direct trains north of Blackfriars from Denmark Hill

[[email protected]]

Have just realised how badly hit our direct train routes north of Blackfriars is after the change in timetables.

It used to be fairly quick to go from Denmark Hill to Farringdon, Kentish Town and on.

Now I see almost every train you have to change at Blackfriars and wait 6-10 mins.

Is that what is called improvement?

[KidKruger]

It's a hassle, but Farringdon is 10mins walk tops from Blackfriars.

[JohnL]

Depends how mobile you are I suppose (I walk from Blackfriars to Chancery Lane now instead of City Thameslink most mornings). We have lost a lot of through trains. If you're lucky there's a train about to pull out of the neighboring platform - if you're unlucky it's just gone :)

[[email protected]]

Yep, that about sums it up. Fine to make adjustments if you're very mobile.

Not so much fun when you're not!

[malumbu]

Thameslink trains from London Bridge again. Great.

London Bridge redevelopment. Great for shopping. Great I understand for forward onto other terminals/Thameslink etc. Was happy with the simple footbridge between platforms in the old days rather than having to go down down down and then up up up.

Still congestion coming into the station after New Cross. Trains times from my neck have doubled since the war into London Bridge.

Happy with the bigger picture in some respects in terms of increased utilisation, the wonders of the Overground and the seismic shift in SE London now being the most trendy area of London (shoreditch is so yesterday)

But the one thing that does p me off is the poorer service to Gatwick due to reduced services to East Croydon.

[ed26]

Is this the original new May 2018 timetable, or the new new cut-down timetable from July or the new new new expanded one that is currently being phased in? I'm only asking as I thought I would have noticed the lack of trains sooner. I have to go to Kings Cross tomorrow and was surprised to find no direct trains. So I checked here and, lo and behold, there is a new thread about this problem this week.

It's not so bad on the way into town, but coming back you have to change platforms (meaning two lifts if you have the pram) and then potentially fight for a seat again at Blackfriars.

I often find it easier to get a train through to Herne Hill and hop on the 37.

[Earl Aelfheah]

It?s really annoying. We had years of disruption whilst they redeveloped London Bridge. The promise was that services would improve and that the pain would be worth it in the end. Services haven?t improved. They are significantly poorer.

[JohnL]

ed26 Wrote:

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> I often find it easier to get a train through to

> Herne Hill and hop on the 37.

I find the return trip worse too

and I've used the Sutton train - but insert "pint at the Commercial"

[[email protected]]

@ed26.

Yes, it is strange. Those changes seem to have crept in. The direct trains from Denmark Hill to St Pancras and beyond have been a godsend. Now they've disappeared. Worth a letter to Thameslink I wonder? probably a waste of time. All signed and sealed off. But such a shame. Who are the winners in all of this, I wonder?

[ed26]

I assume they will be back when the "full" timetable is in place, but that isn't due to complete until December 2019. I've given up complaining. You only get a standard two-line reply telling you to submit a delay repay claim.

Did Northern Line from Kings Cross to Kennington last night and then a cab. Very swift journey home, but not a daily solution.

The Commercial is a good pub :)

[Earl Aelfheah]

https://www.camberwellonline.co.uk/2018/09/tfl-no-business-case-to-reopen-camberwell-train-station/

TfL have said ?no? to reopening Camberwell station.

[Asset]

We used to be able to travel directly to Luton from Herne Hill and since the timetable changes, now have to change at Blackfriars also there are fewer trains running North on that line. All for our convenience apparently...

[[email protected]]

@Asset; @ed26

Yes, that's it exactly. I hear this morning that the Rail Regulator has concluded `nobody took charge' with the introduction of the new timetables. That was patently obvious, wasn't it. Exactly what does Chris Grayling do for a living, I wonder?!

Also, yes, The Commercial good, my pub of choice, The Phoenix who will arise again once all the building works that have lopped off their frontage whilst `urgent' works were carried out to the bridge at Denmark Hill were in process. Poor things have lost 50% of their trade in the past six months. Due to finish in October. They should seek compensation!

[stonebrownie]

Going back-Farringdon - Denmark Hill is a pain too. Train stops at Blackfriars and you are in the middle of the bridge (& river) no way to see which platform the connecting train leaves from. It is necessary to run across the river down two flights of steps, up two flights of steps- 1/2 way across the river again to see if it is platform 1 or 3 that you need- it can be bad luck and the first platform was the better option- in which case it is up & down the stairs again.

[[email protected]]

It's called an improvement. But as long as Kent commuters get into town quickly, what the hell does it matter what London commuters go through. At least, that seems to be the thinking behind much of Tfl policy making of recent years. Makes me boiling mad.

[edcam]

There are justified reasons to grumble about TFL but this is nothing to do with them.

[email protected] Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It's called an improvement. But as long as Kent

> commuters get into town quickly, what the hell

> does it matter what London commuters go through.

> At least, that seems to be the thinking behind

> much of Tfl policy making of recent years. Makes

> me boiling mad.

[[email protected]]

Um...you may be right about that particular point. Perhaps I was thinking of why Tfl have turned down yet another application to re-open Camberwell station and the reasons they gave for that. Exactly how is responsible then, if anyone is willing to claim that responsibility which is highly debatable, for those changes re DHill and Blackfriars. I assume it's Govia? Or is it plus Network Rail or plus...???

[edcam]

Yes, it's Govia. their greed knows no bounds. The exorbitant cost of the Denmark Hill "modernisation", which represents some of the poorest value for money I've ever seen is symbolic of what they think of their customers. That combined with Network Rail's incompetence are the reasons for this mess.

The Mayor wants TFL to take over these suburban routes. Whether they'd be any better at it remains to be seen but they couldn't really be worse.

And TFL's response to the proposed reopening of Camberwell Station is disappointing to say the least.

[[email protected]]

Yep, I think that's what I understood from recent reports. Thanks for putting it so clearly!

[miga]

The new TL (May) timetable was supposed to give more trains, and a more predictable schedule. But the proposed changes also meant fewer trains through Blackfriars, no express trains skipping various stops and a weird removal of some peak hour trains. I complained about this when the consultation was doing the rounds, but I assume these went into a big black hole (or less likely were the minority position and everyone loved the new timetable).

They weren't able to meet the May timetable because of a lack of drivers AFAIK (which is bizzare, they must know how many drivers they employ and how many are needed to drive the bloody things). So, they failed to implement changes many disagreed with, which I think is a suitable whimper to end a grand plan that was originally called Thameslink 2000 and got delivered in 2018.

As far as who the winners are from all the turmoil...I find it difficult to imagine. The new trains are nice, but the Kent commuter has fewer express trains, the London commuter has fewer destinations, and the timetable is still in flux. I feel bad for people still barely squeezing on at DH at peak hour.

[[email protected]]

Should add to all these recent and interesting comments, I was stuck in powerless Overground train last week. Took three and a half hours to `evacuate' us from said train that simply lost its power! Very hot, very claustrophobic, driver did his level best to keep us calm and on the whole apart from a couple of incidents, succeeded. I wrote to Tfl to say there really should be a plan B for such a situation. If it had happened during the heatwave days I really dread to think of the casualties. A lot caused by not being able to open the windows. Driver came down after two hours and did open them with his key. Tfl have replied and have decided to compensate me with ?50. Not really what I was looking for but rather to alert Tfl that there really should be contingency plans for such an eventuality...

[JohnL]

You can feel the panic in these tweets.

https://twitter.com/pmelmoth/status/1039960552838189056