London Bridge reconstruction works

[telstarbox]

I'm going to cycle to work tomorrow just in case

 

[ijmad]

BBC London report on the reopening. Has some video from the new platforms/concourse sections.

 

[jnjkerbin]

Anyone know if things are proceeding as planned?

 

[GW43125]

There appear to be three test trains testing the new signalling in and around London Bridge.

 

[takno]

Seeing data coming through on the signalling feed now, so looks like it's progressing nicely

 

[ijmad]

Well, it seems to have opened! I might try and pop up for some photos later.

 

[carriageline]

It’s all going relatively well so far!

 

[SF-02]

Most trains arriving about 5 mins late. Not too bad. The timetable padding will erase that from stats

 

[Bromley boy]

On a different note, has anyone else had any experience of SouthEastern services during the last few days while London Bridge was closed to SouthEastern so all lines were running a heavily reduced service to Victoria?

I was on the 17:55 Woolwich line service from Victoria on the 27th. This was a line that normally handles 8tph, but last week was running only half-hourly. It struck me that, despite this, and that it was a peak hour service that the train was very lightly loaded. I know trains will have generally been less busy last week, but even so, that suggests to me that all SouthEasterns warnings over the last few months about the closure, and telling people to make alternative plans must've had a big impact.

Most people stayed away between Christmas and new year.

A few 12 car networkers were laid on between Sevenoakes - Blackfriars on the working days and felt like overkill - that suggests that SE's pleas to stay away were more successful than they were anticipating.

 

[ScotGG]

Some delays right now. Obstruction on the track. Due to the works? Station looks great.

 

[GW43125]

Have you heard of the commentator's curse?

It’s all going relatively well so far!

 

[Cletus]

Unsurprisingly Geofftech has been & bumped into a Network Rail man he knew, so got a guided tour.

 

[Bromley boy]

Some delays right now. Obstruction on the track. Due to the works? Station looks great.

Brolly on the line at Lewisham this morning and some trespass incidents this eve caused quite a few delays but generally the new signalling seemed to be pretty robust.

 

[N/100]

Yes, looks good.


Though on the downside I was a bit put out to discover that it only stays open for eleven days before yet another full shutdown of the southeastern side, and the same again the following weekend, when will it end ?

 

[BluePenguin]

When will London Bridge to Blackfriars be possible on Thameslink again? I thought it was supposed to be the start of this this year but it clearly isn't. I am getting fed up about this now. I am very very angry actually.

Please could someone tell me when? I really do prefer it to the Northern Line.

 

[Sunset route]

When will London Bridge to Blackfriars be possible on Thameslink again? I thought it was supposed to be the start of this this year but it clearly isn't. I am getting fed up about this now. I am very very angry actually.

Please could someone tell me when? I really do prefer it to the Northern Line.

May 2018 timetable change is the official passenger opening of Thameslink trains running between London Bridge and Blackfriars anything before then would be a bonus.

 

[Bromley boy]

When will London Bridge to Blackfriars be possible on Thameslink again? I thought it was supposed to be the start of this this year but it clearly isn't. I am getting fed up about this now. I am very very angry actually.

Please could someone tell me when? I really do prefer it to the Northern Line.

If you’ve got time to be really really angry how come you haven’t had time to really really read the relevant information, all of which has been available for quite some time.

 

[BluePenguin]

Because when you are in a rage you don't have time or patience and especially don't like reading information, you want instant answers and you want them now. I have been looking forward to this for so long and it has been a huge damper on the start of my 2018.

I have been reading a few relevant threads but apparently not the ones with the useful information I have been looking for. I am happy that I now have what I need though.

 

[BluePenguin]

May 2018 timetable change is the official passenger opening of Thameslink trains running between London Bridge and Blackfriars anything before then would be a bonus.

Excellent. Thank you. It looks like it is only (another) 5 months to to!

 

[Bromley boy]

Because when you are in a rage you don't have time or patience and especially don't like reading information, you want instant answers and you want them now. I have been looking forward to this for so long and it has been a huge damper on the start of my 2018.

With all due respect your anger seems unjustified and could have been entirely avoided by simply doing a little research. Unless I'm missing something it was never promised that the full TL service would go live in Jan 2018. Being angry about the absence of something that was never intended to happen in the first place is completely irrational.

It just strikes me as rather odd that someone who cares enough about TL services to be angry hasn’t made it their business to keep abreast of when the timetable changes take place.

 

[hwl]

Yes, looks good.


Though on the downside I was a bit put out to discover that it only stays open for eleven days before yet another full shutdown of the southeastern side, and the same again the following weekend, when will it end ?

The re-signalling of the SE side of the London Bridge box area finishes in mid 2019

 

[carriageline]

The re-signalling of the SE side of the London Bridge box area finishes in mid 2019

Incorrect. There will be still panels at London Bridge until 2020ish, which are due to be resignalled then

 

[ScotGG]

Does that mean a potential increase in train paths for SE after 2020?

 

[ijmad]

Because when you are in a rage you don't have time or patience and especially don't like reading information, you want instant answers and you want them now. I have been looking forward to this for so long and it has been a huge damper on the start of my 2018.

I have been reading a few relevant threads but apparently not the ones with the useful information I have been looking for. I am happy that I now have what I need though.

There has been some speculation in this thread, and others, that once GTR starts routing Blackfriars services through the London Bridge route (which will happen over the next few weeks and months, as drivers are trained, before the May timetable change) there may be scope to make some unadvertised passenger calls at London Bridge, but this is purely speculative and not confirmed by any actual source.

