|
|
| Re: West London Line & West Coast Main Line (Was: Cockfosters) (369719) | |||
 |
|||
| Home > SubChat | |||
|
[ Read Responses | Post a New Response | Return to the Index ] |
|
||
|
Re: West London Line & West Coast Main Line (Was: Cockfosters) |
|
|
Posted by David Fairthorne on Sun Jan 14 22:24:09 2007, in response to Re: West London Line & West Coast Main Line (Was: Cockfosters), posted by Rail Blue on Sat Jan 13 17:20:12 2007. The greatest demand for time-slots is during the peak hours and, as you have mentioned, through East Croydon.During the 08:00 to 08:59 hour the following numbers of trains arrive at London terminals after going via East Croydon: 17 at Victoria; 16 at London Bridge; 2 at Blackfriars (via Tulse Hill; continues towards Bedford); 0 at Kensington Olympia; 35 total. The PRAR website has station work books showing the rolling stock used on each Southern train that terminates. During the 08:00 to 08:59 hour there are 13 12-car trains, 12 8-car trains, 3 6-car trains and 1 4-car train; total 29 trains. The remaining six trains are the two Thameslinks (of unknown length) and the four Gatwick Expresses (believed to be 5-car or 8-car trains). The SRA reported that the biggest waste of time-slots was due to light use of the Gatwick Express in the peak hours. Without exception, all trains via Haywards Heath are 12 cars long in the 8 AM period; these are individual trains, not formed by merging shorter trains. Many of the shorter trains are shorter because of short platforms. The only ones that merge are some of the Tattenham and Caterham trains, which merge at Purley during the peak period to form 6 or 8 car trains. In order to provide a better service, some 12 car trains could be merged from shorter trains; that would also avoid selective door opening, as I think some 12-car trains stop at shorter platformed stations. Apart from that, I agree with the SRA that the Gatwick Express should be killed and replaced by trains from the coast that stop at Gatwick Airport and East Croydon. In my opinion that would make the best use of the route, at least in the rush hours. In the off-peak periods there is no real shortage of slots, and it's easier to devise a reasonable service pattern. But why merge trains at Gatwick Airport rather than Haywards Heath, and why don't all your trains call at Gatwick Airport? By the way, I did notice one Virgin train (probably the only one) that runs from Manchester to Brighton. |
|
|
|