Circle line station announcements

[enginedin]

Is there a good reason why Hammersmith-bound announcements say "Hammersmith, via Paddington"? As far as I can work out, they all go via Paddington and there's no alternative route...?

 

[Mojo]

Is there a good reason why Hammersmith-bound announcements say "Hammersmith, via Paddington"? As far as I can work out, they all go via Paddington and there's no alternative route...?

There are two routes to Hammersmith, but of course both go via Paddington (albeit different stations). I was once on a C&H line train to Hammersmith which at Edgware Road ended up getting diverted to Ealing Bdy, and just stayed on the train, it is about 5-6 min longer to Hammersmith but given the next C&H was 5 minutes behind and I already had a seat, just decided to stay on.

I would imagine it just makes it clear where the train is going, given that Paddington is a popular destination.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Is there a good reason why Hammersmith-bound announcements say "Hammersmith, via Paddington"? As far as I can work out, they all go via Paddington and there's no alternative route...?

Because the Circle can confuse people - even apart from the fact it's not usually run as a circle these days - and because it interworks with 3 other lines, it's normal for Circle announcements to give a "via" (often without a destination at all, when it's some way from Hammersmith or Edgware Rd). The via points move round as the train moves, generally giving one (or occasionally two?) major stations in the next stretch of the journey. This is even more crucial when the service pattern changes - eg during disruption, and they start running them round and round like the old days.

 

[enginedin]

There are two routes to Hammersmith, but of course both go via Paddington (albeit different stations)

Do you mean using the District Line and using the Circle/Hammersmith&City Line?

I was once on a C&H line train to Hammersmith which at Edgware Road ended up getting diverted to Ealing Bdy

so it became a District Line train?!

This is even more crucial when the service pattern changes - eg during disruption, and they start running them round and round like the old days.

I was wondering if this happens - the Tube Map has it looking more like the beginnings of a spiral, with Edgeware Road being a terminus...

 

[rmt4ever]

so it became a District Line train?!

They are the same physical trains. They should scrap the branding, it just causes confusion when things like this happen. Or when a train goes from Edgware road to Barking via Mansion House for example

 

[357]

They are the same physical trains. They should scrap the branding, it just causes confusion when things like this happen. Or when a train goes from Edgware road to Barking via Mansion House for example

And then we have the same situation as the Overground where people have been asking for line names since 2007!

 

[thomalex]

Just a small thing but would like it if they had the lines displayed more prominently on the upcoming displays. Something like:

DISTRICT: Ealing Broadway
CIRCLE: Edgware Road
DISTRICT: Wimbledon

 

[enginedin]

They are the same physical trains

I get the trains are the same physical ones, but presumably it went from being "a Circle Line train to Hammersmith" at one station, to "a District Line train to Ealing Broadway" at the next one? I hadn't realised this happens

 

[AlbertBeale]

I get the trains are the same physical ones, but presumably it went from being "a Circle Line train to Hammersmith" at one station, to "a District Line train to Ealing Broadway" at the next one? I hadn't realised this happens

In a case like this, it would presumably stop for a while at Edgware Rd so as to announce a few times to passengers on board that the destination had changed.

Since the District, H&S and Circle stock is interchangeable these days, then they have option of this sort of thing during disruption, so as to maintain some sort of service; they can also do things like this for for a whole day if there's a section of line closed. And I believe there are odd "rogue movements" like this at the start and end of the day to get stock in and out of service to/from the right stabling places.

But since such things affect only a tiny proportion of train movements, it's not grounds to merge the lines into one.

 

[D7666]

Is there a good reason why Hammersmith-bound announcements say "Hammersmith, via Paddington"? As far as I can work out, they all go via Paddington and there's no alternative route...?

I'll throw one that back at you. What would you have the announcement say ?

You may know there is no alternative route. Normal passengers may not know that.

MaNY passengers are heading for Paddington; it is useful information for them. Indeed, I'll take a punt at on a Hammersmith bound service east of Edgware Road inclusive, there are more Paddington bound passengers than actual Hammersmith passengers.

And. It will also assist visibly impaired passengers that they have got on the right train in the right direction.

- - - - - - - - - -


Not so long back, certainly immediately before covid, there still was a SX Barking-or-east-thereof / Kings Cross / Edgware Road / HSKen / EarlsCourt / Ealing train SX - and with a balancing working.

It was something like 10:20 SX from Farringdon, as I ran into it more than once changing from Thameslink; it used to go to Ealing Broadway, out of service to Ealing Common and berth; p.m. it would re-start at Acton Town ~16:00 or so and reverse the same route. It was not necessarily the same unit a.m. and p.m. as it was used to conveniently change stock over. It used to be "check front of train" on station DMIs when it was on the Inner Rail when the clockwork signalling was still in place. I can't remember now what it was on board, but whatever it was it was not displayed as Ealing at Farringdon, it changed en route possibly around Baker Street iirc.

That particular working has disappeared from the current WTT and I not sure when it did go; there may be another working at different hours of the day, don't have the time to check.

 

[Dstock7080]

That particular working has disappeared from the current WTT and I not sure when it did go; there may be another working at different hours of the day, don't have the time to check.

T172 SX disappeared with introduction of WTT152 12 September 2021.
T200 SX currently starts from Edgware Road pfm.3 00.30¼ to Ealing Broadway arrives 01.06¾, it has a District (Acton Town) driver and would be marked as a District train.

 

[Taunton]

It used to be "check front of train" on station DMIs when it was on the Inner Rail

Even public announcements used to sometimes refer to "Inner Rail" and "Outer Rail" until about a generation ago, which a good number seemed to understand. I wonder when they were finally suppressed.

 

[Dstock7080]

Even public announcements used to sometimes refer to "Inner Rail" and "Outer Rail" until about a generation ago, which a good number seemed to understand. I wonder when they were finally suppressed.

Still used internally and in working timetables, public use ended in 2009 with the pan-handle service introduction

 

[fairysdad]

Not so long back, certainly immediately before covid, there still was a SX Barking-or-east-thereof / Kings Cross / Edgware Road / HSKen / EarlsCourt / Ealing train SX - and with a balancing working.

It was something like 10:20 SX from Farringdon, [snip]

Pardon my ignorance, but SX?

 

[AlbertBeale]

Pardon my ignorance, but SX?

Presumably "Saturdays Excepted".