Slippery rails, flooding, landslips and other issues - November 2016 (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

79 minutes late into Paddington.  The one the other way left 200 minutes late, but has recovered all but 15 minutes of that by Saltash.

[LiskeardRich]

79 minutes late into Paddington.  The one the other way left 200 minutes late, but has recovered all but 15 minutes of that by Saltash.

It should recover that at liskeard. Monday mornings it has a 10-15 min wait at liskeard normally.

[DidcotPunter]

Flooding reported on Twitter between Swindon and Bristol Parkway (also reported elsewhere as landslip at Hullavington). Paddington to Cardiff trains cancelled and Swansea services diverted.

[TaplowGreen]

Westcountry Passengers with tickets dated 20/11 who were told they could use them today due to yesterday's chaos in Devon/Cornwall will not be helped by the cancellation of the 0844 from PNZ-Paddington, fastest service of the day due to a train fault.

[PhilWakely]

I notice also that the Golden Hind was routed via Bristol and Swindon this morning - arriving in Paddington some 33 minutes late.

[PhilWakely]

I see now that Taunton and places west are now cut off from London and the North by rail  .......

Cancellations to services between Castle Cary and Westbury
  Due to heavy rain flooding the railway between Castle Cary and Westbury all Westbury lines are blocked.

Cancellations to services between Taunton and Bristol Temple Meads
  Due to heavy rain flooding the railway between Taunton and Bristol Temple Meads all lines are blocked.

Alterations to services between Yeovil Junction and Exeter St Davids
  Due to flooding between Yeovil Junction and Exeter St Davids the line is blocked.

[ChrisB]

just 2 days heavy rain.....more drainage work needed methinks

[PhilWakely]

just 2 days heavy rain.....more drainage work needed methinks

and more lineside clearance to prevent 'leaves on the line' and blocked drains.

[Tim]

just 2 days heavy rain.....more drainage work needed methinks

agreed.  The worst thing here is that the sites of flooding are predictable in that they have  flooded previous winters.  The Chipping Sodbury tunnel regularly floods and yet a solution has yet to be found.  It isn't like it is on a backwater either.  It is a mainline (in fact the only mainline deemed important enough to be electrified in the foreseeable future).  NR^» (Network Rail - home page) needs to do better. 

[John R]

And I'm on a train currently being held at Swindon because of flooding in Box Tunnel. It's getting like the Great Game of Britain when someone puts those pesky train signals on my route.

[PhilWakely]

And I'm on a train currently being held at Swindon because of flooding in Box Tunnel. It's getting like the Great Game of Britain when someone puts those pesky train signals on my route.

Chippenham -> Trowbridge -> Bath Spa ?

[Timmer]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) reporting flooding issues:

Swindon-Bristol Parkway
Swindon-Bath Spa
Westbury-Castle Cary
Taunton-Weston super Mare
Liskeard-Looe

All the best to those travelling home tonight. And well done to everyone at GWR and Network Rail in attempting to keep some sort of service going whilst the rain continues to come down.

[chuffed]

Ollie on Twitter has announced that Bristol Temple Meads is CLOSED due to safety and crowding issues.

[grahame]

And I'm on a train currently being held at Swindon because of flooding in Box Tunnel. It's getting like the Great Game of Britain when someone puts those pesky train signals on my route.

Chippenham -> Trowbridge -> Bath Spa ?

TransWilts peak train cancelled even though I'm in some doubt as to just where the flooding is - so it might be that the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) are being sent that way.   Reports that the Melksham help point is being less than helpful ... but excellent feedback from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Help (thanks, Ollie!) and I've passed that though to my reporter.

P.S. If you're reading this, Ollie - sorry about the terseness of my message on Twitter ; I find it very hard to ask nicely and quickly in just 140 characters ...

[chrisr_75]

just 2 days heavy rain.....more drainage work needed methinks

Yup, just had a quick look at the current road status and the primary routes through the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) region - A303, A30, A38, M3, M4 & M5 - all currently unaffected by the weather. Couple of minor congestion issues and single lane closures due to accidents (M4 & M5), but that's it.

If Highways England can cope with poor weather conditions, Network Rail really should pull their fingers out and sort basic infrastructure issues like draining and flood protection.

edit - to clarify my point