Landslip between Rugby and Coventry. (11/02/24)

[james_the_xv]

NRE now saying until the end of tomorrow again now.

I did think it was optimistic changing reducing timescale so soon...

 

[Bletchleyite]

Would probably make more sense for them to follow airline practice and publish a "next update in" date/time.

I suspect this one is going to take a few weeks.

 

[MarkWi72]

Are some of these trains using the Chiltern Line?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Are some of these trains using the Chiltern Line?

Doubt it, as they're mostly EMUs and there is a distinct lack of wires over there! (Does that tell us something? )

 

[that1giox]

Are some of these trains using the Chiltern Line?

They're not using the Chiltern Line, as like said above the Chiltern Line has an extreme lack of overhead wires and practically all of the trains running on the line between Coventry - Rugby are EMUs. However ticket acceptance got agreed with Chiltern and Cross Country, which is how passengers would have to get to London.

 

[MarkWi72]

Doubt it, as they're mostly EMUs and there is a distinct lack of wires over there! (Does that tell us something? )

Thought some were Voyagers? The they could go across to Leamington from Nuneaton.

On another note, there was someone on Social Media suggesting they went north of Stafford then to Dorridge. I cannot comprehend that, so probably not true.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Feb 2024 ==

They're not using the Chiltern Line, as like said above the Chiltern Line has an extreme lack of overhead wires and practically all of the trains running on the line between Coventry - Rugby are EMUs. However ticket acceptance got agreed with Chiltern and Cross Country, which is how passengers would have to get to London.

Ok, I see.

 

[D1537]

https://www.recenttraintimes.co.uk/Home/Service?ServiceId=119507759 implies that 1R07 did indeed start from Wolverhampton today, 5R07 certainly arrived in time, so RTT has over-written the up times with the later times from the reverse direction I think. Mind you, if I'd rushed to make the 06:03 departure I'm not sure I'd have been happy to see Wolverhampton again an hour later.

1R15, the 0645 Wolverhampton-Euston, also did the same thing. Arrived at New Street at 0707, then departed at 0720 northbound again.

Having said that, if you'd been at Wolverhampton for 1R15, I presume you'd have been advised to wait for 1R07 on its return journey from Birmingham (it left Wolverhampton for Stafford at 0700), which would have got you to Euston only 15 minutes later than 1R15's booked time.

The trains after that (which are generally from the north, rather than starting there) appear to have reversed at Wolves.

 

[QueensCurve]

With the Down line open, it seems another classic example of where bidirectional signalling could have kept services moving with minimum distruption.

Passengers urged to check before travelling as landslip causes travel disruption between Birmingham and London

Passengers travelling on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and London are being urged to check their journeys on Monday due to disruption following a landslip near Rugby.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thought some were Voyagers? The they could go across to Leamington from Nuneaton.

I did wonder if they'd consider using double Voyagers to run an hourly Euston<->Birmingham via Nuneaton, which was the classic diversion I've experienced many times during West Coast route modernisation. I guess it's too hard to path that on the Trent these days.

If it goes on for a long time I suspect they may well consider this even if it requires dropping something e.g. one of the Manchesters.

What I don't get is why WMT are spinning at Northampton when Rugby has a south facing bay they could use (even if only for a shuttle from NMP if that doesn't work for the normal paths). They take that lazy option an awful lot.

 

[OscarH]

Thought some were Voyagers? The they could go across to Leamington from Nuneaton.

I don't think you'd ever need to mess with Leamington

 

[that1giox]

With the Down line open, it seems another classic example of where bidirectional signalling could have kept services moving with minimum distruption.

Passengers urged to check before travelling as landslip causes travel disruption between Birmingham and London

Passengers travelling on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and London are being urged to check their journeys on Monday due to disruption following a landslip near Rugby.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

That's what I was thinking, they could've just made it into a single line and use the one track in both directions rather than messing up all the services, but I guess this would just cause them to have to pay out to customers more because of the delay repay scheme and the amount of traffic that tends to pass through. (Avanti and LNWR.)
Could also not be a decision they decided to make due to engineers being on the line? Although engineers on other lines carrying out repairs never seem to be an issue.

Avanti services seem to be running on the line towards Nuneaton and then Rugby rather than coming down the line here, London Northwestern Railway have also seem to put in some sort of reduced timetable with hourly services now departing from my local, Canley in either direction. Avanti services through Canley have been dropped from the usual 6-8 to now only 2.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

What I don't get is why WMT are spinning at Northampton when Rugby has a south facing bay they could use (even if only for a shuttle from NMP if that doesn't work for the normal paths). They take that lazy option an awful lot.

I'm not sure, there were a pair of 730s in the bay this morning, so if they haven't got any drivers available to move them, the bay isn't available.

It has been a pain today, having guards from Crewe have to go to MKC and then to Northampton to work trains that could easily be met (as diagrammed) at Rugby.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Feb 2024 ==

That's what I was thinking, they could've just made it into a single line and use the one track in both directions rather than messing up all the services, but I guess this would just cause them to have to pay out to customers more because of the delay repay scheme and the amount of traffic that tends to pass through. (Avanti and LNWR.)
Could also not be a decision they decided to make due to engineers being on the line? Although engineers on other lines carrying out repairs never seem to be an issue.

Avanti services seem to be running on the line towards Nuneaton and then Rugby rather than coming down the line here, London Northwestern Railway have also seem to put in some sort of reduced timetable with hourly services now departing from my local, Canley in either direction. Avanti services through Canley have been dropped from the usual 6-8 to now only 2.

