|
Post by alholmes on Dec 21, 2012 21:13:31 GMT
There's an interesting FoI request here (http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/annual_travel_cards_and_gold_car#incoming-340267) that showed that: a) Section 10 of the Ticketing & Revenue Book 2 states "When issuing an adult rate Annual Travelcard on an Oyster card, you must also add a Railcard discount entitlement with the same expiry date as the ticket" b) Of the 107,000 oyster cards that currently hold an annual travelcard sold at an LU station, only 21% have the discount registered.
I renewed my ticket today at Liverpool Street (Central line) ticket office and had no problem at all.
Interesting that norbitonflyer had to fill in a form at St Pauls - last year the staff at that station were asking me for my username and password to register the railcard discount - something which I refused to give. Stratford had no problem registering the discount later that day.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Dec 5, 2012 7:13:23 GMT
Interesting... between Bow Junction & the A12 bridge there's a new residential block that is very close to the existing DLR single track, so I'm not sure whether there would be sufficient space for an additional track there. DLR didn't appear bothered about that block at the time of its planning application, as they had no plans to double the track then.
And there's probably not enough space to realign the track from Fenchurch Street to the west, as it would potentially go across the only entrance to another new residential block in the 'V' between the Network Rail lines at Bow Junction.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Nov 7, 2012 21:57:41 GMT
But how will S-N Met trains reverse south of platform 2? I thought the current rails ended immediately at the southern end of the platform. Are there plans to electrify a short stretch of the Up Chiltern track (possibly as far as the LU / Network Rail boundary)?
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Oct 23, 2012 19:39:06 GMT
Over the next two weekends Hainault depot will be inaccessible from either end, due to the engineering works.
Does anyone know what will happen to the RAT during this period? Will it stable in the sidings at Woodford or Loughton when it is not running between Epping and Leytonstone? Or will it be kept at Hainault, with no runs scheduled for the weekends?
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jul 18, 2012 5:48:59 GMT
They undershoot occasionally - could be by as little as 6-12 inches, and it usually requires the Train Captain / PSA to go to the front. I've overshot only twice in 25 years on the DLR, both times at All Saints. On one occasion the Train Captain gained permission to reverse. On the other occasion, after consulting with control, we were just sent forward to the next station, so alighting passengers had to double-back.
Not long after the system opened, I was on a very lightly-loaded train to Stratford. We arrived, but no-one opened a door very quickly and almost immediately the train got the 'Ready to Depart' indicator and started moving back to Bow Church (this was pre-Pudding Mill Lane existing). So all passengers need to alight at Bow Church and change platforms - missing the next train to Stratford in the process!
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jul 14, 2012 14:16:00 GMT
A few years ago a new apartment building was built beside and fairly close to the DLR track, between the bridges over the A12 and Fairfield Road. I wrote to the DLR at the time of the planning application, to ensure that they were aware as it would appear to rule out the possibility of widening in future. They were aware of the plans but saw no reason to object.
The plans for the new PML show the new viaduct to be double track, but, not plans exist for widening of the existing sections.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jul 14, 2012 9:08:59 GMT
No - there are still no plans to double the track apart from at Pudding Mill Lane station.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jul 13, 2012 6:30:36 GMT
Station B - Bow Church DLR?
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jun 8, 2012 6:24:47 GMT
Really, where was the breach then? That section of Wick Lane is a mess at the moment thanks to Crossrail enabling, Network Rail refurbishing the GEML overbridge, and the new traffic lights going in for the Olympics. Seems a bit of a coincidence that with all that civil engineering going on that the leak happened. The breach was in a hole, the size of three parking bays on the west side of Wick Lane, immediately to the north of the entrances to the underground car parks at Bow Quarter - completely separate to all of the work going on around the railway bridge, and a lot further south than the new traffic lights. The parking bays had been coned off last week, but the work only started on Wednesday. Tfl reported flooding at Stratford as the cause for the line closure, this was probably just repeated by the press. This was a horribly simplified description of the problem (given the flood wasn't even in the same borough as Stratford) but I can't think of a better way of delivering the reason that the average customer will understand. I agree that it was a simplified description, but it could have been better to just describe it as being between Stratford and Mile End stations. Last night, BBC London's reporter described it as being at Stratford International!
