11-03-2015, 05:49 PM
They are going to be running Thameslink 24 hours a day 7 days a week on our line. So it can't be a line issue? It must be a station/staffing issue, which is probably easier to campaign for and get some resources allocated.
11-03-2015, 05:49 PM
11-03-2015, 06:58 PM
I've been on the final train into Forest Hill from London Bridge where the Network Rail workmen have been waiting to gain access.
16-03-2015, 05:05 PM
The very definition of irony just appeared on my Twitter feed. Someone needs to answer to why the new signals are just not up to the job.
[attachment=3418]
[attachment=3418]
16-03-2015, 05:26 PM
Quote:
they are at least getting better at running the service they say they will, except when they don't
Apart from laughing, I'm speechless! 
16-03-2015, 06:20 PM
I had a dream this morning that the 733 HOP to London Victoria arrived ontime at Clapham Junction for the first time in six months. Yes, they woke me up with more major disruption tonight.
17-03-2015, 08:10 AM
Just don't try to ring Southern to complain! - from their website:
"We are currently experiencing problems with the telephone system at our Customer Services Centre where we are currently unable to receive or make calls. We are working to rectify the fault, but in the meantime, if your enquiry is urgent, please e-mail our Customer Services Centre at comments@southernrailway.com
Thank You."
"We are currently experiencing problems with the telephone system at our Customer Services Centre where we are currently unable to receive or make calls. We are working to rectify the fault, but in the meantime, if your enquiry is urgent, please e-mail our Customer Services Centre at comments@southernrailway.com
Thank You."
17-03-2015, 09:14 AM
I have changed my working hours so I get in earlier but leave at 3pm to avoid the inevitable stuff up in the late afternoon and evening. This has meant a few large changes for my wife and kids but it will hopefully mean I don't go crazy in the long run. Sigh!
When was LB supposed to be finished again?
When was LB supposed to be finished again?
17-03-2015, 09:27 AM
Passing through London Bridge station yesterday (the train to Charing Cross does not stop there!) the contractor appears to be making good progress. The vast hole in the ground (the undercroft) is being concreted over.
19-03-2015, 08:59 AM
Quote:
When was LB supposed to be finished again?
The full project finishes late 2018, so a while yet. However, my understanding is that the Southern side of the station will effectively be finished August 2016, if they stick to plan, so hopefully things will return to normal for our line then. It should be noted that the Southeastern side hasn't had anywhere near the level of recent disruption, but I suspect the situation will reverse after August 2016.
19-03-2015, 01:32 PM
Wrong thread I know but warning that we have another weekend of no overground / southern (and next weekend is the same). All told I believe it will have been 4 weekends out of 5 by the time it finishes with a normal service on Easter weekend.
20-03-2015, 08:51 AM
"normal service on Easter weekend"
Pigs mifght fly!
Pigs mifght fly!
20-03-2015, 12:59 PM
Sherwood, a tube driver once announced to a crowded train I was on....
'The Northern line is operating a normal service. Expect delays of 20 minutes to all destinations.'
Maybe he has been hired by Southern?
'The Northern line is operating a normal service. Expect delays of 20 minutes to all destinations.'
Maybe he has been hired by Southern?
25-03-2015, 01:11 PM
At today's Prime Minister's Question Time Jim Dowd asked a question about the "abysmal service" at London Bridge station.
25-03-2015, 03:44 PM
Quote:
Jim Dowd:
May I ask the Prime Minister about the continually dire position at London Bridge station, which is a cause of major concern? Is he aware of the abysmal service and the chaotic scenes that have accompanied Network Rail’s latest stage of development? Will he instruct the Secretary of State for Transport personally to take responsibility for resolving the debacle and for bringing forward an early straightforward compensation scheme for the many tens of thousands of commuters who have had their lives so seriously disrupted?
The Prime Minister:
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that matter. Anyone who has seen the pictures of what has happened some mornings at London Bridge station knows that the pressures are immense. What we need to do is ensure that Transport for London and the Department for Transport are working together—as they are—to bring about the best possible solution. People cannot criticise this Government for failing to invest in London’s transport infrastructure. The Crossrail scheme, which I visited again a couple of weeks ago—[Interruption.] Labour Members say, “We did that”. They did not. They left an enormous bill, but it was this Government who put in the money and got it built. It is one thing to promise something, but another to put the diggers in the ground and to get it done, which is what we have done.
