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Post by edwin on Feb 14, 2008 17:43:33 GMT
Why does it have to have smaller tunnels to go to Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road? Does it have to have tube-sized tunnels or could something like the DLR's tunnel width be adequate? It's doubtful a 'tube line' would need to have tunnels wide enough to accomodate overhead wires.
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Post by edwin on Feb 14, 2008 0:19:53 GMT
Having a station at Sloane Square makes me think it's going to end up more 'tube like' with closer together stations.
I don't really see the point in the alignment north of King's Cross personally, it practically mirrors the North London line, it should go further north and into 'virgin territory'...
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Post by edwin on Jan 14, 2008 9:38:38 GMT
If done skillfully it would look all right. But unfortunately they make Crossrail the "Central" line (the one running straight through the city) in the TfL 2025 map, making the Circle line an ugly shape and completely messing the rest!
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Post by edwin on Jan 10, 2008 23:32:39 GMT
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Post by edwin on Dec 30, 2007 21:19:16 GMT
Big deal? That always happens on the 67TS, 72TS, 73TS, 95TS, D and C Stock, never seen it on the 92TS or 96TS though.
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Post by edwin on Dec 30, 2007 3:24:10 GMT
What is TBTC?
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Post by edwin on Dec 18, 2007 23:35:03 GMT
A question about doors that i've always pondered about... Why do Northern line drivers open their doors really quickly whereas Jubilee line drivers take yonks? The PEDS I suppose, I find a lot of Northern T/ops miss the stopping mark slightly, and so have to use the door controls by the cab door to open the doors. It happens at stations without PEDs though, like at Kilburn the other day I waited over 10 seconds for the doors to open. When I was on the Northern line the doors opened as soon as the train stopped! Same for the Piccadilly/Victoria lines.
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Post by edwin on Dec 17, 2007 23:13:25 GMT
A question about doors that i've always pondered about...
Why do Northern line drivers open their doors really quickly whereas Jubilee line drivers take yonks?
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Post by edwin on Mar 1, 2008 19:17:15 GMT
Why didn't they restore the original brickwork on the platforms?
This is a loosely related question: but does anyone know if Metropolitan and District railway stations were designed differently, with the former having arched roofs like in the Paris Metro and the latter being more boxy in shape?
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Post by edwin on Mar 1, 2008 19:20:58 GMT
Why not use the original Metropolitan Railway tunnel between South Kensington and Gloucester Road as sidings?
EDIT: there is only space for one long siding in the trackbed!
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Post by edwin on Feb 27, 2008 21:47:45 GMT
I saw it at Gloucester Road today going westbound. It's quite odd seeing how small tube trains when in a high platformed station!
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Post by edwin on Feb 17, 2008 23:15:46 GMT
Central line at Bank is the biggest I think, you can actually see the wheels and the shoe gear from the platform it is so wide!
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Post by edwin on Feb 5, 2008 23:03:31 GMT
Sorry... but where is ECT? And I too noticed they had dissapeared at Earl's Court... Are they supposed to be temporary or are they not coming back (the old indicators)? ECT = Earl's CourT Ahh okay thanks for that. It's good to know that the destination signs are coming back!
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Post by edwin on Feb 4, 2008 0:00:40 GMT
Sorry... but where is ECT?
And I too noticed they had dissapeared at Earl's Court... Are they supposed to be temporary or are they not coming back (the old indicators)?
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Post by edwin on Jan 20, 2008 23:39:48 GMT
I like the idea of using a DVA announcement asking passengers to use the buttons at the next station. However, passenger open increases dwell time, and so it should only be used on sections of line where the service is less than, say, 20tph. It would certainly help to keep people warm in winter. Hasn't this been tried before and passengers ended up getting confused and expected doors to open at overground stations? Also, I disagree with trying to make us warm in winter, personally i'd rather trains were just left without any climate control at all, my climate control is the coat that I decided to put on when I came out the house!
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Post by edwin on Jan 18, 2008 9:59:52 GMT
Another pain is that the stations on that side are probably some of the most attractive on the sub surface network! Of course, those exciting stations like Blackfriars, Tower Hill and Liverpool Street are all long enough!