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jun 7, 2012 5:45:27 GMT
I'm guessing it's the Crossrail enabling works on Wick Lane that caused it. They are in the process of digging some very deep holes to strengthen the Ham and Wick sewer, to prevent it being damaged by the Crossrail bores. This was nothing to do with the strengthening work. The Thames Water person that I spoke to advised that they had detected an underground leak last week. Cones had been erected around some parking bays on Wick Lane at the end of last week but the work didn't start until yesterday. Within a few hours of starting the work, the pipe burst and the water flowed... I puzzled by reports in some of the media stating that Stratford station was flooded. It's half a mile away and water would need to defy gravity to reach Stratford.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jun 6, 2012 21:16:45 GMT
Does anyone know what time the service was suspended? Water was flowing rapidly at 12:30pm along Wick Lane, just north of the GEML overbridge. I live right beside Wick Lane, and we had a few inches of water in the underground car park, although it seems that most water was flowing down to road towards the ventilation shaft.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on May 9, 2012 11:23:21 GMT
5046-5089 through Harrow on T717 at 12.17 today, Wed 9 May
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Apr 23, 2012 15:59:09 GMT
The booklet confirms that the back stairs at Tower Gateway will be exit only. I suspect that is the reason for the switch.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Apr 23, 2012 15:04:26 GMT
Received a booklet at home today detailing what will be happening during the Olympics on the DLR. Quite a lot on information, but main points to note: - Some stations will be staffed during the games - most are obvious (e.g. interchanges, or close to venues), but also included my local - Bow Church. - Heron Quays will be exit only, northbound, during evening peak - Custom House - exit only - Cutty Sark - closed most of the time - varies by date - Pontoon Dock - entry only - Prince Regent - entry only - Pudding Mill Lane - closed Saturday 14 July - Wednesday 12 September inclusive - Shadwell - one way system - usual stairs will be exit only, entry via stairs at eastern end of platform - Tower Gateway - boarding / alighting platforms reversed
Revised service patterns in operation 14 July - 9 September.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Mar 4, 2012 8:07:20 GMT
Power supply works - I passed through at about 4:45pm yesterday, just before closure and there were people in the power supply room on the Stratford-bound platform (just beyond the lift) and a generator at street level beside the ticket machines. The lifts weren't working and I suspect the platform lights weren't, either, which might be the reason for the station closure. Also closed before 7am both days.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Dec 30, 2011 12:23:14 GMT
As one of the (very few) people working in the city this week, my observation is that there seem to be even less people in our office this week than in previous years - at a guess, only 5% of the staff are in. Some people are working from home, but most are taking the time off as holiday.
Clearly if this is typical then there's not really a requirement for anything more than a Saturday service in general. But I don't suppose a Saturday service is very frequent at 7.30 in the morning.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Dec 21, 2011 7:05:45 GMT
If you have a travelcard on your Oyster, is it possible to be charged a penalty fare? For example, say you forget to touch in on the DLR but you touch out, does it matter? Or if you don't touch in on a bus, does it matter? There's no requirement to touch in or out if you are using a travelcard, although if part of the journey is outside of your travelcard zones (using a combination of travelcard and pay as you go) then you do need to touch in and out. There were frequent complaints that people never touched in on bendi-buses and were therefore travelling free - whilst that may have been true of some passengers, there were many others, like me, who weren't required to touch in.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Dec 4, 2011 19:04:19 GMT
I think there's some at Pudding Mill Lane too - another Crossrail site.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Nov 13, 2011 17:36:27 GMT
DLR really need to get a grip of the rail replacement services. With the entire network closed this weekend, it meant that five different routes converged on Canary Wharf. Plenty of staff in hi-viz jackets, but all they seemed to do yesterday when a bus pulled up was talk to the driver - would have been helpful if they'd announce to the assembled crowd where the bus was going to before boarding, rather than leave passengers to get on the bus and ask the driver first, then entering into a lengthy discussion with the driver about which bus they should be boarding.
One member of staff at Canary Wharf this afternoon was attempting to announce the destinations, but was often drowned out by the noise of the bus engines.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Nov 5, 2011 17:36:32 GMT
Not the first time... there have been other weekend closures this year that have resulted in a Tower Gateway - Mudchute service. It's unusual though, not sure why they don't just reverse at Crossharbour.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jun 7, 2011 21:09:18 GMT
Westfield shopping centre at Stratford is due to open in mid-September (the 13th, I believe). Maybe that will be a good excuse to open the line.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Feb 11, 2011 22:06:16 GMT
I went on a Deltic-hauled railtour along the line from Wimbledon - East Putney in 1981, as they were being phased out. The tour was from Finsbury Park to Exeter, out via the GW main line, back via the South Western to Wimbledon, then through East Putney to Clapham Junction and on the WLL through Olympia.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Jan 19, 2011 7:03:57 GMT
I've just received an email from DLR advising that if the planned strike goes ahead on 20/21 January then they intend to operate a Tower Gateway - Mudchute service only, at 5-10 minute frequency between 07.00-19.00.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Sept 17, 2010 18:05:57 GMT
All Saints is 0850. But Canary Wharf appears twice 0842 Canary Wharf - DLR 0847 Cheslyn Hay 0850 All Saints 0851 Bow Church 0852 Canary Wharf 0854 Crossharbour .... 0940 Lewisham Does anyone know what 0847 Cheslyn Hay is/was? A quick google shows that it's a district of Walsall.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Sept 6, 2010 20:43:06 GMT
DLR were testing a 3-car train on Sunday 5th September between Bow Church & Stratford.
Today (6th September) some trains between Canary Wharf & Stratford were running as 3-cars - the first time I've seen 3-car trains on this route. Not sure if this is a permanent change or just to increase capacity during the tube strike.
|
|
|
Post by alholmes on Aug 25, 2010 20:01:12 GMT
I had an interview about 15 years ago... was asked to explain what I'd do in three particular circumstances: 1) Passenger without ticket, refusing to pay and starting to get aggressive. 2) Wheelchair passenger wanting to travel to station where the lift was out of order. 3) Evacuation of train between stations.
I'd suggest you travel a bit beforehand so that you know the geography of the system and speak to a few PSAs - they're mostly a friendly bunch.
|
|