August closures of District Line during the mid-week

Air worked

which means that the last works were more than adequate. Rails do wear out over time.

TFL Press Office have put out a statement detailing that in addition to conventional track asset renewals, long-timber to slab track conversion is also taking place in the Embankment area.

Are the points on the eastbound and westbound roads at Tower Hill being done , ie 4 ends ? Why is Timber being used when most new points are laid with concrete or even the plastic types of sleepers .

My guess would either the be location of the railway within the Victoria Embankment or proximity to other below ground structures such as the rabbit warren that is Embankment station itself.

The mention of long timber makes me think it’s in relation to that ‘bridge deck’ section of track that passes over the deep-level circulating area.

They tend to allow more over-run on engineering work these days.

As others ay embankment is now not fit for purpose for motor vehicles, making any rail replacement bus service impractical. I remember about 25 years ago doing those with London General when we had up to 40 buses lined up on the Embankment running a 2 minute headway to South Ken. these days there's also no spare capacity on TfL spec buses to run such a service midweek.

Passengers for Aldgate must also use the Metropolitan line if coming from the north or northwestern region

Guidance is always issued but we can only work within the limitations of each system. Upminster to Hammersmith isn't a normal service so nothing exists for such a trip; at least not on the S stock. As you've noted, the signalling system can show it on the platform displays but only in the westbound direction.

S stocks that have blank displays will be carrying a fault. It's been a particular issue since the recent software update which changed the order of the destination / next station announcement. There's nothing the driver can do to fix it.

We on the District will set the train up with a H&C Hammersmith destination at Upminster but because this is off route the internal displays and announcements don't work until the train arrives at Barking.

Whenever you see "All Stations" displayed by an S stock it generally means the CIS system has been set up with a route that's incompatible (ie, setting the train up as a H&C between Upminster & Barking) so again you'll experience the lack of displays & announcements.

H&C drivers on their eastbound trip, as far as I'm aware, set the train up initially with the normal Barking destination then change it to Upminster when they arrive at Aldgate East. Again if they set up their train with an Upminster destination from Hammersmith H&C station the internal displays and announcements won't work until Aldgate East as its off route. Again also the external display will likely show "All Stations" which is a clue an off route code has been entered.

Colin Thank you for that detailed explanation. I joined the Eastbound Hammersmith & City today at Edgware Road so my first train was simply using the incorrect CIS code which I guess is part of the problem on top of limited CIS code space and what seems like an alarmingly high number of trains in service with defective CIS due to software.

Quite frankly it is unacceptable that District drivers are putting up a known-non-functioning destination code. Believe it or not, CIS is not optional - it’s a literal lifeline to people with various kinds of impairment, and is actually illegal under the various disability legislations out there.

Whilst it is a known limitation of the system, this would not absolve individuals of responsibility - it is effectively the same as deliberately turning off the system. CIS must be seen as critical to the operation of the train as any other safety system. No CIS, no service. Those with accessibility requirements should not be having barriers placed in their way.

I understand the guidance on the west is supposed to be to label as an Aldgate East as far as Barking and then switch to Hammersmith. It is less than ideal but it keeps people moving west and ensures that everyone has current and next stop audio-visual announcements.

Working Timetable 90/21 states under the section titled Train Descriptions on page 5 "All trains will be described according to their destination."

So we are doing exactly as instructed by the tool of our trade.




Also on the subject of software updates causing issues, ever since the latest drop that causes blank screens was loaded Wimbledon bound trains from *Upminster fail to announce the next station or destination. Not sure if the displays are similarly affected.

*- and Edgware Road

When travelling to Hammersmith on the Piccadiily line on Saturday lunchtime there were no announcements about non stopping South Kensington. 

No announcements about no Circle or District line when we got to Gloucester Road. Several people could be heard saying they would use it to get back to South Kensington.

No announcements at Earl's Court, Barons Court or Hammersmith.

Suggestions not dissimilar to those made by MoreToJack in this thread about how best to use the current CIS options have been made to management.

There’s numerous overlapping issues with the presentation of the combined service.

1. Trains with faulty CIS running in service: I understand this has been traced to units that have been stabled where traction current has been discharged
2. Incorrect CIS codes being used: This prevents fully functioning trains from working adding to issue 1.
3. Train Describer limitations: Mitigated by the Aldgate East/Barking split to maintain CIS functionality.
4. Inconsistent presentation of service pattern: TFL status page and boards gives the illusion that there is a Circle line service between Hammersmith and Aldgate. Local station info was more accurate but that may not match up with 3rd party journey planners using TFL API.

The below photo demonstrates some of these issues. This is Edgware Road Eastbound Platform 1. Train Describer says Barking (point 3), but the train displays District All stations Upminster (point 2). So even though this train does have a functioning CIS (auto ‘red signal’ announcements were broadcast), it is arbitrarily inhibited by CIS code selection.




Now in shoes of the unfamiliar traveller, Upminster won’t appear on the line diagrams at stations because it isn’t a regular destination. Train Describer is showing something different to what the train is so that’s a doubt. Car Line Diagrams won’t help because even though Upminster is shown, passengers in their mind are expecting a Circle/H&C service to show up not a District and the route in between is different. And of course there’s no automated CIS to confirm any of the above.

You can see the potential to affect thousands of unfamiliar passengers or those with alternative accessibility requirements over this extended closure. Even if all the faulty trains are fixed (a patch is being hastily tested) it will make little difference if incorrect CIS codes continue to inhibit the CIS from working fully. Regardless of the law, that is not a good passenger experience.