Circle Weekend Closures

[Deleted]

Does anyone have info as to why the Circle is closed almost every weekend?

I have two theories:
1) power upgrades (and the like) preparing the line for S Stock
2) Works taking place at Farringdon and Blackfriar's to do with Crossrail and Thameslink

Both would explain why the Circle if often closed but doesn't explain why the District and H&C are not simultaneously closed in central London.

There haven't been any updates on TfL's new 'meet the line manager' page of updates so am only working on an educated guess.

[Deleted]

AIUI it's because there are works going on that stop a fair number of trains leaving the depots(s) in question and hence not enough to run the Circle service as well.

[citysig]

Both of you are correct in your theories - dependant on the weekend in question of course - and other works that interrupt any part of the Circle line will alter whether the service runs partially or not.

Recently the Circle has only be subject to a "partial closure" though of course the service offered is normally no resemblance whatsoever to a "Circle."

Last weekend, the Circle was only (technically) suspended Edgware Road to Moorgate, with the H&C running Hammersmith to King's Cross. This was due to Thameslink/Crossrail related works at Farringdon.

On such a weekend we tend not to run the H&C in 2 parts (e.g. we could have run Barking-Moorgate). The logistics involved in staffing those trains and indeed having enough trains available far outweigh any benefit of operating it.

[Deleted]

With hindsight, perhaps it would have been simpler to have announced that, until further notice, the Circle would only run Mondays to Fridays - then if it was run on the occasional weekend or part thereof, it would have seemed to us customers passengers like a bonus

[causton]

Or just not run it at all at weekends - the amount of times that it is closed it might as well just be M-F in total - and if the trains are available from the Circle to be used somewhere else then strengthen other services if pathing allows!

[Chris M]

The only thing I think you'd need to add is street level signage between Tower Gateway/Fenchurch Street and Aldgate and publicise the interchange a bit more. It's not much further than Tower Gateway, already an OSI and (when the Met is running) quicker and easier than changing at Aldgate East.

[Deleted]

I think it may be due to the District Line works at Barking. The Circle Line get a lot of their trains from the Barking depot, so from Hammersmith alone do not have enough to run a half decent service.

The H & C is always diverted to Aldgate as if the Met ran a normal service it would mean the H & C would run a disjointed one with two separate sections which is awkward not only for passengers but for the drivers / train ops as well. The service would end up being something like Hammersmith to Edgware Road / Moorgate and East Ham to West Ham / Whitechapel.

So therefore, the Circle can't get to enough trains to do a proper service, whereas the H & C runs Hammersmith to Aldgate and the Met Amersham / Chesham / Uxbridge to Baker Street / Moorgate.

Hope that makes more sense to you than it does to me.

[mrfs42]

May 22, 2011 9:20:09 GMT @martello736 said:

The H & C is always diverted to Aldgate.

Is it? ISTR a TTN with something going to Moorgate quite recently - sometime last year.

[uzairjubilee]

May 23, 2011 0:00:45 GMT mrfs42 said:

May 22, 2011 9:20:09 GMT @martello736 said:

The H & C is always diverted to Aldgate.

Is it? ISTR a TTN with something going to Moorgate quite recently - sometime last year.

Most of the time it is.