Today is my late start day, although I still wanted to be in by 13:00 to meet a friend. Oh I love later starts, I'm much faster, much more alert and, at the end of the day, much happier and much more punctual.
As a result I was at ROV at the perfect time, with about 3 minutes to wait for the WOO train. That took me in to WOO very smoothly and I was soon on a NOR (Northolt) train heading for LIS (Liverpool Street). All in all, a very easy journey on the Central line today - even MIE (Mile End) didn't have any problems! :P
At LIS, I changed onto a Circle line train bound for Hammersmith, but at Moorgate, the T/Op informed us that the Met train in platform 3 (all stations to Amersham) would be departing first. Since I've never taken a train out of platform 3 at Moorgate (although I've taken a few into platform 3) I thought I'd hop across and take that one. I noticed there was an out of service train in platform 4 as well. After a nice novel ride out of Moorgate I arrived at Euston Square without any problems and was nice and early for my meeting :P
At the end of the day, I started walking back to Euston Square, when a man stopped me to ask the way to the station. I asked him where he wanted to go and he said his destination was Victoria and he was looking for Russell Square. I offered (since he was heading in the wrong direction anyway) to take him with me to Euston Square, where he could change at King's X. Obviously the best route from King's X is the Vic line to Victoria, but one can obviously also use the Picc if one desires to for one reason or another. He was a lovely, lovely guy as well. Apparently he was in London on a course and worked at the embassy in Nairobi. After some of the most enjoyable small talk I've ever had, we parted outside Euston Sq so he could make a phone call, but I hope he made his way back without any problems. It certainly made for a nicer return journey than usual, but that was about the only thing of note, really. After that it was just Met to LIS, NEP (Newbury Park) train to LES (Leytonstone), EPP (Epping) train to WOO and a good 10+ minute wait for the HAI train into ROV. Simple.
Thursday 30 January 2014
Wednesday 29 January 2014
The Vic
I really wasn't in the mood for two rounds of Hindi when I got up this morning, but I did eventually get out of bed. I gave up any hope of making the 08:54 train, though, and put some washing away instead. Having learned my lesson from Monday, however, I started getting my things together comfortably before 09:05. In spite of this, my watch decided it was 09:13 by the time I was approaching ROV (in horrible drizzle which never really cleared up, too)! Why it did that, I don't know :P Ah well, although I took longer than I'd expected, I was still just about on time. The WOO train was in the platform when I turned up, but I've also learnt my lesson from the time I nearly slipped on my way to High Street Kensington and I was nice and careful (without dawdling, obviously). No problem.
In reality, though, I could have dawdled all I liked, and there was no need for me to stare aghast at my watch either :P Before I'd even set off today, we had a platforms and hold call for a faulty train at MIE (Mile End) (where else? :P).
Speaking of MIE, I have a bit more information about yesterday's calamity, courtesy of Aslefshrugged. Apparently, in addition to the signalling problems, 38 electrical pickup shoes managed to find their way trackside. No word yet on what it was that enticed them away from the train they should have been attached to, but it made for quite a mess :P
Anyway since it was terribly wet and cold and nasty the T/Op did something I have never seen before - he enabled passenger door operation on the 1992 stock. I didn't even realise that was still possible!
Passenger door operation is, of course, very much in use on London Overground and the DLR. Now, over on these railways, the door open buttons will illuminate when the doors can be opened. The doors can't be opened when the buttons aren't illuminated, but that won't stop people trying :P
I don't really know much about the operation of either of these railways; but I do know that London Overground has now gone (or perhaps is in the latter stages of going?) DOO (Driver Only Operation). I don't know if LO has CSDE, but I presume the doors can't be opened until man or machine has checked the train is correctly berthed. I would guess that enabling of the door open buttons is done by the driver but I don't know. Either way, when the buttons are illuminated and the doors can be opened, passengers must press the button to open any door they wish to use, otherwise they remain closed. (Well, I say "must", in my experience this has been the case, but I'm not a frequent user. I think it's quite likely that the driver can open all doors themselves, especially at rush hour). I can't recall whether doors can be closed manually by the passengers or not, but I believe they will eventually shut after a while to keep the cold out or whatever. Until the buttons are disabled and no longer illuminated, the doors can still be opened again by newcomers. The driver is responsible for closing the doors. When the train is ready to depart, s/he will do the necessary and any doors that are open will close and the door open buttons are disabled. This used to be the job of the guard on the lines which still had them. When all doors are proved closed, the train can go.
A similar state of affairs exists on the DLR. Once the train is correctly berthed, the buttons illuminate and passengers must operate the buttons if they wish to leave/board. (Again, I say "must". After finishing, it was suggested to me that I may be wrong and I had a quick look at youtube and I think that suggestion could be correct. I'm sure the train captain can probably operate all doors if necessary. I think off-peak it's quite common to leave it to the pax, though). I don't know if this (checking the train is berthed and enabling the door open buttons) is done automatically, but I presume it is. Again, however, the closing of any and all doors before departure is the job of the train captain (officially: Passenger Service Agent (PSA)) I believe.
Regular readers may recall that a similar situation (which I can be a bit more sure about) exists on London Underground with the S stock. This is largely because of the air-con (to avoid wasting energy by having the doors wide open at termini and during long dwell times) and the long dwell times more likely on the extremities of the Met. The S stock does have a new form of CSDE equipment and I understand that when the train is correctly berthed, the T/Op him/herself opens all doors. Passengers can't open the doors before the T/Op, but still I constantly see S stocks pulling up and pax hammering away at the buttons which has no effect at all :P Still, at first you don't succeed, push, push and push again :P Once the doors have been opened by the T/Op, they can be set up to close automatically after a certain period of time. (I'm not sure if this is a feature which has to be enabled or whether it's a feature which can be disabled). The buttons will remain illuminated and so will lights by the doors inside the carriage, indicating that passengers may operate the doors if they desire. As on the DLR and LO, when the train is ready to go, the T/Op closes any and all doors which are open (as per the usual procedure I think) and the lights go off and the train can go (assuming, of course, all doors are proved closed and some wally hasn't made a mess of the task of using some doors).
Now, anyway, where was I? Yes. Though new to the sub-surface lines, passenger door operation is generally out of fashion. The 1992 stock was built with the capability, but I've never seen it used. I've heard it was stopped on the District line after numerous incidents of passengers shutting doors on other passengers. Also, passenger door operation is not really - in general - a good thing on rapid transit systems. Unlike railways such as LO, dwell times are very short and what you want is: train turns up, all doors open at the same time, all doors close together, train leaves. Nice and fast and sharp. With so many people trying to get on and off, you don't really want (nor have any need for (e.g. for reasons to do with the temperature)) people having to mess around with door controls. Indeed, in the recent revamp of the Northern line's 1995 stock, the buttons have actually been removed. So for these reasons the feature is almost never enabled on the 1992 stock and you certainly can't open the doors yourself before the T/Op - there's no point pressing the buttons immediately after the train stops, before the doors open, it won't do anything :P
Today, however, the T/Op said that 'cause of the weather (and, also, ROV is a very lightly used station, so few people would be likely to want to board or alight), he was gonna close the doors, but if we wanted to get off, we could press the open buttons. The doors then closed and then (whether this is how they're designed to work I don't know) one set of double doors re-opened automatically. I could scarcely believe my ears (or my eyes) :P I didn't really want to be seen to be messing about, but then curiosity overcame embarrassment and I walked over and pressed the close button and the doors closed. Now, satisfied, I wasn't gonna fiddle anymore. But then I decided to fiddle some more and opened a door, walked to another (better, actually, for changing at LIS (Liverpool Street)) carriage and was able to open the doors from the outside. Quite the exciting novelty for me :P After all this time tutting (also see above) at people attempting to open the doors of tube trains when a train pulls up, thinking myself all knowledgeable about tube train doors tehe :P, I have learnt something new.
So anyway, back to the main story. Before too long, we were cleared to move up one station to WOO, which is where we were terminating anyway. By the time the next westbound (EAB (Ealing Broadway) I think) arrived, the problem seemed to have been resolved and we reached LIS without much more to-do. Here I changed for a semi-fast Met train to Harrow-on-the-Hill and was back out in the nasty, nasty weather in no time. I arrived 10 (well, much closer to 15, but 10 sounds better :P) minutes late, all told. Not really a good week for punctuality :P
After round 1 of Hindi - having enjoyed myself so much with the Edgware Roads - I decided to take a trip on the Vic. This also had the advantage of obviating the need to walk from King's X to Russell Sq. The Victoria line is pretty nippy and it's actually quite a fun ride. I find the seats surprisingly comfortable, the interior of the new trains is all rather pleasant, the exterior of the new trains is even more so and I enjoyed seeing the Vic again after a while - particularly the little motifs on every platform (each station has a unique picture). The trains do make rather a lot of noise in the process of getting around, mind you :P
So yes, it was up to Walthamstow Central from King's X, all the way to Brixton and then back to Green Park. At Walthamstow Central I also found myself on the national rail platform (Greater Anglia (Chingford - LIS)), which was a fairly nice surprise. Took in a rather colourful bridge outside Brixton station as well. At Green Park, I changed for the Picc up to Russell Sq, where I again had pretty good luck with the lifts :P Also, the T/Op on my Picc train was silky smooth, there was almost no jolt at all when we stopped. This was in marked contrast to the very hard stop of the 2009 stock and its ATO. It used to be that the heuristic criteria for assessing whether a T/Op was really smooth was whether you could do your crossword without making a mess. They don't seem to've bothered aiming for that with the 2009 stock's ATO system (DTG-R (Distance to go - Radio)).
After Hindi round 2 I boarded a Circle line train at Euston Sq and changed for the EPP (Epping) at LIS. Only a 2 minute wait for the HAI at WOO, which was especially nice given the weather.
In reality, though, I could have dawdled all I liked, and there was no need for me to stare aghast at my watch either :P Before I'd even set off today, we had a platforms and hold call for a faulty train at MIE (Mile End) (where else? :P).
Speaking of MIE, I have a bit more information about yesterday's calamity, courtesy of Aslefshrugged. Apparently, in addition to the signalling problems, 38 electrical pickup shoes managed to find their way trackside. No word yet on what it was that enticed them away from the train they should have been attached to, but it made for quite a mess :P
Anyway since it was terribly wet and cold and nasty the T/Op did something I have never seen before - he enabled passenger door operation on the 1992 stock. I didn't even realise that was still possible!
Passenger door operation is, of course, very much in use on London Overground and the DLR. Now, over on these railways, the door open buttons will illuminate when the doors can be opened. The doors can't be opened when the buttons aren't illuminated, but that won't stop people trying :P
I don't really know much about the operation of either of these railways; but I do know that London Overground has now gone (or perhaps is in the latter stages of going?) DOO (Driver Only Operation). I don't know if LO has CSDE, but I presume the doors can't be opened until man or machine has checked the train is correctly berthed. I would guess that enabling of the door open buttons is done by the driver but I don't know. Either way, when the buttons are illuminated and the doors can be opened, passengers must press the button to open any door they wish to use, otherwise they remain closed. (Well, I say "must", in my experience this has been the case, but I'm not a frequent user. I think it's quite likely that the driver can open all doors themselves, especially at rush hour). I can't recall whether doors can be closed manually by the passengers or not, but I believe they will eventually shut after a while to keep the cold out or whatever. Until the buttons are disabled and no longer illuminated, the doors can still be opened again by newcomers. The driver is responsible for closing the doors. When the train is ready to depart, s/he will do the necessary and any doors that are open will close and the door open buttons are disabled. This used to be the job of the guard on the lines which still had them. When all doors are proved closed, the train can go.
A similar state of affairs exists on the DLR. Once the train is correctly berthed, the buttons illuminate and passengers must operate the buttons if they wish to leave/board. (Again, I say "must". After finishing, it was suggested to me that I may be wrong and I had a quick look at youtube and I think that suggestion could be correct. I'm sure the train captain can probably operate all doors if necessary. I think off-peak it's quite common to leave it to the pax, though). I don't know if this (checking the train is berthed and enabling the door open buttons) is done automatically, but I presume it is. Again, however, the closing of any and all doors before departure is the job of the train captain (officially: Passenger Service Agent (PSA)) I believe.
Regular readers may recall that a similar situation (which I can be a bit more sure about) exists on London Underground with the S stock. This is largely because of the air-con (to avoid wasting energy by having the doors wide open at termini and during long dwell times) and the long dwell times more likely on the extremities of the Met. The S stock does have a new form of CSDE equipment and I understand that when the train is correctly berthed, the T/Op him/herself opens all doors. Passengers can't open the doors before the T/Op, but still I constantly see S stocks pulling up and pax hammering away at the buttons which has no effect at all :P Still, at first you don't succeed, push, push and push again :P Once the doors have been opened by the T/Op, they can be set up to close automatically after a certain period of time. (I'm not sure if this is a feature which has to be enabled or whether it's a feature which can be disabled). The buttons will remain illuminated and so will lights by the doors inside the carriage, indicating that passengers may operate the doors if they desire. As on the DLR and LO, when the train is ready to go, the T/Op closes any and all doors which are open (as per the usual procedure I think) and the lights go off and the train can go (assuming, of course, all doors are proved closed and some wally hasn't made a mess of the task of using some doors).
Now, anyway, where was I? Yes. Though new to the sub-surface lines, passenger door operation is generally out of fashion. The 1992 stock was built with the capability, but I've never seen it used. I've heard it was stopped on the District line after numerous incidents of passengers shutting doors on other passengers. Also, passenger door operation is not really - in general - a good thing on rapid transit systems. Unlike railways such as LO, dwell times are very short and what you want is: train turns up, all doors open at the same time, all doors close together, train leaves. Nice and fast and sharp. With so many people trying to get on and off, you don't really want (nor have any need for (e.g. for reasons to do with the temperature)) people having to mess around with door controls. Indeed, in the recent revamp of the Northern line's 1995 stock, the buttons have actually been removed. So for these reasons the feature is almost never enabled on the 1992 stock and you certainly can't open the doors yourself before the T/Op - there's no point pressing the buttons immediately after the train stops, before the doors open, it won't do anything :P
Today, however, the T/Op said that 'cause of the weather (and, also, ROV is a very lightly used station, so few people would be likely to want to board or alight), he was gonna close the doors, but if we wanted to get off, we could press the open buttons. The doors then closed and then (whether this is how they're designed to work I don't know) one set of double doors re-opened automatically. I could scarcely believe my ears (or my eyes) :P I didn't really want to be seen to be messing about, but then curiosity overcame embarrassment and I walked over and pressed the close button and the doors closed. Now, satisfied, I wasn't gonna fiddle anymore. But then I decided to fiddle some more and opened a door, walked to another (better, actually, for changing at LIS (Liverpool Street)) carriage and was able to open the doors from the outside. Quite the exciting novelty for me :P After all this time tutting (also see above) at people attempting to open the doors of tube trains when a train pulls up, thinking myself all knowledgeable about tube train doors tehe :P, I have learnt something new.
So anyway, back to the main story. Before too long, we were cleared to move up one station to WOO, which is where we were terminating anyway. By the time the next westbound (EAB (Ealing Broadway) I think) arrived, the problem seemed to have been resolved and we reached LIS without much more to-do. Here I changed for a semi-fast Met train to Harrow-on-the-Hill and was back out in the nasty, nasty weather in no time. I arrived 10 (well, much closer to 15, but 10 sounds better :P) minutes late, all told. Not really a good week for punctuality :P
After round 1 of Hindi - having enjoyed myself so much with the Edgware Roads - I decided to take a trip on the Vic. This also had the advantage of obviating the need to walk from King's X to Russell Sq. The Victoria line is pretty nippy and it's actually quite a fun ride. I find the seats surprisingly comfortable, the interior of the new trains is all rather pleasant, the exterior of the new trains is even more so and I enjoyed seeing the Vic again after a while - particularly the little motifs on every platform (each station has a unique picture). The trains do make rather a lot of noise in the process of getting around, mind you :P
So yes, it was up to Walthamstow Central from King's X, all the way to Brixton and then back to Green Park. At Walthamstow Central I also found myself on the national rail platform (Greater Anglia (Chingford - LIS)), which was a fairly nice surprise. Took in a rather colourful bridge outside Brixton station as well. At Green Park, I changed for the Picc up to Russell Sq, where I again had pretty good luck with the lifts :P Also, the T/Op on my Picc train was silky smooth, there was almost no jolt at all when we stopped. This was in marked contrast to the very hard stop of the 2009 stock and its ATO. It used to be that the heuristic criteria for assessing whether a T/Op was really smooth was whether you could do your crossword without making a mess. They don't seem to've bothered aiming for that with the 2009 stock's ATO system (DTG-R (Distance to go - Radio)).
