2023 Delays and Cancellations

[whole diary]

[Worcester_Passenger]

05:23 Hereford to London Paddington due 08:24 will be diverted between Worcester Shrub Hill and Reading.
It will no longer call at Worcestershire Parkway Hl, Pershore, Evesham, Honeybourne, Moreton-In-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury, Hanborough and Oxford.
It has been delayed at Hereford and is now 54 minutes late.
This is due to a broken down train.
Last Updated:07/11/2023 06:27

07:01 Worcester Shrub Hill to Didcot Parkway due 08:45 has been delayed at Worcester Shrub Hill and is now 22 minutes late.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.
Last Updated:07/11/2023 08:14

No mention of 1P16 06:43 Shrub Hill - Paddington, held for 17 minutes at Norton Junction for westbound departmental train 3S31, running 23 late.

[Worcester_Passenger]

06:50 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 09:29 will be terminated at Worcester Foregate Street.
It will no longer call at Malvern Link and Great Malvern.
This is due to congestion.
Last Updated:08/11/2023 08:30

09:54 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 12:22 will be started from Worcester Foregate Street.
It will no longer call at Great Malvern and Malvern Link.
This is due to congestion.
Last Updated:08/11/2023 08:31

1P16 0643 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington departed Shrub Hill 15 late and was 21 late by Charlbury and 26 late into Paddington.
In consequence, 1W13 0650 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street was held at Wolvercote. 18 late at Charlbury and into Shrub Hill. It has a scheduled wait at Shrub Hill, so was only 7 late into Foregate Street.
The halts train, 2E80 0701 Worcester Shrub Hill to Didcot Parkway, was held at Charlbury and reached Oxford 20 late.
And behind that, train 1P18 0713 Great Malvern to London Paddington was also held at Charlbury and reached Oxford 16 late.

[Witham Bobby]

I don't imagine there's any chance of anything being done about the remaining single-line sections, at either end of the Wolvercote Junction to Norton Junction railway, but they really do need fixing.  One out-of-course train can still wreak as much havoc as it would have done in the days before the 2011 re-doubling of part of the line

[Richard Fairhurst]

The North Cotswold Line Task Force proposals envisage shortening the single line at each end - basically redoubling Wolvercot to Hanborough, and Evesham to Pershore. (I have my doubts that it'll happen.)

[Witham Bobby]

In terms of helping with regulation of trains, I'd think a short section of double line - wouldn't need to be much more that a train length - at both Wolvercot and Norton Junctions could be very useful, particularly if the junctions were doubled, too.  Meaning trains waiting for a path onto the single lines wouldn't have to stand in the way of trains heading towards Banbury from Oxford or towards Abbotswood from Worcester.

I suspect there's no money for this (even though it would have such benefits), any more than there's money to add any substantial distance to to the double-track milage that already exists

[Mark A]

it's surprising that that's not been standard practice on single line junctions with double track from the off. Perhaps it was that at the first, it wasn't envisaged that there'd be the density of traffic and the thinking didn't evolve. Though that hardly excuses locations where lines have been singled.

Mark

[grahame]

it's surprising that that's not been standard practice on single line junctions with double track from the off. Perhaps it was that at the first, it wasn't envisaged that there'd be the density of traffic and the thinking didn't evolve. Though that hardly excuses locations where lines have been singled.

Mark

Thinking about this from the time at which lines were singled - taking Thingley Junction as an example.

a) A crossover and single turnout has allowed the main line to be canted and so have its line speed raised

b) The line was run with a single line token.  If a trains could pass onto a short section of double track clear of the junction, there would need to be a way to get the token to the driver

c) With just a handful of trains a week down the single line, go for the cheapest option to install and maintain

d) A crossover then a single point to the branch provides for reversal of a train on the main line which a double junction would not

[Witham Bobby]

b) The line was run with a single line token.  If a trains could pass onto a short section of double track clear of the junction, there would need to be a way to get the token to the driver

It would need an auxiliary token instrument to be provided in a small hut in a convenient place for the driver to withdraw a token in cooperation with the signallers at each end of the section.  In fact, I think there was one at Thingley Jcn in the days of Bradford Junctions 'box working the single line with Swindon Panel

[ChrisB]

Meaning trains waiting for a path onto the single lines wouldn't have to stand in the way of trains heading towards Banbury from Oxford

The down relief is used for that purpose north of Oxford, such that trains heading north of Wolvercot use the Down Main to get past.

[grahame]

b) The line was run with a single line token.  If a trains could pass onto a short section of double track clear of the junction, there would need to be a way to get the token to the driver

It would need an auxiliary token instrument to be provided in a small hut in a convenient place for the driver to withdraw a token in cooperation with the signallers at each end of the section.  In fact, I think there was one at Thingley Jcn in the days of Bradford Junctions 'box working the single line with Swindon Panel

There might have been one there - though I have seen a video of a token being collected on the platform at Chippenham Station (in addition?)

[Witham Bobby]

I remember visiting Bradford Junctions box and giving the release for a token to be taken at the Swindon end of the single line.  What a great 'box to work!  And they couldn't get rid of it when they wanted to with the Westbury resignalling in 1985 - Westbury panel couldn't work to Swindon, Swindon couldn't work to Bristol at Bradford Jcn.  So until they worked out a way of knitting it all together, the box stayed.  An oasis.

[Witham Bobby]

11:52 London Paddington to Hereford due 14:41 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

Last Updated:09/11/2023 11:15

and, correspondingly:

15:18 Hereford to London Paddington due 18:29 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay
Last Updated:09/11/2023 11:15

[grahame]

I remember visiting Bradford Junctions box and giving the release for a token to be taken at the Swindon end of the single line.  What a great 'box to work!  And they couldn't get rid of it when they wanted to with the Westbury resignalling in 1985 - Westbury panel couldn't work to Swindon, Swindon couldn't work to Bristol at Bradford Jcn.  So until they worked out a way of knitting it all together, the box stayed.  An oasis.

The found a way of doing in in 1990, very sadly by closing the north side of the triangle at Bradford Junction so that it's no longer possible for a train to work from Melksham to Bath without reversing or making an extraordiarily long diversion (work it out   )

P.S. We may be off topic here - though we are on the very edge of The Cotswolds ... I think Lacock IS in The Cotswolds and the singleton's lin passes through there ...

[Worcester_Passenger]

15:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 18:26 has been cancelled.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.
Last Updated:09/11/2023 15:55

19:05 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 21:24 will be cancelled.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.
Last Updated:09/11/2023 15:56

[Richard Fairhurst]

15:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern due 18:26 has been cancelled.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.
Last Updated:09/11/2023 15:55

Whole host of people crammed onto the 2-coach Oxfordshire Halts train (I went down to pick up Junior on his way back from school). Bit of a mess.