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Rail engineering works
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michael


Posts: 3,255
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #21
26-02-2015 01:07 PM

I seem to remember talk of footbridge improvements (between Dacres Road and Sydenham Park) taking place in February this year. It is possible this is the reason for substantial machinery close to the site and a good reason for a weekend track closure.

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boxhill


Posts: 17
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #22
05-03-2015 01:44 PM

as far as i can tell, in addition to last weekend, we have no trains in FH this weekend (7/8 March), 21/22 March and 28/29 March. Good luck getting around people!

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rbmartin


Posts: 1,074
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #23
06-03-2015 09:26 PM

I'm going to Uxbridge tomorrow. Helpful that there are no trains from FH, nor on the Met line as far as Harrow-on-the-Hill!

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rbmartin


Posts: 1,074
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #24
07-03-2015 10:01 PM

Just where are the rail replacement buses supposed to stop in Forest Hill towards London Bridge?

I waited at the 122 stop by Barclays which is signposted on London Road, yet all buses were stopping outside The Capitol.

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Muss


Posts: 50
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #25
08-03-2015 02:26 PM

Wherever the bus driver feels is convenient for him or her. They even make up their own route.

I caught one yesterday outside Barclays to London Bridge. Instead of turning left for Honor Oak Park, he followed the 122 route towards Stanstead Road, turned right into Brockley Rise and didn't stop till he reached Brockley Station.

I asked about HOP and the driver and his controller at London Bridge were adamant the route taken was correct. A friendly bus driver appeared and told them that I was right and they should be following the printed route handed out to each driver.

The friendly driver confided in me that there were not enough local drivers to man the replacement routes and my driver, from Putney garage going by his bus company, did not have local knowledge. This meant not stopping at the stated bus stops or missing out stations. I will also add getting lost when I once directed a driver to London Bridge after he got confused at the end of Old Kent Road.

Engineering works are inconvenient for us weekend travellers as it is without all this extra ineptness.

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rbmartin


Posts: 1,074
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #26
08-03-2015 06:50 PM

The bus I was on was operated by Metrobus at least went the right way to HOP despite stopping at the wrong bus stop.

As I suspected, the drivers aren't local to the area.

The 'short' trip on the bus to New Cross Gate took around half an hour thanks to overcrowding, people asking the driver questions and traffic in the Brockley area.

On the return trip, I decided to get on the Overground to Denmark Hill and got a 185 back. Much quicker than the farcical bus service!

This post was last modified: 08-03-2015 06:51 PM by rbmartin.

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ChrisR


Posts: 97
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #27
09-03-2015 03:56 PM

The appalling replacement bus "service" being offered is totally unacceptable, and Southern Railways should be held to account.

On Saturday February 27th I had to travel to Buckinghamshire and National Rail Journey Planner was advising to use a replacement bus service to London Bridge and then the Northern line to Euston. Having found out from the TFL website the bus stop outside Barclays that should have used for the replacement bus had been closed due to the emergency gas works I called Southern Railways Customer Services to check which bus stop was being used instead, and for up to date information on any delays. They were totally unaware of either of these issues and maintained there was a service every 10 minutes but did try to call the station to see if they knew anything but nobody answered!

Having walked to the Perry Vale station entrance posters had been amended to show buses were leaving from the stop outside the Telephone Exchange but after waiting over 1 hour 40 minutes not one replacement service arrived! People continued to be redirected there by a station employee as did numerous 122 and 185 buses, so the traffic wasn't stopping those services from running. Tweets and phone calls to Customer services went answered, and eventually I gave up waiting and took a 185 to Catford Bridge from where I was able to get a South Eastern train to Charing Cross and then a Northern line tube to Euston. However what was meant to have been a 2 hour journey took over 4. Not a pleasant experience!

If Southern can't provide a replacement bus service we can rely on then they should make arrangements for regular TFL buses and other railway operators to accept tickets rather than customers having to incur extra charges to use other routes. In addition with all the modern technology available there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to ensure that the contractor they are using for these services communicate to them when issues occur so they can advise their own Customer Services, station staff and customers.

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WestLondonLad82


Posts: 9
Joined: Nov 2014
Post: #28
09-03-2015 07:31 PM

I actually think last weekends Rail Replacement buses were the most frequent I've ever seen

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Decker


Posts: 116
Joined: Nov 2014
Post: #29
10-03-2015 10:31 AM

That's because Forest Hill Society and people on this forum campaigned for more buses on Saturday peak!


People power!!

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michael


Posts: 3,255
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #30
10-03-2015 02:10 PM

And I'll be attending a meeting this evening on behalf of the Forest Hill Society to discuss the train and bus issues, and hope to raise this issue of rail replacement buses sometimes not following the right route or stops, however, it is not clear how common this problems is. It may be related to the fact that the previous weekend had no trains and the roads through Forest Hill were not working due to two sets of road works.

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Erekose


Posts: 557
Joined: May 2010
Post: #31
01-04-2015 07:47 PM

Engineering works again for most of the weeked. Let's hope it's all worth it.

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