Timetabling oddity at Three Bridges this weekend

[Hophead]

There's engineering work closing the line north of Gatwick all this weekend. Thameslink are running the trains north from Brighton and these are shown on Realtime Trains & Live Departures as terminating at Three Bridges. Thameslink are also apparently running a shuttle from Three Bridges to Gatwick - these depart from the same platform as the Brighton arrival, with a pause of just 3 minutes. The headcode changes slightly (e.g 9T94 to 9Z94 at 17:03 / 17:06). It's the same going south - a 3 minute pause at TBD to change the headcode on what must surely be the same train. This then affects journey planners which advise prospective passengers to actually alight at Three Bridges and await a connecting train 9 minutes later.

Now why would they do that? It's not particular passenger-focussed is it? Note that I haven't travelled, so I've no idea what's displayed on the train or platforms along the route. I hope that staff on the train just advise passengers to stay on the train.

 

[AlbertBeale]

There's engineering work closing the line north of Gatwick all this weekend. Thameslink are running the trains north from Brighton and these are shown on Realtime Trains & Live Departures as terminating at Three Bridges. Thameslink are also apparently running a shuttle from Three Bridges to Gatwick - these depart from the same platform as the Brighton arrival, with a pause of just 3 minutes. The headcode changes slightly (e.g 9T94 to 9Z94 at 17:03 / 17:06). It's the same going south - a 3 minute pause at TBD to change the headcode on what must surely be the same train. This then affects journey planners which advise prospective passengers to actually alight at Three Bridges and await a connecting train 9 minutes later.

Now why would they do that? It's not particular passenger-focussed is it? Note that I haven't travelled, so I've no idea what's displayed on the train or platforms along the route. I hope that staff on the train just advise passengers to stay on the train.

I thought the Three Bridges-Gatwick service was the end of a Victoria-Gatwick circuitous through train via Horsham? (Connecting with the Brighton-Three Bridges shuttle at Three Bridges.)

Or does the Brighton train also continue to Gatwick??

 

[Hophead]

Victoria to Gatwick was a Southern service via Horsham (and naturally, Three Bridges). The supposed TBD & GTW shuttle appeared to be a continuation of a Thameslink service to and from Brighton, so I was wondering why it wasn't timetabled as the through service that it very much seemed to be.

 

[MrJeeves]

Note that I haven't travelled, so I've no idea what's displayed on the train or platforms along the route. I hope that staff on the train just advise passengers to stay on the train.

The train advertises itself as terminating at Three Bridges and tells everyone to get off, at which point station staff shout over the PA to board the train for Gatwick Airport and Gatwick Airport only...

Not the best experience!

 

[Ian Hardy]

I think that they wanted people to get off at Three Bridges and either change for the Rail Replacement buses to East Grinstead or the through services to Victoria via Horsham. They didn't want people to go to Gatwick and then overwhelm the RRB to East Grinstead or overcrowd platform 2 which was where the Victoria services departed from? On Saturday I told a couple going to Brighton on the Thameslink service to Three Bridges that the train was through to Brighton. The benefits of RTT.

 

[MrJeeves]

or the through services to Victoria via Horsham

Well those were shown as "Setdown (sic) only" on the information screens, so I don't think it's that...