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:
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| 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 :(
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