Power supply problems at Earlswood (Surrey) (BML; 17/02/2012)

[tsr]

Apparently one of the southbound lines at Earlswood (Surrey) has power supply issues, although I've heard conflicting information that it's at Salfords (Surrey), which is already causing moderate delays on the BML. Delays of up to 60 minutes are expected until further notice between Purley and Gatwick Airport.

In order to speed things up (or so it seems), southbound services are not calling at Coulsdon South and Merstham stations. Northbound services will call and customers for these stations are permitted to change at Redhill or use Metrobus's 405 route.

Hey ho. I'm glad I came home early from London today... I feel sorry for those involved in another incident on Southern's network this week. It will also affect FCC services.

Does anyone have any information to add? Does anyone know the problem's real location?

 

[djh1986]

This will be more disruption for BML commuters then, endless at present.

Does anyone know of a site where you can discover historic log of line disruptions? Really need to use delay repay on my season ticket after the past six weeks but can't remember every single incident off the top of my head, there's been that many!

 

[tsr]

This will be more disruption for BML commuters then, endless at present.

Does anyone know of a site where you can discover historic log of line disruptions? Really need to use delay repay on my season ticket after the past six weeks but can't remember every single incident off the top of my head, there's been that many!

As far as I know the log of incidents will be released soon, but it hasn't been done yet.

According to some rumours going around, in this incident, a FCC service (supposedly the 1542 from somewhere) had its conductor shoe ripped off between Earlswood and Salfords. I have heard comments from people purporting to be passengers who say that something on the bottom of the train very nearly came through the floor. There are also unconfirmed reports that it happened adjacent to the East Surrey Hospital at 1612hrs.

EDIT: djo appears to have confirmed this location in a post below.

 

[djo]

Just passed it, location as previously reported, green 319 stopped, only a few lights on, so passengers in semi darkness.... Could see lots of trains stacked on quarry line too, at every down signal... Could be there a while?

Djo

 

[tsr]

Just passed it, location as previously reported, green 319 stopped, only a few lights on, so passengers in semi darkness.... Could see lots of trains stacked on quarry line too, at every down signal... Could be there a while?

Djo

Oh bother!

The Live Departure Boards seem to be pretty misleading, then! Lots of applicable services aren't shown as severely affected. However, I know for a fact that this will have badly affected southbound Quarry Line services, and I also know that most southbound services are diverting via Redhill. Of course, this will probably become massively congested. I imagine it probably already is, judging by your observations.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Redhill is severly congested apparently due to number of services having to run through the station. No FGW services from Redhill - Gatwick and vice versa till further notice (standard procedure to cut Reading - Gatwicks short though I believe)

 

[djo]

Yes Redhill was very busy when I went through about 1735ish.... Our guard seemed quite excited to announce an FCC train had 'exploded' as the cause of the delays!

2403 seemed to have taken up residence in P3 of Horley. I presume detrained on an up GatEx, those passengers got far on their premium tickets!

Djo

 

[tsr]

Yes Redhill was very busy when I went through about 1735ish.... Our guard seemed quite excited to announce an FCC train had 'exploded' as the cause of the delays!

2403 seemed to have taken up residence in P3 of Horley. I presume detrained on an up GatEx, those passengers got far on their premium tickets!

Djo

An up fast GatEx? I didn't know they have PINEd some of those, although a number have been CAPEd or disrupted out of Victoria.

 

[EM2]

Big chunk of conductor rail missing, apparently.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Delays to 30 or so north of STP - SAC , not helped either by passcom pulled (by accident) on the down fast near Elstree.

Amazingly , this was a 12 car 377 , driver overode it and kept going after checking on the PA there were no real issues , and an FCC staff member on board re-set it ! Good work all round as blocking the MML DF would not have been welcomed with all this late running.

 

[londonmidland]

Apparently the third rail has come off the line, and 6 shoes gone off an 8 car 377. Got this off Facebook of which that persons' uncle works for Network Rail.

 

[tsr]

Apparently the third rail has come off the line, and 6 shoes gone off an 8 car 377. Got this off Facebook of which that persons' uncle works for Network Rail.

Aha. That would be the other damaged train. I had heard there were two trains that were damaged, with a third trapped.

Delays are still to continue until further notice, as of the time of this post, according to NRE and Southern.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Here's a vague BBC News article on tonight's disruption, although the details of where it happened are wrong (:roll: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17081186

 

[Bedpan]

Delays to 30 or so north of STP - SAC , not helped either by passcom pulled (by accident) on the down fast near Elstree.

Amazingly , this was a 12 car 377 , driver overode it and kept going after checking on the PA there were no real issues , and an FCC staff member on board re-set it ! Good work all round as blocking the MML DF would not have been welcomed with all this late running.

Ah, that explains the rather bizarre mixture of reasons for delays and cancellations on the live departure board, which include "delayed by electrical supply problems", "cancelled because of an earlier broken down train" and "delayed/cancelled by earlier vandalism" on successive trains heading in the Bedford direction.

 

[Bald Rick]

Delays to 30 or so north of STP - SAC , not helped either by passcom pulled (by accident) on the down fast near Elstree.

Amazingly , this was a 12 car 377 , driver overode it and kept going after checking on the PA there were no real issues , and an FCC staff member on board re-set it ! Good work all round as blocking the MML DF would not have been welcomed with all this late running.

Which one was that? I was on 1W95 running +31 and we did 50 from Scratchwood to Radlett.

