Bad Day on the District

Yeah, I noticed the service recovery's rather painful progression myself...

Is there any particular reason why Embankment was not used to keep some trains clear of the failure?

BUMP.

So, another disaster of a day on the District - was Connect helpful in getting it resolved?

Ah, one of the so-called "weeks of hell"

What did it this time? I heard about westbound trains that were so late they were being reversed at Olympia...

The failure was at Westminster, westbound.

Many drivers have meal reliefs etc at Earls Court - and will be booked to pick up their next train there - so they have to go through to Earls Court. You also have Earls Court and Acton Town drivers who, if finishing, will most likely want to do so at their home depot.

There was no problem Eastbound, so if all booked eastbound trains are sent through, we still need to send trains west otherwise one half of the lines punters will be most aggrieved.

Should a train be reversed west-east at Embankment, and it's un-planned (ie, not for engineering works), the train would usually be 'tipped out' to prevent passengers going the wrong way. This takes time to do and just causes even more unnecessary delay - particularly as the train would have to wait for a path, to slot into a full eastbound service.

It's just not practical unless the way ahead is completely blocked and there's a train behind that is marooned between stations.
Hmmm........

I booked on at 1700 and late running was only about 10-20 minutes. Infact both my trains ran to time, so it was nowhere near as bad as saturday

Colin, you are as superbly tactful as always ;D ;D ;D
In fact even the small dig is unusual for you !!!

I have thus far NEVER managed to get a call back after numerous attempts to call the LC on the "request a call back" "LC" button.

I have also NEVER had a text message to curtail a train ...but thats unsurprising as I always seem to be the mug who gets pushed through regardless of how late I'm running.

(I have had calls from LC and DMT to show a curtailment for the benefit of a relieving driver however )

They do seem to respond if I call them direct on the handheld though - so i do this most of the time.

Failure to respond to my calls or requests for call back the other day after a PEA at Becontree, meant I had made it to Elm Park before they realised I was on the move and stopped turning trains at Barking !!!

Getting into Upminster depot is a right game, after detraining the system takes so long to log back in and then generate a call to the control tower, you have been sitting at the stop boards for ages by then. Some nights you've had all three reception roads occupied and trains in the platform behind queuing to get into the depot.

After initially being excellent with being able to hear both sides of conversations, now you can hear hardly anything and as a result have no idea why you are sitting somewhere for ages, thats stations are closed, or have re-opened, that there are problems elsewhere on the line ....all on the basis of possible mis-understanding of safety related communications by other trains ....which can't be given over this system atm anyway (and would take some breathtaking stupidity to be mis-understood anyway) !!

Net effect is ... this system is now WORSE than the old one !

(I wouldn't however say it is adding to difficulty in service recovery ...just the usual... conveyance of information ....which is, after all, it's primary function)

(apologies for a bit of a rant .... It frustrates at times, coz I care ;D ;D )

Funnily enough I had a phone call yesterday evening from the District Line Controller asking me why a train which had been a couple of minutes late at Tower Hill was ten minutes late Aldgate East. I told him it was because of blocking back from Whitechapel, at which point he hung up probably so he could interrogate the signalman at Whitechapel.