No Go-Ahead for Govia and Thameslink

[Elojikal]

National Express, FirstGroup, Stagecoach, MTR/John Laing and a consortium comprising Danish Railways and freight company EWS are bidding for the Thameslink franchise.

In some ways a shame, as Thameslink being merged with the south central franchise would've been better than the SRA's stupid plan to merge it with the great northern, but at the same time the Thameslink service is diabolical from top to bottom and Go-Ahead have done nothing to improve it either on the operational side or in investment. In fact quite to the contrary recent comments from them seem to imply they believe it's a good service. The lowest passenger satisfaction rating in the country suggests otherwise.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/stor ... 43,00.html
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,3 ... 50,00.html

Is this likely to delay the refurbishment of the Thameslink fleet that Govia had planned to commence next year or is that something the ROSCO will still go ahead with?

[tigermon]

The best thing that's happened to Thameslink in recent times has been the St Pancras blockade, it has drastically improved punctuality on the northern side for both Thameslink and Midland Mainline.
Get ready for it to go down like a flying rock once they're running south again.

[xfo10]

Is the passenger satisfaction not got more to do with the blockade? People are getting pissed off with having to get off one train at St Pancras and walk half a mile only to miss the next train south?

[Elojikal]

Tigermon it's the same this side with regards to punctuality and the blockade. The blockade has probably made a big improvement in causing less delays for all services on the Brighton line as a lot of delays are/were caused by late running Thameslink services held up north of London Bridge.

xfo - no the Thameslink service has been poor for several years now. I personally stopped using it to go to London long before the blockade it had got that bad and I'm not even a regular traveller to London so I pity the poor souls who have to use it everyday.

[xfo10]

I have travelled with TL a couple of times, all south of the river, and they have always been alright for me.

[Elojikal]

Have you tried travelling on Thameslink south of the river at six in the evening when there's a few hundred people waiting to get on at London Bridge and all that turns up is a 4-car Citymetro service that is already full?

[xfo10]

lol fair enough, I'll take your point.

[stephenwiseman]

London Bridge is a waste of time. I think Thameslink have realised this as some of their peak services run via Herne Hill now. I went up to London Bridge not too long ago, as the first service from my station goes to London Bridge. We got there at about 7:40 and it was packed! And that is no exaggeration. We had to wait for 4 (yes, 4!) tube trains as each one was packed and then a whole load of hustling commuters pushed there way through onto the Train. Later that evening, we went back to get the London Bridge to Littlehampton train back, it was 8 coaches, and as soon as it pulled up into the station, people were barging through making sure they got a seat, and by the time we left, we were squashed in like Sardines. It kinda emptied out at East Croydon. Unfortunately, by taking out through services to London Bridge, you're only making the ones that do stop there even worse.

But in reality, you cannot really say Thameslink run a bad service. On the north side, each station gets at least 4 trains an hour into London. St. Albans and Luton, usually get 6 an hour, or sometimes 8. And the services in both direction run pretty much all night (just an hour break around 1:30-3:00). Trust me, i'd love to be able to go home from London at 2:00am in the morning, its just a shame they don't go down my way, as the last Southern service from London down Arun Valley leaves at 22:32, and the first one out to London starts up at Littlehampton at 6:02 (gets to Billingshurst at 6:25). So i can't even get to Gatwick before 7.

On the south side, they run 4 hourly services to Brighton until late, and then they have 3 or 4 services to Three Bridges until about 1:30 or something. The the first full service in each direction starts at about 5:00.

-Stephen

[joea1]

Yeah but there are always 8 car trains on the north-side. A bit unfair.

[Elojikal]

Sure I can say it's a badly run service Stephen, as I'm talking about the service operated by Govia not the service pattern and frequency set down by the SRA.

Having said that I could argue the service pattern for Thameslinks out of Brighton is also flawed as the service that runs fast to Haywards Heath (and then after East Croydon goes via the south London lines and Elephant & Castle to Blackfriars) leaves at 4 and 34 minutes past the hour while the slower stopping Thameslink service leaves at 7 and 37 minutes past the hour.... but that's another debate. What matters here is how poorly Govia run the Thameslink service.

[joea1]

Can't have slow trains holding up the quick ones.

[charlierc]

Can't have slow trains holding up the quick ones.

Yep.

Can you imagine a FGW Link Turbo holding up a FGW HST between Paddington and Reading (where there is 125mph running on the fast lines)

Charles

[allypally]

Slow trains quite often hold up fast trains. Try heading out of Birmingham New Street in the rush hour, everywhere you look is 323s and 150s, and Voyagers being held for them.

[rikfarish]

Oh well, the service will no doubt improve overnight, with a fleet of new trains ready to roll on new franchise day 1, platform extensions appear as if by magic when EWS take over, because their experience in running one of the busiest commuter lines in the UK well proven.

Said sarcastically.

[salopiangrowler]

66's on the Bedford-Brightons in 2007 Commuters complain about constant yinging and unbearable atmospheres in the underground section's