Mass disruption due to flooding - December 2012

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Knock on effect is to have delayed the Gloucester - Southampton service calling at Melksham. That one was left waiting at Chippenham for the single line to clear.

Which then had another knock on effect according to SW Trains Journeycheck

07:50 Salisbury to Romsey due 09:03
This train has been delayed at Salisbury and is now 10 minutes late.
This is due to congestion caused by earlier delays.

Additional Information:
This train has been delayed following a late running First Great Western service.
 
Message Received :27/11/2012 08:10

[Super Guard]

From what I can see 1C92 Golden Hind 1803-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PZ will call PAD-RDG^‡(resolve)-EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) (via Yeovil) and then as booked to PZ an hour later than originally timed.  I don't know if a Pullman will be on it though.

[bobm]

Might depend if the 10:00 PNZ to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) and the 12:55 PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains)-PAD run through as they usually bring the crews and equipment up.

[ray951]

The flooding in the Hinksey Yard area between Radley and Oxford is now affecting the running lines. 5mph ESR^▸ (Emergency Speed Restriction ) on the up line but still line speed on the down at the moment.

Services to/from Oxford are starting to be cancelled....

I have just been though there and we certainly weren't at line speed on the down, although that may of course been because of congestion:-)

[bobm]

The first of many such stories I expect... 

From the Swindon Advertiser.

Swindon mum trapped for seven hours on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) train

A MUM-of-two has spoken of her ^journey from hell^ after she was trapped on a non-moving train for almost seven hours, as the horrendous weather struck services.
 
When Hannah Strange, of Haydon End, jumped on a train at Gloucester at 4.20pm yesterday, she expected to be home in Swindon within an hour.
 
Instead, a chain of events ^ including a broken-down train on the line near Kemble ^ meant that she didn^t reach the town until past 11pm.
 
The 27-year-old said the service was already running nine minutes late when she boarded, but things were about to get much worse ^ as both the 1321 and 1421 Swansea to Paddington services were severely hit.
 
She said: ^Somewhere between Gloucester and Stonehouse there was a weather warning on the line which meant we stopped for around an hour.
 
^This annoyed me as I was meeting a friend and I had things to sort out for my children^s day at school the next day, but I told myself ^it^s only an hour^.
 
^When we finally got moving, the train was absolutely crawling along and then we stopped again, because the train in front had broken down on the tracks.
 
^After another two hour wait, First Great Western decided to couple the two trains together and push the other train along.^
 
The full-time student described her journey as a ^very frightening experience^, adding: ^It was the journey from hell ^ the train was moving slowly but jolting fiercely all the time, and when we turned corners the train leant heavily to one side.
 
^The atmosphere in the carriage was very edgy and there were people on board who obviously suffered from panic attacks, they were just desperate to get off the train.
 
^At Kemble station we were delayed once more while they got the train off the tracks ^ it was madness, we could see the station but we weren^t allowed to get off the train because we weren^t near the platform.
 
^One guy could actually see his house from the train and we were just stuck there for another two or three hours, it was crazy.
 
^I missed my bus home and had to get a taxi ^ I will be applying for a refund, but I just wish I could get that wasted time back.^
 
A spokesman for First Great Western said: ^We are extremely sorry for the unacceptable delay faced by passengers on the 1321 and 1421 Swansea to Paddington services yesterday.
 
^As well as offering a full refund to all customers on board those trains, we will be giving them a free First Class ticket for anywhere on our network by way of an apology.
 
^The delays we're initially caused by a series of flood-related signal problems compounded by a train fault.
 
^The flooding situation meant we couldn^t get the trains moving as quickly as we should have.^
 

[bobm]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) now reporting a landslip at Teignmouth is affecting services.

Owing to a landslip between Dawlish and Newton Abbot Exeter Bound lines are blocked.
Impact:
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 60 mins at short notice. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.
Customer Advice:
Problem
There has been a landslip at Teignmouth
Problem
At this time it is unknown what trains can run in the area
Advice
Passengers are advised that a limited service is being sourced which will incur some delays. Passengers are advised that coaches are now running to cover stations between Exeter St David's and Newton Abbot
National Rail Enquiries - 0845 7 484950 (24 hours)
 Message Received :27/11/2012 13:51

Meanwhile The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) are quoting Network Rail as saying repairs at Cowley Bridge could take 10 to 14 days.

[swrural]

I've just seen an interview on ITV (W) where the engineer - at the Cowley site -says Thursday!!

In this case a reporter has finally struggled down there to make a report.

[broadgage]

From what I can see 1C92 Golden Hind 1803-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PZ will call PAD-RDG^‡(resolve)-EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) (via Yeovil) and then as booked to PZ an hour later than originally timed.  I don't know if a Pullman will be on it though.

