Weather related delays - 27th & 28th June

[Furrball]

From @FirstCC

All services from KGX have been suspended until 1540 to deal with severe congestion

 

[philjo]

FCC Website:

Owing to lightning having damaged equipment between London Kings Cross and Stevenage all lines are affected. Train services through these stations may be subject to disruption on all routes at short notice. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.

Due to the severe congestion caused by the lightning strikes, all services from London Kings Cross have been temporarily suspended for the next hour with services planned to resume at approximately 15:40hrs. Services will operate as normal from Moorgate to both Welwyn and Hertford North. There will be a limited train service between Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage. Rail Replacement buses will operate between Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage, calling at all stations. Buses will also operate between Hertford North and Stevenage, calling at Watton at Stone. Ticket acceptance is in place with National Express East Anglia on all reasonable routes, but please be aware that they are also experiencing disruption
Last updated: 28 Jun 2011 15:03:25

 

[ushawk]

Lightning strikes also reported at Southall and Petersfield according to NRE.

 

[jon0844]

I hope all the revenue staff are okay...

 

[ushawk]

Southern are now also reporting a broken down train at Balcombe, which will further delay FCC services.

 

[ushawk]

Lightning strikes have been causing a lot of problems this afternoon at Southall, Welwyn GC, Hertford North, Gatwick Airport (which is also having disruption to flights - also broken down train at Three Bridges), Hendon and Petersfield.

FGW are running an amended service out of Paddington with trains terminating at Cardiff Central and locals to Greenford suspended. Reduced/Revised service on other routes from PAD.

Heathrow Connect services are suspended with Heathrow Express having 20 minute delays.

First Capital Connect arent running Thameslink services south of Three Bridges and 30 minute delays via Hendon Also have 90 minute delays, along with EC, FHT and GC, on GN services. Buses between Hertford North/Welwyn GC and Stevenage.

Southern services from the Coast cant run between Haywards Heath and Three Bridges with buses running between those stations. Southbound can run but with 60 minute delays. Gatwick Express are additionally calling at Clapham Junction and East Croydon.

Finally, 45 minute delays on SWT between Portsmouth and Guildford.

Out of curiousity, other than knocking out a signal, what does a lightning strike do ?

EDIT - problems at Petersfield and Hendon have now been cleared. Also it now appears the broken down train at Three Bridges was also due to a lightning strike.

 

[causton]

I hope all the revenue staff are okay...

So they can slag off your favourite RPI even more?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Lightning strikes at Welwyn GC and Hertford North have caused serious damage to OHLE on the ECML. Everything delayed out of Kings Cross, all indefinitely:

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/ldbboard/dep/KGX

 

[suffolk_lp3]

Services between Bury St Edmunds & Cambridge + Ely have been suspended due to flooding at Kennett. How bad has it got down there? I was under the illusion it was quite raised up at part off the ground...

 

[HST Power]

Will this carry over and cause disruption tommorow? I'm supposed to be going to London! I heard the thunder in Potters Bar, it went on for quite a long while, and the rain was heavy to.

Some useful information for anyone stuck on the Great Northern.

Ticket acceptance

First Capital Connect passengers may use National Express East Anglia services on all reasonable routes. Passengers travelling between London Kings Cross and Peterborough may use any operator's service.
East Coast passengers may use the following services

London to Peterborough - use East Midlands Trains services from London St Pancras to Leicester for Cross Country services to Peterborough (last service from London travelling via this route is at 19:55)
London to Grantham / Newark - use East Midlands Trains services from London St Pancras to Nottingham for other East Midlands Trains services to Grantham / Newark (last service from London travelling via this route is at 18:30 for Grantham, 20:15 for Newark)London to Retford / Doncaster - use East Midlands Trains services from London St Pancras to Sheffield for Northern or First TransPennine Express services to Retford / Doncaster - (last service from London travelling via this route to Doncaster is at 20:55, 19:30 for Retford)London to Leeds / York / Newcastle - use Virgin Trains services from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly for First TransPennine Express services to Leeds / York (last service from London travelling via this route is at 18:40 for Newcastle, 20:00 for Leeds and York)London to Scotland - use Virgin Trains services from London Euston to Glasgow for ScotRail services to Edinburgh (last service from London travelling via this route is at 18:30).


East Coast passengers who chose not to travel today may travel tomorrow, Wednesday 29 June.

 

[causton]

Out of curiousity, other than knocking out a signal, what does a lightning strike do ?

It can fry cables, meaning the signals can't get any power so nobody moves. It can also mean the signaller's computer system breaks - so they can't set any routes - so nobody moves! (etc :P )

 

[philjo]

Journey home was not too bad.
A Huntingdon train turned up at Potters Bar a few minutes after I got there which went fast line non-stop to Stevenage. (8 car 321 - the front 2 coaches were almost empty)
We arrived in Stevanage platfrom 3 just as an EC HST was pulling in to platfrom 4 off the Hertford Loop - turns out this was the 15:27 York stopper which had taken over 90 minutes from Kings Cross to Stevenage. It was rammed - even first class had at least 30 people standing in each coach.
Then caugth another PBO train to Hitchin - this one left Kings cross an hour before the one I had travelled from Potters Bar on.
20 minute wait at hitchin for a Cambridge service.

The Platform displays were useless - showing services as either "delayed" or cancelled - even for the service I had just got off.
Occasionally the system would announce a service.

The Screen at the gateline at Hitchin (using the NRE system) however was showing everything accurately & told us where the trains were. People relying on the platform monitors would be catching the wrong trains!

Services are generally moving northbound through Hitchin/Stevenage with many fairly empty as far as I could see.
FCC southbound services were a bit more random & the screens saying they were wtill terminating at Stevenage.
Staff at Hitchin were still saying poeple would need to catch a bus southbound from stevenage - though when I was there a few minutes earlier 2 east coast services called in quick succession next stop Kings Cross.

