On Aug 16, 12:47*am, andypurk wrote:
On Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:22:34 +0100, Peter Masson *



wrote:

"cj" wrote

Do 2 Chiltern trains an hour really necessitate the suspension of the
Greenford trains (AFAIK they weren't even running up that branch, but
turning off at Acton?) Could FGW not have run a Hayes/Hanwell-
Greenford service (as they have done before e.g. Ladbroke Grove/lorry-
v-train incident at West Ealing)?

Much of Old Oak Common West Junction to Northolt Junction is single *
track, and the permitted speed is pretty low (40 mph?). So it's almost *
certainly necessary for a proportion of the Chiltern trains to be routed *
via Drayton Green. They will also take up Relief Line paths between West *
Ealing and Paddington, and occupy platforms at Paddington. It does *
however seem that Network Rail and fGW have given up too easily, and it *
should certainly be easier to find out what's going on.

The walk from West Ealing to Drayton Green isn't actually all that far.

Peter

On Sunday, all trains were using the direct line and the Greenford branch *
was out of use, with stop boards at the junctions around Greenford. As the *
Paddington - West Ruislip time is only 21-22 minutes, trains were either *
passing on the double track section between Park Royal and Greenford West *
Junction (which runs for just over 2 1/2 miles in the middle of the *
otherwise single track 7 mile long section) or between Paddington and Old *
Oak Common West Junction. Services were running to at 20/40 minute *
interval out of Paddington and a 24/36 minute interval into Paddington. A *
similar pattern seems possible with the weekday 30 minute frequency and it *
does look like FGW/Network Rail just can't be bothered to either run into *
Acton Yard or to run round the west curve to Hanwell (or Hayes) to reverse.

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The presence of stop boards implies something was going on. One
wonders that in the absence of paths, and given the opportunity
presented by a two-week blockade, if TPTB have decided to take the
opportunity to do some major renewals on the branch.