Stratford - Camden Road service

The flat junction west of Willesden Junction probably can't support the relevant movements, due to the need to keep paths open for the Southern services that join/depart further south at Mitre Bridge and the freights that join up at the KXStP junctions and head for the Southern Region.

Something like this probably won't happen until the Nuneaton works are finished and the majority of the 9'6" freights from Ripple Lane and the GEML/ECML are diverted to the north.

Hopefully from May 2011 all WLL LO services will run through to Stratford all day every day. That is our current planning target in TfL London Rail.

Where were the bay platforms at Camden Rd? It was four through platforms in the 70s,at least,though I'm sure only two were used by passenger trains....Or are we talking about proposed ones that aren't going to be built now because of "de-scoping"?

(Climbs on hobby-horse)
I hope these extended services are routed via a re-opened Primrose Hill,to terminate at Willesden Jct Bay!
(Climbs back down)

It's actually more about operating convenience and other stations,Primrose Hill being a benefit (supported by,amongst others,the local council,as it happens) at marginal extra cost.
My main objection is to turning trains at Highbury and Islington,the platform arrangements there (which will cause hundreds of people to surge over the footbridge from the ELL to the NLL and vice versa) and the rather absurd new track plan which re-mixes goods and stopping passenger traffic on the same tracks between H&I and Camden Road East-jct.
Given that this is all a bad idea (bear with me on that,this is MY hobby-horse,remember) where is the next good termination point? Camden Rd? Not really.Terminating trains will get in EVERYBODY's way,at a known bottleneck.
My idea would be to extend the ELL to Willesden Junction bay via Primrose Hill,and the Stratford-"Camden Rd"'uns as well.Both bay tracks would have to be put into commission.
The advantage would be that passengers changing between NLL and ELL could step off at any station between Canonbury and Camden Rd,wait ON THE SAME PLATFORM and get on their connecting service.
Goods would be completely segregated on its own pair of tracks between Camden Road West-jct. and Dalston West-jct.
And Primrose Hill could be opened onto an existing service if the money stacked up.
That is the context for my statement,but the argument stands for both services.
Camden Road is in any case a poor choice of reversal point,don't you think?

But the freight won't be sharing the tracks between H&I and Camden Road East, as this is the very section where the freight loops are (even if they are not currently commissioned due to the delay in resignalling). Said loops are planned to be extended to Camden Road West in the future, but what ever happens there will always be a bottle neck at Camden Road West where the lines to Primrose Hill and Gospel Oak diverge.



But there won't be sufficient capacity to put everything through the short two track section at Camden Road West and widening it would be a lot more expensive than the reinstatement of the other four track sections at Camden Road as the formation was only ever two tracks.

Operationally, I don't think running the ELL units beyond H&I is a good idea, as delays could be imported to and from the Southern, also it would need the class 378/1s to be fitted with AC equipment. What will be interesting is whether the ELL normally uses the platform at H&I which is nearest to the westbound NLL, to allow easy connections, or whether the trains will alternate between platforms.

More GOBBLEDEGOOK from TfL in their press release dated 17th September,

"When the complete upgrade is finished in mid-2011, London Overground will run more frequent services with longer trains providing greater capacity.
Services from Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford will run four times per hour, all day every day.

There will be six trains per hour between Willesden Junction and Camden Road, and eight trains per hour between Camden Road and Stratford.

According to LOROL at a 9th September meeting the June 2011 NLL/WLL timetable will be:
PEAK
4TPH Stratford-Richmond & 4TPH Stratford-Clapham Junction giving a combined 8TPH Stratford-Willesden Junction High Level.
OFF-PEAK"
4TPH Stratford-Richmond & 2TPH Stratford-Clapham Junction giving a combined 6TPH Stratford-Willesden Junction High Level
2TPH Willesden Junction High Level-Clapham Junction

It's just as well its LOROL that actually runs the service!