Passengers may curse them, but bus rail replacement services in London are carefully planned, operated and reviewed to make them work as well as possible, as SIMON THOMAS explains
Few passengers are happy to arrive at their local railway station on a Sunday morning to find buses replacing trains.
It matters not that publicity has been displayed prominently and websites have referred to the bus substitution for some weeks previously. In the traveller’s mind it is not what was expected and will invariably lead to a longer journey time.
It is against this background that Transport for London’s bus replacement team led by Phil Thornton, and the bus operators, strive to provide the best possible alternative service by road, often turning the traveller’s negative feelings into a more positive experience.
Planned rail closures range from late evening engineering work when the last few trains are replaced by buses at a few suburban stations to extensive closures of major sections of line for an entire weekend. There are also occasions where a whole line is closed for several months for a comprehensive upgrade; the electrification of the London Overground between Barking and Gospel Oak is a current example.
Ther…
