The Anonymous Widower

London Bridge And West Croydon By London Overground

This morning, I took a London Overground train between London Bridge and West Croydon stations.

I took these pictures on the route.

Note.

1. It appears there are no London Overground services running through the Thames Tunnel.
2. The only service in South London is two trains per hour (tph) between London Bridge and West Croydon stations.
3. The service seemed to be working well, with no significant delays.
4. The 10:24 from London Bridge wasn’t very busy, but the return at 11:03 was very crowded and there were no spare seats.

It was certainly better than a Rail Replacement Bus.

These are some further thoughts.

Could West Croydon Station Handle Six Trains Per Hour?

• West Croydon station has a bay platform 1, that handles all the London Overground services.
• Typically, a train leaves the platform about 8-9 minutes after it arrives.
• 6 x 8 is 48 minutes.

It would be tight, but possible.

Before the bay platform was extended, trains used to reverse using a turnback facility to the West of the station, which I described in How Trains Reverse At West Croydon. As this facility appears to be still there, it can probably act as a substitute bay platform for London Overground trains, if the service gets disrupted.

If in the future, it was decided to have a service, which ran say 4 tph to Highbury & Islington station and 2 tph to London Bridge station, I believe this would be possible.

Were Transport for London Training Drivers?

One or possibly both of the trains, that I rode had two drivers.

This is not unusual, but one of the drivers was wearing a Southern Day-glo vest.

So was he instructing the London Overground driver on the route, that the London Overground, doesn’t normally use?

Charging Battery-Electric Trains At London Bridge Station

This Google Map shows the roof of London Bridge station over platforms 10-15.

Note.

1. The three gaps in the roof are above platforms 10-15.
2. There are roof supports over the tracks.
3. Platforms 10 and 11 are at the top, platforms12 and 13 are in the middle and platforms 14 and 15 are at the bottom.

My train used Platform 13 as these pictures show.

Note the roof supports over the tracks.

If the Uckfield or another service needed to be run by battery-electric trains, the trains might need to be charged at London Bridge station, as there may be issues charging using third-rail electrification.

These pictures show rigid overhead conductor rails over the Thameslink platforms at St. Pancras station.

Could rails like these be installed over some or all of the bay platforms to London Bridge station, so that battery-electric trains could be charged?

• If the battery-electric trains were converted Class 377 or Class 387 trains, these are available as dual-voltage.
• Uckfield services use Platform 10 at London Bridge station.
• A round trip to Uckfield station is only 2 x 24.7 miles or 49.4 miles of unelectrified track.
• Short lengths of 25 KVAC overhead electrification could be installed at Uckfield station and the bay platform at Oxted station if needed.

A dual-voltage battery-electric train with a range of say just over 50 miles could handle Uckfield services.

April 1, 2024 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Charging Battery Trains, Class 378 Train, London Bridge Station, London Overground, Rail Replacement Bus, West Croydon Station | 1 Comment