Snow Delays: Why not most TfL Lines?

[DynamicSpirit]

I've just got back to Abbey Wood from central London. SouthEastern were completely disrupted so I used the DLR to Woolwich Arsenal - which was running flawlessly, and there changed onto a very late running SouthEastern train which was crawling along very slowly for safety - and with some very obvious sparking from the 3rd rail that was visible even from inside through the windows.

That got me wondering why the difference. When I got home I did a quick flick around departure boards, to find that most TfL routes (tube, DLR and TfL rail) were running normally with only the Overground badly affected. By contrast, most national rail lines in London were heavily disrupted - from what I can see, only the Fenchurch Street, Moorgate and Kings Cross routes anything close to normal (this was half an hour ago, so might be different now).

I'm not trying to do a NR-bashing thread, but am curious to know why there are such big differences in the snow-resilience? What is it, for example, about the DLR that enables it to run perfectly when the nearby SouthEastern lines can't? Ditto for underground lines (I realise they are underground and therefore protected from the weather in central London, but most of them have very long above-ground sections out of the centre, which you'd naively think ought to make them as vulnerable to the weather as national rail).

 

[nidave]

I am pretty sure the 3rd rail on the DLR is inverted and covered compared to the heavy rail. Less issues with ice freezing on it.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The DLR has bottom contact , boxed in con rails. It takes really heavy snow to screw it up. Has happened.

LUL has a frequent service , and some of the trains have built in de-icing equipment - the blue circle on the front indicates this , so they can treat as they go. Good heated points at places like Moor Park which are known cold spots , and used to (probably still do) , run "sleet" trains to try and keep the routes open. Station staff are allowed on the track , and can assist in sweeping points clear etc.

 

[Mikey C]

It does seem that the Southeastern region in particular really struggles with ice on the third rail, more so than the other 3rd rail networks like Southern and SWR. I saw a clip of a train in Lewisham really struggling to get away, and that is an inner London area with an intensive service

 

[Mojo]

Different structure and expectations, there are consequences for any disruptions whether planned or not planned, and when incidents do occur the response is a lot speedier due to a greater number of incident managers (including some blue-lighted by BTP Medics to certain incidents) covering a smaller area as well as a more co-ordinated response with local station staff allowed to go onto the tracks before incident responders get there as well as various ERU teams some of whom can also travel under blue lights to clear points, apply de-icer etc.

Air-powered points at most locations rather than electric points probably have an impact. Every train that goes on the surface fitted with sleet brushes for the conductor rails and a number of trains with de-icing equipment.

Because the network is smaller and less remote there is probably also not so much impact and that is why services aren’t thinned out in advance of snow or ice, because the teams know that in most cases it won’t cause too much of an issue and if it does, the response will be fast.