Potential Rail Disruption from Storm Angus - 20/11

[fizzwheel]

Currently on the 1C91 1733 London Paddington to Paignton, being held at Westbury as the flooding has apparently got worse at Castle Cary.

Got on at Reading where it was carnage, not sure what the guy thought he would achieve by shouting at the platform staff. Everybody has been delayed today and shouting at the people who were trying to help him seemed a little harsh.

Fingers crossed I can get to Castle Cary where my car is. So I can get home.. so near yet so far !

 

[83G/84D]

Cross Country do not appear to be running any services beyond Taunton bound for Devon & Cornwall tonight although it is possible there may be a westbound service starting at Exeter shortly.

Could result in some cancellations tomorrow morning.

 

[221129]

Cross Country do not appear to be running any services beyond Taunton bound for Devon & Cornwall tonight although it is possible there may be a westbound service starting at Exeter later.

Could result in some cancellations tomorrow morning.

Neither are GWR as the line is blocked at Hele.

 

[Iskra]

Why did you need to buy a new ticket out of interest?

Had Advance tickets booked Exeter-Weston-Super-Mare-Newport-Chester-Man Pic-Leeds on a bashing trip.

Due to the flooding at Honiton I was very late into Exeter thus missed my connection, I was then told we were getting a RRB Taunton-Bristol so was going to be further delayed. I believe Gerald was cancelled anyway but I would never have made it and there were also issues Bristol-Newport so I bought a series of splits to give me a better chance of getting back to Leeds. I will obviously claim a full refund on delay repay.

 

[221129]

Had Advance tickets booked Exeter-Weston-Super-Mare-Newport-Chester-Man Pic-Leeds on a bashing trip.

Due to the flooding at Honiton I was very late into Exeter thus missed my connection, I was then told we were getting a RRB Taunton-Bristol so was going to be further delayed. I believe Gerald was cancelled anyway but I would never have made it and there were also issues Bristol-Newport so I bought a series of splits to give me a better chance of getting back to Leeds. I will obviously claim a full refund on delay repay.

Ahh I see.

 

[83G/84D]

Neither are GWR as the line is blocked at Hele.

I thought given that there are XC sets west of the blocked section of line there might be an attempt to get a set or two down to Plymouth or Penzance for tomorrow.

Perhaps displaced traincrew is preventing this.

 

[kevconnor]

TPE are advising passengers not to travel, and have been since about 6pm. seems there the problems on Hope Valley, Calder Valley and Stalybridge have crippled their services for the evening. No mention on twitter of how their Scotland services are coping however.

 

[Llanigraham]

You treat it as a normal day, if at the start of service lines are blocked by fallen trees then obviously you can't run trains, on the other hand if there has been no extreme weather overnight then it's business as usual. I don't understand the logic of your question?

You really do not have a clue how the railway works for YOUR safety!! :roll::roll:
Enough people have explained how and why we do things, so why can't you accept that?

 

[221129]

I thought given that there are XC sets west of the blocked section of line there might be an attempt to get a set or two down to Plymouth or Penzance for tomorrow.

Perhaps displaced traincrew is preventing this.

Most likely a shuttle running between Exeter & Plymouth if they can find the crew. Or it'll be buses.

 

[Llanigraham]

I assume the Route proving trains have a PWay presence on them with suitable chainsaws/ axes?

Certainly do on the Cambrian

 

[PHILIPE]

Some GWR services between London and Bristol have been going either via Hullavington (now open with speed restriction) or Melksham. From Open Time trains map they had to run from Bath to Westbury and reverse. If conflicting or late information to be relied on route via Box re-opened. This highlights in retrospect the folly of lifting the track at Bradfod Jn which enabled trains to run direct from Bristol TM to the Trans Wilts line.

 

[fizzwheel]

Currently on the 1C91 1733 London Paddington to Paignton, being held at Westbury as the flooding has apparently got worse at Castle Cary.

Got on at Reading where it was carnage, not sure what the guy thought he would achieve by shouting at the platform staff. Everybody has been delayed today and shouting at the people who were trying to help him seemed a little harsh.

Fingers crossed I can get to Castle Cary where my car is. So I can get home.. so near yet so far !

On the move again. Just departed Westbury. Cant fault the train manager at all, kept us updated with regular announcements as to what was going on and also all passengers offered a free / tea / coffee or hot chocolate from the buffet.

 

[PHILIPE]

Marches been closed since this afternoon due flooding between Craven Arms and Shrewsbury. Road transport was eventually resourced when available. Trains turning back at Hereford or Shrewsbury and taking up regular paths.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Some GWR services between London and Bristol have been going either via Hullavington (now open with speed restriction) or Melksham. From Open Time trains map they had to run from Bath to Westbury and reverse. If conflicting or late information to be relied on route via Box re-opened. This highlights in retrospect the folly of lifting the track at Bradfod Jn which enabled trains to run direct from Bristol TM to the Trans Wilts line.

This is not entirely correct. Services diverting via Melksham have been reversing at Bradford Jcn, just north of Trowbridge, where there is signalling and walking routes to permit an HST to turn-back and go either towards Chippenham or Bathampton. Whilst it may have been short-sighted to remove the north side of the Bradford Jcn triangle in the late 1980s, reinstating it has recently been discounted (correctly IMO) on grounds of cost, mainly associated with the required resignalling.

