Great Western Coffee Shop

(GWR have switched off replies to their Twitter feed, so no more advice from that channel other than their own updates)

People can still tweet @GWRHelp as usual and should expect a response in the usual way. It's just the disruption tweet that can't be replied to. You have to start your own Twitter thread.

Whitehall must act on skills shortages – or see businesses driven into the ground

I remain of the opinion that penalties for this type of incompetent driving should be far more severe.

The driver of the truck should lose their licence for some years, except in the rather unlikely case of some exceptional extenuating circumstance.

The operator, or more realistically their insurers, should be liable for the full costs of delay minutes, compensation to passengers, surveyors fees, bridge repairs and other costs.
A few large payouts would concentrate the mind.

A lorry has collided with a railway bridge in Plymouth, causing damage to the bridge structure. The bridge has been examined by structural engineers and further inspections are needed during daylight hours on Monday 30 August.

The line between Plymouth and Totnes (in both directions) is currently closed and is expected to remain closed until at least early afternoon on Monday 30 August. Due to the damage sustained, there is a high likelihood that the line may be closed for longer.

Customer Advice

Train services between Newton Abbot and Plymouth are currently suspended and you are advised not to travel between these stations.

Train services are running between Plymouth and Penzance, between Exmouth, Exeter St Davids and Paignton, as well as between Exeter St Davids and London Paddington, although these services are subject to alteration.

There are currently no direct services between Cornwall and London in either direction.

Ivybridge station currently has no train service and no alternative road transport.

Replacement road transport

Extremely limited replacement road transport has been sourced to run between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth. Passengers are advised not to travel between these stations.


Night Riviera Sleeper Services

Due to the line between Newton Abbot and Plymouth being closed, our Sunday night sleeper train services are cancelled.

23:45 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids, Plymouth and Penzance.
21:45 Penzance to Plymouth, Exeter St Davids, and London Paddington

If you are booked onto our Night Riviera sleeper train services, please contact us on 0345 700 0125 or contact GWR customer services and social media online.

Tickets and refunds

If you are affected by this disruption, you are able to claim compensation for delays of 15 minutes or more.

Tickets dated for Sunday 30 August, can be instead be used for travel on either Monday 31 August, Tuesday 01 September or Wednesday 02 September.

Where services can operate, they are expected to be busier than normal. Please check before you travel to get the latest updates.

GWR train services on Tuesday 31 August 2021

Local stopping GWR train services will be available between Exeter St Davids and Totnes, with local stopping and high speed train services available between Plymouth and Penzance.

GWR train services between London Paddington, Exeter St Davids, Plymouth and Penzance, are running between London Paddington and Exeter St Davids only.

Due to the railway bridge damage, the line will remain closed on Tuesday 31 August between Totnes and Plymouth.

You are advised not to travel between Totnes and Plymouth on Tuesday 31 August, if travelling locally. If you are travelling over a longer distance you are advised not to travel between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth.

We have requested replacement road transport for journeys between Tiverton Parkway, Exeter St Davids and Plymouth and are awaiting confirmation. Journey times will be extended between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth and you may experience a wait for replacement road transport.

Latest from GWR website:

https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/live-network-updates/disruption-information


I think you are looking at the end of the week if they have to rip up the track and dig down to see what damage may be hidden. My, how many bridge strikes have we seen where it’s been a couple of hours closure and that was it…not this time  :(

Someone has got very confused about what days of the week we are talking about.

Oh gosh yes. If it had happened a year ago the dates would be correct. Can only think someone had last years calendar on their desk  ???

Very few road traffic collisions are true accidents, examples of these rare ones include.
Sudden collapse of man made structure into road, vehicles run into it.
Sudden fall of tree across road.
Sudden illness of driver.
Unforeseeable mechanical failure.

Customer Advice
A lorry has collided with a railway bridge in Plymouth, causing damage to the bridge structure. The bridge hasbeen examined by structural engineers and further inspections are needed during daylight hours on Tuesday 31August.
Only one of the 2 running lines is currently open and 1 train per hour in each direction can operate until further notice.Due to the damage sustained,there is a high likelihood that disruption will continue for longer. 

I was just wondering things like consequential losses claimable from the truck insurers.. I’m due to go to London tomorrow for my eldest step daughters birthday outing. I’m not ruining her birthday outing due to this so will likely drive from Cornwall to Exeter St David’s to pick up the train, seeing the rail replacement reporting lack of availability. I’ll now incur additional car parking costs (id have walked to my local station) and around 120 miles round trip of petrol as a result of this trucks negligence.
Obviously I wouldn’t dream of claiming off GWR, but what grounds would the truck company have to deny they caused my out of pocket costs by this incident. It isn’t worth claiming, purely hypothetical I’ll probably be £20 out of pocket at most. 

