Amersham trains at Harrow on the Hill

I think you'll find it is linked to the 'hot weather operations' order.

Therefore to avoid having to use Harrow North Junction to cross over from down local to down fast. You may also find that Fast Baker Street trains are using the Up local line from Moor Park.

There is a thread that details this well.

I was on a Fast Baker Street recently and at Ricky the driver announced 'This is a Fast Baker Street train, this train will call at Moor Park, then Harrow on the Hill'.

We were diverted down the slow line, and the driver called at all stations. Was this a mistake on the driver's part (not realising it was meant to be a fast on the slow lines) or was the running changed at short notice?

On Tuesday I was on a S/B Amersham train, we were diverted onto the Local Lines at Watford South Junction then ran non-stop from Moor Park to Harrow-on-the-Hill. I presume this was "hot weather working" to avoid using certain points at the latter.

Perhaps one day we'll have points that can operate in the full range of UK climatic conditions?

We do - at Watford South Junction, which is why the crossing-over of trains is centred on that location rather than Harrow.

Now we would install new pointwork at Harrow, but 2 things spring to mind. A lack of investment and also the moaning that would be heard - especially on here - that we're shutting down the railway again ;D

Aren't there enough closures on the met line in the coming 5 or 6 years to permit installation of new pointwork? this is probably a stupid assumption given that I am not exactly sure how a point works except the fact it is used to move a train from one set of rails to the other.

Leaving aside the fact that works are planned months (sometimes over a year) in advance...

To replace a set of points, you will need to close the line on which the points are located. Ideally you will also need to close the line adjacent the points to allow the worksite a means of transporting equipment and materials to the area being worked on. Then you need to identify safe protection arrangements (including prevention of trains entering the area, and traction current isolations) for the worksite.

All this needs to be planned (together with movements of engineers train to/from site) around any other works that may be ongoing that weekend. It's no good, for instance, shutting the Harrow area down when trains for a track replacement at Wembley need to pass through the area.

Despite what it may seem, generally these days there is a lot of work which takes advantage of larger closures. I recall reading a possession plan a couple of months ago, which detailed no less than 4 quite major worksites within an overall possession, with work ranging from track replacement to drainage renewal to relaying of cables.

Of course, one major factor in everything is money and whether the replacement of the points can be justified. The "Hot Weather Plan" rarely causes actual service delays - apart from the odd fast train not being as fast as it normally is - but then we are a passenger carrying railway and maybe "additional" passenger trains calling at local line stations rather than zooming past should be welcomed. Probably a bit frustrating for those who thought they would be speeding down to Harrow, but a bonus for the person who just misses the actual local service.

Somewhere in the piles of projects "put on hold" through the cost-cutting, Harrow North Junction was due to be replaced in the same way as Watford South Junction was - with pretty similar pointwork. The junction was also to move slightly further north (round the bend and onto the straighter track near North Harrow station).

Everything got shifted back but I don't remember where JB72 ended up. I'll have a look at work for the plans - they still exist somewhere.