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Post by edwin on Jan 24, 2008 22:13:02 GMT
I drive District Line trains, the C and D stocks. The main issue with dwell times at all times of the day is that people tend to crowd round entrance ways without spreading themselves down the platform, standing in the paths of people trying to alight and then you get people that don't use all the doors when the doors either side are free. This is a bigger issue for off peak trains but some of the peak hour throng are guilty too. Sorry, I omitted the fact that I state the line to so I state "This is a district line train to .... via........ If the platform is really crowded, i'll say stand either side of the doors to allow the passengers off the car first please, then i'll spiel line, destination etc. It boils down to common sense at the time really. The D stock system is so user unfriendly and time consuming (it means pressing 3 buttons (assuming the buttons and software lag take) and then waiting up to 15 ish seconds) just for her to say stand clear of the doors. Its easier for us to pick up the handset and make the announcement manually before closing the doors. As an aside, i would still love to be able to make my own announcements at interchanges, but by doing that you lose the door chimes when closing the doors with the handset off the hook and even more annoying than that, as soon as you hang your PA handset back up onto the cradle, she makes the announcement in full about the previous station even though you're accelerating off!!! They don't always make life easy for us to do whats best for the customer. As good as those ideas are, it's sometimes easier said than done to put in best practice. The C stock has a much better system in most respects. Door chimes work regardless, one button press for stand clear of the doors etc and its instant. When it works its a great piece of kit, and is easier to work round. I agree about the door opening. Many drivers do that so the doors are open the moment the train stops. Some stocks can do it, some can't. Thankfully sub surface stock can. Very informative, thank you It seems DVAs aren't neccessarily designed the way they should be... Do you think they'll be any better for the 09TS and 'S' Stock? Which stocks can operators not open the doors before the train stops? The 92TS and 96TS are the only ones i've never seen do it. Apart from that, I don't have much else to say! Thanks for your replies, I think we both agree that announcing the station as the train arrives is a better way of doing it, I also think that any warnings (e.g. "This train terminates here" and "Mind the gap") should be done in a loud male voice. We'll have to agree to disagree with the "This is a Victoria line train to..." thing, I prefer the briefness of "this train terminates at Brixton"!
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Post by edwin on Jan 19, 2008 17:30:26 GMT
I don't think there needs to be a "Please move right down inside the car" or "stand clear of the doors" personally, most passengers in the peaks know what to do. Instead of having "please stand clear of the doors" there should be a longer warning before the doors close IMO. I also think "Mind the gap" should be at the same time as when the station is announced, it's just as important... And it wasn't really my idea, I just copied it from most other metro systems! ;D When we were allowed to Make PA's on the move and before DVA's were put in, I used to announce the station and interchanges and gaps on approach. Once in the platform I would announce where the train was going and via points first with any neccesary "stand either side of the door openings to allow passengers off the train first please", "move down inside", "use all available space/ doors" (as required) and of course stand clear. I disagree with you, rush hour passengers are better but still require herding. I can knock a third off my dwell time with the effective use of PA's, and trust me, passengers can definitely hear the PA when they are standing by the train As already mentioned, its an authoritative voice State the interchanges/ gaps and attractions on the approach and unlike the Bakerloo and Vic lines, ensure its loud enough to be heard whilst on the move!! Here are my thoughts on all this: I prefer the destination and Via points to be said first as generally people need time to work out where the blummin thing is going and that the train is it going to take the people to their destination!!!! The main via points being missing is a step backwards IMHO!! I think once in a platform destination and via's are far more important than tourist spots as these have already been mentioned on approach to the station. The way we do things now means that people have no time to work out where they are going because by the time she has stated the destination we have to close the doors or we will be holding the road causing queuing into the station. When running late, we end up cutting her off without any destination being stated at all to try and regain some time. The result is obvious. We might as well say. . . "This is Westminster, please mind the gap between the train and the platform, change for the Jubilee line, alight for Westminster abbey the Houses of Parliament and Westminster pier. . . . .Oh and by the way this train goes to Wimbledon just in case you wondered"!!! As you lot can probably tell, professional PA's and our current company standard on DVA's is something close to my heart and I think we are currently a long way from getting it right on sub surface at least!! Interesting post! Which trains did you drive? And what did passengers do wrong during rush hours? How about "This is Green Park, change here for the Jubilee and Piccadilly lines" then doors open, about 5 secs and then "This train terminates at Brixton" do you think that the lines are all receiving "This is a Victoria line train to" to remind passengers of which lines they are on? "This train terminates" is quicker and more to the point. After that there should be a longer door closing chime, perhaps "Stand clear of the doors" and then a 2 second ringing sound, if i'm right the current "Stand clear of the doors"s are driver operated? They should be automatic. I also think that the DVAs should have correct English, why does the Northern line's say "Change for Victoria line" you change for the Victoria line, it's a noun! Another thing that would shave off a few seconds would be to open the doors quicker, many times i've had to wait for the doors to open at rush hour, they should open before the train even stops! Some operators seem to "clock it" and do it at every station though. This is done in Paris and Moscow which both have higher frequencies than us! These are just my observations as a commuter, i'm not pretending I know how to do the job better then anyone else!
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Post by edwin on Jan 19, 2008 2:09:39 GMT
Still at Waterloo.
I think 'shouty man' should refer to the one at Victoria...
