RailwayRookie
Member
GN is aiming for an hourly shuttle between Kings Lynn and Ely. No idea about the South side.
Some busses are currently on the route too.
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Experiences of service recovery (or lack of) on GTR Great Northern
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Some busses are currently on the route too.
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R
RailUK Forums
I wonder if there is any connection with all the broken down 379s GN have had recently (see yesterday, for example). Is there something going wrong with maintenance? Maybe totally unrelated of course.
Really needed to get into the office today but this sounds like an all-day problem
I was cycling over Addenbrookes bridge this morning and stopped to take a look.
1T11 0715 Kings Lynn-Kings Cross is stopped with the front of the train near the bridge over Nine Wells brook and the rear of the train under the Addenbrookes Bridge. It is a long way short of CA830 signal. All 3 pantographs are dropped.
About half an hour ago a class 755 was stopped on the down line next to the London end of 1T11, I'm guessing this was 2H94 0747 Stansted-Cambridge. RTT suggests this has now gone to Cambridge.
2H15 0757 Ely-Liverpool Street and 1L26 0519 Birmingham-Stansted were stopped in platforms 1 and 2 at Cambridge South. 2H15 appears not to have moved (it was definitely still there half an hour ago) but RTT suggests that 1L26 has run "bang road" back to Cambridge.
Go via Peterborough or Ipswich? You'd like to hope there would be ticket acceptance given the amount of disruption...
There are no trains out of Cambridge in any direction.
As far as I can tell 1T08 0724 Kings Cross-Kings Lynn is blocking Cambridge-Coldham Lane Jn and 1T11 0715 Kings Lynn-Kings Cross is blocking Cambridge South-Shepreth Branch Jn. According to RTT both trains seems to have stopped simultaneously at about 0818.
Really needed to get into the office today but this sounds like an all-day problem
Based on cancellations, until at least 1900. 1T08 needs to have its pantograph removed and tied down before it can move, which they estimate to take 5 hours (being generous!!).
Ticket acceptance on local buses between Cambridge and Ely so you can get to PBO or IPS from there. On GA the revenue protection go into hiding during CSL2, but I'm sure a tweet to GA or XC would get your ticket endorsed for a reroute.
I believe the 755 was the train sent to rescue the passengers of 1T11 as it is very stranded. It is said that they were taken to Cambridge so it seems so. It's all just BTET south of Cambridge, but north will likely be fully blocked for the swarm of fitters.
I doubt it's related but it was 379024.
It's a shame there isn't a better bus service than 6 buses a day between the two, but that's a moan for the bus subforum (as I have done in the past!).
St Neots sounds like a good plan to me. National Express to Heathrow looks to be sold out until late into the afternoon.
GA say the Cambridge<->Ipswich services will be diverting to Ely (!), but I don't see any evidence of that yet.
Guess I won't be getting to the office today then
tatitiliti
Member
Running Thameslink through ECML was an act of total stupidity when King’s Cross and St Pancras are a 2-minute walk from each other and it’s usually quicker to change and take a flyer anyway.
The routes should’ve remained segregated - the single small advantage this gives is reduced platform occupancy at King’s Cross but this just gets swallowed up by general operational complexity.
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Not the X5 any longer, as that was too useful so Stagecoach quietly killed off the eastern leg during covid - now we have the 905. And I'd not noticed until now quite how slow that is compared to the X5 - 1h 40m from Cambridge to Bedford - ugh. (Just looked it up - in 2017 the X5 was timetabled for 69 minutes between Cambridge and Bedford, so the journey is almost 50% slower than then).
GN have given up north of Letchworth for some reason. No idea why they can't run to Royston.
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tatitiliti
Member
My wife got stuck on 1T13 at Waterbeach - no sign of a taxi - what a disaster…
They absolutely are and have been since about 0900.
Trains between London and Cambridge should be running again within the next 1-2 hours, but nothing from the North, not even bi-modes.
I must have been looking at Traksy at the wrong times
I can now see 2W12 (Ipswich to Cambridge) is currently between Soham and Ely, so agreed, this is indeed happening.
ac6000cw
Established Member
That sounds like the best idea at the moment (St. Neots station is well on the east side of the town, so check for the nearest bus stop), unless Cambridge - London trains start running by mid-afternoon.
