Reversing at Hounslow Central

[73Stock]

Just been held up between Osterley and Hounslow East due the above. Is this common and what would be the reason?

 

[Mawkie]

Just been held up between Osterley and Hounslow East due the above. Is this common and what would be the reason?

I'm not at work at the moment, but probably the Training Train.

 

[73Stock]

Just checked Intertube and it is the trainer.

 

[gazr]

Not sure of anything in between dates, but last time I used it in passenger service due to engineering was 19 July, 2020.

 

[73Stock]

I've never seen the cross-over used.

 

[MaidaVale]

Fairly uncommon outside of planned training moves or more serious incidents. There's one booked reverser in the current WTT, that being 303 at 01:15 Mon-Thurs, albeit it runs out of service and can be prone to being cancelled as it's a rusty rail move.

Hatton Cross or Northfields are far more favourable to reverse trains at for late running, 5 points at Hounslow Central aren't used particularly often apart from the aforementioned few occasions, so it's seen as a bit of a risk to reverse during the day (especially during the peak) in case of a failure.

Even when they do work as expected, it does tend to create a bit of a bottle-neck as you can only reverse west-to-east, whereas at Hatton Cross or Northfields you have a choice of platforms and can tailor the platform used depending on where you can spot a gap to slot into.

Either way, the majority of controllers tend to avoid it unless absolutely necessary.