Problems with the Night Riviera sleeper - December 2014 onwards

[whole diary]

[Palfers]

Looking at rtt I reckon the sleeper will be ten fifteen minuets late leaving penzance as the 57 ain't due back from st blazey until 2150

[bobm]

Spot on!

21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:23

This train will be starting late from Penzance and is expected to be 30 minutes late.
This is due to an earlier broken down train.

Further Information :
The sleeper locomotive was required to remove a broken-down freight train which was blocking the main line at Par earlier this evening. As a consequence this train will be running approximately 30 minutes late.


Message Received :26/01/2015 21:51

 Time Destination
 21:45  Penzance  22:15
 21:55  St Erth  22:25
 22:08  Camborne  22:38
 22:16  Redruth  22:46
 22:29  Truro  22:59
 22:47  St Austell  23:17
 22:57  Par  23:27
 23:09  Bodmin Parkway  23:39
 23:25  Liskeard  23:55
 23:55  Plymouth  00:25
 00:24  Totnes  00:54
 00:37  Newton Abbot  01:07
 01:06  Exeter St Davids  01:36
 01:42  Taunton  02:12
 04:00  Reading  04:30
 05:23  London Paddington  05:53

[Palfers]

Spot on!

21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:23

This train will be starting late from Penzance and is expected to be 30 minutes late.
This is due to an earlier broken down train.

Further Information :
The sleeper locomotive was required to remove a broken-down freight train which was blocking the main line at Par earlier this evening. As a consequence this train will be running approximately 30 minutes late.


Message Received :26/01/2015 21:51

 Time Destination
 21:45  Penzance  22:15
 21:55  St Erth  22:25
 22:08  Camborne  22:38
 22:16  Redruth  22:46
 22:29  Truro  22:59
 22:47  St Austell  23:17
 22:57  Par  23:27
 23:09  Bodmin Parkway  23:39
 23:25  Liskeard  23:55
 23:55  Plymouth  00:25
 00:24  Totnes  00:54
 00:37  Newton Abbot  01:07
 01:06  Exeter St Davids  01:36
 01:42  Taunton  02:12
 04:00  Reading  04:30
 05:23  London Paddington  05:53

Nice to see journey check giving and explanation as why it will be running late which is clear and understandable and to the point. Not like this 'train will be starting late due to an earlier broken down train'. Is it me or is journey check explaining problems better now?

[grahame]

04:00  Reading  04:30
05:23  London Paddington  05:53

Very pessimistic ... I think it may pick up a minute or two there ...

[Palfers]

Lets wait and see. It's got leave pz first!!

[LiskeardRich]

Did the depot 08 get an outing with the coaches this evening? From RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) it appears the loco went straight to penzance station, so assuming the coaches were there waiting?

[LiskeardRich]

04:00  Reading  04:30
05:23  London Paddington  05:53

Very pessimistic ... I think it may pick up a minute or two there ...

Realtimetrains is now showing expected arrival time at paddington as 05:09.

[grahame]

04:00  Reading  04:30
05:23  London Paddington  05:53

Very pessimistic ... I think it may pick up a minute or two there ...

Realtimetrains is now showing expected arrival time at paddington as 05:09.

For the record, arrived 05:19 - which is exactly as scheduled in the working timetable.

[TaplowGreen]

...........just out of interest, why was a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) loco used to move a failed freight train, thus jeopardising/delaying passenger services?

Surely freight operators are obliged to have some sort of "rescue" arrangement in place when this happens? What would have happened if the Class 57 had failed as a result? (they often seem to fail without any "help" of this kind!!!)

[bobm]

Pragmatic response I would suggest.  With no other loco nearby it was in FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s interests to shift the freight as their services were being heavily delayed.

The alternative would have been to sit back, do nothing and wait for the freight to moved by a more distant loco and pick up compensation to pass onto their delayed customers.

[Ollie]

...........just out of interest, why was a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) loco used to move a failed freight train, thus jeopardising/delaying passenger services?

Surely freight operators are obliged to have some sort of "rescue" arrangement in place when this happens? What would have happened if the Class 57 had failed as a result? (they often seem to fail without any "help" of this kind!!!)

I believe a loco was sent from Westbury - although there was a broken down freight in Westbury area too, so not sure if that slowed the freight company response or not. For the Par issue, I believe it was just a case of our loco was the quickest way of getting the freight off of the main line so normal running could be introduced.

[Kernowman]

It helpfully works both ways, as a 66 has been summoned to rescue the sleeper in the past. 

[a-driver]

I would be surprised if DBS^» (Deutsch Bahn Schenker - UK^▸ (United Kingdom) website) (the freight company) aren't invoiced by FGW^▸ (First Great Western) for the use of the locomotive to rescue the freight train.  DBS would have obviously agreed to it beforehand.

There's a video on YouTube if anyone is that interested!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ems9LeMTgE

[Super Guard]

Regardless of the loco situation, 1C86 is also worked by the sleeper driver/guard from Exeter to PZ, so a delay to this service could also delay the sleeper.

[Palfers]

The sleeper failed again tonight on the up got as far as long rock according to journey check. Think it's now normall hst left at 23.30 don't know much more than that but clearly did not get far at all. The only good thing I suppose is that they were not very far from assistance!!