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Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
Does anyone know why ALL trains to / from Heathrow have been cancelled
without notice for TWO days? Some reports say signal failure, others say cable theft, others say points failure at Airport Junction, others say was a fire at Paddington. What IS certain is that the severe disruption into / out of Paddington has been going on since 11.00 Thursday morning, and are likely to persist until 15.00 Friday afternoon. As is typical for FGW / Heathrow NO MANAGEMENT WERE IN SIGHT on the concourse at Paddington during the day nor during the evening rush- hour on Thursday. NO CONTINGENCY PLANS WERE IN PLACE to get airline pax to Heathrow to make their flights. HEX staff at Paddington were telling pax to get the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow - actually not that easy to do esp. with luggage. And T4L were not accepting HEX or HConn tickets. And the thousands who missed their flights from Heathrow likely also found that they missed their onward flight connections, missed meeting accommodation bookings, and are likely to miss spending Christmas with their relatives / friends. And with the Christmas getaway now in full swing thousands will find that rebooking flights is not an option before the New Year. Also most (all?) Intercity trains from Paddington to the West were cancelled. Again rebooking is likely to be an issue since all subsequent trains are likely to be fully booked. And trains are not likely to be running again until later Friday afternoon. What few trains that were running - mainly Intercitys - were not stopping at local stations due to over-crowding or more likely not having stop orders issued. So pax at local stations had to wait and wait and wait until a train condescended to stop for them. Wonderful chaos as usual. And FGW / Heathriw / NetworkRail management doesn't give a damn. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
In message
, at 02:44:22 on Fri, 21 Dec 2012, CJB remarked: Does anyone know why ALL trains to / from Heathrow have been cancelled without notice for TWO days? Some reports say signal failure, others say cable theft, others say points failure at Airport Junction, others say was a fire at Paddington. BBC news this morning said it was a fire in lineside signalling equipment. So at least three out of your four (or a full house if the stolen cable provided power and the result of that was an overload in the next nearest supply cabinet). Also most (all?) Intercity trains from Paddington to the West were cancelled. Again rebooking is likely to be an issue since all subsequent trains are likely to be fully booked. Are they running reservation-only services? -- Roland Perry |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Dec 21, 10:44*am, CJB wrote:
And the thousands who missed their flights from Heathrow likely also found that they missed their onward flight connections, And if they hadn't bought their HEx ticket in advance, as opposed to paying cash on the day, they'll have the devil's own job with their travel insurer, too. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20808182 claims it's a fire in an equipment room. ian |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 11:23:55 +0000
Roland Perry wrote: In message , at 02:44:22 on Fri, 21 Dec 2012, CJB remarked: Does anyone know why ALL trains to / from Heathrow have been cancelled without notice for TWO days? Some reports say signal failure, others say cable theft, others say points failure at Airport Junction, others say was a fire at Paddington. BBC news this morning said it was a fire in lineside signalling equipment. So at least three out of your four (or a full house if the I'll bet some sort of theft or vandalism caused the fire. I can't see it happening on its own unless there was some seriously botched repair job previously. B2003 |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
"CJB" wrote in message ... Does anyone know why ALL trains to / from Heathrow have been cancelled without notice for TWO days? Some reports say signal failure, others say cable theft, others say points failure at Airport Junction, others say was a fire at Paddington. What IS certain is that the severe disruption into / out of Paddington has been going on since 11.00 Thursday morning, and are likely to persist until 15.00 Friday afternoon. As is typical for FGW / Heathrow NO MANAGEMENT WERE IN SIGHT on the concourse at Paddington during the day nor during the evening rush- hour on Thursday. NO CONTINGENCY PLANS WERE IN PLACE to get airline pax to Heathrow to make their flights. HEX staff at Paddington were telling pax to get the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow - actually not that easy to do esp. with luggage. And T4L were not accepting HEX or HConn tickets. And the thousands who missed their flights from Heathrow likely also found that they missed their onward flight connections, missed meeting accommodation bookings, and are likely to miss spending Christmas with their relatives / friends. And with the Christmas getaway now in full swing thousands will find that rebooking flights is not an option before the New Year. Also most (all?) Intercity trains from Paddington to the West were cancelled. Again rebooking is likely to be an issue since all subsequent trains are likely to be fully booked. And trains are not likely to be running again until later Friday afternoon. What few trains that were running - mainly Intercitys - were not stopping at local stations due to over-crowding or more likely not having stop orders issued. So pax at local stations had to wait and wait and wait until a train condescended to stop for them. Wonderful chaos as usual. And FGW / Heathriw / NetworkRail management doesn't give a damn. The Acton Relay room has gone pop together with serious damage to lineside cabinets. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
