Can you explain this further please (I assume twice a month is average and not because it's linked to spring tides)? I think it's pointless because changeover was already taking place at Farringdon, and there have been incidents before of pantographs not being dropped leaving City Thameslink for Blackfriars, unless twice a month there were comparable incidents leaving Farringdon?
Thank you for this, a changeover being a potential source of unit failure didn't cross my mind.
Where?
Abbey Wood, Dartford, Gravesend maybe? Or screw it, London Bridge. All I know is that it shouldn’t be running as far south as Rainham.
Is this really an issue (that can't easily be resolved), particularily given that in the morning peak from December, nearly all the Thameslink services from Horsham will go to Bedford, and the Peterborough services will start at Three Bridges?
They’re not building a new platform. They’re extending Platform 1 to 10 coaches solving the problem that you describe and upgrading the signalling to allow another 2tph to use the single track.
Interesting that the plan to construct a reversing siding south of the station has silently been removed.
Will these extended trains be used to increase service frequency at Waddon, Wallington and Carshalton Beeches or will they just run fast to Sutton, then Belmont. If the part of the reasoning for this work is to improve access to the Royal Marsden, you'd think skipping stations on the way would be nonsensicle?
Stop-skipping would not be viable, at least in the down direction, as it would be 4 minutes behind the Epsom Downs service leaving West Croydon.
Right, well there's my answer then!
So there will be a Belmont right behind an Epsom Downs? Is one going via Crystal Palace? Seems odd otherwise - but if that is how it has to be (I guess makes sense re turning at Belmont before the ED service returns!) - then maybe the Epsom Downs service could be fast if running in front, and the Belmont does the interim calls.
You could perhaps let the trains run nonstop between London Bridge and St Pancras to give some leeway?
I don't think the the Epsom Downs could run fast without a major timetable rewrite, as the services in each direction pass each other at Sutton just before/after the single line. The timetable is likely to become very fragile with Belmont terminators, as services terminating at Belmont will be blocking the entire branch.
I mean you can stop at Farringdon or City Thameslink to change electric system but not open the doors for passengers.Post of the day
The point isn't neccesarilly to provide a faster service. It's just so that the longer dwell times don't delay other trains in the core. A bit like why alot of trains don't stop at Deansgate in Manchester.
Then Merstham and Coulsdon South would lose their core/London Bridge links and Redhill would get that service cut in half. If we were to divert the Victoria service to the slows I think it should probably be used to give a faster service to Redhill, or maybe add stops at South Croydon and Purley Oaks to restore some links, but all those goals seem to contradict one another.
I mean it’s only if we use Class 387’s. By skipping stations in the core you can save a bit of time to allow for a longer dwell at St Pancras. It’s the same thing the peak time fast services do on the Elizabeth Line do. They run nonstop between Ealing Broadway and West Drayton because it’s the only way it will fit into the pathing.
No you can't. There will need to be at least 2 core stops for passengers, with extended dwell times. But the killer is the longer time needed for the voltage changeover.
It isn't the same. Between Ealing Broadway and West Drayton is more than 7 miles with 3 intermediate stations. the Thameslink core between London Bridge and St Pancras is just over 3 miles with 3 intermediate stations. Elizabeth Line trains don't have to do a voltage change at Southall. Between Ealing Broadway and West Drayton has 12tph in the peaks whereas the Thameslink core is 20tph in the peaks. All of those differences matter a lot.
Well then your going to have to use Class 700's for this brand new Luton Airport - Gatwick Airport express.
I don’t see why Luton - Gatwick services wouldn’t be operated by Class 700s.
Because they are completely unsuitable and 387s would work far better?
Thats not a good enough reason. The 387s worked this route for years and they didn’t take over a minute for a passenger stop, which is also the amount of time allowed for all passenger stops in the core.
Okay, so let’s say a minute and a half to timetable. This is still absolutely doable.
The primary purpose would be to make the journey time between London and stations south of Gatwick 14 minutes faster on the Peterborough-Horsham service. The potential to create a new optimised timetable around this pattern should be able to provide Horsham and Crawley something close an effective every 15 minute service to London rather than the present service where the Thameslink service seems too slow to be particularly useful for London journeys.
