Great Western Coffee Shop

Caught the 11:45 Cross Country to Newcastle at Reading (http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C11586/2017/12/30/advanced). Left 8 min late after inaudible announcement. Held on Down Main outside Didcot, carried straight on through Didcot and stopped at signals just after points leading to Didcot Power Station, driver walked through train and we then went back and stopped at platform at Didcot and then went round west side of Didcot Railway Centre and 27 min late into Oxford. Any reason why couldn't go straight round west side of Railway Centre, without the Power Station shuffle (not a new dance!)

Driver's route knowledge?   Cross Country run a train every day by the route you describe to ensure that all of their drivers have that route knowledge.  Nor sure about the section from the platforms towards Oxford.

I think you answered your own question in the subject line.

If the points from DM to DR had failed at Didcot East, there is no other way to reach the DR to access the Oxford route - the only other way around the west of Didcot is through the higher numbered platforms. You can't get across from DM direct at Didcot West to the Oxford route, hence your travels.


That train is the 2145 off Reading.

Sorry - misread that.  You reversed TWICE ???

As does the XC service. It doesn't use the west curve, at least, noton the nights that I have been on it....

28 minutes late at Oxford, but early into Doncaster.  Just shows how much padding there is in the Southampton/Reading to Newcastle services.

It would ordinarily have gone via the Avoiding Line, not the station.

There is some work on points on the reliefs in Moreton Cutting in the EAS, scheduled to begin in about an hour's time. Has some of that been started early? It looks (if you believe RTT) as if most trains today got onto the mains, including the stoppers.

It is booked to use the West Curve, and does use it most nights if it is on-time. There is a situation where it can't use the West Curve and that is what happened with this train.

If the train reverses at Foxhall Junction on the Down Main, the West Curve is not accessible, therefore the train has to proceed into Didcot via the Didcot Relief Line and reverse again there. The train has to reverse on the Up Main in order to access the West Curve, obviously this causes disruption to services on the Up Main in unplanned scenarios like this. Similarly the 2145 Reading-Birmingham might get altered to reverse on the Down Main if there is disruption to services on the Up Main.

The points failure was at Didcot East Junction on the points which allow trains to travel between the Down Relief and the Up Relief, there was no detection at all at both ends. This resulted in no route between Didcot station and the Relief Lines and no access to the Down Avoiding Line.

Wouldn't XC drivers need route knowledge for this version of the route too?

There was a points failure at Didcot yesterday afternoon and into the evening.

Generally if you ‘sign’ a route, in this example Didcot Parkway to Foxhall Junction, you should be familiar with all possible moves, even those you may never have done.  A driver can always seek clarification with the signaller if unsure.