Victorialine67 stock

[jon0844]

Stopping a train short, to turn it around and clear another station, has been known - but causes chaos for the people forced to get off their train.

So, the only option is to run a train through OOS for a while and then start up, hopefully clearing the packed platforms and potentially re-opening a station that has been shut upstairs due to overcrowding.

I must be missing something obvious, but I can't see how this would be pointless.

 

[A60K]

I think the problem with your idea is that there are effectively no spare paths on the Central line where such a crowd-buster train could be run. This means that it would have to run empty in the path of a passenger train.

For simplicity, assume there's a train every two minutes. Running one empty means there's a four minute gap at those stations that the empty train doesn't serve. This means around twice as many passengers arriving on the platforms at those stations and trying to get on the following train.

Assume that these extra passengers cause an increase in boarding time of 10-15 seconds (as they will do), and every so often not all the passengers will get on and the doors will be obstructed and need to be reopened, adding another 10 seconds.

As soon as you've gone through Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road and Holborn, this train will now be running around 90 seconds late, and all the other trains behind it will be getting delayed and suffering the same sort of problem.

That's why a smooth, regular service is the most effective way of operating overall, although I know that's very frustrating if you travel from the station where trains are normally full - say Bethnal Green w/b morning peak, Bank e/b evening peak.

Your idea would make a lot of sense if there were spare paths available, but on most of the Underground at peak hours that's often not the case.