The New Circle

I had a short trip on the Circle yesterday (Monument to Liverpool Street), and there were no announcements (manual or automatic) made on the train I was on.

There were (and presumably will be again today) paper notices at Liverpool Street (at the entrance to the SSR platforms from the ticket hall) and Aldgate (on platform 4) noting the different service pattern. These were phrased something like: No westbound Circle Line trains from plaform <number> today. For Paddington take the H&C, for Bayswater, HSK change at Edgware Road. I might be able to get some photos today.

At one station on the south side of the Circle I heard the service update announcement describe the t-cup trial as a "special service" (more positive than last week's "restricted service") although most didn't mention it at all.

Controller's view:

I am nights (again ) this weekend, so get only to see the beginning and end of each day. This is not a full-on view of what is happening during the day, but, as I did last night, I did sift through the log-book to see what had happened, and you do get to hear some of the occurances of that day.

Notably this weekend, we have a larger number than usual of train operator duties that require covering. This is due either to long-term sickness, unforseen absence and annual leave. This has unfortunately led to more cancellations than last weekend. The forecast is pretty gloomy for later on today.

This of course could happen on any weekend, but because it's a trial weekend, it could end up smudging the true results.

There were actually a few service delays and a signalling failure yesterday, which meant the robustness of the timetable and the recovery options got a bit of a test. Overall it seems to have coped fairly well. Farringdon sidings and Whitechapel were both used during recovery though, which won't eventually be available.

I had a train leave Barking some 15 minutes late early yesterday morning, and although this caused an extended interval towards Hammersmith, following the booked turn-round time, and recovery time between Hammersmith and Edgware Road, the train arrived back on its Circle Line trip more or less on time. On the current timetable, such a service would have been unlikely to recover much at Hammersmith, and would likely have been short-tripped at Plaistow or Moorgate (depending on booked destination) on it's eastbound trip.

I have noticed a few more posters stuck around, particularly on the westbound I use between Kings Cross and Baker Street, informing people to take the first Hammersmith and change at Edgware Road. Maybe they were there last weekend, but let's just say I have noticed them more this week. Perhaps they are more prominent this weekend.

This project is on and off the table. It was last on the table just before the financial meltdown. The biggest cost is installation of the display screens themselves. The information can then be supplied by the Trackernet system until such times as full re-signalling occurs. This is similar to the Uxbridge branch mentioned elsewhere on the forum.

There are no describers on the Hammersmith branch. There won't be by December. So this part is, I'm afraid, best left with those other ideas. Everything going west, I can assure you, is going to Hammersmith, and hopefully a train will turn up more or less every 5 minutes ;D

@metcontrol

Paddington (Suburban) has got a modern DMI so presumably is able to receive descriptions from Hammersmith box.

www.flickr.com/photos/24772733@N05/3685063299/

As regards Circle Line trains starting from Hammersmith (and Barking), I'm well aware this has gone on for many years but is still confusing to *some* people given that the line does not run between Hammersmith - Edgware Road or Barking - Aldgate East.

If I were still a T/Op I would show "Edgware Road" from Barking, changing to "Circle Line" at Liverpool Street but most drivers just stick "Circle Line" on the front from the off.

This has confused me on occasions and more than once I've had to stick my head out of the doors at Aldgate East to ensure the Guard's repeater has the harbour-light bar to the right, because the odd train is sometimes sent onto the Outer Rail via the south side of the Aldgate triangle.

I suppose a train from Hammersmith could show "Liverpool Street" or "Aldgate" then change to "Circle Line" at Paddington but that's not much good at the rear, which is the only blind passengers get to see at Hammersmith, because no one is going to change that en-route. Maybe they should defer the T-Cup until the S Stock arrive? (And replace the C Stock fleet first.)

But having said that, from December, the map will change to show that it does run over at least the Hammersmith-Edgware Road sections.

The Barking-Aldgate section is another matter. A Circle from here could easily go inner or outer without a reversal. But both the examples are potential problems that exist now, and could well exist in December. It is not directly linked with the new timetable. At least as far as the first problem, the map will show the area as being "on the Circle."

I'm not trying to dismiss all you say (despite how it seems ) it's simply trying to sift out what is basically an issue now (which in many ways should be sorted now) compared to what we need to concentrate on for December.



