Basingstoke to Clapham AM peak

[winks]

Anyone know why there are no Basingstoke services London bound that stop at Clapham in the morning peak? I was tempted to apply for a railway job in Clapham but have now been put off by the fact that it’s well over an hours journey (into Waterloo) then double backing to Clapham.

This is a real shame what exactly is the reason for no services at all until 8.30 which is far too late for most !

 

[gabrielhj07]

Would you be able to change at Woking instead?

 

[Horizon22]

Anyone know why there are no Basingstoke services London bound that stop at Clapham in the morning peak? I was tempted to apply for a railway job in Clapham but have now been put off by the fact that it’s well over an hours journey (into Waterloo) then double backing to Clapham.

This is a real shame what exactly is the reason for no services at all until 8.30 which is far too late for most !

To be fair this is across the board - try getting from Woking to Clapham Junction after 0700 is a stopper or a change.

I believe it is to do with overcrowding and pathing difficulties by slowing down the service for a stop.

I would agree though that running through fast is detrimental to connections for a major interchange. GA occasionally do this with Stratford, but now do it a lot less than they used to.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Jun 2024 ==

Would you be able to change at Woking instead?

No, the same issue occurs.

 

[stuving]

Anyone know why there are no Basingstoke services London bound that stop at Clapham in the morning peak? I was tempted to apply for a railway job in Clapham but have now been put off by the fact that it’s well over an hours journey (into Waterloo) then double backing to Clapham.

This is a real shame what exactly is the reason for no services at all until 8.30 which is far too late for most !

It's a long-standing arrangement to maximise capacity on the fast lines. These two quotes are from the Wessex Route Utilisation study (2015):

Of particular note for this service group is the fact that the density of operation on the single Up (London bound) Fast Line inwards of Surbiton during the peak is higher than on any other single stretch of main line in the UK. The significant growth in passenger numbers alongside the constraint on network capacity means even the smallest delay can quickly be transferred to other services. This brings its own challenges in terms of maintaining performance and particularly avoiding knock on delays as a result of minor incidents. The capacity to add further services without significant improvements to signalling and other infrastructure is extremely limited.
...
In the ‘inner area’, Main Line services in the peak operate on a single fast line in both directions between Surbiton and Clapham Junction. In the peak there are no capacity reducing station stops between Surbiton and London Waterloo, or flat junctions causing conflicting moves – so the challenge on this section is simply that the railway has reached its maximum capacity based on current signalling capability and the number of tracks.

Obviously the context of that study was the passenger demand before and the projected demand after 2015.

 

[Steven Taylor]

It perhaps should also be mentioned that owing to the cant and curvature on platform 8 (the Up fast) there is an unacceptable gap for passengers to disembark, so all stopping services go through the loop (platform 7), which has no cant and is subject to a 15 mph speed restriction. So allowing for the slow approach and departure, the total time to go through the section is often about 4 minutes.

 

[winks]

I always assumed there was a connection at CLJ…oh well !

 

[Kite159]

The last direct train seems to be the 06:36 arriving at Clapham at 07:15 before a 2 hour gap which requires the double back via Waterloo to be quicker due to the lack of trains from Woking calling at Clapham as even the stoppers run nonstop from Surbiton.

I guess you just have to weigh up the options if you want to apply for that job if you want the hassle of going Basingstoke - Waterloo - Clapham.

 

[Farigiraf]

Would changing at Weybridge be possible at that time of day? It's quite the detour but should avoid a change at Waterloo which can get quite tiring after a while

 

[30907]

Would changing at Weybridge be possible at that time of day? It's quite the detour but should avoid a change at Waterloo which can get quite tiring after a while

Via Reading might be worth checking, but both would add an hour or so to the trip.

 

[winks]

Thanks will prob not apply now