East London Line Launch on Sunday 23rd May.

[digime2007]

Sorry Sydenham, bad joke on my part. I meant that Surrey Quays shopping centre is rubbish, not the ELL.

The only fault of the ELL was that it made it easy and pleasant to get there. So it was only really guilty of aiding and abetting in this case.

[Sydenham]

Now I see what you were meaning... Thinking about it the other way - if someone from North of the river (say) were to come to Sydenham for the first time as an 'explorer' then what would they have to say on their return? Whilst Forest Hill can lay claim to the Horniman, and Crystal Palace to the Palace Gardens etc. what is their in Sydenham as a 'visitor' attraction?

Whilst there's lots to make it an enjoyable place in which to live - what is in Sydenham to make one want to visit, and then return again in the future? Any suggestions - its not meant to be rhetorical.

[Ronski]

that's a good point Sydenham, to pull visitors in the area needs some kind of niche, perhaps more music from the local talent pool I don't know, the Arts Festival and local pubs are a good start. This article in the Standard this week about the East London Line cultural attractions illustrates the point (no mention of Sydenham)...
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle ... re-line.do

On the plus side though had a really nice journey today up to Shoreditch High Street and walked up to Columbia Road flower market and got some great bargains!

The Londonist blog has done a good write up on the new stations on the line including Sydenham here...
http://londonist.com/tags/eastlondonline

[alywin]

I had my first experience of the ELL the other evening. Turned up at London Bridge in good time for the Anerley train - so I thought. Totally hadn't occurred to me that the timetable change might actually have meant a *change in the timetable*. Train now leaves about 10 minutes earlier. So caught the Victoria via Crystal Palace train, intending to go up to CP and get a bus down. Realised while en route that there was an ELL following a few minutes behind, so I changed and got down to Anerley, just in nice time for my bus. Don't think I'd risk it on a Fri/Sat night, but it seemed to work well enough that one time.

BTW, does anyone know what potential interchange stations have a "staff presence" at night?

[JRobinson]

it's my understanding that all ELL line stations have a noticable staff presence whilst open (unlike some underground stations that are completely unmanned or only have one person at off peak hours).

Re: Surrey Quays/Canada Water - did you go the other side of the shopping centre? there's a cinema, ten pin bowling alley, Pizza Hut, Bingo Hall, and other restraunts. Also westwards is Southwark Park, with a bandstand that featured in a J.Sainsbury/Jamie Olliver advert, and nice cafe, a short walk north is Bermondsey Wall East, with great veiws of the river. Also further east (a moderate walk, or quick bus journey) is Surrey Docks City Farm, right on the river bank, overlooking Canary Warf. So the shopping centre might not be that brilliant, but there's a lot to do around there.

not like Sydenham, as pointed out - there's a lack of 'visitor attractors'

[digime2007]

I have to admit we only checked out the shopping centre then turned around and headed for Croydon.

We'll take a wider look another day. Thanks for the tips.

[angela53]

Had a fab day out on Sunday thanks to ELL. Brick Lane was buzzing, I had not visited for over 30 years, went on to Columbia Road and got some great bargains just as the flower market was closing. As the trains are so frequent the journey both ways was effortless
By the way, the Evening Standard tonight mentioned the property boom south of the river, along the route of the ELL. Crystal Palace estate agents in particular doing really well.

[simon]

Had to laugh at this article in tonight's Standard: "East London line delivers property boom", based on a two bed flat in Brockely being on the market for £20k than it would have been 18 months ago.
Its the "previously isolated" bit that gets me. Never really felt isolated here myself. A whole new world awaits me apparently I feel like a native American Indian welcoming Columbus.

[CaptainCarCrash]

Moved to West Croydon because of a studio build project I'm involved with during the evening and at weekends so I'm commuting to work via the ELL from West Croydon Station to Shoreditch Highstreet during the week.

I have used the ELL this week and although the service is good they have skimped on the rolling stock, the seats are a bit uncomfortable on the journey and after about 20 mins I had to stand up in fear of developing deep vein thrombosis.

The service is good and will open doors for people in our area as the new line has aleviated the difficulty of going into that part of London.

So all I can say is I'm happy the line exists however the skimping on passenger comfort is a bit of a pain in the arse, but I love the fact that the trains are open plan which adds a limited yet novel appeal when going round corners.

[CaptainCarCrash]

Had a fab day out on Sunday thanks to ELL. Brick Lane was buzzing, I had not visited for over 30 years, went on to Columbia Road and got some great bargains just as the flower market was closing. As the trains are so frequent the journey both ways was effortless
By the way, the Evening Standard tonight mentioned the property boom south of the river, along the route of the ELL. Crystal Palace estate agents in particular doing really well.

I remeber the punchups at the CPH and The Swan with some fondness in the early 80's so lets all hope that it wont become another East Dulwich with Bugaboo yuppies, over priced butchers shops and the ponceification of you're favorite boozer.

