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All Stations announced on Hounslow rounders

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74A

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Just caught a Hounslow service and on departure from Waterloo it announced all the stops back to Waterloo.

Don't think I've heard that before. Is it a new policy?
 
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Deepgreen

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I've used them infrequently and there used to be huge gap in the announcement before the return stations were announced, as if some stations between were being muted or the return leg was a different message - very unprofessional-sounding and confusing.
 

TFN

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I remember the announcements on the 458s stating "This train is for London Waterloo" just as it left Waterloo but it doesn't do it on the 450s if they get put on Hounslow rounder duties.
A 450 would say "This train is for Hounslow via Richmond" or something.
 

Dr_Paul

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It's been a while since I've been on a Hounslow loop service from Waterloo; however, I'm sure that I never heard the announcement at Waterloo giving Waterloo as the destination. Next time I'm at Waterloo, I'll try to hear what is said.

The Kingston loop service at Waterloo, Vauxhall and Clapham Junction has Teddington as the destination if it's via Richmond then Kingston, and Strawberry Hill if it's via Kingston then Richmond.
 

norbitonflyer

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The Kingston loop service at Waterloo, Vauxhall and Clapham Junction has Teddington as the destination if it's via Richmond then Kingston, and Strawberry Hill if it's via Kingston then Richmond.
Which is itself misleading as normally the quickest way to Teddington is via Kingston and the quickest way to Strawberry Hill is via Twickenham (the trains are scheduled to leave Waterloo within a few minutes of each other and to pass each other between Str Hill and Teddington)

What's more, although Strawberry Hill is in Zone 5, the irregular shape of the Zone5/6 boundary means travelling there via Kingston as advertised takes you through Zone 6, so a higher fare applies.

Yes, trains shown as TEDDINGTON via Richmond include Strawberry Hill in the calling points, but passengers are naturally attracted to the one saying STRAWBERRY HILL in big friendly letters, especially is it is scheduled to depart 4 minutes earlier.
 

Meglos

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Yes, trains shown as TEDDINGTON via Richmond include Strawberry Hill in the calling points, but passengers are naturally attracted to the one saying STRAWBERRY HILL in big friendly letters, especially is it is scheduled to depart 4 minutes earlier.
I worked as a platform rat at Vauxhall in the early 1980's, and was taught at the time that this was to deal with trains heading for the Shepperon Branch. Remember this was when SlamDoor stock was still common as the 455's were only just arriving, and at many stations the only customer information came from the platform rat using the platform PA.

The reason the trains on the Main Slow Platforms (normally 1-5) at Waterloo being signed as Strawberry Hill was to differentiate them from Shepperton trains which diverge before they reach Strawberry Hill.

The same logic applied on the Windsor side of Waterloo, where being signed Teddington made it clear the service wasn't running to Shepperton.

However this is now not relevant as all Shepperton trains now run from the Main side of Waterloo, and this is just a hang-over from the time when they didn't.
 

vlad

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I did the Hounslow loop from London Waterloo to St Margarets a couple of years ago and on departure from London the automated announcement said that the train was going to London via [full list]. Given that it's the only time I've taken that service I assumed it was normal, although a woman getting on somewhere near Richmond was completely confused.
 

Dr_Paul

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I did the Hounslow loop from London Waterloo to St Margarets a couple of years ago and on departure from London the automated announcement said that the train was going to London via [full list]. Given that it's the only time I've taken that service I assumed it was normal, although a woman getting on somewhere near Richmond was completely confused.
If I recall correctly, the Hounslow loop services via Richmond then Brentford used to be announced at Richmond as going to Chiswick. The Kingston loop services were announced at Richmond as going to Wimbledon (and, going the other way around the loop, at Wimbledon as going to Richmond).
 

Surreytraveller

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Which is itself misleading as normally the quickest way to Teddington is via Kingston and the quickest way to Strawberry Hill is via Twickenham (the trains are scheduled to leave Waterloo within a few minutes of each other and to pass each other between Str Hill and Teddington)

What's more, although Strawberry Hill is in Zone 5, the irregular shape of the Zone5/6 boundary means travelling there via Kingston as advertised takes you through Zone 6, so a higher fare applies.

