Thameslink Northbound Cambridge trains add a station after passing through the Core

[Railcar]

In an odd piece of scheduling, northbound Thameslink trains that have passed through the Core are displayed as stopping at Finsbury park, Stevenage, Hitchin and all station to Cambridge. At Finsbury park an odd thing happens. The Platform display adds Alexandra Palace to the list and the train does indeed stop at Alexandra Palace (two stops further on from FPK). If, for example, a passenger at Blackfriars, Faringdon,or St Pancras wishes to get to Alexandra Palace, they will expect to get off their Thameslink train at FPK on Platform 7 and cross to a Hertford loop or a Welwyn Garden City train on platform 8, but, with this piece of scheduling they should stay on their train. I've noticed this applying to several Cambridge trains. Odd.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Take it that Northbound trains calling at Alexandra Palace normally only ever originate from either London Kings Cross or from Moorgate?

 

[jon0844]

Is/was there an event on at Alexandra Palace, or is this due to engineering work?

With the 2C/2L trains stopping at AAP now, the station is certainly well served - and if 9xxx services call too, that's a lot of trains. It would make sense when there's been a major event on though, as overcrowding is a big problem there.

 

[30907]

Do you have a specific date/time? A quick search on RTT for the past week doesn't pick anything up.

 

[whoosh]

In the normal timetable, services through the Core do NOT stop at Alexandra Palace.
They have been known to have a 'Special Stop Order' for Alexandra Palace if it's particularly busy because of an event - especially if there has been a cancellation of another service.

The driver will be given the Special Stop Order at Finsbury Park, so before that, it most likely won't be advertised.
It's an ad-hoc addition rather than something that's "scheduled".

 

[NSE]

I wish they stopped after an event I appreciate the occasional SSO is issued but I’ve never seen it. As someone who (frequently) wants to go to the Croydon area after an Ally Pally gig, watching the Brighton/Horsham trains going straight through.

 

[jon0844]

I don't know if many extra trains get put on going south, as a lot of people going back into London (excluding those going beyond) can use local buses or will walk to the tube.

Going north, the more trains stopping the better. There are far fewer alternative options.

 

[Magdalia]

In an odd piece of scheduling, northbound Thameslink trains that have passed through the Core are displayed as stopping at Finsbury park, Stevenage, Hitchin and all station to Cambridge. At Finsbury park an odd thing happens. The Platform display adds Alexandra Palace to the list and the train does indeed stop at Alexandra Palace (two stops further on from FPK). If, for example, a passenger at Blackfriars, Faringdon,or St Pancras wishes to get to Alexandra Palace, they will expect to get off their Thameslink train at FPK on Platform 7 and cross to a Hertford loop or a Welwyn Garden City train on platform 8, but, with this piece of scheduling they should stay on their train. I've noticed this applying to several Cambridge trains. Odd.

Given the time stamp on the original message this seems to be describing the management of disruption following a person being hit by a train at about 1630 yesterday afternoon. RTT suggests that the line via Potters Bar was closed for about 3 hours with lots of train cancellations and some diversions via Hertford.

 

[jon0844]

Given the time stamp on the original message this seems to be describing the management of disruption following a person being hit by a train at about 1630 yesterday afternoon. RTT suggests that the line via Potters Bar was closed for about 3 hours with lots of train cancellations and some diversions via Hertford.

Ah, yes - there was someone hit by a train at Brookmans Park. That would make sense if trains were diverted and people were given the opportunity to alight beforehand.

 

[Railcar]

In an earlier part of this thread, an example was requested of Cambridge trains stopping at Alexandra Palace.

Today (Feb 14th) the 13.38 Thameslink train for Cambridge stopped at Platform 3 of Alexandra Palace There were no events at Ally Pally and no crowds on the platfrom.

 

[Stephen42]

In an earlier part of this thread, an example was requested of Cambridge trains stopping at Alexandra Palace.

Today (Feb 14th) the 13.38 Thameslink train for Cambridge stopped at Platform 3 of Alexandra Palace There were no events at Ally Pally and no crowds on the platfrom.

The 13.38 train for Cambridge is a booked call for a Great Northern train. It won't have come from the Thameslink core as these start at Kings Cross, but may run with a Class 700 the same as Thameslink trains as there are a mix of Class 387s and 700s on that route.

 

[jon0844]

The 13.38 train for Cambridge is a booked call for a Great Northern train. It won't have come from the Thameslink core as these start at Kings Cross, but may run with a Class 700 the same as Thameslink trains as there are a mix of Class 387s and 700s on that route.

2C/2R/2L trains have been calling at Alexandra Palace since May 2023. They're GN services, not TL, even if operated by a 700.