A Scrapyard Special Ready For The Blowtorch
I took these pictures of possibly the worst train, I’ve ridden in for some years.
I took this Class 313 train between Hertford North and Old |Street stations.
Not all trains of this age have to be so dirty and unkempt.
In Liverpool’s Underground Trains, I showed these pictures.
These Merseyrail Class 507/508 trains are only three years younger, than those in London.
Both fleets are being replaced before the end of 2020.
So it’s not that if trains are going to the scrapyard they have to be let go!
I do wonder whether that this illustrates the point, that if trains are run as a concession from the Local Authority, like those of Merseyrail and London Overground, there is much better control of service quality.
In Gibb Report – Moorgate Services Could Be Transferred To The London Overground, I laid out Chris Gibb’s view of what should happen.
This was my conclusion.
Chris Gibb has made an interesting proposal.
There are good reasons to transfer the Great Northern Metro to London Overground.
- London Overground have the expertise to introduce the new trains.
- Transport for London have the expertise to redevelop the stations on the route at the Southern end.
- GTR will be able to concentrate on Thameslink
- Moorgate, Old Street, Essex Road and Highbury and Islington stations become Transport for London-only stations.
- London would gain a new Metro line between Moorgate and Alexandra Palace via Highbury and Islington and Finsbury Park, that extends into Hertfordshire and has a frequency of at least twelve tph.
- Crossrail gets another North-South feeder line.
- Highbury and Islington and Finsbury Park will become high quality interchanges.
- The Hertford Loop Line can be developed independently of Thameslink and the East Coast Main Line to be a high-capacity North-South Metro from North London to Stevenage.
- The Victoria Line gets a cross-platform connection to the Great Northern Metro for Crossrail at Highbury and Islington.
- The only problem, is that it might remove some of the reasons for extending Crossrail 2 to New Southgate.
Overall it strikes me that GTR have been working totally without any vision or any idea about how their new trains will transform the Great Northern Metro.
I hope Sadiq Khan is watching what is happening from his bunker in South London.
The Anonymous Widower 
I thought you had been on a Northern Pacer?
Comment by R. Mark Clayton | April 29, 2019 |
There is also Drayton Park Station which would become TFL . In fact Drayton Park Station is next to Arsenal Emirates stadium and with unused land the station could be enlarged and redeveloped to provide access to the stadium .
These trains with graffiti remind me of The Enforcer TV series with graffiti covered trains in opening sequence. Admittedly I have seen graffiti on South Eastern trains another area TFL have been trying to gain contro of . Perhaps news in todays Evening Standard that SNCF is thinking of taking legal action over franchise requirements by DFT re pensions might make concessions the only option ?
When introduced these Class 313 PEP Stock trains were revolutionary with their sliding doors making them like main line sized tube trains !
Some of these trains are used on coastway services along the south coast and if we had a proper electrification plan some of these trains could serve on similar branch lines possibly making reopening some lines economic.
Comment by Melvyn | April 29, 2019 |
I was talking to a driver in Liverpool and he said that their trains are graffiti-free because they lock the trains in proper stabling at night! In the 1960s, at Liverpool University, there were a lot of attacks on students. They stopped after a guy was found on the East Lancs Road in just his underpants with 3d. for the bus fare home. Rumours that he had been involved in attacks on students were teported at the time. There’s also the story of the Post Office Telephones lorry with a ladder hole in the front!
Comment by AnonW | April 29, 2019 |