Mass disruption due to flooding - December 2012

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Devon main line reopened after flooding


Network Rail said its engineers "worked tirelessly through the Christmas holiday period" to repair the track after the flooding

The main railway line connecting the South West to the rest of England has reopened after closing for a week due to flooding. The line was blocked between Tiverton Parkway and Exeter St David's when the River Exe swamped Cowley Bridge Junction on Saturday. Passengers endured severe disruption as buses replaced trains.

Network Rail reopened the line on Friday afternoon after repairs and said a normal service would resume. The company said its engineers "worked tirelessly through the Christmas holiday period" to repair the track. Plastic dams protected signalling at Cowley Bridge where workers have been replacing ballast, which was washed away, from under the tracks.

Some branch line services in Devon and Cornwall are still closed.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We have learned some lessons from the flooding in November and done some things differently. There's nothing that we could do to prevent the River Exe bursting its banks and causing the track damage - but we have done some things proactively to minimise damage to the signalling."

In Devon, the Barnstaple to Exeter branch line remains closed.


The track was damaged following heavy rain

Ballast has been washed out in several locations and the line is not expected to open until after New Year's Day.

Network Rail said it did not have a date for the reopening of the Exeter to Exmouth branch line. It closed after parts of the line were flushed out by heavy rain at Lympstone.

In Cornwall the Liskeard to Looe branch line remains closed but is under repair and Network Rail said it hoped to reopen the line within the next few days.

Services between Par and Newquay are operating on a reduced timetable.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From ThisIsDevon:

Update: Trainline between Exeter and Taunton reopens

The Exeter and Taunton line has now reopened and a normal service will now resume.

​Some long overdue good news came to South West train users on Thursday evening with the announcement that services between Exeter and Taunton will start running again at 12pm on Friday - 18 hours ahead of schedule. The service had been affected because the River Exe burst its banks and caused damage to the track.

Network Rail have said that the use of temporary dams (see video) are to thank for the quick recovery. A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We have learned some lessons from the flooding in November and done some things differently. There's nothing that we could do to prevent the River Exe bursting its banks and causing the track damage ^ but we have done some things proactively to minimise damage to the signalling.

"In November it took three or four days to fix the track where the ballast had washed away, but nearly three weeks to repair the damage to the signalling equipment. This time we used temporary dams to divert the flow of the water away from the lineside signaling equipment. This is the first time this technology has ever been used on the railway in Britain and it seems to have helped contain the damage well so far.

"We also removed some of the lineside signaling equipment such as the point operating equipment at Cowley Bridge Junction and stored it in a dry place so that it can be reinstalled undamaged after the water's gone down.

"We've also been working closely with the Met Office and the Environment Agency to keep up to date with the predicted river levels.

"A lot of network operations people have worked tirelessly through the Christmas holiday period when they hadn't planned to, restoring the railway as quickly as possible."

[TonyK]

From FGW^▸ (First Great Western) on Twitter:

Services are now able to run to/from Exmouth. Delays of up to 15mins due to speed restrictions. This is due to earlier flooding.

[grahame]

17:55 London Paddington to Penzance due 23:14 This train will call additionally at Tiverton Parkway.
This is due to an unusually large passenger flow.

 

Lots of people drove up from Cornwall and Devon to Parkway while the trains were suspended, and now want to get back home?

[TonyK]

17:55 London Paddington to Penzance due 23:14 This train will call additionally at Tiverton Parkway.
This is due to an unusually large passenger flow.

 

Lots of people drove up from Cornwall and Devon to Parkway while the trains were suspended, and now want to get back home?

Taking the car as hand luggage, maybe?

[Super Guard]

Only thing amiss were the recorded announcements. They were struggling to keep up with the delays, cancellations and platform alterations. What would have been useful here were local announcements, ideally a system like that used on the Underground were platform staff use a microphone patched in direct to the PA^▸ (Public Address). That way platform staff would have been able to shout the necessary "Please allow people to disembark before attempting to board", "Please stand back", "Please keep access to the stairways clear" and so on. All of those announcements were needed.

I had the joy of terminating at Taunton last Saturday and was told by station staff when I arrived they had a problem making the manual PA announcements at the station.

[bobm]

Well I got through on the 17:41 from Newton Abbot and alighted at Westbury.  No problems - service was a few minutes late at NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains) but didn't lose anymore en route.

