The South Central rail company has an advertisement in one of our local
newspapers trying to recruit staff for their new maintenance depot in
Bedford, of all places. Can they really be serious - it means a dead
train has to be pushed (or pulled) for at least 50 miles over the
supposedly fully occupied Thameslink tracks to get fixed?

I suppose the next logical step is for Thameslink trains to get
maintained in Swindon or maybe Crewe?

--
Clive Page

"Clive Page" wrote in message
...

The South Central rail company has an advertisement
in one of our local newspapers trying to recruit staff for
their new maintenance depot in Bedford, of all places.

Aren't Thameslink and South Central pretty much the same company anyway?

--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes

"Clive Page" wrote in message
...
The South Central rail company has an advertisement in one of our local
newspapers trying to recruit staff for their new maintenance depot in
Bedford, of all places. Can they really be serious - it means a dead
train has to be pushed (or pulled) for at least 50 miles over the
supposedly fully occupied Thameslink tracks to get fixed?

I suppose the next logical step is for Thameslink trains to get
maintained in Swindon or maybe Crewe?

The new depot is a Thameslink depot. It will be used in lieu of Selhurst
whilst the Thameslink network is split in two next year, whilst the new St.
Pancras Midland Road station is constructed and the Channel Tunnel links are
created. South Central maintenance will continue to be carried out at
Selhurst, as will maintenance of Thameslink stock operating the southern end
of the route. Bedford will operate as an outstation of Selhurst, maintaining
Thameslink stock operating the northern end of the route.

Clive Page wrote in message ...
The South Central rail company has an advertisement in one of our local
newspapers trying to recruit staff for their new maintenance depot in
Bedford, of all places. Can they really be serious - it means a dead
train has to be pushed (or pulled) for at least 50 miles over the
supposedly fully occupied Thameslink tracks to get fixed?

I suppose the next logical step is for Thameslink trains to get
maintained in Swindon or maybe Crewe?

A different point competely. But aren't Eurostar trains maintined
somewhere in Hertfordshire? Around WGC?
Wouldn't they be better off in Kent or Hampshire? How exactly do they
get that far north Of London?

On 10 Dec 2003 09:59:02 -0800, (CJG Now
Thankfully Living In The North) wrote:

Clive Page wrote in message ...
The South Central rail company has an advertisement in one of our local
newspapers trying to recruit staff for their new maintenance depot in
Bedford, of all places. Can they really be serious - it means a dead
train has to be pushed (or pulled) for at least 50 miles over the
supposedly fully occupied Thameslink tracks to get fixed?

I suppose the next logical step is for Thameslink trains to get
maintained in Swindon or maybe Crewe?

A different point competely. But aren't Eurostar trains maintined
somewhere in Hertfordshire? Around WGC?
Wouldn't they be better off in Kent or Hampshire? How exactly do they
get that far north Of London?

Eurostar trains that run for Eurostar are maintained at North Pole depot
which is in inner north west London. You can see them from the Great
Western Main line from paddington. They use the West London Line to near
Clapham Junction and then the main line into Waterloo.

I suspect you may be referring to the Eurostar sets used by GNER for the
White Rose express services. I think they are maintained at Bounds Green
depot where most of the GNER fleet is maintained. There are smaller
facilities to deal with minor servicing of GNER trains at Newcastle,
Edinburgh and IIRC Leeds.
--
Paul C
Admits to Working for London Underground!

"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
...

Eurostar trains that run for Eurostar are maintained at North Pole depot
which is in inner north west London. You can see them from the Great
Western Main line from paddington. They use the West London Line to near
Clapham Junction and then the main line into Waterloo.

I suspect you may be referring to the Eurostar sets used by GNER for the
White Rose express services. I think they are maintained at Bounds Green
depot where most of the GNER fleet is maintained. There are smaller
facilities to deal with minor servicing of GNER trains at Newcastle,
Edinburgh and IIRC Leeds.

No - the sets used by GNER for their White Rose service are also maintained
at North Pole. They use the North London line to get to/from King's Cross.
GNER-liveried sets can regularly be seen adjacent to the GW main line.

Eurostar trains that run for Eurostar are maintained at North Pole depot
which is in inner north west London. You can see them from the Great
Western Main line from paddington. They use the West London Line to near
Clapham Junction and then the main line into Waterloo.

I suspect you may be referring to the Eurostar sets used by GNER for the
White Rose express services. I think they are maintained at Bounds Green
depot where most of the GNER fleet is maintained. There are smaller
facilities to deal with minor servicing of GNER trains at Newcastle,
Edinburgh and IIRC Leeds.

I knew it was in Herfordshire somewhere.......
Wouldn't it better to build a depot somewhere on Waterloo line?
Isn't their space around Wimbledon?
Or even the one by Three Bridges in Sussex? I think Gatwick Express or
Virgin use it?

CJG Now Thankfully Living In The North wrote:
Eurostar trains that run for Eurostar are maintained at North Pole
depot which is in inner north west London. You can see them from the
Great Western Main line from paddington. They use the West London
Line to near Clapham Junction and then the main line into Waterloo.

I suspect you may be referring to the Eurostar sets used by GNER for
the White Rose express services. I think they are maintained at
Bounds Green depot where most of the GNER fleet is maintained. There
are smaller facilities to deal with minor servicing of GNER trains
at Newcastle, Edinburgh and IIRC Leeds.

I knew it was in Herfordshire somewhere.......

Bounds Green depot is in the London Borough of Haringey.

Wouldn't it better to build a depot somewhere on Waterloo line?
Isn't their space around Wimbledon?

Eurostar's? No, their space is not around Wimbledon; it's at North Pole.

Or even the one by Three Bridges in Sussex? I think Gatwick Express or
Virgin use it?

That's over 30 miles from Waterloo. I think you need lessons in geography
as well as grammar.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

"CJG Now Thankfully Living In The North" wrote in
message om...

I knew it was in Herfordshire somewhere.......
Wouldn't it better to build a depot somewhere on Waterloo line?
Isn't their space around Wimbledon?
Or even the one by Three Bridges in Sussex? I think Gatwick Express or
Virgin use it?

As in my previous response - Eurostars hired in by GNER are maintained by
Eurostar UK at North Pole depot, along with the rest of the Eurostar fleet.
Not at GNER's Bounds Green depot or anywhere else. As the hiring of
Eurostars to GNER will cease in 2006 why would they even consider building a
separate depot for them, when all the spares etc are at North Pole?

CJG Now Thankfully Living In The North wrote:
Eurostar trains that run for Eurostar are maintained at North Pole
depot which is in inner north west London. You can see them from the
Great Western Main line from paddington. They use the West London
Line to near Clapham Junction and then the main line into Waterloo.

I suspect you may be referring to the Eurostar sets used by GNER for
the White Rose express services. I think they are maintained at
Bounds Green depot where most of the GNER fleet is maintained. There
are smaller facilities to deal with minor servicing of GNER trains
at Newcastle, Edinburgh and IIRC Leeds.

I knew it was in Herfordshire somewhere.......
Wouldn't it better to build a depot somewhere on Waterloo line?

Why on earth would GNER want to do that when their services run north from
King's Cross? Waterloo is even further from KX than North Pole is