I would guess it's so they have as many blocks as required without stiffing all services up the swanny. Far easier to manage, and whilst it's inconvenient, passengers can still get to the Trent Valley stations pretty easily for Euston services.

 

[that1giox]

I'm not sure, there were a pair of 730s in the bay this morning, so if they haven't got any drivers available to move them, the bay isn't available.

I was at Rugby on Friday and I watched the 730s come into the bay there, according to Traksy the 730s still remain there.
WMR Could easily terminate services at Platform 2 or 3 though, don't really see why they wouldn't do that instead. It would also be much more efficient and faster to just have RR services running between Rugby and Coventry rather than Coventry and Northampton.

 

[The Planner]

With the Down line open, it seems another classic example of where bidirectional signalling could have kept services moving with minimum distruption.

Passengers urged to check before travelling as landslip causes travel disruption between Birmingham and London

Passengers travelling on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and London are being urged to check their journeys on Monday due to disruption following a landslip near Rugby.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

It wouldn't have been minimal. It would have been single line working from Long Lawford to Coventry. As well as the issue of having safe clearance for people to work.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Feb 2024 ==

Thought some were Voyagers? The they could go across to Leamington from Nuneaton.

Avanti don't sign the Chilterns.

 

[Jimini]

It wouldn't have been minimal. It would have been single line working from Long Lawford to Coventry. As well as the issue of having safe clearance for people to work.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Feb 2024 ==


Avanti don't sign the Chilterns.

Think I’m right in saying that you can only access the down line towards Rugby from Cov from platforms 3 and 4, which would make shuffling everything around at Coventry an additional headache on top of the long SLW?

 

[The Planner]

Think I’m right in saying that you can only access the up line towards Rugby from Cov from platforms 3 and 4, which would make shuffling everything around at Coventry an additional headache on top of the long SLW?

Yep. You would get 1tph each way.

 

[Class 170101]

why is there, what looks like, a full signal 9310 at Long Lawford Crossovers if not to permit Bi-Di working from Coventry to Rugby on the Down Line then?

 

[The Planner]

why is there, what looks like, a full signal 9310 at Long Lawford Crossovers if not to permit Bi-Di working from Coventry to Rugby on the Down Line then?

Allows a turn back over the flyover, thats all.

 

[Class 170101]

Allows a turn back over the flyover, thats all.

Would a shunt signal not have been cheaper than a full signal though?

 

[The Planner]

Would a shunt signal not have been cheaper than a full signal though?

Long way to go on a shunt. There may have been an expectation that Coventry re-signalling in 2007 would put bi-di in and didn't.

 

[Martin_1981]

What about some Class 390 drags between Brum and Nuneaton using Class 57's? I guess that's not possible anymore due to lack of route/traction knowledge?

 

[Class 170101]

What about some Class 390 drags between Brum and Nuneaton using Class 57's? I guess that's not possible anymore due to lack of route/traction knowledge?

Frankly with the time penalty and hassle of the attachment and detachment a Birmingham New Street to Euston via Stafford Class 390 service is the correct option here.

If a Class 221 then running via the route you suggest seems sensible.

 

[PyrahnaRanger]

That isn’t a simple fix.

I may not have explained myself well, I wasn’t intending to say it was a simple fix, merely that it looked like a simple fix. For Joe Public, i was suggesting that the word “landslide” brings to mind images of Carmont or the S&C when it was well covered with mud and rock, whereas this one looks like a a bush that needs trimmed, whereas in reality, it has been moved by the ground sliding away under it, it’s just there’s none of that visible, hence my comment that this is one of those occasions where sharing information actually works against you rather than for you.

 

[BrianW]

The pictures here (BBC today)

I may not have explained myself well, I wasn’t intending to say it was a simple fix, merely that it looked like a simple fix. For Joe Public, i was suggesting that the word “landslide” brings to mind images of Carmont or the S&C when it was well covered with mud and rock, whereas this one looks like a a bush that needs trimmed, whereas in reality, it has been moved by the ground sliding away under it, it’s just there’s none of that visible, hence my comment that this is one of those occasions where sharing information actually works against you rather than for you.

Agreed- it is more than 'a bush'! The second image here is more informative:
: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-68271990
and here (from 2020) may also be informative regarding 'landslip': https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-51419258

 

[Efini92]

Think I’m right in saying that you can only access the up line towards Rugby from Cov from platforms 3 and 4, which would make shuffling everything around at Coventry an additional headache on top of the long SLW?

No you can get on the up from all platforms.

 

[M60lad]

Is there a reason why these services have to run to Wolverhampton only for them to return back up-to Stafford to get onto the Trent Valley route?

 

[A0]

Is there a reason why these services have to run to Wolverhampton only for them to return back up-to Stafford to get onto the Trent Valley route?

Probably a mix of reasons:

It's fully wired, so it's a route Pendos can use - unlike Water Orton or Nuneaton - Coventry.

It's probably easier to effect a reversal at Stafford than Rugeley TV.

It's a route Avanti's crews are probably passed to drive (may not be the case on the Chase Valley to Rugeley).

Means only Coventry loses its direct train to London, as Birmingham and Wolves both keep theirs albeit with extended journey times.

 

[Bald Rick]

AIUI, the teams shifted nigh on 1000 tonnes of muck overnight, work going well, line should be open later this afternoon.

 

[Jimini]

No you can get on the up from all platforms.

Apols, I meant the down line (for wrong directional working towards Rugby from Coventry. I've edited my post now.

 

[Efini92]

Is there a reason why these services have to run to Wolverhampton only for them to return back up-to Stafford to get onto the Trent Valley route?

Wolves is a relieving point for the crews.
Also there’s more services from wolves to Birmingham and beyond.