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London Bridge - new timetable during reconstruction works commencing 5th January 2015

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Bald Rick

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Hilarious situation with 2P21 this morning (East Croydon to Victoria via Norbury) which I assume was delayed due to issues at London Bridge.

Nothing to do with London Bridge, there was a track circuit failure near Balham.
 
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Minstral25

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I was told last night that yet another timetable change for the Brighton Main Line with the July franchise ending for Southern and the new GTR Southern Management contract taking over?

Any truth in this? I am aware of the major changes planned in December 2015 - is this someone getting there dates mixed up?
 

Bald Rick

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I was told last night that yet another timetable change for the Brighton Main Line with the July franchise ending for Southern and the new GTR Southern Management contract taking over?

Any truth in this? I am aware of the major changes planned in December 2015 - is this someone getting there dates mixed up?

Yes, they are getting their dates mixed up! No major change until December, and even then the peak is largely unchanged.
 

sarahj

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Yes, the only difference is our uniform will change from green to grey.

The issue of us as staff is info overload, or then it just stops. With our blackberries mk1 that holds a charge for 2 days at the most, when you get delays you either get loads of messages, trying to sort the wheat from the chaff, or none at all, then one comes through, ticket office at Mitcham Eastfields closed. :roll: I know the guys in control have a hectic job, but it can be a pain as frontline staff.

But then again you can give out announcements until your blue in the face, but someone with their headphones in will moan. Some folks just tune out them anyway. Even the welcome ones can be OTT. It's easy to spot the ones who used to work at Airline staff :lol:

If I'm on a train running late into Lewes I will often call the box for info on connections. When they go in the next upgrade it will be the platform staff, and well.....some are good. We also have the NRE app on our phone which can be good for connections and platforms, but some places it will not load up and sucks the battery dry on my phone.
 

30907

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Yes, they are getting their dates mixed up! No major change until December, and even then the peak is largely unchanged.

But the NRT shows two sets of times, which might not unreasonably lead people to think there are changes.

In fact, all that changes is the letters at the top of the columns, from SN to TL. Waste of paper or disk space, but that's OT and the failings of the NRT have been done to death elsewhere.
 

carriageline

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l

If I'm on a train running late into Lewes I will often call the box for info on connections. When they go in the next upgrade it will be the platform staff, and well.....some are good.


Question, why won't you ring the box when Lewes comes up the ROC? I regularly hold connections at Hampden Park for the branch, definitely the infamous Dn Loondon Bridges.
 

swt_passenger

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But the NRT shows two sets of times, which might not unreasonably lead people to think there are changes.

In fact, all that changes is the letters at the top of the columns, from SN to TL. Waste of paper or disk space, but that's OT and the failings of the NRT have been done to death elsewhere.

There's no need to change them all to TL anyway. They've told us time and again that there will remain four public facing brands of Great Northern, Thameslink, Southern, and GatEx. TL and GN already have different NRTT letter codes, why doesn't SN remain?

There might be some logic in changing certain routes to TL if that is their ultimate home - i.e. they eventually become services through the core, but I think at this time it will turn out to have been a production error by someone misreading the brief...
 

FOH

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How did London Bridge cope with the issues on Southern lines last night? I got a text from a friend at 1750 which just said "chaos, avoid" so I did. Seeing nothing posted here makes me wonder if it wasn't as bad as I was led to believe.
 

Bald Rick

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How did London Bridge cope with the issues on Southern lines last night? I got a text from a friend at 1750 which just said "chaos, avoid" so I did. Seeing nothing posted here makes me wonder if it wasn't as bad as I was led to believe.

Punctuality wasn't good, about a third of the peak was cancelled and only half of what was left departed within 5 mins of booked time.

However there were no absolutely issues with crowding at the station itself.
 

Deepgreen

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Punctuality wasn't good, about a third of the peak was cancelled and only half of what was left departed within 5 mins of booked time.

However there were no absolutely issues with crowding at the station itself.

Interesting - I was talking to someone this morning who said she was unable to get into the station at about 1815, and was directed to the buses instead. She was told that Victoria was suffering and so elected to go to Waterloo. Unfortunately she chose the 521 which takes a roundabout route!
 

Class377/5

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There's no need to change them all to TL anyway. They've told us time and again that there will remain four public facing brands of Great Northern, Thameslink, Southern, and GatEx. TL and GN already have different NRTT letter codes, why doesn't SN remain?

There might be some logic in changing certain routes to TL if that is their ultimate home - i.e. they eventually become services through the core, but I think at this time it will turn out to have been a production error by someone misreading the brief...

I think it's a simple thing that the railway internal systems changes to show all Southern services under the one TOC, GTR, so the timetable agrees. Don't forget every Southern service will actually be a Thameslink company train. But the branding point you make is valid, however I suspect it's just simple down to using the database that requires the railway to treat all of the TOC one. However that doesn't explain GN is different unless is a region based thing?
 

tsr

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Interesting - I was talking to someone this morning who said she was unable to get into the station at about 1815, and was directed to the buses instead. She was told that Victoria was suffering and so elected to go to Waterloo. Unfortunately she chose the 521 which takes a roundabout route!