May I ask the Prime Minister about the continually dire position at London Bridge station, which is a cause of major concern? Is he aware of the abysmal service and the chaotic scenes that have accompanied Network Rail’s latest stage of development? Will he instruct the Secretary of State for Transport personally to take responsibility for resolving the debacle and for bringing forward an early straightforward compensation scheme for the many tens of thousands of commuters who have had their lives so seriously disrupted?
The Prime Minister:
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that matter. Anyone who has seen the pictures of what has happened some mornings at London Bridge station knows that the pressures are immense. What we need to do is ensure that Transport for London and the Department for Transport are working together—as they are—to bring about the best possible solution. People cannot criticise this Government for failing to invest in London’s transport infrastructure. The Crossrail scheme, which I visited again a couple of weeks ago—[Interruption.] Labour Members say, “We did that”. They did not. They left an enormous bill, but it was this Government who put in the money and got it built. It is one thing to promise something, but another to put the diggers in the ground and to get it done, which is what we have done.
Source: Hansard
25-03-2015, 08:14 PM
Thanks for raising the issue Jim but forgive me if I find both the question and answer formulaic. Isn't the problem largely down to sheer weigh of numbers and lack of alternative capacity?
In an ideal world they would have built a replacement station before closing the existing one but that was never going to happen given the lack of space and cost.
Sometimes bad things aren't anyone's fault. That is not to say the situation couldn't have been managed better but who wanted to live with the old London Bridge for another 20 years?
In an ideal world they would have built a replacement station before closing the existing one but that was never going to happen given the lack of space and cost.
Sometimes bad things aren't anyone's fault. That is not to say the situation couldn't have been managed better but who wanted to live with the old London Bridge for another 20 years?
25-03-2015, 09:44 PM
I find it a touch annoying of Southern to send me an Easter email including 2 for 1 vouchers for all the attractions in Central London I can't get to because of the railway line being closed for much of the Easter weekend.
26-03-2015, 07:31 AM
The 733 Honor Oak Park to Victoria has been cancelled three days out of four so far this week. It may have been cancelled yesterday as well but I was on a really early train due to the need to be at work for 9am.
The route cause is the train company's legal duty to prioritise shareholder returns. The fines given to Southern are tiny compared to the profits and recoveries they make blaming everything on Network Rail. At least with the latter, they haven't got an incentive to make nearly every journey miserable.
The route cause is the train company's legal duty to prioritise shareholder returns. The fines given to Southern are tiny compared to the profits and recoveries they make blaming everything on Network Rail. At least with the latter, they haven't got an incentive to make nearly every journey miserable.
26-03-2015, 10:44 AM
Riseldinecommuter:
this happened a few weeks ago - on those occasions the train simply disappeared from the board, not even a cancellation.
When I checked on this website the train had been run fast from New X Gate to Sydenham, I suspect to make up time.
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk
this happened a few weeks ago - on those occasions the train simply disappeared from the board, not even a cancellation.
When I checked on this website the train had been run fast from New X Gate to Sydenham, I suspect to make up time.
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk
26-03-2015, 11:47 AM
This just in from TFL - planned closures for the next 6 months.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/doc...osures.pdf
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/doc...osures.pdf
26-03-2015, 11:58 AM
Quote:
At today's Prime Minister's Question Time Jim Dowd asked a question about the "abysmal service" at London Bridge station.
Jim Dowd asked a question? There must be an election coming up.
I know being an MP involves a lot more than actually sitting in the Commons and saying stuff, but Mr Dowd - according to my research: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...17_os.html - has spoken in Parliament 9 times in 2014-15.
And two of those times were yesterday.
As for his written questions, he appears to have contributed 6 times - on subjects such as animal experiments, the Hundred Years war and military medals. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa...17_ws.html
Sorry if I'm going 'off track' but it was prompted by Mr Dowd asking a question about London Bridge Station.