I'd be interested to know how signalling problems is south easterns fault.
My contract is with South Eastern - I pay them a ridiculous amount of money and in return for that they are supposed to get me to and from work in accordance with their advertised timetable. They fail on a daily basis - yesterday it was "Congestion in the London Bridge area" in the morning a "Signalling problems" in the evening. Today it was "Congestion in the London Bridge area" in the morning, and it'll probably be a "Displaced Train Crew" or "Adverse Weather Conditions" this evening.
If I buy a pair of shoes and they fall apart after a week I take them back to the shop and exchange them for a new pair - I don't go back to the shop and get told by the shop assistant that it's the manufacturers' fault so tough sh!t.
Disgracefully incompetent bunch of thieves. I live 6 miles from work and there are at least ten occasions every year when it would have been quicker to walk than to use their overcrowded, overpriced, unreliable battery farm on wheels. Tossers.
I would suggest that congestion in London Bridge area will be standard excuse for another couple of years while they rip apart and put back together one of the busiest commuter stations in Europe, London Bridge and still keep it "running".
yesterday was atrocious. My mother spent 2 and a half hours on a train from charing x to tunbridge wells, a journey that should only last 55 mins. Meant she got back ridiculously late and couldn't cook my dinner #veryangry #southeasternarescumbagswhoarescumandliveinscumanddontletmehavedinner
I'd be interested to know how signalling problems is south easterns fault.
I was tearing out the angry tweets last night. initially to them but then got onto network rail for the signal failure between waterloo and london bridge which caused all the delays.
There's nothing more satisfying than reading all the anger
Ah the good old Dartford loop line. For the record First Great Western into Paddington closed down completely on Monday morning due to a signal problem and was crap again this morning. Twelve car trains... Things of myth... Three carriage is the norm. Can hardly wait for the poxy Crossrail to screw things up further.
we are train spotters of course so anyone ever travel on the double decker train that use to go down the bexleyheath line in the very early 70z ? weird thing you had to be a Hobit or a kid to sit in the upstairs bit
Yes I rember them, Bexleyheath line was only line that had bridges tall enough to take them. Good old slam door entrance with steps up to the upper deck.
7.51, 8.11 and 8.31 from Sidcup apparently cancelled for the next four weeks.
Is this official? For the next four weeks?? Cos if so this will cripple rush hour commuting from Sidcup....I mean that's taking out 50% of the services...
....how the fuck do they expect people to get to work??
Think so, compromise being that the 'fast' trains (07.47, 08.05 and 08.25) will stop additionally at Mottingham, Lee and Hither Green. Good luck to anyone trying to board them tho
Not that they bothered mentioning the additional stops this morning when I got to new eltham or when i got on the train!
Obviously they'll make those trains longer........right???
I honestly "don't know" but im going with "will they bollox the no good ****s)
It's probably too much to ask for them to use their brains and think to do this.
As much as it seems like a good and simple solution to the problem, there are many reasons why it can not be done, and many are to do with safety.
I am only speaking from my knowledge of when i worked on the railway 15years ago, and i know the safety side has not changed. The main reason is because of the signalling system. Towards London, the signals become closer together (if you actually saw how close you was to the train in front heading towards London Bridge, you would be shocked). So, with each signal, you have a gap between trains, plus a gap etxra say, upto 100ft. So lets say a 8 coach train is 800ft, you need that plus another 100 ft behind as a safety buffer incase the train behind slips past the signal. This gives it an extra space to stop. Now if you put a 10 coach train on that same bit of track, there is no safety buffer, and in fact by adding an extra 2 coaches to that train, would then overlap the signal behind, meaning the train behind would be one signal further back, causing more congestion.
Whilst what you say makes perfect sense, and I don't doubt a word of it, it's worth pointing out that some of the platforms at Hither Green station (and probably elsewhere) have been extended in the last few months to enable trains with more carriages to be used. Also, some services regularly have 12 coaches, some have 8, some have 10, so I presume there wouldn't be a problem with making the latter two a bit longer?
Yes, but it depends where the train is signalled. If not all lines into London Bridge are the same length between signals, so for example a 12 coach train, is signalled down on line, which has the overlaps and spaces to take it, but a different line may only be able to take 8 coaches. This means that if a train was to be extended, it might not be able to use its normal line as it cant take the extra 2 coaches. Believe it or not, it takes months of planning to sort out a timetable, because of reasons like this, and as a former signalman, you get in a lot of trouble if you reroute a train off of its planned route!
