Circle line

Starkey7 · Post by **Starkey7** » 16 Aug 2006, 22:52

Why is it that the Circle line is the most neglected of all the lines? Surely, as the centrepiece of London, it should be treated with care and affection by TfL.

Instead of having a rubbishy "every 7.5 minutes" service, why not have one every 6 minutes? That would give 10 trains per hour, and would also no longer need a four or five minute wait each circuit. You'd then have a total circuit time of 48 minutes, and you'd still be able to fit two trains in between each Circle.

Am I not a genius?

G Force · Post by **G Force** » 17 Aug 2006, 07:42

Starkey7 wrote:Why is it that the Circle line is the most neglected of all the lines? Surely, as the centrepiece of London, it should be treated with care and affection by TfL.

Instead of having a rubbishy "every 7.5 minutes" service, why not have one every 6 minutes? That would give 10 trains per hour, and would also no longer need a four or five minute wait each circuit. You'd then have a total circuit time of 48 minutes, and you'd still be able to fit two trains in between each Circle.

Am I not a genius?

You are not a genius. The SSLs are unrealiable running anything more than 28tph. 28tph equates to each service running a train every 8.5mins during the rush hour. If you then decided to run one service such as the Circle at a different frequency, you would completely mess everything up!

LU have major plans for replacing the Circle, with various T-cup line proposals. Some seem better than others.

Post by **tubeguru** » 17 Aug 2006, 09:31

Beware the T-Cup ...

CrunchySaviour · Post by **CrunchySaviour** » 17 Aug 2006, 10:46

Also, don't forget that the Circle line is entirely dependent on other lines (District and H&C/Metropolitan), so if there's a delay on one of those that affects Zone 1, yoiu can count on the Circle being suspended too.

Edit - Delayed! What was I thinking?!

Going Underground · Post by **Going Underground** » 17 Aug 2006, 12:18

Ha ha

I love the Circle line when doing a Z1 at Bayswater heading for Earls Court and a District Line trains arrives first

Root · Post by **Root** » 17 Aug 2006, 14:39

I try and avoid the Circle line (and other SSLs, but that's not easy living where I do) wherever possible - it has too many junctions with potential for delays. If I had a penny for every minute I've been held up at Gloucester Road, High Street Kensington, Edgware Road, Baker Street, Liverpool Street, Aldgate or Tower Hill, I'd have about a quid by now.

SSLs are slower, less reliable, and (with the exception of the new District stock) have less pleasant trains.

Many Tube Challenges would be made easier if Aldgate Station didn't exist, too.

But... the Circle is an important part of LU's heritage, as it was a rare joint service between the warring District and Metropolitan train companies, and is still useful for taking people "round the corner", avoiding un-necessary changes and congestion. So I'm going to vote "love".

londongirl · Post by **londongirl** » 17 Aug 2006, 20:54

I say love. I haven't really jumped into any challenges yet so I haven't come up across any problems with it but it's what sparked my interest in the tube. Several years back I got bored and decided to travel the entire line in a circle [funny that] then shortly after there was a bit in the metro about Geoff and Neil's record that made me want to give it a try.

G Force · Post by **G Force** » 17 Aug 2006, 22:06

Root wrote: SSLs are slower, less reliable, and (with the exception of the new District stock) have less pleasant trains.

The trains are not new, just refurbished. They are approx 25 years old.

Starkey7 · Post by **Starkey7** » 17 Aug 2006, 23:59

londongirl wrote:Several years back I got bored and decided to travel the entire line in a circle [funny that].

I almost did that a couple of weeks ago (during my Bottle challenge record-breaking success). I got on at Bayswater, sat down and made myself comfortable for fifty minutes, and just relaxed. It was interesting to see all the people coming and going, and I was amazed when I arrived at Edgware Road (the long way around) having suffered no delays whatsoever!

I'm not happy with this teacup business for the Circle. I think that it should stay bottle-shaped forever. And I still think that there's a better way of timetabling it, despite what everybody else thinks...

londongirl · Post by **londongirl** » 18 Aug 2006, 03:50

Yeah, it's good fun watching the people get on and off and not being one of the ones rushing around yourself.

Going Underground · Post by **Going Underground** » 18 Aug 2006, 08:13

londongirl wrote:Yeah, it's good fun watching the people get on and off and not being one of the ones rushing around yourself.

Just wait until you start trying some tube challenges and see who is rushing around then

Starkey7 · Post by **Starkey7** » 18 Aug 2006, 16:27

Tell me about it. I like nothing better to sit on the Circle line for fifty minutes during a challenge, doing nothing!

Going Underground · Post by **Going Underground** » 18 Aug 2006, 18:08

Starkey7 wrote:Tell me about it. I like nothing better to sit on the Circle line for fifty minutes during a challenge, doing nothing!

Well that's cos you keep doing "lazy boy" routes

... anyway I was thinking more along the lines of Z1

Starkey7 · Post by **Starkey7** » 18 Aug 2006, 22:42

Who says that I've not got a "lazy boy" route for the Zone 1 thing as well, hmmmmm? I've got a crafty plan forming in my brain!

londongirl · Post by **londongirl** » 19 Aug 2006, 04:14

Going Underground wrote:
londongirl wrote:Yeah, it's good fun watching the people get on and off and not being one of the ones rushing around yourself.
Just wait until you start trying some tube challenges and see who is rushing around then

I'm very much looking forward to it! It'll be an experience like no other I'm sure.

tubechallenge.com

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