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Post by busaholic on Mar 8, 2020 22:57:10 GMT
Here was my bus journey today last Saturday: First off all I got the 237 to Shepherd's Bush from home. The 237 has good VW buses, which are quite common as they were the principal order of Metroline in the early 2010's. Overall, pretty standard and although the buses were adapted to reduce emissions because of the low emission bus corridor along Chiswick High Road, it didn't affect the engines which are still quite nice. I then got the Southern train to Harrow & Wealdstone. I'm not going to go on about it because this is the bus forum but it is a very convenient link for me to get to north London without having to change twice, usually involving Willesden Junction or West Hampstead. The only disadvantage is that the trains are hourly, I would definately increase the frequency as it's very well loaded, possibly with one 'all stations' service to Watford Junction and the current service to Milton Keynes. It also started heavily raining at this point... After getting off at Harrow & Wealdstone I got the 340 to Edgware. It's a really nice route and I'm very glad I rode this instead of going the more direct way offered by other routes. It has a nice hilly and outer-suburban feel, which is appropiate given how close this route runs to the edge of the Green Belt. The buses are also interesting as although the route is run by Arriva, the buses seem to be ex-Stagecoach, given the red and blue floor and moquette within the bus. I have basically completed this route, as I have already completed it between the two major Harrow stations. Overall, very nice route. Seven out of ten! I then got the 79 to Alperton. The route is also very nice, with the route being suburban with some light hills between Edgware and Preston Road, with the route heading quite suddenly into an urban town centre by Wembley Central station and being a mixed road of some shops and some houses down to Alperton, where the bus terminates at the Sainsbury's. It is a fairly typical supermarket terminus with the route terminating on the approach to a roundabout where there are some light industrial buildings. I also got an SP, one of my favourite types of buses which still look modern 10 years after they were designed After a quick stop off in the Sainsbury's to get a couple snacks, I rode the 483 to Hanger Lane. Not much to say as it was a short ride as I was making my way home. I was thinking about if I should go to Ealing Common, but I felt an urge to go along the A40 with possible bus kickdown, which leads me to... The 95 to East Acton. This route was alright with the bus having a very loud cooling fan which made it quite difficult for me to hear the engine. However, at least the A40 had some interesting industrial estates which gives it a certain character that's unique. Then I got the 272 back home. Not much to say, the new DLE's aren't great and I prefer the old buses from 2007. They had some character, unlike the new Enviro200's... And that was my trip! Sounds like a pretty enjoyable day. I do agree with what others have said about the usefulness of the Milton Keynes-East Croydon service, I believe they should be on the tube map so people became aware of the fantastic connections that service offers, the ability to go from Balham to Bletchley, or Harrow to Croydon on the train is a remarkable opportunity for cross London connectivity. Of course sadly because that line is so useful its become a popular freight route which strengthens the case for more freight routes but that's another matter, a signalling upgrade would be great on that line bit that's more wishful thinking than a genuine prospect. It seems from comments I've read on other forums that the Milton Keynes to East Croydon services get axed at the drop of a hat, so unreliability is a real issue. Staff shortages in particular cause big gaps, like used to occur on the South London Line, which had many excellent links if only it'd been properly run.
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Post by rif153 on Mar 8, 2020 23:02:13 GMT
Sounds like a pretty enjoyable day. I do agree with what others have said about the usefulness of the Milton Keynes-East Croydon service, I believe they should be on the tube map so people became aware of the fantastic connections that service offers, the ability to go from Balham to Bletchley, or Harrow to Croydon on the train is a remarkable opportunity for cross London connectivity. Of course sadly because that line is so useful its become a popular freight route which strengthens the case for more freight routes but that's another matter, a signalling upgrade would be great on that line bit that's more wishful thinking than a genuine prospect. It seems from comments I've read on other forums that the Milton Keynes to East Croydon services get axed at the drop of a hat, so unreliability is a real issue. Staff shortages in particular cause big gaps, like used to occur on the South London Line, which had many excellent links if only it'd been properly run. Agree with you on the Inner South London Line - it was a fantastic route and the opportunity to go to either London Bridge or Victoria has sadly been lost at numerous stations as Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill are the only two stations left on that route where that choice still exists. It would have been nice if some form of stopping service still existed on that line, but that's never going to happen as I can't see Southeastern ever adding in stops at Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road, and I doubt there's still the terminating capacity at London Bridge for Inner SLL services given London Bridge has lost three terminating platforms.
