In the thread "Crossrail preferred route" earlier this month, I raised the
question of what happens to the 6 tph westbound after 12 tph go to Richmond
(of which 4 tph continue to Kingston) and 6 tph go to Heathrow. At the
exhibition in Paddington Library this week, a Crossrail representative said
that the remaining 6 tph would terminate at Paddington. They would then run
empty up to the surface where some reversing sidings would be provided.

The Crossrail station at Paddington will have only 2 platforms. This means
that in the peak 24 tph westbound service, every fourth train will have to
be emptied on the sole westbound track, presumably with tube-style positive
checks that each of the 10 cars is empty, before proceeding to the sidings.
Is this practicable when the service interval is 2.5 minutes? The only
similar situation on LU that I can think of is at Rayners Lane, but I think
that the combined Piccadilly/Metropolitan frequency there is not as
demanding. Are there any other examples of trains in a frequent service
being terminated on the same track as following through services?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)