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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Does anyone understand why doors of the last carriage on the new trains do not open at our station? They fit on the platform but we are left stranded at the station as they don't open. As the service cancels rush hour trains regularly, it's often the only place to get on and has become even more difficult as the roulette challenge drives more people towards the other half of the train.  I find myself hoping it's an old train. 

I recall reading something about services not stopping at all due to train lengths AGES ago but as I say, both doors do sit comfortably on the platform. 

It it is making it very hard to get into work on time. Before getting onto Great Nothern's case, wondered if anyone had any info or thoughts.

Thanks. 

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There must be more to it because, as you say, the trains fit - Wiki suggests a 717 unit is 121.74m whilst a 313 is 60.83 - once you’ve got the slight extra in couplings etc two of them are as long.

On this subject HOL has often deferred to a Rail Forums UK - only this morning an established user there asked about this https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/gn-class-717.146166/page-77#po...

The answer may already be in the 2000 posts that precede that one!

Worth offering the view that these trains are navigable from front to back regardless, although I appreciate in the peaks that’s irrelevant if you’re caught a whole carriage away from the nearest open doors... the back carriage does display regular notices (and audible warnings) that the doors won’t open, but again I appreciate that doesn’t help if you’re trying to get on at Harringay.

Lobbying GN for a review probably isn’t the worst idea in the circumstances (note: of all the stations this applies to, only Drayton Park northbound necessitates this as the rear door set opens onto almost a brick wall - and even then it’s somewhat questionable)

Exactly the same thing happened on a northbound one I caught  last week.  I got on at Hornsey, moved down to the back of the train and wanted to get off at Bowes Park but the back door didn’t open even though it was well on the platform.

Extract from Great Northern's FAQs about the trains:

Will passengers need to be in the front five carriages at some stations?

Yes, due to short platforms, passengers travelling to or from the following stations on Class 717 Great Northern train services will need to travel in the front five carriages:

Drayton Park, Harringay, Hornsey, Bowes Park, Brookmans Park
Doors on the sixth carriage will not open at these stations. This is called Selective Door Operation.

Why are you using Selective Door Operation at these stations?

As passenger numbers are increasing, the Class 717 trains were built to the maximum possible size that can operate on routes to Moorgate.

Some platforms are slightly smaller than others such as at Drayton Park and while all six carriages will stop next to the platform, we will only open doors on the front five carriages. This is a very cautious approach to ensure that passengers can always board or leave the train.

Full FAQs at  https://www.greatnorthernrail.com/717trains

This happened in the 'tunnel' stations until signals were moved - the different cab layout in the new trains means that the driver has to stop at a different position on the platform in order to see clearly the red/green signal aspect. This may also be the case at the currently affected stations.

Having a guard on the train would help

A bit off-topic but can anyone confirm there are fewer seats overall on the new 717 class trains?

"Total capacity is 943 passengers per unit, with 362 seats (including 64 priority and 15 tip-up seats), whereas 313s offered 492 seats but an overall capacity of only 846."

Source - Diamond Geezer's blog

Thanks for the info, I wondered why I had to stand all the way home more often on 717s. Having said that, it's easier to get people leaving an empty space by the window to move across on 717s than it is on the triple-seat set-up on the 313s.

Thanks Gordon. That’s it I think. I’m going to contact them. If we can put pressure on I’ll let you know. 

It may change once all the old trains have gone; at the moment with old and new trains mixed there's a small risk of the driver choosing the wrong stopping point - see picture at Harringay

This was Hornsey (northbound) just now... It's not even tight...

In fact the Mind the Gap paint suggest the rearmost 313 doors sit further back. 

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