After Hindi round 2 I boarded a Circle line train at Euston Sq and changed for the EPP (Epping) at LIS. Only a 2 minute wait for the HAI at WOO, which was especially nice given the weather.
Tuesday 28 January 2014
What a day
Wow. We had some big problems on the Central line this morning, I haven't seen a morning like this one in a long time. A problem with the signalling around MIE (Mile End) had been causing problems for a while and these were still very much ongoing when I arrived on the railway at about 08:00 this morning. The WOO train was standing in the platform when I turned up at ROV and it looked like it had been there for a little while. What with the problems, though, it was still a short while before it was cleared up to WOO and I was able to make the train with ease.
That was probably the smoothest bit of my journey, at least as far as LIS (Liverpool Street). Before long we reached WOO which was, understandably, busy. Additionally, there was a train in the bay platform and another one in one of the sidings. I was quite pleased to have an excuse to be late and I didn't think I would be able to get on the next westbound, so I took the chance to have a little peek and see if there were any other trains in the sidings or anything else worth a look. I had thought the WOO train might end up in the sidings as well, but, in the end, it didn't and it pulled into eastbound platform 3, bound for HAI (Hainault), pretty quickly. Actually, the rest of the eastbound service was in a sorry state and I think I only saw one other eastbound train between WOO and LES (Leytonstone).
After having to let another train go, because it was too busy, I managed to get myself on the next westbound train, which was comparatively quiet and had, I think, come down from LOU (Loughton). It soon filled up to bursting point, though. We had a fair wait in WOO before we were cleared up as far as SOW (South Woodford). Wood Lane were clearing trains up one station at a time, so our journey consisted of: hold, move up one station, hold, move up one station, hold. Some of these holds were at least ten minutes long; we had big, big waits at SOW and SNA (Snaresbrook).
Throughout all of this, our T/Op was fantastic, he really was. He kept us regularly updated and informed and made sure everyone - including any newcomers at any given station - knew what was happening. Additionally he let us know as much as he could about any buses, etc. we could take, taking care to find out as much information as possible, because this clearly wasn't his local area. As well as that, he let us know when he had a clear signal and then when he was actually cleared to move up, giving everybody time to get on board. This allowed people to get some fresh air and have a bit of a wander if they wanted (although I didn't do this, because I doubted I would get back on.)
As well as the efforts of our T/Op, I reckon Wood Lane did a really cracking job keeping up any kind of service - it must have been absolutely manic in that control room this morning, so I take my hat off to them for getting trains worked through the problem and getting people around. From where I was standing, it seemed like they were doing exactly the right thing to get people moving as much as possible, to not leave poor beggars stranded in tunnels and make sure trains were regulated through the area safely. Tough job nicely done.
Anyway, after a big hold, we left SNA and were briefly held at LES 5760, the signal controlling access to LES westbound platforms, before being routed into platform 1. Again, the T/Op took care to find out which train (ours or the one in platform 2, which was already there when we arrived) would be leaving first. In the end, it was ours - which was nice. All told, though, it was at least an hour since I'd arrived at ROV when we left LES and even I - with my love for the tube - was feeling the pain from the cold and the cramped standing conditions. I also had a heavy bag with me (sorry Aslefshrugged, if you happen to read this, but I hope you'll be pleased to know that I carried my rucksack, unlike one or two of my fellow passengers (there wasn't much room for it on the floor and I'm a bit of a clean freak anyway and don't like dumping my possessions on the ground)).
After clearing the bottle-neck that is LES, things eased up a bit and eventually we made STR (Stratford), where a member of station staff put a smile on my face when we pulled in by welcoming us with 'you made it, at last'. He was a nice guy - exactly what you want, helpful, funny and kind. As soon as he saw me wander out of the train he asked me if I needed any help. He advised me to take a mainline train into LIS, from STR - which, of course, is the best option. As I said to him, however, that might have made me less late for class and I had a bona fide excuse to be late, which I wasn't gonna pass up. More to the point, though, I am TUT and I was more concerned with seeing what would happen at MIE and having something to write about than getting to class on time :P I'd noticed the cab door open, though, and I wanted to say thank you to the very helpful T/Op for his efforts - it ain't easy when delays are that bad.
At MIE there were many men in high visibility clothing standing at the end of the platform (to be honest, I don't really know enough about this side of things to hazard a decent guess at exactly what they do and what they're called - I'm not sure if they count as P-way, but I'm guessing they were there to fix the signalling problem and are probably signalling technicians/engineers or something). By this time things had emptied out a bit - quite a lot of people left at STR, which is the first actual interchange station. Since this was where the problem was, we went through to BEG (Bethnal Green) very slowly. Again, I'm on a topic I don't know so much about - I'm not quite sure about the rules and procedures on the Central line, but if I had to make a suggestion, I'd say we were probably heading through in restricted manual. Certainly it was slow going and a bit jerky. I'm not sure about the jerking, my guess is it's the result of the train trying to limit itself to 18 kph (and perhaps finding it difficult with the gradient), or maybe the T/Op was trying to keep speed in RM or coded. I'm not really sure, so I'll stop postulating, but it looked to me like some sort of degraded working, my best bet would be that we passed a signal at danger on the authority of someone at Wood Lane, who were regulating trains through the area, and were, therefore, going through in RM. Obviously we had to proceed with caution and the T/Op would presumably have been tasked with keeping a keen eye out for any obstructions. Whatever it was, suffice it to say it was a long journey from MIE to BEG at lower than normal speed, with a little bit of random hard braking here and there at the start of the journey. It was quite nice, though, for me to get a look at the tunnels. I mean, okay, they're only tunnels, they're not that fun, but we were going slowly enough to be able to see the tunnel lining and all of that.
Ultimately, however, we made it to BEG and after that it was pretty smooth running in to LIS. I walked on to the sub-surface line platform and, there, my back crumbled into dust. Having no desire to get on another full train I let a Hammersmith train go and recovered for a bit, before boarding the Wembley Park train, where I was able to get a seat. I chose quite a good one actually - enjoyed some of the best views I've been able to have for a long time. There was a lovely moment where I could see the end of a tunnel, the back of our train coming round a corner heading into the tunnel and the back of a train heading in the opposite direction. It was actually pretty easy going to King's X after that. All the same, I rocked up in class upwards of an hour late :P
At King's X, I happened to notice that the Central line was being advertised as part closed LES - LIS, with severe delays on the rest of the line. Now, this could have been simply old news, which was no longer true. I wonder, though, whether I got lucky and (perhaps with more people now avoiding the Central line) they'd since suspended the line in order to get people on the track to fix the problem. Certainly, when I did return to the Central line, it was being shown as having severe delays due to "emergency engineering work at MIE", so perhaps they did suspend it for a bit to do the work.
Anyway, as I say, I did eventually return to the tube to get home, but not for a while, as I'd arranged to meet a friend (it was a really lovely late morning + afternoon, too). I don't think I could have arrived at King's X again before 14:15. My poor Central line still had severe delays, however. Consequently, I decided to change off of my Circle line train at LIS for a Hammersmith & City line train to MIE. I'm quite glad I did, it was a nice novelty, and I never fail to enjoy passing Aldgate on the way to Aldgate East.
However, I probably needn't have bothered. Most people had been deterred from using the Central line and it was a really empty train, hardly anyone on it, given the time of day. The service pattern at MIE on the eastbound Central line made fairly interesting reading, mind:
EPP 1 min
HAI via NEP 2 mins
HAI via NEP 3 mins
EPP 10 mins
Still, luckily for me, my train pulled in in no time and it was actually a lovely journey up to WOO. At WOO (I was starving) I bought myself a rather nice bakewell tart from the little shop on the platform, which I ate while I waited for the HAI train. I was quite happy to see that it was reversing off platform 2 (presumably due to the late running) and I took in another novelty - the starter at the BUH/ROV end of platform 2 showing green - before getting on board and heading off (over the crossover, which was nice) to ROV.
And that, in the end, was that. Not much else to say, really. Noticed a Dagenham East train at MIE on the way in, though. Not very exciting and quite possibly a timetabled working, just a comparative rarity. When I arrived at ROV the Central line's situation had been downgraded to minor delays and it was advertised as having a good service by the time I'd sat down with a cup of tea and fired-up my laptop. A thank you and a tip of my hat, then, to everyone involved in getting things up and running again. Better luck tomorrow for us all, I hope :P
That was probably the smoothest bit of my journey, at least as far as LIS (Liverpool Street). Before long we reached WOO which was, understandably, busy. Additionally, there was a train in the bay platform and another one in one of the sidings. I was quite pleased to have an excuse to be late and I didn't think I would be able to get on the next westbound, so I took the chance to have a little peek and see if there were any other trains in the sidings or anything else worth a look. I had thought the WOO train might end up in the sidings as well, but, in the end, it didn't and it pulled into eastbound platform 3, bound for HAI (Hainault), pretty quickly. Actually, the rest of the eastbound service was in a sorry state and I think I only saw one other eastbound train between WOO and LES (Leytonstone).
After having to let another train go, because it was too busy, I managed to get myself on the next westbound train, which was comparatively quiet and had, I think, come down from LOU (Loughton). It soon filled up to bursting point, though. We had a fair wait in WOO before we were cleared up as far as SOW (South Woodford). Wood Lane were clearing trains up one station at a time, so our journey consisted of: hold, move up one station, hold, move up one station, hold. Some of these holds were at least ten minutes long; we had big, big waits at SOW and SNA (Snaresbrook).
Throughout all of this, our T/Op was fantastic, he really was. He kept us regularly updated and informed and made sure everyone - including any newcomers at any given station - knew what was happening. Additionally he let us know as much as he could about any buses, etc. we could take, taking care to find out as much information as possible, because this clearly wasn't his local area. As well as that, he let us know when he had a clear signal and then when he was actually cleared to move up, giving everybody time to get on board. This allowed people to get some fresh air and have a bit of a wander if they wanted (although I didn't do this, because I doubted I would get back on.)
As well as the efforts of our T/Op, I reckon Wood Lane did a really cracking job keeping up any kind of service - it must have been absolutely manic in that control room this morning, so I take my hat off to them for getting trains worked through the problem and getting people around. From where I was standing, it seemed like they were doing exactly the right thing to get people moving as much as possible, to not leave poor beggars stranded in tunnels and make sure trains were regulated through the area safely. Tough job nicely done.
Anyway, after a big hold, we left SNA and were briefly held at LES 5760, the signal controlling access to LES westbound platforms, before being routed into platform 1. Again, the T/Op took care to find out which train (ours or the one in platform 2, which was already there when we arrived) would be leaving first. In the end, it was ours - which was nice. All told, though, it was at least an hour since I'd arrived at ROV when we left LES and even I - with my love for the tube - was feeling the pain from the cold and the cramped standing conditions. I also had a heavy bag with me (sorry Aslefshrugged, if you happen to read this, but I hope you'll be pleased to know that I carried my rucksack, unlike one or two of my fellow passengers (there wasn't much room for it on the floor and I'm a bit of a clean freak anyway and don't like dumping my possessions on the ground)).
After clearing the bottle-neck that is LES, things eased up a bit and eventually we made STR (Stratford), where a member of station staff put a smile on my face when we pulled in by welcoming us with 'you made it, at last'. He was a nice guy - exactly what you want, helpful, funny and kind. As soon as he saw me wander out of the train he asked me if I needed any help. He advised me to take a mainline train into LIS, from STR - which, of course, is the best option. As I said to him, however, that might have made me less late for class and I had a bona fide excuse to be late, which I wasn't gonna pass up. More to the point, though, I am TUT and I was more concerned with seeing what would happen at MIE and having something to write about than getting to class on time :P I'd noticed the cab door open, though, and I wanted to say thank you to the very helpful T/Op for his efforts - it ain't easy when delays are that bad.
At MIE there were many men in high visibility clothing standing at the end of the platform (to be honest, I don't really know enough about this side of things to hazard a decent guess at exactly what they do and what they're called - I'm not sure if they count as P-way, but I'm guessing they were there to fix the signalling problem and are probably signalling technicians/engineers or something). By this time things had emptied out a bit - quite a lot of people left at STR, which is the first actual interchange station. Since this was where the problem was, we went through to BEG (Bethnal Green) very slowly. Again, I'm on a topic I don't know so much about - I'm not quite sure about the rules and procedures on the Central line, but if I had to make a suggestion, I'd say we were probably heading through in restricted manual. Certainly it was slow going and a bit jerky. I'm not sure about the jerking, my guess is it's the result of the train trying to limit itself to 18 kph (and perhaps finding it difficult with the gradient), or maybe the T/Op was trying to keep speed in RM or coded. I'm not really sure, so I'll stop postulating, but it looked to me like some sort of degraded working, my best bet would be that we passed a signal at danger on the authority of someone at Wood Lane, who were regulating trains through the area, and were, therefore, going through in RM. Obviously we had to proceed with caution and the T/Op would presumably have been tasked with keeping a keen eye out for any obstructions. Whatever it was, suffice it to say it was a long journey from MIE to BEG at lower than normal speed, with a little bit of random hard braking here and there at the start of the journey. It was quite nice, though, for me to get a look at the tunnels. I mean, okay, they're only tunnels, they're not that fun, but we were going slowly enough to be able to see the tunnel lining and all of that.
Ultimately, however, we made it to BEG and after that it was pretty smooth running in to LIS. I walked on to the sub-surface line platform and, there, my back crumbled into dust. Having no desire to get on another full train I let a Hammersmith train go and recovered for a bit, before boarding the Wembley Park train, where I was able to get a seat. I chose quite a good one actually - enjoyed some of the best views I've been able to have for a long time. There was a lovely moment where I could see the end of a tunnel, the back of our train coming round a corner heading into the tunnel and the back of a train heading in the opposite direction. It was actually pretty easy going to King's X after that. All the same, I rocked up in class upwards of an hour late :P
At King's X, I happened to notice that the Central line was being advertised as part closed LES - LIS, with severe delays on the rest of the line. Now, this could have been simply old news, which was no longer true. I wonder, though, whether I got lucky and (perhaps with more people now avoiding the Central line) they'd since suspended the line in order to get people on the track to fix the problem. Certainly, when I did return to the Central line, it was being shown as having severe delays due to "emergency engineering work at MIE", so perhaps they did suspend it for a bit to do the work.
Anyway, as I say, I did eventually return to the tube to get home, but not for a while, as I'd arranged to meet a friend (it was a really lovely late morning + afternoon, too). I don't think I could have arrived at King's X again before 14:15. My poor Central line still had severe delays, however. Consequently, I decided to change off of my Circle line train at LIS for a Hammersmith & City line train to MIE. I'm quite glad I did, it was a nice novelty, and I never fail to enjoy passing Aldgate on the way to Aldgate East.
