Crossrail/Elizabeth Line. From construction to operation - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Surrey 455]

Crossrail's fake destinations

Another non-story on local news media. Ealing Broadway is hardly a "fake destination" as Crossrail trains do stop there. And the same helpful "trick" was used pre-Lockdown by FGW^▸ (First Great Western) stopping services with the destination boards at Reading suggesting that  Ealing Broadway was the terminus. It probably still is -I've gone no further east than Maidenhead for 30 months.

FGW / GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and probably Thames Trains also used to advertise stopping trains from Paddington to Reading as terminating at Twyford. No idea if TfL^» (Transport for London - about) still do that.

Well I suppose it makes a change from these "journalists" visiting pubs and restaurants and writing "You won't believe how awesome my meal was"

[paul7575]

A shout out for up direction SWT^▸ (South West Trains)/SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) stoppers from Poole, advertised at Brockenhurst and Southampton Parkway as terminating at Farnborough, (rather than Waterloo), because they get overtaken.

This is a standard practice that’s been used for quite some time.

Paul

[grahame]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) / GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and probably Thames Trains also used to advertise stopping trains from Paddington to Reading as terminating at Twyford.

Yeah ... damned if they do and damned if they don't.

I recall catching a "Twyford" train at Paddington a few years back - with plenty of time to make the slow journey to Reading and connect onto a an express to Swindon to connect to Melksham.  Problem was it turned out to really be a Twyford terminator, and I stood on the platform at Twyford for the best part of half an hour and watched my Swindon train rush past.

On the other  hand, standing in the ticket office in Motherwell and seeing multiple departures to "Glasgow Central", with two trains leaving at the same time sometimes too, is not exactly helpful to informing unfamiliar passengers how to get to the city quickest!

[Marlburian]

About forty years ago I unwittingly boarded a "Twyford" train at Paddington, realised my mistake and got off at Twyford. The train continued towards Reading. I wonder if I'd stayed on it whether I could have got off at a platform in Reading - in those days of course passengers could open the doors for themselves.

[PrestburyRoad]

Back in the days of loco-hauled slam-door stock and no digital screens, I remember standing at the western end of island platform 10/11 at Birmingham New Street, wondering which of the two delayed trains at those platforms would depart first to get me to its first stop of Cheltenham.  The train crews weren't sure either and they like me were waiting to see which signal turned green first.  One of the signals duly turned green and I jumped onto that train.  It made me think of the 'wild' travelling from Waterloo described in Three Men in a Boat.

[Marlburian]

"Elizabeth Line property scheme fraudsters jailed for £13m scam": Reading & Berkshire News

[stuving]

TfL^» (Transport for London - about) have confirmed that through running on the Elizabeth Line will start on 6th November - from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Elizabeth line sections to be joined up in November

Sections of the Elizabeth line are set to be joined up, cutting the need for passengers to change trains, it has been announced.

From 6 November, trains will go from Reading and Heathrow to Abbey Wood, and from Shenfield to Paddington, Transport for London (TfL) said.

Bond Street station will open in the autumn while more trains will also run...

[Fourbee]

Changing trains at core stations for a different Elizabeth Line route should then be as simple as jumping off and remaining on the platform rather than hacking across Paddington/Liverpool St as it is now.

Vastly better and most welcome.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

The test running was done at up to 24 tph but they’re starting at 12 tph – looks to be a good idea while they and the passengers settle in.

My concern is when Elizabeth Line trains start running through from the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) with 24 tph through the core.  The EL trains will be sharing the busy UR between Reading and Acton with long and/or heavy freight trains which may arrive at Reading way out of their path.  Regulation – if available and attempted - may not always be successful in ensuring EL trains are able to present at Westbourne Park when they are supposed to: we’re talking about maybe a 30 second window here.

If I was planning the EL timetable eastbound from Paddington I would first put in a generous pathing allowance at Westbourne Park for EL trains arriving from the west, and second have an operating plan such that there is always a turnround train ready at Westbourne Park to step up to fill the path of the late running train through the core.  The late running train, when it arrives, would then fill the next path through the core and the stepping up would cease.  This is the only way to run a reliable 24 tph through the core.

Either way I think that passengers travelling through from the GWML to the core will have to get used to a pause at a red light at Westbourne Park.

When the through running starts on 6th November RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) is showing that eastbound trains entering the core from the GWML will sit at Westbourne Park for up to 7 minutes for pathing reasons.  I think passengers - especially regular passengers - will get a bit fed up with this as they watch trains whizzing past into Padd mainline.

[stuving]

When the through running starts on 6th November RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) is showing that eastbound trains entering the core from the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) will sit at Westbourne Park for up to 7 minutes for pathing reasons.  I think passengers - especially regular passengers - will get a bit fed up with this as they watch trains whizzing past into Padd mainline.

Of course, if they are observant, they can see themselves being whizzed past further out while moving! But we'll have to wait and see if the time intervals can be evened up by timetable changes by May 2023.

You may note that Westbourne Park sidings has limited space for incoming trains to be held so they are fed into the core to match their slots. Just one line, to be exact. It would not have been difficult to provide access to all four sidings (omitting the fifth line, the old line 6), but obviously such a need was not rated as important.

Here, by the way, is TfL^» (Transport for London - about)'s press release from yesterday.

[IndustryInsider]

The allowances are far from ideal and hopefully can be tightened up over time.  17 minutes Ealing Broadway to Paddington on many of the trains from Reading is very poor for a journey with an optimal journey time of just 6 minutes.  It's quicker on the trains that also stop at Acton Main Line!  There are large differences between the WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table) and GBTT^▸ (Great British Time Table) times in and around that area on some trains for some reason.

[IndustryInsider]

The allowances are far from ideal and hopefully can be tightened up over time.

Reading elsewhere it looks like the padding will mostly be removed for the May 2023 timetable. 

From that date it looks likely that the DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains)<>PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) 387 service will run non-stop between London and Slough (running on the main lines between London and Slough), so calls at West Drayton, Hayes and Ealing Broadway removed.  And from rumours I've heard the OXF^» (Oxford - next trains)<>PAD services (including those originating from the North Cotswold Line) will no longer call at Slough.

Those changes are both for the better and worse in some respects I guess.

[didcotdean]

The other expectation is that as a consequence for the Oxford services is that the dropped Slough call will be replaced by one at Didcot. Not clear though if the Didcot-Oxford shuttles might be cut back to run only an hourly service for the intermediates.  As usual with these changes some will be disadvantaged and others will benefit.

[sanfrandragon]

Has a date been set yet for when the Crossrail trains will run directly underground at Paddington?  Last I heard it would be 'sometime in the autumn'.

[Red Squirrel]

According to ITV:

From Sunday 6 November, the lines from Reading, Heathrow, and Shenfield will connect with the central tunnels of the Elizabeth line - opening up new direct journeys across the capital.