London Euston Blockades August-September 2018

causton · 25 Aug 2018

AndrewE said:
Just another example of the typical London-centred focus we have come to expect. The people "in charge" there can't imagine anyone wanting to go anywhere else!

As an example, all the messages are LONDON EUSTON IS CLOSED

So people come to Watford Junction and don't expect the trains not to be running from there to Hemel or to Shepherd's Bush etc!
No, everyone travels to Euston and that's the only station that matters...

RailUK Forums

The Planner · 25 Aug 2018

Maybe the message should be wider, but considering there are normally 9tph to/from Euston by Virgin which start/terminate in Euston, of which Watford gets 1tph of those have Virgin actually done the wrong thing?

philthetube · 25 Aug 2018

If the orveall picture was looked at and Marylebone was a viable option then it would have been a good idea to Terminate Chiltern services from Aylesbury at Amersham leaving additional space at Marylebone. However, never happening

AndrewE · 25 Aug 2018

The Planner said:
Maybe the message should be wider, but considering there are normally 9tph to/from Euston by Virgin which start/terminate in Euston, of which Watford gets 1tph of those have Virgin actually done the wrong thing?

Yes, because they are just one part of the railway. It doesn't help passengers (most of whom at Euston are probably not Virgin customers) as it is only part of the story. Something like "The WCML is closed south of Milton Keynes" would have been better, if that is how trains are being worked.

Dr Hoo · 25 Aug 2018

AndrewE said:
Yes, because they are just one part of the railway. It doesn't help passengers (most of whom at Euston are probably not Virgin customers) as it is only part of the story. Something like "The WCML is closed south of Milton Keynes" would have been better, if that is how trains are being worked.

I get what you mean but the problem is that most people won't have a clue what "WCML" or even "West Coast Main Line" means. You might just get away with "the railway from London Euston towards the Midlands, the North and Scotland is closed south of Milton Keynes..." but that is a bit of a mouthful.
Given the rapidly declining knowledge of geography in the face of sat navs and google maps, etc. where people just blindly follow the next immediate direction this is a real and growing problem.

Flinn Reed · 25 Aug 2018

When travelling on a LNWR train yesterday, an announcement was made about the Euston closure, mentioning that this is due to engineering works around North Wembley.

If works are only taking place here, can't trains run at least as far as Watford Junction? LNWR and Virgin services could terminate there. And Overground could still run from Watford to Wembley Central.

And why does the replacement bus service connect to Stanmore? The Jubilee Line is not particularly quick to central London. ThamesLink has a lot of capacity with long trains introduced. St Albans City, which is close to both Hemel Hempstead and Watford Junction, has frequent and fast trains to St Pancras (close to Euston).

swt_passenger · 25 Aug 2018

Flinn Reed said:
If works are only taking place here, can't trains run at least as far as Watford Junction? LNWR and Virgin services could terminate there...

Aren’t the reasons they don’t terminate at Watford Junction explained earlier in this thread?

Sebastian O · 25 Aug 2018

If this is how it’s going to go on effectively a trial run weekend prior to HS2 works regularly closing London Euston then it sounds there is plenty more work to be done prior to the white elephant (!) works properly commencing.

The Planner · 25 Aug 2018

Doubt that there will be that many full closures due to HS2, unless its Xmas day and Boxing day, probably just half stations. It will be NR that will suggest closing the other half at the same time.

Hadders · 26 Aug 2018

Flinn Reed said:
When travelling on a LNWR train yesterday, an announcement was made about the Euston closure, mentioning that this is due to engineering works around North Wembley.

If works are only taking place here, can't trains run at least as far as Watford Junction? LNWR and Virgin services could terminate there. And Overground could still run from Watford to Wembley Central.

And why does the replacement bus service connect to Stanmore? The Jubilee Line is not particularly quick to central London. ThamesLink has a lot of capacity with long trains introduced. St Albans City, which is close to both Hemel Hempstead and Watford Junction, has frequent and fast trains to St Pancras (close to Euston).

Trains can't be turned at Watford Junction as explained further upthread. Also Watford Junction station doesn't have the capacity to deal with the high volume of people from terminating trains. The Overground isn't running to Euston due to the North Wembley work and HS2 prep work at Euston.

St Albans could potentially be an option but there isn't anywhere near as much capacity as you think, particularly with the Thameslink Weekend 'slimmed down' emergency timetable debacle. Getting into the centre of St Albans by road is also an absolute nightmare most of the time so will likely lead to extended journey times rather than shorter ones.

Stanmore, while not ideal, is located near to the M1, has plenty of parking for buses etc.

Class 170101 · 26 Aug 2018

Hadders said:
Stanmore, while not ideal, is located near to the M1, has plenty of parking for buses etc.

I take it there is nothing more suitable on the Northern Line towards Edgware given that Stanmore doesn't have direct links with Euston.

DavidGrain · 26 Aug 2018

Class 170101 said:
I take it there is nothing more suitable on the Northern Line towards Edgware given that Stanmore doesn't have direct links with Euston.

For most people travelling to London, Euston is not their destination but they are travelling to somewhere else via Euston. Therefore to get onto the Underground network is their primary need.

Hadders · 26 Aug 2018

Class 170101 said:
I take it there is nothing more suitable on the Northern Line towards Edgware given that Stanmore doesn't have direct links with Euston.

You could look at places Line Edgware, High Barnet or Brent Cross but that would mean more time on the bus in potentially heavier traffic and none are really suitable for large numbers of replacement buses.

Class 170101 · 26 Aug 2018

DavidGrain said:
For most people travelling to London, Euston is not their destination but they are travelling to somewhere else via Euston. Therefore to get onto the Underground network is their primary need.

