Enigmatic Southern 5K90

[Andy1673]

Southern COVID timetable has a strange empty working 5K90 Streatham Hill Shed 07:02 to London Victoria arriving at 07:20. This train formed of 10-car 4/377+2x3/377. Usually arriving at Victoria platform 14 and sits there 13 hours (!) forming 1L62 20:20 to East Grinstead. Thus it simply occupies one platform duruing midday and both peaks. Victoria is a very busy major station even now and Streatham Hill Shed all day almost or completely empty. Both Victoria Up and Battersea Pier have one unoccupied siding. Obviously units receive no maintenance while sitting at platform at Victoria.
Is there any inner meaning for such strange decision? Is it a form of swaping units for some purposes? Of course, I`ve heard the sitting train has used as a mess room (or using now) but could it be the only and sufficient explanation?

 

[Class 170101]

Wouldn't both Battersea Pier and Victoria Up require drivers to pass in the front cab of another train to reach / leave them and with social distancing in vogue right now probably not a good idea?

 

[Andy1673]

Wouldn't both Battersea Pier and Victoria Up require drivers to pass in the front cab of another train to reach / leave them and with social distancing in vogue right now probably not a good idea?

That`s right. Almost . Battersea Pier and Victoria Up both have stabling midday units (not 5K90) so drivers pass in the front cab of another train to reach and leave them (not sure about Victoria Up but Battersea Pier has no other way to reach or leave it).
But why wouldn`t simply to depart 5K90 at 7ish pm from Streatham Hill shed and not to consume the morning peak path towards Victoria at 7ish am and the platform capacity at Victoria?

 

[JN114]

Spare/Standby Unit at a guess

 

[LA50041]

Southern COVID timetable has a strange empty working 5K90 Streatham Hill Shed 07:02 to London Victoria arriving at 07:20. This train formed of 10-car 4/377+2x3/377. Usually arriving at Victoria platform 14 and sits there 13 hours (!) forming 1L62 20:20 to East Grinstead. Thus it simply occupies one platform duruing midday and both peaks. Victoria is a very busy major station even now and Streatham Hill Shed all day almost or completely empty. Both Victoria Up and Battersea Pier have one unoccupied siding. Obviously units receive no maintenance while sitting at platform at Victoria.
Is there any inner meaning for such strange decision? Is it a form of swaping units for some purposes? Of course, I`ve heard the sitting train has used as a mess room (or using now) but could it be the only and sufficient explanation?

if it's a 10 car, it wouldnt fit in either Battersea Pier or Vic sidings, all 8 car max

 

[Andy1673]

if it's a 10 car, it wouldnt fit in either Battersea Pier or Vic sidings, all 8 car max

yeah, shame on me, of course 8 car max both

 

[londonteacher]

I've looked and tomorrow 5K90 arrives 07:20. Then, it forms 1I08 to Horsham at 07:25.

 

[londonteacher]

I've looked and tomorrow 5K90 arrives 07:20. Then, it forms 1I08 to Horsham at 07:25.

Which is for this week only according according to RTT.

 

[Peter C]

I've looked and tomorrow 5K90 arrives 07:20. Then, it forms 1I08 to Horsham at 07:25.

And I've just been looking on RTT at 5K90 which, on Thursday 13th, arrived at 0746 (26 mins late), and then formed 5Z06 to Selhurst T&RSMD at 0732. This...

...and this:

Which is for this week only according according to RTT.

Make me think it might change week on week or maybe day by day? The OP's point about it then forming 1L62 to East Grinstead at 2020 seems to be true for Friday 14th, but not other days?

-Peter

 

[Andy1673]

And I've just been looking on RTT at 5K90 which, on Thursday 13th, arrived at 0746 (26 mins late), and then formed 5Z06 to Selhurst T&RSMD at 0732. This.../QUOTE]


5Z06 departed 15 min earlier than 5K90 arrived. 5Z06 was off 1F01 from Eastbourne and had to be formed cancelled 1J06 06:35 to Southampton/Bognor (train fault). It was 8-car (2x377), not 10-car.
On August, 13th 5K90 formed 1L62 20:20 to East Grinstead

 

[I13]

It might sound odd, but at the moment the 'booked' platform in systems won't necessarily reflect the 'planned' platform at stations like Victoria, the 'actual' workings will instead be in a separate document followed by signallers etc. As such, the platforms shown in RTT shouldn't be used to deduce what forms what (although it will in a lot of cases be a reasonable guide).

Which is for this week only according according to RTT.