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Post by edwin on Jan 15, 2008 22:12:48 GMT
Nope, an irritating female voice says something along the lines of "MIN THA GUP"
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Post by edwin on Jan 11, 2008 23:19:11 GMT
When changing ends in a siding, would you like to come face to face (on your own) with a person or group of people who are upset at being overcarried? They might be angry and violent. They might be armed. Most people aren't, but would you like to take the chance? At least one member here has been assaulted by a passenger who was angry/upset about not being able to get to his destination. I don't remember the exact details, but I think there were delays and the train was going to be turned short of the passenger's destination (somewhere on the West Ruislip branch of the Central iirc). The member (who was the t/op of the train) was off work for several months recovering from his injuries - this happened at a station where there were lots of other people around. Some sidings are quite remote from help. For peak hour services which will need the higher frequencies, the driver shouldn't even have to walk through the train, there should be one in the other cab for quicker reversing IMO... But I do agree with you... I don't think there needs to be a "Please move right down inside the car" or "stand clear of the doors" personally, most passengers in the peaks know what to do. Instead of having "please stand clear of the doors" there should be a longer warning before the doors close IMO. I also think "Mind the gap" should be at the same time as when the station is announced, it's just as important... And it wasn't really my idea, I just copied it from most other metro systems! ;D
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Post by edwin on Jan 11, 2008 15:56:58 GMT
they should also use him when a train is about to reverse in a siding just after they drop that silly law which means they have to tip out passengers in every carriage, That 'silly law', to quote you, was introduced after a passenger fell to their death whilst moving between carriages in Liverpool Street siding. We also cannot carry passengers past shunt signals as the points are not locked in position in the same way as those where colour light signals fitted. A complete overreaction IMO. Because of one passengers being silly enough to move between carriages on a moving train the H&S lobby decide to potentially reduce the passenger carrying capacity of LU? Most other metros don't have these silly laws. Anyway, passengers have as much of a chance of falling between the carriages whenever it moves between stations! Why can't we simply have an announcement along the lines of "This train will be re-entering service shortly, remain where you are" when a train enters a siding? But of course this will be ignored like the rest of the noise pollution that LU churns out day after day...
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Post by edwin on Jan 10, 2008 22:42:13 GMT
Old man on the Jubilee should go on every single line to warn passengers of the gap, they should also use him when a train is about to reverse in a siding just after they drop that silly law which means they have to tip out passengers in every carriage, of course. The loud male voice will draw attention more amongst the plethora of pointless female announcers in stations and trains.
I also think a DVA should go like this: "This is Green Park. Change for the Jubilee and Piccadilly lines." as the train arrives into the station and then when the doors open it should go "This is Green Park... This train terminates at Brixton" it gives people more of a chance to get ready to get off and "This is a Victoria line train to Brixton" is too long winded.
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Post by edwin on Dec 30, 2007 2:36:15 GMT
It mentions an eye hospital? It mays well mention a chippy round the corner...
Seriously, who an earth decided to have so many announcements? The ones at Earl's Cort on the Piccadilly line make me feel as if i'm about to be told to go home to my mummy and play with some lego. And the ones at Finchley Road constantly overlap like some god awful dance track.
Another point: BRING BACK THE STERN 'MIND THE GAP' ANNOUNCEMENT!
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Post by edwin on Nov 9, 2007 14:12:17 GMT
"Mind the Gap, please" is at Bow Road, Gloucester Road, Bethnal Green and Great Portland Street... Gloucester Road and Bethnal Green both have straight platforms, the irony is is that Baker Street on the Met has a gigantic gap yet there is a complete absense of an announcement there...
The new "Mind the Gap, please" and female "Mind the Gap" are both utterly dire. The old style one at Embankment (northbound, Northern line) is the best.
And if you think the lifts at Chalk Farm are bad, listen to the ones at Queensway, they should get her to do it! Or possibly Thatcher.
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Post by edwin on Apr 1, 2008 20:39:38 GMT
Wasn't that because it was starved of funding, not because it was public?
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Post by edwin on Feb 20, 2008 13:36:02 GMT
On a side note, are the tunnels being cleaned as part of the PPP? I can't see air-conditioning working very well on some of the SSLs tunnels...
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Post by edwin on Jan 8, 2008 19:48:40 GMT
Edgware Road or Kentish Town is my guess.
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Post by edwin on Nov 22, 2007 1:12:28 GMT
Noooo! Please don't widen the tunnels. Then we'd have bland normal sized trains, the Tube train is as Londoney as Double-decker buses!
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Post by edwin on Dec 10, 2007 17:56:32 GMT
I think this looks pretty good colourwise: Two shades of orange is definitely possible, even if the circle line does stay -unlike on this map-, and if the Chelney line will be more of a tube line I would give it a full-coloured line, whereas Crossrail can get a 3-stripe line. The green looks good I think. The Northern line's Charing Cross branch should remain black, as someone said, it is the main 'axis' of the tube map, along with the Central. The City branch should be purple, but then so should Chelney! as purple goes better with the Victoria, Piccadilly, Northern and Central lines which are all around the same area... Perhaps the City branch in green? That map should show Barbican and Farringdon as a single complex, the same for Moorgate and Liverpool Street...
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