Waterloo station - collision and derailment, 15 Aug 2017

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

Well what they hoped wouldn't happen has happened, an incident outside Waterloo station involving an engineering train and a passenger train having a coming together at a set of points.

SWT^▸ (South West Trains) are saying 'avoid Waterloo'.

Judging by the pictures on Paul Clifton's Twitter feed there could be major disruption for quite sometime:
https://twitter.com/PaulCliftonBBC

[GBM]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40933704
Train derails outside London Waterloo station
5 minutes ago
Three people were checked over by London Ambulance Service but no-one was hurt
Passengers have been advised to avoid London Waterloo station all day after a train derailed outside the station.
The train partly left the tracks as it was pulling away from a platform at low speed at 05:40 BST, Network Rail said.
Three people were checked over by London Ambulance Service but nobody was taken to hospital.
Ten platforms are already shut as part of engineering works to enlarge the station's capacity.
The station is usually one of the busiest in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)
Passengers were already affected by ongoing engineering works
Waterloo works: What you wanted to know
Emergency services including police, paramedics and fire crews were called to the scene.
Photos shared by passengers on social media suggest the passenger train had struck an engineering wagon.
Chris Denham, a spokesman for Network Rail, told the BBC the partially derailed train had blocked three of the platforms so only very limited services could run.
"If you don't have to travel to Waterloo today, please don't," he said.
Passengers are being advised to use alternative routes
South West Trains said there would be a very limited service running to and from Waterloo "which is expected for the rest of today".
Many of the trains running have been cancelled or are are stopping or starting short of the station, the rail operator said.
Passengers are being advised to use alternative routes and have been warned other stations in the area will be "very busy" with the possibility of queuing systems being put in place.
The ongoing £800m engineering project at Waterloo will prepare the station for longer trains and provide space for 30% extra passengers during the busiest times of the day.
The station is usually one of the busiest in the UK, with an average of 270,000 journeys made to and from it each day.

[BBM]

There appears to be some diversions of SWT^▸ (South West Trains) West of England services into Reading. I've just spotted on Open Train Times a 1Z26 which has gone via Mortimer into P3 at RDG^‡(resolve). It's not showing up on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) but on LDB there's a 0945 arrival at Reading from Exeter St David's via Salisbury and Basingstoke. The next departure that way showing on LDB is a 1002 from RDG to Salisbury. That's then followed by a 1011 arrival from EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) departing back there at 1047. None of these currently appear on RTT at RDG.

[SandTEngineer]

Back to Waterloo.  You can see the position of the engineering train wagons and the derailed train here: http://sentry.og2.co.uk/images/ICE00012/2017-08-15/ICE00012-2017-08-15_102200.jpg

[Timmer]

There appears to be some diversions of SWT^▸ (South West Trains) West of England services into Reading. I've just spotted on Open Train Times a 1Z26 which has gone via Mortimer into P3 at RDG^‡(resolve). It's not showing up on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) but on LDB there's a 0945 arrival at Reading from Exeter St David's via Salisbury and Basingstoke. The next departure that way showing on LDB is a 1002 from RDG to Salisbury. That's then followed by a 1011 arrival from EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) departing back there at 1047. None of these currently appear on RTT at RDG.

Yes according to Journeycheck all Exeter to Waterloo services are being diverted to/from Reading. The Benefits of diesel powered trains.

[stuving]

That engineering train is in P10, isn't it? The very one that (with its approach line(s)) was made part of the possession by a late change in July? So, if there was something in the plans or instructions to signallers that wasn't changed then, so a train leaving P11 could use the line to P10 ...

[paul7575]

That engineering train is in P10, isn't it? The very one that (with its approach line(s)) was made part of the possession by a late change in July? So, if there was something in the plans or instructions to signallers that wasn't changed then, so a train leaving P11 could use the line to P10 ...

AIUI^▸ (as I understand it) the engineering train has been in that position every day since the work started.  It ought to be impossible to set a route onto the line it is standing on.  Suggestions elsewhere that it is there as a physical barrier to protect the worksite.  So did it work?

Paul

[broadgage]

Looking at the pictures, it seems a possibility that the engineering train was longer than was expected, or it had been moved, and that the passenger train then collided sidewise where the lines converge.
The damage looks limited perhaps suggesting that the driver of the EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) had time to brake, but not time to stop.
The EMU was leaving the station, so it must have arrived safely.

Under normal circumstances, track circuits on the line occupied by the freight should be interlocked with the platform starting signal and thus prevent this sort of accident.
During large scale engineering work, it is possible that the equipment was defective or disconnected, or even that it was BELIEVED to be defective when in fact it was working correctly.

[paul7575]

Looking at the pictures, it seems a possibility that the engineering train was longer than was expected, or it had been moved, and that the passenger train then collided sidewise where the lines converge.

I've been in and out of Waterloo half a dozen times recently and that train has been an almost permanent feature, at the current length.  The line it is on is within the possession until well beyond the point of impact.

It can be seen present, (either with the cab just at the platform end, or just beyond) in a number of online images and videos taken at different times, e.g. this from 8th Aug by Paul Bigland: http://PaulBigland.zenfolio.com/p671909530/e92a8b12d

Paul

[ChrisB]

Causing horrendous problems getting into Waterloo from suburban stations now. A colleague's journey from Surbiton this morning kicked her out at Raynes Park, and eventually told to get a bus to Wimbledon & the tube from there. Expected at 0930, she's still on her way.

[stuving]

Looking at the pictures, it seems a possibility that the engineering train was longer than was expected, or it had been moved, and that the passenger train then collided sidewise where the lines converge.

I've been in and out of Waterloo half a dozen times recently and that train has been an almost permanent feature, at the current length.  The line it is on is within the possession until well beyond the point of impact.

It can be seen present, (either with the cab just at the platform end, or just beyond) in a number of online images and videos taken at different times, e.g. this from 8th Aug by Paul Bigland: http://PaulBigland.zenfolio.com/p671909530/e92a8b12d

Paul

But the engineering train shouldn't affect the signalling, should it? All track within the possession should be off limits, - I'm not sure whether that would involve screwdrivers and crocodile leads these days, but the effect should be the same. The issues concerns the boundary - all track entering the possession should appear "occupied" permanently, and be marked by sticky tape on the panel (or its soft equivalent on-screen).

[paul7575]

But the engineering train shouldn't affect the signalling, should it? All track within the possession should be off limits, - I'm not sure whether that would involve screwdrivers and crocodile leads these days, but the effect should be the same. The issues concerns the boundary - all track entering the possession should appear "occupied" permanently, and be marked by sticky tape on the panel (or its soft equivalent on-screen).

Quite right AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know), but my post was only intended to explain to the earlier poster that that particular engineering train shouldn't have caught anyone out, because this morning it appears to be not significantly different, in either length or position, to any other day.

Paul

[Timmer]

SWT^▸ (South West Trains) are now advising not to travel on their network tomorrow as well as the rest of today:
https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/disruptions/96AF36FED17149D9BF98F22568F054DC/

[Oxonhutch]

It will be interesting what the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) come up with as the underlying cause but the barrier train did exactly what it was supposed to do and probably prevented deaths or serious injuries on the ground in the work site. Good use of belt and braces against, what I can only presume, was a perceived risk of incursion - or, more likely, worker excursion.

[PhilWakely]

From my very untrained eye, it looks to me that a set of points leading away from the platform from which the EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) was leaving had somehow been set so that the EMU went into the path of the engineering train

The points must have somehow been set between the time the EMU entered the platform and left it.