journey planner

[flippyff]

Does TfL journey planner have the correct time tables for DLR? The reason I ask is that I planned a journey for this morning from Stratford Int. to London City Airport and it gave me trains at 05:55, changing at Canning Town or 06:05 direct but there was no 05:55 train, however one did leave around 06:01 bound for LCY.

P.S. Do the train captains still set the destination displays? Woolwich Arsenal wasn't displayed until long after we'd left Stratford Int.

TIA

Simon

[Chris M]

In my experience, the journey planner does normally get it right, at least travelling from Woolwich Arsenal and Mudchute.

The train displays are not set by the train captains. I presume they are downloaded from the signalling, but I don't know this. Travelling to Woolwich Arsenal, the front of train displays (you can see a reflection in the window of the adjacent car) used to change about at the crossover outside Woolwich if you were bound for the right hand platform (from an arrival point of view) but not until shortly after departure from the left hand platform. I've not been that way in a while to see if that is still the case.

[davidp]

I posted Working Timetables for the DLR earlier this year (the Stratford International to Beckton or Woolwich Arsenal one is here and that suggests that the first direct train is at 6:07 preceded by Beckton bound trains at 5:27, 5:37, 5:47 and 5:57 and those are the times that the TfL Journey Planner is giving me. Perhaps, fippyff, there was an issue on that day?

[flippyff]

There were no messages saying anything was amiss and there was def. no 05:57 train (I know realise that JP takes "Stratford International" to mean the NR station and not the DLR station, so it allows 2 minutes to walk to the DLR) - I arrived at the station at 05:52 and there was nothing in either platform

Doing the reverse journey in the evening and again JP didn't match up. I arrived at LCY at 18:40 and was on the DLR platform by 18:52. A Bank train was due followed by a Stratford Int. train at 18:59. Knowing the latter would take 20 minutes and make me miss the 19:17 to Ashford from Stratford Int. I decided to catch the Bank train and change at Canning Town - I threw Canning Town to Stratford International into JP while on the Bank train and it told me the next DLR train would be at 19:15 from Canning Town. I gave up letting TfL plan my journey, jumped onto the Jubilee at Canning Town, hurried through Stratford and then Westfield and caught the 19:17 with about 20 seconds to spare.

I've just thrown the outbound journey into JP for the same times but for tomorrow morning (29/Sep) and Thursday (02/Oct) and I'm getting a 05.45 train with a change at Canning Town or a 05:59 train direct.

Simon