Landslip in the Linlithgow area

[gavin]

All lines are blocked for the rest of today (24/01) owing to a landslip in the Linlithgow area

Trains are unable to run between Linlithgow and Edinburgh. Limited replacement buses are in operation between Linlithgow and Edinburgh Park. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Advice for Virgin Trains East Coast customers:

Trains will be diverted between Edinburgh and Perth via Ladybank. A Coachlines coach will depart Edinburgh at 16:30 calling at Falkirk, Stirling, Gleneagles and Perth for passengers to travelling to and from these stations.

Advice for ScotRail customers:

Services between Edinburgh and Dunblane are suspended.

Services between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street via Croy will run between Linlithgow and Glasgow Queen Street at a reduced frequency.

Alternative Travel Options:

Replacement buses are operating between Edinburgh Park and Linlithgow, departing at the below approximate times:

• 35 and 55 minutes past the hour from Linlithgow
• 15 and 45 minutes past the hour from Edinburgh Park

Customers travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow may use the following alternative routes:

• Between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central via Shotts
• Between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street via Airdrie / Bathgate, although there is also some disruption on this route due to flooding

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/indicator.aspx

 

[ScottDarg]

Image of it posted by ScotRail here:

https://twitter.com/ScotRail/status/956140244012863488

Here’s a picture of the landslip at #Winchburgh. Engineers are on site assessing the damage and putting plans in place to reopen the railway. ^CT https://t.co/FerofebLjt

Also a landslip on the Glasgow South Western this morning at Kirkconnel that disrupted ScotRail services between Carlisle and Glasgow until about 08:40.

 

[Taunton]

Looks more like a retaining wall collapse than a landslip.

 

[Highlandspring]

It is a landslip which has brought down a section of retaining wall. There is a bit more to this than meets the eye so I'd expect the line to be closed for a wee while yet..

 

[InOban]

Looks quite serious.

 

[xc170]

Image of it posted by ScotRail here:

https://twitter.com/ScotRail/status/956140244012863488


Also a landslip on the Glasgow South Western this morning at Kirkconnel that disrupted ScotRail services between Carlisle and Glasgow until about 08:40.

In situations like this, I think it would have been better not to release the above linked image.

I'm aware it may be more serious than it looks, but to my untrained eye and the average passenger, that doesn't actually look all that serious.

 

[DuncanS]

Trains were down to 1ph to Stirling before this - the morning commute was a nightmare this morning owing to flooding, flooding which they were saying was at Winchburgh, which I suspect was not far removed from said landslide.

Had 2 trains cancelled and then the following one was running 31 minutes late before I bailed and headed for Larbert.

Looking at the photo and the current weather I don't expect things to be back to normal tomorrow.

 

[Highlandspring]

In situations like this, I think it would have been better not to release the above linked image.

I'm aware it may be more serious than it looks, but to my untrained eye and the average passenger, that doesn't actually look all that serious.

Agreed. Photos are taken at incidents and sent back to Control for onward distribution as a matter of course these days but I have no idea how the media team choose which ones are released into the public domain. Presumably there is some sort of policy because most of the time only one or two images out of a good dozen or more appear online.

 

[xc170]

Agreed. Photos are taken at incidents and sent back to Control for onward distribution as a matter of course these days but I have no idea how the media team choose which ones are released into the public domain. Presumably there is some sort of policy because most of the time only one or two images out of a good dozen or more appear online.

In most cases, it's the right thing to do as it shows the severity of the incident, like the Glenfinnen derailment earlier this week.

 

[Ianno87]

Odd trains on other routes (e.g. Tweedbank) also have been cancelled, presumably due to resulting diagramming issues.

 

[PaulLothian]

Appears to be in the long cutting between Winchburgh Junction and Philpstoun, and, if so, no possibility of using Dalmeny diversion, as some were helpfully suggesting on Twitter.

 

[route:oxford]

Appears to be in the long cutting between Winchburgh Junction and Philpstoun, and, if so, no possibility of using Dalmeny diversion, as some were helpfully suggesting on Twitter.

And lack of route knowledge, along with an annoying reversal, preventing an A-D diversion.

It's a real shame that a chord wasn't built at Pitreavie.

Two colleagues are currently having a race.

A colleague is currently en-route to Perth to pick up a connection to Stirling.

Another has grabbed an A:B service to Queen Street to pick up a connection to Stirling.

I'm not sure which service the A:B colleague is on, but looking at the schedules it may well be a close tie.

 

[InOban]

And lack of route knowledge, along with an annoying reversal, preventing an A-D diversion.

It's a real shame that a chord wasn't built at Pitreavie.

Two colleagues are currently having a race.

A colleague is currently en-route to Perth to pick up a connection to Stirling.

Another has grabbed an A:B service to Queen Street to pick up a connection to Stirling.

