District and Circle Lines work 4-12 August 2021

[Dstock7080]

TfL issues travel advice ahead of essential maintenance on Circle and District lines

TfL issues travel advice ahead of essential track maintenance on Circle and District lines this summer

tfl.gov.uk

From 4-12 August, there will be closures for essential track replacement work there will be no service between Edgware Road and Aldgate via Victoria on the Circle Line and from Earl's Court to Aldgate East on the District Line

On the weekend of 7-8 August, the planned closure on the District line will also be extended from Earl's Court to Hammersmith/Kensington Olympia/Wimbledon/Edgware Road.

This work includes completely removing the outdated long timber track at Embankment station and replacing it with concrete slab track, which involves pumping over 100 tonnes of concrete from the road level.

Embankment station will be closed and Bakerloo and Northern trains will non-stop.

This will provide better journeys with greater reliability. Further work, including replacing and packing ballast underneath the track, will help facilitate faster train speeds and reduced journey times.

 

[700007]

Will Hammersmith & City line services be extended from Barking to Upminster / increased in frequency during the closure?

 

[Dstock7080]

Will Hammersmith & City line services be extended from Barking to Upminster / increased in frequency during the closure?

There will be a Hammersmith-Upminster via King's Cross service in operation

 

[rebmcr]

There will be a Hammersmith-Upminster via King's Cross service in operation

Will that require driver changes somewhere between Aldgate East and Barking?

 

[Dstock7080]

Will that require driver changes somewhere between Aldgate East and Barking?

Barking.

 

[LU_timetabler]

Probably worth pointing out that District won't be running services at the east end of the closure, the whole service between Aldgate East and Upminster will be provided by the H&C/District combi-service with driver changes at Barking. The service pattern has previously operated on some weekends of recent times. The H&C runs 2 services, one every 10 mins Hammersmith - Barking, one every 10 mins Hammersmith - Upminster. This uses all the Circle/H&C drivers and fills the every 5 mins Circle/H&C slots of the north of the Circle, so the only trains reversing at Aldgate will be Met, there may be a couple of Circles reverse at Aldgate early and late to make it easier to cover last trains.

 

[Horizon22]

Bit of a nightmare during what is likely to be a busy domestic summer (at least there will probably be fewer tourists) - we all known it will have been planned way in advance but the average Londoner will ask "why couldn't this have been done during Covid?!?!". The Piccadilly and to some extent the Central will be doing some heavy lifting. I imagine it was also originally planned with an expectation Crossrail would be running by now?

TfL's marketing and PR campaigns are normally excellent though so hopefully people will be well aware when it starts. I got my email yesterday - the first of many I expect!

 

[Dstock7080]

Bit of a nightmare during what is likely to be a busy domestic summer (at least there will probably be fewer tourists) - we all known it will have been planned way in advance but the average Londoner will ask "why couldn't this have been done during Covid?!?!".

Much of the major engineering works were paused during early/mid-2020 due to the need for those staff to also socially distance until such time as a safe plan of working could be implemented.

 

[Ianigsy]

Bit of a nightmare during what is likely to be a busy domestic summer (at least there will probably be fewer tourists) - we all known it will have been planned way in advance but the average Londoner will ask "why couldn't this have been done during Covid?!?!". The Piccadilly and to some extent the Central will be doing some heavy lifting. I imagine it was also originally planned with an expectation Crossrail would be running by now?

The Piccadilly isn’t calling at South Ken until September either, which doesn’t really help as regards people heading for the museums - a bit of an own goal in the planning there. Oh for Brompton Road!

 

[Dstock7080]

The Piccadilly isn’t calling at South Ken until September either, which doesn’t really help as regards people heading for the museums - a bit of an own goal in the planning there.

“March 2022”

 

[Horizon22]

Much of the major engineering works were paused during early/mid-2020 due to the need for those staff to also socially distance until such time as a safe plan of working could be implemented.

I do understand that but Network Rail were able to do pretty much all planned engineering works, so not sure why TFL can’t. Only thing I can think of is narrower tunnel working?

When was it booked to happen originally?

 

[Mojo]

I do understand that but Network Rail were able to do pretty much all planned engineering works, so not sure why TFL can’t. Only thing I can think of is narrower tunnel working?

When was it booked to happen originally?

A political instruction was issued to stop all non essential works, just like how many businesses that weren’t legally required to cease trading (McDonald’s, Greggs, Pret, etc) decided to.

 

[simple simon]

Will the through trains from Upminster to Hammersmith via Shepherds Bush & Kings Cross St Pancras be a District, Hammersmith & City (or ... help I'm lost...) service???

