Weaver Line allocations at weekends

[CyrusWuff]

Weekend services on the Weaver Line (Liverpool Street - Chingford/Enfield Town/Cheshunt) are just as busy as weekday off-peak services, yet First/TfL routinely turn out single units, resulting in passengers having to stand.

This is even more noticeable this weekend as Engineering Work means there are no GA services to Hertford East and LO services that would normally terminate at Cheshunt are being diverted to Enfield Town.

These capacity issues are compounded by the pre-Covid timetable still not having been reinstated on Great Northern Inner suburban services between Moorgate and Hertford North/Stevenage, though even in the December timetable, those remain as 2tph on Sundays.

Do they actually undertake passenger counts to determine appropriate formations for weekend services, or (as it appears) do they just not care about customer experience?

 

[Bikeman78]

Weekend services on the Weaver Line (Liverpool Street - Chingford/Enfield Town/Cheshunt) are just as busy as weekday off-peak services, yet First/TfL routinely turn out single units, resulting in passengers having to stand.

This is even more noticeable this weekend as Engineering Work means there are no GA services to Hertford East and LO services that would normally terminate at Cheshunt are being diverted to Enfield Town.

These capacity issues are compounded by the pre-Covid timetable still not having been reinstated on Great Northern Inner suburban services between Moorgate and Hertford North/Stevenage, though even in the December timetable, those remain as 2tph on Sundays.

Do they actually undertake passenger counts to determine appropriate formations for weekend services, or (as it appears) do they just not care about customer experience?

Do they still need 11 sets of stock to operate the normal off peak service? Back in class 315 and 317 days, off peak weekdays ran with eight single class 315, two pairs and a pair of class 317s. I think the weekend service was all planned to be 315, so at least six of the eleven sets would have been four car (assuming max 16 315s in service as per weekdays).

 

[BJames]

I agree with this and it's just got busier and busier - it's so incredibly busy in late morning and well into the afternoon going southbound before everyone piles off at Seven Sisters - boarding at Bush Hill Park I'm often getting the last of the seats, by White Hart Lane it's squeezing in.

I know there is the intention to run 3tph to Enfield and 3tph to Cheshunt on Saturday afternoons from next year (is this still happening?) but I seem to recall that this was imagined with single sets, so I imagine this is just the intention? It's very annoying though - I'm lucky with where I get on but it must be immeasurably frustrating at Bruce Grove. And if one diagram is cancelled then it's really difficult.

I don't know if they really have enough spare units to run 8 cars all day at the weekend - I assume they go down to 4 car to allow for more maintenance to take place. It would be good to know from someone in the know though, as the crowding is worse than ever before.