Circle Suspended Anti-clockwise 11/7

[TrainGeekUK]

Circle Line: No service Anti Clockwise while we fix a faulty train at Upney . GOOD SERVICE clockwise. Tickets will be accept on local buses.

I’m curious as to why the Circle is suspended in one direction given the faulty train is a fair distance away at Upney?

Is this common practice in order to keep the District running to time?

 

[bramling]

Circle Line: No service Anti Clockwise while we fix a faulty train at Upney . GOOD SERVICE clockwise. Tickets will be accept on local buses.

I’m curious as to why the Circle is suspended in one direction given the faulty train is a fair distance away at Upney?

Is this common practice in order to keep the District running to time?

Not sure of the specifics on this one, however a likelihood would be if the south side of the Circle was heavily disrupted with queuing District Line trains, pulling the Circle Line would provide some relief. Or if the Circle Line trains were losing so much time as a result of the District Line disruption that it was destroying the rolling stock / crew workings and essentially making the service unworkable.

 

[plugwash]

Given the circle line is not normally run as a circle anymore how does this work? do they start running it as a real circle again?

 

[Surreytraveller]

I imagine they'd put the trains away and get them out again when the problem has gone away

 

[plugwash]

That would make sense for suspending the whole line but they said they only suspended it anticlockwire. To me that would mean either.

1. Running as an actual circle and not running Circle line trains to Hammersmith.
2. Terminating circle line trains from hammersmith at edgeware road and then reversing them back towards the other part of paddington.

 

[Mojo]

At the time of the incident the District line was at a stand with trains being held in every Eastbound platform through the City back to West Kensington and West Brompton, hence the service was advertised as suspended as it was not possible to run via the Eastbound District line through the City.

Remember that the service status exists to give an overall picture, and there is a policy of not “chasing” delays. Hence, there would have been some Anticlockwise trains running; notably those that cleared the District before the incident, as well as one that left Edgware Rd before the disruption occurred.

 

[AlbertBeale]

In the past (post the circle to non-circle change to the Circle Line route), when I've been on that line (or on the District/H&C/Met around the centre of town), at times of disruption - including problems with one direction only - I've certainly seen the Circle going round and round again like the good old days. I presume it's easier than going to a terminating point, and also specific schedules don't matter, if it just keeps on going round and round as and when it can. There are of course places it can sit out of the way, to wait for a gap in the other services.

It seems unlikely they'd reverse at Edgware Rd to or from Hammersmith - the direction unaffected (clockwise) would indeed just run in a circle. As for H&Cs - they presumably could still run a shuttle between Hammersmith and Aldgate, and reverse in the middle lines there that the Met use, with more Mets being turned at Baker Street to allow for that.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jul 2023 ==

At the time of the incident the District line was at a stand with trains being held in every Eastbound platform through the City back to West Kensington and West Brompton, hence the service was advertised as suspended as it was not possible to run via the Eastbound District line through the City.

Remember that the service status exists to give an overall picture, and there is a policy of not “chasing” delays. Hence, there would have been some Anticlockwise trains running; notably those that cleared the District before the incident, as well as one that left Edgware Rd before the disruption occurred.

Hi - what does that bit in bold mean?

 

[Busaholic]

At the time of the incident the District line was at a stand with trains being held in every Eastbound platform through the City back to West Kensington and West Brompton, hence the service was advertised as suspended as it was not possible to run via the Eastbound District line through the City.

Remember that the service status exists to give an overall picture, and there is a policy of not “chasing” delays. Hence, there would have been some Anticlockwise trains running; notably those that cleared the District before the incident, as well as one that left Edgware Rd before the disruption occurred.

Given that Upney is east of Barking, the lack of District resilience seems concerning. Where can trains turn from the west these days?

 

[Dstock7080]

West Kensington (and access to Lillie Bridge sidings), Earl’s Court, High Street, Edgware Road, South Kensington, Embankment, Tower Hill (2 platforms), Whitechapel, West Ham, Plaistow (2 platforms), East Ham, Barking (bay and sidings)

 

[bluegoblin7]

In instances like this the preferred solution would be for clockwise/Outer Rail services to extend from Edgware Road to Moorgate and wait time there before picking up their booked anticlockwise/Inner Rail service to Hammersmith. It’s a fairly well-practiced plan (also can be used for late running coming off the District) and keeps trains and drivers as close to their booked workings as possible.

Emergency timetables or an old-style circular service would only be considered during times of significant and long-term disruption, for example if there was a points failure that was not going to be fixed that day. Crewing parameters still have to be followed and having all drivers working as required brings with it its own set of challenges.