Thameslink Brighton to Cambridge start

[londonboi]

just saw the first thameslink Brighton to Cambridge direct route starts today.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...ghton-via-central-london-launch-a3785091.html

The first direct trains between Cambridge and Brighton via central London were launched today.

The new Thameslink service will create space for 40,000 commuters a day and ease capacity on overcrowded Tube lines.

It includes a key section — Finsbury Park, St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars — creating a quicker alternative to the Northern line to and from London Bridge. There will also be direct links to Gatwick. Six trains a day will run during the “curtain-raiser” phase, with services launching in full in May.


There will be one return service from Brighton to Cambridge, departing at 11.32am from Brighton and 2.14pm from Cambridge, and two between Horsham and Peterborough. These will depart at 10am and 1.30pm from Horsham and 9.46am and 1.17pm from Peterborough.

The ability to run through-trains has been made possible by opening a tunnel linking King’s Cross — where the Cambridge and Peterborough services terminated — and St Pancras, where the trains connect with Thameslink’s Bedford-to-Brighton line....

 

[Ianno87]

just saw the first thameslink Brighton to Cambridge direct route starts today.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...ghton-via-central-london-launch-a3785091.html

They actually started Monday last week (once per day, plus two Horsham-Peterboroughs each way). Today was just the 'official' launch/press run.

 

[londonboi]

Ah thanks for that I was unaware

 

[cambsy]

Am doing the Brighton-Cambridge service both ways next Tuesday, as want to travel through the new tunnels, and See what the running is like, there some good intermediate non stop runs, should be an interesting day out, and will take full advantage of the de classified first at the rear.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I used the northbound Cambridge on Tuesday (from East Croydon via London Bridge to Finsbury Park).
Busy enough to London Bridge where nearly everybody got off (15 minutes stop on the interim service).
A few boarded through the core, including one excited lady who phoned a friend about the through Blackfriars-Cambridge service she had never heard of.
The service is of course run by new 700s.
The Standard turned up a pic of a 387.
It's good to see the entire Thameslink infrastructure "finished" - though ATO is still to come.
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/X31848/2018/03/06/advanced

 

[Bromley boy]

They actually started Monday last week (once per day, plus two Horsham-Peterboroughs each way). Today was just the 'official' launch/press run.

Aha! Thanks for posting that.

That explains why I saw a 700 at London Bridge the other day with Cambridge advertised on the platform departure board.

I thought I was seeing things.

 

[TheEdge]

Myself and a friend did Cambridge to Brighton on Monday, can't say I was entirely enamored by the seats, back pain by Finsbury Park.

Useful for people going from Anglia to Gatwick though

 

[rebmcr]

Useful for people going from Anglia to Gatwick though

Now that's a VERY good point.

The same will be true to Heathrow for all sorts of origins — north and south — when the Thameslink-Crossrail interchange opens up at Farringdon.

 

[londonboi]

I wouldn’t get to excited about the first class. It’s exactly the same as std class only difference being a glass partition with a sliding door to separate the seats from std class

 

[Ianno87]

I wouldn’t get to excited about the first class. It’s exactly the same as std class only difference being a glass partition with a sliding down to separate the seats from std class

Uhh, you get a table. And the seats are slightly different and more padded.... OK, that's about it.

 

[PeterY]

East Croydon to Finsbury Park was far enough on a 700 but I did enjoy the ride.

I should've brought my own padding for the seat.

 

[londonboi]

Yeah and you get a folding down table in std class seats. One thing I will say about the 700 I find there is quite a bit more legroom in them than other trains I use.

 

[greyman42]

Myself and a friend did Cambridge to Brighton on Monday, can't say I was entirely enamored by the seats, back pain by Finsbury Park.

Useful for people going from Anglia to Gatwick though

Yes, the seats are terrible.

 

[Tunnel Bore]

Uhh, you get a table. And the seats are slightly different and more padded.... OK, that's about it.

And you get power sockets. And for Bedford - Brighton and perhaps some of the others you get this free in the declassified section in the rear coach.

 

[Abpj17]

Uhh, you get a table. And the seats are slightly different and more padded.... OK, that's about it.

And a plug. And two of the seats are single seats.

 

[jon0844]

Uhh, you get a table. And the seats are slightly different and more padded.... OK, that's about it.

And the internal door doesn't slide, which made me initially wonder if there was some confusion between first class on a 700 and a 387.

 

[quarella]

Deleted

 

[Skimble19]

Wonderful up to date news article, complete with a picture of a (now GN only) 387

A second Cambridge to Brighton and return service will be starting shortly. Theres more details on all the services in the threads in the Allocations, Diagrams and Timetables area of the forum.

 

[trek]

And you get power sockets. And for Bedford - Brighton and perhaps some of the others you get this free in the declassified section in the rear coach.

Has anyone clarified whether rear First Class is declassified when it is on the Great Northern section having come through from the core? I know the Great Northern 700s into King's Cross aren't.

 

[Skimble19]

Has anyone clarified whether rear First Class is declassified when it is on the Great Northern section having come through from the core? I know the Great Northern 700s into King's Cross aren't.

Yes, if it's come/going through the core and therefore a Thameslink service it is 100% declassified in the rear section.

 

[D365]

Yes, if it's come/going through the core and therefore a Thameslink service it is 100% declassified in the rear section.

No sign of that at all on the Peterborough-Horsham I took last week.

 

[Skimble19]

No sign of that at all on the Peterborough-Horsham I took last week.

There does seem to be some issues with the PIS still but it's definitely declassified at the rear if going through the core.

 

[danthekyle]

Has anyone clarified whether rear First Class is declassified when it is on the Great Northern section having come through from the core? I know the Great Northern 700s into King's Cross aren't.

According to GN's Twitter, the rear first class in all GN 700s is declassified, whether it's going through the core or King's Cross.

...On all class 700s (new trains) the rear first class is declassified.

 

[JB_B]

No sign of that at all on the Peterborough-Horsham I took last week.

Which stations was your journey between - was it all the way through?

Even when it's working it's easy to miss the declassification message - it only appears for about 5s/40s on the normal message loop (and it's even harder to spot when they're adding in 'security' messages.) As far as I can tell it doesn't show up at all when at or near stations nor on shorter journey legs. On the other hand, out of say 50 odd journeys on the BML I've only had it fail to appear at all once.

 

[D365]

Which stations was your journey between - was it all the way through?

Yes, the message never appeared even south of STP.

 

[Hadders]

The declassification message appears 3 minutes after departure if the 700 i’m on at the moment is anything to go by (it’s the last message in the rotation). The rotation doesn’t start until the train starts moving.

When stations are close together (eg the Core) you’re not going to see the declassification message until a few minutes after departing London Bridge (southbound) or Finsbury Park (northbound).

I’ve noticed that southbound from Stevenage you don’t see a declassification message until the train passes Knebworth.

 

[ComUtoR]

The declassification from the PIS is 100% dependent on the code the Driver inputs.

 

[Hadders]

The declassification from the PIS is 100% dependent on the code the Driver inputs.

GTR have said that the rear 1st class compartment is permanently declassified so the drivers should be entering the appropriate code for this. The correct code was entered by the driver of the 19:22 from Kings Cross tonight but it takes 3 minutes from departure for it to show due to the way the rotation works.

 

[jamieP]

Come May timetable change all 700 operated services will be classed at TL so the rear first class will be declassified including the odd couple that run in or out of Kings Cross.

 

[amateur]

Pardon my ignorance. But what is the reasoning logic behind declassifying the rear first class.

And does the same rules apply for thameslink trains