Power Issues near Hemel Hempstead 07/05/2026

[SCDR_WMR]

Just to confirm that this morning's incident was 1N00 hitting a P-Way trolley. Not related to the knitting being pulled down.

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

Just to confirm that this morning's incident was 1N00 hitting a P-Way trolley. Not related to the knitting being pulled down.

Not just an trolley but an Ironman which are around 150kg and can carry up to 1.5 tonnes. They are usually used for shifting rail, crossings etc.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Not just an trolley but an Ironman which are around 150kg and can carry up to 1.5 tonnes. They are usually used for shifting rail, crossings etc.

Indeed, though the ironman is now in several pieces and would struggle to carry anything of note

 

[Russel]

Just to confirm that this morning's incident was 1N00 hitting a P-Way trolley. Not related to the knitting being pulled down.

I just can't get my head around how the people that are meant to be responsible for the safe upkeep and operation of the rail infrastructure can leave something like that on the track, with the potential to cause a major accident.

Looking at pictures of them, they are bright yellow, how can it be missed?

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

I just can't get my head around how the people that are meant to be responsible for the safe upkeep and operation of the rail infrastructure can leave something like that on the track, with the potential to cause a major accident.

Looking at pictures of them, they are bright yellow, how can it be missed?

At this risk of going off topic, there will be an investigation.

Planning, competence, communication, fatigue, paperwork, human factors and more will be looked at.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

I just can't get my head around how the people that are meant to be responsible for the safe upkeep and operation of the rail infrastructure can leave something like that on the track, with the potential to cause a major accident.

Looking at pictures of them, they are bright yellow, how can it be missed?

The photo of the trolley (destroyed) I have doesn't look anywhere near as substantial as that, but it is bright yellow and should not be left unaccounted for when closing a work area down!

 

[Russel]

At this risk of going off topic, there will be an investigation.

Planning, competence, communication, fatigue, paperwork, human factors and more will be looked at.

Yeah, great, until it happens again.

This is all well and good and ticks the "we've done something" box and I'm sure "lessons will be learnt"....

 

[DelW]

The photo of the trolley (destroyed) I have doesn't look anywhere near as substantial as that, but it is bright yellow and should not be left unaccounted for when closing a work area down!

Is there any indication of whether it was left actually on the track (which would have been an extraordinary oversight), or whether it had been taken off track but left without sufficient clearance? That would still have been a serious mistake, but perhaps easier to understand how it might have happened.

 

[sharpener]

Is there any indication of whether it was left actually on the track (which would have been an extraordinary oversight), or whether it had been taken off track but left without sufficient clearance? That would still have been a serious mistake, but perhaps easier to understand how it might have happened.

Or perhaps it was stowed well out of the way but vandals thought it would be a wizard wheeze to re-rail it and watch the fun?

 

[DelW]

Or perhaps it was stowed well out of the way but vandals thought it would be a wizard wheeze to re-rail it and watch the fun?

I can't find the reference now, but I think it was reported as having been hit at around 0500 after overnight work had taken place. Which doesn't make vandalism impossible, but it's probably not a very likely time slot for miscreants to be about and up to no good.

 

[The Planner]

I can't find the reference now, but I think it was reported as having been hit at around 0500 after overnight work had taken place. Which doesn't make vandalism impossible, but it's probably not a very likely time slot for miscreants to be about and up to no good.

I would have thought that was the ideal time, very few people about and less likely to be caught, if that was the case. I can't imagine a lot of the grafitti is done in the day time.

 

[Russel]

Or perhaps it was stowed well out of the way but vandals thought it would be a wizard wheeze to re-rail it and watch the fun?

It was quoted as being 150kg in weight earlier in this thread, and hit at 5am, presumably not long after work had finished, while vandals are possibility, it's a very slim possibility.

Let's not start making excuses for why a serious safety breach almost certainly caused by the people responsible for the safe upkeep of the railways can't possibly be responsible.

 

[themiller]

From memory Bourne End is literally the border between Euston and Bletchley DUs so I would expect probably 2hrs response time for OHL teams from Stonebridge or Bletchley (possibly both at some point given the damage) and that would be if they weren’t out somewhere else in the area on routine maintenance.
I have no idea as to the extent of the damage to both lines but logic would (?) say less on the UFL than the DFL so maybe the focus could have been to look to repair that on Thursday night and possibly re-open the DFL only to diesel traffic ready for a full repair Saturday night. Again, no idea to the full extent but have done this in the past on the WCML

Passed through on the 1620 to Manchester and saw that the wire south of the break was down on the down fast but the end of the wire was lying across the up fast. The up fast wiring looked to be unaffected. I didn’t see the broken wire north of the break.

 

[Elecman]

Let's not start making excuses for why a serious safety breach almost certainly caused by the people responsible for the safe upkeep of the railways can't possibly be responsible.

You appear to have a singular dislike of Network Rail, is there reason for this attitude ?

 

[Russel]

You appear to have a singular dislike of Network Rail, is there reason for this attitude ?

It's not a dislike, more that I don't believe that any organization that is responsible for the safety of thousands of people on a daily basis should be immune from criticism.

Or would you rather we brush their failings under the carpet?

 

[Omnishambles]

It's not a dislike, more that I don't believe that any organization that is responsible for the safety of thousands of people on a daily basis should be immune from criticism.

Or would you rather we brush their failings under the carpet?

Agree shouldn’t be immune from criticism but should also be accountable by the ORR more effectively as I see, still today, possession irregularities such as this appears to be (investigation tbc) as well as regularly trains striking site boards or protection placed on incorrect and open lines.

 

[SansHache]

accelleration of which component in which direction?

Apologies for the delay in responding, the accelerometers are usually mounted on or close to the pantograph head and measure in all three axes (vertical, longitudinal and lateral). Excessive vertical shocks may indicate a "hard spot" at registration supports, longitudinal shocks will detect a discontinuity in the contact wire, such as a worn insulator as entering a neutral section. The accelerometer output is transmitted to ground in real-time and the characteristics of the plot are often a strong indication of the type of defect. This analysis is supported by the video images that are captured at the time of the event.
GPS locations for high impact events are recorded and these usually include reference to the closest overhead line structure.

 

[ChilliSauce]

You appear to have a singular dislike of Network Rail, is there reason for this attitude ?

Not wishing to go off topic but this I believe is a clear example of an infrastructure owner / controller failing to take their responsibilities seriously.

In this instance they put at risk the travelling public.

I also believe The headline is actually wrong as it states a "Wrong side failure" where as it was actually more serious as it was an "Unprotected Wrong Side Failure"

 

[800001]

Not just a trolley but an Ironman which are around 150kg and can carry up to 1.5 tonnes. They are usually used for shifting rail, crossings etc.

Off topic, but hearing there was a similar incident on swr involving a class 159 today; resulting in an evacuation of the train.