Storm Claudia - Travel disruption (14/11)

[Lewisham2221]

Any residual problems on the GB network today (Sunday) after Storm "Claudia"? Marches line between Shrewsbury and Newport still closed? And the section of line between North Llanrwst and Blaenau Ffestiniog? Exeter St..D. to Barnstaple? Anywhere else?

Marches still closed Hereford - Newport, the flooding has washed away some ballast near Abergavenny

 

[Annetts key]

Yes, Chipping Sodbury until 14.00 at the earliest <sigh>

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The BBC report quoted in this post says that South Wales - London passengers were being dealt with on services via Bristol Temple Meads, adding about 30 mins to the journey. I'll check what GWR is currently saying and post that

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Nov 2025 ==

Added later:

The BBC is correctly quoting what GWR says. Screenshots below from the GWR website

View attachment 192330View attachment 192331

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Nov 2025 ==

GWR are essentially saying "travel, but expect to be delayed a bit"

What GWR means by:

We are able to run trains via an alternative route, with journey times extended by approximately 20-30 minutes.

is that they are diverting these trains via the Bath / Box route.

This is the normal diversion route. However, any electric only services will be cancelled.

It normally takes two to three days for the water level at Chipping Sodbury to drop enough so that GWR trains can run.

 

[fandroid]

Barnstaple line closed until Monday according to GWR

"Cancellations to services between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple. Due to heavy rain flooding the railway between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple the line is closed.
Impact:Train services running to and from these stations have been cancelled. Disruption is expected until 02:00 17/11.Customer Advice:What has happened?-Due to flooding we are currently unable to run any trains on the Barnstaple line; this affects services between Crediton and Barnstaple (Exeter Central/Exeter St David's to Okehampton services are running).-Network Rail's remote monitoring equipment detected water levels exceeding the threshold for closure at three bridges and viaducts, triggering an automatic closure for the safety of all customers."

"Below are the options available to you
Option 1: Use the National Rail Enquiries real-time journey planner to check if a journey is currently possible. If you are at a station please check the live departure boards or speak to a member of station staff. We are working to ensure that rail replacement buses are shown in online journey planners.If you were travelling from or to Newton St Cyres then we have arranged for trains from or to Okehampton to call additionally.
Option 2: You may use your ticket, at no extra cost on the following Stagecoach South West routes: 5 between Exeter Central (New North Rd), Newton St Cyres (Belluno) and Crediton (Station Cross). 5A between Exeter (Bus Station), Newton St Cyres (Belluno), Crediton and Copplestone. 5B between Exeter (St David's station, stop B), Crediton (directly opposite train station), Copplestone (approximately 10 minutes by foot from the train station), Morchard Road (approximately 5 minutes by foot from the train station) and Barnstaple (directly opposite the train station). 5C between Exeter (Bus Station), Newton St Cyres (Belluno), Crediton, Copplestone, Morchard Road and Lapford."

 

[800001]

The line between Swindon and Bristol Parkway has now reopened.

 

[fandroid]

As the Barnstaple line out of Exeter was the only one affected for any length of time in the Exeter region, does that mean the the flooding problems that used to affect the GWR main line east of Exeter have finally been resolved?

Or did the main band of heavy rain miss that?

Without looking at a catchment map to confirm my hunch, I would assume that the River Exe itself picked up a lot of that water. After all, Exmoor is to the north and east of the Barnstaple line and the rain bands seem to have been shifting that way.

 

[CHAPS2034]

In any case the delay codes are clearly documented on the Open Rail Data Wiki, right here. "X4" is correct, and should be "Blanket speed restriction or Key Route Strategy implemented in accordance with Group Standards or other national operational safety instruction".

Why RTT haven't bothered to fix that issue on their end, I don't really know. They're not the only site which uses the data, though...

Thank you, Alex, for a very clear and simple explanation.

 

[eisenach]

Marches still closed Hereford - Newport, the flooding has washed away some ballast near Abergavenny

Is that the same stretch that was washed out a couple of years or so ago ?

 

[Lewisham2221]

Is that the same stretch that was washed out a couple of years or so ago ?

I assume so - it's the the stretch with a load of rocks reinforcing the embankment on the east side of the line, just a couple of miles north of Abergavenny

 

[MichaelTrains]

This sounds very irregular to me. I wonder if it would be a good idea to email enquiries@northernrailway.co.uk with the summary you've given us here? You can do this in addition to claiming compensation for the delay.

