please empty your brain below
Off-peak frequency? When I was using the North London line a couple of years ago the on peak frequency was 4 trains an hour. And that's 3 carriages per train. Sardines, anyone?

dg writes: point taken, table amended

disgruntled commuter | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 9:32 a.m. | #

Well 3 of those Silverlink lines I use often.. Richmond through to Stratford being my most used. I always seem to be the only passenger who stays on the train for more than 20 minutes. It’s not that bad a journey as lots of, to me anyway, interesting things to look at out of windows.
I think Ken intends to have length way seating in the new trains for this line, so that will spoil my window views.
Pity.

The Gospel Oak to Barking is always a nice change having diesel trains.

John

John | 10.11.07 - 9:33 a.m. | #

err has anything actually improved??? looks worse to me - when i was up at FWT i used to get the silverlink once a week from upper holloway to richmond to go rugby training - i can honestly say i would rather be trampled at the bottom of a ruck for an hour than spend and hour on 'that' train

steve | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 9:59 a.m. | #

And of course the North London Line used to be known as the Alice in Wonderland line as the returns were a penny cheaper than the singles.

Debster | 10.11.07 - 11:55 a.m. | #

And I wouldn't suggest looking out of the window if you're on the old North London Line section of the London Overground. Some of those stations are in shockingly poor condition - really unpleasant, and I wouldn't want to be standing on them at night...

that evil orange octopus thing on the new map is just awful looking

Pete | 10.11.07 - 12:39 p.m. | #

Oh, the Goblin isn't so grim (well, once you're on the train anyway) - there are some not-bad views of east london from a long section on a viaduct.

The North London line, however, is indeed hellish in the extreme. Trains too short and too infrequent and full of the wrong sort of, extremely unpleasant, nutters.

Venichka | 10.11.07 - 3:45 p.m. | #

Ooh I corrected DG! Do I get a badge?

(Not actually being sarcastic, although it may read that way - I truly feel as though I ought to get a certificate at least)

disgruntled commuter | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 3:56 p.m. | #

Actually, sorry, all I did was change "Off-peak frequency" to "Frequency of trains". Because they're both identically poor, near enough.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 4:06 p.m. | #

Yet all of the silverlink staff have bugger all knowledge about the oyster card scheme merging to these stations. Neither are they bothered to enquire after I asked. Will be fun, come Monday for me.

By the way, isn't it Silverlink County.

The Fly | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 4:15 p.m. | #

Now that's a correction (cheers)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 4:29 p.m. | #

Yay just heard you name checked on Radio Four. Well done.

rashbre | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 5:56 p.m. | #

Crikey, are you saying it's RIP to "GNER"?

I once took the overnighter to Edinburgh. Well I would have if it wasn't relaced, 3 hours after scheduled departure, by a coach.

flashgordonnz | 10.11.07 - 6:50 p.m. | #

Sorry, dg, but another correction: I'm reasonably certain t hat the Watford Junction -Euston line trains are 3 carriages, not 4 (I think they are the same trains as on the dreadful north london line, actually). Used to use that line to commute on (the non-Bakerloo bit: South Hampstead to Euston). Very useful it was too, when it was working properly.

Venichka | 10.11.07 - 7:02 p.m. | #

Oh well. And I noticed the County/Country mistake as well but decided it was too trivial to bother...

disgruntled commuter | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 8:20 p.m. | #

Four years of having to rely on the Silverlink daily has left me a bitter, slightly hysterical person. That said, in spite of all the shambles I will miss that ramshackle affair when TfL starts spraying pixie dust all over it. But a lot of the problems are caused by the infrastructure (line capacity, age of trains, lack of spare trains of the type, 1980s BR costcutting measures e.g. platform shortening), and they aren't things which are going to fix overnight - it will be some years before we see any major improvments, as you say.

I don't think TfL should be pimping out this new silverware of theirs just yet. Apart from anything else, I don't think the trains are going to be able to take many more passengers, especially during the rush hours.

Nico | Homepage | 10.11.07 - 9:36 p.m. | #

A few thoughts:
I have used the North London Line for many years and seen it change many times.
It used to run from Richmond to Broadstreet station..
It was threatened with closure in the 1960’s.
After being saved it was rerouted at Dalston Junction to Stratford East London, and thence on to North Woolwich because Broadstreet closed and was built on. Parts of the old Broadstreet line are now being re-commissioned as part of the new East London Line.
The line was once shown on the tube map to try to get more people to use it (a “white uncoloured” line).
Trains have been of varying lengths over the years.
It has gone from third rail only to a mixture of third rail and overhead.
It now only runs Richmond to Stratford.
For a few years Anglia railways ran a service, using some of the route, which linked West London with the east. It ran from Basingstoke to Stratford and on to Chelmsford. It had stops at Feltham and I think West Hampstead and Highbury then Stratford, so a Travelcard for 6 zones could be used on that section.. It closed due to lack of passengers. It branched of SW trains track at Kew Bridge to join the North London line using a section of track which is still there and now used only by freight trains.

John | 10.11.07 - 11:51 p.m. | #

With some friends, we once tried some NLL races, e.g. What is the best way to get from Seven Sisters to Wembley Central. NLL usually lost badly, in this example, it was quicker to go all the way into Oxford Circus on the Victoria Line, then out again on the Bakerloo. This was also quicker than changing at Euston to get onto the DC Line.

NLL is obviously useful if its your only local railway, but otherwise its just too slow. And how do I use this new train set to get to Heathrow? One of the few useful destinations in outer London.

Max Roberts | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 4:55 a.m. | #

I like "Silverlink Country". It sounds like a cheap cigarette.

Inspector Sands | Homepage | 11.11.07 - 8:46 p.m. | #











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