CJB wrote:
Also most (all?) Intercity trains from Paddington to the West were cancelled. Again rebooking is likely to be an issue since all subsequent trains are likely to be fully booked. When was the last time you travelled by IC train in the UK? Clue: the UK does not operate compulsory reservations. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
The Acton Relay room has gone pop together with serious damage to lineside cabinets.- Hide quoted text - Ditto AIUI at Preston Park, fire damaged signmals cabinet and traction eqpt. -- Nick |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
"D7666" wrote in message ... The Acton Relay room has gone pop together with serious damage to lineside cabinets.- Hide quoted text - Ditto AIUI at Preston Park, fire damaged signmals cabinet and traction eqpt. -- Nick Yes looks worse down there. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:41:05 -0000
"Patrick O'Neill" wrote: "D7666" wrote in message ... The Acton Relay room has gone pop together with serious damage to lineside cabinets.- Hide quoted text - Ditto AIUI at Preston Park, fire damaged signmals cabinet and traction eqpt. -- Nick Yes looks worse down there. What the hell happened? A power surge or sabotage? B2003 |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
"CJB" wrote in message ... Does anyone know why ALL trains to / from Heathrow have been cancelled without notice for TWO days? Some reports say signal failure, others say cable theft, others say points failure at Airport Junction, others say was a fire at Paddington. What IS certain is that the severe disruption into / out of Paddington has been going on since 11.00 Thursday morning, and are likely to persist until 15.00 Friday afternoon. As is typical for FGW / Heathrow NO MANAGEMENT WERE IN SIGHT on the concourse at Paddington during the day nor during the evening rush- hour on Thursday. NO CONTINGENCY PLANS WERE IN PLACE to get airline pax to Heathrow to make their flights. HEX staff at Paddington were telling pax to get the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow - actually not that easy to do esp. with luggage. And T4L were not accepting HEX or HConn tickets. And the thousands who missed their flights from Heathrow likely also found that they missed their onward flight connections, missed meeting accommodation bookings, and are likely to miss spending Christmas with their relatives / friends. And with the Christmas getaway now in full swing thousands will find that rebooking flights is not an option before the New Year. Also most (all?) Intercity trains from Paddington to the West were cancelled. Again rebooking is likely to be an issue since all subsequent trains are likely to be fully booked. And trains are not likely to be running again until later Friday afternoon. What few trains that were running - mainly Intercitys - were not stopping at local stations due to over-crowding or more likely not having stop orders issued. So pax at local stations had to wait and wait and wait until a train condescended to stop for them. Wonderful chaos as usual. And FGW / Heathriw / NetworkRail management doesn't give a damn. I think (but can't be absolutely sure) that yesterday (Thursday 20th) there was a "signal failure" in the Slough/Southall area. This was followed by a further failure on the Heathrow branch. Today (Friday 21st) there has been a fire somewhere around Westbourne Park. What I'm less clear about is what effect each one has had. I assume the suspension of HeX and HC is due to the problems on the branch but I can't help feeling that the removal of those trains has been a benefit to the rest of the operation because, however many trains may be suffering at least those 6 each way every hour are out of the way. The original signal failure seems to have left only 2 lines operational. The BBC seems to be trying to blame the fire at Westbourne Park (and I'm beginning to wonder if that is actually where the fire is/was) for all the chaos but I find that very difficult to believe. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
In message , at 14:05:49 on
Fri, 21 Dec 2012, Graham Harrison remarked: The BBC seems to be trying to blame the fire at Westbourne Park (and I'm beginning to wonder if that is actually where the fire is/was) for all the chaos but I find that very difficult to believe. It's an improvement on the earlier BBC News that ran with a top story about the weather, and how it was affecting roads and trains "and now over to our man in Bristol" who then described cancellations to Paddington. And right at the end almost didn't mention - "Oh by the way, nothing to do with flooding it was a fire". -- Roland Perry |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