However, I probably needn't have bothered. Most people had been deterred from using the Central line and it was a really empty train, hardly anyone on it, given the time of day. The service pattern at MIE on the eastbound Central line made fairly interesting reading, mind:
EPP 1 min
HAI via NEP 2 mins
HAI via NEP 3 mins
EPP 10 mins
Still, luckily for me, my train pulled in in no time and it was actually a lovely journey up to WOO. At WOO (I was starving) I bought myself a rather nice bakewell tart from the little shop on the platform, which I ate while I waited for the HAI train. I was quite happy to see that it was reversing off platform 2 (presumably due to the late running) and I took in another novelty - the starter at the BUH/ROV end of platform 2 showing green - before getting on board and heading off (over the crossover, which was nice) to ROV.
And that, in the end, was that. Not much else to say, really. Noticed a Dagenham East train at MIE on the way in, though. Not very exciting and quite possibly a timetabled working, just a comparative rarity. When I arrived at ROV the Central line's situation had been downgraded to minor delays and it was advertised as having a good service by the time I'd sat down with a cup of tea and fired-up my laptop. A thank you and a tip of my hat, then, to everyone involved in getting things up and running again. Better luck tomorrow for us all, I hope :P
Monday 27 January 2014
Edgware Roads
Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to today's edition of 'Moron Watch'!
The first moron who will feature on today's show is: me.
I got up at around about 08:10 - which was fine - and got myself ready reasonably quickly. I realised, though, that I'd probably just miss the 08:54 train and decided to get my things together and then spend just a few minutes generally relaxing in the warmth, before getting on my way. In a truly magnificent feat of moronry - despite intending to leave at 09:05 - I lost track of time and left at about 09:10. I must have missed the WOO train by 10 seconds, but I still arrived in class 20 minutes late. While waiting to cross the road on my way to ROV, I spotted moron number 2 using a mobile phone whilst driving. Don't do that. I hope she got a flat tyre. I'm not a vengeful sort, but you really shouldn't be driving along while using a mobile, it's not acceptable.
Anyway, having had the doors close before I'd even made it to the platform, I headed back over the bridge, with the vague hope that the HAI (Hainault) train would be running late and could take me round via the loop. It was and it did. I was quite excited, actually, I haven't had a chance to go round the loop in the daylight for a while. It didn't disappoint, either, it was a truly beautiful day.
It wasn't all good news, though. We were held at the signal outside HAI for a good while, waiting for platform 1 to clear. The train we waited for didn't seem to be quite as nippy as ours either. We were again held at a block marker board immediately after leaving BAR (Barkingside) and again at the signal controlling access to NEP (Newbury Park). After that it was very smooth all the way in to HOL (Holborn) really.
I decided to go to HOL 'cause I was running late and I just missed the Cockfosters train. Still, no trouble, I walked along the platform and then caught an Arnos Grove train in to Russell Square. Had to let one lift go, but the new one arrived almost immediately and I eventually reached class quite embarrassingly late :P
That's it for the journey in, but I wanted to mention moron the third for today's show. This was a guy I saw at MIE (Mile End) last week and forgot to mention. He was standing on a Hammersmith & City line train (heading, er, westbound, I think) when those thoughtless doors decided that they would close!This would leave him trapped on the train he had walked on to - disaster. There was only one thing any reasonable person could do in that situation, so he flung himself into the doors, which closed on him. Now the new S stock have a nifty little feature I haven't seen before. Upon closing on our dear moron, those particular doors reopened slightly - allowing him to make his graceless escape - before finishing their closing. Quite a nice feature, I thought.
Anyway, I have a two hour gap between two of my classes on Mondays and today I didn't really have anything to fill said gap with. Naturally, therefore, I decided to go on a bit of a trip.
I walked down to Euston Square and had a bit of a wait there for an all stations Uxbridge train. Now, I was planning on going to Edgware Road, so I should really have changed at Great Portland Street (a station I'm a big fan of, as it happens), as you are advised to do. This is because it means you can wait on the same platform, rather than having to hurry around Baker Street. I, however, decided to stay on the Met to Baker Street and simply walk into the backmost carriage. There are a number of reasons for this, for one thing, I quite like Baker Street and I had a full two minutes until the Hammersmith train arrived and I knew where I was going, so I was quite happy to walk to the right platform at Baker Street. Also, there's a small, slightly silly, part of me that would always prefer to take the first train and change only where absolutely necessary. There is a crossover outside Baker Street and - in theory (though this is extremely unlikely) - a problem on the line could potentially lead to trains running from Hammersmith to Baker Street only. Now, it's unlikely that - even if this event were to occur - I would be any better off changing at Baker St. not Gt. Portland St., but anyway, I made my decision and I stick by it :P
Well, anyway, that wasn't really all that important, the point is that I changed at Baker St. for a Circle line train and took that to Edgware Road - a beautiful station:
Edgware Road is, to me, a fascinating station, because of the four platforms, with multiple different routes through and to it. Unfortunately, I'm not that knowledgeable about what happens in the tunnels just outside the station, but I can tell you that the track layout does allow numerous possible workings from and to each platform. However, the standard, timetabled pattern allocates platforms as follows:
So anyway, after a bit of a poke around, I made to leave the station, which is when it started pouring down. Happily, it poured down for all of 30 seconds or so and then it was fine. All rather odd. Still, I made my way outside and took a look at the rather lovely exterior of Edgware Road:
And then took a short walk to the newly reopened Edgware Road (Bakerloo line):
Which I happen to think is also quite cute and the old-fashioned tiling and stuff on the inside is quite "characterful", I suppose one would tend to say:
Similar tiling can also be found over at Edgware Road (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines). Phew, the two different Edgware Roads is getting quite confusing :P There has been a proposal by Murad Qureshi, a London Assembly member, to rename Edgware Road (Bakerloo line) "Church Street Market", which I think is probably quite a good idea. Although, perhaps a shorter name might work better :P
Anyway, back to the Bakerloo line station and - although newly reopened - there's still only one lift running. I took it down to the platform and just missed one Elephant & Castle train. No problem, there was another one along straight after and I got on that and rode it down to Piccadilly Circus. There, I crossed over to the northbound platform, to enjoy the classic view of the crossover and the southbound platform:
After looking my fill I got the Picc (Cockfosters train this time) back to Russell Square (yup, another journey to a station with a dodgy lift situation). Now, having been twenty minutes late this morning, did I make sure I got back to class on time after this little excursion? You can bet your life I didn't - but this time I was but 10 minutes late! (Which, for a 2 hour lecture, is nothing :P)
After a miserable class, I walked back to Euston Square, caught an Aldgate train to LIS (Liverpool Street) and changed for the Central. Though I got to the platform in good time and it wasn't too busy, I had to let the EPP (Epping) go, because it seemed I managed to stand in exactly the wrong place - right in between two sets of doors. Still, I got the HAI via NEP (Hainault via Newbury Park) and decided it was probably best to stay on it to HAI (Hainault) and catch the WOO train from there, which I'd noticed was only 3 minutes behind - so it was another journey via the loop.
The only thing of note, really, was that we were held for a brief while just outside GRH (Grange Hill) waiting for what must have been the GRH via WOO train to cross our path onto the wash road, which allows access to the depot. If I recall correctly, I also saw a train on what I think is called 70 road, where I think I'm right in saying most(/many/some) trains stabling in the HAI depot end up, before reversing and being routed to wherever they're going.
The first moron who will feature on today's show is: me.
I got up at around about 08:10 - which was fine - and got myself ready reasonably quickly. I realised, though, that I'd probably just miss the 08:54 train and decided to get my things together and then spend just a few minutes generally relaxing in the warmth, before getting on my way. In a truly magnificent feat of moronry - despite intending to leave at 09:05 - I lost track of time and left at about 09:10. I must have missed the WOO train by 10 seconds, but I still arrived in class 20 minutes late. While waiting to cross the road on my way to ROV, I spotted moron number 2 using a mobile phone whilst driving. Don't do that. I hope she got a flat tyre. I'm not a vengeful sort, but you really shouldn't be driving along while using a mobile, it's not acceptable.
Anyway, having had the doors close before I'd even made it to the platform, I headed back over the bridge, with the vague hope that the HAI (Hainault) train would be running late and could take me round via the loop. It was and it did. I was quite excited, actually, I haven't had a chance to go round the loop in the daylight for a while. It didn't disappoint, either, it was a truly beautiful day.
It wasn't all good news, though. We were held at the signal outside HAI for a good while, waiting for platform 1 to clear. The train we waited for didn't seem to be quite as nippy as ours either. We were again held at a block marker board immediately after leaving BAR (Barkingside) and again at the signal controlling access to NEP (Newbury Park). After that it was very smooth all the way in to HOL (Holborn) really.
I decided to go to HOL 'cause I was running late and I just missed the Cockfosters train. Still, no trouble, I walked along the platform and then caught an Arnos Grove train in to Russell Square. Had to let one lift go, but the new one arrived almost immediately and I eventually reached class quite embarrassingly late :P
That's it for the journey in, but I wanted to mention moron the third for today's show. This was a guy I saw at MIE (Mile End) last week and forgot to mention. He was standing on a Hammersmith & City line train (heading, er, westbound, I think) when those thoughtless doors decided that they would close!This would leave him trapped on the train he had walked on to - disaster. There was only one thing any reasonable person could do in that situation, so he flung himself into the doors, which closed on him. Now the new S stock have a nifty little feature I haven't seen before. Upon closing on our dear moron, those particular doors reopened slightly - allowing him to make his graceless escape - before finishing their closing. Quite a nice feature, I thought.
Anyway, I have a two hour gap between two of my classes on Mondays and today I didn't really have anything to fill said gap with. Naturally, therefore, I decided to go on a bit of a trip.
I walked down to Euston Square and had a bit of a wait there for an all stations Uxbridge train. Now, I was planning on going to Edgware Road, so I should really have changed at Great Portland Street (a station I'm a big fan of, as it happens), as you are advised to do. This is because it means you can wait on the same platform, rather than having to hurry around Baker Street. I, however, decided to stay on the Met to Baker Street and simply walk into the backmost carriage. There are a number of reasons for this, for one thing, I quite like Baker Street and I had a full two minutes until the Hammersmith train arrived and I knew where I was going, so I was quite happy to walk to the right platform at Baker Street. Also, there's a small, slightly silly, part of me that would always prefer to take the first train and change only where absolutely necessary. There is a crossover outside Baker Street and - in theory (though this is extremely unlikely) - a problem on the line could potentially lead to trains running from Hammersmith to Baker Street only. Now, it's unlikely that - even if this event were to occur - I would be any better off changing at Baker St. not Gt. Portland St., but anyway, I made my decision and I stick by it :P
Well, anyway, that wasn't really all that important, the point is that I changed at Baker St. for a Circle line train and took that to Edgware Road - a beautiful station:
_platform_3_look_east.JPG) |
The ever-interesting Edgware Road (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines). (Image courtesy "Sunil060902" (via Wikipedia))
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- Westbound platform 4 is served by the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines towards Hammersmith. Naturally, these trains arrive from Baker Street. Note that in the case of the Circle line, trains heading through westbound 4 will have begun their journey from Edgware Road (platform 2).
- Platform 3 is the District line platform, used to reverse trains on the Wimbledon-Edgware Road branch. District line trains then depart from this platform towards Wimbledon, via Earl's Court
- Platform 2 is the Circle line platform which is these days used to reverse Circle line trains which have arrived via High Street Kensington. Circle line trains then depart from this platform, forming a Circle line service via High Street Kensington and Victoria. Eventually, of course, the train will make its way all the way around the loop, pass through Edgware Road again (using westbound platform 4) and head on to Hammersmith
- Eastbound platform 1 is served by the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines in the direction of Euston Square and King's Cross St. Pancras. These trains arrive from Hammersmith and, in the case of the Circle line, will - of course - continue all the way around the loop and eventually arrive at Edgware Road again to terminate in platform 2
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| A diagram showing the allocation of platforms at Edgware Road (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines) |
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| Edgware Road (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines) from the outside. (Image courtesy Tony Hisgett (via Wikipedia)) |
_building_(cropped).png) |
| Edgware Road (Bakerloo line) from the outside. (Image courtesy "Oxyman" and "DavidCane" (via Wikipedia)) |
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| An example (and not, in my opinion, even the best) of the lovely old-fashioned tiling at Edgware Road (Bakerloo line). (Image courtesy "Prioryman" (via Wikipedia)) |
Anyway, back to the Bakerloo line station and - although newly reopened - there's still only one lift running. I took it down to the platform and just missed one Elephant & Castle train. No problem, there was another one along straight after and I got on that and rode it down to Piccadilly Circus. There, I crossed over to the northbound platform, to enjoy the classic view of the crossover and the southbound platform:
 |
| The view from one end of the northbound Bakerloo line platform at Piccadilly Circus. The southbound platform (with a train in it) is clearly visible, but sadly the crossover, which is behind us, is not shown. (Image courtesy Chris McKenna (via Wikipedia)) |
After a miserable class, I walked back to Euston Square, caught an Aldgate train to LIS (Liverpool Street) and changed for the Central. Though I got to the platform in good time and it wasn't too busy, I had to let the EPP (Epping) go, because it seemed I managed to stand in exactly the wrong place - right in between two sets of doors. Still, I got the HAI via NEP (Hainault via Newbury Park) and decided it was probably best to stay on it to HAI (Hainault) and catch the WOO train from there, which I'd noticed was only 3 minutes behind - so it was another journey via the loop.
The only thing of note, really, was that we were held for a brief while just outside GRH (Grange Hill) waiting for what must have been the GRH via WOO train to cross our path onto the wash road, which allows access to the depot. If I recall correctly, I also saw a train on what I think is called 70 road, where I think I'm right in saying most(/many/some) trains stabling in the HAI depot end up, before reversing and being routed to wherever they're going.
Thursday 23 January 2014
A bit too quiet, if you ask me
I didn't post yesterday because I overslept. Again. Oops.
But I was back in class today! I actually woke up much earlier than I needed to this morning and spent the early part of the day relaxing and drawing a diagram of the layout around LOU (Loughton).
For those who are interested:
While fiddling around with that, I managed to let time run away with me and had to jog all the way to ROV. As it happens, I made it onto the 14:55 WOO train. However, there was a NOR (Northolt) train coming through 6 minutes later. Could have saved myself the effort. Oh well, I probably needed the exercise.
At WOO one wally thought it'd be terribly funny to pretend to push his mate onto the tracks, while - in reality - always keeping a firm grip on him. Now, I hate to sound like a broken record, but on the Underground you've got 630 V being used to power >164 tonnes of train. Do not muck about. I remember hearing a story a while ago (can't find a link now, so I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it) of two lads doing something similar. One of them pushed his mate, his mate fell, grabbed his friend, who grabbed an innocent person just standing on the platform and all three of them were killed by an approaching train. Be awfully careful.
With everyone all in one piece, a NOR train arrived (not the one from ROV, it arrived too quickly). I boarded the first carriage, where there was no Sonia and no chime from the doors. Admittedly, this was a much more peaceful journey, but I thought it probably wasn't ideal, especially if it meant we would miss important announcements. When I noticed the cab door was open at LES (I was keeping an eye out anyway, in case of a driver change, which we didn't have) I walked out and let the T/Op know from the platform. He said he knew there were no chimes but checked to see if the PA was working. It was, so I sat back down. We were actually held for a little while at LES. Not sure why, but the T/Op of the WHC (White City) train in platform 1 (the opposite platform) informed his passengers it was to regulate the service. During this time, the T/Op seemed to fix the problem - or it fixed itself. (Well, I say "fixed" - it was a bit fixed: we had chimes and Sonia, but it was all much too loud and the PAs didn't sound right - a bit of interference, a bit fuzzy.) Anyway, we were soon back on the move, although we had to wait for the WHC to go through ahead of us outside of LES. Thanks Wood Lane :P
Changed at LIS (Liverpool Street) for an all stations Uxbridge. At Moorgate, I noticed an out of service train in platform 3 and then, as we were approaching Barbican, we passed a C stock showing Moorgate as its destination - presumably bound for platform 4.
