Falmouth branch line - engineering work, closures, incidents (merged topics)

[whole diary]

[old original]

The works finished on time but due to some signalling problem there has only been an hourly service today(Sat)

[chrisoates]

The works finished on time but due to some signalling problem there has only been an hourly service today(Sat)

Arrived at Truro this morning to see the service cancelled but Bus was already in the yard - took photo of spikey railings on platform 3.

Return journey not so good - I was in Swanvale and could hear the hourly service coming and going on time but when I went to the Dell to catch the 15:50 it didn't turn up, info point not working.
Service eventually arrived 30 mins late - by then many passengers had left - only one person I spoke to was aware of the signalling problem.
The folk who left had been waiting for the previous service which had been cancelled all day.
Got to Penmere which has a new style info point - it was displaying an 'I'm broken message'.

Couldn't someone have got a felt pen, paper and tape and stuck up some signs......

       

[fatcontroller]

Chris,

Signalling made the 2-car unit think it had a fault so needed swapping with the surplus unit at Truro. As Branch was about 10 late already by this point, it left 20 late after the swap. So instead of running late all day, unfortunately 2 on the bounce were cancelled.

It had to happen at some point today, sadly it was your train!

[LiskeardRich]

From http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/fpfalmouth/8948177.Bus_smashes_into_Falmouth_bridge/

A bus has crashed into a railway bridge next to Falmouth Town train station this morning.

The vehicle has become lodged under the railway bridge in Avenue Road.

It has sustained severe damage to the upper deck, and appears to be wedged.

The road has been closed, and the railway line is shut between Falmouth Town and Falmouth Docks while the bridge is checked for structural damage.

Luckily, there were no passengers on board at the time of the accident

[JayMac]

Perhaps it's time bus manufacturers put the driving position on the top deck! 

[LiskeardRich]

Perhaps it's time bus manufacturers put the driving position on the top deck! 

excellent idea, i live only a stones throw from here, and its quite an obvious low bridge, definitely no way a bus will go under, completely off route, as not local routes pass this way

[devon_metro]

I like how the bus driver took the centre line thinking he had a chance of getting underneath such a blatently low bridge 

[bobm]

At least they kept in the family - a First Bus disrupting a First train service.

So much for transforming travel!! 

[Ollie]

At least they kept in the family - a First Bus disrupting a First train service.

So much for transforming travel!! 

And they have transformed travel..

from a double deck to a single deck

[LiskeardRich]

At least they kept in the family - a First Bus disrupting a First train service.

So much for transforming travel!! 

And they have transformed travel..

from a double deck to a single deck

or open top bus,



Being april fools day, imagine the drivers calling the bosses (or whoever)
Driver "hi boss, I've just turned my bus into an opentop"
Boss "hahaha, april fool"
Driver "no"

[Ollie]

Would love the recording of the call if that's how it went

[Chris from Nailsea]

A report, and another picture, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bus crashes into Falmouth railway bridge



A double-decker bus has been badly damaged after hitting a railway bridge in Cornwall.

Part of the front of the top deck of the First Bus vehicle was crushed when it hit the bridge in Arwenack Street in Falmouth earlier.

Only the driver was on board the bus at the time and no-one was hurt in the incident, police said.

The road was closed while engineers from Network Rail examined the bridge. It has since been reopened.

[eightf48544]

Does anyone know if Networkrail claim damages from the vehicle owner?

If they do you'd have one part of First Group paying compensation to another part via Network rail.

Something to keep the bean counters happy.

Also is the driver prosecuted?

[Chris from Nailsea]

At the risk of discomfiting the errant bus driver even further - from Small world News Service:

Double decker strikes rail bridge

A bungling double decker bus driver attempted to manoeuvre a low concrete rail bridge ^ and almost tore the roof after becoming WEDGED.



The driver struck the rail bridge at around 7am this morning before desperately attempting to continue through the narrow gap next to Falmouth train station, Cornwall.

The roof was almost torn from the bus, which was not carrying any passengers at the time of the incident.

Accident and emergency crews attended the scene to remove the vehicle, before engineers assessed the bridge for structural damage.

Passerby Justine Gunn, 40, of Falmouth, snapped the aftermath as the ^sheepish^ driver got out of the cabin to survey the damage.



Mum-of-two Justine said: ^I was walking by and just thought ^oops^.

^The driver was stood outside looking particularly sheepish about the whole affair, which is fairly understandable as the bridge^s height is clearly marked.

^The only thing I can think of is that ordinarily it^s a single decker coach which comes down the route so maybe the driver completely forgot what he was in.

^Thankfully no-one was on the bus as it was a real mess ^ there^s no way anyone could have survived it.

^ve never seen a double decker down here in the 17 years I^ve lived here. And that^s probably why.^

The road was closed for around an hour and the rail track was also shut as engineers surveyed the bridge to check for structural damage.

[LiskeardRich]

today i was talking to a first cornwall/ devon driver and he said that the bus involved is being converted to proper open top  as  they were short one open top coming up to the season for operations around barnstaple.
he also said the female driver was dismissed from emploiyment