ECML major disruption - Stevenage

[londonmidland]

I’m currently on 1Y84 to London Kings Cross. The train manager has just announced that there may be some disruption near Stevenage due to a train fault, though they say we should be fine. However, looking at Open Train Times maps and observing it for the past hour or so, trains are being diverted onto the Hertford North line, very, very slowly.

At the time of posting, there are no more than 9 services queued back to back in the Stevenage area, awaiting to cross over from the Up Fast to Up Slow. This is contending with several Great Northern services which are also sharing the Up Slow with LNER. Giving the amount of services queuing, I’m surprised major disruption has not yet been announced. Several departures from Kings Cross are also indefinitely delayed, awaiting stock from inbound services.

I think passengers onboard this service will be in for a shock when we reach Stevenage and await the long queue of trains, awaiting their ‘turn’

 

[jfollows]

Services going through Knebworth (now), not Hertford loop.
1E07 08:30 Edinburgh-King’s Cross just left Stevenage 2 hours late.
1A20 09:45 Leeds-King’s Cross is standing on the up fast at Knebworth so trains have to go around it.

 

[notverydeep]

Looks like 1A20 0945 Leeds to London Kings Cross is the culprit having sat at Knebworth since 11:54 (a class 801). Trains appear to be queuing up to pass on the up slow, rather than being routed on the Hertford loop (though they may have gone that way earlier)...

 

[Horizon22]

OLE issue around Stevenage which may or may not be related to the trapped unit.

 

[Robski]

There was an ADD activation on 1A20, the train currently at Knebworth.

 

[800Travel]

There was an ADD activation on 1A20, the train currently at Knebworth.

What is ADD please @Robski_ ?

 

[Robski]

To add, issues were compounded further when 1A26 broke down on platform 1 at Stevenage (the only usable Up line to get around 1A20) with a door fault hence the massive queue of trains.

What is ADD please @Robski_ ?

Automatic Dropping Device, lowers all of the pantographs on a train whenever it detects a possible issue with the pantograph or overhead line.

 

[jfollows]

1A20 has now left as 5A20 … to Welwyn currently.

 

[bramling]

I’m currently on 1Y84 to London Kings Cross. The train manager has just announced that there may be some disruption near Stevenage due to a train fault, though they say we should be fine. However, looking at Open Train Times maps and observing it for the past hour or so, trains are being diverted onto the Hertford North line, very, very slowly.

At the time of posting, there are no more than 9 services queued back to back in the Stevenage area, awaiting to cross over from the Up Fast to Up Slow. This is contending with several Great Northern services which are also sharing the Up Slow with LNER. Giving the amount of services queuing, I’m surprised major disruption has not yet been announced. Several departures from Kings Cross are also indefinitely delayed, awaiting stock from inbound services.

I think passengers onboard this service will be in for a shock when we reach Stevenage and await the long queue of trains, awaiting their ‘turn’

I got caught up in this, all in all from my perspective the whole thing wasn’t well handled.

I was on the 1227 Letchworth to King’s Cross. This was late starting due to being held back in the sidings at Letchworth, but did end up running albeit a little late.

Was delayed by about 50 minutes between Hitchin and Stevenage, with several LNER trains given preference, including the one with door problems. I did wonder if this may have absorbed load from other trains and the door problem might have been due to overcrowding.

My train then skipped Knebworth and Welwyn North, but after Potters Bar was stuck behind a right-time 717 all the way to Finsbury Park, with no attempt by the signallers to arrange an overtake, despite opportunities being available (the Alexandra Palace stop once again shows up as a nuisance, though opportunities were available notwithstanding this). So eventually over 90 late into King’s Cross.

From my perspective, two things stood out

Firstly the quality of the signalling seemed quite poor. There were opportunities to divert trains, which seemed to be quite hit and miss. I noticed one of the few trains which did go via Hertford managed to be put right behind a 717 at Stevenage, which looked pretty avoidable. And aside from that, trains just didn’t seem to be being pushed through particularly efficiently where they were able to proceed.

Secondly provision of information was abysmal. The driver of the train I was on was provided with little information, though did do his best to pass on what he had. We were told about the train with the door problem, but nothing regarding what the wider problem was. And there was no information at my station either, just the usual automated Anne announcements stating that various individual services were “delayed”.

Based on my experience, a lot of room for improvements across the board.

