Sprinter
Member
From: http://www.croydon-tramlink.co.uk/news/index.php
The long awaited new timetable will be introduced from Sunday 23rd July. This will be the first timetable change for a fraction under five years and will bring with it changes in Tramlink's routes for the first time since opening for service in 2000.
The routes will be changed with trams operating on two core routes: New Addington to Wimbledon every 7.5 minutes and Beckenham - Croydon Loop - Elmers End every 10 minutes.
This represents a 33% increase in capacity on the busiest part of the line from Wimbledon to Croydon. There will now be 8 trams per hour, rather than 6 trams now. This reflects the strong demand for travel on the Wimbledon line, especially at Peak times, where there are heavy flows into both Croydon and Wimbledon. Usage has increased more than ten fold compared to the BR Wimbledon - West Croydon service of 1994.
The New Addington line will unfortunately see a slight reduction in frequency from every 6-7 minutes to every 7.5 minutes, a reduction in capacity of 11%. However, it will bring the significant benefit of direct trams to the Shopping and Leisure complexes of Purley Way. Many Addington residents work along this corridor, either in the retail shops, or the industrial areas of Beddington and Mitcham. The new routes will remove the need to change trams in Croydon.
Improvements in the evening service on the Beckenham line are also anticipated in order to provide a more frequent service.
The new timetable is expected to require 22 trams with provisional reports suggesting 13 trams will work the Wimbledon to New Addington route with a 6 minute layover at Wimbledon (which worked well and was very popular with drivers during the Beckenham line closure in 2004) and a 7 minute layover at New Addington (similar to today). 9 trams will work the Beckenham Junction to Elmers End route via the town centre loop, with a 6 minute layover at Beckenham Junction and a 7 minute layover at Elmers End.
Interestingly, the first report on my site that plans were being made to revise the routes to better match demand was reported as long ago as May 2002.
One of the main drivers for the change will be to improve reliability and punctuality which have fallen with the large number of temporary speed restrictions currently in place on the system, and the introduction of Centrale stop, which is taken into account in the new timetable.
The new timetable will no doubt need significant publicity due to the change in routes. As soon as this material and the full timetable is made available to me, I will update the relevent sections of the site.
The long awaited new timetable will be introduced from Sunday 23rd July. This will be the first timetable change for a fraction under five years and will bring with it changes in Tramlink's routes for the first time since opening for service in 2000.
The routes will be changed with trams operating on two core routes: New Addington to Wimbledon every 7.5 minutes and Beckenham - Croydon Loop - Elmers End every 10 minutes.
This represents a 33% increase in capacity on the busiest part of the line from Wimbledon to Croydon. There will now be 8 trams per hour, rather than 6 trams now. This reflects the strong demand for travel on the Wimbledon line, especially at Peak times, where there are heavy flows into both Croydon and Wimbledon. Usage has increased more than ten fold compared to the BR Wimbledon - West Croydon service of 1994.
The New Addington line will unfortunately see a slight reduction in frequency from every 6-7 minutes to every 7.5 minutes, a reduction in capacity of 11%. However, it will bring the significant benefit of direct trams to the Shopping and Leisure complexes of Purley Way. Many Addington residents work along this corridor, either in the retail shops, or the industrial areas of Beddington and Mitcham. The new routes will remove the need to change trams in Croydon.
Improvements in the evening service on the Beckenham line are also anticipated in order to provide a more frequent service.
The new timetable is expected to require 22 trams with provisional reports suggesting 13 trams will work the Wimbledon to New Addington route with a 6 minute layover at Wimbledon (which worked well and was very popular with drivers during the Beckenham line closure in 2004) and a 7 minute layover at New Addington (similar to today). 9 trams will work the Beckenham Junction to Elmers End route via the town centre loop, with a 6 minute layover at Beckenham Junction and a 7 minute layover at Elmers End.
Interestingly, the first report on my site that plans were being made to revise the routes to better match demand was reported as long ago as May 2002.
One of the main drivers for the change will be to improve reliability and punctuality which have fallen with the large number of temporary speed restrictions currently in place on the system, and the introduction of Centrale stop, which is taken into account in the new timetable.
The new timetable will no doubt need significant publicity due to the change in routes. As soon as this material and the full timetable is made available to me, I will update the relevent sections of the site.