That was it for the journey to class, made it nice and early in the end and bought myself some shortbread, since I hadn't been able to pick anything up in my hurry to leave the house. That was nice.
And then on the return journey I caught an Aldgate train to LIS. As I arrived on the Central line platforms, I saw the destination indicators displaying GRH via WOO (Grange Hill via Woodford). These trains were removed from the timetable a while back, but they were once more of a feature of the evening peak. However, fairly recently, one was put back in the timetable - just one per day - after all the improvement works, I believe. This is the first time since the blockade around HAI (Hainault) that I've been able to catch such a train and I was really hoping there'd be room for me to get on it. There was and I was able to enjoy a really very smooth journey back home :) The only thing I would say is I noticed that the HAI train (from WOO) was due through ROV just 1 minute after the GRH. Seems a bit of a bad idea to send two round the loop so close together. Not that great for anyone wishing to go up towards EPP and surely not so good for anyone needing the loop either. It doesn't make that much sense to have two so close together and then nothing for, what, 20 mins? You want a bit of a spread. Still, I just get on 'em.
But I was back in class today! I actually woke up much earlier than I needed to this morning and spent the early part of the day relaxing and drawing a diagram of the layout around LOU (Loughton).
For those who are interested:
At WOO one wally thought it'd be terribly funny to pretend to push his mate onto the tracks, while - in reality - always keeping a firm grip on him. Now, I hate to sound like a broken record, but on the Underground you've got 630 V being used to power >164 tonnes of train. Do not muck about. I remember hearing a story a while ago (can't find a link now, so I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it) of two lads doing something similar. One of them pushed his mate, his mate fell, grabbed his friend, who grabbed an innocent person just standing on the platform and all three of them were killed by an approaching train. Be awfully careful.
With everyone all in one piece, a NOR train arrived (not the one from ROV, it arrived too quickly). I boarded the first carriage, where there was no Sonia and no chime from the doors. Admittedly, this was a much more peaceful journey, but I thought it probably wasn't ideal, especially if it meant we would miss important announcements. When I noticed the cab door was open at LES (I was keeping an eye out anyway, in case of a driver change, which we didn't have) I walked out and let the T/Op know from the platform. He said he knew there were no chimes but checked to see if the PA was working. It was, so I sat back down. We were actually held for a little while at LES. Not sure why, but the T/Op of the WHC (White City) train in platform 1 (the opposite platform) informed his passengers it was to regulate the service. During this time, the T/Op seemed to fix the problem - or it fixed itself. (Well, I say "fixed" - it was a bit fixed: we had chimes and Sonia, but it was all much too loud and the PAs didn't sound right - a bit of interference, a bit fuzzy.) Anyway, we were soon back on the move, although we had to wait for the WHC to go through ahead of us outside of LES. Thanks Wood Lane :P
Changed at LIS (Liverpool Street) for an all stations Uxbridge. At Moorgate, I noticed an out of service train in platform 3 and then, as we were approaching Barbican, we passed a C stock showing Moorgate as its destination - presumably bound for platform 4.
That was it for the journey to class, made it nice and early in the end and bought myself some shortbread, since I hadn't been able to pick anything up in my hurry to leave the house. That was nice.
And then on the return journey I caught an Aldgate train to LIS. As I arrived on the Central line platforms, I saw the destination indicators displaying GRH via WOO (Grange Hill via Woodford). These trains were removed from the timetable a while back, but they were once more of a feature of the evening peak. However, fairly recently, one was put back in the timetable - just one per day - after all the improvement works, I believe. This is the first time since the blockade around HAI (Hainault) that I've been able to catch such a train and I was really hoping there'd be room for me to get on it. There was and I was able to enjoy a really very smooth journey back home :) The only thing I would say is I noticed that the HAI train (from WOO) was due through ROV just 1 minute after the GRH. Seems a bit of a bad idea to send two round the loop so close together. Not that great for anyone wishing to go up towards EPP and surely not so good for anyone needing the loop either. It doesn't make that much sense to have two so close together and then nothing for, what, 20 mins? You want a bit of a spread. Still, I just get on 'em.
Tuesday 21 January 2014
Foggy trip
This morning was really foggy. Really foggy. In fact, the fog still hadn't completely lifted out in the suburbs when I returned to WOO around midday. I quite like the fog, though. It can cause real problems, obviously, and you have to watch out; but it creates quite a pleasant "atmosphere" and it's rather pretty.
Anyway, I arrived at the fog covered ROV in good time (yes - despite my early start yesterday) and was able to board a RUG (Ruislip Gardens) service which I happened to notice was being driven on the handle (fog doesn't make any difference to the ATP (Automatic Train Protection)). We stopped exquisitely smoothly on the way down to LES (Leytonstone) I have to say.
At LES, I was surprised to find that we were routed into westbound platform 1. In general (and this is only in general - it's not a hard and fast rule by any stretch of the imagination), platform 1 is used by trains from WAN (Wanstead) and platform 2 is used by trains from SNA (Snaresbrook). Obviously, if there's a train using platform 2 to reverse, then all westbound trains go via platform 1. Today, we were sent into platform 1 for whatever reason and held there for a good five or six minutes. Now, I'm assuming Wood Lane will have had a reason for holding our train and while we were held two westbound trains went through ahead of ours (the second departing just before we did, so that we had to wait for it before we could merge with the line from platform 2 and continue onto LEY (Leyton)). This is all perfectly reasonable during the peak and the T/Op who took us into LES warned us there would be a delay almost as soon as we'd stopped, so he must have been warned in advance. Actually, we had a change of T/Ops and I can't imagine our first T/Op had been on the train that long, since I believe the through trains usually start at the HAI depot. Still, he might well have been on the job for a while; but perhaps something was up. Anyway, anyway, the only thing that intrigues me very slightly is why platform 2 wasn't used. Since 2 is used for reversers and usually for trains from SNA, one might naïvely think it'd be the obvious choice for holding a train from SNA for a while. Ah well, whatever the whys and wherefores, we had a change of driver and a change of destination. Our train became a NOR (Northolt) service and we were away.
At LIS I managed to trip over at the bottom of escalator number 5. Really hurt my finger :( This is not something I recommend and, to be honest, I think I'm quite lucky nobody fell over me. Need to be careful. I guess at that time in the morning I can't manage lifting my foot all the way up to the top of the step :P
Still, I made it onto a Circle line C stock train which took me in to King's Cross St. Pancras. I happened to notice that a semi-fast Harrow-on-the-Hill was due after the next train through. These are, I think, new (or certainly more commonplace) since the introduction of the revised Met timetable. I believe that one was destined to stable at Neasden.
The way back was altogether much smoother. Took an Aldgate train to LIS. Stayed on my feet the whole way down the escalator and managed to find myself on pretty much the same bit of the service sequence as yesterday. Got onto a HAI via NEP at LIS, changed at LES for the EPP and pulled into WOO with 3 minutes, this time, until the HAI train arrived. Very nice, especially considering how cold it was. Cold, but sunny and generally very pretty out in the open. As I say, there was still some fog floating around when I was waiting at WOO, mind.
Anyway, I arrived at the fog covered ROV in good time (yes - despite my early start yesterday) and was able to board a RUG (Ruislip Gardens) service which I happened to notice was being driven on the handle (fog doesn't make any difference to the ATP (Automatic Train Protection)). We stopped exquisitely smoothly on the way down to LES (Leytonstone) I have to say.
At LES, I was surprised to find that we were routed into westbound platform 1. In general (and this is only in general - it's not a hard and fast rule by any stretch of the imagination), platform 1 is used by trains from WAN (Wanstead) and platform 2 is used by trains from SNA (Snaresbrook). Obviously, if there's a train using platform 2 to reverse, then all westbound trains go via platform 1. Today, we were sent into platform 1 for whatever reason and held there for a good five or six minutes. Now, I'm assuming Wood Lane will have had a reason for holding our train and while we were held two westbound trains went through ahead of ours (the second departing just before we did, so that we had to wait for it before we could merge with the line from platform 2 and continue onto LEY (Leyton)). This is all perfectly reasonable during the peak and the T/Op who took us into LES warned us there would be a delay almost as soon as we'd stopped, so he must have been warned in advance. Actually, we had a change of T/Ops and I can't imagine our first T/Op had been on the train that long, since I believe the through trains usually start at the HAI depot. Still, he might well have been on the job for a while; but perhaps something was up. Anyway, anyway, the only thing that intrigues me very slightly is why platform 2 wasn't used. Since 2 is used for reversers and usually for trains from SNA, one might naïvely think it'd be the obvious choice for holding a train from SNA for a while. Ah well, whatever the whys and wherefores, we had a change of driver and a change of destination. Our train became a NOR (Northolt) service and we were away.
At LIS I managed to trip over at the bottom of escalator number 5. Really hurt my finger :( This is not something I recommend and, to be honest, I think I'm quite lucky nobody fell over me. Need to be careful. I guess at that time in the morning I can't manage lifting my foot all the way up to the top of the step :P
Still, I made it onto a Circle line C stock train which took me in to King's Cross St. Pancras. I happened to notice that a semi-fast Harrow-on-the-Hill was due after the next train through. These are, I think, new (or certainly more commonplace) since the introduction of the revised Met timetable. I believe that one was destined to stable at Neasden.
The way back was altogether much smoother. Took an Aldgate train to LIS. Stayed on my feet the whole way down the escalator and managed to find myself on pretty much the same bit of the service sequence as yesterday. Got onto a HAI via NEP at LIS, changed at LES for the EPP and pulled into WOO with 3 minutes, this time, until the HAI train arrived. Very nice, especially considering how cold it was. Cold, but sunny and generally very pretty out in the open. As I say, there was still some fog floating around when I was waiting at WOO, mind.
Monday 20 January 2014
Exam
Today, I had an exam (it was fine, thanks, although at a couple of points I was reduced to pulling vocabulary out of thin air and I don't think it quite worked :P). Well, I say "exam", it was more a sort-of class test; but it's 10% of my final mark, so it wasn't a throwaway test. Anyway, I thought I'd better be on time, so I got out of bed promptly and arrived at ROV six or seven minutes before the 08:54 WOO train was due. Changed at WOO and noticed that there was a train in WOO sidings, which is unusual. The next train through was a WER (West Ruislip), which I took. Behind that, though, was a "special", which usually means it's out of service. Now, the WOO train did head up 21 road as usual, but I have a feeling that the "special" was destined for WOO sidings as well, since I checked the departure boards at SNA (Snaresbrook) and the special wasn't there. As I've mentioned before, to get to WOO sidings, you have to use 21 road. Therefore, if the special was destined for WOO sidings, the WOO train in 21 road would have had to vacate the siding. I'm thinking it might have gone up to LOU (or on to DEB/EPP). I don't think it went round to HAI, because - if I recall correctly - no extra train was shown as heading round to HAI on the outer rail platform at ROV. I believe the departure boards were showing the next HAI wouldn't be for nearly 20 minutes when I left; which is as per the timetable. Still, maybe they updated. Wish I could have stayed and watched but I thought, y'know, exam and all that...
Back to SNA then. Once we'd stopped our poor T/Op (who I think was on the handle, not that it's relevant, just an aside) came over the PA:
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you do drop something right by the end of the platform, please don't grab it right when I'm coming into the platform. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Honestly. I was shocked. When you've got upwards of 164 tonnes of 1992 stock train approaching, the correct thing to do is be very careful and stand well back from the platform edge. Do you want to get struck by one of those trains? Really? Because that's not gonna end well for you. The train is definitely gonna come off better in that fight, I can assure you.
Anyway, after a reminder to stand behind the yellow line as the train departs, the doors were closed and we made our - from then on uneventful - way into HOL (Holborn). I had decided to go to Russell Sq. today, to save myself the walk. Y'know, exam and all that...I'd forgotten just how busy it could get at HOL - it was mobbed. There's a sort of "junction" which you have to get through to change to the Picc. As you come up from the Central line, the Picc is directly ahead of you, across a square area of floor which I like to think of as "the crucible" :P The escalators leading to and from the entrance hall are on your right, so people are merging with you on the right. The passage leading from the Picc empties into the crucible in front of you, but on the left, so people wanting to get from there to the escalators have to cut across your path from your left. The passage to the Central line is to the left of the passage from it, which means that people wanting to get from the entrance hall to the Central line have to come across your path (from the right) as well (rather than merging with you, as people wanting to get from the entrance hall to the Picc do.) It descends into something of a mêlée at rush hour :P Still, when I did reach the Picc escalators, all was pretty clear. Walked onto an Arnos Grove train no problem at all and Russell Square was incredibly quiet. I mean, a completely full lift was departing as I arrived and the next lift, which I got, certainly left full, but I'm used to having to wait for a good five mins at Russell Square. Very nice.
For the journey home I went from Euston Square, which I much prefer. Took a Circle line train round to LIS and changed for a HAI via NEP. At STR (Stratford) three people joined me in attracting the attention of someone who seemed to have left behind a wallet containing tickets and that sort of thing. As it happened, it wasn't hers and must have been left previously. Two kind people took on the task of handing it in, but it was nice to see that a bit of kindness and consideration really can happen on the tube :P
Changed at LES (Leytonstone) for the EPP (Epping) which took me to WOO no problem. The train(s?) had gone from the sidings by the time I returned :P Gallingly, there was only 1 minute until the HAI train was due, which - ordinarily - would have been perfect. However, I had to go to the bank and consequently had to pass up the silky smooth connection and wait in the cold for a good fifteen minutes on my return to the station. Ah well, at least that's that job done.
Back to SNA then. Once we'd stopped our poor T/Op (who I think was on the handle, not that it's relevant, just an aside) came over the PA:
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you do drop something right by the end of the platform, please don't grab it right when I'm coming into the platform. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Honestly. I was shocked. When you've got upwards of 164 tonnes of 1992 stock train approaching, the correct thing to do is be very careful and stand well back from the platform edge. Do you want to get struck by one of those trains? Really? Because that's not gonna end well for you. The train is definitely gonna come off better in that fight, I can assure you.
Anyway, after a reminder to stand behind the yellow line as the train departs, the doors were closed and we made our - from then on uneventful - way into HOL (Holborn). I had decided to go to Russell Sq. today, to save myself the walk. Y'know, exam and all that...I'd forgotten just how busy it could get at HOL - it was mobbed. There's a sort of "junction" which you have to get through to change to the Picc. As you come up from the Central line, the Picc is directly ahead of you, across a square area of floor which I like to think of as "the crucible" :P The escalators leading to and from the entrance hall are on your right, so people are merging with you on the right. The passage leading from the Picc empties into the crucible in front of you, but on the left, so people wanting to get from there to the escalators have to cut across your path from your left. The passage to the Central line is to the left of the passage from it, which means that people wanting to get from the entrance hall to the Central line have to come across your path (from the right) as well (rather than merging with you, as people wanting to get from the entrance hall to the Picc do.) It descends into something of a mêlée at rush hour :P Still, when I did reach the Picc escalators, all was pretty clear. Walked onto an Arnos Grove train no problem at all and Russell Square was incredibly quiet. I mean, a completely full lift was departing as I arrived and the next lift, which I got, certainly left full, but I'm used to having to wait for a good five mins at Russell Square. Very nice.
For the journey home I went from Euston Square, which I much prefer. Took a Circle line train round to LIS and changed for a HAI via NEP. At STR (Stratford) three people joined me in attracting the attention of someone who seemed to have left behind a wallet containing tickets and that sort of thing. As it happened, it wasn't hers and must have been left previously. Two kind people took on the task of handing it in, but it was nice to see that a bit of kindness and consideration really can happen on the tube :P
Changed at LES (Leytonstone) for the EPP (Epping) which took me to WOO no problem. The train(s?) had gone from the sidings by the time I returned :P Gallingly, there was only 1 minute until the HAI train was due, which - ordinarily - would have been perfect. However, I had to go to the bank and consequently had to pass up the silky smooth connection and wait in the cold for a good fifteen minutes on my return to the station. Ah well, at least that's that job done.
