Jubilee train to Charing Cross

[LJA]

A Reddit user has claimed that they were on a Jubilee train that was mistakenly sent to the disused Charing Cross on 30 July, with the attached picture

Is this true? And if so, how?

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ibb.co

 

[bramling]

A Reddit user has claimed that they were on a Jubilee train that was mistakenly sent to the disused Charing Cross on 30 July, with the attached picture

Is this true? And if so, how?

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ado1fktn0dfb1 hosted at ImgBB

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ibb.co

The most obvious scenario is the train was diverted there (for whatever reason) and either the driver wasn’t told, or he simply forgot.

If the control room alter the destination then the driver’s display will briefly show a message “Destination change” accompanied by a brief tone which sounds like a text message alert on a mobile phone. But if the driver overlooks this then the only other visual cue is the destination in the corner of the driver‘s display will have changed. In theory drivers are supposed to check this at junctions, but it’s very easy to overlook, especially for those drivers who weren’t used to doing this for many years when driving under proper signals.

The signallers are meant to verbally inform a driver if their train is being diverted, but things that are supposed to happen don’t always in reality…

It’s worth noting that the design of the Seltrac TBTC and CBTC system tacitly encourages drivers into an autopilot-like state, especially when working in ATO. So these sorts of mistakes do happen.

Note the above are general points, I’m not going to comment on the specific incident.

 

[pdeaves]

A Reddit user has claimed that they were on a Jubilee train that was mistakenly sent to the disused Charing Cross on 30 July, with the attached picture

Is this true? And if so, how?

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

ado1fktn0dfb1 hosted at ImgBB

Image ado1fktn0dfb1 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

As far as I am aware, the line is still officially available as a diversionary route. So, 'mistakenly sent' or 'diverted in a controlled manner'? Either way, that would be a Good Day if there were any track bashers on board!

 

[Dstock7080]

A Reddit user has claimed that they were on a Jubilee train that was mistakenly sent to the disused Charing Cross on 30 July, with the attached picture

Is this true? And if so, how?

Yes it was, around 17.16

 

[rebmcr]

Is the branch, like the Kennington loop, still OK to carry passengers in safety terms (despite being off-limits in customer service terms)?

 

[bramling]

Is the branch, like the Kennington loop, still OK to carry passengers in safety terms (despite being off-limits in customer service terms)?

Don’t see why not, I seem to recall one escalator is still maintained to permit evacuation. Hard to envisage a situation where it would be necessary though.

 

[High Dyke]

Just out of interest, to those that may know. How often are services diverted to Charing Cross? I appreciate that it is no longer in daily use for the Jubilee line.

 

[bramling]

Just out of interest, to those that may know. How often are services diverted to Charing Cross? I appreciate that it is no longer in daily use for the Jubilee line.

Quite regularly at times, either for recovering late running, or in the event of problems further east. It’s also the only place to put a defective train on the central section of the line. It is very rare indeed for passengers to end up there though.

 

[High Dyke]

Quite regularly at times, either for recovering late running, or in the event of problems further east. It’s also the only place to put a defective train on the central section of the line. It is very rare indeed for passengers to end up there though.

Thanks. I was wondering.

 

[thomalex]

I’ve always been curious of an idea to extend from Charing Cross to Aldwych (or even further) with it becoming a branch of the Jubilee and then running half eastbound services along this branch. Half of westbound services from Stratford would then terminate at Westminster.

Or a curve could be built from Westminster to Charing Cross and half westbounds could run along the branch and terminate at Aldwych.

No doubt completely unworkable but I’ve always wanted to make some use of those platforms!

 

[Tubeboy]

According to internal documents the Controller failed to inform the driver of the change of destination. Equally the driver wasn’t reading their display at Green Park. So an oversight on both.

 

[LJA]

Thanks all for the responses

Been mentioned its very rare to happen with passengers on - not something I’ve heard of happening before!

 

[4COR]

I’ve always been curious of an idea to extend from Charing Cross to Aldwych (or even further) with it becoming a branch of the Jubilee and then running half eastbound services along this branch.

Which is effectively the route that would have been taken if the original Phase 2 (of what then was refered to as the Fleet Line) had been followed. Charing Cross, Aldwych, Ludgate Circus, Cannon St, Fenchurch St. Phase 3 would have taken it south to New Cross.

 

[bramling]

Thanks all for the responses

Been mentioned its very rare to happen with passengers on - not something I’ve heard of happening before!

It did happen very soon after the JLE opened, forget the circumstances but it was necessary to divert a train there, and I think the passengers were actually allowed to exit.

