Thameslink brighton service

[ThameslinkUser]

Does the Gatwick Express use OBS, I thought they used guards.?

OBS. They can and often do run without OBS, including some booked diagrams.

 

[MrJeeves]

Does the Gatwick Express use OBS, I thought they used guards.?

All DOO (like almost every Southern route and like every Thameslink route) with (normally) on-board supervisors existing in a customer-facing role for ticket checks, sales, information and for passenger assistance with ramps, etc.

 

[Somewhere]

Does the Gatwick Express use OBS, I thought they used guards.?

The only guards on Southern now are the Uckfield and Ashford services which use 171s, and between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction

 

[Bikeman78]

I have not experienced anything that bad and I use Thameslink twice a week to get to Farringdon, however, faults seem to be common. Mostly problems with the signalling system but the occasional fault with a train happens as well.

I have never been on a faulty 700. They seem pretty reliable.

Still upset you got caught evading your fare?

Getting caught is an achievement in itself. I have never had my ticket checked on board a 700.

 

[Minstral25]

Does anyone have this is writing?

As far as I am aware all tickets from Redhill line to Hayward's Heath and Brighton are usable on Gatwick Express, there is no restriction on them. Obviously that is the Gatwick to Brighton portion of the service only.

 

[RJ]

Things go wrong from time to time. But it’s a frequent service with fixed 12 carriage trains. Having moved elsewhere in the UK where the railways are very different to that, it really isn’t a bad deal overall.

 

[DJS76]

The usual shambles on Thameslink this evening......

 

[MrJeeves]

As far as I am aware all tickets from Redhill line to Hayward's Heath and Brighton are usable on Gatwick Express, there is no restriction on them. Obviously that is the Gatwick to Brighton portion of the service only.

That's specific to tickets for those journeys, though? No, those specific tickets don't have a restriction preventing use on GatEx, but that doesn't mean anyone travelling with any ticket can use GatEx between those stations...

The usual shambles on Thameslink this evening...

Yes, let's all imply it's GTR's fault that someone has been hit by a train in two busy parts of their network...

 

[BPN2022]

The usual shambles on Thameslink this evening......

I guess you haven’t seen the fatalities?

 

[Bald Rick]

The usual shambles on Thameslink this evening......

It was absolutely fine at 1930 - all on time….

 

[RJ]

The usual shambles on Thameslink this evening......

Two people hit by trains is going to cause disruption that’s outside of the railway’s control.

 

[yorkie]

As far as I am aware all tickets from Redhill line to Hayward's Heath and Brighton are usable on Gatwick Express, there is no restriction on them. Obviously that is the Gatwick to Brighton portion of the service only.

I don't think that is in any doubt.

I think the matter under debate is some sort of (unpublished?) arrangement where GTR appear to accept tickets on the 'wrong brand' for the portion of the journey between Gatwick and Brighton, regardless of the ticket held.

I do remember Southern (before it became GTR) having some sort of arrangement on that basis, but I am not sure that it was ever documented anywhere.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I don't think that is in any doubt.

I think the matter under debate is some sort of (unpublished?) arrangement where GTR appear to accept tickets on the 'wrong brand' for the portion of the journey between Gatwick and Brighton, regardless of the ticket held.

I do remember Southern (before it became GTR) having some sort of arrangement on that basis, but I am not sure that it was ever documented anywhere.

On all my recent journeys north from Brighton on a GX train, there have been onboard announcements before leaving Brighton listing various types of tickets which are [allegedly] not allowed on the train at all (not just not allowed after Grotwick). The list is, obviously, things like "Southern Only", "Not GX", etc. However I've always been using [cheap!] tickets which have no "brand restrictions" and no (relevant) route restrictions, so it's not mattered to me. Also, there has almost always been a ticket check on these services.

 

[DJS76]

Two people hit by trains is going to cause disruption that’s outside of the railway’s control.

Apologies for the insensitivity of my post, I have now deleted this. Sorry for any offence, thoughts of course with everyone involved.

 

[Minstral25]

I don't think that is in any doubt.

I think the matter under debate is some sort of (unpublished?) arrangement where GTR appear to accept tickets on the 'wrong brand' for the portion of the journey between Gatwick and Brighton, regardless of the ticket held.

I do remember Southern (before it became GTR) having some sort of arrangement on that basis, but I am not sure that it was ever documented anywhere.

Our tickets to the South (from Redhill) are always marked any permitted route, which covers GatEx, there are no discounted "brand" only tickets. Even "super off-peak" fares are not branded. That was the same before GTR from my recollection.

GTR did promise our local Rail Users that when GatEx took over Brighton trains we would not have restricted tickets that meant we could always get to the coast using them. I don't recall it documented officially either.