Sunday 19 January 2014
Well I was wrong
Hardly any fun and games to report on Thursday (sorry for the late post, I was writing the extra stuff :P). After a nice, relaxing lie-in, I made it to ROV in time to catch the 14:55 train to WOO. At WOO, I had a little look at the sidings, before changing onto a NOR (Northolt) service which took me into LIS (Liverpool Street) nice and smoothly. It was very dark, though, the rain was coming, and by the time I'd reached the sub-surface line platforms at LIS, it was raining. I changed onto a Circle line S7 which took me to Euston Square and, happily, the rain had pretty much stopped when I left the station.
On the way back, I caught a Hammersmith & City line train (to Barking), which took me to LIS. I changed for a Central line train to DEB (Debden) and that took me home to WOO. Unfortunately, I just missed the HAI train and was left in the cold for a bit. At least it had stopped raining. Naturally, when the HAI train finally left 21 road (I arrived before it had even reached WOO from the Hainault loop), I caught that back to ROV.
Before that, however, I did notice one small thing of note. Usually, the semi-automatic starter signal at WOO's westbound platform 2 (signal WOO 7266) doesn't clear until the train heading on to SOW (South Woodford) has arrived (or, at least, is close to arriving). The next signal up (I don't know its number), which is placed just before the points at the end of 21 road (that's the SOW end, used by a train from 21 road heading westbound, and for direct access to 21 road from the eastbound track), usually clears shortly afterwards. These signals are semi-automatic signals, which I've described before on this blog.
A semi-automatic signal may be controlled by the signalling computer, or by a signaller through manual intervention. The key point, though, is that semi-automatic signals are kept at danger (i.e. they display a red aspect) by default and will remain at danger until explicitly instructed to clear by the computer, or the signaller. Automatic signals will clear to green once the block ahead of them has been proved clear, whereas semi-automatic signals remain at danger, even if the block ahead is clear, until explicitly instructed to clear. Obviously, however, they will not clear if the block ahead is occupied.
Now, in the case of these two signals at WOO, they obviously control the passage of trains westbound onto SOW, from WOO platform 2. WOO 7266 also protects 21 road and will prevent any train from leaving WOO if a train is pulling out of 21 road into eastbound platform 3. So signal WOO 7266 and the signal clearing trains out of 21 road work in conjunction with another.
Now, naturally, it doesn't actually matter when WOO 7266 clears, because the signal controlling access to WOO from 21 road will not clear trains onto a conflicting path if WOO 7266 has cleared. So, for that reason, WOO 7266 can be instructed to clear the moment the block ahead of it is clear of a train and this is perfectly safe, as no train can leave 21 road and cross the westbound track from platform 2. (A train could be cleared from 21 road into platform 1, or into the sidings, but that doesn't matter, because, in this case, the train would not be routed into the path of any train heading west from platform 2). However, as I've said, WOO 7266 is usually cleared fairly late. Obviously, everything needs to be proved safe (e.g. the points must be checked to be set in the correct position, the block ahead must be proved to be unoccupied, etc.) but then the signal can clear whenever it's instructed to do so, usually in accordance with the timetable. I imagine it usually clears fairly late to enable a train to easily be cleared out of 21 road early, if - say - there was a reason to do this ahead of the timetabled time. But I'm just speculating, it could merely be an artifact of the way the signalling system is programmed and set up.
Today, however, WOO 7266 (and then the next signal on the westbound) had cleared 2 or 3 minutes before the next train through was due to arrive. I don't think it can have left BUH (Buckhurst Hill). This isn't all that special, as I say, it's perfectly safe and perfectly doable, it just caused me to do a bit of a double-take, as I'm not used to seeing that. But maybe it's more regular than I realise and I'm simply not at WOO enough to notice. It just made me think that perhaps those signals were being controlled manually, since this is uncommon. Maybe not though, I really only brought it up to talk a bit about signals and because I haven't seen it before, it caught me by surprise.
Since I didn't have much to say about my journey on London Underground today, I thought I'd mention that one of the things I've been doing recently is reading the HSC report into the Ladbroke Grove rail crash. The report was prepared by the Rt Hon Lord Cullen PC of The Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry and was split into two parts. The report, and other documentation, are available here: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1204.
This was a terrible incident involving a 3-car British Rail Class 165/1Turbo DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) and an InterCity 125 HST (High Speed Train). Specifically, the InterCity 125 consists of a set of Mark 3 coaches (in this case, eight), with a British Rail Class 43 diesel-electric power car at each end. The Turbo was operated by Thames Trains and the HST was operated by FGW (First Great Western).
At ≈08:06 on 05/10/1999 the Thames Turbo, driven by Michael Hodder, left Paddington's platform 9 bound for Bedwyn. At 08:08:25, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN109 (SN stands for Slough New, referring to the Slough IECC (Integrated Electronic Control Centre)) at danger. "Danger" is railway terminology for a red signal and this type of incident is referred to as a SPAD (Signal Passed At Danger). As a result of this, the Thames Turbo was inevitably routed into the path of the HST - the 06:03 from Cheltenham, which was approaching Paddington - its final destination. Action was belatedly taken by signallers in Slough IECC, who put back the signal in front of the HST (SN120) in the hope of stopping the HST before it could reach the Thames Turbo. This action was taken far far too late and had almost no effect. An emergency stop message was also broadcast to the Thames Turbo over Cab Secure Radio. It is not possible to determine whether it was received before the crash, if at all, however, this action was also taken far too late. Although both trains braked hard before impact, the braking was much too late to have any appreciable affect. As a result of the SPAD at SN109 the two trains collided - almost head-on - at a combined speed of approximately 130 mph. The effect of this was devastating. 31 lives were lost, >520 people were injured.
The report into this incident is some 299 pages so you understand that I am about to abbreviate the reasons for this, but it was largely due to the unusual layout of this signal, the extremely poor sighting of this signal (and other signals in the area), large deficiencies in the training of Michael Hodder (who seemed, by all accounts to have been a good trainee) and the lack of any robust system for the prevention of SPADs. A system called AWS (Automatic Warning System) was in use, but this was not sufficient to prevent the accident.
AWS works by warning the driver of the aspect of the next signal. If the next signal is green, a bell sounds (it has the sound of a very clear 'ping'), whereas if the next signal is not green (and therefore showing a restrictive aspect) a horn will sound. This horn must be acknowledged by the driver within a set period of time, or else the brakes will apply automatically. Further, a visible indication (known as the sunflower) will be illuminated in the cab as a reminder. This system is incapable of distinguishing a red aspect from any other restrictive aspect (the other two possible restrictive aspects are yellow and double yellow, although some signals cannot display double yellow and some cannot display either). It, also, only gives the driver an additional early warning. It is an aid, nothing more. (Although, to be fair, the requirement that the horn be acknowledged would allow a train to be stopped automatically if the driver were incapacitated, say.)
Further, the poor layout around Paddington station, serious deficiencies in the safety management of Railtrack (who owned the track and signals in the area), the poor training regimen and driver management of Thames Trains all played a part. Allied to these factors was the failure of the signallers in Slough IECC to take swift and immediate action. This was due, in large part to substandard procedures, rules and training; as well as complacency on the part of the signallers and the view that SPADs were the responsibility of the drivers.
Further details for those who are interested are given below:
At 08:06:20, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN17, which controlled departure from platform 9 at Paddington. SN17 was showing a clear aspect.
On the mainline, we have two-aspect, three-aspect and four-aspect signalling. A two-aspect signal will display a red (danger) aspect if the block ahead is occupied and a green (clear) aspect if the block ahead is clear. Drivers must stop their train at a danger signal as it is unsafe to proceed. A green signal indicates that the driver is cleared to proceed up to the next signal. The next signal after a green signal could be red or green, there is no way of knowing. This looks something like this:
A three-aspect signal obviously also displays danger if the block ahead is occupied. If the next signal is at danger, then a three aspect signal will display a yellow (caution) aspect, warning drivers that the next signal is at danger. This makes sure the driver has enough time to slow down and is especially necessary if the line speed limit is quite high. If the next signal is displaying a proceed aspect (i.e. not red (i.e., in this case, green or yellow) - an aspect which would allow a train to proceed and would not require it to stop), the a three aspect signal will display a clear (i.e. green) aspect, like so:
Finally, with four-aspect signalling, we have an additional warning. Obviously a four-aspect signal will show danger if the block ahead is occupied and caution if the following signal is at danger. It will additionally display a double yellow (preliminary caution) aspect if the next signal is at caution. It will display a clear (green) aspect if the next signal is green or showing double yellow:
Now, that's just a bit of background. I do believe SN17 was a four-aspect signal, but I can't be sure. Anyway, SN17 also had a theatre indicator, which is a route indicator, indicating which route is to be taken by means of a letter(s) or number(s) which the driver will be able to interpret from their route knowledge. Such a display is achieved by an LED matrix.
For example, on London Undeground's Bakerloo line (and London Overground's Watford DC line (Euston-Watford Junction)), there is a three-aspect signal, with theatre route indicator, which controls the approach to Willesden Junction on the northbound (from Kensal Green). A letter "M" displayed on the theatre route indicator, indicates that the train is cleared into northbound platform 3 at Willesden Junction. A highly simplified depiction of this is given below, with a grossly oversized signal for illustrative purposes:
So, back to the point at hand, SN17 was displaying a green aspect, along with the number 4, indicating that the train would be routed onto "line 4". Having departed Paddington's platform 9, the Thames Turbo accelerated up to 46 mph.
At 08:07:00, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN43, which was also displaying a green aspect, along with the number 4 on its theatre route indicator. This indicated that the Thames Turbo was cleared to proceed along line 4.
At 08:07:20, having made its way out of Paddington on line 4, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN63 at preliminary caution. SN63 did not have a theatre route indicator, but a feather indicator, consisting of five white lights arranged in the direction of any diverging route.
So, to exemplify, a feather indicator will be illuminated if a diverging route is set, whereas "main aspect only" (i.e. feather indicator off) indicates the straight(est) route, continuing on the current path, is set. The diagram below (with another grossly oversized signal) demonstrates this:
There may be multiple feather indicators, each set at the angle which best represents the path to be taken. One counts through the indicators in a clockwise direction, with the indicator at the highest angle to the vertical (in the clockwise direction) indicating the rightmost route and, of course, the indicator at the highest angle to the vertical in the anti-clockwise direction indicating the leftmost route:
Now SN63 only had one feather indicator and it was not lit - instead SN63 was displaying main aspect only, indicating that the Thames Turbo was to continue along line 4. Since SN63 was at preliminary caution, the AWS horn had previously sounded and was cancelled. Because of the double yellow aspect, driver Hodder applied step 1 braking and reduced speed to 38 mph.
At 08:07:50, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN87 at caution. The feather indicator was also lit, indicating a move from line 4 to "line 3". Again, the AWS horn had sounded and was cancelled. For about 740 m, the Thames Turbo coasted, before Notches 1, 5 and then 7 of the throttle were engaged, increasing the speed, eventually, to 41 mph.
At 08:08:15, the AWS horn corresponding to signal SN109 sounded on the Thames Turbo and was cancelled.
At 08:08:25, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN109 at danger. SN109 was arranged in a curious, reverse L pattern, like this:
Since the signal was at danger the theatre route indicator was not illuminated - itself a potential clue that the signal was not displaying a proceed aspect. The speed at which the Thames Turbo was travelling when it passed SN109 at danger was 41 mph. It continued to accelerate, eventually reaching 51 mph. Shortly (a few seconds) before the collision, driver Hodder applied service brake 3, followed (0.05 seconds later) by the emergency brakes, the throttle slammed shut.
Meanwhile, the HST was approaching signal SN120, which had turned green at 08:08:40. At 08:08:50, SN120 was put back to danger. This was an emergency measure taken by the signallers in the hope of stopping the HST. This action was taken belatedly, because the signallers had believed the Thames Turbo would stop without their intervention (they had believed it to be a simple over-run, that the Thames Turbo had simply not stopped in time, rather than not having been slowed at all.) An emergency stop message was also broadcast (it is unknown exactly when) to the Thames Turbo. When SN120 was put back, the HST was 179-278 m in rear of the signal, travelling at 81-84 mph. At approximately 08:09 the HST passed signal SN120. According to passengers aboard the HST, the train braked heavily but this was immaterial. The two trains collided, almost head-on, at approximately 130 mph. Both trains sustained extreme damage, far beyond what could reasonably have been mitigated against. Although the larger, heavier HST fared better than the smaller Turbo.
The fuel tanks, which could not be reasonably expected to survive any such impact ruptured and fuel was expelled under pressure. A fireball was ignited, possibly by the overhead line equipment, possibly by thermite sparking, or, perhaps, by on-board electrical equipment. This fireball caused further damage to the trains - particularly coach H of the HST - and further devastation. It appears that diesel had entered that coach through one or more of the numerous openings caused by the crash, allowing the fireball to propagate through the coach and for flammable materials inside the coach to burn. Trackside fires were also started in the aftermath of the accident.
Lord Cullen does an admirable job of assessing the cause of this incident and is to be commended on his consideration of the root causes. He undertakes a laudable, broad analysis of events and - quite correctly - includes discussions about Railtrack and the infrastructure, signal sighting, procedures, driver training, and management at various levels in Railtrack and Thames Trains. I can really merely abbreviate his discussion, but I will try to flesh out what I said above, with respect specifically to why driver Hodder SPADed SN109. Signal SN109 was a multi-SPAD signal (although the inexperienced driver Hodder was unaware of this), with a curious layout, as I have already remarked. The training programme operated by Thames Trains was severely deficient and did not seem capable of dealing with the substantial recruitment process that they had recently initiated. Route training was sub-standard and Michael Hodder appears not to have been formally assessed on the route around Paddington station. It seems to me that Lord Cullen is (for, in my opinion, very good reasons) happy to conclude that Michael Hodder was under the opinion that the he had a proceed aspect at SN109 (a single or, perhaps, double yellow). This mistaken belief is likely to have been formed due to the bright sunlight, allied to the extreme difficulty of sighting SN109. Whilst sunlight can, in principle, make signals difficult to read anywhere, the problems with SN109 made it difficult to correct any misreading - one's window of opportunity for realising one's mistake was very small at this signal, for one could not see it for very long, nor ever very clearly). Also, it should be obvious that a particularly difficult signal will make any sighting problems caused by the sunlight very much worse. In particular, the position of the red aspect, which is non-standard, made SN109 a novelty, meaning that a driver's sighting heuristics could be compromised, especially for an inexperienced driver with no specific instruction regarding SN109. In short, it doesn't behave like other signals, it doesn't do what you're used to. The signal was obscured by a low bridge and over-head line equipment for much of the approach to it. This makes it difficult to see the signal in the first place, gives you less time to read it and take in its message, and less time to notice an earlier error. Finally, the absence of any robust system to bring a train to a halt after a SPAD, or to prevent them in the first place, meant that there was no failsafe in place to mitigate against the risks of a SPAD at SN109.
On the way back, I caught a Hammersmith & City line train (to Barking), which took me to LIS. I changed for a Central line train to DEB (Debden) and that took me home to WOO. Unfortunately, I just missed the HAI train and was left in the cold for a bit. At least it had stopped raining. Naturally, when the HAI train finally left 21 road (I arrived before it had even reached WOO from the Hainault loop), I caught that back to ROV.
Before that, however, I did notice one small thing of note. Usually, the semi-automatic starter signal at WOO's westbound platform 2 (signal WOO 7266) doesn't clear until the train heading on to SOW (South Woodford) has arrived (or, at least, is close to arriving). The next signal up (I don't know its number), which is placed just before the points at the end of 21 road (that's the SOW end, used by a train from 21 road heading westbound, and for direct access to 21 road from the eastbound track), usually clears shortly afterwards. These signals are semi-automatic signals, which I've described before on this blog.