Cancellations to services between Plymouth and Totnes

Due to a lorry colliding with a bridge between Plymouth and Totnes all lines are closed.

Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day on 01/09/21.

Customer Advice

A lorry has collided with a railway bridge in Plymouth, causing damage to the bridge structure. The bridge hasbeen examined by structural engineers and further inspections are needed during daylight hours on Tuesday 31August.

Only one of the 2 running lines is currently open and 1 train per hour in each direction can operate until further notice. Due to the damage sustained, there is a high likelihood that disruption will continue for longer.

Customer Advice

A limited train service will be running between Plymouth and Newton Abbot and you are still advised not to travel between these stations.

Train services are running between Plymouth and Penzance, between Exmouth, Exeter St Davids and Paignton, as well as between Exeter St Davids and London Paddington, although these services are subject to alteration.

From my twitter feed -

... voussoirs ...

yep - the arch stones that hold the arch together....

7 concrete sleepers cracked plus 10 voussoirs with vertical & lateral displacement by 6 inches.

[/pedantmode=on/]

No gravity hold the arch together!  The voussoirs form the arch.  As an arch the ones on the outside are actually no more important than those on the inside, but are highly visible.  However the they do hold up the spandrel walls (the side walls of the bridge which have the parapet built on top), which retains the fill including the ballast.

[/pedantmode=off/]

Another example of how useful a diversionary route via Tavistock and Okehampton would be....Not all about the seawall!

Having said that, just suppose this incident had been west of the Tamar... what would be the alternative route in that case?

Losses from these events are very widely distributed, which makes it less likely those responsible will bear them in full.

Given the railways attitude to paying out for its customers consequential losses due to cancellation and delay, I wonder if they expect other companies to be more accommodating in these circumstances?

Looking at photos of today's incident, I can't work out how the spoiler-thingy with "Thermo King" on it survived, unless it was so flimsy that it was pushed back as it hit the bridge and then sprung back after it had cleared the other side.

Network Rail own Loss Adjusters will no doubt be talking the the vehicle owner regards insurance claim, however the claim is only likely to cover the repairs to the bridge and not the consequential losses of Network Rail revenue, that is the schedule 8 payments to the ToC and FoC these are capped anyway.   It is the ToC who deals with the passengers claims.

I do wonder if the driver of this HGV was a 'boil in the bag" HGV 2; the training course for HGV 2 is 4 days yep that's right if you have a full car driving licences and meet a few other criteria you can attend a 4 day course take the HGV 2 driving test and then get a job as multi drop driver the typical pay for these jobs is £29K 

If training is that quick and simple, and the wages  are as described, then why is there a shortage of such drivers ?

If training is that quick and simple, and the wages  are as described, then why is there a shortage of such drivers ?

Have you ever heard of a little thing called Brexit?

The road appears to be sloping upwards through the bridge…..snip

OTC

Yes, the road is VERY steep upwards under the bridge in the direction the truck was moving!  I guess the driver had ‘put his foot down’ having seen the gradient, hence making it worse.

Will say, from what I’m hearing from friends and family, GWR have put some work into sourcing replacement road transport.
A friend was at Plymouth station at 0515 this morning and was boarding a Pewsey Vale coach!  That’s a journey down from their coach depot of around 150 miles.

The sloping nature of the road under the bridge appears to be completely irrelevant to this incident because both bridge portals are quite clearly fitted with duplicate height restriction signs in both imperial & metric...unless of course the individual(s) who erected the signage took the measurement from the south portal and applied it to both sides of the bridge!

I think it would be a good idea for Network Rail to apply for a prohibition of any vehicles other than private motor cars (and motorcycles, scooters & bicycles obviously) from this section of road. Are they permitted to do that sort of thing?

Will say, from what I’m hearing from friends and family, GWR have put some work into sourcing replacement road transport.
A friend was at Plymouth station at 0515 this morning and was boarding a Pewsey Vale coach!  That’s a journey down from their coach depot of around 150 miles.

About the gradient…
The point I was trying to make was that the steep gradient might have prompted the driver to have been accelerating, hence entering the arch at pace and with momentum.
I walked past a short while ago, and workmen were busy erecting scaffolding.
Methinks this is not going to be quick!

But was the cat OK ?

Reopening Saturday
Report here

https://twitter.com/networkrailwest/status/1433841468796456961?s=21

I am impressed that the repairs were completed from BELOW. I was expecting that a section of the track would have to be removed to permit of access from above.
Network rail are not always as efficient as one might hope for, but praise when it is due.