[Weeble]

I must say that the frequency of service is revolutionising my life - being able to stroll to the station at a time of my choosing rather than being dictated by the train timetable.

The problem is that replacing my morning dash for the train with a leisurely saunter is probably depriving me of half of my daily exercise. But as I still bear the physical scars from tripping over a paving stone when sprinting for the train some years back, the health benefits probably balance out

[rbmartin]

FH has finally been Oyster enabled at the ticket office, is this now the case for Sydenham?

[Bovine Juice]

But as I still bear the physical scars from tripping over a paving stone when sprinting for the train some years back, the health benefits probably balance out

So they lied to us all those years ago. Weebles do fall down...

[bensonby]

FH has finally been Oyster enabled at the ticket office, is this now the case for Sydenham?

I thought Oyster has been available since January?

[rbmartin]

FH has finally been Oyster enabled at the ticket office, is this now the case for Sydenham?

I thought Oyster has been available since January?

The self service machines have been since late January (3 weeks after PAYG was accepted at the stations), but not the ticket office.

[alywin]

So caught the Victoria via Crystal Palace train, intending to go up to CP and get a bus down. Realised while en route that there was an ELL following a few minutes behind, so I changed and got down to Anerley, just in nice time for my bus. Don't think I'd risk it on a Fri/Sat night, but it seemed to work well enough that one time.

Tried this again the other night. Between my getting off the train at Sydders and the train disappearing from view, the ELL supposedly only a few minutes behind suddenly turned into "Delayed" and stayed that way. I ended up having to get a cab home ...

[AVManning]

I didnt really think I would use the Overground, but I now find myself using it quite a bit. My old journey to work was Sydenham or Forest Hill to London Bridge then the trek to the Jubilee Line to get to Green Park. Now increasingly I find that I am getting the Overground to Canada Water and getting the Jubilee Line from there. Even though this new route has more stops the journey time isnt increased and is much more pleasurable.

Its great to just turn up at Syd station and know that in a few minutes I can get a train to either London Bridge or Canada Water, and not be so rigid about knowing the timetable. Also going the other way at weekends I often go to Clapham Junction (followed by a bus) to visit family, so instead of relying solely on the 2 direct trains an hour I have sometimes got on the Overground and changed at Crystal Palace.

However I do miss the direct trains to/from Charing Cross, as these were good for getting home after a night out.

Very unlucky yesterday evening as got a train from Syd to London Bridge and ended up sitting just outside London Bridge for 30 minutes due to the idot who decided to "walk home" along the tracks, he actually walked past the train I was on. I should have waited the extra 4 mins for the Overground!!!!

[FHSoc]

Thought you might be interested in these answers from LOROL to questions from our members:

Can people with National Rail Station to Station season tickets travel on Overground trains? For example, can Forest Hill - London Bridge season ticket holders travel from Forest Hill - New Cross Gate on your trains, or must they wait for a Southern train?

Point to point seasons are valid on LOROL services in the circumstance you describe. It should be noted, however, that point to point seasons to/from London Terminals are NOT valid north of New Cross/New Cross Gate.

What Oyster facilities are now available at the stations?

Concerning the Oyster facilities at Forest Hill (and all ex-Southern stations we have taken over), the machines should be able to do the following:

• Load pre-pay on to an Oyster
• Load weekly and Monthly (if registered) tickets on to an Oyster
• Add/Remove Oyster Extension Permits
• Cancel/Non-Issue a transaction carried out by that office (i.e. if someone changes their mind mid-way or doesn’t have the right money)
• Provide information as to what ticket and/or how much pre-pay is on the Oyster

The machines however cannot do the following:

• Load annual season tickets on to an Oyster
• Resolve incomplete journeys
• Interrogate the Oyster and provide a printout of recent activity
• Provide refunds (for example encountering a large service delay and requiring reimbursement)

[bobmcbob]

Point to point seasons are valid on LOROL services in the circumstance you describe. It should be noted, however, that point to point seasons to/from London Terminals are NOT valid north of New Cross/New Cross Gate.

Just to let you know that if you use your London Terminals season to New Cross Gate then wish to use a PAYG for the Overground bit you need to climb the stairs and get let out of the station FIRST, then use your card to re-enter the station.

Don't do what I did and just touch the exit gate as it will be classed as an un-started journey (i.e you're just leaving at New Cross Gate) you'll be overcharged and will have issues at the other end when it when you won't be able to open the gates.

The readers on the platform don't work either...

[alywin]

And did I mention that if you touch in and then touch out at the same station (e.g. because your train is cancelled and it's quicker to go home another way), you end up being charged a maximum fare because the Oyster system is confused? Happened to me at Norwood Junction just pre-ELL, when I only had one service to Anerley every half hour. Ah, the bad old days!

It's actually a real pain. If I touch in on platforms 1-4 at Charing Cross, then just miss my train and have to go to platforms 5-6, which have separate gates, I assume the same thing will happen.