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Post by snoggle on Mar 29, 2016 22:04:20 GMT
LO works very well when the service is running fine, but it all seems to collapse when there are delays. There is a marked difference, it seems, between the way LU gives information and they way LO does. I wasn't caught in today's woes. I do agree with you though that LOROL do struggle terribly when things go wrong. I've been caught up in a mess at Willesden Junction where there were no announcements, trains terminating "downstairs" and the customer info displays were as useful as a chocolate teapot. I wasn't terribly impressed given how well the "normal" service manages to perform.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 26, 2016 22:15:50 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 25, 2016 20:36:41 GMT
As I am very sad I thought I would read the Crossrail Concession Agreement to see how the new Class 345s come into service and how the 315s disappear. One important starting point is that the new Class 345s come in two forms - RLU (Reduced Length Unit) and FLU (Full Length Units). RLUs will only ever operate on the eastern side of the Crossrail and even then only in the short term. MTR Crossrail do not take on the current H'row Connect Class 360s so they effectively become surplus. No of units | Date | Comment | 1st and 2nd | 17/4/17 | 2 RLU training units | 2-15 | 1/5/17 | 2 RLU training units and 13 pass trains | 15 | 19/9/17 | 11 diagrams for Liv St - Shenfield services | 17 | 31/12/17 | As above plus 2 FLUs for driver training | 17-35 | 15/4/18 | 15 RLUs, & 18 FLUs and 2 FLUs for driver training Covers Liv St - Shenfield / Padd - Heathrow | 36-37 | May 2018 t/t date | As above plus 2 spare units | 36/7-47 | 6/7/18 | As above plus units for trial running on the core section Abbey Wood - Paddington | 36/7-47 | 4/8/18 | As above but the extra units used for trial operations Abbey Wood - Paddington | 48 | Dec 2018 t/t date | 15 RLUs for 11 diagrams Liv St - Shenfield, 19 diagrams on Central section | 49/50 | Up to May 2019 | As above plus 2 spare units to support operational service | 62 | May 2019 t/t date | 45 FLU diagrams for Paddington - Shenfield / Abbey Wood services. 5 RLUs for peak G Park - Liv St services | 63/4 | Up to Dec 2019 | As above plus 2 spare FL units to support operational service | 63/4 | 3/8/19 | 10 of the RLUs will be converted to FLUs by this date | 63/4 | 4 weeks after Liv St Platform works | Remaining 5 RLUs are converted to FLUs | 65/6 | Dec 2019 t/t date | 61 diagrams for full through services and peak flow Shenfield - Liv St (main line) |
The dates are taken from the contract definitions for the various "Stage Dates" for service build up. The Liv St platform works date is apparently defined in the Rolling Stock Provision Agreement but I can't find that. As can be seen the eastern service runs with shorter units until the tunnel connection opens at Stratford. There is also a mixed operation of class 345s and 315s right through into 2019 because of the need to cope with short platforms at Liv St main line. Full length units will clearly be marshalled largely in West London until 2019 when through services start on to the Shenfield route.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 24, 2016 10:26:51 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 23, 2016 19:09:28 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 21, 2016 10:06:57 GMT
My experience with the bar was that it was always used at busy times, when there were any standing passengers - in the peaks, say, and eg between North Acton and Woodford, but that most guards would unhook it and take to "the cushions" at the far ends of the line. There always seemed to be handy copies of the Sun or Mail lying around, too. The unattended panel was common. Yes, you knew an inspector was around if the bar was up on the country sections. Of course, it was unheard of to have significant standing up to Epping; but now there are several million passengers a year from the five stations on the main line outside Greater London. By the way, Snoggle, do you mean "hair dryer" rather than hair driver? I used to love that, and would lean backwards out of the window just to experience it, much to the disgust of any lacquered girl standing or sitting nearby! Yes I did. My typing is getting worse and worse. I've amended the original. I was really referring to the blast through the vent above the driver's cab and in to the first carriage. Didn't involve any leaning - just standing in the centre of the first car and nearer the front end than the back.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 21, 2016 1:05:19 GMT
A couple of relevant Mayor's Answers on the closure and service afterwards. Something tells me Mr Biggs' questions were supplied by the line User Group!!
