On 08/10/2010 23:13, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:23:34 +0100, wrote:

For the first time in ages I'm using the Underground, specifically the
District between Whitechapel and Temple, changing to and from the ELL.
The contrast between the two is extreme - I'm shocked at how decrepit
the trains, track and some stations are on the District, and how awfully
slow it is. I guess it's going to be like that for a long time or until
bits drop off (oh, they are about to...).

Well you are swapping from a nearly new railway to one that awaits a
major modernisation. Even so I would not call the D Stock decrepit - OK
so they aren't air conditioned like 378s but they're roomy enough, have
been refurbished and I think they ride reasonably well.

I agree. I have never heard a bad word about them, and I have never
heard a driver complain about them either. Indeed, they tell me that
they are quite good trains.

Compared to C Stock they are a delight to use!

I don't ever recall hearing anything bad about C-Stocks, to be fair.
62As also get rather good reviews from crews.

I'm also a bit surprised by the track comments too - a fair amount of
track work has been done on the District so it's not as awful as it used
to be. Again it's not a brand new formation like the ELLX but I wouldn't
describe it as on the edge of collapse.

I wouldn't say that either. They actually achieve pretty good speeds
around South Kensington.

Stations - well some have been done but many have not because of the
Metronet collapse. There are some District Line stations that leave a
lot to be desired but that will be the case for a very long time given
money is being directed to new trains, signalling and track.

I've heard that they are going to have to lengthen platforms on some
parts of the sub-surface stations in order to accommodate the S stock.
As a result, we will not see them running on the Metropolitan Line east
of Baker Street for a while to come.

Any truth in that?

The D Stock is proving a little troublesome at present due to problems
with the bars that hold the current collection shoes. Cracks have been
found during the regular inspection regime so some trains are out of
service awaiting repair and a full fleet check is being / has been done
as is normal practice. The trains are over 30 years old so I guess it's
possible something might give out by now.

Thanks for that. Any idea how long that will take?