Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption elsewhere - ongoing, since Oct 2014

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Virtually every.......single.......day.

Yes, and talking with people in control they'll confirm that rarely a day goes by without *something* happening.  How much of this is a new situation, and how much is because we hear about it through modern communications?  And how much relates to the centralisation of activities - whereas you'll have reportable ongoing incidents daily at Swindon and via Didcot these days, were there the same number of incidents in the past just that they did not get wide visibility and went largely unnoticed by the signalman at Hullavington or Maiden Newton or Southall Goods Junction?

Things also seem to take far longer to fix - so appear more disruptive.  Is that because they really take longer by the time that specialists and specialist spares are brought in and modern health and safety considerations are taken into account, or because our electronic world spins faster and we feel the time taken more intensely?

[GBM]

Things also seem to take far longer to fix - so appear more disruptive.  Is that because they really take longer by the time that specialists and specialist spares are brought in and modern health and safety considerations are taken into account, or because our electronic world spins faster and we feel the time taken more intensely?

All due (in my non railway view) to H&S^▸ (Health and Safety) with line blocks.
That track is now surely more intensively utilised with the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express services, so scant time for repairs these days.  Increased freight usage as well?
Lack of experienced local maintenance crews, all being centralised.
Ageing track and overheads both needing a modern replacement.

[TaplowGreen]

........and another one.....


Alterations to services between Reading and London Paddington

Due to a speed restriction over defective track between Reading and London Paddington trains have to run at reduced speed on the London Paddington bound high speed line.

Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

[CyclingSid]

And to add to the "excitement"complete power failure at Reading Station about midday; no tickets, barriers open, no passenger information. Apparently longer queue to buy tickets at Paddington.

[Mark A]

Photos turned up on x twitter of a broken rail (or two??) (and more) on GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) infrastructure.

https://twitter.com/littl_eengine/status/1728713418096689321

... with a reference down thread to the redundancy of high output track renewal outfits from April 2024.

Mark

[TaplowGreen]

Photos turned up on x twitter of a broken rail (or two??) (and more) on GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) infrastructure.

https://twitter.com/littl_eengine/status/1728713418096689321

... with a reference down thread to the redundancy of high output track renewal outfits from April 2024.

Mark

That is frankly frightening and as has been posted here and elsewhere GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)/NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have been extremely lucky that so far there haven't been worse consequences.....to say nothing of the customers.

Surely H & S should be all over this?

[Mark A]

No details or provenance to the two separate photos, mind...

Mark

[BBM]

Bad news for tomorrow morning:

Disruption to Great Western Railway services between Reading and London Paddington expected until 10:00 on Monday 27 November

Urgent repairs to the track between Reading and London Paddington means some lines will be blocked. As a result of this, trains may be cancelled or delayed.

Disruption is expected until 10:00 on Monday 27 November.

Customer Advice:

A Track Circuit Failure means some lines between Reading and London Paddington will be blocked on Monday 27 November.

Ticket acceptance is in place with the following train operators:

Chiltern Railways from Oxford to London Marylebone. 

London Underground from London Marylebone and London Waterloo to London Paddington.

South Western Railway from Reading to London Waterloo.

[TaplowGreen]

Bad news for tomorrow morning:

Disruption to Great Western Railway services between Reading and London Paddington expected until 10:00 on Monday 27 November

Urgent repairs to the track between Reading and London Paddington means some lines will be blocked. As a result of this, trains may be cancelled or delayed.

Disruption is expected until 10:00 on Monday 27 November.

Customer Advice:

A Track Circuit Failure means some lines between Reading and London Paddington will be blocked on Monday 27 November.

Ticket acceptance is in place with the following train operators:

Chiltern Railways from Oxford to London Marylebone. 

London Underground from London Marylebone and London Waterloo to London Paddington.

South Western Railway from Reading to London Waterloo.

Something of an update - interesting mixed message on timings but "blocked until further notice" doesn't bode well.

Given that this is virtually a daily event these days on one of the busiest rail corridors in the country, I wonder if at some point Hopwood/GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) will make some sort of statement to their customers as to what's to be done about the situation and what sort of a service they can expect going forward?

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington
Due to urgent repairs to the track between Reading and London Paddington some lines will be blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 10:00 27/11.

Customer Advice
Due to a urgent track repairs some lines between Reading and London Paddington are blocked until further notice.

[Mark A]

Bad news for tomorrow morning:

Disruption to Great Western Railway services between Reading and London Paddington expected until 10:00 on Monday 27 November

Urgent repairs to the track between Reading and London Paddington means some lines will be blocked. As a result of this, trains may be cancelled or delayed.

Disruption is expected until 10:00 on Monday 27 November.

Customer Advice:

A Track Circuit Failure means some lines between Reading and London Paddington will be blocked on Monday 27 November.

Ticket acceptance is in place with the following train operators:

Chiltern Railways from Oxford to London Marylebone. 

London Underground from London Marylebone and London Waterloo to London Paddington.

South Western Railway from Reading to London Waterloo.

Also, this photo. That presumably given the opportunity might be capable of causing a track circuit failure.

Mark

https://twitter.com/littl_eengine/status/1728793727118807397

[IndustryInsider]

Virtually every.......single.......day.

What has happened to the infrastructure between Paddington & Reading? Does anyone know if it's being addressed?

It's a bit of a shame, but the number of industry insiders posting on here has dwindled away over the years.  Several reasons for that, but there seems to be only really 'Electric Train' and myself left now, plus the odd post from 'a-driver'.  After over 15 years of posting on here, my own enthusiasm for answering questions is dwinding, especially when I consider how many people are likely to read it against the time involved in researching the detail and writing a reply.

Regarding your question above, it might be worth asking GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)/NR^» (Network Rail - home page) directly.  Or you could try signing up to railforums where there is a more even balance between those that work in the industry and enthusiasts/interested members of the public?

[grahame]

It's a bit of a shame, but the number of industry insiders posting on here has dwindled away over the years ...

Personal message sent, and I am noting this in a moderator's thread.  Your inputs and others from the industry ARE hugely appreciated and perhaps that's not said enough ... and we do still have a substantive number of none-member reads of public posts. I suspect you're read a lot more than you think but, yes, this all takes time.

[GBM]

It's a bit of a shame, but the number of industry insiders posting on here has dwindled away over the years.  Several reasons for that, but there seems to be only really 'Electric Train' and myself left now, plus the odd post from 'a-driver'.  After over 15 years of posting on here, my own enthusiasm for answering questions is dwinding, especially when I consider how many people are likely to read it against the time involved in researching the detail and writing a reply.

As a non railway person, I have always appreciated the more technical replies from 'the workers'!
Thank you so much to all the "insiders" for their time and effort - greatly appreciated.

[GBM]

As a non railway person, I have always appreciated the more technical replies from 'the workers'!
Thank you so much to all the "insiders" for their time and effort - greatly appreciated.

Not forgetting the occasional post from Ollie who changed hats within GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)/FGW^▸ (First Great Western).

[Mark A]

Paul Clifton via Twitter: he's prepared something on the broken rails issue for TV tonight, presumably on the local news.

Mark