Piccadilly line 28/2/09

[sarah607]

Hi all
what was going on with the line today i was on it and there was a lot of trains held in stations for 5 - 10 Min's and trains in the wrong order like there was 2 raynes lane trains in a row and after them a Uxbridge train.
other turns
South harrow 3 times
oakwood 7 times
hounslow central 2 times
Northfield's 9 times
did any of you see any wrong today on the line?

[ruislip]

I even noticed Wood Green and Barons Court on the departure boards at TFL's website. I thought those turns were abandoned along with the 1959 stock

[Deleted]

The line was suspended earlier between Wood Green and Cockfosters due to a signal failure at Arnos Grove so that would explain the Wood Green reversers. Other than that, I don't know what was going on.

[memorex]

Basically, suspension Wood Green to Cockfosters due to a siggie failure as jenks said.

This created some gaps in the service while the signaller sorted out turning trains etc. However, due to passengers travelling south for the football in Fulham Broadway, and north for the football at Arsenal, and then on top of that, your normal tourist traffic etc.
Basically increased traffic means first trains through after small gaps get a higher rate of passengers, meaning there train sits there for longer, creating a larger gap - you know how it goes

Trust me, W/B picc at Kings Cross was, erm, busy

[Oracle]

Is turning at Hounslow Central still rare these days?

[Deleted]

Depends who the SCL2 is, but generally its rare now with the extra running time to T4/T5 since T5 opened up.

[Deleted]

I got 10 minutes overtime out of it.. having nearly made the time up through not being held at all at T123, Northfields, Acton *or* Hyde Park Corner, I then ended up stuck behind several trains and then had to sit in the platform at Kings Cross due to some unspecified problem behind me, and I think I was there for about five minutes. When I got to Cockfosters, there was a train sitting in the middle platform ready to depart but I was sent out first (signal cleared as I got out of the cab) - I can understand the need to get trains back in running order *but* as I pulled into Oakwood there was a radio message asking the train at Wood Green to hold for a few minutes because I was the next westbound! Since I was already doomed to run late (I arrived at Arnos on the east at the same time I should have been leaving CFS), they might have been better off simply sending the other one first. I picked up four late turn drivers at Oakwood (and no, they didn't get in the cab with me!) and a couple of them were late or close to it for their duties because there hadn't been a train in so long - the one at Wood Green may have been reversed at Arnos though I wouldn't swear to that.

[Deleted]

Feb 28, 2009 18:44:32 GMT Oracle said:

Is turning at Hounslow Central still rare these days?

I've certainly never done it and the only times I've heard it called for over the radio have been when there are signalling problems between there and Heathrow and they literally can't send more trains in and need some going back east.

[Deleted]

I've reversed there a couple of times, one of them because of a man running amok at Hatton Cross with a carving knife!

[astock5000]

Feb 28, 2009 19:47:42 GMT @undergroundgal said:

I arrived at Arnos on the east at the same time I should have been leaving CFS

Wouldn't it have made sense for your train to be reversed at Arnos Grove, instead of going to Cockfosters?

[ruislip]

1) I thought South Harrow reversing ended with the withdrawal of Standard Stock
2) On the departure boards, does "Northfields Depot" imply a train going out of service @ Northfields, or is that used for all Northfields reversers?

[Deleted]

Mar 1, 2009 23:42:38 GMT ruislip said:

1) I thought South Harrow reversing ended with the withdrawal of Standard Stock
2) On the departure boards, does "Northfields Depot" imply a train going out of service @ Northfields, or is that used for all Northfields reversers?

Trains only reverse at South Harrow if there is a problem ahead at Rayners Lane, or if you are very late. A couple of months back engineering work led to all trains reversing there, which allowed me to do amove I hadn't done before

The depature boards will only show Northfields, not Northfields depot and this is used for any train terminating there, including stablers.

[Deleted]

Mar 1, 2009 22:33:39 GMT astock5000 said:

Feb 28, 2009 19:47:42 GMT @undergroundgal said:

I arrived at Arnos on the east at the same time I should have been leaving CFS

Wouldn't it have made sense for your train to be reversed at Arnos Grove, instead of going to Cockfosters?

Yes, quite possily it would have, and don't ask me why they didn't - though I think there may have been a gap before me since there was only the one train at Cockfosters and they were bringing another out of the depot, and as mentioned the westbound before me (which might have come from Arnos, not CFS) was at Wood Green while I was at Oakwood.

[astock5000]

Mar 1, 2009 23:42:38 GMT ruislip said:

On the departure boards, does "Northfields Depot" imply a train going out of service @ Northfields, or is that used for all Northfields reversers?

The departure boards on the TfL website probably only show this for trains going into the depot, like how on the District's departure boards, you can get 'Ealing Broadway then Depot'.

[Deleted]

My apologies to ruislip, I didn't realise the Picc was now on the Tfl departure baord website, I though you were referring to the platform indicators

[ruislip]

Mar 2, 2009 20:36:55 GMT @upinthesky said:

My apologies to ruislip, I didn't realise the Picc was now on the Tfl departure baord website, I though you were referring to the platform indicators

All tube lines now have departure boards

[Deleted]

Just had a look at the departure boards, passengers will have more info than some of my colleagues.
Northfields Depot trains are describe as ND with the Northfields Sidings as NS all show on DM as Northfields. Info on departure boards must work off Trackernet on the Picc