Govia have been operating the class 313s since 2014, bult they are still in First Capital Connect livery and look very scruffyStarting on 20 May there will be an increase in the offpeak frequency of trains serving Palmers Green on Mondays to Saturdays.
By PeterSkuce (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
TfL took over the very similar class 315s in 2015 and they have all since been fully refurbished. In response to enquiries from Dave Cockle of the Enfield Transport Users Group, Govia Thameslink Railway have confirmed that the offpeak frequency on the Hertford Loop will be increased from three to four trains an hour except on Sundays, when it will remain at two trains an hour.
We do not yet know how late into the evenings this increased frequency will apply and what the stopping pattern will be.
The new timetable will be reflected in online travel planning apps and websites from 23rd or 24th February.
Starting in December the Monday to Friday offpeak frequency is due to increase to six trains an hour. December is also the date that new six-car trains will enter service on the Great Northern Metro services, replacing class 313 three-car trains that date from 1976.
The new trains will undoubtedly be very smartly turned out, unlike the class 313s in their current condition. But just because trains are old, it doesn't mean that they are inevitably dirty and uncared for - to see what's possible take a trip on TfL Rail between Liverpool Street and Shenfield. The almost identical looking class 315s, only three years younger, have been refurbished inside and out and the windows aren't permanently smeared with traces of water.
Once the class 313s have gone, it will be possible to replace the antiquated signalling between Drayton Park and Moorgate, which should improve reliability and give the potential for a further increase in frequency.
For earlier information and discussion about the planned December 2018 timetable, see this article and related comments.
