Slow Train Wandsworth Road to Clapham Junction

[RaynesParker]

Does anybody know why this train is so slow? According to the National Timetable it takes 9 minutes to travel the 1.5 miles. A speed of 10 mph! A poor showing for such a busy service.

 

[A-driver]

Most probably waiting for a path across point work or a platform to be free at clapham junction?

Not really a poor showing if there isn't physically space for it!

I assure you it's not done deliberately to wind you up. If they could run it any faster then they most certainly would.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Also, it's only 6 mins coming back in the other direction, so it looks like some extra minutes for end-of-journey padding/recovery/whatever you call it.
Looking at realtimetrains, the public times are in fact longer than the working timetable times, e.g. http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/L64784/2014/05/22/advanced

 

[swt_passenger]

The line speeds in that area are also generally very slow, much is 25 mph with 15 mph over junctions.

Much less than normal passenger standards, which may reflect the freight only use of what were mostly short connecting routes between other main lines, before LO introduced a passenger service.

 

[user15681]

Can be, and regularly is, done in 5 minutes.

 

[cle]

It is pretty painful as a passenger. I hope they attempt to quicken this up a bit.

Also both trains leave and depart at pretty much the same time from CJ, so connections between the two lines are usually 11-14 mins. Irritating.

Perhaps the real platform 1 being reopened would help in some regard... aren't more WLL trains being talked about (in addition to the extra Southerns) ?

 

[A-driver]

It is pretty painful as a passenger. I hope they attempt to quicken this up a bit.

Also both trains leave and depart at pretty much the same time from CJ, so connections between the two lines are usually 11-14 mins. Irritating.

Perhaps the real platform 1 being reopened would help in some regard... aren't more WLL trains being talked about (in addition to the extra Southerns) ?

What difference does it make how slow it is? If the train arrives on time then people should be able to plan connections around that.

South London is covered in low speed spurs and junctions and trains like east Croydon-blackfriars in the evening rush hour pretty much run at 15-20mph all the way but are still on time as that is what is booked.

 

[455driver]

It is to ensure the train is right time away from Clapham jn as the 2 up Windsor lines become 1 through Queenstown road (for stopping trains), the up Readings will also have to cross from the up Windsor fast to the Windsor reversible so that part of the junction is very intensively worked and one late train will trip up several others.

 

[greatkingrat]

The LO trains from Clapham Junction are completely separate from the SW trains on the Windsor lines.

 

[SansPareil]

Isn't the bridge over Latchmere road in a pretty delicate state as well.

 

[swt_passenger]

It is to ensure the train is right time away from Clapham jn as the 2 up Windsor lines become 1 through Queenstown road (for stopping trains), the up Readings will also have to cross from the up Windsor fast to the Windsor reversible so that part of the junction is very intensively worked and one late train will trip up several others.

I detect a Wandsworth Town / Wandsworth Road glitch here...

 

[cle]

What difference does it make how slow it is? If the train arrives on time then people should be able to plan connections around that.

South London is covered in low speed spurs and junctions and trains like east Croydon-blackfriars in the evening rush hour pretty much run at 15-20mph all the way but are still on time as that is what is booked.

So we should never aspire to improve it or give better journeys to passengers? Let's accept the status quo as long as trains arrived at 'booked' times! Talk about running a network for the staff! But your handle implies such.

It's advertised as a metro network, but people are guaranteed to wait at least 10 mins each time they switch. Hardly a great situation.

 

[A-driver]

So we should never aspire to improve it or give better journeys to passengers? Let's accept the status quo as long as trains arrived at 'booked' times! Talk about running a network for the staff! But your handle implies such.



It's advertised as a metro network, but people are guaranteed to wait at least 10 mins each time they switch. Hardly a great situation.

How is it running a network for staff? What a stupid comment.

Short of ripping up tracks and destroying buildings to relay tracks at higher speeds there is little that can be done with the inner urban spurs.

 

[455driver]

I detect a Wandsworth Town / Wandsworth Road glitch here...

I am always getting those two mixed up.

 

[Oswyntail]

...
Short of ripping up tracks and destroying buildings to relay tracks at higher speeds...

An obvious candidate for HS4?

 

[leytongabriel]

There's a similar crawl-in timetabled for the Barking line at Gospel Oak. Trains often get in a couple of minutes early and passengers make a mad dash to catch next westbound train LO train on the main line one before the official connection, up down a good set of stairs. Not passenger-friendly, whatever Adriver says.

 

[Techniquest]

From experience, there is a need to wait for platforms at Clapham Junction, so you have to wait for the 378 to Highbury and Islington to get out of the way. It is slow around the curves aye, but I did them on a charter before the LO services started and it felt so much more boring then. Whether or not the lines were upgraded at all before LO started services I don't know but it seemed better

 

[A-driver]

There's a similar crawl-in timetabled for the Barking line at Gospel Oak. Trains often get in a couple of minutes early and passengers make a mad dash to catch next westbound train LO train on the main line one before the official connection, up down a good set of stairs. Not passenger-friendly, whatever Adriver says.

Excuse me but exactly where have I claimed it is passenger friendly? If the trains arrive in the timetabled time then I see no issue. If the junctions and curves only allow 15mph then the trains can't run faster. A lot of the curves are so tightly locked between buildings and roads in south London that there is no way of re aligning them and speeding them up. Unless you seriously think it worth knocking down people's houses in order to reduce journey times by 1 min?