Forum topic: Light at the end of the tunnel: the demise of First Capital Connect

I'm sure that I'm not the only resident of Palmers Green who was pleased to hear that FirstGroup failed to win the new franchise to operate trains on the Hertford Line and that a new operator - Govia - will take over in September, meaning that we will no longer have to put up with First Capital Connect. First Capital Connect have provided an appallingly bad service. Let's hope that there will be an immediate improvement in reliability and that we won't have to wait too long for some service improvements.

The various press reports on the franchise award have, understandably, focussed on the enhanced service running through the Thameslink tunnels between St Pancras and Blackfriars and thence to many points south (eg Gatwick and Brighton). Little has been written about the Hertford Loop - a minor part of a very big new network.

Changes in 2015 and 2018

The first change on the Hertford line will be in December 2015, when trains will start operating to Moorgate at weekends and later in the evening. No mention of an increase in frequency though, so we might continue to have to put up with a half-hourly service.

We can expect major improvements from 2018, when new air-conditioned trains will be introduced on the line to Moorgate, replacing the current 40-year old stock. We are promised four trains an hour on the Hertford line in the off-peak and at weekends.

2018 will also see trains from Peterborough and Cambridge running via Thameslink to destinations south of London. These trains will stop at Finsbury Park, meaning that it will be possible for passengers from Palmers Green to change at Finsbury Park for a direct train to Gatwick. But will this require us to hump suitcases up and down stairs or just cross to an adjoining platform? Let's hope the latter.

Improvements I would like to see now

I guess that the frequent signal failures and power problems are the responsibility of Network Rail, but two things in particular irk me about the service whereI think we can lay the blame at the door of First Capital Connect:

- running 3-carriage trains at any time, but especially at times when there is only a half-hourly service, ie Saturday and Sunday. Trains on those days are frequently packed out with families and with people travelling to sports events. I'm sure that First do this to save money, they've clearly got enough carriages to run longer trains.

- being unable to even run an advertised half-hourly service on weekends. When, as frequently occurs, there are cancellations, that amounts to an hourly service, which is pathetic for London. The fact that these cancellations seem to cluster around school holiday times suggests that First Capital Connect don't employ enough drivers and are too reliant on drivers working voluntary overtime. They're probably content to pay fines for non-running trains because it's cheaper then employing more drivers.

I wonder whether tackling these two problems was part of the winning bid? I doubt it, but I think that we need to start pressing the rail regulators to persuade the new operator to fix them asap.

While all this is going on, of course, we'll be looking at envy with the dramatic improvements that will occur on the lines from Liverpool Street to Enfield Town and Broxbourne when they become part of the London Overground. If only we could have been included too!

My personal favourites are the non-appearing later evening trains running from Kings Cross. so often was I caught out of a non-appearing service, not even a mention on the departure boards, that I checked the timetable to find such later trains annotated with the mysterious, "All services shown ... may be subject to alteration ...services with the column note..". ie they may run, or may not, we don't know and nor will you until you get there. Happy days.

Interesting to hear about the proposed new trains. First Capital Connect's predecessor, West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN, of blessed memory), always justified the retention of the current rolling stock on the grounds that power was obtained from overhead cables southwards towards Drayton Park, and then from Drayton Park to Moorgate by third rail, but apparently no modern train could cope with this! So it will be interesting to see how Govia tackles this problem in due course.

I suppose there are advantages to running trains into Moorgate at weekends (after all, some people do actually work in the City on Saturdays and possibly Sundays), and we would not be deprived as at present of the useful cross-platform interchange with the Victoria Line, and with sections of the Overground - to Kew, Stratford and south-east London - at Highbury and Islington. But I must say I would miss being able to get to King's Cross on one train in 20 minutes. If Govia were to be persuaded that more than two trains an hour would be worthwhile, then their destinations could alternate between Moorgate and Kings Cross, perhaps? In both directions these trains can be pretty crowded at weekends, very often with standing room only on the London-bound trains by the time they reach Palmers Green.