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4726
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / Campaigns for new and improved services / Re: Campaign to reopen Didcot to Southampton railway
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on: July 08, 2014, 18:15:30
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...the mood at the meeting was generally supportive.
There were fifteen people there, and they were generally supportive... I agree - unless they were 15 engineers, transport experts, Southampton dock directors and folks of that ill, it hardly augurs well. The cause will not have been advanced. Building alongside the A34 may be feasible - Manchester's excellent Metrolink extension to the airport, soon to open over a year early, follows a motorway for part of its length. So it is worth these enthusiasts, these few, this band of brothers, working up plans. Given the learned comments on these pages, though, their efforts may serve only to show that cheaper alternatives are available. The problem is capacity for freight from a growing Southampton port, not enabling a few passengers to travel from Oxford to Winchester without passing through Basingstoke. Electrification between Bristol Parkway and Birmingham will surely come one day. It may have no effect on this argument, though. |
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4727
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture Overseas / Re: Train crash at Br^tigny-sur-Orge, near Paris - multiple fatalities - 12 July 2013
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on: July 07, 2014, 22:01:19
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To clarify: A year after the disaster, the conclusions of reports commissioned by the judges in charge of the investigation are instructive for the SNCF▸ and its maintenance procedures.
Findings:
Rail disaster 12 July 2013 last Bretigny-sur-Orge (Essonne), which killed seven people and wounded thirty, is definitely due to a maintenance problem. It is telling that the railway and metallurgical expertise has procured reports whivh Le Figaro and the prosecutor Evry shall make public on Monday. In these extremely severe reports for the SNCF, sent to judges on June 25, expert engineers (Court of Appeal of Douai) and Pierre Michel Dubernard Henquenet note that "metallurgical examinations were made possible to establish that we are not in the presence of a malicious act, and the process that led to the complete disintegration of the assembly is quite the opposite over several months and involved the entire assembly failing, from which were recorded over 200 anomalies of varying degrees of criticality. Most of these abnormalities were known from the railway company or its agents, but were not adequately remedied. The conclusion of the experts is final and evokes "dilapidation never seen elsewhere." He added: "imfrastructure perished by fatigue, vibration, beat, defects tightening, wear, etc.. Damages relating to the quality of maintenance. "
Number 3657 Intercity train consisted of seven cars Reef. There were 385 passengers on board. The train had left the Gare d'Austerlitz to 16 h 53. At 17 h 11, as it prepared to cross Br^tigny station vi platform 1, passengers felt a shock when crossing a double junction crossing . The train derailed and separated into two parts between cars 4 and while traveling at 137 km / h. the authorized speed limit on this road being 150 km / h. Due to the state of the network, the experts appointed by the judges noted in their report that "it would be desirable to limit to 100 km / hour speed trains approaching the station Br^tigny."
Inadequate monitoring network
It further notes that "current maintenance requirements" for sleepers at double junctions are "inadequate because insufficient." Currently, SNCF dismantles the spliced connections to check every three years because they are classified as "comfort items". Experts advise strongly to dismantle every year to inspect. According to them, the tour audits on channels should lead agents to "the immediate compliance", which is not the case today. The network status Br^tigny "would logically have led the SNCF to increased surveillance, and especially adapted," they write.
Experts are clearly involved in the railway maintenance organization: "There is also important to say that the SNCF staff responsible for implementation of track maintenance and equipment should be chosen according to the first criteria for solid training in engineering and in addition have received extensive specialized training. "an allusion to the youth of the agent who made the last inspection tour July 4, 2013, eight days before the accident. It was a railwayman 25, freshly graduated from an engineering school. In February 2013, he became leader of nearby lanes Br^tigny. He framed 19 agents responsible ways to do maintenance on the rail network in the industry. At the last inspection, no abnormality was reported.
Abnormalities inadequately considered
"The maintenance requirements of the SNCF, complex, difficult to interpret or apply by field workers were not fully met (...). This has led to a lack of consideration and processing of errors encountered; It should be noted in this regard that many observations made during the monitoring tours found themselves carried from one operation to another, sometimes to eventually disappear without us was sure they were treated . "And experts conclude by holding the top three factors that led to the accident by improper maintenance" repositories large maintenance superabundant, sometimes inadequate or contradictory so against-productive. "
Finally judicial engineers who conducted the inspection lane January 28 rounds alert on the status of network station of Noisy-le-Sec (Seine-Saint-Denis). They consider disturbing. I speak French, but have used Google Translate for speed, tidied up to make sense for the the first half of the article. I'll translate further, as time allows, but the gist is that it was a Potters Bar incident, down to poor inspection and maintenance. I don't think the report was to allocate blame, the tenor of the report being largely similar to that of a report by the AAIB▸ or RAIB▸ - what happened, why it happened, what should be done to stop it happening again. There is reference to the judicial process, something which would not happen in the UK▸ , although the relevant inspector could be summonsed to the criminal court proceedings, and indeed to any civil proceedings for damages. We do not have les ing^nieurs judiciaires or judicial engineers in the UK, and therefore rely on legal experts to listen to two sides of the argument about what went wrong. We find it common for everyone to blame everyone else at time like this, unlike the days before rail privatisation, when if it wasn't sabotage, it was down to British Rail. France has a similar dilemma, but it ends up as a decision as to which pocket gets dipped to pay for the repairs. J'offre mes condolednces aux familes touch^s par cet accident. C^tait vraiment tragique. |
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4728
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Journey by Journey / Cross Country services / Re: XC now on Twitter Properly
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on: July 06, 2014, 10:29:29
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Ah, the power of the interweb and Twitter!
My mum, in her 80s, has been visiting recently. She used to drive, but no longer feels confident over the 210 mile distance between us. She came with my sister, but announced her intention to stay on, and go home by train. This was to be something of a proving trip for future visitations, so had to go well.