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Post by rif153 on Mar 8, 2020 23:04:32 GMT
Here was my bus journey todayย last Saturday: First off all I got the 237 to Shepherd's Bushย from home. The 237 has good VW buses, which are quite common as they were the principal order of Metroline in the early 2010's. Overall, pretty standard and although the buses were adapted to reduce emissions because of the low emission bus corridor along Chiswick High Road, it didn't affect the engines which are still quite nice. I then got the Southern trainย to Harrow & Wealdstone. I'm not going to go on about it because this is the bus forum but it is a very convenient link for me to get to north London without having to change twice, usually involving Willesden Junction or West Hampstead. The only disadvantage is that the trains are hourly, I would definately increase the frequency as it's very well loaded, possibly with one 'all stations' service to Watford Junction and the current service to Milton Keynes. It also started heavily raining at this point... After getting off at Harrow & Wealdstone I got the 340ย to Edgware. It's a really nice route and I'm very glad I rode this instead of going the more direct way offered by other routes. It has a nice hilly and outer-suburban feel, which is appropiate given how close this route runs to the edge of the Green Belt. The buses are also interesting as although the route is run by Arriva, the buses seem to be ex-Stagecoach, given the red and blue floor and moquette within the bus. I have basically completed this route, as I have already completed it between the two major Harrow stations. Overall, very nice route. Seven out of ten! I then got the 79ย to Alperton. The route is also very nice, with the route being suburban with some light hills between Edgware and Preston Road, with the route heading quite suddenly into an urban town centre by Wembley Central station and being a mixed road of some shops and some houses down to Alperton, where the bus terminates at the Sainsbury's. It is a fairly typical supermarket terminus with the route terminating on the approach to a roundabout where there are some light industrial buildings. I also got an SP, one of my favourite types of buses which still look modern 10 years after they were designed After a quick stop off in the Sainsbury's to get a couple snacks, I rode the ย 483 to Hanger Lane. Not much to say as it was a short ride as I was making my way home. I was thinking about if I should go to Ealing Common, but I felt an urge to go along the A40 with possible bus kickdown, which leads me to... The 95ย to East Acton. This route was alright with the bus having a very loud cooling fan which made it quite difficult for me to hear the engine. However, at least the A40 had some interesting industrial estates which gives it a certain character that's unique. Then I got the 272ย back home. Not much to say, the new DLE's aren't great and I prefer the old buses from 2007. They had some character, unlike the new Enviro200's... And that was my trip! Sounds like a pretty enjoyable day. I do agree with what others have said about the usefulness of the Milton Keynes-East Croydon service, I believe they should be on the tube map so people became aware of the fantastic connections that service offers, the ability to go from Balham to Bletchley, or Harrow to Croydon on the train is a remarkable opportunity for cross London connectivity. Of course sadly because that line is so useful its become a popular freight route which strengthens the case for more freight routes but that's another matter, a signalling upgrade would be great on that line bit that's more wishful thinking than a genuine prospect. A point I forgot to make is that I think the Milton Keynes-East Croydon services should be on the tube map. However the phrase tube map is pretty redundant nowadays since so much clutter has been added so its way beyond tipping point in my opinion where TfL need to print the map on a larger piece of paper and include more services on it. Perhaps universally adopting the London Connections Map or whatever they call it now would be the best solution.