However standard practice very quickly became to run empty from Green Park. Indeed I can’t readily think of any occasion in the interim when a train has gone there in passenger service. Though odds are it has probably happened at some point for one reason or another. Empty is another matter, this is very common. Also the 38 stock has taken passengers there.

 

[Mikey C]

As they hire out the Charing Cross platforms for filming, do they try and keep one platform for filming, and one platform for turning around trains in service?

 

[thomalex]

Which is effectively the route that would have been taken if the original Phase 2 (of what then was refered to as the Fleet Line) had been followed. Charing Cross, Aldwych, Ludgate Circus, Cannon St, Fenchurch St. Phase 3 would have taken it south to New Cross.

Indeed. The tunnels in fact run quite some way past Charing Cross as it currently stands.

It also seems there's a cross over just before Waterloo station so you could feasibly terminate some westbound trains at Westminster and then reverse them back to Stratford to allow capacity for trains heading then heading north from the Charing Cross branch. I do wonder if this was ever considered when the routing of the Jubilee was switched to run south of the river.

You could just leave it as is as a route to Charing Cross but Fenchurch Street would presumably be a good terminus destination and finally give this station a tube stop. Even just a very short extension to reach Aldwych would also give the overcrowded Covent Garden some relief I would have thought. It does seem a shame to have this infrastructure sat right under some of the busiest parts of central London and have it not in use somehow.



Map from cartometro.com https://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-tram-london/

 

[Mojo]

As they hire out the Charing Cross platforms for filming, do they try and keep one platform for filming, and one platform for turning around trains in service?

Charing Cross is more often used for training rather than filming, but yes. The Northbound platform is typically used, as this allows trains to be diverted down there immediately, giving a few minutes for whomever is in charge from LU or the film office to clear all persons and equipment from the track, remove protection and get current switched back on, in order to allow the train to run back North.

Obviously this depending on what is being done (some things require both platforms and all four traction current sections to be switched off).

 

[Dstock7080]

Charing Cross is more often used for training rather than filming, but yes. The Northbound platform is typically used, as this allows trains to be diverted down there immediately . . . ..

Aren’t both platforms northbound at Charing Cross?

 

[duncanp]

I’ve always been curious of an idea to extend from Charing Cross to Aldwych (or even further) with it becoming a branch of the Jubilee and then running half eastbound services along this branch. Half of westbound services from Stratford would then terminate at Westminster.

Or a curve could be built from Westminster to Charing Cross and half westbounds could run along the branch and terminate at Aldwych.

No doubt completely unworkable but I’ve always wanted to make some use of those platforms!

The original idea for the Jubilee line extension was to go from Charing Cross to Aldwych, then along Fleet Street.

I don't think you split the Jubilee Line in the manner you have suggested, because it would involve missing out Waterloo and possibly London Bridge, which would cause severe overcrowding for Eastbound services from these two stations towards Canary Wharf.

 

[Turtle]

The original idea for the Jubilee line extension was to go from Charing Cross to Aldwych, then along Fleet Street.

I don't think you split the Jubilee Line in the manner you have suggested, because it would involve missing out Waterloo and possibly London Bridge, which would cause severe overcrowding for Eastbound services from these two stations towards Canary Wharf.

Indeed, that why it was originally called the Fleet Line.

 

[75A]

Indeed, that why it was originally called the Fleet Line.

Named after the river Fleet.

 

[Mojo]

Aren’t both platforms northbound at Charing Cross?

Whilst they would have been signed for customers as “Northbound” due to all trains departing in service only Northbound of there, one road is Northbound and one is Southbound. (Similar to Finsbury Pk on the Pic line which are signed as Northbound and Southbound even though the Pic line operates as Eastbound and Westbound).

 

[bramling]

Aren’t both platforms northbound at Charing Cross?

From a passenger-facing point of view, yes. However operationally they’re NB and SB. Same applies at places like Elephant & Castle and Brixton, though the modern signalling systems tend to make more use of platform numbers than has been the case in the past. At Battersea for example the platforms just get referred to as 1 and 2.

 

[duncanp]

There is an article about this on the BBC website

London Tube passengers baffled as train pulls into abandoned station

A Jubilee line train stopped at a station which has not been used by passengers for 25 years.

www.bbc.co.uk

Tube mishap sees train pull into abandoned station​

• Tube passengers on the Jubilee line were left baffled after their train ended up at the abandoned Charing Cross station branch
• The Jubilee line section of the station has been out of use since 1999
• The passengers were all safely rerouted back to Green Park
• TfL said the mishap was the result of a "miscommunication"