Service was not too heavily loaded.

Fingers crossed the return tomorrow morning is as good.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

More Dorset and Devon landslips amid further rain

Coastguards have been dealing with a number of landslips and mudslides in Dorset and Devon as more rain falls across the region.

In Lyme Regis, a beach chalet has been left dangling over the edge of a cliff following land movement.

Parts of the beach in Charmouth has seen cliff falls and mudslides while a section of coastal path in Portland is "particularly vulnerable".

Cliffs in Swanage are continuing to move, putting beach huts at risk.

Warning signs were put in place in the town after two landslips just over a week ago.

Simon Dennis, from Portland Coastguard, said: "The current weather means water is draining from land very rapidly, causing a layer to form in cracks on cliffs. Large sections of our coast are now very vulnerable to movement, and even in drier weather, any sharp frost would bring expansion behind sections of cliff causing further falls. Areas of mudslide are prone to drying out and forming a crust. Although these may look solid, they will not support a person's weight."

Charlotte Blackman, 22, from Heanor, Derbyshire, died on 24 July after the 160ft (49m) high cliff above her collapsed on to Hive Beach near Burton Bradstock.

Five people escaped unhurt after a landslide on 8 August between Charmouth and Golden Cap.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Met Office: More heavy rain and wind expected

A warning of heavy rain and strong winds overnight for Devon and Cornwall has been issued.

The Met Office has released a yellow warning, indicating there could be flooding and disruption in some areas. It said the most persistent heavy rain was likely to affect areas of high ground in western parts exposed to the very strong south-westerly winds.

The Environment Agency has 17 flood warnings in place across the two counties. The flood warning on the River Cober in Helston, Cornwall, has been in place since Christmas Eve.

On Saturday four new flood warnings were issued for Devon by the Environment Agency. It said flooding was expected around the River Teign between Chudleigh and Kingsteignton. The agency has also issued warnings for the River Dart from Buckfastleigh to Totnes and the River Torridge from Dolton to Bideford.

Branch line problems

A warning has been issued for the River Yarty from Yarcombe to Axminster, including Long Bridge, Case Bridge, Beckford Bridge and Yarty Bridge.

In Devon, the Barnstaple to Exeter branch line remains closed. It is not expected to reopen until after New Year's Day.

Network Rail said it did not have a date for the reopening of the Exeter to Exmouth branch line. It closed after parts of the line were flushed out by heavy rain at Lympstone.

In Cornwall, the Liskeard to Looe branch line remains closed but is under repair and Network Rail said it hoped to reopen the line within the next few days.

Services between Par and Newquay are operating on a reduced timetable.

[thetrout]

I'm on the 19:57 tonight from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) - PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains)... Wonder how successful that'll be...

[bobm]

The Exeter to Exmouth line is open albeit with a speed restriction. I know someone who travelled on it! 

[Chris from Nailsea]

Indeed - from First Great Western JourneyCheck:

Line problem: between Topsham and Exmouth.

Owing to flooding earlier between Topsham and Exmouth trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.

Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 15 mins or revised at short notice. Disruption is expected until 09:00 03/01.

Message Received: 30/12/2012 17:49

[thetrout]

Well at the moment I'm not going anywhere... Signal Failure between Liverpool Street and Aldgate... Been sat on the Westbound Platform for more than 15 minutes and seen several trains all heading eastbound!

[Chris from Nailsea]

From First Great Western JourneyCheck:

Line problem: between Swindon and Bristol Parkway.
Owing to a landslip between Swindon and Bristol Parkway, Bristol bound lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 35 mins at short notice. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.
South Wales bound trains will run on the other line between Swindon and Bristol Parkway or may divert via an alternative route with an extended journey time.
Message Received: 31/12/2012 13:28

[Chris from Nailsea]

Another update, from First Great Western JourneyCheck:

Line problem: between Topsham and Exmouth.
Owing to flooding earlier between Topsham and Exmouth trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.
Train services running through these stations are returning to normal but some services may still be delayed by up to 5 mins at short notice. Disruption is expected until 09:00 03/01.
Train services will continue to run at reduced speed over a bridge which suffered some damage during the recent flooding. However, the schedules for services on that line are such that they are resulting in only a very few minor delays.
Message Received: 31/12/2012 13:48