choochootrain
On Moderation
One of my neighbours, who is a Central line driver, has heard rumours that the Waterloo & City line may never reopen with the drivers redeployed to the Central line. Has anyone heard anymore about this?
I can't see it staying closed forever. When it does reopen I reckon it will be Monday to Friday with an reduced service for the first few weeks, if not months
I can't imagine it would be allowed to reopen with only one train working it: at least with two trains some sort of service could be maintained in the event of a driver not turning up or incident. A much earlier finish might be in order, as used to be the case. There is (or was!) a 521 electric bus between the two termini at 11 minute intervals until after midnight Mon-Fri, with very few passengers indeed even pre-Covid.I can see a slow burn of office demand returning, when there will be political pressure to reopen (and TfL hopefully not haemorraging so much cash), even with a basic "one train in steam" timetable.
If the W&C did close permanently, what would happen to the track and platforms? Would they just become abandoned?
It would be extremely useful for filming, and depending on how well-placed the locations are at Bank and Waterloo, storage.
It’s impossible if modern curvature and level requirements have to be met. But in normal circumstances I expect there’d be no space on the trains...In 1934 the LPTB proposed that the Waterloo & City should have an intermediate station at Blackfriars (even though the line was operated by the Southern Railway). Clearly nothing came of it and I imagine it's even less likely now.
AIUI the Aldwych branch has a captive 1972 stock unit, retained solely for filming purposes.*But* you'd have the cost of maintaining an operational train down there if you wanted moving trains. And if you're doing that you might as well run it in service!
Unlike Aldwych and Charing Cross that are still accessible by trains that can be taken from the normal service fleet.
Even if only 50% of the City workers return the drain will be needed and well frequented can't see it closing.
Yes, but it can get out to Northfields for maintenance.AIUI the Aldwych branch has a captive 1972 stock unit, retained solely for filming purposes.
Of course, for the Waterloo & City, there is a maintenance depot on site. Thus saving as a filming location would not have that particular problem (many others, maybe, but not that one).Yes, but it can get out to Northfields for maintenance.
Of course, for the Waterloo & City, there is a maintenance depot on site. Thus saving as a filming location would not have that particular problem (many others, maybe, but not that one).
Last day of operation Thursday 19 March.Can anyone confirm the date when the service stopped?
It came for a visit to Stonebridge Park depot on its last outingYes, but it can get out to Northfields for maintenance.
It sounds like the sort of rumour where someone puts 2 and 2 together and gets 47,358.
I can't see it reopening soon, and when it does it'll be on a reduced timetable, perhaps back to the older weekday-only timetable. But it won't shut forever for the same reason it didn't in the 80s.
I fail to see the cost-benefit of installing ATO, changing the fleet, adding platform edge doors and fighting the unions for such a short line, even if it is usually the second-most intensely used line in terms of passenger miles. Even if was just a test to see the viability of driverless (it isn't viable, nor incredibly useful), I seriously doubt it would happen.Looking further into the future, I'd be very unsurprised if the W&C became the first line on the LU to go driverless. It should be a relatively simple line to convert once the new stock is present and platform edge doors are viable.
The fleet _is_ being changed (with the NTfL). I'm also surprised to see people claiming it isn't viable, when DTO is in operation in numerous places around the world. The W&C is in some ways the place that has the most to gain from DTO: with its short turnarounds during the peaks (hence the double-manning of trains!) you get larger financial gains, and with the short and crowded trains any space gained is a big advantage…I fail to see the cost-benefit of installing ATO, changing the fleet, adding platform edge doors and fighting the unions for such a short line, even if it is usually the second-most intensely used line in terms of passenger miles. Even if was just a test to see the viability of driverless (it isn't viable, nor incredibly useful), I seriously doubt it would happen.
There is no timeframe at the moment for when the Waterloo and City Line
will be operating again. The expectation is that the line will reopen
however it will be a demand-led decision. We are closely monitoring the
demand forecast impact on the Jubilee and Northern Lines (as these are the
alternative routes from Waterloo to Bank) to inform us when it would be
prudent to restart. The Train Operators are also maintaining their route
knowledge and all assets are being maintained such that when the restart
decision is made, it could be implemented very swiftly.