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Crossrail - operating discussion and opening day 24th May

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Acton1991

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Well, every train eastbound is for Abbey Wood and every train westbound is non-stop to Paddington. If you've just missed one then the maximum wait is 5 minutes.
Well yes but for the average punter it’s not good on the second day of opening
 
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AM9

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Well yes but for the average punter it’s not good on the second day of opening
Nothing is perfect and in the grand scheme of things, a failure of indicators with such a simple service and plenty of staff around is pretty trivial. It would have been made quite obvious to the average punter exactly what they needed to know.
 

xerosis

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Echoing the previous comments about it not being as useful for interchanging journeys, I've concluded my usual journey of Marylebone > Liv St is either almost exactly the same as or if not a few minutes slower going Bakerloo > EL over walking to Baker St for the Met. Bakerloo onto the Elizabeth line is quite the contrast however!
 

Mojo

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Isn’t that also one of the reasons they swerved Oxford Circus, because interchange or additional entry/exits there would have overwhelmed the existing station. So the idea is that if you want that area you actually use the Hanover Square exit and walk a block or two.
Given how long the platforms are (based upon the existing entrance at Bond St LU and the new Crossrail ticket hall on Dean St) I can well imagine if there was a Crossrail station at Oxford Circus it would almost be a continuous platform Chicago style!
 

thomalex

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Went for a look around today and as others have said it's impressive. The speed of the trains was quite a surprise and it's busy already, almost like it's been running for years. The trains arrive every 5 minutes on the dot and watching the trains silently glide into the stations without blasts of wind and screeching is very slick.

Something I did notice and I haven't heard anyone talk about is the durability of the concrete panels in the central stations. I did notice a few marks already on them and I do wonder how these are going to age. There are also shadows appearing behind the seats already (ala St Pancras Thameslink) where people lean on the panels. I do wonder if it would have been better opting for a more 'wipeable' polished finish at the touch points.
 

tomuk

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Echoing the previous comments about it not being as useful for interchanging journeys, I've concluded my usual journey of Marylebone > Liv St is either almost exactly the same as or if not a few minutes slower going Bakerloo > EL over walking to Baker St for the Met. Bakerloo onto the Elizabeth line is quite the contrast however!
Which route did you take Bakerloo>EL? Via Paddington?
 

Davester50

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Jago Hazard's vid has arrived, must be one of the first transport Youtubers to get their video edited and uploaded
I do enjoy his videos, like the dead-pan style he goes for, sticking to the facts, and not putting himself in the front of the camera, leaving the subject the focus.
 
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First trip today as returned from holiday late last night and a flight delay caused me to miss the central section closing time.

*Love how quiet it is inside the trains, especially compared to the NL Battersea extension which is SO loud compared to the old NL tunnels
*The platforms are very long
*The whole system feels on a bigger scale and a big step up in quality to anything else in London
*12 tph feels frequent so it will be a game changer for central London come 22 tph in the autumn
*Paddington was very busy even mid afternoon, assume this is because the EL provides a much better alternative for a station that's relatively out on a limb
*Farringdon & Liverpool Street seemed pretty quiet even at 4.45pm
*Canary Wharf was pretty well used, this will just abstract from the Jubilee I guess

Only negative was signage at Whitechapel was sparse, especially from the EL to Overground where I had to guess which stairway took me to the southbound platform. There was a station staffer telling an old lady that they'd had loads of complaints.

The link to the Bakerloo from the EL is a pretty long corridor and there's some confusing Way Out signage which felt badly thought out. Good to have though as will save time. Some TfL bods with clipboards there maybe counting users.

Overall very impressive and will make my trips to Paddington very quick when am travelling home to Wales.
 

ijmad

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Tonight's observations from my trip from Paddington to London Bridge via Moorgate during the commuter rush hour (around 6pm):

  • It was fairly busy. Not Central Line pre-pandemic busy but plenty of standing people. Still, platforms seemed to clear nice and quickly even at Liverpool Street. I think previous thoughts in this thread about the large concourses being able to even out the flow even on to a rather small number of escalators is probably bearing out, so maybe the crowd science mathematicians did their jobs right and it's all going to be fine
  • My eastbound train started announcing it was going to Paddington when pulling in to Liverpool Street. This seemed to confuse a large number of people. There were also a number of screens showing "No information available" which didn't help. Hopefully just snags though.
  • The interchange passage to the Northern Line at the Moorgate end is ridiculous, I can't see many people fancying using that 2x daily. It's even more awkward if you want to get on the GN services as you just end up walking along the Northern Line platforms. Oh well, I appreciate it's the best they could do in the space.
  • I have more black gunk on my hands, possibly from escalator handrails.
Going via Moorgate was an experiment tonight, I think I'll do this journey via Farringdon / Thameslink in future having checked out that interchange yesterday, seems far more sensible.
 

xerosis

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Which route did you take Bakerloo>EL? Via Paddington?
Yep, it's actually a nice journey as the Bakerloo is frequent and the the Bakerloo > EL tunnel, while it feels a long walk, is almost at the same depth so is fairly quick. My Liv st departure is only every 15 mins though so as nice as it is, I will have to choose catching the earlier connection most days.
 

Adrian1980uk

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My first exposure to the EL was yesterday morning when my train pulled into Liverpool St and the PA system on the train announced that I could connect with it.

Went on it later in the day 17:07, Liverpool St to Paddington and then straight back. Loved it but those dwell times are painful, it feels like one is losing the advantage of using it.

