Cable Theft Filton 08/09 January

[PHILIPE]

Problems since approx 2200 last night due to cable theft resulting in trains being unable to run between Bristol TM and Bristol Parkway and between Bristol TM and Patchway. Trains between South Wales and Paddington are running almost normally and conveying South Wales passengers to/from Bristol Parkway with some additional calls at Severn Tunnel Jn and Patchway. Limited road transport available between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway and also acceptance of tickets on First Bus. XC reduced from half hourly to hourly and diverted via Bath, Swindon and Golden Valley. ETA normal working 1000. Fortunate that Bristol Parkway is accessible for routes other than Bristol TM

 

[Mag_seven]

Problems since approx 2200 last night due to cable theft resulting in trains being unable to run between Bristol TM and Bristol Parkway and between Bristol TM and Patchway. Trains between South Wales and Paddington are running almost normally and conveying South Wales passengers to/from Bristol Parkway with some additional calls at Severn Tunnel Jn and Patchway. Limited road transport available between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway and also acceptance of tickets on First Bus. XC reduced from half hourly to hourly and diverted via Bath, Swindon and Golden Valley. ETA normal working 1000. Fortunate that Bristol Parkway is accessible for routes other than Bristol TM

Its not been a good start to the week for GWR. As well as the above there was a major signalling failure at Paddington this morning and yesterday morning there was a bad fatality at Slough.

 

[PHILIPE]

Problems since approx 2200 last night due to cable theft resulting in trains being unable to run between Bristol TM and Bristol Parkway and between Bristol TM and Patchway. Trains between South Wales and Paddington are running almost normally and conveying South Wales passengers to/from Bristol Parkway with some additional calls at Severn Tunnel Jn and Patchway. Limited road transport available between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway and also acceptance of tickets on First Bus. XC reduced from half hourly to hourly and diverted via Bath, Swindon and Golden Valley. ETA normal working 1000. Fortunate that Bristol Parkway is accessible for routes other than Bristol TM

Forgot to mention, Cardiff to Tauntons and Portsmouth route services starting and terminating at Bristol TM

 

[HowardGWR]

If we think back to years ago, trains scheduled now up and down Filton bank would have been able to take at least two different diversionary routes around the Filton bank, if it were totally blocked. One via Fishponds (LMR) and one via Clifton. This is the extent of the loss of infrastructure and route knowledge around Bristol, now being replaced partially by the re-quadrupling. Worst loss is the Mangotsfield route, but if that were reinstated, and the line to Bath, which it could be fairly easily, it would mean moving Parkway to the junction south of Yate. Not so daft, as the Bristol ring road and M4 is adjacent there.

 

[gavin]

Delays now expected until at least 13:30 Crosscountry are diverting via Swindon until further notice

Passengers with tickets dated today for today can travel tomorrow

 

[Oxfordblues]

Cable theft would be less of a problem if the cables were securely stowed in concrete troughs. All too often you see cables lying all over the cess, or if they're in troughs the lids are missing, or placed to one side of the trough. Better-disciplined housekeeping at the lineside by signalling engineers would vastly discourage opportunistic theft.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Cable theft would be less of a problem if the cables were securely stowed in concrete troughs. All too often you see cables lying all over the cess, or if they're in troughs the lids are missing, or placed to one side of the trough. Better-disciplined housekeeping at the lineside by signalling engineers would vastly discourage opportunistic theft.

Yeah because cable thieves are beyond pulling up two concrete lids.... Don't think it stops them at all.

 

[PHILIPE]

Later advice from GWR for South Coast passengers travelling to/from South Wales is to travel via Reading and by XC to Southampton.
Passengers for Bristol TM, Bath and that corridor to travel via and change at Swindon

 

[Marklund]

Yeah because cable thieves are beyond pulling up two concrete lids.... Don't think it stops them at all.

Is the correct answer.

You can glue the lids down as much as you like, but that still doesn't stop them.

 

[londonmidland]

Points failure at Derby now which is affecting everything going/coming from the West. Lines blocked.

Diversions via Leicester where route knowledge allows.

 

[furnessvale]

Is the correct answer.

You can glue the lids down as much as you like, but that still doesn't stop them.

The only sure way is to concrete the cables into the trough, but that causes problems when you want to change things.

There is also a proprietary clamping system on the market but I have no idea of its efficacy.

 

[ArchieWoodbine]

Cable theft would be less of a problem if the cables were securely stowed in concrete troughs. All too often you see cables lying all over the cess, or if they're in troughs the lids are missing, or placed to one side of the trough. Better-disciplined housekeeping at the lineside by signalling engineers would vastly discourage opportunistic theft.

To be fair, I don't think that sloppy cable management is usually caused by actual S&T engineers. The majority of issues I've encountered mostly arise from the one of the myriad of other railway disciplines or contractors not paying due care and attention to the position or condition of troughing - foundation piling & digging gangs being by far the worst offenders in my book.

 

[Marklund]

The only sure way is to concrete the cables into the trough, but that causes problems when you want to change things.

There is also a proprietary clamping system on the market but I have no idea of its efficacy.

There are a lot more products on the market these days, I've not had dealings with the clamping system one.
As for not putting cable in troughs, there was a case where a section of cable was bypassed in a trough, and not discovered for long enough. Even burying the troughs isn't a deterrent.

 

[duffield]

I would imagine though that due to the current works on Filton Bank it's likely there are more cables 'loose' and easily visible/accessable than usual, and the multiple work sites might provide easier access than usual.

 

[Spartacus]

Probably a temptation for people if they're loose, though there's plenty who go around scouting for opportunities too. One method they use it to simply pull the cable out attached to the rear of a 4x4. There's a quite a few come a cropper trying this though, with often an abandoned vehicle being found on the railway.

 

[83G/84D]

Signalling now back to normal although I expect there will still be delays and disruption to train services in the area for the remainder of the day.

 

[PHILIPE]

Signalling now back to normal although I expect there will still be delays and disruption to train services in the area for the remainder of the day.

Drivers are still having to be talked past some signals according to NRE site

 

[furnessvale]

There are a lot more products on the market these days, I've not had dealings with the clamping system one.
As for not putting cable in troughs, there was a case where a section of cable was bypassed in a trough, and not discovered for long enough. Even burying the troughs isn't a deterrent.

The clamps fasten the cable to the trough. If you pull the cable with your Land Rover, the troughs come with it. As I said before, I have no idea if it works as intended.

 

[HowardGWR]

My understanding is that it wasn't theft of cable but vandals who pulled the cable out and laid it over the line so that the first train along would sever it, which duly happened.

 

[BestWestern]

My understanding is that it wasn't theft of cable but vandals who pulled the cable out and laid it over the line so that the first train along would sever it, which duly happened.

I strongly suspect that it was at the very least an attempted theft.