They obviously got that far before the money was cut. I would presume (though am not 100%) that it is fed from the Trackernet system, at least as far as prediciting arrival times. No train description kit has been installed at Hammersmith signal cabin, and as far as I know Edgware Road's input is the same as it always was - that they set up descriptions at Paddington for signalling purposes and they are not shown on the platforms at Paddington.



Most probably. If it's all reflecting what was forecast then the gaps may become larger later this evening. Maybe an early night on the H&C and Circle. Doesn't help our customers, but certainly helps me ;D ;D

We'll have to see what happens in December. Perhaps a week's trial should have been done to see how T-Cup performed with the maximum numder of trains and passengers, especially regarding the ability of Edgware Road box to cope with the number of movements. I recall how the "Covered Way" work looked fine on paper but, IIRC, didn't even last a full week! Obviously come December signs can be permantly altered, if only with plastic stickers initailly, and Journey Planners reprinted. Not sure about platform TDs though, should they show "Edgware Road" on the O.R. after leaving Aldgate?

a fuller report of my travells on the circle today with some photos will come later (maybe Tuesday) but it was interesting to note that the service was described as 'enhanced' at Aldgate, 'special' at Baker Street and 'Restricted' at Paddington circle.
Having seen how busy the platforms at Edgware Road got at about 6pm on a Sunday when an eastbound train was a few minutes late, I have serious doubts about the station's ability to cope if the same thing happened in the rush hour.

The numbering is not "self-contained" as it usually is - trust me this is one particular area that has caused most confusion for operating staff. Train 201 can be going anywhere from Plaistow to Hammersmith to a trip around the Inner-Rail. On the "normal" timetable it operates mainly around the Outer-Rail.



As touched on before in the other thread, a week-long test cannot realistically be done. Any trial longer than a couple of days, and you get people beginning to change their travel habits, and when you finish a trial of that length, you need to throw more information than at the start at customers to make them realise you are reverting back to the old timetable.

Not only that, but as said before, there simply is not sufficient time to go down the road of a long trial. The 3 weekends are designed (as I said in the old thread) to act as a "toe in the water." Two weekends have now happened. Various bits of feedback have now been submitted - including those bits shown on here (it is being watched, trust me. Management trust the views of many who post on here ;D )



I think a few tweaks in the program will be made before December. Journey planners all over can be a bit temperamental. If you play with them, you can end up with all sorts of weird and wonderful combinations. A recent one I messed around with had me travelling miles by bus, train, and walking to get from my road to a friends house in the next street ;D



;D That is interesting. I wonder if these had been produced locally (and hence were possibly influenced by that station's opinion of the timetable ;D).



Do I take it this was the result of 2 (or more) trains terminating without onward eastbound services? The same does occur occasionally on the current timetable if things have gone wrong. However, this is normally caused by 2 District line trains terminating and not a District plus a "Circle." How loaded was the eastbound when it eventually arrived? Did you happen to notice the number of that eastbound. Wasn't train 201 was it? If it was, that was the loading of just 1 cancellation off of Hammersmith (i.e. a 10-minute interval.)

Not sure, but what time did Wimbledon tip out today? Was this a factor?



It will lessen, hopefully

Trouble is, there is limited ability for the train describer equipment east Liverpool Street (on the District) to show where H&C trains are heading. The new timetable will still see a mixture of destinations early morning on trains out of Bakring sidings as is now. This mixture will at least reduce by one (there being no Inner-rails).


As a footnote, the delays due to train operator coverage were certainly much less than forecast. It looks as though a good bit of crew management was carried out by the crew managers.

You and me both, which is why I didn't know ;D



Interesting. If he was waiting for the 1813 westbound pick-up (going by your mention of 6pm earlier) then that was train 232 which was cancelled at the time due to no driver being available. There were no pick-ups due on the eastbound. I wonder how long he waited ;D

Yes the bridge should definately be somewhere that staff should be posted. The information on that bridge is pretty thin as it is. It has to be recognised that the bridge is to change from a structure to allow people to move from terminating Districts, to being a central area of interchange.

For the first time in several years, it's bound to look smoother. Having the Circle and H&C running on 7½ to 8½ headways, trying to mesh with a Met service that runs mainly 10 minute headways north of Baker Street was always going to be messy.

