"Jamie Thompson" wrote in message

On Oct 7, 7:41 pm, Robin9 wrote:
David Cantrell;123554 Wrote:



There will be no Overground services going *through* Clapham
Junction, and no services starting at Clapham Junction, going all
the way round the circle, and ending at Clapham Junction.

Does anyone know why not? I distinctly remember hearing Ken
Livingstone in his day saying that the London Overground would
provide London for the first time ever with a circular service
through the suburbs. He quite obviously saw the London Overground as
a kind of Outer Circle Line.

Currently we have services from New Cross etc terminating at Highbury
And Islington while other services from Stratford go through Highbury
And Islington to Clapham Junction. Why is this arrangement better
than a straightforward Outer Circle system?

--
Robin9

Because it provides terminating points where the service can recover
as well as provide isolation from disruptions on the other half.

Think about what happens on the inner Circle Line when a train breaks
down. Nothing can pass it, so services back up, and until you get to a
point where you can reverse trains, everything grinds to a halt.

In an ideal world, you'd perhaps have two semi-circular services
operating on the Circle instead: Something like Kings Cross to South
Kensington via Liverpool St., and Kings Cross to South Kensington via
Notting Hill Gate. Problem is that some will want to get from one half
to the other without changing. Notting Hill to Liverpool St is easy -
use the Central Line, but something like Paddington to Aldgate is a
bit more problematic. Have another pair of overlapping services
perhaps, maybe between Tower Hill & Paddington...but space for the
terminating platforms needed is hard to find, so the ideal locations
aren't always possible.

Well, that's why the Circle line is no longer circular: it's two
services that meet at Edgware Road. If you want to go from Bayswater to
Baker St, you have to change trains (unless you choose to go the much
longer wrong way round).