They could well decide to have the trains wait at junctions instead of the new platforms, although if they do this, there could be as much as 4tph or so running through to Blackfriars, but it's an 'if' not a 'when'.

 

[Bromley boy]

There has been some speculation in this thread, and others, that once GTR starts routing Blackfriars services through the London Bridge route (which will happen over the next few weeks and months, as drivers are trained, before the May timetable change) there may be scope to make some unadvertised passenger calls at London Bridge, but this is purely speculative and not confirmed by any actual source.

They could well decide to have the trains wait at junctions instead of the new platforms, although if they do this, there could be as much as 4tph or so running through to Blackfriars, but it's an 'if' not a 'when'.

As things stand at the moment the TL platforms are open for traffic but not yet fully commissioned for passenger use. Therefore at least initially any such “unadvertised calls” will not be passenger calls and doors will not be released. They are unadvertised because there is a choice of routes these services could take between Blackfriars and East Croydon.

If they are stopped at a red it will probably be better all round for the trains to wait outside the station, if at all possible, rather than stopping in the platforms with the risk of passengers egressing etc.

EDIT: SE services can be routed through p4 and 5 in the event of disruption and are instructed not to call until further notice / specifically authorised by the signaller.

 

[BluePenguin]

With all due respect your anger seems unjustified and could have been entirely avoided by simply doing a little research. Unless I'm missing something it was never promised that the full TL service would go live in Jan 2018. Being angry about the absence of something that was never intended to happen in the first place is completely irrational.

It just strikes me as rather odd that someone who cares enough about TL services to be angry hasn’t made it their business to keep abreast of when the timetable changes take place.

I was under the impression that from the start of this year all services from London Bridge would resume exactly as they used to. With Cannon Street services now able to stop again, I assumed that Thameslink trains would also stop, seeing as the work has been completed.

So, my anger is directed more at the fact that the line is open and the fact that services could run, but are not being run.
Watching Geoff's video made my blood boil. The Network Rail employee spoke such utter rubbish "We don't want to confuse passengers with too much change at once.".

Network Rail should not be so patronising! As for testing, they could run a few services a day so that commuters can trial them out

 

[BluePenguin]

With all due respect your anger seems unjustified and could have been entirely avoided by simply doing a little research. Unless I'm missing something it was never promised that the full TL service would go live in Jan 2018. Being angry about the absence of something that was never intended to happen in the first place is completely irrational.

It just strikes me as rather odd that someone who cares enough about TL services to be angry hasn’t made it their business to keep abreast of when the timetable changes take place.

I do my best to keep up myself updated. Searching for "Thameslink London Bridge Blackfriars" and reading about the upgrade work coming to an end got me all excited. I even asked in the ticket office just before Christmas and was told that Thameslink trains would resume in January - I am disappointed to have been lied to.

I can't keep track all when all the timetables change. I scrolled through a 80 page document yesterday trying to find some dates but found nothing apart from some nice photos of trains and PR nonsense about transforming journeys - nothing about journey times either.

As things stand at the moment the TL platforms are open for traffic but not yet fully commissioned for passenger use. Therefore at least initially any such “unadvertised calls” will not be passenger calls and doors will not be released. They are unadvertised because there is a choice of routes these services could take between Blackfriars and East Croydon.

Ah, this must have caused the confusion. Open and open for use are two different things. I will calm down for now and wait in anticipation for May.

 

[ijmad]

I do my best to keep up myself updated. Searching for "Thameslink London Bridge Blackfriars" and reading about the upgrade work coming to an end got me all excited. I even asked in the ticket office just before Christmas and was told that Thameslink trains would resume in January - I am disappointed to have been lied to.

Reading all these posts from various people both inside and outside the actual railway industry and companies involved, the impression I get is that GTR could have run the 4tph from January 2nd if they'd pushed for it, and perhaps at one point the intention was to do so, but they haven't, either because of a risk management decision, or because they simply didn't have their sh** together early enough with driver training and other factors. That's my guess, anyhow.

 

[hwl]

Reading all these posts from various people both inside and outside the actual railway industry and companies involved, the impression I get is that GTR could have run the 4tph from January 2nd if they'd pushed for it, and perhaps at one point the intention was to do so, but they haven't, either because of a risk management decision, or because they simply didn't have their sh** together early enough with driver training and other factors. That's my guess, anyhow.

But there would be no drivers trained on day 1 for the route so there is effectively a massive training period till May. The Southern and GN drivers transferring to TL also have to be trained on 700s and there is limited number of Driver Managers etc. There was/is also a shortage of 700s to make enough available for training. Look back to the opening of the Down Sussex Slow through the Bermondsey Diveunder at this time last year to show why stopping on Day 1 would have been a bad idea it took several months to bed in and drivers to get familiar enough to achieve the timing and reliability improvements.

Till May the 700s running via LBG will have plenty of recovery time as they still have to run to via Herne Hill timings. Within a few weeks most of the potential TL services should run via LBG as the drivers have completed training on the route but there are also drivers transferring to TL from GN/SN who are less likely to have completed the via LBG training as they will have to do plenty of other route learning too e.g. Core the routes on the other side of the core and then all the drivers will need Canal Tunnels training.

 

[InOban]

Am I right in thinking that short sections such as the canal tunnels can be learnt online?

I could be really provocative and ask why, since this core section is to run ATO, the drivers need to spend much time learning it! But I'll get roasted for saying that.