Agreed however I was just thinking of those who arrive at Euston thinking of heading north and then realising they can't (and there has doubtless been a few head in the sand types arriving at Euston).

edwin_m · 26 Aug 2018

Class 170101 said:
Agreed however I was just thinking of those who arrive at Euston thinking of heading north and then realising they can't (and there has doubtless been a few head in the sand types arriving at Euston).

Met from Euston Square fast to Wembley Park, then cross the platform for Stanmore.

Class 170101 · 26 Aug 2018

edwin_m said:
Met from Euston Square fast to Wembley Park, then cross the platform for Stanmore.

Providing its sign posted well which I bet it won't be.

Geezertronic · 28 Aug 2018

Does anyone know how the upgrades went this weekend? I know they were also replacing the track at Canley, but cannot find any information on how the work actually went or whether it was on time etc...? Just interested to know

nlogax · 28 Aug 2018

Geezertronic said:
Does anyone know how the upgrades went this weekend? I know they were also replacing the track at Canley, but cannot find any information on how the work actually went or whether it was on time etc...? Just interested to know

Seems it was successful, going by what Network Rail published this morning.

"Work continued on the essential renewals at North Wembley Junction, with teams completing the second in a series of three weekend closures on the West Coast Main Line. The junction at North Wembley is one of the busiest on the line and these renewals will ensure a more reliable service for freight and passenger services alike.

400m of track was renewed in Canley, Coventry and work continued on a £5m drainage project in Hampton-in-Arden, Solihull, to reduce the risk of flooding on the line between Birmingham International and Coventry."

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/passengers-thanked-after-august-bank-holiday-upgrades-completed/

TheBigD · 28 Aug 2018

I was on the 1452 Aberdeen-Kings Cross from Haymarket to Peterborough yesterday (bank holiday Monday).

Full and standing all the way from Edinburgh to London with the Train Manager apologising for the overcrowding (bank holiday, Edinburgh Fringe and Euston/WCML being shut). The other 3 other people who were sitting around the table were all travelling Glasgow-London and said they would normally have gone down to Euston. I was in the rear coach, the TGS, and there were about 25 people stood down the aisle and many more in the doorways. Dread to think what it was like towards the front. Was hoping it would have eased as the train headed south but still just as packed when I left at Peterborough .The train lost about 10-15 minutes due to the passenger loadings.

Looking at the LNER service updates it seems that most trains from Scotland were just as overcrowded.

PS - The HST set EC64 is looking very tired internally.

Mag_seven · 28 Aug 2018

I was in London Kings Cross for about an hour yesterday morning and certainly most of the northbound LNER services appeared to be relatively quiet.

nlogax · 28 Aug 2018

TheBigD said:
Full and standing all the way from Edinburgh to London with the Train Manager apologising for the overcrowding (bank holiday, Edinburgh Fringe and Euston/WCML being shut).

Yeah, yesterday was pretty unpleasant. Even on the earlier services (lunchtime) things looked rammed when I was at Newcastle waiting to return south. Decided not to bother with any of the three that pulled in having originated in Scotland..all of them looked full to standing. In the end I just waited for the service starting at Newcastle.

James H · 28 Aug 2018

How do people rate the chances of a trouble free Liverpool to Euston journey on Monday 3 September?

DavidGrain · 28 Aug 2018

Under the present set up it seems impossible to add extra trains. Was it that BR had surplus trains that could be brought into service and crews to operate them which is not possible now?

Ianno87 · 28 Aug 2018

DavidGrain said:
Under the present set up it seems impossible to add extra trains. Was it that BR had surplus trains that could be brought into service and crews to operate them which is not possible now?

BR had spare network capacity to do so, without the same level of passenger demand.

Hadders · 28 Aug 2018

I suspect that if you get the BR era timetable and add the extra services that they ran back then you'd get pretty close to what today's normal timetable.

TheBigD · 28 Aug 2018

Hadders said:
I suspect that if you get the BR era timetable and add the extra services that they ran back then you'd get pretty close to what today's normal timetable.

Probably a lot less than today's service.
Post electrification the basic service was xx00 to Edinburgh, xx05 to Leeds and xx30 to Newcstle/Edinburgh with peak extras... Certainly wasn't 5 ECML departures from Kings Cross plus an hourly (more or less) Hull Trains/Grand Central departure.

northernrail2009 · 29 Aug 2018

is there any plans for any works at Euston over Christmas and New Year?

nlogax · 29 Aug 2018

northernrail2009 said:
is there any plans for any works at Euston over Christmas and New Year?

The only thing flagged for that period on the VTWC engineering works page is for Lime St services being diverted via Warrington. Nothing at the London end.

ChiefPlanner · 29 Aug 2018

Hadders said:
Trains can't be turned at Watford Junction as explained further upthread. Also Watford Junction station doesn't have the capacity to deal with the high volume of people from terminating trains. The Overground isn't running to Euston due to the North Wembley work and HS2 prep work at Euston.

St Albans could potentially be an option but there isn't anywhere near as much capacity as you think, particularly with the Thameslink Weekend 'slimmed down' emergency timetable debacle. Getting into the centre of St Albans by road is also an absolute nightmare most of the time so will likely lead to extended journey times rather than shorter ones.

Stanmore, while not ideal, is located near to the M1, has plenty of parking for buses etc.

Good points and well made. In passing - my wife returned from Birmingham on Saturday evening , I advised Brum - Leicester - LAP - SAC , but she went Moor Street to Marylebone on what sounded like a loco hauled set in business class , and had a painless and enjoyable journey. (then back via West Hampstead and Thameslink)

Metal_gee_man · 10 Sep 2018

I cant be the only one that thinks, a other valid route that Virgin and others ignored for Birmingham new street was to use XC to Reading, Reading to Paddington!

London Euston Blockades August-September 2018

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