'severe delays due to communication equipment'

With the SSLs:
It's because, even though it's not deep tube tunnels, they are still tunnels, and it would prohibit contact with the L/C etc, in an emergency.

[ Please, anyone, correct any wrong bits of info .... ]

This isn't Connect going wrong (it's only operational on the East London) - it's the existing radio system, which is on its last legs. Since last July, trains cannot run in service on any line without a working radio.

Nope. OSN48 states that you have to detrain and run empty through the affected area.

Connect Radio is due to the working on SSR by the end of the year, as they are coming to fit the equipment to the cabins soon.

Its gone down quite well from what i hear!

Its more up to date. It will be a cab secure system so you can do a lot more with it, as you can with the current Central Line Radio. With Connect, not only the LC will have Transmitting equipment. DMTs, Stations and Cabins will have it too.

It will make my job much easier, particually at a time of service disruption.

Dont know. But it isnt like the odl system, the driver only hears messages for him / her and or general calls to all trains. Days of hearing everything is over.

It will still have a confidence tone i believe

The clarity is better and because its cab secure, you will be able to authorise trains past signals etc etc

As for timetables, dont know...

I AM sorry that my grammer isnt as good as it obviously should be!

I hope you are referring only to Signal operators - but in any case, are you sure about that? That would require a rule change as we can only accept authority by handsignal, face to face communication or over a 'fixed line' telephone. Despite the supposed secure aspect that connect offers, it's still basically a radio / mobile phone.

They can authorise trains past signals on the central line via the train radio, which is the same system near enough as Connect. If they dont with connect, surely thats taking a backward step??

Only because the line controllers are the signallers, i'd imagine. The District controller, for example, cannot do it as she/he is not in control of the signalling system - especially when they move to Baker Street.

I accept that it's going possible for the signaller to authorise using connect - but i'm yet to be convinced it's secure enough to be considered the first option when needing such authority.

It strikes me, citysig, that perhaps you may not have been given as much information as the rest of us - either that or you really are the most cynical person I know.

Yes, connect is six years late, probably well overated and won't do half the stuff they say it will (hence my earlier caution) - but you and your immediate colleagues (signallers) are the people that will probably benefit most from connect. Currently, if you need to speak to a train op, you either have to hold a signal at danger or pass messages through other people by phone. Are you not looking forward to simply calling the train op direct, rather than holding up the service?

CIRCLE LINE (CLOCKWISE): Minor delays are occurring due to congestion at Edgware Road. Any thoughts on that citysig?

Or maybe that I have been given that little bit of information that the rest of you haven't.

Me? Cynical?

Whatever the overall impression should be that I tend to portray, there is an awful lot in my working life that I have pushed through and got done - and silenced many a real cynic that I work with. Don't forget that within the walls of this forum I have posted many a time in response to people generally knocking the railway and it's components.

Connect is unlikely to be installed at Baker Street this year. If it does it will be by some good fortune. The space allocated for the equipment within the desks has yet to be agreed, and now a room-wide refurbishment (which I campaigned for incidentally) will take priority - the powers that be finally realising that it's all very well having a posh radio system, but how can we move the service effectively.

There is a bit more to the story, but far be it for me to post every single detail here.

As for it benefitting signalling staff, in all honesty it will benefit us as much as Trackernet has - that is everyone around us will say what a superb system it is, and how it has turned the fortunes of the company around, but won't understand what a burden it is. Apart from signalling failures - where at least for now it appears that we will have to speak to you over the phone - there really isn't any other time that we need to speak to train ops. Short-tripping is normally advised by the controller and when being held train ops generally either speak to the controller or use the phone at the signal at which they're standing.

Did you know for example that a huge number of staff can now see the whole of the Met line on Trackernet. Apart from leaving the desk position and logging into the Intranet, we cannot.

We will effectively take on control of the train radio. That means one huge extra task on top of what we already do.

Now I await those who are bound to refute everything I have said and explain how the Connect system will be in place within the next year (or much more).

Authority to Pass Signals at Danger.

Is it not possible to devise a system on a Common Radio to give this Authority to a certain Train? ie:

"What is your Train Number?
"What is your name Driver?
"What is your Location and Signal Number ?".

"Driver Smith, On Train 123 at Covent Garden, After repeating the Message back to me -You are authorised to Pass Signal A456 at Stop and proceed cautiously as far as the line is clear or to the Next Signal.

If Driver Jones misunderstands this message then Sack him on the spot.

A somewhat similar system is used to pass Train Orders underTrain Order Working.