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Post by snoggle on Mar 20, 2016 16:06:57 GMT
I can recall there being various issues with the strength / condition of various platforms on the Rayners Lane branch. They probably all need some level of construction / attention. This certainly isn't the first problem with South Harrow. Of course such works can be hugely disruptive for people and costly for no obvious "visible" result if you want to boast about your investment programme. However stopping the station closely for vastly longer if it all falls in a heap might be considered a "benefit". I suspect that any substantive platform replacement / strengthening works, almost certainly needed for ATO with PEDs on the Picc, have been bundled into the (delayed for over a decade) line upgrade.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 20, 2016 13:03:48 GMT
The 62 stock were the Underground trains I used the most when I first moved to London. I did Leyton to Liv St regularly complete with "instant hair dryer" effect if stood in the front carriage as the train plunged into the tunnel west of Leyton. It's all very lame nowadays - the 92 stock crawls into the tunnel by comparison with the full "blow your hair" speed of 62 stock. Some memories courtesy of Mr Smiler and his video camera. Hold on tight as some of the footage is a bit wobbly. Also note the guard having a leisurely sit down. Enjoy the decay and dereliction of Bank and Liv St stations.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 19, 2016 18:30:47 GMT
Have friends in Chadwell Heath, and they are already saying when Crossrail arrives, they will be bailing at Stratford to connect iwth the underground, rather than going to/from Liverpool Street as now. What? They presumably don't understand that Crossrail will be faster than the Underground given the superior performance of the class 345s and far more modern infrastructure. Do they also know that in the peaks there will still be a number of Crossrail trains running direct into Liverpool St (surface station)? I also suspect that Liverpool St Crossrail is one of the few Crossrail stations where egress times to the street are relatively low - just up a couple of longish escalators with a gateline between them at ticket hall level. Central WTT shows Stratford - Liv St taking 9.5 mins. Crossrail's journey time calculator shows 7 mins for Stratford - Liv St. Current TfL Rail timetable shows 7 mins for Liv St - Stratford but between 8-10 mins from Stratford *to* Liv St so slower than Crossrail given there is no intermediate stop. I assume the slow speed approach into Liv St plus "padding" accounts for the longer journey time to Liv St compared to the reverse direction. I hope your friends will actually *try* Crossrail and see how it compares to a slower tube journey plus waiting time at Stratford.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 19, 2016 18:16:20 GMT
How does this work? Let's say a freight operator on the NLL screws up thereby delaying the Overground. Arriva will then be fined for those no-fault delays. Will they need to recover the fine from the freight operator? Won't this end up becoming very litigious territory? Litigious territory is the bed we've all made for ourselves and we'll all have to lie in it now. I'm constantly staggered by the lengths some will go to in order to extract compensation, even if it was largely their own stupidity that led to the situation. Having helped run a fault attribution system for many years and having reviewed and dealt with all sorts of contested incidents the instances when lawyers get involved are minimal (a handful in tens of thousands of incidents). The vast majority of incidents are easy to deal with because it is completely clear who is responsible and there is no argument. The point of a shared "fault" system as created on the Overground contract is not to create argument. It is about encouraging joint working between all the parties and identifying what went wrong. If there are repeat problems then there is "pressure" to seek a resolution to them. People moan about the LU PPP but what it did force through was a much better understanding of what happened, why it happened and created a financial incentive to get things right. That may mean spending money on new / improved kit, changing maintenance practices or altering how people respond to things so as to reduce incident duration. No one at LU would ever give credit to the PPP these days but does anyone really believe that the current levels of basically decent performance on LU would have come about without the rigour of attribution and all the associated investigation and better understanding by operators and engineers? If you don't understand the railway and how it is / is not working you don't stand a chance of being able to improve it. And just for clarity I am not claiming PPP was perfect (it clearly wasn't) - just that it helped change the ways things were done.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 18, 2016 15:26:10 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 17, 2016 17:12:20 GMT
