In message
,
D7666 writes
Both A and B at SPILL are used at weekends, although things do not
seem fixed from one weekend to the next, it depends on what actual
work is taking place.

Indeed. What needs to be changed are the signs at SPILL clearly
indicate the platforms for "Northbound" and "Southbound". This is very
misleading when both platforms are for northbound services, as happens
most evenings and weekends.

--
Clive Page

On 01/01/2011 13:56, Clive Page wrote:
In message
,
D7666 writes
Both A and B at SPILL are used at weekends, although things do not
seem fixed from one weekend to the next, it depends on what actual
work is taking place.

Thankyou. My surprise was not at the bi-directional working but that one
train could catch up with another when both (presumably) used the same
southbound platform at Kentish Town and the second one must wait for the
crossover points to be changed after the first one. Does the
bi-directional working extend as far north as Dock Junction and Kentish
Town?

Indeed. What needs to be changed are the signs at SPILL clearly indicate
the platforms for "Northbound" and "Southbound". This is very misleading
when both platforms are for northbound services, as happens most
evenings and weekends.

Agreed. Further, there are no signs above platform level at SPILL which
indicate intermediate stops so, if there is a choice of platform,
passengers have to memorise the timetable to decide which train meets
their needs.

On Jan 1, 6:17*pm, Peter Lawrence wrote:
On 01/01/2011 13:56, Clive Page wrote:

In message
,
D7666 writes
Both A and B at SPILL are used at weekends, although things do not
seem fixed from one weekend to the next, it depends on what actual
work is taking place.

Thankyou. My surprise was not at the bi-directional working but that one
train could catch up with another when both (presumably) used the same
southbound platform at Kentish Town and the second one must wait for the
crossover points to be changed after the first one. *Does the
bi-directional working extend as far north as Dock Junction and Kentish
Town?

Trains can run off of the up slow (as normal) into St Pancras and they
can also run off of the up fast, through P3 and then in the up
direction along the Down Slow which is what I suspect you saw. Coming
out both trains would need to run along the down slow for a short
period of time, the one using the up slow in the down direction would
have to wait for the train running down the down slow to clear into
platform 2 or 3 at Kentish Town first before crossing over onto the
down line. It is also possible that the overlap on the track circuits
could prevent the signal clearing until a train has cleared the
station or a time out has taken place. Not sure in this case.

Richard

On 01/01/2011 19:32, Fat richard wrote:
On Jan 1, 6:17 pm, Peter wrote:
On 01/01/2011 13:56, Clive Page wrote:

In message
,
writes
Both A and B at SPILL are used at weekends, although things do not
seem fixed from one weekend to the next, it depends on what actual
work is taking place.

Thankyou. My surprise was not at the bi-directional working but that one
train could catch up with another when both (presumably) used the same
southbound platform at Kentish Town and the second one must wait for the
crossover points to be changed after the first one. Does the
bi-directional working extend as far north as Dock Junction and Kentish
Town?

Trains can run off of the up slow (as normal) into St Pancras and they
can also run off of the up fast, through P3 and then in the up
direction along the Down Slow which is what I suspect you saw.

Thankyou, that explains it.

Coming
out both trains would need to run along the down slow for a short
period of time, the one using the up slow in the down direction would
have to wait for the train running down the down slow to clear into
platform 2 or 3 at Kentish Town first before crossing over onto the
down line. It is also possible that the overlap on the track circuits
could prevent the signal clearing until a train has cleared the
station or a time out has taken place. Not sure in this case.

Richard

On Sat, 1 Jan 2011 13:56:34 +0000, Clive Page wrote:

Indeed. What needs to be changed are the signs at SPILL clearly
indicate the platforms for "Northbound" and "Southbound". This is very
misleading when both platforms are for northbound services, as happens
most evenings and weekends.

There are no southbound trains?

--
jhk

On Jan 2, 9:23*pm, Jarle H Knudsen wrote:

most evenings and weekends.

There are no southbound trains?

Not at the times referred to no.

SB arrivals and NB departures only.

--
Nick

On Jan 1, 1:56*pm, Clive Page wrote:

Indeed. *What needs to be changed are the signs at SPILL clearly
indicate the platforms for "Northbound" and "Southbound". * This is very
misleading when both platforms are for northbound services, as happens
most evenings and weekends.


But is only temporary during the engineering works ...

.... and any passenger seeing those signs has actually already passed
the indicator displaying specific platform information ... there are
no other entrances on to the platforms than via the ground level
barrier line, and the indicators are right there.


--
Nick

In message
,
D7666 writes
... and any passenger seeing those signs has actually already passed
the indicator displaying specific platform information ... there are
no other entrances on to the platforms than via the ground level
barrier line, and the indicators are right there.

That's only true when the indicators are actually working (and often
they are not).


--
Clive Page

On Jan 3, 9:46*am, Clive Page wrote:
In message
,
D7666 writes

... and any passenger seeing those signs has actually already passed
the indicator displaying specific platform information ... there are
no other entrances on to the platforms than via the ground level
barrier line, and the indicators are right there.

That's only true when the indicators are actually working (and often
they are not).

If the indicators aren't working, you don't know which platform to go
for anyway, or where any northbound train you find is going, so
there's a bigger problem.

Proper use of of the variable displays is the answer. For some reason
the railways do have a tendency to use electronic screens for fixed
information and fixed signs for variable information.