London Banter - View Single Post - Southern Metro platform extensions (was TfL grant LOROL 2 year extension)

Roland Perry · February 27th 13, 06:20 AM posted to uk.transport.london

In message , at 15:35:56
on Tue, 26 Feb 2013, remarked:
They also used SUO (selective unit opening - I just made that up) on
the rear unit of some 4+4 (or maybe 5+5) Meridians between Nottingham
and Loughborough southbound in the morning each hour, opening up the
rear unit for the first time at Leicester.

Infamously, Meridians (like Voyagers) don't have a corridor
connection between the two units.

Some FCC slows from Cambridge to the Cross do that, even using 317 units
that do have corridor connections. An 8-car leaves Cambridge with the back
unit locked out and stops at stations to Royston with only the front 4-car
unit occupied. At Royston they open up the back unit.

Sounds like exactly the same solution is being applied there.

And looking the other way through the telescope, last year I was on an
Electrostar from Liverpool St to Ely, having been sent from Stansted via
Bishops Stortford because XC had collapsed, and they had locked the
corridor connection to the front unit - which was confusing because they
wanted people travelling north of Cambridge to move into that unit while
they split the rest of the train off at Cambridge. The explanation in
uk.r at the time was they didn't want to spend extra time at Cambridge
locking the connection before splitting.
--
Roland Perry