On 12 Feb 2007 14:30:58 -0800, Adrian wrote:

The cross platform interchange was very limited - only from trains which
arrived at platform 16 for onward travel by Underground towards the City,
and from the City to trains which departed from platform 13. When the layout
was altered, WR trains still used GWR AWS. To get to Paddington Suburban
involved running over track equipped with LT 3rd/4th rail electrification,
so the AWS shoe had to be hitched up out of the way. There was equipment to
do this between Westbourne Park and Royal Oak, but on average two or three
times a week it didn't work (or couldn't be proved to have worked). The
train had to be stopped; the driver had to phone the signaller; and a route
had to be set into Paddington Main (and trains were only scheduled into
Paddington Suburban when there wasn't a platform available in Paddington
Main). This all caused quite a lot of delay, and getting rid of these delays
outweighed the inconvenience caused to a few passengers by the loss of
cross-platform interchange.

A more elegant solution MAY have been to simply swap the platform
utilization. e.g. LT would have used the middle lines, platforms 14
and 15, whilst BR used the outer ones, 13 and 16. Had 16 been
connected using a long single track from west of Royal Oak there would
have been no crossing of LT on the flat and no problems with AWS.

Or they could have just made gaps in the conductor rails for the AWS
shoes to pass through...