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Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Dec 21, 2:31*pm, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 14:05:49 on Fri, 21 Dec 2012, Graham Harrison remarked: The BBC seems to be trying to blame the fire at Westbourne Park (and I'm beginning to wonder if that is actually where the fire is/was) for all the chaos but I find that very difficult to believe. It's an improvement on the earlier BBC News that ran with a top story about the weather, and how it was affecting roads and trains "and now over to our man in Bristol" who then described cancellations to Paddington. And right at the end almost didn't mention - "Oh by the way, nothing to do with flooding it was a fire". -- Roland Perry Obviously this is the first sign of the 2012 Apocalypse. I'm pretty sure this is a government plot to divert people's attention from the rapidly approaching fireball, that will wipe out all life in a few hours time. Alternately, it is the usual problem, our rail network cannot cope with anything going wrong. We're lucky a snowflake hasn't fallen on a hilltop in the Chilterns, the whole country would grind to a halt. Neill |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Dec 21, 12:03*pm, "Patrick O'Neill" wrote:
"CJB" wrote in message ... Does anyone know why ALL trains to / from Heathrow have been cancelled without notice for TWO days? Some reports say signal failure, others say cable theft, others say points failure at Airport Junction, others say was a fire at Paddington. What IS certain is that the severe disruption into / out of Paddington has been going on since 11.00 Thursday morning, and are likely to persist until 15.00 Friday afternoon. As is typical for FGW / Heathrow NO MANAGEMENT WERE IN SIGHT on the concourse at Paddington during the day nor during the evening rush- hour on Thursday. NO CONTINGENCY PLANS WERE IN PLACE to get airline pax to Heathrow to make their flights. HEX staff at Paddington were telling pax to get the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow - actually not that easy to do esp. with luggage. And T4L were not accepting HEX or HConn tickets. And the thousands who missed their flights from Heathrow likely also found that they missed their onward flight connections, missed meeting accommodation bookings, and are likely to miss spending Christmas with their relatives / friends. And with the Christmas getaway now in full swing thousands will find that rebooking flights is not an option before the New Year. Also most (all?) Intercity trains from Paddington to the West were cancelled. Again rebooking is likely to be an issue since all subsequent trains are likely to be fully booked. And trains are not likely to be running again until later Friday afternoon. What few trains that were running - mainly Intercitys - were not stopping at local stations due to over-crowding or more likely not having stop orders issued. So pax at local stations had to wait and wait and wait until a train condescended to stop for them. Wonderful chaos as usual. And FGW / Heathriw */ NetworkRail management doesn't give a damn. The Acton Relay room has gone pop together with serious damage to lineside cabinets. The website at: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/servic...ons/today.html states: ==== Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect Services are currently suspended. No replacement transport is in place. Passengers may travel between Central London and Heathrow Airport on London Underground, but a new ticket will need to be purchased. ==== So stuff any pax who bought over-priced HEX or HConn tickets - 15 minutes of fame? Huh!! Par for the course from Heathrow Ltd (ex-BAA). Why don't they suggest catching a FGW local to Hayes and then the 140 bus. Oh - there are any trains!! PATHETIC. CJB. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri / Sat
On Dec 21, 5:00*pm, CJB wrote:
On Dec 21, 12:03*pm, "Patrick O'Neill" wrote: "CJB" wrote in message .... Does anyone know why ALL trains to / from Heathrow have been cancelled without notice for TWO days? Some reports say signal failure, others say cable theft, others say points failure at Airport Junction, others say was a fire at Paddington. What IS certain is that the severe disruption into / out of Paddington has been going on since 11.00 Thursday morning, and are likely to persist until 15.00 Friday afternoon. As is typical for FGW / Heathrow NO MANAGEMENT WERE IN SIGHT on the concourse at Paddington during the day nor during the evening rush- hour on Thursday. NO CONTINGENCY PLANS WERE IN PLACE to get airline pax to Heathrow to make their flights. HEX staff at Paddington were telling pax to get the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow - actually not that easy to do esp. with luggage. And T4L were not accepting HEX or HConn tickets. And the thousands who missed their flights from Heathrow likely also found that they missed their onward flight connections, missed meeting accommodation bookings, and are likely to miss spending Christmas with their relatives / friends. And with the