The December changes in action

I presume you are talking about Hammersmith?

This evening the message on the website:

H'smith & City line

Minor delays are occurring between Liverpool Street and Barking due to the non availability of staff.

Now are these minor delays on the H&C actually throughout the line but using the new Circle to cover up any delays from Hammersmith to Liverpool Street?

If so, I don't think it's a bad idea at all - the Hammersmith Branch is still getting a better service than it would have done two weeks ago!

Am I right in thinking the District now comes after the New Circle and H&C (i.e. last!) when it comes to rolling stock provision?

On the old TT, it would be Inner/Outer/H&C then District that were cancelled for no stock. Now it is H&C/H&C/District. bearing in mind that at some point the H&C becomes a Circle, so instead of a 1 in 4 chance of a District being out for NO OK, it's now 1 in 3. What we then do is where a Circle will be cancelled, we now make a Hammersmith (or Barking) onto the Circle at ERD (provided they have a T/Op for it). ;D

As we're well into the second wewek of the new Circle running. I must say I think the service on the District side is working pretty well despite all the negative comments here and in the press. As an East end driver I don't venture to Edgware Road so can't comment on what is happening there.

To bump and add to this thread, as opposed to the "Aldgate" thread...

After a few days this week of having our performance "statistics" shown to us, and after a bit further research, it may interest some of you to know that the H&C and Circle is seeing probably the best sustained performance in years. I haven't gone back far enough through the records we have yet, but the way things are looking at present, the lines have never had it so good - maybe since the Circle became a Circle

So, with our side of the fence clearly much improved, I was wondering how things are going "outside" as we haven't heard a great deal.

It surely goes without saying that I know people still have to change trains at Edgware Road. This isn't news. I also know there have been several occasions of going "off platform" at Edgware Road with the reversers. Run of the mill off-platforming also isn't that newsworthy.

But without turning it into a customer complaints thread, please share your thoughts / observations. Have a little moan if you want, but keep it friendly ;D

It was more than likely as a result of the early running being experienced, so I would imagine it was the scheduled stop.

The driver may have taken the opportunity to stretch his or her legs briefly. No issue with that, as long as they're back by departure time ;D

The logic is "take a circle train and get cross-platform interchange with an eastbound circle/h+c", whereas if you get a District train you need to walk over the bridge or whatever you have to do. A District is good if you're going towards Hammersmith though.

I haven't used the service since the first couple of weekends of the change. But all four of those experiences were great. Much more regular and punctual than eith the Circle or H&C. Less of a wait at Edgeware Road too! A much improved service, well at least in terms of my limited patronage of which all trips were took place at the weekend. But congrats are in order!

Your feedback given your limited patronage is valuable. It means that even people who don't travel regularly will find the service reliable. Much worse if you only travelled once or twice a year and both times found it dismal (but for the other 363 days that year it ran perfect!)

On both occasions the train terminated in platform 2, as Circles. From what MetControl states, there is just a single description for all Edgware Road terminators ("District Line to Edgware Road"), and that my friend must have seen one of the rare trains continuing on round the Circle. I suspect that it might be a little confusing for people who boarded a Circle line train and then spot that it has apparently changed lines!

That's what I had at Paddington -

1. District Line to Edgware Road 1 min
2. District Line to Edgware Road 3 mins
3. Circle Line to Edgware Road 5 mins

But on arrival at Edgware Road the second one was the only one to use platform 3 (the one designated for the Circle Line) * so, as I said, anyone waiting for the third in expacation of a X platform change would have been disappointed.

Thanks to a slick turnround of the first one, the third one was already running in to ERD by the time my e/bd Circle train left

*(edited - I can never remember which way round the platforms are numbered!)

But if the signaller can't tell them apart, how can he tell which platform they should go to at ERD? And if he can't do that, the distinction is irrelevant to the passenger, since it is not a reliable indicator of the platform to which the train will actually go!

All a bit sad, when the info to passengers is that for "step-fee interchange beyond Edgware Road," (i.e. cross-platform) "use Circle line.":

tinyurl.com/yhpbu8x