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Post by โgalwhv69 on Mar 8, 2020 23:07:27 GMT
I can't see Southeastern ever adding in stops at Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road *Ahem* The 05:50 SE service from Victoria to Ashford International
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Post by YY13VKP on Mar 9, 2020 0:17:11 GMT
Sounds like a pretty enjoyable day. I do agree with what others have said about the usefulness of the Milton Keynes-East Croydon service, I believe they should be on the tube map so people became aware of the fantastic connections that service offers, the ability to go from Balham to Bletchley, or Harrow to Croydon on the train is a remarkable opportunity for cross London connectivity. Of course sadly because that line is so useful its become a popular freight route which strengthens the case for more freight routes but that's another matter, a signalling upgrade would be great on that line bit that's more wishful thinking than a genuine prospect. A point I forgot to make is that I think the Milton Keynes-East Croydon services should be on the tube map. However the phrase tube map is pretty redundant nowadays since so much clutter has been added so its way beyond tipping point in my opinion where TfL need to print the map on a larger piece of paper and include more services on it. Perhaps universally adopting the London Connections Map or whatever they call it now would be the best solution. It wouldn't appear on the tube map as it is not a TfL service, it is operated by Southern. There were rumours a few years ago about TfL taking over the service though
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Post by rif153 on Mar 9, 2020 8:52:53 GMT
A point I forgot to make is that I think the Milton Keynes-East Croydon services should be on the tube map. However the phrase tube map is pretty redundant nowadays since so much clutter has been added so its way beyond tipping point in my opinion where TfL need to print the map on a larger piece of paper and include more services on it. Perhaps universally adopting the London Connections Map or whatever they call it now would be the best solution. It wouldn't appear on the tube map as it is not a TfL service, it is operated by Southern. There were rumours a few years ago about TfL taking over the service thoughย Are you in the lobby of finding the service a bit neither here nor there? I've read others saying its a confused mix of a stopping service down the BML but a semi stopping service up the WCML. The number of stops does sadly make the service less attractive despite its usefulness I wouldn't call it a viable way from me to travel to Bletchley or Milton Keynes due to all the stops.
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Post by greenboy on Mar 9, 2020 9:05:06 GMT
It wouldn't appear on the tube map as it is not a TfL service, it is operated by Southern. There were rumours a few years ago about TfL taking over the service thoughย Are you in the lobby of finding the service a bit neither here nor there? I've read others saying its a confused mix of a stopping service down the BML but a semi stopping service up the WCML. The number of stops does sadly make the service less attractive despite its usefulness I wouldn't call it a viable way from me to travel to Bletchley or Milton Keynes due to all the stops. It only non stops three relatively quiet stations on the WCML. Unfortunately the service isn't running at the moment because of the overhead wire problems at North Wembley.
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Post by ADH45258 on Mar 9, 2020 18:15:46 GMT
It wouldn't appear on the tube map as it is not a TfL service, it is operated by Southern. There were rumours a few years ago about TfL taking over the service thoughย Are you in the lobby of finding the service a bit neither here nor there? I've read others saying its a confused mix of a stopping service down the BML but a semi stopping service up the WCML. The number of stops does sadly make the service less attractive despite its usefulness I wouldn't call it a viable way from me to travel to Bletchley or Milton Keynes due to all the stops. It is quite a confused service, I think it should either be fully stopping or fully semi-fast. Could run from Milton Keynes to Shepherds Bush as present, then with fewer stops to East Croydon and possibly onwards such as to Brighton (as the service used to), and could possibly be rebranded under ThamesLink. Or could be semi fast between Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction only, for onward connections at Clapham, possibly also with fewer stops between Shepherds Bush and Clapham. Then taken over by LNR services and integrated into their WCML timetable. I think a far better solution could be to remodel Willesden Junction station as a larger interchange, with a short connection to Old Oak Common for more routes (similar to Euston & KCSP or Stratford regional/international). This would link the WCML, GWML, Crossrail, HS2 and more local tube/overground services. The WCML and GWML are very close at this point, but currently requires taking the Bakerloo to Paddington, or going via Euston for Paddington. This would involve new platforms being built at Willesden Junction on the semi-fast lines, with all London Northwestern services towards Tring stopping there, possibly Milton Keynes services too. If capacity is available out of Euston, could possibly also add another 1tph from Euston to Tring or Milton Keynes to partly replace the Southern service. West London line Overground services could then be increased in frequency with an extra 1-2tph, providing connections from Willesden Junction and Hythe Road to Clapham Junction for further interchange. Could aim for 6tph each to Richmond and Clapham, combining to every 5 mins towards Stratford (this section can get very busy), ordering a few extra 710s to cover this, providing signalling etc can manage the increase.
