Meet the directors

10th March 2010

The forum gives you the opportunity to post questions to our senior team and get instant answers. Thank you for taking part.

We hold 'Meet the Directors' sessions on a monthly basis at various stations on our network.

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Question number 70

From Mr Ian Bell

When will FCC announce the extension of the TL franchise? And how long will the term be?

In February 2009 the Department for Transport confirmed that the FCC franchise would be extended until the March 2012.

Announcement on franchise extensions would be made by the Department for Transport rather than an operator.

Question number 69

From Mr Andrew Stock

During the recent snow you decided to run only 2 trains an hour between WGC and Moorgate at rush hour, this lead to extream overcrowding to the point you could not even board a London Bound train at New Barnet, which is 5 stops before Finsbury Park! 2 trains an hour is simply not enough at rush hour.

Thank you for your question.

We know that the implementation of the emergency GN timetable inconvenienced many customers and did lead to crowding on some services.

When very cold and wintry weather is forecast, Network Rail sometimes make the decision to implement emergency timetables which reduces the number of trains operating and also limits the maximum line speed.

This was the case during the recent snow and the main reason for doing this is to cut down on the number of non essential parallel movements on the track - thus reducing the number of times points have to change. This is because these are the most vulnerable parts of the network during these conditions and although this is inconvenient for customers, it does produce an overall more reliable railway as well as reducing the risk of trains becoming stranded due to failed infrastructure.

Question number 68

From Mr Joe Turner

I am very pleased to see some long overdue investment in West Hampstead station however I do feel that you under estimate the importance of it. West Hampstead is a major connection to north London using the Thameslink, London Underground and London Overground routes. It is a vital transport hub for people working in north London and I wonder if you realise how busy this station really is. I feel that there are not enough FCC trains serving West Hampstead and I often have to wait over 20 minutes for a Luton or Bedford train in the evening rush hour. I feel that more of the fast trains leaving St Pancras should stop at West Hampstead before continuing fast to St Albans.

Thanks for the feedback, I've received similar views elsewhere. When putting the timetables together we have to take account of the capacity available to us to run the services and it is very limited on this route which makes putting extra stops in quite difficult. However this is one of the stations we are reviewing to see whether we can enhance the service.

Question number 67

From Mr Ian Bell

I understand some Class 377 trains have faulty door cameras that prevents a service stopping a Leagrave due to no station staff.

With the introduction of the Class 377 why did FCC spend millions installing new platform monitors for drivers to view the platform CCTV and now they have become obsolete even with a faulty train?

Thank you for the question.

All classes of rolling stock have a subsiduary method of dispatch when the main method fails - for 377s this is staff dispatch. If this cannot be facilitated then they are not able to call at unstaffed stations.

Question number 65

From Mr Jonathan Morris

Can you please report the onboard PIS on 317340 to the relevant engineers to investigate a fault?

The screens are currently showing the incorrect time on different displays (on the same carriage), while the audio is stuttering and giving an ear piercing sound instead of some words - suggesting data corruption of the audio files.

One example is the 'now approaching Hatfield' which became a high-pitched squeal that had people covering their ears - and no doubt waking up dogs within a hundred miles!

Thank you for reporting the issue. The engineers are sitting here and will take this forward.