London Victoria and Clapham Junction had a fair few diverted passengers. Presumably quite a lot of those at Clapham Jn had come from Waterloo, Surrey Quays etc. There were also rather more people waiting for connecting services at East Croydon - more than usual and probably at the same level of demand as Victoria. Looking at the volumes, I'd say a pretty large proportion of passengers diverted on their routes home. On the trains I was involved with, there were probably at least 30% more people travelling from Victoria vice London Bridge or changing en-route. For coastbound trains, I think the volumes of passengers travelling on alternative routes looked to be considerably higher than that. So it does at least seem that the messages from Southern about diverting to alternative routes worked to some extent. I should imagine queues at London Bridge were mainly formed of people who could not stomach a further trek across London if they had come from somewhere East of there, or else those to whom the message had not got through for whatever reason (or, dare I say it, reached deaf ears). 'Tis often now thus.
 
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Deepgreen

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Finally managed to pick up pocket timetables this morning at LBG. The Redhill route one only runs until 6 September with others running to December. What changes are planned for Redhill in September?
 

hwl

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Finally managed to pick up pocket timetables this morning at LBG. The Redhill route one only runs until 6 September with others running to December. What changes are planned for Redhill in September?
Leaf fall timetable?
 

FenMan

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Leaf fall timetable?

If leaves start falling off trees in the Redhill area in September then extensive research should be undertaken into discovering more about this remarkable micro-climate. :D
 

Class 170101

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If leaves start falling off trees in the Redhill area in September then extensive research should be undertaken into discovering more about this remarkable micro-climate. :D

Might well be now - how many leaves actually hang on until about late October now ;)
 

BzRail

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...I should imagine queues at London Bridge were mainly formed of people who could not stomach a further trek across London if they had come from somewhere East of there, or else those to whom the message had not got through for whatever reason (or, dare I say it, reached deaf ears). 'Tis often now thus.

Or somebody who had just done the 20 minute walk from near Waterloo to London Bridge, having checked live departure boards and disruption status just before leaving the office (just 1 cancelled Littlehampton train, with no reason given). It is remarkable how often problems seem to occur and escalate in that short period, must be s*ds law:(. I don't do the phone zombie thing (staring at the screen, and not looking where I'm going) while on a brisk walk.

It was actually necessary to get into the station to get a clearer picture of what was happening. Staff were doing a decent job this time of keeping passengers informed. We were told nothing was running towards East Croydon/Brighton, although apparently an Eastbourne service did leave soon after (probably too full to get on anyway).

Access to LU Jubilee was closed due to crowding, so I took the Northern Line to St. Pancras (on a NOT UNDERGROUND ticket) and Thameslink from there.
Ticket acceptance was fine both ends. Got home over an hour later than normal.

This could well be another case of information not being made available soon enough for people (like me) to act on it. There will have been thousands on the tube already with no phone signal. I don't actually know the timing in this case, perhaps staff involved can comment?

Cheers,
Barry.
 

neilm

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Or somebody who had just done the 20 minute walk from near Waterloo to London Bridge, having checked live departure boards and disruption status just before leaving the office (just 1 cancelled Littlehampton train, with no reason given). It is remarkable how often problems seem to occur and escalate in that short period, must be s*ds law:(. I don't do the phone zombie thing (staring at the screen, and not looking where I'm going) while on a brisk walk.

It was actually necessary to get into the station to get a clearer picture of what was happening. Staff were doing a decent job this time of keeping passengers informed. We were told nothing was running towards East Croydon/Brighton, although apparently an Eastbourne service did leave soon after (probably too full to get on anyway).

Access to LU Jubilee was closed due to crowding, so I took the Northern Line to St. Pancras (on a NOT UNDERGROUND ticket) and Thameslink from there.
Ticket acceptance was fine both ends. Got home over an hour later than normal.

This could well be another case of information not being made available soon enough for people (like me) to act on it. There will have been thousands on the tube already with no phone signal. I don't actually know the timing in this case, perhaps staff involved can comment?

Cheers,
Barry.
Interesting I normally walk to blackfriars, is it quicker to get the tube to St pancras?
 

Deepgreen

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A poor one this morning, with a late start from Redhill for 2B30 (and the predictably-wrong platform information there!) compounded by long delays on the LBG approaches. 16L arrival.
 

BzRail

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Interesting I normally walk to blackfriars, is it quicker to get the tube to St pancras?

Probably not, it is just that the trains are almost empty at St. Pancras, by the time they get to Blackfriars most/all the seats have gone. I had a St. Pancras ticket anyway so wasn't taking unfair advantage.

If I had known about the problem before leaving work, then I would have walked to Blackfriars directly and possibly gone north then south to get a seat.
The London Bridge works now result in less choice on Thameslink, with only half the trains running south of Three Bridges.

My main objective was to avoid the herd/crowd rather than contributing to it.

Cheers,
Barry.
 

Bishopstone

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Southern website stating 'Good Service' on BML/Coastway mainline at 18.00, when I left the office.