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Post by greenboy on Mar 9, 2020 18:37:37 GMT
Are you in the lobby of finding the service a bit neither here nor there? I've read others saying its a confused mix of a stopping service down the BML but a semi stopping service up the WCML. The number of stops does sadly make the service less attractive despite its usefulness I wouldn't call it a viable way from me to travel to Bletchley or Milton Keynes due to all the stops. It is quite a confused service, I think it should either be fully stopping or fully semi-fast. Could run from Milton Keynes to Shepherds Bush as present, then with fewer stops to East Croydon and possibly onwards such as to Brighton (as the service used to), and could possibly be rebranded under ThamesLink. Or could be semi fast between Milton Keynes and Clapham Junction only, for onward connections at Clapham, possibly also with fewer stops between Shepherds Bush and Clapham. Then taken over by LNR services and integrated into their WCML timetable. I think a far better solution could be to remodel Willesden Junction station as a larger interchange, with a short connection to Old Oak Common for more routes (similar to Euston & KCSP or Stratford regional/international). This would link the WCML, GWML, Crossrail, HS2 and more local tube/overground services. The WCML and GWML are very close at this point, but currently requires taking the Bakerloo to Paddington, or going via Euston for Paddington. This would involve new platforms being built at Willesden Junction on the semi-fast lines, with all London Northwestern services towards Tring stopping there, possibly Milton Keynes services too. If capacity is available out of Euston, could possibly also add another 1tph from Euston to Tring or Milton Keynes to partly replace the Southern service. West London line Overground services could then be increased in frequency with an extra 1-2tph, providing connections from Willesden Junction and Hythe Road to Clapham Junction for further interchange. Could aim for 6tph each to Richmond and Clapham, combining to every 5 mins towards Stratford (this section can get very busy), ordering a few extra 710s to cover this, providing signalling etc can manage the increase. The stopping pattern of the East Croydon to Milton Keynes service seems ok as it is to me. It only non stops three fairly quiet stations on the WCML and Wandsworth Common. It's stuck on the slow lines between Clapham Junction and East Croydon so there would be little benefit in non stopping any other stations. I agree that platforms at Willesden Junction should be the long term aspersion.
