Brixton depot

It would make sense to open a traincrew depot at Brixton, but I'm curious as to how many drivers the depot could feasibly support - after all, the maximum number of trains that Brixton station can hold is 4. Therefore any driver stationed there would have to book on and travel all the way to Northumberland Park to fetch a train.

It has vertainly been being talked about for some time .... however it doesn't really seem that practical.

Two trains stable over night there. Two drivers presently book on at Seven Sisters and "travel cushions" there to form the "step back" operators and consequently two drivers finish there and "travel cushions" back to Seven Sisters after stepping back finishes.

There seems to be a "desire" to create more "employment" on LUL in South London, but practically new accomodation has only just been built at Seven Sisters to accomodate all operators and breaks. If you start generating middle turns that start and finish at Brixton you start to need accomodation for the consequent Seven Sisters operators who now end up on break at Brixton and given Brixton is pretty grim would require crew accomodation, mess facilities etc ... (and Seven Sisters has a canteen) ..I suspect there would be opposition from all but those operators who live at that end of the line !

None the less I have heard it mooted numerous times

I'm surprised that Hammersmith drivers would have to go to ERD for meal breaks - there's more than enough local food outlets to provide sustenance and the station seems more than big enough to support a break room.

Used to be a good chip shop in West Green Rd in the 70's,don't suppose the same people have it now,probably a kebab house now knowing that area.

Yes, it's official! This month's "on the move" staff magazine says it will open in 2009.

Yeah I read it in On The Move as well!

IMO At the moment, the Victoria Line is very reliable compared with other lines because it only has one train crew depot, making the operation of the line simple. When disruption does occur, it makes recovery and reformations more quick to handle as all T/OPs book on and off at the same point effectively.

Also the only train crew depot, which is based at Seven Sisters, is where the actual train depot is based, so its less problematic in cancelling several trains at short notice due to no reliefs, the trains are just stabled in Northumberland Park depot.

(Of course this has its drawbacks in the sense that when you have a shutdown which prevents trains from passing through Seven Sisters, then drivers are unable to be relieved, causing the whole line to shut down quickly after working beyond their time with no prospect of being relieved - but I think the benefits outweigh the costs)

The article mentions new train crew accomodation is needed for the line upgrade which is correct - I think its a 27 TPH off peak service they want to run, with a 33 TPH peak service - naturally many more drivers are needed.

I feel Brixton is too constraining a station to add a new train crew depot. It only has two platforms, with two sidings which can be used to hold trains when one trip has to be cancelled - so there is very little that can be done in terms of managing disruption and cancellations to the service. Ideally they should be investing in extra platforms and sidings at Brixton in tandem with a train crew depot - but that will never happen given how much it would cost.

Also Brixton is where a lot of stepping back occurs, and much more intense stepping back will occur for the line upgrade. I think stepping back works generally well at Brixton because the drivers simply do step backs one or two trains. There are no crew changeovers which adds another element of risk which is difficult to manage or reform trips with cancelled T/OPs - thats partly why stepping back at Morden struggles.