asdf wrote:
TfL are set to direct the Silverlink Metro services soon,


Any idea how soon is soon?

The whole Silverlink Metro under TfL plan is essentially a pilot project
under the new Railways Act 2005 which provides for enhanced powers for
devolved administrations. Most of the Act is supposed to be in force by
November; it's anyone's guess when TfL would be allowed to get their
eager mitts on Silverlink Metro. I'd guess either latter half of this
year or early half or next year - their plans seem to be quite advanced
but it all depends on what the DfT decide.

and they are
seriously considering re-extending the Bakerloo to Watford and
re-assessing the Silverlink services - they consider that there is an
over-supply of service to central London between Wealdstone and Queen's
Park.


I think people here are underestimating how popular Euston is as a
destination - last time I was in the area around morning peak time
(Willesden Junction at 9:30am on a weekday), the southbound Bakerloo
trains were practically empty (even the ones that hadn't just come
from the depot), but when a southbound Silverlink turned up (7 mins
late) it was *packed solid*. Don't forget the Silverlink runs almost
non-stop from Queen's Park to Euston (a fair distance), which is handy
if you want that part of London without all the faffing around in the
Warwick Ave/Paddington area. According to CULG, the reason the
Bakerloo was cut back from Watford to Wealdstone was that almost all
passengers north of Wealdstone wanted to go to Euston.

I've noticed this on CULG before too, and it did make me wonder about
the TfL proposal.

It would be enlightening to see where they wanted to go upon reaching
Euston - are they generally heading for the West End or City (and
therefore need to change to the Underground anyway, so they could find a
relatively painless alternative route using the Bakerloo) or are they
heading for the vicinity of Euston, where it would make a significant
difference to their journey time if they had to use the Bakerloo?

Similarly, if people north of Wealdstone want to go to Euston, perhaps
they would be better served by a train which didn't stop at all stations
south thereof?

To be honest I'd probably be happiest with the status quo, provided
they can get everything running on time. Otherwise, I think it'd be
best if the Bakerloo were cut back to Queen's Park (except for depot
access) and the Silverlink frequency were boosted to a decent level
(say 12tph peak, 6tph off-peak?). Anyone wanting the Bakerloo would
have an easy cross-platform change at Queen's Park with only a short
wait (much of the time there's a Bakerloo already waiting in the
platform). The separation of services would presumably solve the
current problems, and there would be high frequencies all round (and
to both choices of central destination).

Presumably a reasonable number of passengers *south* of Wealdstone want
to go places other than Euston (as Wealdstone was chosen as the
truncated Bakerloo terminus), so running only Silverlinks north of
Queen's Park would be pretty unpopular.

Otherwise, I suppose another way to segregate the services would be to
extend the Bakerloo to Watford and turn the Silverlink into a Queen's
Park - Euston shuttle, but I don't think that would work as well or be
as popular.

A shuttle would probably be pointless given the availability of
alternative stations at Kilburn Park and Swiss Cottage with a much wider
range of destinations.

Some services from Watford might be diverted down the West London Line.


Would they be able to stop at Willesden Junction?

Not given the current infrastructure, but it would be possible if some
extra platforms were built... and maybe that would be possible using
some of the savings from not running the current Watford-Euston service
(presumably a hypothetical Watford-Clapham service would not be as high
frequency, so savings would be made).

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London