I have the automatic delay repayment set up, so Northern have already acknowledged that I get 100% of my fare back.

I will send them an email about the situation we encountered because if it is proven that the 2048 left with no passengers then that is unacceptable.

 

[Starmill]

I have the automatic delay repayment set up, so Northern have already acknowledged that I get 100% of my fare back.

I will send them an email about the situation we encountered because if it is proven that the 2048 left with no passengers then that is unacceptable.

I guess you mean left in passenger service rather than with no passengers? We can be confident it was in service. It was you saying that nobody was on it.

 

[MichaelTrains]

I guess you mean left in passenger service rather than with no passengers? We can be confident it was in service. It was you saying that nobody was on it.

Well it wasn't in passenger service leaving Bradford Forster Square because no one knew it was running.

We didn't stand around for two hours in the cold and rain for the fun of it.

 

[Starmill]

Well it wasn't in passenger service leaving Bradford Forster Square because no one knew it was running.

We didn't stand around for two hours in the cold and rain for the fun of it.

You can keep saying this until you're blue in the face, but unless you raise a complaint with Northern, you won't get any new information as a result of repeating it. You said "if it left with no passengers on it" - so you tell me, were there any passengers on it?

 

[43096]

You can keep saying this until you're blue in the face, but unless you raise a complaint with Northern, you won't get any new information as a result of repeating it. You said "if it left with no passengers on it" - so you tell me, were there any passengers on it?

How would he know if everyone was behind the barriers and no-one was let through?

 

[LlanishenBull]

Is that the same stretch that was washed out a couple of years or so ago ?

Looks like it from this ....

Storm Claudia – Hereford – Newport update

Information for journalists, press, bloggers and the media about Network Rail. Contact the press office to receive news, updates, press releases, videos, pictures, and factsheets, and to arrange interviews, filming and photography

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

...The rock armour in place from our resilience work in 2021, saw several boulders which alone weigh eight tonnes each, moved by the sheer force of the water from River Monnow, which you can see in the pictures attached, however the £4million investment on this line in 2021 to reduce extreme weather impacts has held true to its commitment, preventing further spread and damage to the area...

 

[Russel]

I notice the Conwy Valley has operated normally today, was North Wales not effected as much by the storm on Friday or have the repair/resilience work done over the last few years started to pay off?

 

[JUMOUK]

As the Barnstaple line out of Exeter was the only one affected for any length of time in the Exeter region, does that mean the the flooding problems that used to affect the GWR main line east of Exeter have finally been resolved? Or did the main band of heavy rain miss that? Without looking at a catchment map to confirm my hunch I would assume that the River Exe itself picked up a lot of that water. After all, Exmoor is to the north and east of the Barnstaple line and the rain bands seem to have been shifting that way.

Network rail did a great deal of work around the Cowley bridge area over the past few years to help the flood risk there. 24 culverts were installed under the railway to divert flood water, and part of the plan was also to demolish the defunct pynes weir further upstream, which collapsed before work could start there.

It’s quite an impressive sight now when the river level is high, it’s only a trickle in the summer but it absolutely roars out of the culverts in the winter and you can hear it well from the road near by

 

[fandroid]

Network rail did a great deal of work around the Cowley bridge area over the past few years to help the flood risk there. 24 culverts were installed under the railway to divert flood water, and part of the plan was also to demolish the defunct pynes weir further upstream, which collapsed before work could start there.

It’s quite an impressive sight now when the river level is high, it’s only a trickle in the summer but it absolutely roars out of the culverts in the winter and you can hear it well from the road near by

Thanks. That confirms what I guessed had been achieved.

In a small way Storm Claudia has proven that the railway is getting more resilient.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Nov 2025 ==

Due to heavy rain flooding the railway between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple the line is closed.Impact:Train services running to and from these stations have been cancelled. Disruption is expected until 23:59 17/11.

Here's a link to the GWR website where the problem is covered in "Travel Updates". I can't get any more targeted link to work

Buy cheap train tickets | Great Western Railway

Buy now and save money with cheap train tickets. With no booking fees you can travel with confidence when travelling with GWR.

www.gwr.com

 

[zwk500]

In a small way Storm Claudia has proven that the railway is getting more resilient.

The residents of Bristol would disagree with you!

 

[Killingworth]

In a small way Storm Claudia has proven that the railway is getting more resilient.

But a long way from resilient enough.

