Public Transport

The installation of ticket gates at Palmers Green station almost certainly means that the exit from platform 2 to the car park will eventually be closed, which will cause significant inconvenience for some station users. An unfortunate "side effect" of the installation of automatic ticket gates at National Rail stations in London and elsewhere has been that secondary side or rear entrance/exits to stations have been closed.  This is not just to prevent people entering or leaving without a.......

The Department for Transport has confirmed that step-free access to the platforms at Palmers Green and Alexandra Palace stations is still planned, but not for another three or four years. Joanne McCartney, London Assembly Member for Enfield & Haringey (and as of this month, Statutory Deputy Mayor of London), this week published a letter from the DfT assuring her that "Access for All" schemes "will be proceeding", but are "in the early stages of planning".  The letter stated that.......

The rail company behind Great Northern has admitted that, despite boosting its training programme, it still does not have enough drivers to run all scheduled services, especially during periods of high annual  leave (ie school holidays).  And it would appear that planned service enhancements due in December will prolong this problem, as will the need to train drivers for new train fleets. The article below is taken from www.thameslinkrailway.com (thanks to Donald Smith for drawing it.......

The body that represents public transport users in London is to ask the operator of Great Northern and Thameslink rail services to reconsider its proposed changes to ticket offices, including those at Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill. The Board of London Travelwatch met on 22nd March to consider Govia Thameslink Railway's proposals, along with a report prepared by the London TravelWatch Secretariat and some 8,000 responses to the consultation from various organisations and individuals, plus.......

As of Tuesday 29th March there will be a new regular bus service connecting Cockfosters Station with Luton, via Potters Bar, Hatfield, Wheathampstead and Dunstable. The new connections come about as the result of changes to an existing bus route, the 610, run by UNO, a company set up primarily to serve the University of Hertfordshire, but whose services are available to everyone. As previously, a few peak hour buses will operate to and from Enfield Town, but they will now be routed via.......

The official watchdog for transport users in London has published a document outlining transport users' priorities for the 2016-20 Mayoral term. The document, Ten Policies to Keep Londoners Moving, has been issued by London TravelWatch (or to give it its official name, the London Transport Users Committee). Ten Policies to Keep Londoners Moving Transport is one of the Mayor’s key responsibilities. London is changing rapidly and it will be a major challenge to ensure that.......

Govia Thameslink Trains has concluded a financing deal which will allow it to replace the current 1976-vintage trains that run on services from Moorgate, which include the Hertford Loop.  The 25 new trains, built by Siemens, will enter service in late 2018. The Moorgate service require special dual-voltage trains as the underground section, the "Northern City Line" between Moorgate and Drayton Park, uses a DC third-rail system, while the remainder of the route uses AC overhead power........

The Enfield Transport Users Group (ETUG) will be meeting at the Civic Centre on Tuesday 23rd February from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Representatives of both London Overground Rail Operations and Govia Thameslink Railway will be attending. The meeting is open to all people interested in improving public transport in Enfield. The meeting will be in Room 3 at the Civic Centre. Read the minutes of the meeting on 26 November 2016........

Govia, the company behind the Great Northern and Thameslink brands, is planning to close ticket offices at Palmers Green and other stations where average ticket sales are low.  Instead, a station "host" will be available on the "concourse", selling a limited range of "popular" tickets.  However, the plans do have a positive aspect - there would be a Host at the station from first to last train every day. According to Govia's "Stakeholder Manager" (PR person?), these plans would only.......

"Inner suburban" services from Moorgate - presumably including those serving Palmers Green - are among a list of rail services which will be transferred to Transport for London (TfL) ownership and become part of the London Overground, if newly published proposals go ahead. However, this will not occur before 2021. It also appears that we will have to wait until then before seeing any serious attempt to smarten up the dismal stations along the tunnels between Moorgate and Highbury. A "new.......

All three councillors representing Winchmore Hill Ward have issued an appeal to residents of N13 and N21 to respond to the Crossrail 2 consultation by indicating a preference for the New Southgate branch to be routed via Alexandra Palace rather than Wood Green.  The consultation runs until 8th January. The two options for the New Southgate branch of Crossrail 2Councillors Barry, Hayward and Hurer have issued a leaflet explaining the advantages of a Crossrail 2 station at Alexandra Palace.......

Now that evenings are well and truly "drawn in", the problem of knowing how far you've got to on trains is affecting people travelling on Great Northern trains.  Some of the stations are very poorly lit and don't have big enough signs with the station name.  There's a very simple solution, of course, at zero cost.  The train company should just tell its drivers to announce each station - also helpful, of course, to people with eyesight problems at any time of day. .......