I've been in London every day this week including Saturday, except, the
law of Murphy and Sodde being very rigorous, for tomorrow.

So I decided to get in a last trip from St Pancras to Moorgate tonight. I
got the 18:20 from SPILL, intending to catch the 19:06 but in the end got
the 18:40 from Moorgate so I could catch my usual 19:15 train back to
Cambridge.

The first confusion was my ticket. I checked FCC and National Rail web
sites for Cambridge-Moorgate via SPILL fares and got a ludicrous £21.80
off peak return fare with Network Card discount. As the London Terminals
and the Cambridge-Zones 1-4 equivalents are £19.15 and £20.75 respectively
I had difficulty stacking that up.

So I asked at Cambridge yesterday morning, knowing from past experience of
a visit to the FCC lost property office that City Thameslink is accepted
as a London terminal by FCC whatever the discussions here have concluded
in the past. They confirmed that a London Terminals ticket would be valid
to and from Moorgate (I was only going one way of course).

I cycled from work to King's Cross as usual and locked up my bike there,
deciding that trying a bike before 19:00 wasn't worth arguing about. I
also decided against trying to use yesterday's outward ticket today and
made my first use of Oyster PAYG on National Rail to Moorgate.

Coming back the (LUL) barriers at Moorgate had no problems accepting my
London Terminals-Cambridge return half but at SPILL the gate rejected it.
The ticket barrier staff readily accepted it though.

The oddities I noticed at Moorgate included the countdown clock, last used
for the King's Cross Thameslink closure showing 1 day and 30 minutes to go
to the last train (19:06 tomorrow, though I gather a later ECS working
will carry passengers to SPILL).

There was also a sign, alongside that directing passengers to platforms 5
& 6 for Bedford, directing them there for Stevenage! Surely that sign is
actively confusing, the GNC platforms being more appropriate for such
passengers?

The other thing I'd not previously realised is the lack of down trains
calling at Barbican. The down platform looks long abandoned if not totally
demolished (hard to see in the dark). When did that happen?

After tomorrow the fares arguments become rather more academic, or do
they? Could one still change at Farringdon and use the Met to reach
Moorgate on such a ticket?

I took various pictures. Some will be at
www.rosenstiel.co.uk/trains/lastmoorgate.htm when I get round to it but
some were not very good. I savoured the irony of the 18:20 to Moorgate
being led by a Southern-liveried unit (with an FCC driver).

One picture I missed which others tomorrow might look out for was the
feather on the signal at Farringdon that will get its last passenger
outing tomorrow. I saw it but didn't get the camera out in time.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

wrote:

After tomorrow the fares arguments become rather more academic, or do
they? Could one still change at Farringdon and use the Met to reach
Moorgate on such a ticket?

I believe so, Colin. I saw somewhere this week that FCC tickets will be
valid for travel on LUL between Farringdon and Moorgate for the next two
years.

On 19 Mar, 22:42, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:10:13 -0000, "Jack Taylor"
wrote:

wrote:

After tomorrow the fares arguments become rather more academic, or do
they? Could one still change at Farringdon and use the Met to reach
Moorgate on such a ticket?

I believe so, Colin. I saw somewhere this week that FCC tickets will be
valid for travel on LUL between Farringdon and Moorgate for the next two
years.

Correct - the FCC leaflet that I collected at Moorgate yesterday said
that. I believe the ticket validity point is a condition of the closure
and that the revenue loss is covered by the DfT.
--
Paul C

Yes, but that refers to tickets from the northern Thameslink route and
doesn't affect tickets from the GN line via Finsbury park to London
Terminals, which have long been valid to Moorgate (via FCC or LUL) and
will remain so.

PaulO

In article
,
() wrote:

On 19 Mar, 22:42, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:10:13 -0000, "Jack Taylor"
wrote:

wrote:

After tomorrow the fares arguments become rather more academic,
or do they? Could one still change at Farringdon and use the Met
to reach Moorgate on such a ticket?

I believe so, Colin. I saw somewhere this week that FCC tickets will
be valid for travel on LUL between Farringdon and Moorgate for the
next two years.