But everything is more rounded with 5 or 10 minute headways, and they all begin to match up nicely. It also means instead of having combined headways in the city averaging 2 minutes in the peak, you relax to a more lazy 2½ minute average.

There's a fair bit of junction pathing now (not teaching you to suck eggs of course ). There are lots of moves over Aldgate and Baker Street where (on paper) H&C passes H&C and Met passes Met. Trouble is, it's so tight that I reckon very few of these moves actually happen as planned.

There I've said it again too. On paper it works. Roll on December (or maybe give it until January) so we know one way or another if it really will ;D

ive been told that when it comes in in december that they will see how it goes in the 2 weeks up to the xmas timetable and if it dont work then back to the trusty wtt 22 in the new year

It is the Uxbridge - City services that give the clockface Met. service through the Extended Circle: apart from 0511½, 0525, 0540 (Northwood), 0539½ SB [Sats], 0633, 0650½ (Northwood), 0653, 0710 (Northwood), 0709½ [Suns] the inwards are all regular into and out of BkS.

The City - outwards service is similar; clock face until the last 3 NB on a Saturday, last 6 out on a Sunday.

It is also worth commenting that on the first weekend of the EC trial TTN 88/09 was in force on the Met. which was engineering work at Watford South Junction, giving a very regular pattern of Uxbridge/Northwood/Uxbridge/Northwood throughout the day.

The second weekend saw the Met. suspended beyond Rickmansworth northwards TTN 78/09, so the service pattern changed again, with the Saturday Northwood originator becoming a Watford starter 10 minutes earlier. 0650½ and 0710 on Sunday became Ricky and Watford starters appropriately offset backwards.

Using Uxbridge originators to provide a stable, regular and clock face City service allows the Met. main timetable to be altered. In the two weekends thus far run the Met has run in three distinct service patterns: suspended north of Northwood; suspended north of Rickmansworth and suspended north of Rickmansworth with SB Wembley strengthening (2205 - 2320).

Edit: actually make that three-and-a-bit: nowt north of Ricky and SB Wembley (2235 - 2350).

how do customer issues fit into this? For example frequent overcrowding closures at Edgware Road and Paddington Bishop's Road. In bad (as well as worst) case scenarios overcrowding and closure of the latter could impact the adjacent FGW platforms, which I dare say neither them nor NR would be best pleased about.

What about significant increases in passenger complaints?

I hope that it doesn't happen, but if the service changes saw a statistically significant increase in assaults (verbal or otherwise) against staff, would this be taken into account?

Obviously all of these are more likely if operational issues (staff or equipment) occur, but even if it all goes swimmingly from that point of view, issues relating to customer reaction need to be taken into account.

Also from a staff point of view, if the new timetable makes the job of service controllers harder (e.g. when trying to recover the service from passenger-induced delays) then (how) will this be taken into account when determining success or failure.

We will shout, but, alas, I'm afraid it won't do much good. It hasn't done so far has it ;D

Basically, we will do our best to keep things running, but I would imagine that we would be the last thing to see the timetable withdrawn. OK so if a service is continually late, despite our efforts, and if there really is no scope to recover it an huge gaps become the norm, then maybe somebody will notice. But even then, the likelihood is that the somebody will come and spend a shift with us - one where nothing goes wrong - and will attempt to tell us how to do our job to make the timetable work.

As far as our customers are concerned, management are still hopeful that their habits will change and the timetable will work for them. And maybe they will. Or maybe they won't. I would still like to think that when we hit the new timetable that we change the emphasis on Paddington and try to move at least half of the customers towards Edgware Road, and keep the over-crowding and/or closures on our own turf. As Chris points out, we don't want to start infringing on National Rail territory.

This could be history in the making (either good or bad.) So much has been said about this timetable, and it has now become so well known. All eyes will be on the H&C and Circle come 13th December and I daresay many will ask for it to be taken out that day - up to a year on the bandwagon for some people will mean they have no faith in it working from day one.

But I would like to think we could give it a go and find out how it stands up (to be honest I wish it would hurry up and come in to answers all the questions we've been asking ;D But then again, I'm enjoying this British Summer too much to want it to be December just yet. )