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Post by george on Mar 11, 2020 21:47:27 GMT
43 London Bridge > Old Street BDE2640. Not a lot to say for this short journey apart from I really like the Metroline BDEs 205 Old Street to Paddington 12308. Always really liked the 205 certainly up there as one of my favourite central London routes. Probably the quietest 205 ever been on but given recent events this didn't come as huge surprise Tfl Rail Paddington > Ealing Broadway. Don't know the exact train but was a 345. I'm not the biggest fan of the 345 but TfL rail gets me there for free whereas GWR won't so TfL rail it is ๐ E1 Ealing Broadway > Greenford 2564. This is a brilliant route, I've always liked double decker routes that go down residential streets but some of them take forever and a day but this wasn't the case for this route. However this isn't my favourite short double decker route as that will always go to the W7. E3 Greenford > Turnham Green Station VH45162. Ok so this is a great route but my word it was slow and there wasn't even any traffic about. I can see why rif153 has gone of this route following the 20mph introudction along most of the route. I was planning to do full route but decided not to in the end as it felt like I had been on the bus for a lifetime. District Line Turnham Green to Richmond. Nothing of interest to report. 493 Richmond > Home. Again nothing to really report here apart from the fact it wasn't stuck in traffic which seems like a rarity for the 493 down the Upper Richmond Road nowadays ๐
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Mar 11, 2020 23:00:29 GMT
Route EL1 (LT9**) Westbury Road to Ilford Station: Not much to report here other than the Ilford Hill stand was full of EL1s, my driver let us down all the way at the end then went to circle the gyratory Route 179 (10182) High Road Ilford to Chingford Station: The bus was nice and quiet, although the ETM wasn't working through the whole journey and would just keep beeping. The driver was then talking to the garage during the trip and he mentioned something about a wire coming undone from it. Route 444 (SEe110) Chingford Station to Chingford Mount: The bus was freezing, uncomfortably so. The AirCon was working really well but it didn't need to in this weather Oh well at least it's a positive sign for the summer. The buses otherwise are wonderful to ride on and would love to see more of these. I'm really looking forward to the 323 batch Route 97 (15106) Chingford Mount to Walthamstow Central Station: This bus was rammed solid, it felt like it was rush hour. We ended up leaving people behind at some stops too. That said it is the 97 so I shouldn't be too surprised Route 212 (Ee8) Walthamstow Bus Station to St James' Street: Wanted to pop to St James' street to grab a quick photo of the new buses Route 212 (Ee2) St James' Street to Chingford Station: These buses are wonderful. Certainly the best electric bus type out there from my view. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing more of these on the NP gains, the 319 and hopefully the 173 and 174 London Overground (Class 315) Chingford to Walthamstow: Horrible, Horrible, Horrible train. It was one of the old TfL Rail 315s and did I say it was Horrible? Cannot wait to see the back of these things. Route 58 (VN36126) Walthamstow Bus Station to High Street North: Always lovely to get a Tower Transit VN. But the route was just plagued with traffic and roadworks, I had a really sore bottom when I needed to get up due to how long I was sitting down on that Thankfully it wasn't that crowded as I just got it before the school rush. Route 474 (11040) High Street North to Beckton Bus Station: Despite the 58 was empty this was rammed solid again. Other than that there wasn't much to report. It's amazing to think they're 2 years old this summer. They still feel like new Route 173 (T185) Beckton Bus Station to King Edwards Road: Nothing too special. Usual traffic on the A13 as we had hit school kicking out time.
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Post by rif153 on Mar 12, 2020 13:40:28 GMT
43 London Bridge > Old Street BDE2640. Not a lot to say for this short journey apart from I really like the Metroline BDEs 205 Old Street to Paddington 12308. Always really liked the 205 certainly up there as one of my favourite central London routes. Probably the quietest 205 ever been on but given recent events this didn't come as huge surprise Tfl Rail Paddington > Ealing Broadway. Don't know the exact train but was a 345. I'm not the biggest fan of the 345 but TfL rail gets me there for free whereas GWR won't so TfL rail it is ๐ E1 Ealing Broadway > Greenford 2564. This is a brilliant route, I've always liked double decker routes that go down residential streets but some of them take forever and a day but this wasn't the case for this route. However this isn't my favourite short double decker route as that will always go to the W7. E3 Greenford > Turnham Green Station VH45162. Ok so this is a great route but my word it was slow and there wasn't even any traffic about. I can see why rif153 has gone of this route following the 20mph introudction along most of the route. I was planning to do full route but decided not to in the end as it felt like I had been on the bus for a lifetime. District Line Turnham Green to Richmond. Nothing of interest to report. 493 Richmond > Home. Again nothing to really report here apart from the fact it wasn't stuck in traffic which seems like a rarity for the 493 down the Upper Richmond Road nowadays ๐ Sounds like a great day. I really like the E1, even though I don't use it much, but the route is excellent with MMCs, it could do with a frequency increase as it suffers from chronic overcrowding. I agree with you the E3 is a great route but ruined by low speed limits, I do prefer VHs on the route to the ADHs though.
