London Underground users hate delays. If you've ever trundled to a halt mid tunnel, waited on a busy platform for more than 10 minutes, or worse been forced to rush around stations you don't know to reroute, you'll know the pain. Thankfully the good people at Transport for London also hate delays and they have some tricks up their sleeve to max out efficiency.

One game changing manoeuvre is known as 'stepping back'. Imagine a train reaches the terminus (the end of the line) and the driver has to get out at the back, walk up the platform, and get in at the front, in order to turn the train around and be on their way. This all takes time and over the course of a busy day would cause significant delays.

By stepping back the driver of the previous train is already in place to get in the new front cab and leave the station straight away. By the time the next train has arrived the driver at the back of the train has already walked to the front and the system continues. It also takes time to switch everything off and on again, so the savings can be immense.

Hardly news - it's been happening for years. First on the Waterloo & City I believe, way back in the days

The Jazz service as some people called some of the suburban services out of Liverpool Street was a very slick operation. Although things did get a bit hectic at times at Liverpool St during the rush hour AM and PM. On arrival the fireman would uncouple the train and another engine would couple on the other end. Usually after a couple of minutes the train would leave.
we would then take our engine to the dock at the end of the platform.

We would wait in the dock untill our train arrived the other fireman would uncouple. As soon as we got the dodd (ground signal, at Kings Cross we called them dollys) off we would back onto the train and couple up. Sometimes there would only be ten minutes or less between our arrival and departure. The first train am from Liverpool Street was not worked by an Enfield crew I think Stratford sent a light engine to work it. The last train for Enfield would leave Liverpool Street about 12-15 AM and the last engine would run home light.

Our normal days work would be three round trips, thats sixty miles with more than eighty station stops. As well as all that we had to prepare and dispose of the engine. So some people think local work was easy, but there was nothing easy working the Jazz.