I had planned to pop up to London to see the fireworks on the Thames
tonight, and just discovered the brilliant planning which has shut down the
main line over the river and reduced my local service to hourly.

Well done Network Rail!

MaxB




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MaxB wrote:
I had planned to pop up to London to see the fireworks on the Thames
tonight, and just discovered the brilliant planning which has shut down the
main line over the river and reduced my local service to hourly.

Well done Network Rail!


Yeah, but they messed up and left loads of other routes to the Thames
open (I don't know about your local service).

Bear in mind that nearly all of the festival was on the south of the
river anyway. I do get annoyed by the timing of some closures, but in
this case I don't think that the closure of Charing Cross had any
significant effect on the accessibility of the festival.

On Sun, 17 Sep 2006 18:56:32 +0100, "MaxB"
wrote:

I had planned to pop up to London to see the fireworks on the Thames
tonight, and just discovered the brilliant planning which has shut down the
main line over the river and reduced my local service to hourly.

Well done Network Rail!

MaxB

They can't plan for every event. Whatever weekend they pick to do the
engineering work, there's always going to be some fairly large
gathering of people somewhere in the capital.

"MIG" wrote in message
ups.com...

MaxB wrote:
I had planned to pop up to London to see the fireworks on the Thames
tonight, and just discovered the brilliant planning which has shut down
the
main line over the river and reduced my local service to hourly.

Well done Network Rail!


Yeah, but they messed up and left loads of other routes to the Thames
open (I don't know about your local service).

Bear in mind that nearly all of the festival was on the south of the
river anyway. I do get annoyed by the timing of some closures, but in
this case I don't think that the closure of Charing Cross had any
significant effect on the accessibility of the festival.

Charing Cross to London Bridge IS south of the river (where lots of real
people live too you know).

MaxB




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"Peter Frimberley" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Sep 2006 18:56:32 +0100, "MaxB"
wrote:

I had planned to pop up to London to see the fireworks on the Thames
tonight, and just discovered the brilliant planning which has shut down
the
main line over the river and reduced my local service to hourly.

Well done Network Rail!

MaxB

They can't plan for every event. Whatever weekend they pick to do the
engineering work, there's always going to be some fairly large
gathering of people somewhere in the capital.

Having had to plan engineering works in the past, one of the first things
you do is to check what else is happening! And it's a damn site easier these
days with the internet.

And this wasn't just Thames festival day, it was also Open House weekend
plus some ITV event - not just your average weekend and certainly not the
day to close down the most conveniently situated London terminal.

This was just sloppy and incompetent.

MaxB




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MaxB wrote:
"Peter Frimberley" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Sep 2006 18:56:32 +0100, "MaxB"
wrote:

I had planned to pop up to London to see the fireworks on the
Thames tonight, and just discovered the brilliant planning which
has shut down the
main line over the river and reduced my local service to hourly.

Well done Network Rail!

MaxB

They can't plan for every event. Whatever weekend they pick to do
the engineering work, there's always going to be some fairly large
gathering of people somewhere in the capital.

Having had to plan engineering works in the past, one of the first
things you do is to check what else is happening! And it's a damn
site easier these days with the internet.

And this wasn't just Thames festival day, it was also Open House
weekend plus some ITV event - not just your average weekend and
certainly not the day to close down the most conveniently situated
London terminal.

Well, it might be the most convenient for you, but it's useless for me.
Depends where you live, surely? Anyway, the tube was still running, so
there was no lack of transport connections across the river in central
London.

What's your local station that had it's service reduced to hourly
yesterday?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

"Richard J." wrote in message
.uk...
MaxB wrote:
"Peter Frimberley" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Sep 2006 18:56:32 +0100, "MaxB"
wrote:

I had planned to pop up to London to see the fireworks on the
Thames tonight, and just discovered the brilliant planning which
has shut down the
main line over the river and reduced my local service to hourly.

Well done Network Rail!

MaxB

They can't plan for every event. Whatever weekend they pick to do
the engineering work, there's always going to be some fairly large
gathering of people somewhere in the capital.