Arrived at LBG to find the 18.23 to Eastbourne too packed to board, at 18.20, and it was just about the only train in the shed at this time. Clearly multiple cancellations/delays and nothing like a 'good' service.

Long wait for the next train to ECR - the very late Horsham/Reigate (18.26?). This arrived at ECR just in time to watch the 18.46 VIC-Coastway pull out. ECR takes an age to navigate thanks to the Mr O'Reilly building project abandoned at the half-way stage.

The 19.16 VIC - Coastway is currently 19 down, and will miss the 20.28 Seaford connection at Lewes, so I'll rock home at about 21.15 versus 19.47. And this is a 'good' service!

Southern tell me I can claim Delay Repay based upon the 18.23 being impossible to board. I expect a fight, especially for a 60 minute plus claim.
 

infobleep

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Southern website stating 'Good Service' on BML/Coastway mainline at 18.00, when I left the office.

Arrived at LBG to find the 18.23 to Eastbourne too packed to board, at 18.20, and it was just about the only train in the shed at this time. Clearly multiple cancellations/delays and nothing like a 'good' service.

Long wait for the next train to ECR - the very late Horsham/Reigate (18.26?). This arrived at ECR just in time to watch the 18.46 VIC-Coastway pull out. ECR takes an age to navigate thanks to the Mr O'Reilly building project abandoned at the half-way stage.

The 19.16 VIC - Coastway is currently 19 down, and will miss the 20.28 Seaford connection at Lewes, so I'll rock home at about 21.15 versus 19.47. And this is a 'good' service!

Southern tell me I can claim Delay Repay based upon the 18.23 being impossible to board. I expect a fight, especially for a 60 minute plus claim.
How long does it take from problems that occur to them being mentioned on Southern and / or National Rail Enquiries Web Site? I would expect Twitter to broadcast the information first of course.
 

Bishopstone

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How long does it take from problems that occur to them being mentioned on Southern and / or National Rail Enquiries Web Site? I would expect Twitter to broadcast the information first of course.

There was nothing on Twitter to suggest significant issues at LBG, either, and the Southern App, where I have my common journeys 'pinned', suggested a smooth ride tonight.
 

FOH

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Very messy tonight, I turned around and went another way. Feels like we're back to the old (January) days again.
 

infobleep

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There was nothing on Twitter to suggest significant issues at LBG, either, and the Southern App, where I have my common journeys 'pinned', suggested a smooth ride tonight.
Perhaps the delays were gradual for many services that it wasn't immediately obvious there were major issues. I remember being told on Twitter that most trains need to be delayed by 15 minutes before they put up noted about issues.
 

Class377/5

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Do believe it wad mutliple issues that occurred during peak the same time (one biggie at Victoria) that started the trouble.
 

BzRail

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How long does it take from problems that occur to them being mentioned on Southern and / or National Rail Enquiries Web Site? I would expect Twitter to broadcast the information first of course.

Same answer as always, it takes way too long. We can't expect notification to be instant, because it will take time to assess the impact of many problems. But, this does seem another case of a rail company choosing not to publish known information which is essential to passengers trying to get home. Probably the same old marketing spin mentality, avoid any negative messages.

I assume (correct? I don't know) that problems were caused by crew and/or trains being out of place due to the signal failure around Victoria.

When I left work, everything out of LBG was showing as on time (a Horsham/Tonbridge was cancelled earlier). I caught the 17:57 Brighton, which was on-time (ish), just a bit more crowded than usual. I feel sorry for those who weren't so lucky.
 

infobleep

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Same answer as always, it takes way too long. We can't expect notification to be instant, because it will take time to assess the impact of many problems. But, this does seem another case of a rail company choosing not to publish known information which is essential to passengers trying to get home. Probably the same old marketing spin mentality, avoid any negative messages.

I assume (correct? I don't know) that problems were caused by crew and/or trains being out of place due to the signal failure around Victoria.

When I left work, everything out of LBG was showing as on time (a Horsham/Tonbridge was cancelled earlier). I caught the 17:57 Brighton, which was on-time (ish), just a bit more crowded than usual. I feel sorry for those who weren't so lucky.
It does seem to be that if their is a big technical problem it will get reported but if it's congestion caused my mind or issues or perhaps even a big technical problem elsewhere, it's less likely to be reported, even if the delays are just as bad.
 

Deepgreen

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Very messy tonight, I turned around and went another way. Feels like we're back to the old (January) days again.

Yes - very poor again. I was at Crawley late afternoon and had a 45 minute wait to get to Horsham, where I missed the train on the Dorking route. One train was "cancelled" at Crawley, only to run through ECS anyway! The train I caught from Crawley was over 20 late.

Poor yet again this morning on the Redhill route owing to a power problem at Coulsdon South (SB only). Trains piling up at Redhill with minimal information and no apparent urgency to dispose of them - a Reigate train was at the head of platform 3 for ages and the Tonbridge portion of the 0840 to LBG similarly at the head of platform 2. Why the Reigate train could not have simply gone to Reigate as scheduled was unclear!
 

SF-02

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Not a great night tonight either by the looks of it. New Cross problems?
 
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