Correct - the FCC leaflet that I collected at Moorgate yesterday said
that. I believe the ticket validity point is a condition of the
closure and that the revenue loss is covered by the DfT.

Yes, but that refers to tickets from the northern Thameslink route and
doesn't affect tickets from the GN line via Finsbury park to London
Terminals, which have long been valid to Moorgate (via FCC or LUL) and
will remain so.

National Express at Cambridge clearly understand that so why don't the FCC
or National Rail web sites tell the same story?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

wrote:

The other thing I'd not previously realised is the lack of down trains
calling at Barbican. The down platform looks long abandoned if not totally
demolished (hard to see in the dark). When did that happen?

*Years* ago - for as long as I can remember (1994 onwards) I think Barbican
has always been a one way only station on Thameslink.

On Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:51:31 +0000, Tim Roll-Pickering wrote:

wrote:

The other thing I'd not previously realised is the lack of down trains
calling at Barbican. The down platform looks long abandoned if not
totally demolished (hard to see in the dark). When did that happen?

*Years* ago - for as long as I can remember (1994 onwards) I think
Barbican has always been a one way only station on Thameslink.

Why? And has this ever been indicated on the map?
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA

On 20 Mar 2009 02:28:01 GMT, David of Broadway
wrote:

Why?

The platform is too short.

And has this ever been indicated on the map?

Don't think so.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

On Mar 20, 6:34*am, (Neil Williams)
wrote:
On 20 Mar 2009 02:28:01 GMT, David of Broadway

wrote:
Why? *

The platform is too short.

And has this ever been indicated on the map?

Don't think so.

Neil

Just been looking in a 1994 timetable (amazing what you keep lying
around) and they were only stopping (what's up and down here?) in the
Moorgate-bound direction. Nearly all of them were set-down only.

In 1997 it was similar (but off-peak services had mainly gone by
then). I mention it because I find a 1997 London Connections which
shows the route as limited service, but makes no mention of the
directional restriction at Barbican.

Ah, here's the autumn 1993/4 timetable which is mostly similar, but
shows pickup only stops at Barbican at

1658 to St Albans
1716 to Bedford
1829 to St Albans
1858 to Bedford

Haven't got anything earlier than that.

On 20 Mar, 00:12, wrote:
In article
,



() wrote:
On 19 Mar, 22:42, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:10:13 -0000, "Jack Taylor"
wrote:

wrote:

After tomorrow the fares arguments become rather more academic,
or do they? Could one still change at Farringdon and use the Met
to reach Moorgate on such a ticket?

I believe so, Colin. I saw somewhere this week that FCC tickets will
be valid for travel on LUL between Farringdon and Moorgate for the
next two years.

Correct - the FCC leaflet that I collected at Moorgate yesterday said
that. I believe the ticket validity point is a condition of the
closure and that the revenue loss is covered by the DfT.

Yes, but that refers to tickets from the northern Thameslink route and
doesn't affect tickets from the GN line via Finsbury park to London
Terminals, which have long been valid to Moorgate (via FCC or LUL) and
will remain so.

National Express at Cambridge clearly understand that so why don't the FCC
or National Rail web sites tell the same story?


When I mentioned FCC above I should have said "FCC (GN)". I'm not
certain whether a Cambridge to London Terminals ticket is valid via
SPILL.

Although there is no question that Moorgate is a London Terminal for
people travelling from Cambridge, and that there is interavailability
between Finsbury Park, KX and Moorgate via LUL, I've never seen
anything that says that you can travel via SPILL, which I know is the
journey you were making

That said, I have discovered that my Cambridge - London Terminals
season does open the ticket gates at SPILL (in addition to KX
Underground and Moorgate of course).

I'll be travelling from Moorgate to KX tonight as part of my daily
commute: I'll probably catch a LUL service as usual.

PaulO

(London-bound FCC (Thameslink) trains not stopping at Barbican)

On 20 Mar, 06:34, (Neil Williams)
wrote:
On 20 Mar 2009 02:28:01 GMT, David of Broadway

wrote:
Why? *

The platform is too short.


Indeed. However they seem to have been able to cope with this on
services going in the other direction, which is equally short.

PaulO