On 23 May, 13:04, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sun, 23 May 2010 12:34:48 +0100, "Paul Scott"





wrote:

"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 22 May 2010 23:50:57 -0700 (PDT), Richard Adamfi
wrote:

I got the first Overground train from West Croydon due at 0642. *It
actually came at 0649.

Well I was at Dalston at about 0635 but that's just how the buses worked
out to get me there before 0656.

The ticket office was closed so I had to use Oyster for the first
trip.

Unfortunately the station did not open until 0707 when a driver came up
from his train to find the staff. The first train therefore had been and
gone. He released the door from the inside. *The station staff were
outside with the passengers waiting for a key to turn up. *The platform
displays were showing the wrong train on the wrong platform for some
reason. Needless to say there was no opportunity for the staff to hand
out the freebies as they'd only just made it into the station.

All I can say is "not very good". *Thankfully there was only a handful
of people around that early in the day at Dalston.

They didn't preview at this sort of time last weekend then? A shame because
one of the major selling points of LO is the staffed stations - perhaps they
could allow a few more individuals their own keys...

I understand preview service started at 0800 on a Sunday. *I expect
lessons will be learnt. *There'll be plenty more as they get more and
more passengers.

... The passenger
info system there got "its knickers in a twist" about what train was
going from what platform but eventually it sorted itself out. It
initially thought the ELLX was going from the bay platform which is
something of a physical impossibility!

AIUI the ELL trains will normally run through P4 to the new reversing
siding, then return through P2, but I don't think there is any physical
reason why P1 couldn't be used if needed?

The ELL did terminate on P4 and then headed for the turnback. Coming
from the west it is not possible to reach platform 1 from what I could
see. I'm not terribly familiar with West Croydon's track layout so I
guess you're saying they could route a ELL train to terminate in P1
rather than sending it through P4 and the turnback?

I was also a bit boggled about the "physical impossibility" comment,
but I infer that you meant that the train was already in the turnback
siding, from which it's then not possible to reach platform 1.
Obviously trains from the east turn round in platform 1 all the time.


What I noticed at Forest Hill southbound yesterday though was a fairly
complete diagram of the various suburban routes, round to Victoria, to
Sutton and East Croydon. There are pictures available online - they can be
found in the District Dave forum's current thread about LO/SN station
signage...

I'm quite intrigued by this, because it is basically what I was suggesting
was needed in a discussion here a good few months back - I was concerned
that the helpful 'Overground Network Mark 1' style route diagrams would be
lost to new LO policy...

I think I have seen those photos. Anything which keeps things clear for
passengers has to be good. *Obviously it is early days but I hope that
once the stations have been refurbished with new signs that there will
be comprehensive signage that reflects the existence of Southern's
services. It would be unacceptable for a new service like the ELL to end
up creating a new segregationist mentality on the rail network. *

We have to hope that South Eastern at New Cross end up recognising the
existence of the ELL service.

Talking of which, I was trying to contrive a reason to use the ELL on
its first full day (still haven't used it), but I couldn't be arsed
when I found that South Eastern isn't serving New Cross today.

And off at a tangent as usual ... The Bexleyheath line had
overcrowding at rush hour levels today because the trains were only
four coaches despite being the first in the bunch of the half-hourly
flighted service of all Lewisham and Dartford services via the Tanners
Hill single track.



I'm not keen on the approach to timetables in the new ELL leaflet. *A
very odd mix of frequency guide for the "core" section, first and last
trains and then "real" timetable but only from Surrey Quays southwards.
If I was commuting from Sydenham to Shoreditch High Street I would find
the leaflet almost impenetrable in terms of knowing the times that the
trains departed and arrived. *I sincerely hope there is a switch to a
full timetable layout for the ELL as happens with all of the other
Overground lines. *It would be horrendous if the ELL leaflet is a
precursor to the approach to be adopted for the NLL when services become
more frequent than every 10 minutes.
--
Paul C- Hide quoted text -

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