Yes, trains shown as TEDDINGTON via Richmond include Strawberry Hill in the calling points, but passengers are naturally attracted to the one saying STRAWBERRY HILL in big friendly letters, especially is it is scheduled to depart 4 minutes earlier.
That's incorrect. Travelling through Zone 6 to get to Zone 5 doesn't incur a higher fare, as long as you stay within the time limits
 

Hadders

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That's incorrect. Travelling through Zone 6 to get to Zone 5 doesn't incur a higher fare, as long as you stay within the time limits
That's correct with Oyster or contactless but if using a paper ticket you'd need it to include all the zones travelled through.
 

norbitonflyer

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That's incorrect. Travelling through Zone 6 to get to Zone 5 doesn't incur a higher fare, as long as you stay within the time limits
It is true that if you touch in in Zone 1 and touch out in Zone 5 you will only be charged a Z1-5 fare, but that is only because The System doesn't know whether you went through Zone 6. For paper tickets, the National Rail website quotes different fares according to the route taken (e.g £7.00 and £7.80 single, £1,840 and £2,080 Annual Season). If you have a Travelcard, it needs to be valid in Zone 6 to travel via Kingston.

The reason the trains on the Main Slow Platforms (normally 1-5) at Waterloo being signed as Strawberry Hill was to differentiate them from Shepperton trains which diverge before they reach Strawberry Hill.

The same logic applied on the Windsor side of Waterloo, where being signed Teddington made it clear the service wasn't running to Shepperton.

However this is now not relevant as all Shepperton trains now run from the Main side of Waterloo, and this is just a hang-over from the time when they didn't.
Not sure I understand how that is supposed to help Shepperton line passengers. Why would they think that a train shown as "Teddington via Kingston" or "Strawberry Hill via Richmond" was going any further (either to Shepperton or round the loop)? Instead it misleads passengers for Teddington and Strawberry Hill by directing them to trains going the long way round.

There is at least one service which does indeed leave passenger service at Teddington, then continuing ECS round the loop back to Waterloo.

There are, or were before lockdown, three peak hour Shepperton services via Richmond, although on the rare occasions I have used them they seemed to be little used as regular Shepperton line passengers habitually gravitate to the main line side where most of their trains depart from, and less frequent travellers seem to go for the earlier departure (1742 via Kingston as against 1743 via Richmond!) in the mistaken impression it will get there quicker. (In fact the service via Richmond service takes 13 minutes less). The result was that the trains routed via Richmond failed in their intended purpose of reducing the gross overcrowding on the Kingston line.
 
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norbitonflyer

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That's true if its on paper, but if its on Oyster it doesn't, as long as you have touched in and you have PAYG credit on it.
In practice, yes, although I don't know what happens if an inspector checks your Oyster whilst transitting Zone 6. (Same question arises if you travel right through Zone 1 on an Oyster Travelcard not valid in that Zone)
 

Surreytraveller

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In practice, yes, although I don't know what happens if an inspector checks your Oyster whilst transitting Zone 6. (Same question arises if you travel right through Zone 1 on an Oyster Travelcard not valid in that Zone)
As long as you've touched in, nothing happens. You've got a valid ticket.
Oyster/Contactless fares are zonal based, but are based on the obvious journey, not the actual one you are making
 

Goldfish62

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Just caught a Hounslow service and on departure from Waterloo it announced all the stops back to Waterloo.

Don't think I've heard that before. Is it a new policy?
Was this on a 458? It's always done that on the 458s because their PIS is rubbish (when it's actually working).
 

peteb

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Usually announcements on cicuituous routes terminating at the same station as departure station leave out those stations beyond the furthest logical destination to avoid confusing passengers who may get on a train (in this case hoping to get to Waterloo in 15 minutes only to be taken on a leisurely tour of Middlesex instead) effectively going the wrong way, thereby instilling panic........
 
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