I was in Manchester on Friday and was very fortunate that my trains from and back to Sheffield ran, although my return was diverted via Guide Bridge due to a fallen tree that had stopped the preceding service to New Mills for over an hour. Trains from Glossop had been halted by a fallen tree in the morning. I gather Airport services were also disrupted due to fallen timber. Many other disruptions won't have been highlighted in this thread.

This glorious white frosted sunny morning all is going well, on my train at least, but the quantity of woodland steadily advancing towards catenary and tracks is a major threat to resilience of services and, even more importantly, safety.

This is a growing issue that won't go away -

 

[mike57]

We travelled to Peterborough Saturday for the day, and looking at the situation Friday evening I did wonder if we would end up cancelling. Train at home was a bit late arriving in the morning, nothing to with the weather, a car had argued with the level crossing barrier at Filey. Saw plently of standing water but even further south, in the Grantham/Peterborough area, which had received a lot more rain than we got at home there was no major flooding, unlike further west. To be fair LNER had no reported issues Friday. Northern were having a few problems between Doncaster and Sheffield. Returning home late afternoon we were about 10 mins late arriving back home, this was due to signalling issues near Thorne North.

At Peterborough the Liverpool - Norwich service was having problems, with some long delays, but LNER services were generally OK

 

[jamesst]

I'm still not sure why Northern have removed half the Liverpool-WiganNW services; those that are still running don't seem to be affected by speed restrictions etc. so why remove half the trains?

Even Chester-Hooton doesn't appear to have flooded (yet) so the rain can't be all that bad around there, as reflected in where the Met Office warnings were located.

Network Rail have done a lot of work on the drainage around Hooton recently, it looks like it paid off

 

[ChrisC]

We travelled to Peterborough Saturday for the day, and looking at the situation Friday evening I did wonder if we would end up cancelling. Train at home was a bit late arriving in the morning, nothing to with the weather, a car had argued with the level crossing barrier at Filey. Saw plently of standing water but even further south, in the Grantham/Peterborough area, which had received a lot more rain than we got at home there was no major flooding, unlike further west. To be fair LNER had no reported issues Friday. Northern were having a few problems between Doncaster and Sheffield. Returning home late afternoon we were about 10 mins late arriving back home, this was due to signalling issues near Thorne North.

At Peterborough the Liverpool - Norwich service was having problems, with some long delays, but LNER services were generally OK

Considering that there was around 24 hours of continuous heavy rain there was no flooding in the numerous villages in Nottinghamshire which have often had serious flooding following similar heavy rain in recent years. The eastern side of England has had an incredibly dry summer and the fields were not waterlogged as they have been the last 2 winters. Although there was some standing water in the fields most of the rain did soak into the ground over the weekend. Two years ago during Storm Babet, the ground was already somewhat waterlogged and was not able to absorb the heavy rain which fell. This resulted in the water running off of the fields swelling the streams and rivers and causing flooding. In many locations it was just running straight off the fields onto the roads and through the village streets. The South West of England and South Wales has not had anywhere like as dry a summer as in the east resulting in the floods from Storm Claudia last week.

 

[Starmill]

How would he know if everyone was behind the barriers and no-one was let through?

Because you can still see the platform at Bradford Forster Square without going through the ticket gates.

 

[Phil Atack]

Looks like it from this ....

Storm Claudia – Hereford – Newport update

Information for journalists, press, bloggers and the media about Network Rail. Contact the press office to receive news, updates, press releases, videos, pictures, and factsheets, and to arrange interviews, filming and photography

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

To add to intricacy of the situation, many local roads have also been flooded, which meant moving materials to site using arctic lorries to deliver specialist plant and 500 tonnes of ballast (track stone) is an enormous and very complex challenge. Quote from networkrail update: Frozen ballast??

 

[30907]

Because you can still see the platform at Bradford Forster Square without going through the ticket gates.

It left from 3 which is rather less visible.

However, it may well have carried passengers from Frizinghall or Shipley onwards, judging by the length of the station stops on RTT.

 

[Starmill]

It left from 3 which is rather less visible.

Not really, there's no entrance to platform 3 from anywhere other than where the entrance to the other platforms is, so given the statement that they were there at all times it seems unlikely that someone managed to get down there...

 

[DelW]

... but the quantity of woodland steadily advancing towards catenary and tracks is a major threat to resilience of services and, even more importantly, safety.

This is a growing issue that won't go away -

Nicely put