Christmas getaway now in full swing thousands will find that rebooking flights is not an option before the New Year. Also most (all?) Intercity trains from Paddington to the West were cancelled. Again rebooking is likely to be an issue since all subsequent trains are likely to be fully booked. And trains are not likely to be running again until later Friday afternoon. What few trains that were running - mainly Intercitys - were not stopping at local stations due to over-crowding or more likely not having stop orders issued. So pax at local stations had to wait and wait and wait until a train condescended to stop for them. Wonderful chaos as usual. And FGW / Heathriw */ NetworkRail management doesn't give a damn. The Acton Relay room has gone pop together with serious damage to lineside cabinets. The website at: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/servic...ons/today.html states: ==== Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect Services are currently suspended. No replacement transport is in place. Passengers may travel between Central London and Heathrow Airport on London Underground, but a new ticket will need to be purchased. ==== So stuff any pax who bought over-priced HEX or HConn tickets - 15 minutes of fame? Huh!! Par for the course from Heathrow Ltd (ex-BAA). Why don't they suggest catching a FGW local to Hayes and then the 140 bus. Oh - there are any trains!! PATHETIC. CJB. Apparently the disruption will persist until 18.00 on Saturday. So much for the big get-away. But with the fires variously reported as being near Acton and Westbourne Park and Hayes and Preston Park (Brighton) this is increasingly looking like sabotage. CJB. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
CJB wrote:
Passengers may travel between Central London and Heathrow Airport on London Underground, but a new ticket will need to be purchased. The latter part is a disgrace, unless easy-to-obtain-from-abroad refunds are being given on the much higher HEx fare. If they are, this makes sense. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri / Sat
CJB wrote:
But with the fires variously reported as being near Acton and Westbourne Park and Hayes and Preston Park (Brighton) this is increasingly looking like sabotage. I assume no group has claimed responsibility? Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri / Sat
On 21 Dec 2012 17:11:06 GMT, Neil Williams
wrote: CJB wrote: But with the fires variously reported as being near Acton and Westbourne Park and Hayes and Preston Park (Brighton) this is increasingly looking like sabotage. I assume no group has claimed responsibility? You suspect the Tooting Popular Front ? |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
In article , wrote:
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:41:05 -0000 "Patrick O'Neill" wrote: "D7666" wrote in message ... The Acton Relay room has gone pop together with serious damage to lineside cabinets.- Hide quoted text - Ditto AIUI at Preston Park, fire damaged signmals cabinet and traction eqpt. -- Nick Yes looks worse down there. What the hell happened? A power surge or sabotage? The end of the world fizzled out ? Nick -- "The Internet, a sort of ersatz counterfeit of real life" -- Janet Street-Porter, BBC2, 19th March 1996 |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:27:24 +0000 (UTC), Nick Leverton
wrote: In article , wrote: On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:41:05 -0000 "Patrick O'Neill" wrote: "D7666" wrote in message ... The Acton Relay room has gone pop together with serious damage to lineside cabinets.- Hide quoted text - Ditto AIUI at Preston Park, fire damaged signmals cabinet and traction eqpt. -- Nick Yes looks worse down there. What the hell happened? A power surge or sabotage? The end of the world fizzled out ? Cancelled due to the economic situation ? |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri / Sat
Charles Ellson wrote:
You suspect the Tooting Popular Front ? Isn't it the People's Front? ;) Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On 21/12/12 12:40, Neil Williams wrote:
CJB wrote: Also most (all?) Intercity trains from Paddington to the West were cancelled. Again rebooking is likely to be an issue since all subsequent trains are likely to be fully booked. When was the last time you travelled by IC train in the UK? Clue: the UK does not operate compulsory reservations. True, but there is typically only one unbooked carriage, into which the displaced passengers from several other trains are unlikely to fit. Ian |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
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Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
The Real Doctor wrote:
True, but there is typically only one unbooked carriage, into which the displaced passengers from several other trains are unlikely to fit. Seated probably not. There is no requirement for them to be seated, and no rule against the entire train being "full and standing", which is generally the best way to clear a mess like that. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On 22/12/12 20:03, Neil Williams wrote:
