Piccadilly line trains on the District line

[MatthewRead]

Is it no longer possible for Piccadilly line trains to use the local line between Hammersmith and Acton Town because I understand they aren't compatible with the Thales signaling but if it's only going as far as Barons Court why can't they be switched at Hammersmith which is after Barons Court. There are several closures with no District line service through my local station (Stamford Brook) the Piccadilly line is running but it is not stopping I've already complained to London Underground about this and I understand on the bank holiday weekend the District line is running as far as Hammersmith but not on the Sunday or the bank holiday Monday now why is that?

 

[40129]

Interesting since as far as I know Piccadilly and District line trains share the same tracks between Acton Town and Ealing Common. Similarly, the Piccadilly line shares the track with the Metropolitan line between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge. So if Piccadilly line trains cannot use the local (District line) tracks between Acton Town and Hammersmith due to different signalling systems, then several questions are raised.

1) What will happen if/when the new sub-surface line signalling system is extended to cover the whole of the District and Metropolitan lines?
2) Will the Piccadilly line get the same system and if not, what happens to the Rayners Lane / Uxbridge branch?
3) What happens if there's disruptions resulting in either the express or local lines between Acton Town and Hammersmith being blocked?

With regard to question 3, when I worked for LT around 20 years ago, it was quite common for the eastbound District line service from Ealing Broadway to collapse at the end of the evening peak resulting in the need to make some Piccadilly line trains local from Acton Town to Hammersmith in order to give District line passengers some form of service. On occasion this also happened when there were signalling related issues on the express tracks, in order to maintain services to/from Heathrow

 

[Dstock7080]

There has been no change so far, Piccadilly trains are still able to use the local line in both directions.

There will be changes in June/July when points are removed at Barons Court which will prevent District trains from using the fast lines.

There are plans to remove the points immediately east of Hammersmith which will prevent Piccadilly trains from accessing the westbound local line.

CBTC will not be commissioned beyond Barons Court until SMA 10 is part commissioned from Barons Court to Stamford Brook, thus preventing Piccadilly trains from using the local lines.

Stamford Brook-Richmond/Ealing and West Harrow-Uxbridge has been descoped from 4LM plans. Let’s wait until the Piccadilly need to have a new system.

Unfortunately with drainage works at West Kensington on Sunday and Monday traction current must be off Barons Court-Earl’s Court and the buffer section for this is Ravenscourt Park-Barons Court, preventing anything running on the local lines

 

[Mawkie]

There has been no change so far, Piccadilly trains are still able to use the local line in both directions.

There will be changes in June/July when points are removed at Barons Court which will prevent District trains from using the fast lines.

There are plans to remove the points immediately east of Hammersmith which will prevent Piccadilly trains from accessing the westbound local line.

CBTC will not be commissioned beyond Barons Court until SMA 10 is part commissioned from Barons Court to Stamford Brook, thus preventing Piccadilly trains from using the local lines.

Stamford Brook-Richmond/Ealing and West Harrow-Uxbridge has been descoped from 4LM plans. Let’s wait until the Piccadilly need to have a new system.

Unfortunately with drainage works at West Kensington on Sunday and Monday traction current must be off Barons Court-Earl’s Court and the buffer section for this is Ravenscourt Park-Barons Court, preventing anything running on the local lines

It's also worth noting that Piccadilly line trains have recently been instructed to non-stop Hammersmith local platforms in both directions (due to height differences and disabled access I think?).

 

[MatthewRead]

It's also worth noting that Piccadilly line trains have recently been instructed to non-stop Hammersmith local platforms in both directions (due to height differences and disabled access I think?).

Can't they at least call at Turnham Green since they already do so in the early morning and late night and hopefully on a daily basis once the new trains come into service?

 

[AlbertBeale]

Can't they at least call at Turnham Green since they already do so in the early morning and late night and hopefully on a daily basis once the new trains come into service?

But Turnham Green is a station which the Piccadilly can serve from "their own" lines, so not switching tracks at Hammersmith is irrelevant. Only certain stations between Hammersmith and Acton Town require being on the District tracks to serve them (a different combination in each direction!).

 

[Mawkie]

Can't they at least call at Turnham Green since they already do so in the early morning and late night and hopefully on a daily basis once the new trains come into service?

Officially, the extra time needed to brake, serve, and accelerate away from Turnham Green would have a detrimental impact on the overall service - I didn't check the WTT, but imagine it's 1 to 1.5 extra minutes. Perhaps the new stock (when it finally comes) with have a sufficient brake and acceleration profile to mitigate those losses.