I have been to have a look at 1T08 0724 Kings Cross-Kings Lynn. It has come to a stand about halfway between the Mill Road and Coldhams Lane bridges.
The pantograph arm on 379024 has been bent backwards at the elbow, so that it is almost straight, but it isn't tangled in the contact wire. I couldn't tell what damage has been done to the overhead line, if any.
1T11 0715 Kings Lynn-Kings Cross has not moved and the pantographs are still dropped.
National Rail are now saying major disruption for the rest of today.
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There should be a lot more buses running from around 4pm between Cambridge and Letchworth, with shuttles from there to London. I believe the OHLE works will go into the evening at least, possibly longer.
No doubt a lot of the buses requested are doing school contract work before then.
No doubt a lot of the buses requested are doing school contract work before then.
This link says no onward travel from Letchworth. Buses from Hitchin to Cambridge. No idea why they can't run to Royston which is much nearer, that after all is where the electrics used to terminate.
bramling
Veteran Member
There isn’t much evidence of a Letchworth service, let alone Royston. As things stand at this moment the GN outer service consists of Horsham-Peterborough, with the Cambridge stopping service seeming to have largely evaporated. The odd booked Letchworth train seems to have run, that’s about it.
I hope people aren’t making their way to Letchworth, as if they do they will be greeted with little if anything. And wouldn’t be surprised Letchworth station just shut up shop, that’s their standard way of dealing with disruption.
ac6000cw
Established Member
At this moment, Signalmaps is showing 2C41, 14:57 to Kings Cross, sitting in platform 1 at Letchworth (the train came out of the depot there a few minutes ago).
whoosh
Established Member
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I don't know if it will actually happen, but apparently 70 minute turnarounds at King Lynn are being 'explored' as an option for the May 2027 timetable.
ac6000cw
Established Member
ac6000cw
Established Member
I'm at Ely at the moment, and 1L42 (Birmingham to Stansted) has just left heading south - I assume it's heading for Cambridge North? Edit: it was, and is now heading back north from there as 1N61.
Also the train that was 1N59 (Stansted to Birmingham) has just left Cambridge North heading northwards. Edit: now arrived at Ely.
The unusual situation of two trains (both 755s), 2W25 to Ipswich and 1K78 to Norwich (both reversing there), in platform 1 at Ely at the moment:
Also the train that was 1N59 (Stansted to Birmingham) has just left Cambridge North heading northwards. Edit: now arrived at Ely.
The unusual situation of two trains (both 755s), 2W25 to Ipswich and 1K78 to Norwich (both reversing there), in platform 1 at Ely at the moment:
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tatitiliti
Member
They have three platforms to do this (and could put the fourth back in without masses of work if needed as the alignments are still there) - 70 mins sounds like a sensible solution.
I guess they’ll have to get back some of the 387s they sent to southeastern to make this work?
bramling
Veteran Member
There’s enough slack in the Electrostar fleet to allow this. Assuming the whole 379 fleet is available by then, GTR will have theoretically gone from 38x387 to 43x387/379, so the current level of service should be able to be delivered.
Kings Lynn has 2 platforms passed for passenger trains.
Adding more platforms requires signalling alterations that are very expensive.
NR's disruptions page is headlined with 'lines reopened' - which isn't terribly helpful given only lines south of Cambridge have reopened, whereas the north side is very much still blocked.
The detail beneath is a mix of out-of-date information (a few lines after saying 'Trains can now run to and from Cambridge again' it says 'Please be advised there is no onwards travel between Letchworth Garden City and Cambridge at this time') and gibberish ('If you need to travel beyond Royston then you should catch a train that's last stop is Cambridge. This is to help with overcrowding.' - eh?)
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As above, looks like the XC services are now turning at Cambridge North, offering some degree of service for Cambridge North at last. Bit surprised the GA Norwich's aren't doing the same, but they still seem to be turning at Ely.
The detail beneath is a mix of out-of-date information (a few lines after saying 'Trains can now run to and from Cambridge again' it says 'Please be advised there is no onwards travel between Letchworth Garden City and Cambridge at this time') and gibberish ('If you need to travel beyond Royston then you should catch a train that's last stop is Cambridge. This is to help with overcrowding.' - eh?)
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As above, looks like the XC services are now turning at Cambridge North, offering some degree of service for Cambridge North at last. Bit surprised the GA Norwich's aren't doing the same, but they still seem to be turning at Ely.
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