In reply to news post, which Peter Smyth
wrote on Fri, 6 Feb 2004 -

"Matthew P Jones" wrote in message
...

Now that funding the LUL is being sorted out perhaps some planning for
the Met can take place. New trains will arrive (OK in a few years) and
perhaps they can further tweak the signals and service patter to make
things more reliable - why do so many trains go to Watford and Uxbridge
with a lot at times almost empty?

Part of the 'turn up and go' policy requires timetabling of services to
run
to all destinations every 10 minutes.


Well perhaps for obvious reasons, there is no 10 minute service to
Amersham! I just wonder if they could tweak it to spread the service
more evenly to Uxbridge, Watford and Amersham - or even introduce
services that start and stop at Harrow and Rickmansworth

But there is a train every 10 minutes from London to Amersham if you include
the 2 Chiltern services.

Yes on average there is a 10 minute service, but some of the Chiltern
peak services do not stop at all stations and the two through Chesham
trains can make for an uneven pattern of service from Baker Street to
Amersham. Things are a lot better than they used to be, but having
waited on many occasions at Harrow for over 30 minutes during the rush
hour for a train to Amersham, it is incredible how many Watford and
Uxbridge trains go through half empty. The trains arrive well loaded at
Harrow and many people seem to then be waiting for trains to stations
from Rickmansworth onwards.

--
Matthew P Jones - www.amersham.org.uk
My view of the Metropolitan Line www.metroland.org.uk - actually I like it
Don't reply to it will not be read
You can reply to knap AT Nildram dot co dot uk

"Jack Taylor" wrote in message k...
Indeed so, although I think that the same applies to the travelling public.
Despite the vast fortunes being invested in visual and audible passenger
information systems (both on-train and on-station) a significant number of
people blatantly ignore them and, in their defence, I suspect that staff
trying to go about their daily tasks must get heartily sick of perpetually
being pestered by people with dumb questions, simply because they can't be
bothered to refer to the timetable posters or PIS, or listen to the
announcements. The faults lie on both sides and work both ways.

Theres no reason why current service information above and beyond the time
till the next 3 trains can't be presented on the dot matrix displays at all
stations. They've got the computer infrastructure to do it so why don't they?
Other countries can manage it.

B2003

"Boltar" wrote in message
om...

Theres no reason why current service information above and beyond the time
till the next 3 trains can't be presented on the dot matrix displays at
all
stations. They've got the computer infrastructure to do it so why don't
they?
Other countries can manage it.

I don't disagree - and most main stations already have CRT monitors in
addition to the dot matrix displays that show at least two pages of
forthcoming departures (some of the more recent installations have even
progressed to TFT monitors). That, in addition to clearly marked
"Information" points on the concourse where all the poster departures sheets
are centrally located.

The thing is that many of the people that we are discussing here are simply
too lazy (or stupid?) to bother using *any* facilities provided and,
whatever and however many new features you introduce, they still won't use
them if it means them walking ten feet down the platform. God only knows how
they would have managed to travel twenty years ago when the only information
available was from timetable posters and tannoy announcements!

Theres no reason why current service information above and beyond the time
till the next 3 trains can't be presented on the dot matrix displays at all
stations. They've got the computer infrastructure to do it so why don't they?
Other countries can manage it.

B2003

The irony of the Met line in the Harrow are is that while down the
line at Northwick Park where there are two platforms and not much
point changing trains they have dot matrix displays showing 2 or 3
trains.
However (unless its changed in the last 6 months). Harrow on the Hill.
A big station with lots of interchanges for many services you have the
old fixed board that lights up with the destnation of the train often
5 minuites after its been announced on the P.A. and quite often just
as the train is pulling in to the station.
So you don't know how long you have to wait. Or when the train to the
destnation you want is going to arrive. And if your going into the
city its pointless having semi-fast services as a stopping service
comes in and you don't know whether when (or IF) the semi-fast service
is coming so you either let it go only to have the next train a
stopping service. Or get on the stopping service to have a semi-fast
speed past you at Northwick Park

CJG Now Thankfully Living In The North wrote:
Theres no reason why current service information above and beyond
the time till the next 3 trains can't be presented on the dot matrix
displays at all stations. They've got the computer infrastructure to
do it so why don't they? Other countries can manage it.

B2003

The irony of the Met line in the Harrow are is that while down the
line at Northwick Park where there are two platforms and not much
point changing trains they have dot matrix displays showing 2 or 3
trains.
However (unless its changed in the last 6 months). Harrow on the Hill.
A big station with lots of interchanges for many services you have the
old fixed board that lights up with the destnation of the train often
5 minuites after its been announced on the P.A. and quite often just
as the train is pulling in to the station.
So you don't know how long you have to wait. Or when the train to the
destnation you want is going to arrive. And if your going into the
city its pointless having semi-fast services as a stopping service
comes in and you don't know whether when (or IF) the semi-fast service
is coming so you either let it go only to have the next train a
stopping service. Or get on the stopping service to have a semi-fast
speed past you at Northwick Park

And it is that very complexity which makes installation at such a place more
difficult to achieve successfully.

In message , Cast_Iron
writes
And if your going into the
city its pointless having semi-fast services as a stopping service
comes in and you don't know whether when (or IF) the semi-fast service
is coming so you either let it go only to have the next train a
stopping service. Or get on the stopping service to have a semi-fast
speed past you at Northwick Park

And it is that very complexity which makes installation at such a place more
difficult to achieve successfully.

Perhaps what they need is a database showing the expected times of the
trains, and run the displays from that. You could call it a time
"table". Nah, it would never work.
--
Roland Perry

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

Harrow on the Hill. A big station with lots of interchanges
for many services you have the old fixed board that lights
up with the destnation of the train often 5 minuites after its
been announced on the P.A. and quite often just as the train
is pulling in to the station.

And it is that very complexity which makes installation at such
a place more difficult to achieve successfully.

It shouldn't do. All we need is a single display telling us when and where
the next three trains are going, with an arrow on the left or the right
telling us which platform it will use. There is no need for the arrow to
light up until about 10 seconds before the train arrives. How hard can that
be? If the eastbound platforms at North Harrow and West Harrow can display
the right info, putting it together for the display at HOTH doesn't seem
like rocket science.

--
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

"CJG Now Thankfully Living In The North" wrote in
message om...
The irony of the Met line in the Harrow are is that while down the
line at Northwick Park where there are two platforms and not much
point changing trains they have dot matrix displays showing 2 or 3
trains.

Why, then, have I never seen the Northwick Park dot-matrix showing the
details of more than one train, and then only when it's one minute away?

Never let the facts get in the way of a good rant, eh?

On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 20:56:34 -0000, "David Splett"
wrote:

The irony of the Met line in the Harrow are is that while down the
line at Northwick Park where there are two platforms and not much
point changing trains they have dot matrix displays showing 2 or 3
trains.

Why, then, have I never seen the Northwick Park dot-matrix showing the
details of more than one train, and then only when it's one minute away?

That is true for the southbound but for northbound you can see details
for two or three trains.

"David Splett" wrote in message ...
"CJG Now Thankfully Living In The North" wrote in
message om...
The irony of the Met line in the Harrow are is that while down the
line at Northwick Park where there are two platforms and not much
point changing trains they have dot matrix displays showing 2 or 3
trains.

Why, then, have I never seen the Northwick Park dot-matrix showing the
details of more than one train, and then only when it's one minute away?

Never let the facts get in the way of a good rant, eh?

Depends what direction your travelling. Northbound trains show three
trains usually. Southbound true only show one. And this is usually 3
seconds before you see it in the distance.
Never let facts get in the way of correctly someone etc...