The Real Doctor wrote: True, but there is typically only one unbooked carriage, into which the displaced passengers from several other trains are unlikely to fit. Seated probably not. There is no requirement for them to be seated, and no rule against the entire train being "full and standing", which is generally the best way to clear a mess like that. "And standing" normally means at most one extra passenger per row of seats, so 25% over capacity. Good luck carry several extra trains' worth that way. This is long distance stuff we're talking about, not the commute from Milton Keynes to Euston. Ian |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
The Real Doctor writes:
True, but there is typically only one unbooked carriage, into which the displaced passengers from several other trains are unlikely to fit. Or, as BR did on a number of occasions when there was disruption, cancel all reservations. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Dec 22, 10:03*pm, Graham Murray wrote:
The Real Doctor writes: True, but there is typically only one unbooked carriage, into which the displaced passengers from several other trains are unlikely to fit. Or, as BR did on a number of occasions when there was disruption, cancel all reservations. It's interesting that the railways have an extensive pattern of things to do when they fail to run a service, but put far less effort into not failing in the first place. It's a fine line between contingency planning and failure becoming normal. ian |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
"ian batten" wrote in message ... On Dec 22, 10:03 pm, Graham Murray wrote: The Real Doctor writes: True, but there is typically only one unbooked carriage, into which the displaced passengers from several other trains are unlikely to fit. Or, as BR did on a number of occasions when there was disruption, cancel all reservations. It's interesting that the railways have an extensive pattern of things to do when they fail to run a service, but put far less effort into not failing in the first place. It's a fine line between contingency planning and failure becoming normal. ian ============================================= I'll be interested to see what they do around Exeter. Apparently the reason why the line between Taunton and Exeter has been (is still?) closed today is that some form of defense has been built to stop the flood waters damaging the track but it means trains can't run. Given how long it took them to sort everything out earlier in December that doesn't see totally unreasonable as a temporary solution - once the water recedes they'll be able to run again soon after but it's not a permanent solution. I just hope it doesn't become the default contingency. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
The Real Doctor wrote:
"And standing" normally means at most one extra passenger per row of seats, so 25% over capacity. Good luck carry several extra trains' worth that way. This is long distance stuff we're talking about, not the commute from Milton Keynes to Euston. The GWML is a glorified outersuburban operation these days. Crush-loads are not at all unknown. The term full and standing tends to mean "you're unlikely to fit on". Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:25:15 +0000, Graham Harrison wrote:
I'll be interested to see what they do around Exeter. Apparently the reason why the line between Taunton and Exeter has been (is still?) closed today is that some form of defense has been built to stop the flood waters damaging the track but it means trains can't run. I think it's the electronics in this hut that's the main concern: http://goo.gl/maps/wC8m5 As I understand it from the fire service post on the web, the fire service had 4 crews allocated for 3 hours to help protect signalling equipment at the junction: http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/news/newsde...entDetail.cfm? IncidentID=22885&siteCategoryId=3&T1ID=26&T2ID=35 http://tinyurl.com/ck8zvzo "Fire crews will be helping to protect the main Plymouth to London train line at Cowley Bridge, Exeter, from the threat of disruption from flooding during the early hours of Saturday morning. The line was closed during a period of adverse weather at the end of last month after the nearby river overflowed and led to the line being closed. Following warnings today from the Met Office and Environment Agency, the rail company has requested the assistance of fire crews to help prevent floodwater from damaging signalling at the junction, which could lead to the line closing again. Four fire crews will construct barriers from around 12midnight to 3am on Saturday morning to help divert water away from the Cowley Bridge junction area. The actions of the fire crews are designed to keep damage to a minimum to help protect an important part of the south west’s transport infrastructure." It also looks as if they've laid some large tubes across the track north of the bridge that the google link above refers to, I guess they're to carry water pumped out from an area East of the A396 into the river, presumably to stop it flowing across the road and perhaps washing out the ballast. That looks like it could be the reason the lines have been blocked, but that may be primarily to protect housing East of the A396 rather than the line - I guess they're expecting more water than the existing culverts into the Exe can cope with - so that bit may be an EA / LA rather than FRS activity. http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/VIDEO-...-travel-South- West/story-17656490-detail/story.html http://tinyurl.com/bvfufwt -- Denis McMahon, |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On 22/12/2012 23:25, Graham Harrison wrote:
