Paul Corfield wrote:

[snip]

Nice to see Saturday services back to x15 after being hacked back to x20 when One took over.

I don't remember the Saturday service being 15-minute intervals before
now in the 20 years I've been using the line - I'm pretty sure it
hasn't been in that period, as I use the line a fair bit at weekends. I
don't have any great desire to stick up for One, but I think this may
be a little unfair on them!

The 15-minute interval M-F service was implemented around 8-10 years
ago I would guess. Until then 20-minute intervals applied M-S daytime,
30-minute intervals after approx 19.15. M-F peak services varied from
year-to-year, typically around every 12-15 minutes.

Around 15 years ago a few ran fast from Liverpool Street to Walthamstow
St James Street in the evening peak, and I think v.v. in the morning
peak. I don't remember this lasting for more than one timetable though.

I believe Sundays have always been 30-minute intervals throughout the
day. Around five years ago there was a bus service regularly replacing
trains for whole timetable periods for various engineering works.

I can't remember what the Jazz service levels were however, and they
may well have included a 15-minute Saturday service mentioned above. I
do remember that the last remains of the all-night service (around
three trains in the overnight period) were finally removed sometime
around 1987-9.

I see from other posts that the actual implementation has been a farce.
I don't use the line very much but the improvements are a good idea -
shame they are now delayed for the best of a year due to One's
incompetence.

I couldn't agree more. The timetable was revised two weeks ago, but
rather than revert to the previous incarnation One have selectively
cancelled some services on most, if not all, West Anglia routes. The
effect of this for the Chingford line is that there are several
scheduled half-hour gaps in the daytime, utterly spoiling the idea of a
regular interval service. One of the many cancellations across the WA
network is the first train from Chingford after the morning peak
restrictions, which is a truly fantastic idea.

On 18 Feb 2006 12:37:21 -0800, wrote:


Paul Corfield wrote:

[snip]

Nice to see Saturday services back to x15 after being hacked back to x20 when One took over.

I don't remember the Saturday service being 15-minute intervals before
now in the 20 years I've been using the line - I'm pretty sure it
hasn't been in that period, as I use the line a fair bit at weekends. I
don't have any great desire to stick up for One, but I think this may
be a little unfair on them!

I'm pretty sure that WAGN operated a 15 min Sat service for at least a
year. It did revert to x20 under their stewardship (having checked an
old timetable) so I am being unfair to One.

Around 15 years ago a few ran fast from Liverpool Street to Walthamstow
St James Street in the evening peak, and I think v.v. in the morning
peak. I don't remember this lasting for more than one timetable though.

When I first arrived in London I used the line from St James St to
Liverpool St with the old slam door trains. It was a rather different
world from that I was familiar with. ISTR the "express" trains that
trundled rather than hurtled through Clapton, Hackney Downs and Bethnal
Green.

I see from other posts that the actual implementation has been a farce.
I don't use the line very much but the improvements are a good idea -
shame they are now delayed for the best of a year due to One's
incompetence.

I couldn't agree more. The timetable was revised two weeks ago, but
rather than revert to the previous incarnation One have selectively
cancelled some services on most, if not all, West Anglia routes. The
effect of this for the Chingford line is that there are several
scheduled half-hour gaps in the daytime, utterly spoiling the idea of a
regular interval service. One of the many cancellations across the WA
network is the first train from Chingford after the morning peak
restrictions, which is a truly fantastic idea.

Those sorts of timetable changes are just crazy but then that seems to
show the level of competence within the One management team. As you say
- why not revert to the old timetable which had the benefit of being
workable and something people were familiar with. It's just as well I
have a free pass for the line because I'd be upset if I had to pay for
that sort of service. Your comments have made me even less likely to try
it now as I'm not going to get myself in a situation of waiting for 30
minutes, rather than 15, for a train.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

In message . com,
writes

I can't remember what the Jazz service levels were however, and they
may well have included a 15-minute Saturday service mentioned above. I
do remember that the last remains of the all-night service (around
three trains in the overnight period) were finally removed sometime
around 1987-9.

The original steam-hauled "jazz service" from Chingford was (in 1929)
roughly every 10 minutes in the peaks. All were limited stop services in
various patterns, the fastest making Liverpool St in 27 minutes.
Off-peak was every 20 minutes.

Curiously, the Saturday service didn't start until 10.06 (no workmens'
trains needed in Chingford!), but was also six trains an hour until
mid-afternoon, then every 20 minutes, and then every 30 minutes after
19.37. Sunday was every 15 minutes for most of the day.

