n.b. This is not a genuine TfL press release.
But the underlying facts are true.
New Central line timetable will mean fewer trains and longer gaps from Monday
On Monday 5th June the introduction of a temporary Central line timetable will see the withdrawal of six trains from weekday service. With fewer trains available, gaps between services will become longer at certain times of day and overall capacity will be reduced.
"Yes, we did a very similar thing on the Jubilee line a fortnight ago," said Gavin Henderson, TfL's Head of Awkward News. "But nobody noticed then and we hope nobody notices now, because the media only ever report on the press releases we send them."
The amended timetable has been made necessary by long term train cancellations resulting from the need to repair ageing rolling stock. The withdrawn assets comprise three trains which operate throughout the traffic day and three trains which operate in peak service only. With six sets of rolling stock sitting in the depot all day, general resilience of service will be improved.
"Normally we operate 77 Central line trains during peak periods," said Deborah Denn, TfL's Head of Central Operations. "But from Monday the peak total will be just 71 trains, a 9% reduction, not quite enough for customers to realise something's up but just enough to provide a worse customer experience for thousands of passengers daily."
Between the peaks the reduction will be from 66 trains in service to 61, again a 9% reduction, so that's not good. But services on Saturdays and Sundays are not affected so at least that's something positive.
These temporary changes will apply until further notice, which could be weeks or months or even longer, nobody knows.
"Ideally we would have recast the entire timetable to optimise the service provided by a reduced number of trains," said Barry Nzuma, TfL's Head of Temporal Manipulation. "But recasting an entire timetable is a complex, lengthy and time-consuming process and quite frankly we didn't have the time. So instead what we've done is take the existing Working Timetable and crossed out half a dozen trains wherever they appear. We know this is not ideal."
For example 'Train 112' normally rumbles out of Hainault Depot at 0616 each weekday morning and rumbles back into the depot at 1904. Between these hours it runs from Hainault to White City, back to Hainault, back to Ealing Broadway, back to Loughton, back to Northolt, back to Loughton, back to Northolt, back to Epping, back to North Acton and back to Hainault. None of these journeys will now run.
Passengers who would normally have caught Train 112 will now have to wait until the next timetabled service arrives. For example, between 9am and 10am at Ealing Broadway a Central line train currently departs at least every 8 minutes. But from Monday when Train 112 disappears a 15 minute gap will open up around quarter to ten, so bad luck if that's the time window you turn up during.
The three trains to be withdrawn are as follows.
• Train 50: operates 0654 to 1848
• Train 101: operates 0728 to 1928
• Train 112: operates 0616 to 1904
Meanwhile six trains are having their operating hours reduced.
• Train 115: no longer operates 0601 to 1455
• Train 123: no longer operates 0631 to 0958
• Train 144: no longer operates 0800 to 1040
• Train 54: no longer operates 1304 to 1933
• Train 122: no longer operates 1639 to 2300
• Train 142: no longer operates 1515 to 0008
To get a feel for the new timetable you could simply download existing Working Timetable70 and cross these services out. But because that's a right faff, the main way you'll experience the change is by turning up at an inopportune time and waiting longer for your train.
The effects are all a bit random. For example, at the start of the evening peak passengers waiting at Stratford for an Epping train currently enjoy departures every 10 minutes. From Monday the 1550 departure will disappear, introducing a 20 minute gap when no train goes any further than Loughton. But passengers turning up at any time between 1600 and 1900 will experience no difference because none of the Epping trains during this period are being withdrawn.
A bad time to catch a Central line train from West Ruislip will be around half past seven on a weekday morning. The 0738 departure is being withdrawn creating a new extended hiatus of 15 trainless minutes. It looks even worse at White City where two consecutive trains are both being withdrawn. This could have meant a seven minute gap at the height of the morning peak, whereas in fact the trains on either side are being squeezed to make sure it's only four.
"We have the best interests of the customer at heart," said Rizwana Adelio, TfL's Head of Internal Mitigation. "Existing trains have been rescheduled to minimise the impact of wide intervals that have opened up from the cancelled train paths. However some wider than usual intervals will remain in certain parts of the timetable, due to pathing constraints. Intervals are to be regulated and services adjusted where necessary."
Only minor attempts at mitigation have taken place. For example there could have been a really bad spell out east at lunchtime when both the 1336 from Loughton and the 1336 from Hainault were being withdrawn. A 7 minute trainless gap throughout the central core could easily have overcrowded subsequent trains. Instead surviving Train 11 will now depart a couple of minutes earlier and will reach Leytonstone a bit quicker, thereby equalising out the gaps.
Ultimately either the issue with long term train cancellations will be solved or a brand new Central line Working Timetable will be drawn up, whichever happens quicker. In the meantime the outright removal of six scheduled trains has been deemed the simplest solution to a pressing problem, because perfection can't be conjured up overnight.
"We like to keep our press releases positive and mention nothing negative whatsoever," said Polly Hopkins, TfL's Head of Brand Froth. "So thank goodness the public will never notice that two Underground lines now have timetabled train cancellations, because we'll be pretending everything's sailing ahead as normal 👀😍."
A worse weekday service with longer gaps starts on the Central line on Monday and continues until further notice. You may never notice, but should you turn up at the wrong moment and find yourself waiting a few minutes longer for a busier train, this is likely why.
