On 11 Nov, 14:43, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 06:07:42 -0800, Mizter T wrote:
[crossposted to uk.transport.london and uk.railway]

Today Mayor Ken takes over the ex-Silverlink Metro routes such as the
North London Line as London Overground (LO). I specifically say Mayor
Ken as I don't think it would have happened without him lobbying the
government for this transfer of responsibilities. The inclusion of the
North London Railway (as the Silverlink Metro routes are now
collectively known) under TfL management was the result of the Mayor
and his team successfully persuading the DfT that this was the way
forward.

One very big early change is that there will be staff at all stations
(except the GOBLIN stations) for all the hours that the trains are
running - this is a big change for the better and will help people
feel more secure and cared for. I understand that station ticket
offices will be open for longer, whilst there will also be station
staff on and around the platforms, and there will also be roving
security staff who travel on the trains too (and these staff will be
monitoring GOBLIN stations). Trains will run later at night.
Passengers might actually have their tickets checked too - this was
previously a very rare event on these lines!

These are my very limited observations from a little walk to Walthamstow
Queens Road earlier today (already posted to a Yahoo group)

New ticket machine from Shere was alive and well and under its new
purpose built canopy. Apparently operated by Silverlink Trains
according to a label on the machine - ahem! Card and coin / note
acceptance was evident and obviously Oyster compatible with reader
and ability to load Oyster seasons or PAYG. The scrolling display
said tickets for today plus after 4pm it can sell you a ticket for
tomorrow which was a nice touch. Oyster readers were activated and
housed in the same units as used on Docklands stations. I don't
recall signs pointing out what they were though.

I was around Acton earlier in the week and fiddled around with some
Shere ticket machines at Acton Central and at South Acton. Not an
initially promising start as I seemingly managed to crash one at Acton
Central, though it reset itself some minutes later! The same thing
happened after a lady bought a ticket from it - the 'take your tickets
and change' confirmation screen just stayed on screen for ages.

However I'm pleased to report that I failed to get either of the two
machines at South Acton to crash! Some more observations on them - the
software loaded displayed London Overground branding on screen and the
TfL web address, albeit with some Silverlink colours on the menus (but
so what). The Oyster facilities were already alive on the machine -
but to activate the Oyster reader you need to press the "Oyster
products" 'button' on the touchscreen menu then touch your card on the
reader.

There is no 'View Journey History' facility as there is on LU ticket
machines. One can however buy a season Travelcard or bus pass starting
any day within the next seven days. Additionally the range of
Travelcard seasons offered seemed to encompass all the six London
zones, plus some (if not all) or the range of Travelcard season out to
zone D. Hence one can buy a season Travelcard for zones other than the
one the station is in, something that mirrors what (I think) is
already offered on LU ticket machines.

As Matthew Dickinson has already reported in a previous thread you can
top-up your Oyster PAYG credit in 5p multiples (unlike LU machines
which nowadays don't take 5p pieces any more). The proceedure for
topping up with cash is somewhat less user-friendly than the LU
machines - you have to enter on the virtual touchscreen numberpad the
amount you wish to top up by, then enter the appropriate cash.
Entering pennies rather than pounds is fiddly as the 'button' that
denotes the decimal point isn't marked as such, so you just have to
guess which one it is - something that needs to be amended. However
this method does allow you to top-up a certain specified amount by
cash and then get change (i.e. top-up £1.50 and get 50p change from a
£2 coin), potentially useful to some.


There was a metal portacabin present with the word "canteen" on it
but no one was inside and no windows uncovered. There was an
Overground employee present and he was on the Barking platform with
the passengers as a train was due. No outward change to the Class
150 when it arrived with a decent number of people on board and
about half a dozen boarded it. When the train left the employee came
over to the Gospel Oak platform.

I'm as certain as certain can be that at least one Silverlink class
150 livery already features a TfL roundel - presumably to indicate
that TfL paid for many extra services on the GOBLIN. However a quick
internet search has not revealed any photos to prove this.


The main platform indicator on the Gospel Oak platform was showing a
train for 10.23 being delayed until 11.07 but as it was after 11.07
when I got there I think that was defective. There were other
displays in the modular waiting rooms and these seemed to be showing
the correct details.

I don;t know whether that platform indicator is a new one, but there
are certainly new bright orange scrolling LED PIS displays going up
around the LO system, some at stations that I don''t think have ever
had any PIS screens or displays before (Kensal Green is one, I think
some stations on the GOBLIN are also in this position).


Platform posters showed the new Tube and Overground map that's valid
from today. In addition there was a "under new management" poster
showing this was now a TfL service and that immediate decorative
improvements would be made shortly. There was a full timetable and
that was more in the LU house style with New Johnston text and
orange line identity.

The new Tube map featuring the LO lines is now available on the TfL
website.

I'm going to make the presumption that TfL has been sensible and has
not paid for a new run of timetable booklets for the very short period
until 9 November, and will instead continue to hand out the existing
Silverlink Metro ones (which state on them that they're valid until 8
December). I'll test this at some point in the coming weeks!

Have any of the other new franchises wasted money by printing new
timetable booklets? I genuinely hope they haven't, but I fear at least
one might have - perhaps not least because the outgoing operator
refused to play along with such a plan (I wonder if Virgin is guilty
of this with regards to Cross Country, wishing to protect the Virgin
brand and all that - a report from the front line on this would be
interesting, less they get damned as a result of mere speculation!).


Not startling changes but clearly there's been an effort to get
things working and in line with the new operating requirements from
TfL.

Welcome, London Overground, and the best of luck to you.

I'll second that.
--
Paul C

Admits to working for London Underground!