Following electrification in 1960, there were 9 peak-time departures an
hour - but, of course, the entire service was cut back once the Victoria
line opened in '68.

(Back in 1929 there was also the Chingford - North Woolwich service via
Stratford - hourly on Sundays, but very sparse on other days.)
--
Paul Terry

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 08:27:34 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:

(Back in 1929 there was also the Chingford - North Woolwich service via
Stratford - hourly on Sundays, but very sparse on other days.)

Presumably this ran via the curve at Low Hall and ran through Lea Bridge
station?

Any idea why it was hourly on Sundays but infrequent the rest of the
time? Pathing issues or just lack of demand?
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

In message , Paul Corfield
writes

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 08:27:34 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:

(Back in 1929 there was also the Chingford - North Woolwich service via
Stratford - hourly on Sundays, but very sparse on other days.)

Presumably this ran via the curve at Low Hall and ran through Lea Bridge
station?

That's right. But it was always very patchy. According to London's Local
Railways, it started in 1880 as a Walthamstow-Stratford service for
local commuters, with some trains running through to Chingford. It was
cut back to Wood Street in 1910. From 1914 it became North Woolwich to
Chingford, but was apparently summer only (it is in my Bradshaw of June
1929).

Any idea why it was hourly on Sundays but infrequent the rest of the
time? Pathing issues or just lack of demand?

I think it was primarily a Sunday leisure service for eastenders wanting
to take a day-trip to Epping Forest. There was a similar summer-only,
mainly-Sunday service from Highgate Road (later Gospel Oak) to Chingford
via Copper Mills, which ran down even faster (Easter, Whit and August
Bank Holidays only after 1926, abandoned in the 1940s).

--
Paul Terry

Peter Masson wrote:

It's been 4tph Mondays to Fridays for quite a time, and IIRC it's never been
less than 3tph. Saturdays has recently iuncreased from 3tph to 4tph, and
Sundays from 2tph to 4tph, presumably as part of TfL's 'Overground Network'
scheme. Are TfL subsidising the increased weekend frequency?

Going back to 2000, it was every 15 minutes weekdays, every 20 minutes
Saturday and every 30 minutes Sunday.

Quite an unusual service pattern - I don't think there are that many
routes that have a different frequency on weekdays (excluding peak
periods) to Saturday.

--
Stevie D
\\\\\ ///// Bringing dating agencies to the
\\\\\\\__X__/////// common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

Yes the implementation has been a farce. The original printed timetable
for the London to Chingford branch for the period 11 December 2005 to
10 June 2006 has been replaced by one for the period 6 Februay to 10
June 2006. But for Sundays until 5 March the revised timetable dosent
give any times! Instead it refers readers to visit the One website or
phone National Rail Enquiries. A bit odd that.

But even the revised printed timetable for Mondays to Fridays seems
suspect. A couple of times recently I arrived at Liverpool Street in
time for the 21.15 train as shown on the revised timetable. But on both
occasions it wasant shown on the departure boards. The first time it
happened I thought that this was a bit odd as normally a cancelled
train will still be up on the departure board with the cancelled label
shown. I just waited for the next train. But the second time it
happened I smelt a rat so I looked at the timetables displayed near the
ticket office only to find that the 21.15 train has been erased from
the timetable. I wonder how many more services have been erased out of
existence without passengers knowledge?

Barry

wrote in message
ups.com...
Yes the implementation has been a farce.
[snip]
But even the revised printed timetable for Mondays to Fridays seems
suspect. A couple of times recently I arrived at Liverpool Street in
time for the 21.15 train as shown on the revised timetable. But on both
occasions it wasant shown on the departure boards. The first time it
happened I thought that this was a bit odd as normally a cancelled
train will still be up on the departure board with the cancelled label
shown. I just waited for the next train. But the second time it
happened I smelt a rat so I looked at the timetables displayed near the
ticket office only to find that the 21.15 train has been erased from
the timetable. I wonder how many more services have been erased out of
existence without passengers knowledge?

Barry


The entire Saturday Stratford-Tottenham service, although appearing in the
recent weekend engineering works special timetable, is withdrawn. There is
no publicity at Tottenham Hale station to advise of this, and the member of
staff on duty there 4 Saturdays ago was unaware that the withdrawal was
permanent. A poster in the underground passsage leading to platform 12 at
Stratford is the only publicity for this service withdrawal there. The only
way a customer would ever see this, is if they were on the way to catch the
non-existent service itself, the only one that uses that platform. There's
nothing on the station concourse.
Hopeless.

Chris Cook
Beckenham, Kent