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Post by vjaska on Mar 12, 2020 15:02:28 GMT
43 London Bridge > Old Street BDE2640. Not a lot to say for this short journey apart from I really like the Metroline BDEs 205 Old Street to Paddington 12308. Always really liked the 205 certainly up there as one of my favourite central London routes. Probably the quietest 205 ever been on but given recent events this didn't come as huge surprise Tfl Rail Paddington > Ealing Broadway. Don't know the exact train but was a 345. I'm not the biggest fan of the 345 but TfL rail gets me there for free whereas GWR won't so TfL rail it is ๐ E1 Ealing Broadway > Greenford 2564. This is a brilliant route, I've always liked double decker routes that go down residential streets but some of them take forever and a day but this wasn't the case for this route. However this isn't my favourite short double decker route as that will always go to the W7. E3 Greenford > Turnham Green Station VH45162. Ok so this is a great route but my word it was slow and there wasn't even any traffic about. I can see why rif153 has gone of this route following the 20mph introudction along most of the route. I was planning to do full route but decided not to in the end as it felt like I had been on the bus for a lifetime. District Line Turnham Green to Richmond. Nothing of interest to report. 493 Richmond > Home. Again nothing to really report here apart from the fact it wasn't stuck in traffic which seems like a rarity for the 493 down the Upper Richmond Road nowadays ๐ Sounds like a great day. I really like the E1, even though I don't use it much, but the route is excellent with MMCs, it could do with a frequency increase as it suffers from chronic overcrowding. I agree with you the E3 is a great route but ruined by low speed limits, I do prefer VHs on the route to the ADHs though.ย The E1's main allocation is the lovely 14 reg old body examples although MMC's do indeed stray onto it often.
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Post by george on Mar 12, 2020 15:23:06 GMT
Sounds like a great day. I really like the E1, even though I don't use it much, but the route is excellent with MMCs, it could do with a frequency increase as it suffers from chronic overcrowding. I agree with you the E3 is a great route but ruined by low speed limits, I do prefer VHs on the route to the ADHs though. The E1's main allocation is the lovely 14 reg old body examples although MMC's do indeed stray onto it often. When I looked on lvf the next two buses after 2564 were both 95** so got on the 25** batch even though if I waited it would have been slightly less busy.
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Post by george on Mar 12, 2020 16:30:31 GMT
43 London Bridge > Old Street BDE2640. Not a lot to say for this short journey apart from I really like the Metroline BDEs 205 Old Street to Paddington 12308. Always really liked the 205 certainly up there as one of my favourite central London routes. Probably the quietest 205 ever been on but given recent events this didn't come as huge surprise Tfl Rail Paddington > Ealing Broadway. Don't know the exact train but was a 345. I'm not the biggest fan of the 345 but TfL rail gets me there for free whereas GWR won't so TfL rail it is ๐ E1 Ealing Broadway > Greenford 2564. This is a brilliant route, I've always liked double decker routes that go down residential streets but some of them take forever and a day but this wasn't the case for this route. However this isn't my favourite short double decker route as that will always go to the W7. E3 Greenford > Turnham Green Station VH45162. Ok so this is a great route but my word it was slow and there wasn't even any traffic about. I can see why rif153 has gone of this route following the 20mph introudction along most of the route. I was planning to do full route but decided not to in the end as it felt like I had been on the bus for a lifetime. District Line Turnham Green to Richmond. Nothing of interest to report. 493 Richmond > Home. Again nothing to really report here apart from the fact it wasn't stuck in traffic which seems like a rarity for the 493 down the Upper Richmond Road nowadays ๐ Sounds like a great day. I really like the E1, even though I don't use it much, but the route is excellent with MMCs, it could do with a frequency increase as it suffers from chronic overcrowding. I agree with you the E3 is a great route but ruined by low speed limits, I do prefer VHs on the route to the ADHs though. Been on the E1 twice now and both times have been busy, goes to show that even short routes can be very useful.
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