SHUT DOWN THIS WEEKEND

Really.. so they are going to close, for no reason?? :S hehe makes sense you would think they would replace a bit of track or something at least!

Ahhh at least the Picc's running

I recall an old thread where the reasons for this sort of thing were discussed (queue Colin), from what I remember it is due to union agreements about giving drivers etc, a set period of notice of shifts.

DMTs... WORK... shhhhhhhh

This happened once before - LU shut the Inner Rail on the Central between Leytonstone and Newbury Park for tunnel repairs that BCV ended up cancelling for no good reason.

I remember this because I got the reversing siding at Newbury Park that weekend.

EDIT:

Channeling COLIN:

districtdave.proboards39.com/index.cgi?board=thecentralline&action=display&thread=1144923296

There should be no need really! Once upon a time when LUL was one company there would always be some form of contingency plan. Getting possession of part of a line in what would otherwise be traffic hours for major engineering work would be difficult so even if the work got cancelled the time would not be wasted and other work would be done so that all the effort expended in the planning would not go to waste.
With the PPP the same careful planning takes place but with so many more parties involved it is easier for cancellation to occur. On Tube Lines whenever there was a possession for major works we would endeavour to plan other work as well to make best use of the time and access. If that extra work went ahead it was a bonus, if not due to the main work making it impossible little was lost as the staff would do regular maintenance work elsewhere and if the main work was cancelled something would be salvaged from the planning because the bonus work would get done.
Of course this didn't always occur, I recall doing routine contact cleaning on the frame at Stanmore one Friday night a few years ago. Some 200 contractors were on site to lift equipment over the fence from the car park to the sidings and trolley it down the track. The entire job centred around a Baldwins crane which had been hired to do the lifting but the crane driver found he had only six shackles, 3 of one tonnage and 3 of another so on H&S grounds he cancelled the lifting so 200 men had a very early night!
Obviously someone foots the bill and usually it will be the contractor so I doubt LUL really cares. You have to remember that LUL does not run a public service and has not done so for several years. It is a 'run for profit' organisation and although its raison d'etre is ostensibly to carry fare paying passengers as long as it collects revenue that is really all that matters!

Brian

The problem with these short notice cancellations of engineering work is that the drivers have all been given altered book on and book off times. However, in this case the special working had fewer trains running, meaning that there will be additional spare drivers this weekend, who would normally have "running" duties. So I'm surprised they can't use those extra spares to run say Richmond - High Street shuttles (5 trains could run a 15 minute service).

We always seem to be short of drivers at Earls Court, so it may be a case of local management thinking great, we can have no unplanned cancellations this weekend if we stick to the special working, wheras if we try to run extra trains then our chronic lack of coverage will be exposed again!

The London Overground trains will still be running, the work between South Acton and Richmond is cancelled..............what will the cattle think of that?.........313s will be running, but the D stock wont be!

Well, if it's too much hassle to run the trains normally, as others have said, why don't they get on with some other work? Rather than inconveniencing everyone for no gain?

Not always - there's been a number of weekends recently where the point work around Aldgate has been replaced, leaving just the District providing anything east of Whitechapel.

Are you sure about that? The TfL website says otherwise - the same shutdown happens next weekend too (24/25), but with LO running.............are you getting mixed up?

EDIT: Having delved a little deeper, it appears to depend on what page you look at on the TfL website - some suggest LO is part suspended while other pages suggest it isn't. Quality - no wonder the punters end up confused!

well believe me its not happening as they havent got the point machine from westinghouse yet installed on the prefab track which is at ruilslip depot

What tends to happen when the original job is cancelled is heavy maintenance in the same area.