Train Geeks

NorthNineteen

My working estimate is from Finsbury Park:<br><br>8 trains per hour to Farringdon, Blackfriars, London Bridge, <br>6 trains per hour to East Croydon<br>4 trains per hour to Gatwick<br><br>Shame 2018 is so far away.<br>

Arkady

Supposedly there is a provisional timetable floating about, but I've not managed to get hold of it.

NorthNineteen

The franchise hasn't been awarded yet though.  Surely a timetable will be up to winning bidder?<br>

Arkady

As I understand it the gist is worked out way in advance.  Not just to ensure that the programme is worthwhile, but so that it can be properly interwoven with the timetables of services that it intersects with.

Ali

<P>After seeing the real thing why not go to this</P> <P> </P> <P><A href="http://www.alexandrapalace.com/whats-on/the-london-festival-of-railway-modelling/">http://www.alexandrapalace.com/whats-on/the-london-festival-of-railway-modelling/</A></P>; <P>£10 and good fun for some </P> <P> </P> <P>W 3 will be busy </P>

miss annie

Kiefer boards Circle Line at Charing Cross! http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2014/03/28/as-if-a-million-tube-geeks-cried-out-in-horror/

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Arkady

<div>The Canal Tunnels, which will carry us from Finsbury Park onto Thameslink from 2018:<br><br>

https://twitter.com/JonCrampton/status/489507957399638017

Arkady

In other news, Brixton has overtaken Finsbury Park as the 4th busiest station outside of Zone 1.  Try to contain your excitement/disappointment.<div><br></div><div>Reckon it's nonsense though - they are installing barriers (allegedly in the autumn) - watch the user figures shoot up then.</div>

Sutent

@Arkady What a beautiful tunnel 

minim

Did anyone else watch the first episode of the BBC <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04b7cbj/the-fifteen-billion-pound-railway-1-urban-heart-surgery">Crossrail documentary</a>? Would highly recommend it if you're, well, a train geek. Those tunnel boring machines are pretty damn impressive!

gardener-joe

...

Arkady

<font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><span style="line-height: normal;">Ooo-er missus</span></font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana" size="2"><span style="line-height: normal;">http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/30/london-orbital-railway-infrastructure-plan-boris-johnson</span></font><br></div>;

Arkady

More on that: http://www.citymetric.com/politics/what-would-londons-new-orbital-rail-link-look

NorthNineteen

The 2050 infrastructure plan also had GOBLIN being upped to 6 trains per hour.....<div><br></div><div>.....by 2040!</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

gardener-joe

...

Sutent

Will be sad to see the diesel trains go. I love the noise they make

Arkady

Crouch Hill should be upgradable without to much bother. They just need to move the barriers and do some resurfacing. I think some stations need bridges moving and other such scary engineering.

poxy

We also got the letter from Network Rail. It's a very cleverly/vaguely worded letter. The letter details plans to "cut back general vegetation from land within [their] boundary". I'm more than a little concerned this will translate into a napalm clearance of everything, including all the mature trees, between the two fences of the cutting tops.

maclondon

Hi everyone - newbie to the forum. Electrifying the GOB is a good thing but they do need to be sympathetic on environmental issues - the letter from NR was one of the worst I have seen by confusing surveys and chainsaws! If you are worried you should make it clear during the consultation next year - other communities have kept the chainsaw massacre levels down - for example near Whitstable in Kent.

Sutent

@N19 - where have you been? What do you think of this. We all remember the heightened emotions with the JJ trees

poxy

@sutent Don't you mean @NorthNineteen ?

Sutent

@poxy. Yes?

Sutent

@n19 voice of much useful knowledge

miss annie

The user names are quite specific @Sutent. As with twitter, when @';ing someone you have to use the correct user name. N19 is someone completely different.

NorthNineteen

Hello! I got the letter too. Network Rail are a law into their own when it comes to vegetation clearance, even though vegetation on railway embankments is protected Network Rail largely ignore these designations and clear way more vegetation than they really need to.  I think it's a shame, a mature railway embankment is incredibly ecologically diverse. I thought the letter was quite good and clear though.<br>

NorthNineteen

p.s. been away on hols and a busy summer hence not being on here much!<br>

poxy

Having done a bit of digging around on the Network Rail website and elsewhere I'm now no less concerned than I was upon first reading the letter.<div><br></div><div>As @NorthNineteen says NR have a habit of clearing away more than is strictly necessary.  From what I've seen NR appear to be using the electrification works as an excuse to carry out excessive vegetation clearance works.  Yes, the electricity towers and cables require a little extra space but not to the extent of clearing trees away from the tops of cuttings or the bottom of embankments.</div><div><br></div><div>I don't want to wake up after a noisy night of works to find the 50ft mature trees at the bottom of my garden have been reduced to mulch.</div><div><br></div><div>If anyone else feels the same way and wants to try and do something about this, please let me know.</div><div><br></div><div>And finally, to be absolutely clear, I'm all in favour of the Goblin upgrade works.  </div>

NorthNineteen

Network Rail have no obligation to notify people of vegetation clearance but they do have an obligation to notify people of work of work related to things like electrification so I don't think there is a conspiracy theory/underlying objective from the works. But I'd still support any objection to wholescale vegetation clearance.  I doubt they would be taking down mature trees but if that is a concern you should contact the tree officer at Harringey Council (assume that is where you live?)<br>

Arkady

Mmm, Crouch Hill Station is in Islington, but looking at the map the platform extensions will probably actually run right up to the Haringey boundary.