 

[47421]

looks like a proper farce, thousands of delay minutes here

 

[takethegame]

It was similar at Peterborough and further north at Grantham and Newark yesterday, apparently strange decisions by signallers which only compounded the issue. I noticed to today that an Edinburgh to Kings Cross was terminated at Stevenage to recoup the delay but then sat at platform 2 well past its scheduled departure time back north, eradicating the time saving and blocking one platform (although the up fast was blocked further south by 1A20). Similiar happened at Peterborough with services turned back north but then failing to leave at their scheduled time, and random freight trains crossing from Eastfields to the March lines causing all trains on the ECML to be halted

 

[zwk500]

It was similar at Peterborough and further north at Grantham and Newark yesterday, apparently strange decisions by signallers which only compounded the issue. I noticed to today that an Edinburgh to Kings Cross was terminated at Stevenage to recoup the delay but then sat at platform 2 well past its scheduled departure time back north, eradicating the time saving and blocking one platform (although the up fast was blocked further south by 1A20). Similiar happened at Peterborough with services turned back north but then failing to leave at their scheduled time, and random freight trains crossing from Eastfields to the March lines causing all trains on the ECML to be halted

Is the area not now ARS, having moved into York ROC? (I know ARS can be turned off, but it's possible it's playing a part in the regulation)

 

[paulmch]

Is the area not now ARS, having moved into York ROC? (I know ARS can be turned off, but it's possible it's playing a part in the regulation)

Indeed, and it regularly causes headaches even when there's no significant disruption.

 

[zwk500]

[15:52]
1A31 (1315 Leeds - King's Cross) has now moved into Platform 2 at Stevenage, not clear if it's being turned back north as 50 mins late or if the UF is shortly to reopen.
[Update 1600]
1A31 has headed south, slowly now nearly 55 minutes late. Presumably is examining the line first. 1E12 (1100 Edinburgh - King's Cross, 45 late) has now followed it into the section.

 

[Retorus]

Indeed, and it regularly causes headaches even when there's no significant disruption.

An ARS-ache?

 

[Horizon22]

looks like a proper farce, thousands of delay minutes here

Not a great deal of stranded trains management there!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Nov 2024 ==

Indeed, and it regularly causes headaches even when there's no significant disruption.

In such a scenario like this, it would probably have been turned off.

 

[greyman42]

There seems to have been major delays on the ECML for the last ten days!

 

[Porty]

There seems to have been major delays on the ECML for the last ten days!

A slight exaggeration as my two days of travel Edinburgh to Kings Cross were on time - no significant problems at all on those days

 

[greyman42]

A slight exaggeration as my two days of travel Edinburgh to Kings Cross were on time - no significant problems at all on those days

Yes, a slight exaggeration.

 

[43094]

1E06 terminated at Stevenage. 1S19 started there.

The reason 1S19 was late North was awaiting the TM, who booked on and travelled to Stevenage on 1N85 (which was held at King's Cross to enable them to join).

No other option for 1E06 unfortunately.

 

[jfollows]

1A20 has now left as 5A20 … to Welwyn currently.

19:03 Welwyn platform 1 to Bounds Green. Planned for 45mph max.

 

[Steve Harris]

Is the area not now ARS, having moved into York ROC? (I know ARS can be turned off, but it's possible it's playing a part in the regulation)

Indeed, and it regularly causes headaches even when there's no significant disruption.

But it's not actually ARS !! It is it's close cousin DRS. See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/new-signalling-rocs.259348/page-5 post #122

 

[ValleyLines142]

I was caught up in this on 1E84. Driver giving plenty of information. Thankfully only 45L into Kings Cross, seemed to have just caught the tail end of it.

At one point there was 5 700s all in a row stuck in a queue.

I know there was ticket acceptance with Metrobus around the Croydon/Crawley/Gatwick region as the disruption affected services right the way through the core.

 

[Max]

Things may have improved on some TOCs this evening but Great Northern seem to have simply given up on the Cambridge route. No fast trains have run from Kings Cross since 20.09 (though it looks like the 22.39 might run...). This in itself is pretty terrible, especially given the incident was cleared hours ago, but made worse by the totally misleading information that Great Northern have been putting out on X claiming that services are running!

There seems to be a pattern of terrible communication from GN both on the ground, on their website and through social media. Luckily I knew of the problems in advance and didn't even bother going to Kings Cross, but I am not looking forward to a long wait at Cambridge to get back to my car at Cambridge North - no road transport has been organised!

 

[takethegame]

But it's not actually ARS !! It is it's close cousin DRS. See https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/new-signalling-rocs.259348/page-5 post #122

So is this mainly a Peterborough issue or wider on the ECML or indeed across the network? Everytime I switch Peterborough on strange/illogical things happen.

 

[Julia]

Cambridge and onwards at least has the alternative via Liverpool St, but disappointing that this wasn't even mentioned to the crowds at Kings Cross. With nothing apparently coming back north through the Thameslink core in the evening peak, the Peterborough fasts did run, but 1P84/86/88 left within about ten minutes of each other (! was on the heavily late 1P84) and again disappointing that none of them made extra stops to match the Thameslink 9Jxx pattern - Arlesey and Sandy commuters, as well as anyone who picks up GN outers at Finsbury Park, will have had an unnecessarily long wait in the cold.

 

[godfreycomplex]

So is this mainly a Peterborough issue or wider on the ECML or indeed across the network? Everytime I switch Peterborough on strange/illogical things happen.

Thus the only logical conclusion to draw is it’s a bad luck jinx that is caused solely by you switching it on

(I’m afraid I’ll have to be cryptic here but there are several reasons why Peterborough regulation is such an issue, and DRS is quite far down the list)