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London Overground - new route
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hopper


Posts: 65
Joined: Jan 2008
Post: #1
11-12-2012 08:49 PM

I've probably missed a whole thread about this, but am I right in thinking that there are now fewer trains running to Crystal Palace and West Croydon because of the new Overground spur to Clapham Junction?

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michael


Posts: 3,255
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #2
11-12-2012 10:36 PM

We still have 8 trains an hour to Forest Hill which is the same as it has been since the ELL opened in 2010. In 2014/2015 we will get two additional trains to Crystal Palace.

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Mattfh


Posts: 25
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #3
11-12-2012 10:41 PM

Thankfully we still get the same frequency of trains; the Clapham Junction trains run between the gaps in our services.

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Cheeky


Posts: 215
Joined: May 2009
Post: #4
12-12-2012 12:59 PM

Will those 2 additional trains to Crystal Palace be replacing the Southern Service to Victoria do you know Michael?

If so, it's a downgrade in my opinion, 2 less trains to London Bridge and 2 less trains direct to Victoria or Clapham Junction.

If they're not, happy days!!!

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michael


Posts: 3,255
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #5
12-12-2012 01:46 PM

Well I certainly hope we don't lose any of our London Bridge/Victoria services. There is room in the timetable for two additional trains on our line, without the need to reduce Southern services. But with the work at London Bridge in 2014 it is something I'm keeping an eye on.

Previously I had said that the temporary loss of 2 trains per hour to London Bridge could be a price worth paying for connection to Thameslink, but since then a few things have changed: We are not getting 12 carriage trains on Southern services (as recommended by the 2008 RUS), and there are no plans for us to directly benefit from Thameslink services after 2018 (except by changing at London Bridge).

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #6
12-12-2012 02:50 PM

I've been concerned about losing the Victoria service as it is useful for those stops in between - Streatham, Balham, etc as well as the connections available at Clapham.

However, I have discovered that if I want to go to Victoria / West London, it is just as quick (if not quicker) to use the Overground in the 'wrong' direction. As an experiment last week, I went to Sloane Square from Forest Hill via Victoria and the District Line, and returned via District Line to Whitechapel and Overground to Forest Hill. Coming back was five minutes faster.

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michael


Posts: 3,255
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #7
12-12-2012 03:59 PM

rshdunlop,
You should consider an extra change to the Jubilee Line at Westminster (or Green Park if coming from further west than South Ken) and then Canada Water interchange. The District line is very slow through zone 1.

But if coming from Victoria I would probably prefer the journey on a single train rather than three trains for the sake of 5 minutes. But it does depend on the timing as the direct trains only run twice an hour. And the non-underground service is cheaper.

I once did the calculations in preparation for leaving a meeting in Victoria and there was only about 10 minutes in the hour when heading for Victoria station would have been worthwhile according to my personal cost/time/laziness analysis.

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #8
12-12-2012 04:11 PM

Michael - I used to go Jubilee - Westminster - District to get to Sloane Square. It may be marginally quicker in terms of the train journeys, but the extra changes add quite a lot of time. At Westminster you have to go all way up - three sets of escalators going up and two sets coming back - to get to the District Line. I've found that the very quick interchange at Whitechapel and chugging around the District line with my book is preferable. It feels long for some reason, but is actually quicker than you might think.

I will still get a Victoria train when going from FH if there is one due, but as they are only two-an-hour, more often than not, I take the Overground and Tube option.

Is there anything Londoners like better than debating the finer details of the best way to get from A to B?

This post was last modified: 12-12-2012 04:15 PM by rshdunlop.

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nottinghillbilly


Posts: 653
Joined: Dec 2010
Post: #9
12-12-2012 07:29 PM

It really does feel as though there are less trains in the late evening going to Forest Hill from Canada Water than before the new extention.
Coming home from work at 10.30pm the past two nights at Canada Water Every third train has been either Crystal Palace or West Croydon involving at least a 20min wait. Cursing
I'm certain it wasn't this bad before with average waits of 9-12 mins.

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rbmartin


Posts: 1,074
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #10
16-12-2012 05:54 PM

Looking at the timetable, the 5-10 min service home stops after the 2231 from Canada Water, when the late evening service commences with 4tph to Forest Hill starting with the 2246 to Crystal Palace then the 2256 to West Croydon before a 20 minute gap when the 2316 arrives for Crystal Palace and so on.

The final direct train from Canada Water continues to be the 2356 to West Croydon, although there are later trains to New Cross Gate which connect with the final train from London Bridge.

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