Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sat, 7 Mar 2015 21:25:52 +0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

Paul Corfield wrote:
On Fri, 06 Mar 2015 20:06:01 +0000, Mizter T
wrote:

Easy... we don't need to be like that on here.

I don't see why posting about a failed train and the knock-on effects is
out of scope of this newsgroup.

I agree - I really don't understand what has triggered this bout of
"posting rage" from two normally very "placid" and polite posters.
Most odd.

And no one has to reply to try to justify their respective positions
as I don't want to read yet more backbiting.

One question about the actual incident: do you know how long the ELL was
completely shut down? If it was for just a matter of minutes, then it's
not surprising they didn't reverse the services at a crossover, but if it
was hours, then that's a different matter.

I don't have access to incident info. I believe it happened in the AM
peak or towards the end of it. Trains are full to overflowing from
the south and not exactly quiet elsewhere. As I have said before I
expect the tactic is to say the line is suspended to deter more people
turning up for trains. Then the process will be to get trains into
platforms if they are not already there. This is to reduce the risk
of people being stuck in the tunnel if there then is a need to
evacuate trains. Given the intensity of the ELL service and the
relative closeness of stations I'd imagine they'd have trains in
platforms pretty much within a couple of minutes.

The next tactic will be to determine what is wrong with the train and
whether it has to be "reset" or detrained and returned to depot -
assuming, of course, it can be moved.

The other problem on the ELL is that many of the platforms are narrow
and not very long and egress is limited at the older stops. Therefore
you can't keep emptying trains at such stations to reverse them -
assuming you have line capacity to run them somewhere else.

I'm obviously guessing here but there are not many refuge sidings on
the ELL core section so you really need to get trains beyond Surrey
Quays to be able to hide them away somewhere. The alternative is to
keep them stopped until the conked out train moves.

Thanks, that all makes good sense. I wonder how much redundancy the 4-car
378s have that would minimise the risk of a total breakdown? For example,
I know a lot of effort went into ensuring that the Pendos were carefully
designed to minimise this risk, with just about everything duplicated,
aircraft-style.