Enfield Town platform 3

Domk · 14 Oct 2021

I've noticed that platform 3 is having work done (before Tuesday's incident) and that tactile paving has been installed and platform edges have been painted.

Is this just routine or is platform 3 going to get more services using it?

I know platform 3 was rarely used by class 315/317, due to no platform cameras, but this is not an issue for the 710s.

RailUK Forums

306024 · 14 Oct 2021

As you correctly say platform 3 could only be used for ECS departures with 315s and 317s.

Can only guess it is to make the layout more flexible in the event of a points failure or similar. You don’t need three platforms to run the booked service, and where would any additional services go anyway as paths are not available into Liverpool St in the peak.

Three platforms at Enfield Town are only really useful when Spurs are at home. You can hold a couple of additional trains there which is particularly useful if extra time and penalties are involved.

Kite159 · 14 Oct 2021

306024 said:
As you correctly say platform 3 could only be used for ECS departures with 315s and 317s.

Can only guess it is to make the layout more flexible in the event of a points failure or similar. You don’t need three platforms to run the booked service, and where would any additional services go anyway as paths are not available into Liverpool St in the peak.

Three platforms at Enfield Town are only really useful when Spurs are at home. You can hold a couple of additional trains there which is particularly useful if extra time and penalties are involved.

There used to be an early morning departure from platform 3 (06:54 or so) in the days of 315s.

(Photo shows 315 sitting in platform 3 at Enfield working the 06:54-odd service in August 2019

Enfield Town is a bit like Chingford having 3 platforms, not all are needed to run the 4tph service

306024 · 14 Oct 2021

Which presumably means that restriction was removed for whatever reason at some point but it was always the case under Greater Anglia, at least for planned working.

O L Leigh · 14 Oct 2021

I’ve departed from P3 when I was still working over that side, so any restriction for older stock can’t have been that new. And that was with planned workings.

DPQ · 14 Oct 2021

Little off topic question, do Greater Anglia still divert to Enfield Town when the line through Chesunt is closed for engineering works, or was this lost when Lomdon Overground took over?

Peregrine 4903 · 14 Oct 2021

DPQ said:
Little off topic question, do Greater Anglia still divert to Enfield Town when the line through Chesunt is closed for engineering works, or was this lost when Lomdon Overground took over?

I doubt they do, as Arriva Rail London (London Overground) took over the Chesunt services too via Seven Sisters, and I doubt that it would make much sense for West Anglia services to divert into Enfield Town, but maybe they still do, I'm not sure.

87015 · 14 Oct 2021

GA/720 platform works planned at some point soon so may be that if not just regular tinkering. Plat 3 should get a daytime train pair from December as part of trackworker safety programme which sees various minor changes of that sort for the desperate.

Mcq · 15 Oct 2021

When platform 3's works are finnished would it be possible to run a service from it if platform 2 had an incident as happened recently when the whole branch was closed?
Similarly if a like incident occured in p3 could a service be maintained from p2?

gazr · 15 Oct 2021

Four STP services this Sunday 17/10 (info from OpenTrainTimes):

F81727	STP	1U38	XX	1240 London Liverpool Street - Enfield Town	2021-10-17	2021-10-17	SUN	LO
F81728	STP	1U61	XX	1733 Enfield Town - London Liverpool Street	2021-10-17	2021-10-17	SUN	LO
F81729	STP	1U68	XX	1811 London Liverpool Street - Enfield Town	2021-10-17	2021-10-17	SUN	LO
F81730	STP	1U73	XX	1905 Enfield Town - London Liverpool Street	2021-10-17	2021-10-17	SUN	LO

Paul Jones 88 · 15 Oct 2021

Years ago there were services from Enfield Town to Stratford, could they possibly return, it'd be really rather useful for the Stratford shopping centre.

BJames · 16 Oct 2021

306024 said:
As you correctly say platform 3 could only be used for ECS departures with 315s and 317s.

Can only guess it is to make the layout more flexible in the event of a points failure or similar. You don’t need three platforms to run the booked service, and where would any additional services go anyway as paths are not available into Liverpool St in the peak.

Three platforms at Enfield Town are only really useful when Spurs are at home. You can hold a couple of additional trains there which is particularly useful if extra time and penalties are involved.

I was told by ticket office staff there that the restriction was no 8-car working from P3 and that only 4-car could depart in passenger service from P3. When this platform was needed for a Spurs extra a couple of years ago (and before 710s), the service departed ECS from Enfield Town and ran in passenger service from Bush Hill Park.

306024 · 16 Oct 2021

BJames said:
I was told by ticket office staff there that the restriction was no 8-car working from P3 and that only 4-car could depart in passenger service from P3. When this platform was needed for a Spurs extra a couple of years ago (and before 710s), the service departed ECS from Enfield Town and ran in passenger service from Bush Hill Park.

Yes that was the case. I was talking about 8 car working but didn’t make that clear, and didn’t notice the photograph above was just a 4 car unit. There was a previous thread a while ago on Spurs football working that mentioned the Bush Hill Park starters.

mr_jrt · 16 Oct 2021

As I always do when something new railway-related catches my attention, I went looking at the history of the local railways. From what I could see, platform 3 at Enfield Town wasn't originally a passenger platform, but appears to have become one at some point - looks like it originally was just a siding on the edge of the goods yard, explaining the curvature.

Given the space that exists between platform 2 and 3 at the buffers, does anyone know why they don't simply straighten the platform? I can imagine it wasn't felt necessary when it was first converted, but presumably getting rid of a needlessly curved platform wuld be worthwhile in modern times?

Ediswan · 16 Oct 2021

mr_jrt said:
Given the space that exists between platform 2 and 3 at the buffers, does anyone know why they don't simply straighten the platform? I can imagine it wasn't felt necessary when it was first converted, but presumably getting rid of a needlessly curved platform wuld be worthwhile in modern times?

The curve may be needless, but unless it is causing a practical problem, nobody is going to spend the money to straighten it out as a matter of principle.

PeterC · 16 Oct 2021

Paul Jones 88 said:
Years ago there were services from Enfield Town to Stratford, could they possibly return, it'd be really rather useful for the Stratford shopping centre.

With current frequencies on the GOBLIN I doubt if it would be feasible.

Class 170101 · 17 Oct 2021

PeterC said:
With current frequencies on the GOBLIN I doubt if it would be feasible.

Insufficient distance between signals to hold an eight car on the Seven Sisters chord such as to wait slots between GOB and Seven Sisters routes as I doubt they actually line up to run straight through. Additionally to arrive at Seven Sisters from the GOB fouls the arrival of a train from Edmonton Green so trains in the up direction have to wait north of the station.

mr_jrt · 18 Oct 2021

Ediswan said:
The curve may be needless, but unless it is causing a practical problem, nobody is going to spend the money to straighten it out as a matter of principle.

It's not just a matter of principle though - I was under the impression that modern safety standards say curved platforms are more dangerous than straight ones, and given how simple that would be to rectify (put it OOU for the duration as it's rarely used, realign the track and then build out the platform) it would be an option for improving passenger safety. I suspect it would be worse if the curvature was the other way (as it would be a visibility issue), as it stands it's more of a gap issue. Anyway, was just curious.

Domk · 4 Nov 2021

I can confirm that platform improvement works on platform 3 have now been completed.

Mcq · 4 Nov 2021

Domk said:
I can confirm that platform improvement works on platform 3 have now been completed.

Has that involved any change to the OHL switching or are all 3 platforms still lumped as one circuit?

Enfield Town platform 3

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