I'm not sure which service the A:B colleague is on, but looking at the schedules it may well be a close tie.

If it's in that cutting, it's West of the junction where the Dalmeny line joins, so there is no alternative route. Since the Dalmeny route is regularly used when they need to close the Winchburgh tunnel, I would have thought that most traincrew sign it.

 

[jopsuk]

Appears to be in the long cutting between Winchburgh Junction and Philpstoun, and, if so, no possibility of using Dalmeny diversion, as some were helpfully suggesting on Twitter.

Yeah, this appears to be the bridge in the background (streetview link), which carries the B8046.

 

[route:oxford]

If it's in that cutting, it's West of the junction where the Dalmeny line joins, so there is no alternative route. Since the Dalmeny route is regularly used when they need to close the Winchburgh tunnel, I would have thought that most traincrew sign it.

A-D

Alloa to Dunfermline.

 

[Highlandspring]

No ScotRail crews sign the road via Culross and it would never seriously be considered as a diversionary route.

 

[jopsuk]

can't imagine the capacity would be high using the existing Culross route...

 

[Highlandspring]

Indeed, it would be one path in each direction per hour maximum. Diverting via Culross is a non-starter.

 

[mcmad]

comments being made elsewhere about the new OLE base which is directly behind where the failure appears to have occurred as can been seen here https://stv.tv/news/east-central/1406841-rail-delays-after-landslip-forces-closure-of-line/

Hard to tell from that picture if its a piled or concrete base but it could be why single line working wasn't considered given crossovers at both Linlithgow and Winchburgh.

 

[PaulLothian]

Yeah, this appears to be the bridge in the background (streetview link), which carries the B8046.

The steep angle of the bridge tells me that it is one of the farm access bridges a bit to the east of the road bridge mentioned.

 

[Chris M]

In situations like this, I think it would have been better not to release the above linked image.

I'm aware it may be more serious than it looks, but to my untrained eye and the average passenger, that doesn't actually look all that serious.

comments being made elsewhere about the new OLE base which is directly behind where the failure appears to have occurred as can been seen here https://stv.tv/news/east-central/1406841-rail-delays-after-landslip-forces-closure-of-line/

Hard to tell from that picture if its a piled or concrete base but it could be why single line working wasn't considered given crossovers at both Linlithgow and Winchburgh.

The contrast in apparent severity between the two images in @mcmad 's post illustrates @xc170 's point very well - from the first image it just looks like a simple of job of moving a few stones away from the rails (putting them at the base of the wall would do for now) and moving a few more that might be about to drop - an hour's work tops. However from the second image it's clear that it's actually a much larger earthworks failure than that, and that the stability of the OHLE gantry might be questionable mean the longer disruption is actually necessary.

 

[DuncanS]

No service today through the area.

 

[Stopper]

That’s good news. Absolute chaos in Linlithgow today.

 

[DuncanS]

Scotrail* still saying end of day, where has the 2pm opening come from?

* - twitter, website and Journey Check

 

[YorkshireBear]

Scotrail* still saying end of day, where has the 2pm opening come from?

* - twitter, website and Journey Check

Think they are being safe.

The estimates I have seen are 14:00 handback.

 

[DuncanS]

Just tweeted that its looking like end of the day

ScotRail‏Verified account @ScotRail 38s38 seconds ago

Work continues at #Winchburgh to repair the landslip and reopen the railway. At the moment we expect disruption to continue for the rest of the day

 

[infobleep]

Agreed. Photos are taken at incidents and sent back to Control for onward distribution as a matter of course these days but I have no idea how the media team choose which ones are released into the public domain. Presumably there is some sort of policy because most of the time only one or two images out of a good dozen or more appear online.

Why not just release them all, unless their is something sensitive shown they don't want released

 

[AndrewE]

The contrast in apparent severity between the two images in @mcmad 's post illustrates @xc170 's point very well - from the first image it just looks like a simple of job of moving a few stones away from the rails (putting them at the base of the wall would do for now) and moving a few more that might be about to drop - an hour's work tops. However from the second image it's clear that it's actually a much larger earthworks failure than that, and that the stability of the OHLE gantry might be questionable mean the longer disruption is actually necessary.

Maybe the gantry and its foundations will be OK, it's just that breaking the surface to insert it has let water penetrate behind the wall, whereas it used to run down above the "turf" and then down the rail face of the wall?

 

[InOban]

That's an interesting idea. I'm sure that's a line of work which will have occurred to the RAIB as well. What I noticed was that the OHLE further away is similarly mounted, but the nearest structure is bolted on to the stone side walls. I wonder why.

 

[IainG81]

ScotRail saying the line will remain closed tonight and no services between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley. They suggest people use the low level station for services to Edinburgh or Glasgow Central to Edinburgh but both are very much longer than going via Falkirk.