Having had to plan engineering works in the past, one of the first
things you do is to check what else is happening! And it's a damn
site easier these days with the internet.

And this wasn't just Thames festival day, it was also Open House
weekend plus some ITV event - not just your average weekend and
certainly not the day to close down the most conveniently situated
London terminal.

Well, it might be the most convenient for you, but it's useless for me.
Depends where you live, surely? Anyway, the tube was still running, so
there was no lack of transport connections across the river in central
London.

What's your local station that had it's service reduced to hourly
yesterday?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)




Elmstead Woods - and Charing Cross is still the best situated main line
station for central London, not terminating somewhere in the suburbs as so
many do!

MaxB




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MaxB wrote:
"MIG" wrote in message
ups.com...

MaxB wrote:
I had planned to pop up to London to see the fireworks on the Thames
tonight, and just discovered the brilliant planning which has shut down
the
main line over the river and reduced my local service to hourly.

Well done Network Rail!


Yeah, but they messed up and left loads of other routes to the Thames
open (I don't know about your local service).

Bear in mind that nearly all of the festival was on the south of the
river anyway. I do get annoyed by the timing of some closures, but in
this case I don't think that the closure of Charing Cross had any
significant effect on the accessibility of the festival.

Charing Cross to London Bridge IS south of the river (where lots of real
people live too you know).



You did specifically mention "main line over the river". It's only
Charing Cross itself you couldn't get to, and that's the other side of
the river.

London Bridge was the best station for City Hall, Hays Galleria etc.
Jubilee gets you from there to Southwark, Waterloo, Westminster.
Southwark and Waterloo give a better range of the South Bank than
Waterloo East, slightly making up for having to change.

I have no idea why there would be a reduced service to Elmstead Woods
related to the closure of Charing Cross.

"MaxB" wrote:
Well, it might be the most convenient for you, but it's useless for me.
Depends where you live, surely? Anyway, the tube was still running, so
there was no lack of transport connections across the river in central
London.

What's your local station that had it's service reduced to hourly
yesterday?

Elmstead Woods - and Charing Cross is still the best situated main line
station for central London, not terminating somewhere in the suburbs as so
many do!

Terminating somewhere in the suburbs? Sorry, but you're talking ****e.
Granted, Charing Cross is the closest mainline terminus to Central London,
being pretty much smack bang in the middle of the West End and all that, but
the other terminii are hardly out in the suburbs.

They're all within around 10 minutes of somewhere right in the centre -
Kings Cross, Euston, Marylebone, Paddington, Victoria, Waterloo,
Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street and Moorgate
all fit that description. Paddington and Marylebone are vaguely far out
compared to the rest, but still nothing close to anything matching the
description of "somewhere in the suburbs".

And yes, for a night out in the West End, Charing Cross is the best placed
mainline station, but that's only any good if you live the South-East of the
centre (i.e. on a line that goes in to Charing Cross). For people coming in
from the West, East, North, North-West, South and South-West, train to
another London Terminus and then the tube is a much better bet. Well, with
the possible exception of the South, where a change at London Bridge will
get you straight to Charing Cross.

I can't see what you're moaning about though - surely you could have just
changed at London Bridge for Blackfriars and got you just as close as
Charing Cross would have done?

--
"For want of the price of tea and a slice, the old man died."

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 17:25:05 GMT, AstraVanMan wrote:

I can't see what you're moaning about though - surely you could have just
changed at London Bridge for Blackfriars and got you just as close as
Charing Cross would have done?

Charing Cross trains were being diverted to Cannon Street. Cannon
Street Tube station was kept open all weekend, and tickets to London
Terminals were being accepted on the Tube between Cannon Street and
Embankment. For a one-off leisure journey, the inconvenience seems
minor to say the least. Compared to what people usually have to put up
with when their desired route is closed for engineering works, it
barely seems worth a mention.

Having the service to your local station reduced to hourly is, I
admit, far more of an inconvenience.