I am not greatly in the know on this at all, but... :
All of the stations on the run in to Charing Cross and Cannon Street are being converted to take 12 car trains. Part of the London Bridge rebuild project includes a crossover on the run up to London Bridge. I suspect that there will be major re-configuration of signals as a result.
Therefore I would imagine (not being in the know) that once the reconfig of signals is done that 12 car trains will be able to run.
Will have to see if I can Google anything.
And apologies if I am wrong and someone more in the know can correct me! :-)
7.51, 8.11 and 8.31 from Sidcup apparently cancelled for the next four weeks.
Is this official? For the next four weeks?? Cos if so this will cripple rush hour commuting from Sidcup....I mean that's taking out 50% of the services...
....how the fuck do they expect people to get to work??
Think so, compromise being that the 'fast' trains (07.47, 08.05 and 08.25) will stop additionally at Mottingham, Lee and Hither Green. Good luck to anyone trying to board them tho
Not that they bothered mentioning the additional stops this morning when I got to new eltham or when i got on the train!
Obviously they'll make those trains longer........right???
I honestly "don't know" but im going with "will they bollox the no good ****s)
It's probably too much to ask for them to use their brains and think to do this.
As much as it seems like a good and simple solution to the problem, there are many reasons why it can not be done, and many are to do with safety.
I am only speaking from my knowledge of when i worked on the railway 15years ago, and i know the safety side has not changed. The main reason is because of the signalling system. Towards London, the signals become closer together (if you actually saw how close you was to the train in front heading towards London Bridge, you would be shocked). So, with each signal, you have a gap between trains, plus a gap etxra say, upto 100ft. So lets say a 8 coach train is 800ft, you need that plus another 100 ft behind as a safety buffer incase the train behind slips past the signal. This gives it an extra space to stop. Now if you put a 10 coach train on that same bit of track, there is no safety buffer, and in fact by adding an extra 2 coaches to that train, would then overlap the signal behind, meaning the train behind would be one signal further back, causing more congestion.
Whilst what you say makes perfect sense, and I don't doubt a word of it, it's worth pointing out that some of the platforms at Hither Green station (and probably elsewhere) have been extended in the last few months to enable trains with more carriages to be used. Also, some services regularly have 12 coaches, some have 8, some have 10, so I presume there wouldn't be a problem with making the latter two a bit longer?
Yes, but it depends where the train is signalled. If not all lines into London Bridge are the same length between signals, so for example a 12 coach train, is signalled down on line, which has the overlaps and spaces to take it, but a different line may only be able to take 8 coaches. This means that if a train was to be extended, it might not be able to use its normal line as it cant take the extra 2 coaches. Believe it or not, it takes months of planning to sort out a timetable, because of reasons like this, and as a former signalman, you get in a lot of trouble if you reroute a train off of its planned route!
I am not greatly in the know on this at all, but... :
All of the stations on the run in to Charing Cross and Cannon Street are being converted to take 12 car trains. Part of the London Bridge rebuild project includes a crossover on the run up to London Bridge. I suspect that there will be major re-configuration of signals as a result.
Therefore I would imagine (not being in the know) that once the reconfig of signals is done that 12 car trains will be able to run.
Will have to see if I can Google anything.
And apologies if I am wrong and someone more in the know can correct me! :-)
This would sound about right. I was talking to a shift manager of Ashford signal box last week, and he did say there are lots of resignalling plans being planned including closing London Bridge signalbox, so now would be the time to stramline the tracks.
Got my latest £10 voucher from Southeastern this morning, reckon I have knocking on for £100 for the year now and I am certain I have failed to claim a few.
Got my latest £10 voucher from Southeastern this morning, reckon I have knocking on for £100 for the year now and I am certain I have failed to claim a few.
It's like a loyalty card for train spotting Charlton fans :-)
we are train spotters of course so anyone ever travel on the double decker train that use to go down the bexleyheath line in the very early 70z ? weird thing you had to be a Hobit or a kid to sit in the upstairs bit
I remember those. Rare as rocking horse shit. Didn't realise it was only on the Bexleyheath line though. I thought they were on the Sidcup and Orpington lines but could be mistaken.
Got my latest £10 voucher from Southeastern this morning, reckon I have knocking on for £100 for the year now and I am certain I have failed to claim a few.
I now have £110 from March this year, last year my wife and I both amassed £480 each.
Got my latest £10 voucher from Southeastern this morning, reckon I have knocking on for £100 for the year now and I am certain I have failed to claim a few.
I now have £110 from March this year, last year my wife and I both amassed £480 each.
You may all take the piss, but imagine the dent it would put in their profits if everyone done the same. Too many people criticize but do fuck all about it.