 

[jon0844]

I got an email, some two hours after the first reports of problems, from FCC that was completely useless!

Due to lightning strikes disruption and delays are affecting all First Capital Connect routes.

Please check firstcapitalconnect.co.uk for more information and allow extra time for your journey.

Why send an email to tell you to look at the website, any more than using the screens on platforms to say to look at the website!!

Surely they could have attached some more information to the email, such as the ability to use other routes to complete the journey?

 

[OxtedL]

Just been on an Uckfield-LBG train that was apparently also delayed due to lightning strikes. The return working is delayed full stop, although there are other things happening in the Gatwick area tonight... Made me wonder if the train itself was hit.

 

[amcluesent]

I diverted using my 'any permitted' KGX-PBO ticket onto LST-STN-PBO, couldn't rely on any info on departures from KGX and didn't want to go there and find it still bedlam.

Looking at arrivals into PBO, looks like services are moving again northbound.

Anyone know what the sarnie ration on EC is today?

 

[YorkshireBear]

which would explain why some of the huge and (relatively) ancient metal structures such as the Forth Bridge wouldn't be able to withstand the UK's temp. variations.

Er, wait a minute . . .

It's different.... the metal on forth bridge snt designed to carry high voltage electricity completely different properties.

 

[Max]

Merged 4 threads on pretty much the same thing.

 

[jon0844]

I hope when all the thread collide it doesn't cause an earthquake...!

 

[ANorthernGuard]

which would explain why some of the huge and (relatively) ancient metal structures such as the Forth Bridge wouldn't be able to withstand the UK's temp. variations.

Er, wait a minute . . .

actually the only way you would stop the variance would be to make the metal a few feet thick etc just like the old bridges, however if someone would like to replace the entire railhead and overheads with 3x2 feet girders i'm sure they would be happy to oblige lol

 

[YorkshireBear]

actually the only way you would stop the variance would be to make the metal a few feet thick etc just like the old bridges, however if someone would like to replace the entore railhead and overheads with 3x2 feet girders i'm sure they would be happy to oblige lol

yours is better

 

[Mainliner]

I diverted using my 'any permitted' KGX-PBO ticket onto LST-STN-PBO, couldn't rely on any info on departures from KGX and didn't want to go there and find it still bedlam.

Looking at arrivals into PBO, looks like services are moving again northbound.

Anyone know what the sarnie ration on EC is today?

I'm on the 1930 KGX-Newcastle - left just a couple of mins late, in PBO now about 18 mins late, after 2 or 3 stoppages/go-slows around Welwyn/Stevenage.

Don't recall hearing any catering announcements, but I brought my own

 

[LE Greys]

Will it have cleared by tomorrow morning? I'm supposed to be going to Stonehaven.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Merged 4 threads on pretty much the same thing.

When you merge these threads, does the time of each posting automatically adjust itself to keep matters in a chronological order?

Is 4 threads an unusual number to merge?

 

[ushawk]

Just been on an Uckfield-LBG train that was apparently also delayed due to lightning strikes. The return working is delayed full stop, although there are other things happening in the Gatwick area tonight... Made me wonder if the train itself was hit.

Says on the NRE site that a the broken down train was caused by a lighting strike, so im guessing that it was hit.

 

[MadCommuter]

Is 4 threads an unusual number to merge?

Definitely more unusual than delays in the ECML

 

[jon0844]

Once again, FCC's information provision was pathetic. I got a text at 2139 to warn about possible delays, following an earlier email without any information (despite it having been issued on the website much earlier).

At Old Street, my train showed up on the board - as on time - then disappeared and never arrived. The next train did, and it would appear that it is still waiting at Old Street right now! Not even showing as delayed.

At Finsbury Park, I got off a Hertford train to wait for the 2111 to Cambridge, which I could see hadn't left KGX. It counted up the estimated time and I decided not to wait, and got the next slow WGC train. At Potters Bar, I checked and saw the train had finally left 35 minutes late. Pity those being told it was due any minute at Finsbury Park!

The screens, however, only said that all lines were now open after the lightning strike. No more info, like advice to ignore everything you see on the screens. Meanwhile, the FCC system doesn't make any announcements of problems - so if you're partially sighted then tough luck.

Rant over!

 

[dk1]

Services between Bury St Edmunds & Cambridge + Ely have been suspended due to flooding at Kennett. How bad has it got down there? I was under the illusion it was quite raised up at part off the ground...

Was above rail level & moving. Subsided quickly thence 5 followed by 20 TSR imposed. Delays around Ipswich continued for several hours due to freight conjestion.

 

[OxtedL]

Says on the NRE site that a the broken down train was caused by a lighting strike, so im guessing that it was hit.

I agree, although looking at what happened I don't think it was the Uckfield one...

If the train itself wasn't hit, I wonder if maybe it was the electricity supply/track/something that caused a power surge? Anyone in the know HINT HINT?

 

[dk1]

that only stops the heat circulating, the heat is still there and it can cause the engines to overheat, and then you have bigger problems

I never thought of it that way. Thinking about it you still get heat around in the cab which is annoying. 'How it works' was never my strong point :roll:

 

[lev441]

Problems Birmingham - Euston tonight!

Got stuck just outside Coventry on London Midland today.. We were travelling fine and all of a sudden a loud bang and spark from the wires above and we stopped for about 30 mins before crawling to rugby at 20mph.. Guard told us virgin would be accepting tickets and that we should travel to Milton Keynes and/or Euston and make connections from there.. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long for any of the connections but London Midland have stopped running through to Northampton/London and running buses between Coventry and rugby!