Great Western Coffee Shop

The freight train was pulling 38 wagons, when seven of them partially derailed

There are four photos on the Network Rail Twitter feed which show the situation

Is it my imagination, or do the front and back of that train disagree about whether they were going via the branch Loop?

Out of interest (and please forgive my lack of knowledge) how are derailments usually caused? Not asking anyone to speculate on this one, just interested.

GWR Journey Check; line not opening until 25th March.

Tickets booked online last night (National Rail) for 2 family members Newbury-Exeter and return on Sat (25th). Down on the 0859 ex-Newbury, back on 1802 ex-Exeter. I didn't know the booking was being done until I found the confirmation print-out.

Will this even run, or be diverted?

Splitting the facing points to the Branch Loop may indeed be a possible cause, but I'm not convinced that NR's 4 photos support this assertion any more than, for example, a track or wagon defect.  As BNM says, best to wait ....

and of course AIUI splitting the points is caused by the points moving with a train on them and you can imagine various causes of that including signalling error and mechanical failure.  And then various causes of those causes.

I expect that they will figure it out fairly soon, but as BNM says best to wait.

Tickets booked online last night (National Rail) for 2 family members Newbury-Exeter and return on Sat (25th). Down on the 0859 ex-Newbury, back on 1802 ex-Exeter. I didn't know the booking was being done until I found the confirmation print-out.

Tickets booked online last night (National Rail) for 2 family members Newbury-Exeter and return on Sat (25th). Down on the 0859 ex-Newbury, back on 1802 ex-Exeter. I didn't know the booking was being done until I found the confirmation print-out.

Imagine your tickets will be valid via Reading and Bristol. I would start out earlier from Newbury.

If not they ought to be!

Disruption between Taunton, Westbury and Weymouth

Disruption between Taunton, Westbury and Weymouth

Due to a derailed freight train, services between Taunton and Westbury, and Weymouth and Westbury are being delayed or cancelled, and replacement buses are running on some routes.

Disruption is expected until at least until Saturday 25th March.

Several de-railed wagons are still full of stone and sand, and engineers advise that a great deal of preparatory work has to be carried out prior to them being moved or scrapped on-site.

What is the impact on customers?

No GWR services are currently able to operate between Frome and Castle Cary.

Customers travelling on GWR High Speed services between London/Reading – Pewsey – Westbury – Castle Cary – Taunton – Devon/Cornwall will find that services are diverted away from the direct route via Castle Cary, normally resulting in extended journey times.  Fast services will generally divert via Swindon and Bristol, slower services will generally operate via Pewsey and then divert via Trowbridge and Bristol.  Some services will call additionally at Trowbridge.

Customers travelling on GWR local services between Bristol – Westbury – Frome – Castle Cary – Yeovil – Weymouth will find that Westbound services from the Bristol/Westbury direction will generally terminate at Frome. Customers at Frome for stations to Weymouth are to travel to Castle Cary by coach.

Customers travelling on local trains beyond Castle Cary will be able to use a special GWR shuttle train service operating between Castle Cary and Weymouth.

Customers at Westbury please travel via Bath and Bristol Temple Meads for Devon/Cornwall AND stations to London.

Customers at Castle Cary are to travel to Taunton by coach for Devon/Cornwall and Westbury by coach for onward train services to stations to London – please note that this is a much longer journey time.

If you are delayed or decide not to travel you may be entitled to some money back.

Please - Check your journey before travelling.

What are the changes to GWR Ticket Restrictions?

Customers due to travel on GWR services affected by this service disruption will be allowed greater ticket restriction flexibility for travel until the line is opened again.
- Customers holding Advance tickets may travel on any GWR departure on the date on the ticket to make their intended journey
- Customer holding Super Off-Peak or Off-Peak tickets may travel on any affected GWR departure, within the date validity of their ticket, to make their intended journey.

slower services will generally operate via Pewsey and then divert via Trowbridge and Bristol.  Some services will call additionally at Trowbridge.

