Longer trains from Sydenham to London Bridge

[admin]

Southern announce longer trains from December on the London Bridge route. 10 carriages instead of 8 ...
http://www.rail.co/2011/10/17/southern- ... -december/

Admin

[michael]

10 carriages instead of 8 ... on certain services. Some will remain 4 carriages. And they will be taking away two evening peak services (17:24 and 18:25) due to low demand on trains that run 3 minutes after the previous trains.

I don't think that overall this is bad news for passengers. But it is better to tell the whole story, including the cuts to services.

[digime2007]

Presumably you mean the 17:25 and 18:24 michael.

That sucks. The 17:25 is actually pretty busy these days. Admittedly not all seats are taken but there are way more than a couple of carriages of people on there. That means more crowding on the 17:21.

[michael]

Actually, it mainly means more overcrowding on the 17:36

[digime2007]

Actually, it mainly means more overcrowding on the 17:36

I disagree. A lot of people, like me, choose to take the 17:25 as it's a lot less crowded than the 17:21.

There are plenty of people on the 17:25 well before the 17:21 leaves. When the timetable changes these will be on the already crowded 17:21.

[michael]

It is possible that we are both right. The 17:36 will be lengthened to 10 carriages but the 17:21 will not be lengthened and appears to be rescheduled to 17:19.

The existing 17.25 and 18.24 London Bridge to Crystal Palace trains will be withdrawn due to low passenger numbers. The 17.19 and 18.19 London Bridge to London Victoria via Crystal Palace service will continue to operate as now as will the 17.36 and 18.36 London Bridge to West Croydon services which will be increased to run with 10 coaches. Coaches released from the withdrawn services have been redeployed to reduce overcrowding on other services on the Redhill route.

[digime2007]

Moving the 17:21 forward will affect things. Either way, unless I'm missing something, there will be no net gain in carriages between 17:00 and 19:00. I'm struggling to see that as an improvement.

Also, it's sad that if a train doesn't have people standing up it's deemed to have "low passenger numbers".

[bensonby]

I suspect they need to cut services out of London Bridge at rush hour due to the absurd situation of London Bridge losing platforms in the near future.

[digime2007]

I suspect they need to cut services out of London Bridge at rush hour due to the absurd situation of London Bridge losing platforms in the near future.

Permanently or just while they make changes?

[bensonby]

Permanently

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[goonerchamp]

I have spoken to a relative who says - drivers have 10 minutes to find a fault on a train and if the fault is not found the train has to be put out of service,so on trains with ten carriages could possibly take longer to find the fault and potentially result in more trains being put out of service - also theres apparently a rule that any train over 9 carriages requires a conductor (potentially due to this fault issue) ! - happy days ! illegal trains and more potential cancellations !

[digime2007]

Sounds like an end to my 'relatively civilised' journey home then.

[JeeBee]

It must be nice to be on the train home from work by 17.21!

That would explain the longer platforms they're building at the stations along the line - although I bet Honor Oak Park will only be 9 carriages long :-p