I'd expect the decision on the new operator to be announced tomorrow morning in line with relevant Stock Exchange reporting rules. The decision was due to be made at today's TfL Board meeting.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 17, 2016 17:10:29 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 17, 2016 17:04:54 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 14, 2016 1:00:17 GMT
What's the history and reasoning behind the Watford special fare zone? Its all to do with the fact that WCML express trains operated by Virgin call there. Watford Junction is little unusual in that respect, because on other main lines InterCity services have their first / last calls a lot further out (Stevenage, Luton & Reading) Basically at a station where multiple operators call, the revenues to a common destination (in the case Central London) have to be split up amongst them, with the most frequent operator generally getting the most money. Also if Watford was fully absorbed into the zonal fare structure the London Midlands fares would have to come down by quite a large amount However the DfT let the Virgin and London Midland franchise on the basis that there would be no change (other than inflation) to the fares income they would receive (if it did alter then the company would be able to challenge the 'premiums' they had to share with HM Treasury under the Franchise agreement). As such the only way TfL could get Oyster acceptance at Watford was to create a special zone which ensured that the the fares and the distribution of monies to the other parties was not changed by Oyster. This will be repeated when Oyster will be available to Reading and Gatwick in the future, as the DfT have taken great care to protect their financial position. Consequently Oyster will NOT always be the cheapest option outside the GLA area and the fares revenue on DfT franchised operators does not suffer from Oyster acceptance. It is worth repeating that TfL are bound by an agreement with the DfT that they cannot make fare changes which create anomolies where TOCs have the lead pricing role. This is why PAYG fares differ to some extent on the West Anglia and Shenfield routes. Watford Junction is in the same position. It is also the case that TfL have had to financially compensate Abellio Greater Anglia in respect of Stratford moving to Z23 and also in respect of WAML stations being incorporated into the TfL West Anglia PAYG tariff rather than remaining on the National Rail PAYG tariff. All this special pleading by daft MPs outside the zonal area completely ignores all of these financial movements and I really do not see why people in Watford should have their fares cut with money out of the TfL budget. We've been "done over" by the Chancellor in respect of the revenue grant going completely so there's no largesse to splash around. Worse both Herts and Essex are trying to dump their funding contributions for TfL contracted cross boundary bus services but Herts and Essex residents are screaming for the Mayor to stump up the cash. Excuse me? Go and get your own councils to maintain their funding or lose the services - it's as simple as that. Finally it is also worth noting that the potential fares freeze proposals from one Mayoral candidate are very likely to come under severe pressure from the DfT and Secretary of State because National Rail fares at places like Shenfield, Broxbourne and Watford Junction (and later Reading) will continue to rise by RPI thus creating a wider "step" between the TfL tariff and other fares at or across boundaries. Furthermore the funding compensation arrangements will also increase every year that TfL fares remain static. At some point that Mayoral candidate (if elected in May) and TfL will be held to be in breach of the obligations they are tied in to. That will bring on the pains rather nastily - something tells me a fares crunch might just arise in late 2019 just before Crossrail fully opens and only, oh dear, 6 months before the 2020 Mayoral Election. What a time to have to break your manifesto pledge.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 13, 2016 18:10:01 GMT
I think it is true that ticket offices have been descoped from all central area / shared with LU Crossrail stations anyway so nothing will be under construction other than a POM enclosure and banking area. Will have to wait and see. Certainly the Crossrail entrance will be to west of the Thameslink one to cope with passenger numbers. They're spending a lot of money on the ticket offices at the existing stations. Agreed because those offices a) are in poor condition like the rest of the inherited stations. It's no shock that they are being smartened up. b) must stay in service under the terms of the franchise / concession contract. TfL will not, at this stage, want to seek to remove the facility and go through all the statutory consultation process which is mandated for National Rail service changes. c) are likely to be a political hot potato that the Mayor and SoS for Transport won't want on their plates any time soon. They will want Crossrail brought into service and settled down before changes to retailing are contemplated. I was very careful to refer only to those