 

[Bikeman78]

Things go wrong from time to time. But it’s a frequent service with fixed 12 carriage trains. Having moved elsewhere in the UK where the railways are very different to that, it really isn’t a bad deal overall.

That is a big advantage with the 700s. The joyful experience of a single 319 turning up following a cancelled train is thankfully a distant memory.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

That is a big advantage with the 700s. The joyful experience of a single 319 turning up following a cancelled train is thankfully a distant memory.

Very true ! - or even after several cancellations and "service recovery" - (i.e fast to Bedford only......)

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

That is a big advantage with the 700s. The joyful experience of a single 319 turning up following a cancelled train is thankfully a distant memory.

Indeed coming into their own tonight following a tree interfering with the wires at St Albans service somewhat dislocated

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Indeed coming into their own tonight following a tree interfering with the wires at St Albans service somewhat dislocated

Still on a 2 track railway Radlett to Harpenden - yes - a 12 car 700 can really swallow a lot of passengers - when needed !

 

[Bald Rick]

Still on a 2 track railway Radlett to Harpenden - yes - a 12 car 700 can really swallow a lot of passengers - when needed !

3 track railway for almost all of it, and 4 track railway for last half hour, Guv. Service managed very well in my opinion. I left London around 1900 and delayed by 2 mins.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

3 track railway for almost all of it, and 4 track railway for last half hour, Guv. Service managed very well in my opinion. I left London around 1900 and delayed by 2 mins.

Good work again by West Hampstead ! - they always rise to the occasion !!!

 

[Bald Rick]

Good work again by West Hampstead ! - they always rise to the occasion !!!

Mostly the decisions in TBROC and EMCC. But WH did execute them well.

 

[Deepgreen]

I have never been on a faulty 700. They seem pretty reliable.


Getting caught is an achievement in itself. I have never had my ticket checked on board a 700.

Agree with both - reliable, but spartan, and I've never been checked.

 

[izvor]

Agree with both - reliable, but spartan, and I've never been checked.

There was a thread elsewhere on this board that suggested the revenue inspectors avoid the 700s because (a) they are long and open, and any scumbags ticket avoiders have plenty of time to jump off at the next station, and (b) there are no intermediate cabs for staff to jump into if they feel threatened.

I have never had my ticket checked either, though I understand checks are more frequent north of the river. And, to be fair, I'm not a daily traveller.

My experience of Thameslink: generally acceptable until late evening when the whole service often goes down the pan. The Horsham-Peterboro' is the worst. As I used to do late turns this was very frustrating. It was not uncommon for 2 or 3 to be cancelled consecutively, and not for the (excusable) external reasons. Another issue (at Redhill) was seeing your train diverted via the Quarry just to regain a couple of minutes; or being on a train that was ditto, at the last minute (including the very last train); or, perhaps worse, finding your train cancelled at the last minute, then seeing it sail through on the fast lines. I could go on…

 

[Fincra5]

Thameslink has it issues, for sure, like every route. The biggest issue for TL is all the services going from and to different places, all squeezing through a 2 Track Railway in the middle of London. So when it goes wrong, it goes wrong.

 

[jojoseph72]

Thameslink has it issues, for sure, like every route. The biggest issue for TL is all the services going from and to different places, all squeezing through a 2 Track Railway in the middle of London. So when it goes wrong, it goes wrong.

I agree, what makes TL so useful is the variety of destination that you can get to with one stop using them. But the combo of moving between so mainlines and onto a two track railway through the core does make the timetable very fragile. So to parrot Fincra5 when it does go wrong, it can go catastrophically wrong.

 

[Elybob]

If two trains had been cancelled with further disruption I would've just used the Gatwick Express regardless of whether there's ticket acceptance or not tbh.

I'm not getting stranded

 

[paul1609]

The only guards on Southern now are the Uckfield and Ashford services which use 171s, and between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction

I believe Redhill to Tonbridge is still guard operated sometimes with a SE crew.

 

[renegademaster]

RPIS definitely exist on 700s, used to get them along getting on at East Croydon getting off at Purley

 

[paul1609]

My experience of Thameslink: generally acceptable until late evening when the whole service often goes down the pan. The Horsham-Peterboro' is the worst. As I used to do late turns this was very frustrating. It was not uncommon for 2 or 3 to be cancelled consecutively, and not for the (excusable) external reasons. Another issue (at Redhill) was seeing your train diverted via the Quarry just to regain a couple of minutes; or being on a train that was ditto, at the last minute (including the very last train); or, perhaps worse, finding your train cancelled at the last minute, then seeing it sail through on the fast lines. I could go on…

Being diverted on to the quarry line isnt just a case of regaining a couple of minutes. Anything that runs via Redhill is inheritantly unreliable because of the conflicting movements. Our coastway rail users association constantly has to lobby for Arun Valley services to be routed via the quarry line because a redhill call just destroys the reliability of the west coastway line.