I bought her a ticket via FGW▸ 's website from BRI» to BPN, leaving on XC▸ , then changing at BHM to VT▸ , and again at WGN to NT. With the help of Realtime Trains, I drew up a detailed itinerary,including seat reservations, station before destination, likely platform numbers, etc. On the first train, her reserved seat was in Coach J, so I guessed it was a double Voyager.
On the morning of departure, I watched Realtime trains with increasing alarm, as the train from Newquay heading to Dundee seemed to fail to register. The arrivals board at Par began to show it as late, the minutes count eventually reaching 86 late. Realtime trains, by this time, showed a new train from Plymouth at the same time as the doomed train was due to leave.
I needed information, so tweeted Cross Country. It was indeed a double Voyager, but one set had failed. They had uncoupled, and restarted the service with the surviving set from Plymouth. Mum's reserved seat on what was by now certain to be a crammed train was limping slowly through the Cornish countryside. XC's man on Twitter advised me to talk to staff at the station.
Cue FGW at Temple Meads, and some excellent customer service. The gate staff waved me through with mum, and directed me to the dispatcher on P5. I outlined the problem, he looked puzzled, because he was expecting a double Voyager. He radioed for information, and was initially told it was a double, but that was corrected within moments. "How did you know?" he asked me. I told him Realtime and Twitter, he remarked it was a fine state of affairs when the passengers know more about what is going on than the station staff. When the train arrived, he went to the train manager, then carried mum's luggage on board. The train was heaving as it pulled out, but mum was safe and sound in First Class. I tweeted both XC and FGW to thank them for their help.
You have to move with the times!
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4729
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All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Great Western Main Line electrification - ongoing discussion
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on: July 05, 2014, 10:27:34
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I would expect the additional services through Bristol Parkway to provide some relief to the South Wales services as well, particularly if they are faster by virtue of not stopping at Swindon or Didcot.
It's a faster route in any case. Then add in the faster acceleration and later braking times, and the service will be faster, even with stops at Swindon and Didcot. Given that this was all planned a few years ago, since when rail use has grown substantially, do we know if there are options for more (or longer) trains? |
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4731
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / Campaigns for new and improved services / Re: Portishead Line reopening for passengers - ongoing discussion
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on: June 30, 2014, 18:01:10
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As BNM has said 'level crossings are safe unless used in a unsafe manner
Erm ... that was CfN, not BNM.  BNM also said it, but later. Is the answer in Portishead to use vehicles similar to those in use in Edinburgh  That (ie tram/train) would be an ideal solution, but alas not on offer in the foreseeable future. Tram-train would open up the possibility of a town centre loop, or even a route to Clevedon. It will not be quick in coming, but the trick is to make provision for it now. We're in this mess of having a station out of the centre largely because that wasn't done when Quays Avenue etc was built. Anyone thought of lowering the road, and having the railway cross by bridge? St Lukes Road in Bedminster is my inspiration. |
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4736
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: Warning - Pedant alert
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on: June 16, 2014, 17:46:25
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Don't be too quick to judge me - I said that in love. Well, slight affection anyway.
It is only when you drive through Avonmouth and explore its side-streets that you realise how many people live there. Most have no direct connection to the port, other than it is on the doorstep. The port was the reason that some of the big industrial company like Commonwealth Smelting and that one that made carbon black for the tyre industry sprang up. Many have now gone, mainly overseas where wages and safety standards are lower, but the port area is left with this legacy of pollution, real or imagined. The town has the M5 above it, providing a 24/7 soundtrack, with the rumbling conveyor belt bringing coal from Portbury, and has now also had wind turbines dumped on it. So when someone goes to the council and says "I've got a money-making idea, but it attracts flies", Avonmouth is always going to get the gig ahead of Stoke Bishop.
I have been on cruises with Mrs FT, N!in the Caribbean, off California, and various round Europe and/or Africa jaunts. Few ports are things of beauty in themselves (although Funchal and Mykonnos are nice), but workaday conduits to bring goods and passengers in to spend their money further down the line. Avonmouth deserves better. But it won't get it.
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4739
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: Warning - Pedant alert
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on: June 08, 2014, 23:24:13
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Is it obligitory to hide one's means of identification on leaving that same area? And is it like the technical area in football, which is not really technical at all?
As a keen, if by no means expert, follower of Freud, I find that ID relates to a theory of Sigmund's:
"The id (German: Es) is the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains a human's basic, instinctual drives. Id is the only component of personality that is present from birth. It is the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives. The id contains the libido, which is the primary source of instinctual force that is unresponsive to the demands of reality. The id acts according to the "pleasure principle"^the psychic force that motivates the tendency to seek immediate gratification of any impulse^ defined as, seeking to avoid pain or unpleasure (not 'displeasure') aroused by increases in instinctual tension. If the mind was solely guided by the id, individuals would find it difficult to wait patiently at a restaurant, while feeling hungry, and would most likely grab food from neighbouring tables."
Do you need a special ticket to access the ID area? I can't wait to go back to Plymouth, where it seems I am on a promise - a free b*rg*r and a g**d sh*g (I'll settle for mediocre on either count, but onions on at least one).
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4740
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Re: Celeb spotting/photting on the rail network.
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on: June 08, 2014, 20:57:18
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I didn't meet Matt Smith, but I have been a bit of a Doctor Who fan since episode One with William Hartnell. So it was, on Christmas Day 2012, with Mrs FT, N! working, I sat down, glass in hand, to watch the Christmas special, having by this time forgotten all the cares of work, safe in the knowledge that three further days will pass before I need to be reminded of them again.  The Doctor is standing outside my office, about to pull a ladder from the sky. |
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