driver responsible for ensuring that it was immediately safe for me to do so.
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Post by jamesb on Oct 6, 2018 15:23:00 GMT
JamesB, what buses were running, and over what parts of the line? I gather there was a 2-train service between Loughton and Leytonstone? I am guessing that some existing services were beefed up, e.g. I was on a 167 bus that was very old. There was a bus replacement running between Epping station and Chingford , but limited.
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Post by jamesb on Oct 6, 2018 7:13:44 GMT
Some of the old busses that were rolled out yesterday were frankly not up to the job. I was on a very old single decker bus which couldn't get into first gear, overloaded with passengers, rolling backwards every time the driver tried to pull off, eventually smashing the windscreen of the bus behind.
TfL rail is quite good now, but almost a victim of its own success, because it is capable to delivering vast numbers of passengers to locations that don't have the infrastructure to cope, e.g. Ilford.
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