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Old November 10th 09, 09:43 PM posted to uk.transport.london
David A Stocks[_3_] David A Stocks[_3_] is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Sep 2009
Posts: 69
Default First Capital Connect strike ...

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On 6 Nov, 00:31, "David A Stocks" wrote:
"CJB" wrote in message

...
and Southern are NOT accepting FCC tickets.

There is not only a dispute withy drivers on the FCC Bedford -
Brighton route. There is also a dispute between Southern and FCC
about accepting FCC tickets on Southern services.


Today I was at Gatwick having travelled down from Paddington via
Farringdon.


That seems like a bit of a sacrifice - it's far quicker to
travel via Victoria using the Bakerloo/Victoria lines.

I got there OK. However on the return journey in the
evening ALL of the FCC services northwards had been cancelled and my
only option was to travel on Southern to Victoria, and then get the
Circle Line to Paddington.


Uh? Victoria and Bakerloo lines are *much* faster. Even a 36 or 436
bus would be faster.


Interesting point. And yet travel isn't only about speed. There's
also comfort


Most of FCC's rolling stock on the route is extremely uncomfortable - the
exceptions are the 377s and ex-Brighton Express 319s, both of which had
their interiors specified by Southern or their predecessors.

and convenience to consider.


The change at Farringdon is a nightmare in either direction at most times of
day. It has all of the congestion you would find at Oxford Circus,
Paddington and Victoria AND you're forced to negotiate it on long and narrow
staircases instead of escalators or a cross-platform interchange. Using
Farringdon is *not* an intelligent way to reduce the number of changes,
especially as the FCC service crawls through the Thameslink core.

D A Stocks