 

[tsr]

Ah, that explains the rather bizarre mixture of reasons for delays and cancellations on the live departure board, which include "delayed by electrical supply problems", "cancelled because of an earlier broken down train" and "delayed/cancelled by earlier vandalism" on successive trains heading in the Bedford direction.

A typical day on the Thameslink and/or Brighton Mainline routes these days.

 

[elementalpat]

Sounds like a big job to fix that rail then.

Excuse my ignorance, I wonder what can cause a conductor rail to break?

I can guess at weather issues (extreme heat or cold) and perhaps yobbos sabotaging the track!!!

 

[Bald Rick]

Fixed now.

 

[ushawk]

Delays are now affecting most of the Southern and FCC networks, some Hastings to Brighton services are being delayed by an hour due to delays on the trains from London.

Lots of problems in the last few weeks for Southern, most of them infrastructure problems - either just unlucky these are happening or Network Rail arent doing their job properly.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Which one was that? I was on 1W95 running +31 and we did 50 from Scratchwood to Radlett.

1732 12 car , well late off SP

 

[Bald Rick]

1732 12 car , well late off SP

Missed that, had a pint to finish...

 

[Southern313]

50 metre stretch of conductor rail had "fallen over" causing 9 shoes to be torn off said FCC. The ED was out and about to rescue trains trapped from the Quarry. This incident now makes 22 CONSECUTIVE days of delays to Southern that are attributed to Network Rail, that and the January price hikes makes for some very unhappy punters at the moment!

 

[37 418]

Tell me about it, I'm working down in London at the moment.

I was waiting for the 16:45 GEx service, then it got cancelled, then was on board the 17:00 which also got cancelled then eventually caught the 17:15 which all but crawled to Gatwick, got my flight to Inverness with 10mins to spare! - If the 17:15 got cancelled I don't think I would have made it!

 

[ushawk]

50 metre stretch of conductor rail had "fallen over" causing 9 shoes to be torn off said FCC. The ED was out and about to rescue trains trapped from the Quarry. This incident now makes 22 CONSECUTIVE days of delays to Southern that are attributed to Network Rail, that and the January price hikes makes for some very unhappy punters at the moment!

Whats an ED ?

 

[Class315]

Whats an ED ?

Electro-diesel locomotive, this would be a class 73 acting as a 'thunderbird' rescuing the trapped passenger trains.

 

[OxtedL]

Whats an ED ?

Might be a Class 73. EDIT:Missed the boat there.

 

[Southern313]

Gatwick Express Class 73, usually at Stewarts Lane or very occasionally at Selhurst. Goes out on rescue missions when needed.

 

[tsr]

Gatwick Express Class 73, usually at Stewarts Lane or very occasionally at Selhurst. Goes out on rescue missions when needed.

Well, it wasn't at Selhurst from Tuesday to Thursday, as far as I know, and I don't think it would have been there on Friday, at a guess. I may be wrong.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Here is the apology from Southern and Network Rail: https://twitter.com/#!/networkrail/status/171575884761923584/photo/1

 

[ah-media]

50 metre stretch of conductor rail had "fallen over" causing 9 shoes to be torn off said FCC. The ED was out and about to rescue trains trapped from the Quarry. This incident now makes 22 CONSECUTIVE days of delays to Southern that are attributed to Network Rail, that and the January price hikes makes for some very unhappy punters at the moment!

Sorry - they are blaming the last 22 consecutive days on Network Rail? I think Southern need to grow some balls and accept that there have been a hell of a lot of train failures lately and that they are not the wholly innocent party...

I commute on the BML every day and keep a log of how late my train is and exceptional reasons... and not everything is the fault of NR.. Last Tuesday there was at least 1 broken down train at LBG (the 1757 to BTN - a 442)

Out of the 67 trips on the BML this year each journey has an average delay of 8 minutes .... Are you telling me that NR are responsible for every delayed minute of every journey?

*ANGRY COMMUTER*

 

[tsr]

Sorry - they are blaming the last 22 consecutive days on Network Rail? I think Southern need to grow some balls and accept that there have been a hell of a lot of train failures lately and that they are not the wholly innocent party...

I commute on the BML every day and keep a log of how late my train is and exceptional reasons... and not everything is the fault of NR.. Last Tuesday there was at least 1 broken down train at LBG (the 1757 to BTN - a 442)

Out of the 67 trips on the BML this year each journey has an average delay of 8 minutes .... Are you telling me that NR are responsible for every delayed minute of every journey?

*ANGRY COMMUTER*

I don't think anyone suggested that all the delays on the BML recently have been attributable to NR (merely that NR-related delays have occurred on x number of consecutive days), nor that Southern themselves have been blaming NR in public, except where it has been blatantly obvious to anyone that they have at least in part caused the delays. I have not, like yourself, kept track of every delay on the BML that I have experienced, but I have experienced a real variety of incidents, many of which have affected NR infrastructure, but haven't necessarily been caused by NR.

I dislike delays as much as the next person, but I think we have to accept that the causes of the delays will occur, sometimes in spates. Personally, I think that Southern do a good job of keeping customers informed of problems and giving advice about them, in comparison to past months and years, and I feel that they are getting better at running trains in times of disruption. Obviously, improvements can and must be made to the trains and infrastructure, as well as to staff training, to limit disruption.

 

[ushawk]

Majority of the delays have been caused because of weather conditions and infrastructure failures (like signal faults, problems with the 3rd rail, persons being hit by trains). Got to accept that trains will always develop faults and it cant be helped. And minor peak time delays will always happen because the service is so intensive from London in the evening peaks, a short 2 minute delay can delay trains behind that.