Times of Hammersmith & City Line Trains from platform 3 at Barking Station

This photo shows the poster at the top of the stairs to platform 6 at Barking Station. It explains that most H&C trains depart from platform 6 and gives the exceptions that depart from platform 3 (44 of them on weekdays).
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Here is a transcription which you may like to copy and file fro reference:

Mo-Fr:

0611 0628 0650 0709 0748 0806 0828 0845 0857 0917 0925 0934 0946 0957 1005

1545 1555 1605 1617 1626 1637 1645 1656 1706 1716 1725 1735 1746 1755 1805 1814 1826 1835 1846 1856 1906 1915 1925 1935 1945 2344 2354 0005

Sat: 0606 0630 2345

Sun: 0641 - 0735 plat 6
0745 onwards plat 3

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What the poster doesn't show is the times of District Line trains from platform 3 - I have seen someone making her way to platform 3 to catch what I assume she thought was an H&C. It was the wrong type of train for the H&C line, but a lot of people don't know the difference, and anyway the District line will soon be operated by S-stock trains like the H&C, so the train's appearance will be no indication.

The "changes" were, I've been told, caused by the introduction of the new S-stock trains.  It's bad practice that this poster is undated (at least as displayed) and it would be useful if it were available on line. I have yet to check whether the other locations that showed the previous version of this poster have this one, which I assume to be the latest.

TfL say that they do intend to add platform numbers to their journey planner, but this is a long way down the line. In the mean time, if you really want to know full details, you can plough through the working timetables at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/working-timetables.


The information provided about Sunday is not terribly helpful, as it doesn't give the times of departures from platform 3, so we still don't know whether to set off down there or not.

If/when the Barking & Gospel Oak Line service is extended onto the Tilbury loop, it will use platforms 7/8. This would free up platform 1, which could conceivably be used for Underground services terminating at Barking.

Even so, what we need is a proper train describer just like the c2c, B&GO and other Underground platforms have, giving dynamic information.

Times of Hammersmith & City Line Trains Leaving platform 6 at Barking Station

I haven't been able to find this information on line, and the TfL journey plannner isn't sophisticated enoug as yet to make the distinction between the bay road platform (3) and the normal through Westbound Underground platform - 6.

It would also be useful to know which H&C trains arrive at platform 3.

Hammersmith and City Line Departures from platform 6 at Barking

Most H&C trains use platform 3 at Barking (the "bay road" further west than all the other platform faces). There's a poster on the bridge listing which departures are from platform . I haven't been able to find this poster on the web, so I took a photo of it. I have also updated the Wikipedia article about Barking Station with the info from the poster.

The information is a bit ambiguous, because it isn't clear whether there are departures from platform 3 intermingled with these. Some are so close together that it seems unlikely, but others are more spaced apart.

If you're planning a journey this information could help - the TfL journey planner doesn't currently tell you which platform to use.

If c2c get their act together they will start to integrate dynamic LUL train information with their own. It would be extremely useful to know the departure times from platform 3 from information displayed near the steps from the bridge.

District Line and S stock

I had my first experience of the new and long overdue dot-matrix train describer at Barking station, platform 6, last Sunday. The trains (or more correctly, services) were all described as 'District Line'. I thought, Ok, maybe it's not a good idea to describe them as Ealing Broadway, Richmond or Wimbledon as the correct thing to do is to get the first train and change where appropriate (typically Earl's Court). However, the first train along was a C stock train bound for Hammersmith via Edgware Road.

Admittedly such trains do run on the District Line Wimbledon / Edgware Road Branch, but this was clearly a Hammersmith & City Line Train.

When the new S stock trains entirely take over, the platform and train descriptions will become more important as the type of train stock will not give a clue to its route. The trains on the Metropolitan line will be 8 coaches  long, and those on the District, Circle and H&C will be 7 coaches long. As things currently stand the Met doesn't come to Barking, so even that hard to spot difference won't help.

I say as things currently stand, because there is talk of returning the Met to Barking and running the Ham & City out of Aldgate. This is all rather academic, because all these lines are joined together and all the trains can run any route, in theory. When the trains are all S stock they can run Upminster to Uxbridge if they want.  As they run on largely the same tracks they use largely the same platforms, so changing is dead easy. All they must avoid is service patterns that confuse the customer.

Temporary closure of Station Parade (eastbound)

http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/thenews/Documents/thenews-49.pdf

A notice in "The News" (B&D council newspaper) says that from 2 June Station Parad Barking will be closed eastbound between Wakering Road and Cambridge Road - ie in front of Barking Station. The order has force for 9 weeks, but they usually err on the cautious side.

Pedestrians will not be able to use the northern footway.

Consultation on Barking station

http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/2-press-release/press-release-menu.cfm?item_code=3660

Consultation sessions at the station with designers Atkins and council staff, from 8.30am to 7.30pm on Thursday & Friday 25 & 26 March.

Barking Station

As most people will know, Barking made it into the worst 5 stations in England and Wales. The full report from which that information is taken is here

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/passenger/stations/betterrailstations/

Rumours are spreading that the Barking Dog will be closing to make way for redevelopment, but 'better stations' speaks of £50 million to spend on 10 stations - noty enough to rebuild Barking. The council has a master plan for the station quarter, of course, but whether developers are waiting in the wings I don't know.

Second class?

Recently the paintwork on the road around Barking station was "refreshed" and v smart it looks too. However, the cycle decals were excluded. I'm open to persuasion as to the merits of these decals without any other markings, but not refurbishing them like the other markings just makes cycling look like a second class form of transport.

London Connections Maps

Despite what I was told, the little enquiry office by the stairs to platform 1 and 1a at Barking Station does have these - in the middle drawer of the office desk. I have been told there that they haven't go any and to go to Fenchurch Street - yet today they had dozens. It's a 4/08 version, which may not be the latest (the on line version is dated 26 September) but it's better than nothing.

The National Rail website says (http://nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/maps/network_rail_maps.html) "Copies of this map are normally available from staffed National Rail stations in London and the South East." Well not in my experience in the case of Barking.

At Limehouse I was told they had more than they could deal with. Why not send them to Barking if they haven't got any - or even to LUL stations!

If you can get hold of these maps, do, and give them out to fellow travellers, friends and family. Many people don't know about them. Even slightly out-of-date / used versions get snapped up in my experience.

National

Lift replacement at Barking station

The lift at Barking station is being upgraded so there will be no step-free access between the booking hall and the platforms until the end of March. Staff will be able to provide assistance.

There will still be step free access between the platforms, of course

Fastticket machines and The trainline

Twice now I have ordered tickets on the internet from The Trainline and all I have had to to collect them at Barking is press one (on screen) button and put my bank card in the slot. The tickets are printed without me having to enter the code that The Trainline supplied. Also, it seems that the payment is taken when the ticket is printed and not when it is ordered.