"ian batten" wrote in message ... On Dec 22, 10:03 pm, Graham Murray wrote: The Real Doctor writes: True, but there is typically only one unbooked carriage, into which the displaced passengers from several other trains are unlikely to fit. Or, as BR did on a number of occasions when there was disruption, cancel all reservations. It's interesting that the railways have an extensive pattern of things to do when they fail to run a service, but put far less effort into not failing in the first place. It's a fine line between contingency planning and failure becoming normal. ian ============================================= I'll be interested to see what they do around Exeter. Apparently the reason why the line between Taunton and Exeter has been (is still?) closed today is that some form of defense has been built to stop the flood waters damaging the track but it means trains can't run. Given how long it took them to sort everything out earlier in December that doesn't see totally unreasonable as a temporary solution - once the water recedes they'll be able to run again soon after but it's not a permanent solution. I just hope it doesn't become the default contingency. The defences consist of two large plastic tubes, presumably filled with water, laid across the tracks to act as a dam. -- Graeme Wall This account not read, substitute trains for rail. Railway Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
"Denis McMahon" wrote in message ... On Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:25:15 +0000, Graham Harrison wrote: I'll be interested to see what they do around Exeter. Apparently the reason why the line between Taunton and Exeter has been (is still?) closed today is that some form of defense has been built to stop the flood waters damaging the track but it means trains can't run. I think it's the electronics in this hut that's the main concern: http://goo.gl/maps/wC8m5 As I understand it from the fire service post on the web, the fire service had 4 crews allocated for 3 hours to help protect signalling equipment at the junction: http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/news/newsde...entDetail.cfm? IncidentID=22885&siteCategoryId=3&T1ID=26&T2ID=35 http://tinyurl.com/ck8zvzo "Fire crews will be helping to protect the main Plymouth to London train line at Cowley Bridge, Exeter, from the threat of disruption from flooding during the early hours of Saturday morning. The line was closed during a period of adverse weather at the end of last month after the nearby river overflowed and led to the line being closed. Following warnings today from the Met Office and Environment Agency, the rail company has requested the assistance of fire crews to help prevent floodwater from damaging signalling at the junction, which could lead to the line closing again. Four fire crews will construct barriers from around 12midnight to 3am on Saturday morning to help divert water away from the Cowley Bridge junction area. The actions of the fire crews are designed to keep damage to a minimum to help protect an important part of the south west’s transport infrastructure." It also looks as if they've laid some large tubes across the track north of the bridge that the google link above refers to, I guess they're to carry water pumped out from an area East of the A396 into the river, presumably to stop it flowing across the road and perhaps washing out the ballast. That looks like it could be the reason the lines have been blocked, but that may be primarily to protect housing East of the A396 rather than the line - I guess they're expecting more water than the existing culverts into the Exe can cope with - so that bit may be an EA / LA rather than FRS activity. http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/VIDEO-...-travel-South- West/story-17656490-detail/story.html http://tinyurl.com/bvfufwt -- Denis McMahon, Reports this morning (Sunday 23/12) suggest the track has been inundated again. |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On 12/23/2012 04:59 AM, Denis McMahon wrote:
On Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:25:15 +0000, Graham Harrison wrote: It also looks as if they've laid some large tubes across the track north of the bridge that the google link above refers to, I guess they're to carry water pumped out from an area East of the A396 into the river, presumably to stop it flowing across the road and perhaps washing out the ballast. That looks like it could be the reason the lines have been blocked, but that may be primarily to protect housing East of the A396 rather than the line - I guess they're expecting more water than the existing culverts into the Exe can cope with - so that bit may be an EA / LA rather than FRS activity. http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/VIDEO-...-travel-South- West/story-17656490-detail/story.html http://tinyurl.com/bvfufwt A journalist described them as water filled tubes to act as barriers to protect the rest of the track. Presumably that is where the water enters National Rail property and the barriers prevent the water flooding adjacent track. Roger |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
