Mile End

This is because Central line trains pull up right to the end of the platforms and the driver has no idea whats coming. District line trains stop a car short from the end and can see when a Central line train is entering the platform.

There are similar arrangements at Finchley Road and Wembley Park on the Met and Jubilee platforms and at Kennington on the Northern line.

Probably worth clarifying Jim and adw ! Otherwise readers may assume we pull away deliberately as a Central arrives.

You can't see a train "entering" the platform unless it is going the opposite way ! If it is quiet you can hear a Central approaching once it has entered the platform. You can see it in the mirrors on the eastbound when it is about 1/2 way in. The stopping point on the west means you can only see a Central in the mirror when it is almost level with the cab door anyway.

I always wait for an arriving Central if I am aware of it, unless i have already engaged motors and I'm pleased to say, on the eastbound, passengers often thank you for re-opening the doors and waiting.

Despite having the benefits of the light boxes, it seems to me the Central rarely wait for the District !!!

We do get more accusations for not waiting for C2C connections at Upminster (the time take to get over the steps would cause delay to the District, but that is annoying if there is nothing else there and a gap behind ..as a driver though, delaying a departure can get you "booked" and by the time you're questioned about it you've long forgotten why ... I hold where i reasonably can) and with C2C at Barking eastbound ...we have no view whatsoever of the C2C train 4 & 8 car stop or berthed trains in advance of it.

Still this is a Central Line thread ...so i am digressing !!!

Not particularly relevant to Mile End, but at Arnos Grove there was a lamp that lit up where the buses wait to tell the bus driver that a train was approaching. I understan it was of no use as the buses used to disappear quickly when the light went on!

Perfectly plausible because of the issue of trains blocking back.

The Central line at times literally comes through the tube every 90 seconds, while at Mile End, a 5 minute wait for a District is quite normal. District ops therefore have more flexibility to wait in comparison with Central ops.