A semi-automatic signal may be controlled by the signalling computer, or by a signaller through manual intervention. The key point, though, is that semi-automatic signals are kept at danger (i.e. they display a red aspect) by default and will remain at danger until explicitly instructed to clear by the computer, or the signaller. Automatic signals will clear to green once the block ahead of them has been proved clear, whereas semi-automatic signals remain at danger, even if the block ahead is clear, until explicitly instructed to clear. Obviously, however, they will not clear if the block ahead is occupied.
Now, in the case of these two signals at WOO, they obviously control the passage of trains westbound onto SOW, from WOO platform 2. WOO 7266 also protects 21 road and will prevent any train from leaving WOO if a train is pulling out of 21 road into eastbound platform 3. So signal WOO 7266 and the signal clearing trains out of 21 road work in conjunction with another.
Now, naturally, it doesn't actually matter when WOO 7266 clears, because the signal controlling access to WOO from 21 road will not clear trains onto a conflicting path if WOO 7266 has cleared. So, for that reason, WOO 7266 can be instructed to clear the moment the block ahead of it is clear of a train and this is perfectly safe, as no train can leave 21 road and cross the westbound track from platform 2. (A train could be cleared from 21 road into platform 1, or into the sidings, but that doesn't matter, because, in this case, the train would not be routed into the path of any train heading west from platform 2). However, as I've said, WOO 7266 is usually cleared fairly late. Obviously, everything needs to be proved safe (e.g. the points must be checked to be set in the correct position, the block ahead must be proved to be unoccupied, etc.) but then the signal can clear whenever it's instructed to do so, usually in accordance with the timetable. I imagine it usually clears fairly late to enable a train to easily be cleared out of 21 road early, if - say - there was a reason to do this ahead of the timetabled time. But I'm just speculating, it could merely be an artifact of the way the signalling system is programmed and set up.
Today, however, WOO 7266 (and then the next signal on the westbound) had cleared 2 or 3 minutes before the next train through was due to arrive. I don't think it can have left BUH (Buckhurst Hill). This isn't all that special, as I say, it's perfectly safe and perfectly doable, it just caused me to do a bit of a double-take, as I'm not used to seeing that. But maybe it's more regular than I realise and I'm simply not at WOO enough to notice. It just made me think that perhaps those signals were being controlled manually, since this is uncommon. Maybe not though, I really only brought it up to talk a bit about signals and because I haven't seen it before, it caught me by surprise.
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Since I didn't have much to say about my journey on London Underground today, I thought I'd mention that one of the things I've been doing recently is reading the HSC report into the Ladbroke Grove rail crash. The report was prepared by the Rt Hon Lord Cullen PC of The Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry and was split into two parts. The report, and other documentation, are available here: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1204.
This was a terrible incident involving a 3-car British Rail Class 165/1Turbo DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) and an InterCity 125 HST (High Speed Train). Specifically, the InterCity 125 consists of a set of Mark 3 coaches (in this case, eight), with a British Rail Class 43 diesel-electric power car at each end. The Turbo was operated by Thames Trains and the HST was operated by FGW (First Great Western).
At ≈08:06 on 05/10/1999 the Thames Turbo, driven by Michael Hodder, left Paddington's platform 9 bound for Bedwyn. At 08:08:25, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN109 (SN stands for Slough New, referring to the Slough IECC (Integrated Electronic Control Centre)) at danger. "Danger" is railway terminology for a red signal and this type of incident is referred to as a SPAD (Signal Passed At Danger). As a result of this, the Thames Turbo was inevitably routed into the path of the HST - the 06:03 from Cheltenham, which was approaching Paddington - its final destination. Action was belatedly taken by signallers in Slough IECC, who put back the signal in front of the HST (SN120) in the hope of stopping the HST before it could reach the Thames Turbo. This action was taken far far too late and had almost no effect. An emergency stop message was also broadcast to the Thames Turbo over Cab Secure Radio. It is not possible to determine whether it was received before the crash, if at all, however, this action was also taken far too late. Although both trains braked hard before impact, the braking was much too late to have any appreciable affect. As a result of the SPAD at SN109 the two trains collided - almost head-on - at a combined speed of approximately 130 mph. The effect of this was devastating. 31 lives were lost, >520 people were injured.
The report into this incident is some 299 pages so you understand that I am about to abbreviate the reasons for this, but it was largely due to the unusual layout of this signal, the extremely poor sighting of this signal (and other signals in the area), large deficiencies in the training of Michael Hodder (who seemed, by all accounts to have been a good trainee) and the lack of any robust system for the prevention of SPADs. A system called AWS (Automatic Warning System) was in use, but this was not sufficient to prevent the accident.
AWS works by warning the driver of the aspect of the next signal. If the next signal is green, a bell sounds (it has the sound of a very clear 'ping'), whereas if the next signal is not green (and therefore showing a restrictive aspect) a horn will sound. This horn must be acknowledged by the driver within a set period of time, or else the brakes will apply automatically. Further, a visible indication (known as the sunflower) will be illuminated in the cab as a reminder. This system is incapable of distinguishing a red aspect from any other restrictive aspect (the other two possible restrictive aspects are yellow and double yellow, although some signals cannot display double yellow and some cannot display either). It, also, only gives the driver an additional early warning. It is an aid, nothing more. (Although, to be fair, the requirement that the horn be acknowledged would allow a train to be stopped automatically if the driver were incapacitated, say.)
Further, the poor layout around Paddington station, serious deficiencies in the safety management of Railtrack (who owned the track and signals in the area), the poor training regimen and driver management of Thames Trains all played a part. Allied to these factors was the failure of the signallers in Slough IECC to take swift and immediate action. This was due, in large part to substandard procedures, rules and training; as well as complacency on the part of the signallers and the view that SPADs were the responsibility of the drivers.
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Further details for those who are interested are given below:
At 08:06:20, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN17, which controlled departure from platform 9 at Paddington. SN17 was showing a clear aspect.
On the mainline, we have two-aspect, three-aspect and four-aspect signalling. A two-aspect signal will display a red (danger) aspect if the block ahead is occupied and a green (clear) aspect if the block ahead is clear. Drivers must stop their train at a danger signal as it is unsafe to proceed. A green signal indicates that the driver is cleared to proceed up to the next signal. The next signal after a green signal could be red or green, there is no way of knowing. This looks something like this:
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| A diagram showing the operation of two-aspect signals. The signal to the right is at danger, because the block which it controls is occupied by a train (in blue). The signal to the left is at clear, because the block which it controls (i.e. the section of track up to the next signal (generally including an additional overlap, for safety)) is clear |
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| A diagram showing the operation of three-aspect signals. The signal on the right is at danger because of the train occupying the block it controls. The middle signal is at caution because the signal to the right is at danger. The signal on the left is at clear because the next signal is showing a proceed aspect |
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| A diagram showing the operation of four-aspect signals. The signal on the far right is at danger because of the train occupying the block it controls. The next signal to the left is at caution because the following signal is at danger. The next signal to the left of that is at preliminary caution because the following signal is at caution. The signal to the far left is at clear because the following signal is at preliminary caution |
For example, on London Undeground's Bakerloo line (and London Overground's Watford DC line (Euston-Watford Junction)), there is a three-aspect signal, with theatre route indicator, which controls the approach to Willesden Junction on the northbound (from Kensal Green). A letter "M" displayed on the theatre route indicator, indicates that the train is cleared into northbound platform 3 at Willesden Junction. A highly simplified depiction of this is given below, with a grossly oversized signal for illustrative purposes:
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| An extremely simplified diagram showing a three-aspect signal (WS21, I believe) which is displaying a clear aspect, with theatre route indicator indicating the route into platform 3 at Willesden Junction is set (by means of a letter "M") |
At 08:07:00, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN43, which was also displaying a green aspect, along with the number 4 on its theatre route indicator. This indicated that the Thames Turbo was cleared to proceed along line 4.
At 08:07:20, having made its way out of Paddington on line 4, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN63 at preliminary caution. SN63 did not have a theatre route indicator, but a feather indicator, consisting of five white lights arranged in the direction of any diverging route.
So, to exemplify, a feather indicator will be illuminated if a diverging route is set, whereas "main aspect only" (i.e. feather indicator off) indicates the straight(est) route, continuing on the current path, is set. The diagram below (with another grossly oversized signal) demonstrates this:
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| A diagram showing the operation of a feather indicator. The lit feather indicator (with green aspect) indicates the diverging route to the right is set. If the feather indicator were not lit, that would indicate that the straight route is set |
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| A diagram showing the operation of multiple feather indicators. This signal indicates that route 4 (the rightmost route) is set. If none of the feather indicators were lit, that would indicate that route 1 is set. Route 2 is indicated by the first feather indicator (at the lowest angle to the vertical) and route 3 by the second indicator, which is at 90 degrees. |
At 08:07:50, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN87 at caution. The feather indicator was also lit, indicating a move from line 4 to "line 3". Again, the AWS horn had sounded and was cancelled. For about 740 m, the Thames Turbo coasted, before Notches 1, 5 and then 7 of the throttle were engaged, increasing the speed, eventually, to 41 mph.
At 08:08:15, the AWS horn corresponding to signal SN109 sounded on the Thames Turbo and was cancelled.
At 08:08:25, the Thames Turbo passed signal SN109 at danger. SN109 was arranged in a curious, reverse L pattern, like this:
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| A diagram of signal SN109. Note the curious position of the red light. (All lights are shown to demonstrate the position of each of the colours). On the left we have a theatre route indicator. Above the red light is a shunt signal of the type used on the mainline. It isn't important |
Meanwhile, the HST was approaching signal SN120, which had turned green at 08:08:40. At 08:08:50, SN120 was put back to danger. This was an emergency measure taken by the signallers in the hope of stopping the HST. This action was taken belatedly, because the signallers had believed the Thames Turbo would stop without their intervention (they had believed it to be a simple over-run, that the Thames Turbo had simply not stopped in time, rather than not having been slowed at all.) An emergency stop message was also broadcast (it is unknown exactly when) to the Thames Turbo. When SN120 was put back, the HST was 179-278 m in rear of the signal, travelling at 81-84 mph. At approximately 08:09 the HST passed signal SN120. According to passengers aboard the HST, the train braked heavily but this was immaterial. The two trains collided, almost head-on, at approximately 130 mph. Both trains sustained extreme damage, far beyond what could reasonably have been mitigated against. Although the larger, heavier HST fared better than the smaller Turbo.
The fuel tanks, which could not be reasonably expected to survive any such impact ruptured and fuel was expelled under pressure. A fireball was ignited, possibly by the overhead line equipment, possibly by thermite sparking, or, perhaps, by on-board electrical equipment. This fireball caused further damage to the trains - particularly coach H of the HST - and further devastation. It appears that diesel had entered that coach through one or more of the numerous openings caused by the crash, allowing the fireball to propagate through the coach and for flammable materials inside the coach to burn. Trackside fires were also started in the aftermath of the accident.
Lord Cullen does an admirable job of assessing the cause of this incident and is to be commended on his consideration of the root causes. He undertakes a laudable, broad analysis of events and - quite correctly - includes discussions about Railtrack and the infrastructure, signal sighting, procedures, driver training, and management at various levels in Railtrack and Thames Trains. I can really merely abbreviate his discussion, but I will try to flesh out what I said above, with respect specifically to why driver Hodder SPADed SN109. Signal SN109 was a multi-SPAD signal (although the inexperienced driver Hodder was unaware of this), with a curious layout, as I have already remarked. The training programme operated by Thames Trains was severely deficient and did not seem capable of dealing with the substantial recruitment process that they had recently initiated. Route training was sub-standard and Michael Hodder appears not to have been formally assessed on the route around Paddington station. It seems to me that Lord Cullen is (for, in my opinion, very good reasons) happy to conclude that Michael Hodder was under the opinion that the he had a proceed aspect at SN109 (a single or, perhaps, double yellow). This mistaken belief is likely to have been formed due to the bright sunlight, allied to the extreme difficulty of sighting SN109. Whilst sunlight can, in principle, make signals difficult to read anywhere, the problems with SN109 made it difficult to correct any misreading - one's window of opportunity for realising one's mistake was very small at this signal, for one could not see it for very long, nor ever very clearly). Also, it should be obvious that a particularly difficult signal will make any sighting problems caused by the sunlight very much worse. In particular, the position of the red aspect, which is non-standard, made SN109 a novelty, meaning that a driver's sighting heuristics could be compromised, especially for an inexperienced driver with no specific instruction regarding SN109. In short, it doesn't behave like other signals, it doesn't do what you're used to. The signal was obscured by a low bridge and over-head line equipment for much of the approach to it. This makes it difficult to see the signal in the first place, gives you less time to read it and take in its message, and less time to notice an earlier error. Finally, the absence of any robust system to bring a train to a halt after a SPAD, or to prevent them in the first place, meant that there was no failsafe in place to mitigate against the risks of a SPAD at SN109.
Wednesday 15 January 2014
Timetable.
There genuinely isn't all that much to say about today's trip, though I was quite tired so I might well not have been paying enough attention.
To be honest, everything went smoothly, for once - almost too smoothly (not that I'm complaining). I didn't, in the end, get up till about 08:20, but I was still able to make the 09:14 WOO train. This is the later one and I was about 10 minutes late, but - as far as I'm concerned - that's better than 10 minutes early and I was far too tired this morning to make the 08:54 :P I saw the HAI train arrive just as I was approaching the station and then, when I was crossing over the bridge to the WOO platform, I saw the WOO train approaching. My train virtually stopped at the same time as I did, lovely timing :P Changed at WOO for what I think was a WER (West Ruislip) train - I don't really remember - and that took me, bleary-eyed, into LIS (Liverpool Street). There, I - once more - virtually walked onto my next train, which I'm fairly confident was a Hammersmith & City line S7 to Hammersmith. Again, it was pulling in as I was crossing a bridge over to my required platform. That took me to King's Cross St. Pancras, easy money really.
Almost incredibly, I arrived at Euston Square, on the way home, in time to make a Circle line C stock, which seemed almost to wait for me. It had been sitting there for a little while as I was making my way down the steps to the platform and I noticed it had a green signal as I stepped on board and, almost immediately after I had spotted a seat, the doors were a-closing. My luck seemed to run out at LIS. A Central line train had just shut its doors when I reached the platform, but it was, in fact, a HAI via NEP and the next train through (the EPP), took me to WOO with no fuss at all. The rain clouds were out in force when we emerged from the tunnel at STR (Stratford) and they finally began raining in earnest at WOO. The sky was picture perfect, though - all grey streaked with yellow, it was rather beautiful. I do actually quite like being on the railway in the rain, I'm not sure why, maybe it's just my image of London; but I was quite content. As we know, however, the Central line and its 1992 stock are less fond of the rain. I wonder how many trains were in coded today :P Anyway, I wasn't outside (although under the cover of the platform roof) for long - the HAI train was due in but a minute behind the EPP train and duly arrived. The westbound train even waited for it (well, in reality, it's not like the train or its operator had any choice in the matter, it's more a case of thus saith the signalling computer, but the point is, it was certainly a day's travel which contrasted with yesterday's :P). All a little bit too easy, a little bit too dull :P Well, as I say, one shouldn't complain, a thank you is surely in order to the Central line and the sub-surface lines - a job well done. Still, a rush hour trip home tomorrow, I wonder what's in store - I'm predicting a spectacular return to form and something more exciting to write about :P
To be honest, everything went smoothly, for once - almost too smoothly (not that I'm complaining). I didn't, in the end, get up till about 08:20, but I was still able to make the 09:14 WOO train. This is the later one and I was about 10 minutes late, but - as far as I'm concerned - that's better than 10 minutes early and I was far too tired this morning to make the 08:54 :P I saw the HAI train arrive just as I was approaching the station and then, when I was crossing over the bridge to the WOO platform, I saw the WOO train approaching. My train virtually stopped at the same time as I did, lovely timing :P Changed at WOO for what I think was a WER (West Ruislip) train - I don't really remember - and that took me, bleary-eyed, into LIS (Liverpool Street). There, I - once more - virtually walked onto my next train, which I'm fairly confident was a Hammersmith & City line S7 to Hammersmith. Again, it was pulling in as I was crossing a bridge over to my required platform. That took me to King's Cross St. Pancras, easy money really.