I rather doubt it
The first reaction of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to even minor disruption is to withdraw Pullmans, so I cant imagine dining being provided during the present disruption.
Maybe next week ?
Anyone know for certain ?

[old original]

I think the two estimated repair times at Cowley Bridge are down to the track being done in a few days enabling trains to run, but the repairs to all the signalling which will allow normal running, will take longer.

[IndustryInsider]

The flooding in the Hinksey Yard area between Radley and Oxford is now affecting the running lines. 5mph ESR^▸ (Emergency Speed Restriction ) on the up line but still line speed on the down at the moment.

Services to/from Oxford are starting to be cancelled....

I had a few hours spare today so managed to get down to Hinksey to show what the flooding is like there.  Here's some pictures of the railway lines, where ESR's are in place but trains are just able to run.  The NR^» (Network Rail - home page) guys seem particularly concerned with the spot where water is bubbling up quite badly (see the picture where they are watching carefully!).










That's the access road to Hinksey Yard!

Here's a few pictures of the River Thames and the Abindgdon Road (which is currently closed).  Levels of flooding seem to be slightly worse than they were in 2007, but work on drainage by the railway lines means that it has to get worse than it used to for the trains to be stopped - not much worse than it currently is though, so fingers crossed!


A brave cyclist!






The boat is moored by what should be the edge of the river!

[Tim]

from NRE^‡(resolve):

"The line between Tiverton Parkway and Exeter St Davids is expected to reopen tomorrow, but this is still to be confirmed"

That is impressively quick work guys!

[broadgage]

If the line between Tiverton and Exeter does reopen as is hoped for tommorow, will that permit of through services between Paddington and Penzance ? or are there there other closures furthur west ?

[swrural]

Here's a link to a Cowley bridge video report that is very well produced (in contrast to some comments I made earlier).

http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/update/2012-11-27/engineers-working-solidly-to-repair-rail-network/?

[bobm]

From what I can see 1C92 Golden Hind 1803-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PZ will call PAD-RDG^‡(resolve)-EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) (via Yeovil) and then as booked to PZ an hour later than originally timed.  I don't know if a Pullman will be on it though.

From Journeycheck

18:03 London Paddington to Penzance due 00:17 This train will call additionally at Westbury and Castle Cary.
This train will no longer call at Yeovil Junction.
This is due to flooding. Message Received :27/11/2012 18:27

So which way is it going I wonder?  The timings show it right time throughout.

18:03 18:03 London Paddington 
18:33 18:33 Reading 
 19:15 Westbury 
 19:29 Castle Cary 
19:49 Not Stopping Yeovil Junction 
21:19 21:19 Exeter St Davids 
21:39 21:39 Newton Abbot 
21:52 21:52 Totnes 
22:23 22:23 Plymouth 
22:48 22:48 Liskeard 
23:02 23:02 Bodmin Parkway 
23:14 23:14 Par 
23:22 23:22 St Austell 
23:40 23:40 Truro 
23:52 23:52 Redruth 
00:17 00:17 Penzance 

[JayMac]

I plumped for one of the rail replacement coaches (RRC), operating on behalf of CrossCountry, from Bristol to Taunton earlier today.

Coming in off the branch I just missed a XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) HST^▸ (High Speed Train) that was running to Taunton before reversal, so I made my way through the underpass and quickly popped up the stairs to P3. The Customer Information office was closed but there were plenty of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) staff around the gateline. I'd only purchased a ticket from Shirehampton to Bristol TM^‡(resolve) just in case things changed - besides, for an Off Peak Day Single the split is slightly cheaper. I headed back down the stairs turned left into the undercroft to see a queue already waiting for an XC coach. I popped to the front to ask the RRC coordinator how long before the next coach. He replied that one was due any minute. I said that I'd just come off the branch and hadn't yet got my ticket to Taunton as I wanted to check the situation before deciding to travel further. His reply was, "Don't worry Sir, just hop onboard, have this one on CrossCountry!"

Thanks CrossCountry. 

As it turned out the coach driver decided on the A370 through Flax Bourton, Backwell and Congresbury before joining the M5 at J21. Because of this my journey took just as long as the FGW stopper to Taunton that left Bristol around the same time as the coach.

I have to say though that FGW should have a member of staff in the main subway. Signs pointing to RRCs are all well and good, but they don't give any further information or reassurance. It was left to passengers in the queue for the coach to inform the unsure that they were in the right place for a coach to Taunton, Tiverton or Exeter. Perhaps FGW thought that because the coaches were operating on behalf of XC it was their responsibility. The only member of XC staff there was the coach coordinator.