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[email protected] · September 1st 13, 08:37 PM posted to uk.transport.london

On 01/09/2013 20:21, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sun, 1 Sep 2013 18:23:41 +0000 (UTC), d
wrote:

On Sat, 31 Aug 2013 18:26:49 +0100
Mizter T wrote:
On 31/08/2013 17:30, d wrote:
For closing the entire section of the Nothern Line for the entire w/e.

Cheers for that. Very considerate.

Utter ******s.

Yeah, I hate the fact that they're upgrading the line so it'll be more
reliable, will run with more trains on it and will move more people.
Such idiots. It's almost as if they think they're in the mass
transportation business.

And there was me thinking they could test the upgrades in sections. You know,
like they did with the Victoria line? Or even - and I know this is a radical
idea for LU - but how about at night! Gasp! But no, close the entire central
section for the w/e, much less hassle for them.

Like I said - ******s.

Hardly. While I agree that such large closures can be a pain it would
be an even worse pain if the signalling was not tested thoroughly and
you had Kennington and Camden Town junctions fall over on a regular
basis once the new system is switched on.

The Northern Line closures are far, far lower in number than any other
upgraded line in recent years. The Vic Line was closed across the
Central Area and elsewhere for weekend after weekend. We endured years
of early finishes on the line while tracks were replaced. The Jubilee
Line was a mess all on its own but that nightmare has meant loads of
lessons have been learnt which are being applied on the Northern Line
upgrade which is why the initial sections have switched over to the
new signalling with barely a glitch. Virtually all of the installation
work to put the system in place is being done at night which is why
the Northern Line is NOT closed every weekend for 5 years.

The Northern Line is a very complex operation and you need to get test
trains running through both junctions and all of the branches to make
sure you are giving the new system a robust "check". RATP did not
convert their Line 1 to ATO without line closures and late starts
*every* Sunday for months. As a different way of doing things I'd say
the Northern Line seltrac installation is going OK. I am sure you
WON'T agree with me but there you go!

When is the new signalling system expected to be up and running across
the line?