Almost incredibly, I arrived at Euston Square, on the way home, in time to make a Circle line C stock, which seemed almost to wait for me. It had been sitting there for a little while as I was making my way down the steps to the platform and I noticed it had a green signal as I stepped on board and, almost immediately after I had spotted a seat, the doors were a-closing. My luck seemed to run out at LIS. A Central line train had just shut its doors when I reached the platform, but it was, in fact, a HAI via NEP and the next train through (the EPP), took me to WOO with no fuss at all. The rain clouds were out in force when we emerged from the tunnel at STR (Stratford) and they finally began raining in earnest at WOO. The sky was picture perfect, though - all grey streaked with yellow, it was rather beautiful. I do actually quite like being on the railway in the rain, I'm not sure why, maybe it's just my image of London; but I was quite content. As we know, however, the Central line and its 1992 stock are less fond of the rain. I wonder how many trains were in coded today :P Anyway, I wasn't outside (although under the cover of the platform roof) for long - the HAI train was due in but a minute behind the EPP train and duly arrived. The westbound train even waited for it (well, in reality, it's not like the train or its operator had any choice in the matter, it's more a case of thus saith the signalling computer, but the point is, it was certainly a day's travel which contrasted with yesterday's :P). All a little bit too easy, a little bit too dull :P Well, as I say, one shouldn't complain, a thank you is surely in order to the Central line and the sub-surface lines - a job well done. Still, a rush hour trip home tomorrow, I wonder what's in store - I'm predicting a spectacular return to form and something more exciting to write about :P
Tuesday 14 January 2014
Bother!
It was all fun and games on the Central line this morning.
Today, I did not oversleep (*pauses for applause*). But: I was a little slow getting out of bed. Basically, I got up with my alarm, but today is the only day I need to be up before my sister has left and she usually needs a little bit more time in the bathroom at 07:00 (when my alarm went off) - so I went back to bed for another 15 minutes. Well, it was supposed to be 15 minutes. It was more like 20. All was, however, well; but, when I had finished in the shower, I decided I probably wouldn't make the 07:44 NOR (Northolt) train. Actually, I definitely wouldn't have made that. I think I was probably working on the basis of the timetable as it is around 09:00 and imagined there would be a train around 07:54 and deduced that I wouldn't make that one. In fact, there is no train timetabled for 07:54, but there is a WOO train due at 07:52. Anyway, never mind whether my reasoning was sound, knowing there would be through trains, I decided to take things a little slow, to relax and take my time. I did check the journey planner shortly before I left and discovered that there was a RUG (Ruislip Gardens) train due at 08:00 and a WER (West Ruislip) due at 08:09. I decided to aim for the 08:09 train, but I relaxed and took my time a little too much. I thought I might have misjudged it and headed out of the house in a bit of a hurry, but the train overtook me just as I was approaching ROV and left without me. Bugger.
Still, at this time in the morning that isn't such a big deal, and I was soon on my way on the 08:14 WOO train. I changed at WOO and did have to put up with taking a full train coming down from EPP (or LOU, i don't know which). Still, no problems until we reached LEY (Leyton) westbound. We got a platforms and hold call due to a defective train at BAN (Bank). (Actually, it could have been STP (St. Paul's), the lady doing SATS at STR (Stratford) (she was very good, by the way, kept us informed) thought it was at STP; but wherever it was...) After a bit of a wait at LEY, where our train was brimmed full, we were moved up to the packed STR, where we were again held for a good five minutes or so. After that, we were pretty much rolling, but obviously we were a full train pulling into by then full platforms, so our dwell times were much longer than usual. Still, adds a bit of flavour to the morning journey.
Once eventually at LIS (Liverpool Street) and now very much towards the late end of the spectrum, I got onto an H&C (Hammersmith & City line) C stock, which - unless I'm much mistaken - is the only one now timetabled. This rarity took me all the way to King's X without any further problems.
Erm, don't think there's much to say about the journey home. Just missed a Barking train and had to wait scarcely a minute for an Aldgate service to take me to LIS. Took a HAI via NEP train to LES and changed for the EPP. Brief four minute wait for the HAI, which was the next train through WOO on the eastbound. Easy. Lovely journey it was, too, I do love pulling into STR (the first time you come out of the tunnel) in the bright sunshine.
Today, I did not oversleep (*pauses for applause*). But: I was a little slow getting out of bed. Basically, I got up with my alarm, but today is the only day I need to be up before my sister has left and she usually needs a little bit more time in the bathroom at 07:00 (when my alarm went off) - so I went back to bed for another 15 minutes. Well, it was supposed to be 15 minutes. It was more like 20. All was, however, well; but, when I had finished in the shower, I decided I probably wouldn't make the 07:44 NOR (Northolt) train. Actually, I definitely wouldn't have made that. I think I was probably working on the basis of the timetable as it is around 09:00 and imagined there would be a train around 07:54 and deduced that I wouldn't make that one. In fact, there is no train timetabled for 07:54, but there is a WOO train due at 07:52. Anyway, never mind whether my reasoning was sound, knowing there would be through trains, I decided to take things a little slow, to relax and take my time. I did check the journey planner shortly before I left and discovered that there was a RUG (Ruislip Gardens) train due at 08:00 and a WER (West Ruislip) due at 08:09. I decided to aim for the 08:09 train, but I relaxed and took my time a little too much. I thought I might have misjudged it and headed out of the house in a bit of a hurry, but the train overtook me just as I was approaching ROV and left without me. Bugger.
Still, at this time in the morning that isn't such a big deal, and I was soon on my way on the 08:14 WOO train. I changed at WOO and did have to put up with taking a full train coming down from EPP (or LOU, i don't know which). Still, no problems until we reached LEY (Leyton) westbound. We got a platforms and hold call due to a defective train at BAN (Bank). (Actually, it could have been STP (St. Paul's), the lady doing SATS at STR (Stratford) (she was very good, by the way, kept us informed) thought it was at STP; but wherever it was...) After a bit of a wait at LEY, where our train was brimmed full, we were moved up to the packed STR, where we were again held for a good five minutes or so. After that, we were pretty much rolling, but obviously we were a full train pulling into by then full platforms, so our dwell times were much longer than usual. Still, adds a bit of flavour to the morning journey.
Once eventually at LIS (Liverpool Street) and now very much towards the late end of the spectrum, I got onto an H&C (Hammersmith & City line) C stock, which - unless I'm much mistaken - is the only one now timetabled. This rarity took me all the way to King's X without any further problems.
Erm, don't think there's much to say about the journey home. Just missed a Barking train and had to wait scarcely a minute for an Aldgate service to take me to LIS. Took a HAI via NEP train to LES and changed for the EPP. Brief four minute wait for the HAI, which was the next train through WOO on the eastbound. Easy. Lovely journey it was, too, I do love pulling into STR (the first time you come out of the tunnel) in the bright sunshine.
Monday 13 January 2014
Quite alarming
Today I overslept. Really quite badly, actually. I got up with my alarm at 08:00 and had resolved, last night, that I would spring out of bed this morning. Unfortunately, my resolve deserted me in the night and I put it on snooze. The alarm went off again, I turned it off, prepared myself to get out of bed and promptly fell asleep, waking up at 09:30. Since my class started at 10:00, I decided to give it a miss and take the opportunity to miss another, later class in the same subject, too. I did, however, get up at 13:00 and made my way in for a 15:00 class.
I got to ROV at about the perfect time, having managed to find time to print off some necessary things, check my e-mails and buy a drink - I am just so much better in the afternoons. Need to find a job working nights :P Anyway, I boarded the train, changed at WOO, no problem. At STR (Stratford) a gentleman with some shopping rushed onto our train and stood about for a bit, before deciding that he didn't like the train very much and wanted to get back onto the platform as the doors on the right (the doors on the left having already closed) were closing. To achieve this, he stuck his arms in the doors, trapping hands and shopping outside of the train and the rest of himself inside it. If the T/Op happened not to notice this on the CCTV monitors, they would have been alerted to the actions of the moron by the lack of a doors closed visual (or "pilot light"). The pilot light illuminates when all doors are proved closed. The train cannot depart until all doors are proved closed, as an obviously important safety measure. If the doors are proved closed, the pilot light illuminates and the train can leave (obviously subject to various other conditions as well, such as a clear signal). Obviously the moron needed to be released from the doors before we could leave, so the T/Op reopened the doors, tried again to close them and we were on our way.
Incidentally, this is what's involved in the jerking many Central line (and other lines, too) passengers will have experienced when leaving stations. When people lean on the doors, they can be pulled open, causing a loss of the interlock (and the doors closed visual) and the brakes apply automatically, in the hope of preventing anyone with clothing caught in the doors from being pulled along the platform or anything like that. We had quite a few interlock losses tonight (and resulting jerky starts), actually.
Also, as a little aside, I remember once when we were coming into CHL (Chancery Lane) westbound, the train pulled up pretty sharpish, having braked very hard. This, as I very soon learned, was due to an emergency brake application. As the T/Op informed us:
"Sorry about that ladies and gentlemen, the emergency brakes have just come on for, er, no reason at all. It's gonna take me a few minutes to reset everything and then we can pull in the rest of the way."
After a bit of a wait, we pulled in properly, and were told that people had been leaning on the doors on the way. We were reminded that the computer doesn't like that and asked to try and avoid it. Made for an interesting morning, although a slightly hairy one as I had an exam and was a little nervous about how long we would be waiting (in the end, not long at all :P)
Anyway, all of this kit is obviously very important for making sure that people don't get hurt by the doors and, most importantly, don't get themselves trapped and dragged along. I did, though (while I'm on the topic), recently read an RAIB report into an incident at Warren Street where a train departed with all the doors on the platform side open (report). In short, what had happened is that a sensitive edge system (new to the Victoria line and its 2009 stock) had activated at OXO (Oxford Circus) and the T/Op had been unable to reset it successfully. In fact, this system was initially very temperamental and, I believe, has since been updated. On most lines, including the Central, a simpler approach of providing some give in the doors (hence the jerking when they pull open) is used. This allows people who get clothing and stuff caught in the doors to simply pull themselves free. However, this approach was not practical on the 2009 stock, because the doors were too heavy and their own momentum was pulling them open under emergency braking. To remediate this, a highly sensitive sensitive-edge system, used to detect clothing trapped in the doors and such, was employed. This provided the necessary safeguard against people getting trapped, as it prevents the train from departing when activated. Anyway, the T/Op had not been able to reset the system properly and, in his confusion, had eventually disabled the train door interlock system and the round train circuit. These actions meant that the train could depart without the doors having been proved closed. In the stressful situation, the T/Op neglected to close the doors or observe the status of the door closed visual. The train pulled away with its doors open and they were closed by an automatic safety system, but not until some of the train was already in the tunnel. Upon becoming aware of a problem, the T/Op applied the full service brake and then the emergency brake and brought the train to a halt. It was then evacuated by station staff - the super having behaved, as far as I can tell, laudably. Nobody was harmed, but I thought the report into this extremely unusual occurrence made for interesting reading.
Anyway, anyway, after STR we made it to LIS (Liverpool Street) with no problems and I changed onto a Circle line train. At Moorgate our train was joined by a visually impaired person, assisted onto the train by a member of station staff. He arranged for her to be met at King's X (her destination) by a member of staff, who was there waiting for her when we pulled in. Between Farringdon and King's X I went over and checked that King's X was her destination, made sure that she was aware we were approaching King's X (information on the S stock is pretty good and I imagine it's much easier getting around the Met these days than it would have been on the old A stocks!) and asked if she'd need any assistance getting off. She said she'd be fine but asked if I could just keep a look out of the member of station staff who was, indeed, there and came over as I was going over to him; so there wasn't much for me to do. She described London Underground as "excellent" when it comes to providing staff to help people around stations so, TfL, take note - you have a satisfied customer for as long as there are human beings on hand to help your pax.
On the way back, I arrived at Euston Square in time to board a Met line train that thought it was for all stations to Watford. It was not for all stations to Watford, neither was it a semi-fast Watford service as it soon decided it was. A few people jumped off, falling foul of this, before the T/Op corrected it and it told us that the destination had changed and that it was now a Metropolitan line train to Aldgate - which was correct :P
LIS was mobbed. I arrived on a very busy platform with four minutes to wait for the next train (a WOO via HAI) - I can only assume there must have been some small problem or another. The automated announcements were telling us there was a good service operating on all lines, but the control room had to warn people to move down, away from the exit, or they'd have to consider non-stopping trains, for safety reasons. Happily people did move down. I'd already made my way as far along as I could and was, conveniently, just about able to get on the WOO train, which was nice. Very warm and crowded, though, but I quite enjoyed the journey all the same.
This, of course, meant going via HAI and one thing I've been meaning to mention is my dislike of BAR (Barkingside) in the dark. It's a perfectly quaint and pleasant station during the day, very nice in fact:
But, the lights which they've fitted give the station a horrible feel at night. I really don't like it. They're a bit like floodlights, giving off a bright, white light, which gives the place the feel of a ward of some kind, or perhaps a subway. And yet, the light doesn't actually penetrate very far, so - although the lights themselves are bright - the actual station is quite dark and very poorly lit. Not nice.
Anyway, after BAR it was all quiet - and very quick through HAI (Hainault) and GRH (Grange Hill) (I noticed the cleaners didn't work on the train at HAI tonight). Bit busier than usual, mind. But we pulled into ROV very promptly, where it was raining, which was not nice :(
I got to ROV at about the perfect time, having managed to find time to print off some necessary things, check my e-mails and buy a drink - I am just so much better in the afternoons. Need to find a job working nights :P Anyway, I boarded the train, changed at WOO, no problem. At STR (Stratford) a gentleman with some shopping rushed onto our train and stood about for a bit, before deciding that he didn't like the train very much and wanted to get back onto the platform as the doors on the right (the doors on the left having already closed) were closing. To achieve this, he stuck his arms in the doors, trapping hands and shopping outside of the train and the rest of himself inside it. If the T/Op happened not to notice this on the CCTV monitors, they would have been alerted to the actions of the moron by the lack of a doors closed visual (or "pilot light"). The pilot light illuminates when all doors are proved closed. The train cannot depart until all doors are proved closed, as an obviously important safety measure. If the doors are proved closed, the pilot light illuminates and the train can leave (obviously subject to various other conditions as well, such as a clear signal). Obviously the moron needed to be released from the doors before we could leave, so the T/Op reopened the doors, tried again to close them and we were on our way.
Incidentally, this is what's involved in the jerking many Central line (and other lines, too) passengers will have experienced when leaving stations. When people lean on the doors, they can be pulled open, causing a loss of the interlock (and the doors closed visual) and the brakes apply automatically, in the hope of preventing anyone with clothing caught in the doors from being pulled along the platform or anything like that. We had quite a few interlock losses tonight (and resulting jerky starts), actually.
Also, as a little aside, I remember once when we were coming into CHL (Chancery Lane) westbound, the train pulled up pretty sharpish, having braked very hard. This, as I very soon learned, was due to an emergency brake application. As the T/Op informed us:
"Sorry about that ladies and gentlemen, the emergency brakes have just come on for, er, no reason at all. It's gonna take me a few minutes to reset everything and then we can pull in the rest of the way."