 

[PHILIPE]

This is not entirely correct. Services diverting via Melksham have been reversing at Bradford Jcn, just north of Trowbridge, where there is signalling and walking routes to permit an HST to turn-back and go either towards Chippenham or Bathampton. Whilst it may have been short-sighted to remove the north side of the Bradford Jcn triangle in the late 1980s, reinstating it has recently been discounted (correctly IMO) on grounds of cost, mainly associated with the required resignalling.

I was going on an Open Time Trains map which showed a Bristol to Paddington train in Platform 1 at Westbury. Can't confirm now which one as too late.

 

[Antman]

You really do not have a clue how the railway works for YOUR safety!! :roll::roll:
Enough people have explained how and why we do things, so why can't you accept that?

I'm sure I know a damn sight more about the railway industry than you know about the weather in Kent

Rain lashing down here at the moment with inevitable delays due to poor rail conditions but no serious problems.

 

[Requeststop]

Bloody mayhem at Taunton. 250+ waiting for buses from Bristol for more than 90 mins. Just been told no trains from Exeter, other transport. More passengers from Bristol and London expected. Map

 

[Busaholic]

A30 also flooded affecting SWT replacement buses and local buses. Most local road also flooded in east devon as the rain has been relentless the last three days. Westcountry effectively cut off already and it's only November...Ironically Cowley Bridge and Dawlish are still open!!!

Can only say from personal experience of self and wife, travelling from Penzance to points east, southeast and northeast by train over many years that November is often the worst month of the year for such travel. I believe November is the wettest month overall in the UK(?) and often combines with storm force winds. Our days of November travel are cancelled forever!

 

[infobleep]

Thanks for the award. I'll put it with the others.

Having been in the cab of a train that came round a corner at 100mph+ to find a tree on the line, I can advise it is not a pleasant experience. Buses are driven on sight, and are therefore expected to stop if there is an obstruction on the road. Obviously this doesn't apply to trains.

I've also been in a TOC control on a day when the number of trains that hit obstructions on the line was into double figures, resulting in an effective network shut down for most of the day whilst it was cleared up. Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded on trains, many in difficult circumstances. Some of the trains were out of service for the next six months. Some drivers were injured.

Had we done daylight route proving, whilst there would have been no service for the first few hours, none of this would have happened, and we would have run a decent service from mid morning.

Perhaps, then, it might be a precaution worth taking rather than 'giving up'?

Was it that day of incidents and injuries that had to proving trains?

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

A proper read of the forecast would have revealed that the worst was coming in the early hours. It's not just trees that can cause problems, there's a lot of rain fall tonight which could lead to landslides.

Let's not also forget that the drivers will have to struggle through the weather. I think some simply don't understand the logistics of railway operations. As an expert on weather, I can say with confidence that most of the people I meet haven't got a clue how that works either.

The weather is really complex. I believe it's hard enough for the experts to understand it at times, let alone anyone else.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Best that Network Rail get a few large steam licks out of the secret strategic reserve then!!

I knew they should never have scrapped all those steam locomotives. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[kevconnor]

Can only say from personal experience of self and wife, travelling from Penzance to points east, southeast and northeast by train over many years that November is often the worst month of the year for such travel. I believe November is the wettest month overall in the UK(?) and often combines with storm force winds. Our days of November travel are cancelled forever!

generally the stats between the three wettest months (Oct, Nov & Dec) are within mm of each other, based on the past 30 years.

Attached are the met office stats for the SW of England averages for 1980-2010, this does miss out the past few years which certainly have felt quite damp and may affect these figures but these are the most recent available on the Met Office website.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

The problem in the South West in November is that you get the worst combination; wet weather and heavy leaf-fall, not a healthy combination after a few trains have mulched the leaves to a wet slippery paste, especially inconvenient on 1:40 gradients. it's amazing the Sleeper makes it to Cornwall as often as it does!

 

[Melancholia]

For once the LTV sector of GWR remained largely unaffected today afternoon.

 

[221129]

Bloody mayhem at Taunton. 250+ waiting for buses from Bristol for more than 90 mins. Just been told no trains from Exeter, other transport. More passengers from Bristol and London expected. Map

'Very limited' road transport between Exeter & Taunton apparently.

 

[simdmuk]

Very apt train describer i.d at Hele as seen on railcam..

 

[aar0]

Next train due into Swansea from Paddington is running an almost hilarious 188 minutes late, has the Severn Tunnel been closed, or is it just having to run slow through the line just in case?

 

[PHILIPE]

Next train due into Swansea from Paddington is running an almost hilarious 188 minutes late, has the Severn Tunnel been closed, or is it just having to run slow through the line just in case?

Severn Tunnel not closed. Would have been diverted possibly via Gloucester.

 

[Parallel]

It's been chaos this evening around Bristol. And the 17:39 arrival from London Paddington arrived at 20:02. Nearly two and a half hours late... Pretty much every local/regional service has been disrupted too.

 

[D1009]

Severn Tunnel not closed. Would have been diverted possibly via Gloucester.

Looks to me as though they opened the Badminton route too early. 1B88 2015 Padd passed Hullavington at 2140 but appears to have yet to enter Sodbury tunnel.

 

[father_jack]

Looks to me as though they opened the Badminton route too early. 1B88 2015 Padd passed Hullavington at 2140 but appears to have yet to enter Sodbury tunnel.

I gibbered the first time- it has come back to Swindon but is now on it's way again via Stroud and Lydney.

 

[Phil.]

Currently (00.20) tiddling down in Alverton (outer suburb of Penzance). Larrigan stream now looks like a real river.