Central line beyond Leyton

[telstarbox]

I sometimes catch the Central line eastbound from central London. It's always busy but some passengers will wait for a train with a specific destination (Epping / Hainault) rather than just boarding the first one. Which of the branches is busiest?

 

[Lrd]

Epping by far.

Hainault branch busy up until Gants Hill/Newbury Park then empty after that.

Epping branch busy up until Loughton with a healthy load onwards to Epping.

 

[notverydeep]

At Leytonstone, the point where the branches converge / diverge the passenger loading split is almost dead on 50:50. By contrast, the split at Camden between the Northern line's High Barnet and Edgware branches is much less evenly balanced at around 58:42...

 

[AM9]

Doesn't the Epping branch gather some traffic northbound (pm peak) from Leytonstone and Woodford to feed the Loughton/Debden housing areas? There's less traffic to be had from Gants Hill as more of Redbridge's Housing is south of the A12 and fed by Ilford Station - (will be moreso when Crossrail is fully operational), and buses along the A123 corridor.

 

[Lrd]

The Epping branch is far far busier than the Hainault branch

 

[AM9]

The Epping branch is far far busier than the Hainault branch

Yes, you've already said that, but I was postulating, is there a flow of passengers between Leytonstone/Woodford and Loughton/Debden in the peaks? That would account for some of the load on the Epping trains after Leytonstone.

 

[notverydeep]

Yes, you've already said that, but I was postulating, is there a flow of passengers between Leytonstone/Woodford and Loughton/Debden in the peaks? That would account for some of the load on the Epping trains after Leytonstone.

Taking weekday station entry counts (available on TfL's Open Data site), the number of entries on the Epping Branch (all stations between Snaresbrook and Epping) is 42,460 per weekday. By comparison , the Hainault branch (Roding Valley to Wanstead inclusive) has 43,441 per weekday. This splits the demand 50.5% to the Hainault branch and only 49.5% yto the Epping branch. Using 'entries' data includes trips that do not use the line west of Leytonstone (previously I referred to the load across the link on each branch closest to Leytonstone, which is also available on TfL Open Data).

If you exclude Roding Valley, Chigwell and Grange Hill from both branches as they could go either way, the Hainault branch total falls to 40,517 entries per day. This does make Epping the busiest - but only just, giving it 51.2% of the combined total...

 

[bramling]

Taking weekday station entry counts (available on TfL's Open Data site), the number of entries on the Epping Branch (all stations between Snaresbrook and Upping) is 42,460 per weekday. By comparison , the Hainault branch (Roding Valley to Wanstead inclusive) has 43,441 per weekday. This splits the demand 50.5% to the Hainault branch and only 49.5% yto the Epping branch. Using 'entries' data includes trips that do not use the line west of Leytonstone (previously I referred to the load across the link on each branch closest to Leytonstone, which is also available on TfL Open Data).

If you exclude Roding Valley, Chigwell and Grange Hill from both branches as they could go either way, the Hainault branch total falls to 40,517 entries per day. This does make Epping the busiest - but only just, giving it 51.2% of the combined total...

I would say the Epping route is busier in the peaks, but loadings do tail off considerably off-peak, especially beyond Woodford. No doubt Epping's car park contributes a hefty punch to the peak commuting on this route.

The Hainault route seems to maintain healthy loadings off-peak, but seems reliant on Gants Hill and Newbury Park. At peak times the Hainault route is comparatively quiet.

The above is from perception, be interesting to see if any official figures back this up.

 

[Busaholic]

By contrast, the split at Camden between the Northern line's High Barnet and Edgware branches is much less evenly balanced at around 58:42...

Having the Jubilee mostly running fairly close by will deplete the Edgware branch figures.

 

[Mojo]

Having the Jubilee mostly running fairly close by will deplete the Edgware branch figures.

The clientele on both branches is also quite different; I often think that when heading north from Euston you can probably tell which branch you are on by looking at the other customers!

 

[Busaholic]

The clientele on both branches is also quite different; I often think that when heading north from Euston you can probably tell which branch you are on by looking at the other customers!

That's an interesting observation! When I lived in London (which was basically for the first 40 years of my life) I always reckoned I could tell from people exiting Victoria whether they'd travelled on Southern or SouthEastern, though I suspect it was partly my caprice! Working for Camden Council for a few years in the 1970s did teach me that what was OK in Kentish Town was not necessarily so in Hampstead, though.

 

[notverydeep]

I would say the Epping route is busier in the peaks, but loadings do tail off considerably off-peak, especially beyond Woodford. No doubt Epping's car park contributes a hefty punch to the peak commuting on this route.

The Hainault route seems to maintain healthy loadings off-peak, but seems reliant on Gants Hill and Newbury Park. At peak times the Hainault route is comparatively quiet.

The above is from perception, be interesting to see if any official figures back this up.

Taking the entry and exit counts together (to account for the different dominant direction depending on time of day), the Epping Branch does appear to tail off slightly more off peak. Limited to peaks the flows are 51.4% Epping Branch, 48.6% Hainault and weekday off peak (10:00 to 16:00 and 19:00 to 22:00) the flows are 49.9% Epping Branch, 50.1% Hainault Branch...

 

[Tetchytyke]

The clientele on both branches is also quite different; I often think that when heading north from Euston you can probably tell which branch you are on by looking at the other customers!

The kippahs give it away a bit

Yeah, you really can though. Definitely a wealthier clientele up on the Barnet branch.

 

[bramling]

The kippahs give it away a bit

Yeah, you really can though. Definitely a wealthier clientele up on the Barnet branch.

The Edgware branch has definitely gone downhill in the last decade. Edgware is increasingly tatty and is progressively taking on a more and more run-down feel. Burnt Oak, Colindale and Hendon Central are troublesome and have always been thus. Brent Cross is sleepy, but even Golders Green is taking on a slightly rough feel.

Having said that, Finchley Central has also gone downhill quite quickly too. Like Edgware the area round the station is starting to feel a little run-down.

 

[Busaholic]

The kippahs give it away a bit

Yeah, you really can though. Definitely a wealthier clientele up on the Barnet branch.

My old Hampstead contacts (long dead, not a penny between them, but what family histories!) would probably have described the Barnet lot as the nouveau riche.