 

[spinba11]

District front Upminster to Barking then H&C from Barking to Hammersmit.

 

[AlbertBeale]

District front Upminster to Barking then H&C from Barking to Hammersmit.

Westbound, while it's called a District, will it show Barking as the destination, and then change both destination and line name? (In which case will passengers be surprised not to have to get out at Barking...?) Or will it say District Line, and destination Hammersmith, at the outset ... in which case people are going to make wrong assumptions about its calling points.

 

[Dstock7080]

The only code available for that route is: “Hammersmith
Hammersmith & City Line”
unfortunately the digital voice messages will not play until Barking westbound.
Upminster>Hammersmith (District) is available, although now useless

 

[DavyCrocket]

With the amount of S stock with defective information systems, it’ll probably be blank (which in this case could be helpful)

 

[NSEFAN]

The only code available for that route is: “Hammersmith
Hammersmith & City Line”
unfortunately the digital voice messages will not play until Barking westbound.
Upminster>Hammersmith (District) is available, although now useless

Operationally, would the trains be timetabled as Hammersmith - Upminster direct, or would they be two seperate services which start/end at Barking?

 

[Dstock7080]

Operationally, would the trains be timetabled as Hammersmith - Upminster direct, or would they be two seperate services which start/end at Barking?

Timetabled as Hammersmith>Upminster direct

 

[Horizon22]

A political instruction was issued to stop all non essential works, just like how many businesses that weren’t legally required to cease trading (McDonald’s, Greggs, Pret, etc) decided to.

Ah politics…that explains it!

 

[LU_timetabler]

All trains have H&C/Circle numbers and will be called H&C on the train.

 

[simple simon]

For greater passenger capacity it would have been better if Metropolitan line S8 trains were running to Upminster.

All stations Baker Street* - Liverpool Street can take them, as they are already served by 8 car S8 trains. Aldgate East is a modern-ish station and when it opened it was served by 8 car trains, albeit perhaps just in the rush hours. Stations Whitechapel - Upminster also have long platforms, most of these having at one time been served by trains that are longer than used (by Underground trains) nowadays.

*Metropolitan line platforms 1-4, although for through trains only 2 and 3 would be used.

 

[Dstock7080]

Stations Whitechapel - Upminster also have long platforms, most of these having at one time been served by trains that are longer than used (by Underground trains) nowadays.

The rebuilt Whitechapel could not now take anything longer than S7, the westbound platform being in a new location.

 

[londonboi198o5]

For greater passenger capacity it would have been better if Metropolitan line S8 trains were running to Upminster.

All stations Baker Street* - Liverpool Street can take them, as they are already served by 8 car S8 trains. Aldgate East is a modern-ish station and when it opened it was served by 8 car trains, albeit perhaps just in the rush hours. Stations Whitechapel - Upminster also have long platforms, most of these having at one time been served by trains that are longer than used (by Underground trains) nowadays.

*Metropolitan line platforms 1-4, although for through trains only 2 and 3 would be used.

Platforms structurally are long enough between Plaistow and Upminster yes but the non used areas are not suitable also platform end barriers are set up for 7 car trains.
An 8 car unit wouldn’t fit at West Ham either.

 

[LU_timetabler]

S8's are only driven by Met drivers. No Met drivers are qualified for routes east of Liverpool Street.

 

[rebmcr]

S8's are only driven by Met drivers. No Met drivers are qualified for routes east of Liverpool Street.

Is the knowledge actually different to sign S8 vs S7? (Not that I actually care about this weekend service's train length).

 

[spinba11]

One difference I can think of is stopping at the S8 vs S7 boards when its no a SS boar.

 

[Dstock7080]

Details of the revised services:

Ealing Broadway-High Street Kensington every 20min
Richmond-High Street Kensington every 10min
Wimbledon-Edgware Road every 5min

The Circle Line will be suspended

A special combined District/Hammersmith & City Line service will operate Hammersmith-Upminster via King’s Cross approximately every 5min during the morning and evening peaks; this will reduce to every 5-10min (9 trains per hour) during the off peak periods

There will be no replacement bus between Earl’s Court and Aldgate East via Victoria. Passengers must be advised to make full use of alternative Underground lines and local bus services.
Passengers for Aldgate must be advised to use Aldgate East and walk

 

[Lewlew]

The Bakerloo line will also not be stopping at Embankment for the duration of the works. Presume the same applies to the Northern line.

 

[Dstock7080]

The Bakerloo line will also not be stopping at Embankment for the duration of the works. Presume the same applies to the Northern line.

That was mentioned in the original post