On Wednesday, 22 February 2017 09:39:56 UTC, wrote:
On Tue, 21 Feb 2017 09:56:48 -0800 (PST)
Paul Corfield wrote:
On Monday, 20 February 2017 13:15:34 UTC, wrote:
So in other words they didn't order enough 378s in the first place.

Oh for goodness sake. Of course they ordered enough trains. Things change. =

Really? So there was no expectation that the ELL from a major interchange like
highbury to canada water for a one stop to canary wharf would attract many
commuters? They should hire some new planners then.

hich doesn't need 5 car trains, to the ELL/NLL/WLL to allow *extra* peak se=
rvices to run because overcrowding is now so severe. This was not the case=

Overcrowding was severe back in 2014-15 when I used it which wasn't helped by
the incomprehensible decision to only have 2 doorways per car on the 378s
so it could literally take 1-2 minutes for people to unload at highbury and
canada water in the rush hour before anyone could get on.

It is also worth noting that the Class 710s come in two variants - AC only =
for West Anglia and Romford - Upminster servics and dual voltage for the GO=
BLIN and Watford routes. Therefore through services, if desired, will be p=
erfectly possible from the GOBLIN to NLL.

As you well know, you can't just run a train on a line without fully testing
and certifying it first. Are they planning on doing that with the 710s on
the NLL?

--
Spud

I think it is fair to say that rail demand growth has been more robust and for longer than anyone expected. Of course there would have been an assumption that demand would grow but reality is at odds with what was forecast. Furthermore the works at London Bridge and ongoing nightmares on Southern has affected the scale of demand on the ELL. If remarks made about demand for Crossrail upon opening prove correct then I dare say a lot of people will be moaning about planners then as well. The fact is that circumstances have changed in ways that were not anticipated.

Yes I do know the class 710s will have to go through a rigorous acceptance process before they can be used. I expect that some of the work being done in respect of the Class 345 acceptance should be transferable to the 710s as they're effectively the same type of train underneath. If nothing else it should ease the acceptance process but route specific clearance tests will still be needed. Whether the 710s will be passed for the entire Overground I have no idea. However given the way stock is sometimes transferred I suspect they may well be passed for not only the Overground but also some other routes in South London - to give access to New Cross Gate depot which I believe has a wheel lathe whereas Willesden doesn't (happy to be corrected on this). The AC only versions will be maintained at Ilford which I expect does have a wheel lathe given the vast fleet (Crossrail and LO) that will be maintained there.

--
Paul C
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