offices under LU control in the central area. They are NOT subject to regulatory control and I have been through the plans and a number have been changed to remove ticket offices. Our first live example is Tottenham Court Road - no ticket office there. I believe that Whitechapel's plans have had the ticket office removed. Two places I don't know about are Custom House and Woolwich - they'll be MTR Crossrail operated AFAIK and are new NR stations. Interestingly the Crossrail Concession Agreement has been published but bits are redacted. It's a huge document but from a quick look through I can't find specific ticket office hours as they are cross referenced in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement apparently. It is clear though that MTR Crossrail can, if they wish and with RfL's agreement, seek to change ticket office hours but require SoS agreement. It's also clear that almost all stations will be gated (4 won't be) and they have to be kept in service for the full service day. The Agreement also has a detailed schedule explaining how the new train fleet will be introduced. Looks to be worth a read but any comments will need to be in a different thread.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 12, 2016 20:22:52 GMT
btw, that is not the Crossrail ticket office. Still under construction next door. I think it is true that ticket offices have been descoped from all central area / shared with LU Crossrail stations anyway so nothing will be under construction other than a POM enclosure and banking area.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 11, 2016 19:01:01 GMT
I had a wander down to Lea Bridge station today. Decent amount of progress from the last time I went past on a train. Platforms are 8 carriages long – a passing train confirmed this! The platforms have nosing stones and lamp standards and shelters in place. I expect they will be surfaced shortly. The stairs, overbridge and lift towers are all built and certainly the bridge and stairs are usable. Hard to see what state the lifts are in but they look as if they are installed. The entrance is largely in place in terms of a long “Z” ramp for level access plus two shallow staircases. There isn’t much in terms of structure for the “ticket hall” yet but I dare say that will be one of the last bits. Didn’t have my camera so no snaps. The hoardings all have paintings and pictures done by local school children extolling the virtues of train travel and the new station.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 10, 2016 12:23:31 GMT
. Interestingly there is a call for a review of the number of Z1 stations I couldn't find this suggestion. Why? How? (closing existing ones or making the zone smaller?) possibly delay the building of the New Southgate branch in North London. Thereby repeating the problem of the "Paddington Turnback" - but where? (Thameslink also has the problem of only having one head in the north but multiple routes in the south, which means a single dewirement at Cricklewood can paralyse all the southern branches) Apologies - the text says "More work should also be done on the costs and benefits of individual central London stations." That reads to me as if some may be open to question but I accept that's my interpretation. The relevant text is in Recommendation 4 in the "Transport for a World City" report. One clear issue with not building the New Southgate branch is the possible loss of depot and siding space at the north end of the line. I'm not familiar enough with the land near the WAML to know if a depot and substantial sidings could be built there so you don't end up with an unbalanced fleet allocation and a lot of light running from the south in order to start services in the North.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 10, 2016 11:22:50 GMT
The National Infrastructure Commission, chaired by Lord Adonis, has issued two reports on London Transport investment. This is ahead of the Budget next week and was done at the request of the Chancellor. Perhaps unsurprisingly the key recommendation is that Crossrail 2 should be delivered as a priority scheme. www.gov.uk/government/publications/transport-for-a-world-city-a-national-infrastructure-commission-reportI've not read the recommendations / reports in detail but a quick skim shows they're as you might expect from Lord Adonis - lots of London funding, private sector involvement, linked large scale housing development. Interestingly there is a call for a review of the number of Z1 stations and to possibly delay the building of the New Southgate branch in North London.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 8, 2016 22:20:33 GMT
Yes, passed it yesterday. Looked to me as if the finishing was being done. A great pity there is no exit to the bridge near the bus stops. Since LB was the first bridgh-accessed station anywhere, i think we are not learning the lessons on 176 years ago! Haven't been down there in a while but I agree that the lack of bridge access is bizarre. The DLR station at Abbey Road has a nice direct access off the main road as well as a side entrance for the houses nearby. Don't know the same couldn't have been done for Lea Bridge as I think it will be an unstaffed station so ungated - again just like the DLR.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 8, 2016 17:00:41 GMT
