Reduced service on the MET Line from Monday 11 April 2022

As a long time LU enthusiast who is by and large fairly understanding of the problems of running such a monolith, it has become increasingly difficult to remain sympathetic as a regular commuter from Chesham, so much so that I have largely in the last few months given up going in by train and have returned to using my motorbike. Simply because the service had become so unreliable, with hour and not that uncommon 90 minute gaps ocurring, or advertised. However, I don't get quite so excited as some other members of the Chesham Commuters Facebook group!

But credit where it is due, not that I used it today, but from what I have seen we have had the best and most reliable service to and from Amersham and Chesham today that we have had for months, and with a clockface service and off-peak fast trains to boot.So much so that some are asking for it to become permanent!

Delays on the M25 does mean fewer vehicles PER HOUR, or, inversion, longer interval for consecutive vehicles to pass. Result = everyone is delayed.


Delays on London Undergound usually does mean fewer trains per hour, or, inversion, longer interval between following trains. Result = everyone is delayed.


Same thing. Result = everyone is delayed.

Less a case of removing flats, more a case of ensuring it is the correct profile. At low speeds the wheel flanges keep the wheelset on the track (leading to the common flange squeal; at higher speeds it is the exact shape of the conical wheel that keeps the train on the track. An incorrect profile can lead to flange climb, which may sound like fun to some people but unfortunately often ends in derailment.


Mmmm, flange.

I get it.

I understand that.

What I do get ticked off about is being lectured by people for pointing out bad service when I see it.

From a /quick/ look at trackernet hq clock off peak there seemed to me to be more trains - in fact double - to Amersham than the in the emergency timetable papeerwork ?

Looks like there were 4 TPH Amersham and 2 TPH Chesham actually run against 2 and 2 planned ?


EDIT - d'oh silly me; the other 2 TPH are Chilterns .........

With ATO, wheel circularity is very important.

There are very precise sensors determining location that depend on correct wheel rotation. What you say about profile, conicity, etc is undoubtedly correct, but wheel circularity is ever more important these days than it used to be - exact train positioning highly depends on it.

My source is my practical experience, both first person and those who I know locally and have to put up with the inceasingly shoddy service.

Whilst I won't provide evidence as I've lost enough of my life due to Metropolitan line issues, and I can see there are others on this thread reporting a similar experience. What I can say that the level of refunds (>15min delay) I am getting over the past year is exceeding the latter years of the A-stock service at the end of the noughties which also had considerable reliability challenges and is on average more than 20% of the journeys I make, despite me travelling less these days.

More often than not it's random cancellations, usually with no warning and all whilst it's a "good service". By TfLs own measures I believe that a 15min service gap qualifies as minor delays.... one cancelled Chesham or Amersham should immediately qualify, but it never does. On the outer reaches of the met usually the platform indicators don't know the next train isn't coming... the staff are completely demoralised and fed up being berated by customers for the lack of reliable service and obviously have no motification to do anything proactive like keep an eye on Tracknet to keep customers informed, or call/radio station to station to warn of a cancellation.

These "special timetables" are also obviously top secret. They don't make it to jounrney planner usually, or if they do it takes weeks. If you're lucky you might get a hand scribbled notice of the headline of the timetable when you actually get to the station (whereupon you find out you've just missed a train). The met is hardly a turn up and go service, and less more so when it's on "special operations" so expecting customers to engage with the ammended service without making the timetable readily available is another management disgrace.

Basically - if you need to get somewhere by a certain time, get the Chiltern.
But if you want a spin the wheel of fortune and get a free ride cos it's probably going to be delayed or mangled, get the Met.

With this ATC, yes manual input.

Does this special timetable include 'inverted' semi-fasts? I rode T712 today from Baker St platform 4, departed 15:00 and the T/Op announced it would be all stations to Harrow then fast to Moor Park and terminate at Amersham. The station and train systems just called it an Amersham semi-fast.
on arrival at Finchley Road the T/Op told us it would now be all stations Amersham due to cancellation of an adjacent Watford.

Station and Train CIS are not programmed with the 'inverted' semi-fast pattern. Is this a common pattern in the special timetable or just coping with a perturbation?

Predictably, as this Amersham train stopped at North Harrow the station was giving a recorded PA telling us that Amersham and Chesham trains weren't stopping there and take the first train to Moor Park... :-)

As an employee I think I'm allowed a little moan?

I have just been informed by TFL Twitter that during the ‘special timetable’ the first off peak train from Amersham is now the 10.00 am, as tapping in before 09.30 is a peak fare.

Surely they could have changed the tapping in time to make the 09.30 the first Off-peak train? 

I feel sure that stations south of Harrow (which also benefit from the Uxbridge service) don't really need the Amersham / Chesham trains too.

Also, the Chesham service running fast (even if only north of Harrow) must mean that they are getting a better / faster service than before?

So original notice said "The issue is likely to impact service through to May" probably meant that the issue is likely to impact service through __ May!

Unless things have changed since my time on stations (1997-2003) you can't change "tapping in time" for individual stations, it would have to be the whole system.  Oyster is 1990s technology and to keep costs down it was designed as a "one size fits all" system.

Then again that was nearly 20 years ago, my memory might not be working quite as well as it used to