After a bit of a wait, we pulled in properly, and were told that people had been leaning on the doors on the way. We were reminded that the computer doesn't like that and asked to try and avoid it. Made for an interesting morning, although a slightly hairy one as I had an exam and was a little nervous about how long we would be waiting (in the end, not long at all :P)
Anyway, all of this kit is obviously very important for making sure that people don't get hurt by the doors and, most importantly, don't get themselves trapped and dragged along. I did, though (while I'm on the topic), recently read an RAIB report into an incident at Warren Street where a train departed with all the doors on the platform side open (report). In short, what had happened is that a sensitive edge system (new to the Victoria line and its 2009 stock) had activated at OXO (Oxford Circus) and the T/Op had been unable to reset it successfully. In fact, this system was initially very temperamental and, I believe, has since been updated. On most lines, including the Central, a simpler approach of providing some give in the doors (hence the jerking when they pull open) is used. This allows people who get clothing and stuff caught in the doors to simply pull themselves free. However, this approach was not practical on the 2009 stock, because the doors were too heavy and their own momentum was pulling them open under emergency braking. To remediate this, a highly sensitive sensitive-edge system, used to detect clothing trapped in the doors and such, was employed. This provided the necessary safeguard against people getting trapped, as it prevents the train from departing when activated. Anyway, the T/Op had not been able to reset the system properly and, in his confusion, had eventually disabled the train door interlock system and the round train circuit. These actions meant that the train could depart without the doors having been proved closed. In the stressful situation, the T/Op neglected to close the doors or observe the status of the door closed visual. The train pulled away with its doors open and they were closed by an automatic safety system, but not until some of the train was already in the tunnel. Upon becoming aware of a problem, the T/Op applied the full service brake and then the emergency brake and brought the train to a halt. It was then evacuated by station staff - the super having behaved, as far as I can tell, laudably. Nobody was harmed, but I thought the report into this extremely unusual occurrence made for interesting reading.
Anyway, anyway, after STR we made it to LIS (Liverpool Street) with no problems and I changed onto a Circle line train. At Moorgate our train was joined by a visually impaired person, assisted onto the train by a member of station staff. He arranged for her to be met at King's X (her destination) by a member of staff, who was there waiting for her when we pulled in. Between Farringdon and King's X I went over and checked that King's X was her destination, made sure that she was aware we were approaching King's X (information on the S stock is pretty good and I imagine it's much easier getting around the Met these days than it would have been on the old A stocks!) and asked if she'd need any assistance getting off. She said she'd be fine but asked if I could just keep a look out of the member of station staff who was, indeed, there and came over as I was going over to him; so there wasn't much for me to do. She described London Underground as "excellent" when it comes to providing staff to help people around stations so, TfL, take note - you have a satisfied customer for as long as there are human beings on hand to help your pax.
On the way back, I arrived at Euston Square in time to board a Met line train that thought it was for all stations to Watford. It was not for all stations to Watford, neither was it a semi-fast Watford service as it soon decided it was. A few people jumped off, falling foul of this, before the T/Op corrected it and it told us that the destination had changed and that it was now a Metropolitan line train to Aldgate - which was correct :P
LIS was mobbed. I arrived on a very busy platform with four minutes to wait for the next train (a WOO via HAI) - I can only assume there must have been some small problem or another. The automated announcements were telling us there was a good service operating on all lines, but the control room had to warn people to move down, away from the exit, or they'd have to consider non-stopping trains, for safety reasons. Happily people did move down. I'd already made my way as far along as I could and was, conveniently, just about able to get on the WOO train, which was nice. Very warm and crowded, though, but I quite enjoyed the journey all the same.
This, of course, meant going via HAI and one thing I've been meaning to mention is my dislike of BAR (Barkingside) in the dark. It's a perfectly quaint and pleasant station during the day, very nice in fact:
 |
| Barkingside station looking very nice in the daytime. (Image courtesy "Sunil060902" (via Wikipedia)) |
Anyway, after BAR it was all quiet - and very quick through HAI (Hainault) and GRH (Grange Hill) (I noticed the cleaners didn't work on the train at HAI tonight). Bit busier than usual, mind. But we pulled into ROV very promptly, where it was raining, which was not nice :(
Thursday 9 January 2014
This is dud central
It was a really lovely day today. I'm quite lucky, in some ways, since my timetable has now changed and I only have one class today, which is 16:00-17:00. Since my commute works out to a ≈2-2.5 hour trip, this is a bit of a nuisance - and it means a journey home at rush hour - but it also means a lie-in and a nice, relaxing afternoon journey in. I wasn't feeling that terrific when I got up, but I looked out of my window to a truly beautiful sky, which really lifted my spirits. I then had a lovely journey in on a glorious winter's afternoon. Therapy :). Actually, there's nothing like a tube journey to cheer me up, I once took a trip up to High Barnet and back after a good friendship sort of collapsed.
Anyway, I arrived at ROV with 5 minutes to go till the WOO train and 3 minutes until a "special" arrived. "Special" usually means the train is out of service and, sure enough, another out of service train came through ROV 3 minutes later. My title for this entry is obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek and it may not have been a dud, but I'm pretty sure it was, since the seats in one of the carriages had been lifted up to allow access to the various electrical equipment there. Well, either way, it actually had a bit of a wait at the starter signal until the train from BUH (Buckhurst Hill) had cleared Woodford junction, but it was soon on its way. By that time, the WOO train had arrived and, having been held just short of ROV, pulled in shortly after. We then followed the out of service train onto WOO, where it was performing a main line shunt (see Woodford station and, also, yesterday's blog post, where I describe a similar move at LES (Leytonstone)). This means that it had continued out of westbound platform 2 and stopped on the main line. This, of course, leaves 21 road free for our WOO train. Our train was duly detrained and proceeded into 21 road. Clearly, the out of service train couldn't move into eastbound platform 3, and then round to HAI (Hainault) (where I assume it was going), until our train had stopped in the siding. When the WOO train was safely out of the way, the out of service train got going, but not before the NOR (Northolt) train was pulling into westbound 2. This train, obviously, had a bit of a wait while the out of service train made its way over the crossover into eastbound platform 3 (which I stood and watched), before it got me on my way.
Now, I'm sure I'm missing something, but I've gotta confess this does strike me as a little odd and I'll tell you why. After everything I said yesterday about reversing at WOO being the thing I would do, you'd've thought I'd be applauding this as the sensible move. (It has just struck me (and I've added a quick edit just in case) that the train I was talking about yesterday could have carried on through WOO and reversed at LES, to go back round to the depot via WOO. This would allow Wood Lane to take advantage of the additional platform at LES, but obviously means a fairly unnecessary extra journey.) And, certainly, I think WOO is an ideal place through which to route trains bound for the HAI depot. However, what leaves me puzzled is this: This train was approaching WOO on the HAI loop, so I can only assume it failed somewhere between GRH (Grange Hill) and WOO - anywhere else on the HAI loop and it could have been worked into the depot from any platform at HAI, or - I do believe - either platform at GRH. Obviously, there're no restrictions on where a train can go wrong, but I'll be a little surprised if it did fail between GRH and WOO, because a working train arrived so quickly afterwards, and on time. Given that trains are only timetabled along that part of the line once every twenty minutes, I would have thought pulling that off would mean finding a train to continue on from HAI to WOO pretty quickly and it would've had to go like the clappers to catch up with the train it was substituting in for (which presumably wouldn't have been running that early when it failed?) Oh well, maybe I should leave the speculating alone for the time being, I've not the faintest idea what happened there, but let's just say I find myself struggling to explain what went on today. Not that I'm complaining, I enjoyed the unusual move and this is exactly the sort of thing I started blogging to talk about.
Anyway, once I was on my way, it was a fairly straightforward journey into LIS (Liverpool Street) on a day which really made me feel jealous of our Central line T/Ops. It was a marvellous day to be on the trains. Goodness knows LUL can be an impossible company to work for sometimes and I often think that if the people in 55 Broadway have their way, it really will be an impossible company to work for some day, at least in front line services. More and more people are being replaced by machines and I, for one, am very saddened by this. Ticket office closures have led to the loss of large numbers of jobs - and not just in the ticket offices - the number of humans on stations seems to be coming down and I get the feeling we will have more unmanned stations at night (especially with the coming of the "night tube") than ever before soon. (Fire regulations mandate a certain number of staff at underground stations and, realistically, no railways is ever gonna be fully automated, but I fear we're tending towards that with time. Or, at least, we will continue to do so, until there's an almighty catastrophe like the King's Cross fire and suddenly people are wondering why there weren't enough people taking charge and sorting it out). I feel I should write a long-winded rant in the light of articles such as these, but I can't really bring myself to do it. It just makes me feel quite sad and I'm a bit too busy.
But, in spite of this, for the time being, I'd give quite a lot to be paid to be on the front of a tube train on a day like today, especially "on the handle". One thing that does seem to be a foregone conclusion is that the eradication of people on the handle (in normal operation anyway) is the plan. Not that this objective is proceeding fantastically smoothly and we've recently had the news that the contract to convert the sub-surface lines to ATO has been re-let. Bombardier have lost the contract and it seems that their 'Cityflo 650' system will not be used. This makes the 2018 deadline date seem pretty unrealistic now. Also, while this may be the dream, my whingeing about TBTC on the Northern and Jubilee lines will be familiar to anyone who's been reading regularly and take a look at ASLEF shrugged's blog, if you haven't already, to learn what happens when you mix rain with a Central line train in auto. Despite what some may want to believe, the tube isn't a glorified roller coaster and, even in the early days of 2014, we've a long way to go before truly 'driverless' trains are running. This, though, is the plan, and while we might well have cause to be sceptical about it (see title of this blog alone :P), City Hall's war on the T/Op doesn't look like abating any time soon.
Mini-rant over. LIS. Changed for a Met line train (all stations to Uxbridge) and passed an S7 sat in Moorgate platform 4, which was out of service. (May not have been dud, of course, but 'dud central' worked better than 'out of service central' :P) That was about the only thing of note, though, and I arrived in class very early. My class was on the fifth floor, though, and this gave me a wonderful opportunity to sit and stare at an enchanting sky as the Sun began to set and the rain clouds were lit from below. How lovely.
And then it was back home. Little slow on the Met around Barbican but, otherwise, fairly smooth journey. Changed at LIS for a HAI via NEP train, changed at LES for an EPP train and changed at WOO for the HAI train. Quite a long, warm journey - as you expect at rush hour - but quite a happy one too. And that's the end of my week - no class tomorrow, so I'm free as a bird :)
Anyway, I arrived at ROV with 5 minutes to go till the WOO train and 3 minutes until a "special" arrived. "Special" usually means the train is out of service and, sure enough, another out of service train came through ROV 3 minutes later. My title for this entry is obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek and it may not have been a dud, but I'm pretty sure it was, since the seats in one of the carriages had been lifted up to allow access to the various electrical equipment there. Well, either way, it actually had a bit of a wait at the starter signal until the train from BUH (Buckhurst Hill) had cleared Woodford junction, but it was soon on its way. By that time, the WOO train had arrived and, having been held just short of ROV, pulled in shortly after. We then followed the out of service train onto WOO, where it was performing a main line shunt (see Woodford station and, also, yesterday's blog post, where I describe a similar move at LES (Leytonstone)). This means that it had continued out of westbound platform 2 and stopped on the main line. This, of course, leaves 21 road free for our WOO train. Our train was duly detrained and proceeded into 21 road. Clearly, the out of service train couldn't move into eastbound platform 3, and then round to HAI (Hainault) (where I assume it was going), until our train had stopped in the siding. When the WOO train was safely out of the way, the out of service train got going, but not before the NOR (Northolt) train was pulling into westbound 2. This train, obviously, had a bit of a wait while the out of service train made its way over the crossover into eastbound platform 3 (which I stood and watched), before it got me on my way.
Now, I'm sure I'm missing something, but I've gotta confess this does strike me as a little odd and I'll tell you why. After everything I said yesterday about reversing at WOO being the thing I would do, you'd've thought I'd be applauding this as the sensible move. (It has just struck me (and I've added a quick edit just in case) that the train I was talking about yesterday could have carried on through WOO and reversed at LES, to go back round to the depot via WOO. This would allow Wood Lane to take advantage of the additional platform at LES, but obviously means a fairly unnecessary extra journey.) And, certainly, I think WOO is an ideal place through which to route trains bound for the HAI depot. However, what leaves me puzzled is this: This train was approaching WOO on the HAI loop, so I can only assume it failed somewhere between GRH (Grange Hill) and WOO - anywhere else on the HAI loop and it could have been worked into the depot from any platform at HAI, or - I do believe - either platform at GRH. Obviously, there're no restrictions on where a train can go wrong, but I'll be a little surprised if it did fail between GRH and WOO, because a working train arrived so quickly afterwards, and on time. Given that trains are only timetabled along that part of the line once every twenty minutes, I would have thought pulling that off would mean finding a train to continue on from HAI to WOO pretty quickly and it would've had to go like the clappers to catch up with the train it was substituting in for (which presumably wouldn't have been running that early when it failed?) Oh well, maybe I should leave the speculating alone for the time being, I've not the faintest idea what happened there, but let's just say I find myself struggling to explain what went on today. Not that I'm complaining, I enjoyed the unusual move and this is exactly the sort of thing I started blogging to talk about.
Anyway, once I was on my way, it was a fairly straightforward journey into LIS (Liverpool Street) on a day which really made me feel jealous of our Central line T/Ops. It was a marvellous day to be on the trains. Goodness knows LUL can be an impossible company to work for sometimes and I often think that if the people in 55 Broadway have their way, it really will be an impossible company to work for some day, at least in front line services. More and more people are being replaced by machines and I, for one, am very saddened by this. Ticket office closures have led to the loss of large numbers of jobs - and not just in the ticket offices - the number of humans on stations seems to be coming down and I get the feeling we will have more unmanned stations at night (especially with the coming of the "night tube") than ever before soon. (Fire regulations mandate a certain number of staff at underground stations and, realistically, no railways is ever gonna be fully automated, but I fear we're tending towards that with time. Or, at least, we will continue to do so, until there's an almighty catastrophe like the King's Cross fire and suddenly people are wondering why there weren't enough people taking charge and sorting it out). I feel I should write a long-winded rant in the light of articles such as these, but I can't really bring myself to do it. It just makes me feel quite sad and I'm a bit too busy.
But, in spite of this, for the time being, I'd give quite a lot to be paid to be on the front of a tube train on a day like today, especially "on the handle". One thing that does seem to be a foregone conclusion is that the eradication of people on the handle (in normal operation anyway) is the plan. Not that this objective is proceeding fantastically smoothly and we've recently had the news that the contract to convert the sub-surface lines to ATO has been re-let. Bombardier have lost the contract and it seems that their 'Cityflo 650' system will not be used. This makes the 2018 deadline date seem pretty unrealistic now. Also, while this may be the dream, my whingeing about TBTC on the Northern and Jubilee lines will be familiar to anyone who's been reading regularly and take a look at ASLEF shrugged's blog, if you haven't already, to learn what happens when you mix rain with a Central line train in auto. Despite what some may want to believe, the tube isn't a glorified roller coaster and, even in the early days of 2014, we've a long way to go before truly 'driverless' trains are running. This, though, is the plan, and while we might well have cause to be sceptical about it (see title of this blog alone :P), City Hall's war on the T/Op doesn't look like abating any time soon.
Mini-rant over. LIS. Changed for a Met line train (all stations to Uxbridge) and passed an S7 sat in Moorgate platform 4, which was out of service. (May not have been dud, of course, but 'dud central' worked better than 'out of service central' :P) That was about the only thing of note, though, and I arrived in class very early. My class was on the fifth floor, though, and this gave me a wonderful opportunity to sit and stare at an enchanting sky as the Sun began to set and the rain clouds were lit from below. How lovely.
And then it was back home. Little slow on the Met around Barbican but, otherwise, fairly smooth journey. Changed at LIS for a HAI via NEP train, changed at LES for an EPP train and changed at WOO for the HAI train. Quite a long, warm journey - as you expect at rush hour - but quite a happy one too. And that's the end of my week - no class tomorrow, so I'm free as a bird :)
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