This is just because the STP trains at the moment are for data purposes just shown as running for one week, every week, even if they won't necessarily change from week to week (this varies from operator to operator though). If you look for the rest of August (not just next week), you'll see that 5K90 is also in the same platform as 1I08 then too (along with 2I03 a few minutes earlier, which is what I think should actually form it).

 

[Peter C]

It might sound odd, but at the moment the 'booked' platform in systems won't necessarily reflect the 'planned' platform at stations like Victoria, the 'actual' workings will instead be in a separate document followed by signallers etc. As such, the platforms shown in RTT shouldn't be used to deduce what forms what (although it will in a lot of cases be a reasonable guide).

This is just because the STP trains at the moment are for data purposes just shown as running for one week, every week, even if they won't necessarily change from week to week (this varies from operator to operator though). If you look for the rest of August (not just next week), you'll see that 5K90 is also in the same platform as 1I08 then too (along with 2I03 a few minutes earlier, which is what I think should actually form it).

I was wondering if the situation might be something like recent services on the Cotswold Line. There have been services going down from Honeybourne to Charlbury, and then a return from Ascott-under-Wychwood to Honeybourne. However, there is no movement shown on RTT for a Charlbury - Ascott and so it looks like the train can move magically from one place to another. Would something like that be a possibility here? I know nothing about the area, apart from what I've played through in Train Sim!

-Peter

 

[Peter C]

I think you need to edit your most recent post @Andy1673

(That or I can't see the text)
-Peter

 

[Andy1673]

I think you need to edit your most recent post @Andy1673

(That or I can't see the text)
-Peter

5Z06 departed 15 min earlier than 5K90 arrived. 5Z06 was off 1F01 from Eastbourne and had to be formed cancelled 1J06 06:35 to Southampton/Bognor (train fault). It was 8-car (2x377), not 10-car.
On August, 13th 5K90 formed 1L62 20:20 to East Grinstead

 

[Peter C]

5Z06 departed 15 min earlier than 5K90 arrived. 5Z06 was off 1F01 from Eastbourne and had to be formed cancelled 1J06 06:35 to Southampton/Bognor (train fault). It was 8-car (2x377), not 10-car.
On August, 13th 5K90 formed 1L62 20:20 to East Grinstead

I've just realised what I did
In the first bit of my post, I was looking at the realtime arrival of 5K90, but then forgot all about that by the time I was looking at 5Z06.
And I got dates muddled up at some point in there as well!

-Peter

 

[Andy1673]

I've just realised what I did
In the first bit of my post, I was looking at the realtime arrival of 5K90, but then forgot all about that by the time I was looking at 5Z06.
And I got dates muddled up at some point in there as well!

-Peter

any way 5Z06 was very short term, it`s normally not run.

 

[mono1989]

Southern COVID timetable has a strange empty working 5K90 Streatham Hill Shed 07:02 to London Victoria arriving at 07:20. This train formed of 10-car 4/377+2x3/377. Usually arriving at Victoria platform 14 and sits there 13 hours (!) forming 1L62 20:20 to East Grinstead. Thus it simply occupies one platform duruing midday and both peaks. Victoria is a very busy major station even now and Streatham Hill Shed all day almost or completely empty. Both Victoria Up and Battersea Pier have one unoccupied siding. Obviously units receive no maintenance while sitting at platform at Victoria.
Is there any inner meaning for such strange decision? Is it a form of swaping units for some purposes? Of course, I`ve heard the sitting train has used as a mess room (or using now) but could it be the only and sufficient explanation?

It is used as an overflow PNB point for all Southern/GEX crew to accommodate for social distancing as the main Victoria PNB point is now on PLT 13/14. We tried to arrange one for our crew at Brighton however there wasn't any available stock that could berth on one of the platforms.

 

[Andy1673]

It is used as an overflow PNB point for all Southern/GEX crew to accommodate for social distancing as the main Victoria PNB point is now on PLT 13/14. We tried to arrange one for our crew at Brighton however there wasn't any available stock that could berth on one of the platforms.

Oh, thanks!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Aug 2020 ==

It is used as an overflow PNB point for all Southern/GEX crew to accommodate for social distancing as the main Victoria PNB point is now on PLT 13/14. We tried to arrange one for our crew at Brighton however there wasn't any available stock that could berth on one of the platforms.

There is also the weird pair of empties 5P10/5P11 Bognor to Littlehampton shed/return. It could be quite similiar but it`s some sort of emergency or when required swapping...