In message , at 22:00:56 on Sat, 22 Dec
2012, The Real Doctor remarked: "And standing" normally means at most one extra passenger per row of seats, so 25% over capacity. Mush more than that, you've forgotten the vestibules (although there have been cases reported of Virgin clearing them) and people standing next to non-seating areas like toilets and luggage racks. I've also travelled sat in the luggage racks, and the area outside the disabled tiolets is quite large. -- Roland Perry |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
Denis McMahon writes:
Following warnings today from the Met Office and Environment Agency, the rail company has requested the assistance of fire crews to help prevent floodwater from damaging signalling at the junction, which could lead to the line closing again. How often was a line closed because of flooding affecting signalling in the days of wire, pulley and rod operated semaphore signals and points? |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
In message , at 10:05:26 on Sun, 23 Dec
2012, Roland Perry remarked: "And standing" normally means at most one extra passenger per row of seats, so 25% over capacity. Mush more than that, you've forgotten the vestibules (although there have been cases reported of Virgin clearing them) and people standing next to non-seating areas like toilets and luggage racks. I've also travelled sat in the luggage racks, and the area outside the disabled tiolets is quite large. This morning at Ely the trains heading for the Midlands were so over-full that people with reservations on the train were left on the platform because they literally couldn't get on board at all. I've seen the same on the first train (late morning on a Sunday) from the Midlands towards Stansted. The 170's on that route have 1/3-2/3 doors and quite big vestibules which can take a couple of dozen each at a pinch, although normally much of the space is taken up by baggage. -- Roland Perry |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
"roger" wrote in message ... On 12/23/2012 04:59 AM, Denis McMahon wrote: On Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:25:15 +0000, Graham Harrison wrote: It also looks as if they've laid some large tubes across the track north of the bridge that the google link above refers to, I guess they're to carry water pumped out from an area East of the A396 into the river, presumably to stop it flowing across the road and perhaps washing out the ballast. That looks like it could be the reason the lines have been blocked, but that may be primarily to protect housing East of the A396 rather than the line - I guess they're expecting more water than the existing culverts into the Exe can cope with - so that bit may be an EA / LA rather than FRS activity. http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/VIDEO-...-travel-South- West/story-17656490-detail/story.html http://tinyurl.com/bvfufwt A journalist described them as water filled tubes to act as barriers to protect the rest of the track. Presumably that is where the water enters National Rail property and the barriers prevent the water flooding adjacent track. From what I saw on the BBC news last night, the barriers literally ran across the track, so nothing could have passed. IIUC, the purpose was indeed to stop water from entering sensitive equipment - so probably the signaling. James |
Massive Disruption at Paddington - ALL day Thurs / Fri
On Sun, 23 Dec 2012 15:33:18 -0000, "James Heaton"
wrote: "roger" wrote in message ... On 12/23/2012 04:59 AM, Denis McMahon wrote: On Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:25:15 +0000, Graham Harrison wrote: It also looks as if they've laid some large tubes across the track north of the bridge that the google link above refers to, I guess they're to carry water pumped out from an area East of the A396 into the river, presumably to stop it flowing across the road and perhaps washing out the ballast. That looks like it could be the reason the lines have been blocked, but that may be primarily to protect housing East of the A396 rather than the line - I guess they're expecting more water than the existing culverts into the Exe can cope with - so that bit may be an EA / LA rather than FRS activity. http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/VIDEO-...-travel-South- West/story-17656490-detail/story.html http://tinyurl.com/bvfufwt A journalist described them as water filled tubes to act as barriers to protect the rest of the track. Presumably that is where the water enters National Rail property and the barriers prevent the water flooding adjacent track. From what I saw on the BBC news last night, the barriers literally ran across the track, so nothing could have passed. IIUC, the purpose was indeed to stop water from entering sensitive equipment - so probably the signaling. There is presumably more than water in the tubes (sand?) otherwise there isn't much to stop them being moved by the flowing water. |
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