Manchester Metrolink ice debacle

[muz379]

Exactly, they were doing all they could. Ironically these ice issues don't crop up as much if the temperatures are colder, only when they hover around zero allowing moisture to build up on the wires, and in fog theres a lot of moisture.

Where they though , from what I gather they stopped the ice breaking trams before the fog descended and then a few hours later when the first service trains went out there was too much ice on the OLE and a number of service trams failed .

If they had known about the freezing morning fog (which they really should have )

They should have either
A) not stopped the ice breaking trams until right upto the first service tram - maybe even kept them out running in between service trams .
B)Delayed the start of service so that they could run an extra ice breaking tram , and ensure that the OLE was clear .

 

[WatcherZero]

It was the Ice breaking trams which got stranded.

 

[Boysteve]

It was the Ice breaking trams which got stranded.

Then the ice breaker trams are not fit for purpose. Pure and simple. Metrolink know that there is a problem and they have thrown a half-baked solution at it.

Peter Cushing is no Pat Kearney however. Sometimes people laugh at the comic japes of the former, no one laughs at the half-baked solutions of the latter.

 

[muz379]

It was the Ice breaking trams which got stranded.

From what I gathered from reading Peter Cushings statement in the evening news it was the early service trams that broke down in strategic places over the network

I however would not be surprised if the Ice breaking trams themselves had broken down .

This is the second year in a row something like this has happened its clearly a systematic failure . For it to happen during a busy shopping Saturday in December is bad enough , imagine if it happened on a weekday morning when people where relying on the service to get them to work and school .

 

[507 001]

The ice breakers went out as normal.

They did indeed get stuck.

The first service trams went out as normal.

Nearly all of them started experiencing problems fairly quickly.
For example, one took just under an hour to do Trafford bar to Old Trafford.

Eventually the batteries on many of the sets on the system drained, causing the set to fail.

The service was suspended until the thaw, which was expected at 08:30. It didn't come.

 

[455driver]

Then the ice breaker trams are not fit for purpose. Pure and simple. Metrolink know that there is a problem and they have thrown a half-baked solution at it.

So what do you suggest they do instead then mr know all?

This should be good!

 

[WatcherZero]

The other thing they've trialled in the past was coating the overhead in Teflon, apparently laborious process as it has to be applied by hand.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The other thing they've trialled in the past was coating the overhead in Teflon, apparently laborious process as it has to be applied by hand.

Noting the mileage that now exists that would require hand painting as described above, how long would this task take in the daily time available for that work to take place.

 

[Boysteve]

So what do you suggest they do instead then mr know all?

This should be good!

I am not a Mr know all. I am not an engineer, therefore I do not know how the problem can be solved. However I am more than comfortable with the comments I have made despite not knowing of a solution myself. After all, we can put a man on the moon, we can land a space probe on a moving comet millions of miles away. Therefore I am reasonable confident it is not beyond the wit of man to ensure that a tram can pick up electricity when it is minus 2 and foggy!!!
Maybe TfgM should sponsor a research student at one of the great local universities with excellent scientific pedigree. Or,
Maybe an engineer from the St.Petersburg tram system and an engineer from Metrolink could do a job swap for a few months and pass expertise from one system to another. After all St.Petersburg is a twin city of Manchester and I am confident that there must some information we have that would help them also.

 

[507 001]

I am not a Mr know all. I am not an engineer, therefore I do not know how the problem can be solved. However I am more than comfortable with the comments I have made despite not knowing of a solution myself. After all, we can put a man on the moon, we can land a space probe on a moving comet millions of miles away. Therefore I am reasonable confident it is not beyond the wit of man to ensure that a tram can pick up electricity when it is minus 2 and foggy!!!

Maybe TfgM should sponsor a research student at one of the great local universities with excellent scientific pedigree. Or,

Maybe an engineer from the St.Petersburg tram system and an engineer from Metrolink could do a job swap for a few months and pass expertise from one system to another. After all St.Petersburg is a twin city of Manchester and I am confident that there must some information we have that would help them also.

There is a solution already. It's called heated OHLE.

 

[WatcherZero]

Can see how you heat 3rd rail with a resistive strip, how do you heat OHLE?
Heck in some countries they even have gas burners running between the tracks.

 

[edwin_m]

You could just put some big current consumer (point heaters?) or even just a switchable resistor to the return rails mid-way between subs, and the current through the wire itself would heat it up.

 

[Boysteve]

Oh dear, here we go again! Service update Sunday 4th January 08:43am;
Due to an overhead line incident at Manchester Airport, we are currently experiencing severe delays on the Manchester Airport - Cornbrook line. This is due to ice on the overhead lines.
Luckily only one line affected this time.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I have said this before on other websites and I will repeat it again here. There appears to be far too much importance placed by certain people on the operational problems of the Manchester Metrolink system, whatever form these may take, but very little about the problems experienced by people relying upon this system in order to access their places of employment and the possibility that may subsequently ensue when some hard-line employers decide to take action against employees arriving late for work as a direct result of the problems of the Manchester Metrolink system.

 

[familyguy99]

Oh dear, here we go again! Service update Sunday 4th January 08:43am;
Due to an overhead line incident at Manchester Airport, we are currently experiencing severe delays on the Manchester Airport - Cornbrook line. This is due to ice on the overhead lines.
Luckily only one line affected this time.

Rumour off Skyscrapercity forums is that due to engineering work taking place at Airport stop last night Metrolink couldn't sent ice breaker tram to Airport stop and that why service got suspended between Wythenshawe Town centre and Airport stop this morning, saying that I don't think Metrolink had ice breaker out and I'm surprise ORL wasn't affected by ice special between Shaw and Rochdale.

 

[HSTEd]

I agree with edwin_m. The cheapest solution is probably resistor banks positioned so the maximum rated current is drawn through all substations and flows through as much of the overhead as possible.