This little beauty popped up earlier. I'm Westcombe Park so thought I'd let u all know as I'm sure they won't have fixed the problem by the time we all have to leave work
"Services are being affected"???!!! I presume that actually means "Services are being delayed or cancelled", in which case why not effing say that? Next time I'm late for work because they've cocked everything up yet again, I'll just text my boss and say "due to congestion in the London Bridge area my arrival time at work has been affected", that should go down well! Tossers.
Services to Victoria via Bromley South were 20 minutes late this morning due to flooding down in Kent. Fair enough...
District Line messed up due to signalling issues so I end up on the platform for 15 minutes... Fair enough.
Go back via Elephant and Castle on the Thameslink service.. And the trains are all delayed by 20 odd minutes or cancelled.. Fair enough.
Fed up of travelling. Utterly despise the robbing bastards that run the transport network. Twice in one week (last week) it took me two hours to do a one hour journey; I'm not affected by Lewisham either! The tube today was a rarity, whereas SouthEastern services the rarity seems to be a decent service.
The first day of winter rain and the trains are buggered due to flooding. You couldn't make it up. Year on year they get caught out by the seasons changing.. Its a wonder they don't get caught out by the bloody clocks changing.
About £3500 a year on this utter tripe. Sickening.
Services to Victoria via Bromley South were 20 minutes late this morning due to flooding down in Kent. Fair enough...
District Line messed up due to signalling issues so I end up on the platform for 15 minutes... Fair enough.
Go back via Elephant and Castle on the Thameslink service.. And the trains are all delayed by 20 odd minutes or cancelled.. Fair enough.
Fed up of travelling. Utterly despise the robbing bastards that run the transport network. Twice in one week (last week) it took me two hours to do a one hour journey; I'm not affected by Lewisham either! The tube today was a rarity, whereas SouthEastern services the rarity seems to be a decent service.
The first day of winter rain and the trains are buggered due to flooding. You couldn't make it up. Year on year they get caught out by the seasons changing.. Its a wonder they don't get caught out by the bloody clocks changing.
About £3500 a year on this utter tripe. Sickening.
100% agree. The other argument to that is with more and more people having to move further away from London due to house prices/cost of living, their family time is key. I did for a period of time have to travel into London Bdg from Broadstairs for 8 months (had to move down there as mother in law was terminally ill). Basically it was 1hr 50 mins each way. Almost 4 hours of my day was spent on an f'n South Eastern train. Now add to the fact that was costing me about £115 a week, you've got a bloody memorable 8 months. If they are going to charge that sort of dough, then I expect a service that for 99% of the time, runs correctly.
Comments
If I buy a pair of shoes and they fall apart after a week I take them back to the shop and exchange them for a new pair - I don't go back to the shop and get told by the shop assistant that it's the manufacturers' fault so tough sh!t.
Disgracefully incompetent bunch of thieves. I live 6 miles from work and there are at least ten occasions every year when it would have been quicker to walk than to use their overcrowded, overpriced, unreliable battery farm on wheels. Tossers.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=320395
I say this of course from the safety of not having to commute anymore and even thinking about those days does give me the raving hump still.
There's nothing more satisfying than reading all the anger
All of the stations on the run in to Charing Cross and Cannon Street are being converted to take 12 car trains.
Part of the London Bridge rebuild project includes a crossover on the run up to London Bridge. I suspect that there will be major re-configuration of signals as a result.
Therefore I would imagine (not being in the know) that once the reconfig of signals is done that 12 car trains will be able to run.
Will have to see if I can Google anything.
And apologies if I am wrong and someone more in the know can correct me! :-)
Southeastern @Se_Railway 13m13 minutes ago
Signalling problems between #LondonCharingCross & #LondonBridge. Disruption is expected until 19:00.
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PS please feel free to flag this u spineless jelly fish
Too many people criticize but do fuck all about it.
District Line messed up due to signalling issues so I end up on the platform for 15 minutes... Fair enough.
Go back via Elephant and Castle on the Thameslink service.. And the trains are all delayed by 20 odd minutes or cancelled.. Fair enough.
Fed up of travelling. Utterly despise the robbing bastards that run the transport network. Twice in one week (last week) it took me two hours to do a one hour journey; I'm not affected by Lewisham either! The tube today was a rarity, whereas SouthEastern services the rarity seems to be a decent service.
The first day of winter rain and the trains are buggered due to flooding. You couldn't make it up. Year on year they get caught out by the seasons changing.. Its a wonder they don't get caught out by the bloody clocks changing.
About £3500 a year on this utter tripe. Sickening.