Onwards to the real opening whenever that may be.
It did seem rather leisurely yesterday morning, went from Liverpool Street to Paddington. Unfortunately some of the time saved for me was used as it's the wrong side of Paddington station for me but it is a major help for me
 

popeter45

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anybody else feel kind of annoyed that the tranverse seating is stuck behind the big ad screen areas of the PED's?, not even a roundel on the train side of the the wall just a black wall?
 

thomalex

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The interchange passage to the Northern Line at the Moorgate end is ridiculous, I can't see many people fancying using that 2x daily. It's even more awkward if you want to get on the GN services as you just end up walking along the Northern Line platforms. Oh well, I appreciate it's the best they could do in the space.

I agree with this and I’d love to see what route it actually takes on a map. It’s not just the length of the tunnel but the 3 steep sets of stairs you then have to climb before you get to the Northern line platforms.

It’s also a bit creepy, there was barely anyone using it when I went through and was dead silent. Could do with piping some music down there or something.
 

tomuk

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I agree with this and I’d love to see what route it actually takes on a map. It’s not just the length of the tunnel but the 3 steep sets of stairs you then have to climb before you get to the Northern line platforms.

It’s also a bit creepy, there was barely anyone using it when I went through and was dead silent. Could do with piping some music down there or something.
9-Crossrail-Liverpool-Street-3D.jpg
 

AlbertBeale

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I agree with this and I’d love to see what route it actually takes on a map. It’s not just the length of the tunnel but the 3 steep sets of stairs you then have to climb before you get to the Northern line platforms.

It’s also a bit creepy, there was barely anyone using it when I went through and was dead silent. Could do with piping some music down there or something.

Please no piped music! It's a modern scourge!
 

Essexman

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I used it today, Liverpool Street to Paddington and return.
Impressed with engineering, architecture and speed.
As I live on the C2C line so walked to Liverpool Street it didn’t save me much time, if any, but I’d rather walk a bit more and avoid busy tube.
Returning in the peak I usually walk to Baker Street for the Met to avoid busy trains at Paddington, so the EL certainly saved me time.
For me the main benefit is the capacity increase this brings to London’s rail network.
Trains busy both ways but passengers not well spread out, with standing one end and spare seats the other.
 

ijmad

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Absolutely! Silence is golden.
Now if you're in to near-silent tunnels in large public transport infrastructure, do the walk from Heathrow Terminal 5C in to B and A.

Try the Greenwich Foot Tunnel at about 4am on a Tuesday morning
 

NLC1072

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Real shame that 4G couldn't be provided, hope it won't be a huge wait to fix it. Also felt like spotty WiFi in the stations too but I wasn't paying a huge amount of attention so could have got that wrong. Is there any indication of when 4G will be provided in the tunnels?

Liverpool street entrance near central line did feel bizarrely claustrophobic given how massive all the rest of the station is. I was also on it with one of the escalators out of service and it was really backing up. I imagine with time the other entrance will get used more which may shift the load but given loadings I imagine are still down a bit on what they could be I can see that becoming a real pinch point.

The WiFi was particularly rubbish. It was amazing upstairs on the GWR concourse, but as soon as I got on to the TFL WiFi, it all came to a screeching halt.

One good thing I noted about the EL line... DLR was much quieter than usual between Woolwich Arsenal and Canning Town.
 

thomalex

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Absolutely! Silence is golden.
Now if you're in to near-silent tunnels in large public transport infrastructure, do the walk from Heathrow Terminal 5C in to B and A.

True, however it is a strangely unnerving place when it's quiet. Maybe a bit of art work on the walls would help.

For anyone who hasn't been there's a walk through of this tunnel on a recent Hidden London Hangouts (starts 15 mins in)

 

Bikeman78

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My hands ended up covered in black stuff after pottering about for an hour or so. Not sure from which surfaces. Maybe escalator handrail rubber.
Mine too. The left handrail on the down escalator at Liverpool Street was filthy. I thought it was oil at first but it rubbed off fairly easily so it can't have been.
 

ijmad

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Have any 315s run on the Shenfield branch this week or are they all finally withdrawn?

It amuses me to think that the 315s could now potentially count as Elizabeth Line stock.
 

345 050

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No, you can go up from the southbound T/L and over the tracks and down past the northbound T/L all within the gateline. (Within he south side entrance and ticket hall.)
Tried out the Lift from EL to TL southbound at Farringdon and that worked really well. There are actually 2 lifts here. For Thameslink northbound, the escalator route goes via the TL platforms so that's much easier, and there's no direct lift to Northbound platforms from EL.

I wouldn't rule it out for Central London journeys, it will need a bit of trial and error. I suspect sometimes it will work out quicker, especially when it's 24tph.
 

popeter45

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Have any 315s run on the Shenfield branch this week or are they all finally withdrawn?

It amuses me to think that the 315s could now potentially count as Elizabeth Line stock.
had one this morning, even has the new route map for the Elizibeth line on it
 

PeterC

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I only had time to sample three stations today. While quieter and more comfortable that the tube interchanges at Whitechapel and Liverpool Street seemed to involve a lot of walking.
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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Is Anne now saying “Elizabeth line” instead of TFL Rail on the outer sections?

Edit: She is! Not my video.
 

Basil Jet

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Have any 315s run on the Shenfield branch this week or are they all finally withdrawn?

It amuses me to think that the 315s could now potentially count as Elizabeth Line stock.
Why do they still have 315s? Since Paddington to Whitechapel is running at half its intended frequency, they must have spare 345s sitting around rusting.
 
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