Some great pics of the recovery operation taking place are being posted on the Network Rail Greater Western Twitter Feed:
https://twitter.com/networkrailwest

Some great pics of the recovery operation taking place are being posted on the Network Rail Greater Western Twitter Feed:
https://twitter.com/networkrailwest

We contacted GWR this evening (via FB messenger) and got a response within 10 mins. Apparently plan now is that line will re-open 10pm Friday :-)

Work continues to remove the derailed freight wagons in Somerset.  We plan to re-open the line from 22:00 Friday.

Network Rails twitter account also states 10pm Friday.

https://twitter.com/networkrailwest

Customer Advice
Arrangements previously made with South West Trains to convey passengers have now been withdrawn.
Arrangements previously made with Cross Country to convey passengers have now been withdrawn.
Arrangements previously made with First Bus route 10: Weymouth (King's Statue) - Upwey (Broadwey Methodist Church) - Dorchester West (Brewery Square), First Bus route 2: Weymouth (King's Statue) - Upwey (Broadwey Methodist Church), First Bus route 57: Yeovil Pen Mill (Station Approach) - Sherborne, Stagecoach bus route 49: Swindon (Bus Station) - Trowbridge (Town Bridge) and the buses of Somerset route 54: Taunton (Bus Station) - Yeovil (Bus Station) to convey passengers have now been withdrawn.

Now open, trains running at reduces speeds though, delays up to 10 minutes.


What a shame ... why can't we have a public transport system that routinely allows travel by any reasonable route?

I'll say it before the usual suspect does..........."Ooooooooos gonna pay for it?"  ;)

If it was all publicly run it would all be in the same pot. I'll run for cover now!

At around 17:50 hrs on Monday 20 March, six loaded wagons of an eastbound freight train became derailed as the train passed over East Somerset Junction, between Castle Cary and Frome, while travelling at about 20 mph (32 km/h). The train, the 17:05 hrs service from Merehead to Acton yard, was joining the up Westbury line from the Merehead single branch line.

There were no injuries. The accident resulted in substantial damage to the railway infrastructure; around 100 metres of track including two sets of switches and crossings were destroyed. Train services between London Paddington and the West Country were diverted via Swindon while the wagons were recovered and track repairs took place over the following four days.

The freight train consisted of a class 59 diesel-electric locomotive hauling 38 loaded wagons of types JNA, JHA, HOA and IIA. It was carrying stone from the Merehead quarries for use in the construction industry. The wagons that derailed were the 24th to 29th from the front of the train. The train split between the 21st and 22nd wagons when the derailment occurred, and the train was stopped by the automatic application of the brakes.

The leading wagon which derailed was of the HOA type. The derailment occurred close to where a set of trailing points had been removed and replaced by plain line in 2012.

Our investigation will identify the sequence of events that led to the accident, and how the wagons derailed. It will also include consideration of:
* the condition of the track, its geometry and how it was maintained
* how the wagons were loaded
* the condition of the wagons
* any relevant underlying management factors
Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry, the British Transport Police or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.

We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation. This report will be available on our website.

(https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/image_data/file/70045/s300_East_Somerset_Junction.jpg)

Summary

At about 17:49 hrs on Monday 20 March 2017, six wagons of a freight train carrying aggregates from Merehead Quarry to Acton Yard derailed at East Somerset Junction, between Westbury and Castle Cary. The accident blocked the Up Westbury line, and the train stopped when the brakes applied automatically following the parting of a coupling. There were no injuries.

The derailment occurred due to a loss of track integrity: the fixity of the right-hand rail was lost due to progressive failure of the chairscrews under the loads from freight trains traversing the curve, leading to gauge spread. The investigation identified that the design of the track was sub-optimal, following replacement of a set of points with plain line in 2010. The signs of gauge spread were not identified during inspections of the track by staff from Westbury track maintenance depot, and the section of line where the derailment occurred had not been subject to mandatory geometry measurements.

Recommendations

The RAIB has made four recommendations addressed to Network Rail. These cover enhancements to the company’s procedures for plain-lining of points, mitigation of risk at locations where points have previously been plain-lined, improvements to planning the operation of track measurement trains and evaluating the delivery of key track maintenance activities in the Westbury area.

The RAIB has also made a learning point, reinforcing the importance of identifying gauge spread on sections of curved track which may be subject to high lateral loads.

I unknowed that fixity was a word.