Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2022

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

No details on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Journey check but thankfully  Nation Rail is on the ball with the details of the latest meltdown between Reading- Paddington.....

https://m.nationalrail.co.uk/pj/disruption/details/55A4352DB1D64C519E907BDE2A7933B8

[tomL]

No details on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Journey check but thankfully  Nation Rail is on the ball with the details of the latest meltdown between Reading- Paddington.....

https://m.nationalrail.co.uk/pj/disruption/details/55A4352DB1D64C519E907BDE2A7933B8

It seemed to be a (relatively) minor issue compared to the meltdown(s) last week with a handful of HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) trains having to traverse the Down Relief line between Paddington/Acton West and Southall East Jn.

[IndustryInsider]

Indeed.  If only a handful of trains are affected then individual entries for them are used rather than a general ‘core’ route message.

[TaplowGreen]

No details on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Journey check but thankfully  Nation Rail is on the ball with the details of the latest meltdown between Reading- Paddington.....

https://m.nationalrail.co.uk/pj/disruption/details/55A4352DB1D64C519E907BDE2A7933B8

It seemed to be a (relatively) minor issue compared to the meltdown(s) last week with a handful of HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) trains having to traverse the Down Relief line between Paddington/Acton West and Southall East Jn.

Not just HSS - it affected numerous local services too and the Elizabeth Line with the result that a number of stations lost much of their service - but to be fair the situation was recovered relatively quickly and seemed to be pretty much back to normal by the evening peak.

[1st fan]

Whether it was infrastructure or train caused the initial damage on Monday, the damaged pantograph involved looks like has cause damage elsewhere

Have all three incidents occured on the up relief? Or is there a suggestion that one errant set has been out and about damaging OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") wherever it goes, but continuing in service because it's not been identified as the culprit?

I don't know if all were on the same line.  Although I am not a contact systems engineer (I'm a power distribution engineer) I've been around the knitting long enough to understand a few of the problems encountered after an OLE head span de-wirement.   It is not unknown for there to be issues for several days in an area after the type of incident on Monday, a headspan can sometimes fail on a different road to the original in a different location because of forces applied to the wire by a damaged pan can find a weakness.
 
Headspan construction allowed British Rail to cost effectively electrify the WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) north of Weaver Jcn to Scotland, the ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line), BedPan, etc.  Pre privatisation BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) had the manpower, equipment and track access to maintain headspan

Its posible there is a rouge 345 that has a suspension or Pan problem, another could be something as daft as a software update on the 345 that has altered the suspension characteristics.

There will be senior NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Region and TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) engineers looking at all the posible causes ................... mean time the finance and contracts folks will be claiming and counter claiming

Calling all cars, calling all cars be on the lookout for a rouge train I repeat be on the lookout for a rouge train last seen heading towards London.

[TaplowGreen]

Still not fixed from yesterday....

Cancellations to services at Reading

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires at Reading some lines are blocked.

Train services running to and from this station may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 08:00 24/10.

[ChrisB]

Work still ongoing….

[bobm]

Not sure if it was the same incident but there were problems with the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") at Reading Station yesterday after a helium ballon came into contact with the wires.  There were reports they were lying on or very close to platform 8.

[ChrisB]

Yep, soumds as if its the same incodent. Power cable came down close to platform 8 and the station was reported as having been (briefly) evacuated, before trains started running on the relief lines only 12-15 and 1-6. 7-11 remain closed.

[Witham Bobby]

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading
Following urgent repairs to the railway between London Paddington and Reading all lines have now reopened.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed by up to 30 minutes. Disruption is expected until 10:30 26/10.
Customer Advice
We are sorry for the delay to your journey.

We will update this message with more information when we have it.

Last Updated:26/10/2022 09:49

What happened?  Anyone know?

[ChrisB]

Repairs to the track at Acton ML

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Slough

Due to a fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Slough fewer trains are able to run on all lines.

Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 10:00 04/11.

[Jason]

Long time not posting.
My first journey into London in years shafted by this.
I don't miss the commute.

[Witham Bobby]

Long time not posting.
My first journey into London in years shafted by this.
I don't miss the commute.

I sometimes have business meetings in London, and would travel from either Honeybourne or Evesham (if feeling generous to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) or from Warwick Parkway.  But as the timetable seems to have turned into some kind lottery these days, I cut out the risk of disrupted plans (but increase the hassle, no doubt) and go by car.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and London Paddington some lines are blocked.

Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 14:15 13/11.