Looks like Lea Bridge Station could open from the start of the May timetable. Times show up on Open Train Times from Sunday 15 May 2016 after about 2000. There are engineering works earlier in the day affecting Stratford - T Hale services.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 7, 2016 20:04:08 GMT
I thought we had established that this is to be part of the Greater Anglia franchise? There is an option in the TfL contract for the Class 710s for trains to operate this service as part of LO. However TfL are not specifying the service nor are they intending to run it. The service is specced as an add on the Greater Anglia franchise and the DfT have not insisted on a x15 clockface service because half of the service will be provided by WAML services running to Stratford and there are issues about the paths. This not quite 4 tph service is what caused Enfield Council to take DfT to court because it would cause the planning conditions for Meridian Water housing to be breached. Enfield Council lost the case (see article on London Reconnections). There are further concerns that the planned development of Meridian Water may collapse leaving Enfield Council with a lot of money spent on land acquisition and nothing to show for it. I appreciate this is a bit of a diversion from the main issue but I am very sceptical that TfL will be involved in ordering any trains for STAR nor that the new franchise for Greater Anglia would want to have some overly complex rolling stock arrangement. I'd not be astonished to see 317s or even 315s salvaged from the disposal programme on Overground West Anglia and put to work on STAR services.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 4, 2016 16:53:09 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 4, 2016 10:51:37 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 3, 2016 17:13:56 GMT
London Travelwatch have tweeted some initial take up numbers from TfL for the use of Oyster and Contactless Payment Cards to and from Gatwick Airport.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 2, 2016 15:34:52 GMT
You mean before purdah kicks in in 19 days? No planned big news announcements or events are allowed to happen during the election campaign in case they influence the outcome. TfL have had 60+ consultations open but they all close come 20 March and I don't expect anything new to emerge until after the election. Introducing the night tube would be a complete "no no" - remember the nonsense about "officially" opening part of the ELL during an election campaign in 2010? As others have said I doubt all the staff and rosters are in place nor are all the signage etc changes ready. It'll be several months before it starts - assuming the remaining unions agree to LU's pay and conditions package. Could it not be put as an announcement from the "Mayor Of London" without mentioning any person. I seem to remember that this what could be done when I worked for TfL. Doubtful given it is a policy clearly associated with the current Mayor and would be associated with a great deal of publicity and media attention. TfL don't even hold any regular meetings during the pre-election/election period and leave a period afterwards so no major decisions are taken. Obviously this time the new Mayor may well restructure the Board and make other changes once elected.
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Post by snoggle on Mar 2, 2016 9:20:14 GMT
Progress indeed! Now that the major stumbling block of union opposition is out of the way, how long before the Night Tube kicks off? Presumably before the mayoral election? You mean before purdah kicks in in 19 days? No planned big news announcements or events are allowed to happen during the election campaign in case they influence the outcome. TfL have had 60+ consultations open but they all close come 20 March and I don't expect anything new to emerge until after the election. Introducing the night tube would be a complete "no no" - remember the nonsense about "officially" opening part of the ELL during an election campaign in 2010? As others have said I doubt all the staff and rosters are in place nor are all the signage etc changes ready. It'll be several months before it starts - assuming the remaining unions agree to LU's pay and conditions package.
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Post by snoggle on Feb 26, 2016 22:09:55 GMT
Intrigued to know what the part cancellations were - just failed trains, jammed doors etc? I'm guessing they include instances where trains "skip stop" and run fast past certain stations to regain time. I also wonder if they include instances where trains are turned at Hackney Downs due to problems reaching Liverpool St (e.g. points failures). There have been plenty of instances of both. They have also had a fair share of fleet failures but these seem to manifest more as full cancellations (train taken out of service at a terminal point).
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