Jubilee line reliability worries

Excluding the SSR, there are three lines served by AC motored trains. Why do these trains still have DC traction, requiring inverters, when traction current could be switched to AC at the substation? Neither the Jubilee, Northern, nor Victoria shares track with any other lines

Ah, I see
Do you think there'll ever be a time when the entire fleet is AC motored? (less heritage trains, which could be fitted with rectifiers)

AC will only travel a lot further if it's at a cosiderably higher voltage.

But AC traction motors do not (usually) run at constant frequency, which the supply to the train would be.

Instead, power electronics is used to provide a controllable 3 phase input to the motors from DC power being fed in. So, all the modern UK EMUs convert any incoming high voltage AC power to a medium voltage DC before it is fed to the electronics. The 3-phase motored LU stock, with power from a DC supply, actually needs less equipment than an equivalent AC supply unit (as do units running on 3rd rail DC supply on Network Rail).

... at West Ham. Whats actually wrong with these trains, is it just random faults?

Here we go again!!!!!!!!!!!! Another defective train at Green park! This is getting a joke now

I wouldnt be suprised at all . I read back in a modern railways magazine, in some edition last year, that this TBTC puts extra strain on the train. Maybe this could be the constant breakdown problems Sureley if trains are under extra strain then it will shorten the lifespan of the train The trains being strained with the increased speed with TBTC God i hope that the Northern doesnt go like this!

Suspended between London Bridge and Finchley Rd around 11:00 because of that defective train. Does anyone have any idea as to what on earth is going on? this is gotten out of hand now.

If its such a joke, you best stay off it.

Two failures today and a trackside fire (alert), according to what the driver said over the PA..apparently all from the Line Controller..

Try telling that to the 90/100 odd million people who are regular users of the jubilee and the sizeable amount of that who use it to get to work everyday. With the amount of publicity TfL have released telling us that the jubilee is the best thing since sliced bread (JLE, 7th car project, TBTC etc) After waiting 13 years for a reliable service the tribulations over the past few weeks and months have been a bit embarrasing and there hasn't been a good enough explanation for it.

LOL! I work near Southwark. It's a 5 min walk to Waterloo and a 10 min walk to Blackfriars. Buses run all over the city from those locations.

The BBC is saying that the Central is suspended tonight due to a burst water main. SOMETIMES< think before posting that some delays are entirely outside LU's control > > >

Passengers had to be led off a Tube train after a Thames Water main burst and forced the closure of a station.

The Central Line was suspended between Leytonstone and Bethnal Green because of the flood in the Mile End area.

A London Underground (LU) spokesman said water had got into a ventilation shaft flooding a track.

LU said it was pressing Thames Water to resolve the problem quickly. The water firm apologised for the problems caused by the burst pipe.

Nigel Holness, LU's Operations Director, said: "The Central line is currently suspended between Bethnal Green and Leytonstone due to flooding in the Mile End area, caused by works taking place to a Thames Water main at street level.

"Water has come through a nearby Tube ventilation shaft, flooding the track, and leaving us unable to run services.

"London Underground is pressing Thames Water to resolve the situation as soon as possible to enable us to get services back up and running, but it is likely the suspension will be in place for some time."

Customers are advised in the meantime to use alternative routes to complete their journeys.

A spokesman for Thames Water said: "We are currently working really hard to repair a pipe that has burst in Wick Lane causing disruption to the Central Line.

"There are currently around 200 properties suffering from low pressure or no water.

"The burst happened on a 24-inch pipe which was under going planned work to fix a leak. This pipe is encased in concrete making the work particularly tricky. We're really sorry for the disruption this is causing."

I wrote a few days ago about how our last two journeys into London had been wrecked by disorganisation so it is amazing, well some will think no, that last night, Saturday 9 June, exactly the same happened so that is three time out of three our evening into Central London has been wrecked by the transport.

We went from our station on the Beckton line DLR to Regents Park, well to start there are no Beckton DLR trains at all this weekend, someone wrote here last week that there are big notices everywhere on DLR stations saying "Aren't we wonderful everything is complete for the Olympics" and then DLR is going to be closed most weekends in June, so we had to get bus to Canning Town, you can see from bus lots of orange men up working on the lines, and then Jubilee Line, that part worked OK except none of the information signs on the platform were working for how long to next train, there were messages being said about this which is normally first sign of a problem although not this time.

Coming home in evening we had got to Neal Street so walked to Holborn, down escalator, only then found no Central Line this weekend at all, had not noticed anywhere up in station. So we get Piccadilly back to Green Park and then walked long corridor to Jubilee, lots of other Central Line people doing same it seems. Got into train which was completely full of course and at Westminster announcement that fire alarms have gone off at West Ham and we will not stop there, not really problem for us, then at London Bridge announced that everything at West Ham now shut so no Jubilee Line now beyond the North Greenwich station. At next station told again that our train actually finishing at Canary Wharf. No information at all about what to do.

So think for getting to eastern London, no Central Line, no DLR train from Poplar to Canning Town or beyond, now no Jubilee which was the one remaining line running there and no information on what to do.

So everyone gets off at Canary Wharf and hundreds of people going up escalator to outside and then all looking lost because there are no people to give information on what to do at all. Just happen to know where the DLR substituting bus waits so long walk, Diana has done this before, it is about 10 minutes to that place, good thing I know the way because no instructions at all and it is not easy, no buses but two official girls say there will be one in another 10 minutes so we all wait and finally bus to Beckton comes although many people now turns out actually going to Stratford they should have been sent up to the DLR bit still working but no messages made. Onto bus. Now what person invented ridiculous way bus goes from Canary Wharf to Canning Town, we must have gone round and come back every road in the area so it takes on my watch 25 minutes just to get to Canning Town, by the way when we go over that bridge at Canning Town we look to see all the flames from the West Ham station but there are not any. Now our Beckton bus almost full and about 100 people it seems waiting there, big upset downstairs we heard, lots of people come up but no seats, some stay here, we wait, then man in uniform comes up and speaks VERY RUDELY to them says it is that bus cannot leave because they are standing upstairs and it is all their fault, they look quite upset by this because they had been TOLD to go upstairs how should they now know.

Just as we leave we see Jubilee Line trains running again so all wasted.

Finally get home and I look at computer on the website for Underground and it says Jubilee Line Good Service. But it then look at "Live Departure Boards" and when you look at different stations you can see big long waits all along between trains, actually nothing going towards London from Canning Town at all, so not a good service at all and in fact that is completely not true.

Now I did hear the man in charge of London Transport on the radio not long ago and it was said he lives in Bath and goes home there on Friday. Now I have visited to Bath and it is a long way from London and while I am sure he has nicer house there than you can get in London for the money he will have no idea about the complete nonsenses going on in London, everyone just left late at night to find their own way home when everything gets stopped. Now when this man gets into the office on Monday he will have desk report saying that Jubilee Line at 1130 on Saturday evening was good service, were we not wonderful sir, DLR work all finished for the Olympics, are we not wonderful sir, when in fact that is like I said completely not true.