Signalling problems Guildford/ Reading / Waterloo 18/07 lines

[Class 317]

Currently at Reading station and all services are currently at a standstill Reading to Waterloo, Guildford area and Windsor lines due to a signalling issue.

No trains running at all and all trains appear stopped on the lines.

Anyone have any idea what's going on?

 

[godfreycomplex]

Major loss of signalling throughout the area. Don’t plan on any trains on any of the Windsor lines (most likely) for the rest of the night

 

[Class 317]

Major loss of signalling throughout the area. Don’t plan on any trains on any of the Windsor lines (most likely) for the rest of the night

Thanks, Any ideas on tomorrow morning as I need to get an early flight. Thanks again for your help.

 

[JetTheWolf]

Major loss of signalling throughout the area. Don’t plan on any trains on any of the Windsor lines (most likely) for the rest of the night

This would probably explain why there's a few services in the twickenham area on signalmaps stuck just outside stations with proceed aspects right? Some sort of global stop order likely sent out

 

[800301]

Code Black declared

 

[godfreycomplex]

Thanks, Any ideas on tomorrow morning as I need to get an early flight. Thanks again for your help.

Would make a plan B if you can, stock is already out of position

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Jul 2025 ==

This would probably explain why there's a few services in the twickenham area on signalmaps stuck just outside stations with proceed aspects right? Some sort of global stop order likely sent out

Correct

 

[JetTheWolf]

Hearing through the grapevine, some passengers have allegedly self-evacuated from trains, with one service being denied an evacuation request almost an hour ago:
https://twitter.com/bizarrebliss/status/1946315802774229288

@bizarrebliss Jul 18
@SW_Help this is ridiculous! Train full of people stuck between Twickenham and Whitton for more 1.5 hours. No resolutions? The driver has no idea what's going on either. It's getting late now which is going to make it even harder to find alternative travel?!

@bizarrebliss
The guard said they have asked for an evacuation and we are being told NO! We want to go home?!

 

[James H]

SWR don't help themselves with unclear communications - the entry on JourneyCheck for this incident is headlined 'Cancellations to services at Strawberry Hill' which doesn't really do justice to the situation

The other day the mainline between Bournemouth and Southampton was blocked, but the headline on JourneyCheck only referred to problems on the Lymington branch. Once you read the text underneath it explained that the mainline was shut too.

 

[MrJeeves]

Loss of interlocking at Basingstoke, as I understand it.

 

[Class 317]

Would make a plan B if you can, stock is already out of position

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Jul 2025 ==


Correct

Thanks made it home tonight in a Taxi and have an alternative booked for tomorrow morning.

 

[stuving]

I've just seen an ECS run from Reading through Wokingham. While I could not see the level crossing signal for it, presumably that was green (it was red earlier).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Jul 2025 ==

2C63, which froze at (or near) Virginia Water at 20:34, started moving again at 23:35 and has reached Ascot.

 

[JGurney]

Would make a plan B if you can, stock is already out of position

No District Line service between Richmond and Earls Court tomorrow.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Loss of interlocking at Basingstoke, as I understand it.

The architecture of SSI was three interlocking processors, so if you lost one you could still signal the area. The lineside signalling is then connected by two diverse data links, and again you should always (well something like 99.95%) be able to maintain control.

Something gone well awry here and rather flies off the press release for this project which told us this "£375m investment to install state-of-the-art signalling system which will improve the reliability of the line between Feltham and Wokingham". Maybe it has but when it falls over it cripples a massive area of railway and leaves it shut for hours questions need to be asked about the resilience of it.

​

 

[chrisp37]

And now there’s major disruption at Waterloo due to an earlier signal failure. Not a good couple of days for the SWR network …

 

[davews]

2C63, which froze at (or near) Virginia Water at 20:34, started moving again at 23:35 and has reached Ascot.

And this train formed the first service from Reading this morning, 2C10. Presumably an unplanned Saturday 701.

 

[74A]

Llooks like it's still not fixed. Trains being held in platforms.

 

[horsewalrus]

NRE says "Trains are unable to use platforms 1 to 14 [at Waterloo]."

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

NRE says "Trains are unable to use platforms 1 to 14 [at Waterloo]."

They've got 15-24 which could be access at Queenstown Rd Jcn to avoid west Crossings but I suppose the main line drivers don't sign the old international platforms.

 

[NSEWonderer]

Isn't Waterloo controlled by Wimbledon panel? Not Basingstoke?

 

[TTD31]

Slightly off topic but what are the drivers doing when facing disruption like this?

 

[lawried123]

SWR don't help themselves with unclear communications - the entry on JourneyCheck for this incident is headlined 'