|
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
At least a quick glance suggests Thameslink services make up 113 of
the 116 cancelled trains now showing on FCC Journey Check (the other three being GN services): http://www.jcheck.com/firstcapitalconnect In the 'Line Update' section on the Journey Check page, one entry cites "Line problem in the Blackfriars area", specifically "poor rail conditions" as one contributory factor. Another entry just cites "poor weather conditions". Meanwhile this is on the FCC website: ---quote--- Major disruption Monday morning service Thameslink route There are many cancellations on the Thameslink route because of last night's extreme frost which reached -13 degrees in some places and affected trains and track infrastructure. Tickets can be used on East Midlands services and London Underground on all reasonable routes as well as Great Northern route services. We have not been able to call at London Bridge and services have been diverted via Herne Hill. ---/quote--- |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 20, 8:17*am, Mizter T wrote:
At least a quick glance suggests Thameslink services make up 113 of the 116 cancelled trains now showing on FCC Journey Check (the other three being GN services): http://www.jcheck.com/firstcapitalconnect In the 'Line Update' section on the Journey Check page, one entry cites "Line problem in the Blackfriars area", specifically "poor rail conditions" as one contributory factor. Another entry just cites "poor weather conditions". Meanwhile this is on the FCC website: ---quote--- Major disruption Monday morning service Thameslink route There are many cancellations on the Thameslink route because of last night's extreme frost which reached -13 degrees in some places and affected trains and track infrastructure. Tickets can be used on East Midlands services and London Underground on all reasonable routes as well as Great Northern route services. We have not been able to call at London Bridge and services have been diverted via Herne Hill. ---/quote--- All info shows all FCC trains cancelled at Luton, but I have seen and heard the occasional 319 in the last hour or so. I shall investigate travel further once I've read all the work weekends emails by remote access. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
In message
, at 00:17:37 on Mon, 20 Dec 2010, Mizter T remarked: At least a quick glance suggests Thameslink services make up 113 of the 116 cancelled trains now showing on FCC Journey Check (the other three being GN services): http://www.jcheck.com/firstcapitalconnect Wires in trouble at St Neots. Lots of cancellations and some trains shuttling London-Hitchin. -- Roland Perry |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
Appeared on web site in only the last 30 mins, it was not there when I
checked at 10:20 : Major disruption Monday morning service Thameslink route A power cut in the Farringdon area is contributing to significant disruption caused by the extreme weather conditions and last night's extreme frost which reached -13 degrees in some places. A separate power cut has also affected our information systems which are incorrectly showing our services as cancelled. In fact, we are operating a revised timetable as follows: There are no services across central London or between Wimbledon and Sutton and London. London Bridge - Brighton we are operating two trains per hour as follows: From London Bridge: xx12 and xx42 From Brighton: xx07 and xx37 St Pancras International - Bedford we are operating four trains per hour as follows: From Bedford: xx:10 and xx40 all stations; xx00 and xx30 all stations to St Albans and then fast to West Hampstead and St Pancras International. From St Pancras International: xx14 and xx44 all stations to Bedford; xx09 and xx39 to West Hampstead, St Albans then all stations to Bedford. Network Rail is working hard to restore services across central London which will allow us to resume services on the Wimbledon/Sutton loop. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
|
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 20, 11:00*am, D7666 wrote:
Major disruption Monday morning service Thameslink route further update ''Tomorrow, Tuesday: At the request of Network Rail, because of further freezing conditions that will affect track, signalling and other infrastructure, we will be running a revised timetable again tomorrow. It is expected the Thameslink route will be open across central London so we will be able to operate a service between London and Sutton/Wimbledon. '' -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
|
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 20, 3:10*pm, D7666 wrote:
On Dec 20, 11:00*am, D7666 wrote: Major disruption Monday morning service Thameslink route further update ''Tomorrow, Tuesday: At the request of Network Rail, because of further freezing conditions that will affect track, signalling and other infrastructure, we will be running a revised timetable again tomorrow. It is expected the Thameslink route will be open across central London so we will be able to operate a service between London and Sutton/Wimbledon. '' -- Nick Todays saga was 08:15 - 09:00 at Luton then I gave up. There were a couple of trains but wedged solid could not get on them. Tried again after 11:15 going for web site gen 11:10 ex Bedford in their alleged 4 TPH pattern. When I got to LUT I find it was not 4 TPH but some half way house as units and crews still in wrong place. 8.377 arrived at about 11:30 and ran all stations & I left it at WHP. All day they been showing their web site a 4 TPH service. I checked this at ~14:00 ~15:00 and ~16:20. Got to SPI 16:35 and found it was 2 TPH. 16:44 ex SPI 8.377 and rammed solid full. The only reason I manged a seat was I happened to be in pole position for the rearmost door and went for f.c. And hey presto I get home an check and now it says 2 TPH. This morning was just chaos, not helped by info system being down, but the disruption was driven by the Farringdon power outage. This evening I don't know. FCC appear to be blaming Networkrail but no reason given. I am suspicious as all 4 of the only 4 FCC trains working I saw this evening were all 8.377 - no 319s seen moving. OK with 4 trains I've seen only around half the number of trains needed for 2 TPH but I do wonder if something else is going on they ain;lt telling us yet. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On 20/12/2010 18:25, D7666 wrote:
Todays saga was 08:15 - 09:00 at Luton then I gave up. There were a couple of trains but wedged solid could not get on them. At Sutton announcements were saying there were no FCC services, and passengers should use SWT, Underground and Tramlink instead. Just one tiny snag with that at Sutton station... :) -- Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 20, 7:08*pm, Arthur Figgis wrote:
passengers should use SWT, Underground and Tramlink instead. Just one tiny snag with that at Sutton station... :) LOL The perils of long line auto PA. Perhaps LOL is not appropriate, passengers expect sensible information, and its dribble like that that causes no-one to pay attention. Amid all the shambolic chaos this morning, we still had the routine droning about Blackfriars closed (largely irrelevant at Luton since there were no through core trains anyway) AND the routine weekend engineering works one which on any normal weekend has little value on a Monday, but completely useless refering to coming weekend works as Sat+Sun is xmas weekend. Did we get any PA about what trains were actually running or audio info that the visual info was screwed ... did we ****. -- Nick -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On 20/12/2010 19:15, D7666 wrote:
On Dec 20, 7:08 pm, Arthur wrote: passengers should use SWT, Underground and Tramlink instead. Just one tiny snag with that at Sutton station... :) LOL The perils of long line auto PA. Perhaps LOL is not appropriate, passengers expect sensible information, and its dribble like that that causes no-one to pay attention. Is that "expect", or "have a slight hope that some of their grandchildren might live to see the day when we get world peace and"? I recently overheard someone who was stranded in Sutton, having believed the journey planner which told her to make a 1 min connection between FCC trains on platform 1. -- Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
FCC TL
Major disruption Service update 20th December Thameslink route .... .... blah blah blah .... .... Tomorrow, Tuesday: At the request of Network Rail, because of further freezing conditions that will affect track, signalling and other infrastructure, we will be running a revised timetable again tomorrow. It is expected the Thameslink route will be open across central London so we will be able to operate a service between London and Sutton/ Wimbledon. We will work to this revised timetable. http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk...2010-12-21.pdf ''at the request of Networkrail'' -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 20, 6:25*pm, D7666 wrote: Todays saga [...] Yesterday late evening FCC were promising, well hoping, to provide a normal Monday service, albeit with the big caveat that freezing fog was expected (i.e. it could still all go tits up). By the sounds of it the Farringdon power failure really knackered things up - could that be put down to freezing fog? - but the separate power failure they cite that affected live information systems sounds kinda rubbish/lame. I think the Sutton loop and Sevenoaks services fell apart completely - someone I know who was travelling up from south of the river found themselves on what the station PIS had apparently stated was a train to a Thameslink North destination (Bedford or Luton or something, not sure), which actually then went on to Victoria - was early and the recollection a little hazy, but a message on the FCC site seemed to back up the idea some (peak?) trains may have gone to/from Vic. Someone else travelling back south from Thameslink North just said it was a mess (info sounded shabby but got no details). And just heard of someone else (not on the TL route but on Southeastern) waiting at a station finding a mystery unannounced train pulling in to another platform (seemingly something running v late) - such tales are far from unusual, and of course on parts of the network it's the CIS/PIS that feeds the LDB system - anyhow point being that those who say 'look at the LDBs to get the true picture' evidently don't appreciate that the LDBs can be a work of fiction at times like this. Anyway, apparently one shouldn't "whinge"... |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 20, 9:48*pm, D7666 wrote: FCC TL Major disruption Service update 20th December Thameslink route ... ... blah blah blah ... ... Tomorrow, Tuesday: At the request of Network Rail, because of further freezing conditions that will affect track, signalling and other infrastructure, we will be running a revised timetable again tomorrow. It is expected the Thameslink route will be open across central London so we will be able to operate a service between London and Sutton/ Wimbledon. [...] We shall see, says he v cynically - those I know on the Sutton/ Wimbledon loop simply write off Thameslink when anything looks a little shaky - ditto the Sevenoaks service as well now it seems (I recall it being said that the Blackfriars-Sevenoaks service of old was v reliable). |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
"Mizter T" wrote: I think the Sutton loop and Sevenoaks services fell apart completely - someone I know who was travelling up from south of the river found themselves on what the station PIS had apparently stated was a train to a Thameslink North destination (Bedford or Luton or something, not sure), which actually then went on to Victoria - was early and the recollection a little hazy, but a message on the FCC site seemed to back up the idea some (peak?) trains may have gone to/from Vic. As I arrived at Vic circa 08.45*, there were two FCC 319s heading out on the South Eastern side. Chris * Should have arrived at London Bridge at 07.20-ish, but both the 05.45 and 06.30 off Seaford were cancelled due, allegedly, to unit failures - 313s I presume. |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 20, 10:32*pm, Mizter T wrote:
We shall see, says he v cynically - Indeed, but I concur the mode. those I know on the Sutton/ Wimbledon loop simply write off Thameslink when anything looks a little shaky - ditto the Sevenoaks service as well now it seems (I recall it being said that the Blackfriars-Sevenoaks service of old was v reliable). During last years drivers dispute, FCC were adamant they had to maintain Kentish Town / Sevenoaks due to SET commitments yet this year its been wiped out several times. Either FCC lied last year, FCC are deliberately evading mentioning it now, or it is SET cancelling it. I know which one of those 3 is probably *not* the answer. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 20, 10:43*pm, D7666 wrote:
We shall see, says he v cynically - Indeed, but I concur the mode. Well what they said they'd run they sort of ran, but that did not alter the fact I spent over half and hour at LUT again unable to get on them, EMT trains not calling Bedford so that pushed more pax onto FCC, and the one EMT that stopped LUT while I was there was simultaneous with an FCC so it was try one or the other but not both. Retreat home, do some remote home working and try later. Its a good job I do flexi hours AND have a boss who commutes on another First operation and knows the score. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 21, 9:36*am, D7666 wrote:
Retreat home, do some remote home working and try later. Which I did, returning to LUT at around 09:50. No FCC trains. Well none that were known about. There were indicated trains, some of which were from the normal t.t. some of which were from the alleged emergency timetable, and some of each were ''on time'' and some of each were ''cancelled''. Much stressed staff were as much in the dark as passengers were. By 10:05 there would be no trains in the next hour going south based on all available information *at that point in time*. I leave. Just as I get back to my home, an I see an Up passenger carrying 319, looking rather full, although that was from a distance. Maybe the points problem at Bedford has compounded matters, but even so the FCC site says thats only an EMT problem and does not refer to it as an FCC problem. Neither do they state why todays alleged 4 TPH is nothing like it. Nor explain why all the web and PIS data is completely wrong. I still don't know why they only ran 2 TPH last evening peak. Not only has there been no explanation of that but we got this through the local commuters group this morning : QUOTE Dear stakeholder, Due to the adverse weather conditions and infrastructure problems we have experienced a number of delays and cancellations to services this weekend and this morning. Thameslink On Saturday the Thameslink route was forced to close earlier than planned in the evening as drivers couldn’t get to depots and snow was preventing services from running. This morning a power cut in the Farringdon area contributed to significant disruption caused by the extreme weather conditions and low temperatures which last night reached -13 degrees in some places. A power cut at West Hampstead Service Delivery Centre, which is located in the signal box, severely affected our information systems. All train were shown as cancelled, which was not the case. Our Service Delivery Centre staff were unable to update the Customer Information screens at the stations, nor could they update the information on our website. Added to this, Network Rail did not de-ice the track following the weekend engineering works in central London. This meant two services got stuck in the Farringdon and Blackfriars area, which added to the delays and cancellations. Network Rail is still working to remove ice from this section of the track. Network Rail has instructed us to run a revised timetable for the remainder of today and also for tomorrow. Currently all trains to and from Bedford (four an hour in each direction) are starting and terminating at St Pancras International. Details of tomorrow's service will be on both the FCC and National Rail Enquiries websites later today. This timetable is planned to consist of just four trains an hour to and from Bedford, of which two will serve the Wimbledon - Sutton loop and two will run to and from Brighton. Passengers can, if they wish, choose to travel on our Great Northern route, on which Network Rail have agreed that a full, normal timetable will operate. We are urging our customers to check our website for travel updates before heading out. Tickets are being accepted on London Underground, London Buses, EastMidland Trains, Southern, and Southeastern. Best wishes, Neal Lawson Managing Director END QUOTE Right now, FCC web site says this QUOTE Major disruption Service update 21st December Thameslink route At the request of Network Rail, because of further freezing conditions that will affect track, signalling and other infrastructure, we are running a revised timetable again today but the Thameslink route will be open across central London and there will be a service between London and Sutton/Wimbledon. No services can now call at City Thameslink because of treacherous conditions. END QUOTE Treacherous conditions ? At City ??? While all this is going on, they STILL repeat ad nauseam the PA about Blackfriars being closed, instructing passenger to - use CIty !!! Assemble to following words in the correct order capital brewey organise connect drinking first organise a can't session in -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 21, 12:55*pm, D7666 wrote:
On Dec 21, 9:36*am, D7666 wrote: Right now, FCC web site says this Major disruption Service update 21st December Now has revised text with says : QUOTE Tomorrow, Wednesday Further ice and up to 10cm of snow is forecast for tonight north of London. Network Rail has therefore instructed us to operate today's revised timetable again tomorrow. END QUOTE I will have run out of useful working at home things to do by then. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
In message
, D7666 writes No services can now call at City Thameslink because of treacherous conditions. I cannot imagine why they thought they had to close City Thameslink: it is a station entirely underground, with both entrances well protected from the weather beneath office blocks, one in a mini-shopping mall. The message I saw claimed there was too much ice: I'd have thought that the only place ice could form would be on the pavement outside the entrance. Does anyone understand this at all? It's particularly unfortunate to close it, since Blackfriars is also closed, and Farringdon beset by building works. Assemble to following words in the correct order capital brewey organise connect drinking first organise a can't session in Very well put. -- Clive Page |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 22, 10:15*am, Clive Page wrote:
In message , D7666 writes No services can now call at City Thameslink because of treacherous conditions. I cannot imagine why they thought they had to close City Thameslink: it is a station entirely underground, with both entrances well protected from the weather beneath office blocks, one in a mini-shopping mall. The message I saw claimed there was too much ice: I'd have thought that the only place ice could form would be on the pavement outside the entrance. Does anyone understand this at all? * It's particularly unfortunate to close it, since Blackfriars is also closed, and Farringdon beset by building works. Assemble to following words in the correct order capital brewey organise connect drinking first organise a can't session in Very well put. -- Clive Page I apologise for the delayed arrival of this post......... I can add a bit of back ground to Monday morning......... Core route blocked Friday night (I assume 22.00 ish?) power off all weekend (3rd rail) Herne Hill to Farringdon. switch it all on 50 + hours later and watch the first train train up th bank into Blackfriars fail to gain traction. Stick another 8 car on the back of that and the ice/snow stops that one as well. Northbound train (05.09 ex Brighton I assume was the first, it is normally) at around the same time struggles to get anywhere near Elephant & Castle. Assist that with another 8 car, well try to anyway. From what I overheard there were 4 traiins stuck from start of service until well after 08.00 (I beleive it was more like 09.00 but don't want to do a Kay Burley). A work colleauge was getting regular updates from his wife on the Northbound Brighton which ultimately got de iced by ground staff and got back to Herne Hill where they got into London via SET to Victoria. Net result core closed, side effect, City Thameslink hardly used (if ?) at all...... Tuesday morning, run a through service. People get off (and on as well ?) at City Thameslink and find a slippery surface - very very slippry apparently. So slippery they had to close. Now whether this is because three days have passed with no use and damp platforms froze, or if there was another reason, I know not but it seemed to be closed a very long time if it was just putting kill frost down. I know it's a glossy tile surface so am guessing the dreaded terrazo ? Richard |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
In message , Clive Page
writes I cannot imagine why they thought they had to close City Thameslink: it is a station entirely underground, with both entrances well protected from the weather beneath office blocks, one in a mini-shopping mall. The message I saw claimed there was too much ice: I'd have thought that the only place ice could form would be on the pavement outside the entrance. Does anyone understand this at all? I wonder if the problem is the open-air section just south of City Thameslink - there's a steep rising gradient on the approach to Blackfriars. -- Paul Terry |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 22, 1:22*pm, Fat richard wrote:
I can add a bit of back ground to Monday morning......... Core route blocked Friday night (I assume 22.00 ish?) power off all weekend (3rd rail) Herne Hill to Farringdon. switch it all on 50 + hours later and watch the first train train up th bank into Blackfriars fail to gain traction. Stick another 8 car on the back of that and the ice/snow stops that one as well. Northbound train (05.09 ex Brighton I assume was the first, it is normally) at around the same time struggles to get anywhere near Elephant & Castle. Assist that with another 8 car, well try to anyway. From what I overheard there were 4 traiins stuck from start of service until well after 08.00 (I beleive it was more like 09.00 but don't want to do a Kay Burley). A work colleauge was getting regular updates from his wife on the Northbound Brighton which ultimately got de iced by ground staff and got back to Herne Hill where they got into London via SET to Victoria. Thanks. At least that makes sense after the chaos on Monday morning. Tuesday morning, run a through service. People get off (and on as well ?) at City Thameslink and find a slippery surface - very very slippry apparently. So slippery they had to close. Now whether this is because three days have passed with no use and damp platforms froze, or if there was another reason, I know not but it seemed to be closed a very long time if it was just putting kill frost down. I know it's a glossy tile surface so am guessing the dreaded terrazo ? Interesting. One hopes now then they do somehting about not allowing a repeat occurence. I am wonder what happens over the xmas shutdown and service restart, not just FCC TL but the whole network if weather carries on as it is. At least I'm not back to work until Jan 4th. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
Today, this morning, 48 h after ''problems'' started, 84 h after the
last snow fell in this area, and 36 h after the alleged emergency service was put in place, I actually found this emergency service in place and working and corresponding to what they were advertising in their web updates. With flexitime and avoiding the peaks I did on time Up 09:25 off LUT to WHP, and Down on 16:05 off ZFD to LUT. Up train barely half full, Down train ~3/4 full, perhaps people have given up. FCC TL are keeping the same basic 4 TPH emergency service in 23/12 and 24/12 according to their web site now, but I assume there will be a further twiddling on 24/12 towards xmas run down. EDIT QUOTE Major disruption Service update 22/23/24 December Thameslink route We are continuing to run a revised timetable. East Midlands Trains is stopping its services at Bedford this morning and City Thameslink station is open. Please check the Live train updates page before you set out. With Southeastern, we are operating a half hourly service between City Thameslink and Sevenoaks via Catford leaving Sevenoaks at '02 & '32 and City Thameslink at '09 & '39. .... Service update 23 and 24 December Both the Thameslink and Great Northern routes will be running a revised service in the two days before Christmas to reflect the recent impact of the weather. The timetable for Thursday can be found he Thameslink timetable and Great Northern timetable. END QUOTE And I am still unable to find out exactly what the north of Thames issue is. I could guess NR want plain line running i.e. no use of points so no turnbacks at Luton or St.Albans nor FL/SL switching, but that don't explain why just 4 TPH nor the stopping pattern they are using. Or maybe the is an OLE speed limit, but that again don't imply the 4 TPH pattern. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 22, 8:13*pm, Paul Corfield wrote: On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:43:04 -0800 (PST), D7666 wrote: Today, this morning, 48 h after ''problems'' started, 84 h after the last snow fell in this area, and 36 h after the alleged emergency service was put in place, I actually found this emergency service in place and working and corresponding to what they were advertising in their web updates. [snip] And I am still unable to find out exactly what the north of Thames issue is. I could guess NR want plain line running i.e. no use of points so no turnbacks at Luton or St.Albans nor FL/SL switching, but that don't explain why just 4 TPH nor the stopping pattern they are using. Or maybe the is an OLE speed limit, but that again don't imply the 4 TPH pattern. You have to worry what on earth will happen to the Thameslink service when it is finally upgraded and linked to the GN and a much wider set of destinations. The current set up seems incapable of surviving any real level of disruption either from the weather or from railway induced failings (track, wires, rolling stock etc). Reading some of the earlier posts and what apparently "failed" you have to wonder about the combined planning and contingency skills of the operator and Network Rail. Given the proposed intensity of service and probably much more complex rolling stock and lots of dips, tunnels and connections all over the place I doubt the service would survive one snowflake falling out of sky never mind real winter weather. *I know it's a long time until the expanded service comes into use but I wonder if anyone is doing some thinking and learning from recent failings so there might be something more robust put in place in terms of the trains and infrastructure so the service might be able to keep going in the event of serious disruption. When it works, Thameslink can be an amazingly useful service - I should add that I'm looking at it in particular from a London 'metro' perspective - but when something goes wrong, it all just seems to fall apart. My normal advice to anyone is that at times like this (i.e. anytime things are looking shaky), Thameslink is best avoided if possible (particularly south of St Pancras - but as D7666/Nick says, they can balls it up north of St P too). I hope that things improve - I dunno if there's an attitude that the Thameslink Programme works are somehow going to wave a magic wand and make the TL route 'just work' after completion, but if so that'd be just a little hopeful. |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
- Show quoted text -
http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk...train-updates/ Does anybody here think this is helpful or user friendly ? -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
In message
, D7666 writes - Show quoted text - http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk...train-updates/ Does anybody here think this is helpful or user friendly ? I don't think it is either. It shows every sign of having been programmed by idiots, but we know that FCC seems to have a plentiful supply of them on hand. -- Clive Page |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 22, 11:26*pm, Mizter T wrote:
When it works, Key words those. Thameslink can be an amazingly useful service - I should add that I'm looking at it in particular from a London 'metro' perspective - but when something goes wrong, it all just seems to fall apart. Exactly. It now seems to go into total collapse at the slightest perturbation. It does not seem to be able to sustain 10 TPH off peak in anything less than perfect running in perfect weather when traincrew aren't in need of half term or shopping or football days off en masse. They've lost 4 points of resilience - Moorgate, St.Pancras HL, Blackfriars bays and Farringdon crossover, so thare are no system failed chageover bolt holes - I know all that and know the reason why - but they have gained other resilience that the previous incumbent did not have i.e. extra platforms with both way reversibility, at Kentish Town, SPILL crossover and reversibility from the north, and Herne Hill turnback. and AC wires to City (SB only at the moment). How this route is ever going to sustain 24 TPH with a 16:8 split over the junction at SPILL I do not know. No amount of ATO or dwell management is ever going to work if perturbations on the network as a whole cause deck of cards type collapse like we have had for the past 2 years now AND they don't put more effort (i.e. more crew) into mitigating delays with these continuous tight traincrew turnarounds. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
D7666 wrote:
On Dec 22, 11:26*pm, Mizter T wrote: When it works, Key words those. Thameslink can be an amazingly useful service - I should add that I'm looking at it in particular from a London 'metro' perspective - but when something goes wrong, it all just seems to fall apart. Exactly. It now seems to go into total collapse at the slightest perturbation. It does not seem to be able to sustain 10 TPH off peak in anything less than perfect running in perfect weather when traincrew aren't in need of half term or shopping or football days off en masse. They've lost 4 points of resilience - Moorgate, St.Pancras HL, Blackfriars bays and Farringdon crossover, so thare are no system failed chageover bolt holes - I know all that and know the reason why - but they have gained other resilience that the previous incumbent did not have i.e. extra platforms with both way reversibility, at Kentish Town, SPILL crossover and reversibility from the north, and Herne Hill turnback. and AC wires to City (SB only at the moment). How this route is ever going to sustain 24 TPH with a 16:8 split over the junction at SPILL I do not know. No amount of ATO or dwell management is ever going to work if perturbations on the network as a whole cause deck of cards type collapse like we have had for the past 2 years now AND they don't put more effort (i.e. more crew) into mitigating delays with these continuous tight traincrew turnarounds. The problems can probably be cured, and 24 TPH is probably achievable, but only with a different TOC. First Group puts shareholder value above all else. As long as there are no really serious (8 figure) financial penalties for a franchise holder's non-performance, nothing is going to change and 24 TPH is just a pipe dream. First Group has a uniquely deep contempt for its paying customers. That culture isn't ever going to change unless DfT Rail makes the sort of threats that brought First Great Western to heel in similar circumstances. Sadly, I see no sign of that happening with FCC. |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 23, 6:32*pm, Bruce wrote:
Thameslink can be an amazingly useful How this route is ever going to sustain 24 TPH First Group puts shareholder value above all else. *As long as there are no really serious (8 figure) financial penalties for a franchise holder's non-performance, nothing is going to change and 24 TPH is just a pipe dream. * First Group has a uniquely deep contempt for its paying customers. That culture isn't ever going to change unless DfT Rail makes the sort of threats that brought First Great Western to heel in similar circumstances. *Sadly, I see no sign of that happening with FCC. heh :o) I deliberately worded my comments in terms of route not TOC to prompt response - but indeed your words are exactly what i really think about it. I do not know how First get away with what they do. Oh wait a minute yes I do, we've had an election since the last riot where Adonis threatened removing the TL/GN franchise form them - so its all been forgotten. I do not understand how the been getitng away with the 4 TPH for days service. Oh. Yes I do. They blame limited service on Networkrail but I suggest it is more than that - like they are using it to mask traincrew shortage and/or pay less overtime in the xmas run up. GoVia at least ran every 10 minutes emergency service, all trains all station north of Thames, thats far far better for *all* passengers than whats in place now. As for PIS and web data ... don;t get me started ... And there are still no paper timetables from 12.12.10 at most FCC stations. Indeed, are there any ? I've not seen any yet, I've resorted to printing out Table 52 pages from NRTT. -- Nick |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:41:23 -0800 (PST), D7666
wrote: On Dec 23, 6:32=A0pm, Bruce wrote: Thameslink can be an amazingly useful How this route is ever going to sustain 24 TPH First Group puts shareholder value above all else. =A0As long as there are no really serious (8 figure) financial penalties for a franchise holder's non-performance, nothing is going to change and 24 TPH is just a pipe dream. =A0 First Group has a uniquely deep contempt for its paying customers. That culture isn't ever going to change unless DfT Rail makes the sort of threats that brought First Great Western to heel in similar circumstances. =A0Sadly, I see no sign of that happening with FCC. heh :o) I deliberately worded my comments in terms of route not TOC to prompt response - but indeed your words are exactly what i really think about it. I do not know how First get away with what they do. Perhaps any investigation into that should start by recording the history of donations by First Group to the main political parties in Westminster and Holyrood, also to individual members of those parties. |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
|
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 23, 4:41*pm, Clive Page wrote:
In message , D7666 writes - Show quoted text - http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk...live-train-upd... Does anybody here think this is helpful or user friendly ? I don't think it is either. *It shows every sign of having been programmed by idiots, but we know that FCC seems to have a plentiful supply of them on hand. -- Clive Page Just to be sure that we are talking about the same thing, it's the plan your journey thing where it invited me to put in where from and to, but didn't invite me to enter a time, and when I clicked "go" it just reloaded the same page? |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
In message
, D7666 writes And there are still no paper timetables from 12.12.10 at most FCC stations. Indeed, are there any ? I've not seen any yet, I've resorted to printing out Table 52 pages from NRTT. I did manage to get one of those from Luton station, around the 12th Dec. Maybe they have run out now? Unlikely, as for the past 10 days the actual timetable has had no resemblance at all to the one printed. What I haven't managed to get is the timetable of Christmas/New Year alterations: this is a PDF one can download from http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk...Xmas_10_timeta ble_no24.pdf (what a snappy URL), but I can't really afford to print out all 109 pages. Has anyone seen one of those? -- Clive Page |
113 cancellations on FCC Thameslink
On Dec 23, 10:18*pm, Clive Page wrote:
What I haven't managed to get is the timetable of Christmas/New Year alterations: *this is a PDF one can download fromhttp://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/static/filemanager/TL_Xmas_10_ti... ble_no24.pdf (what a snappy URL), but I can't really afford to print out all 109 pages. Has anyone seen one of those? Nope. Got the PDF. Hopefully I wont' have to use them at all after tomorrow until jan 4. -- Nick |
| All times are GMT. The time now is 08:56 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2006 LondonBanter.co.uk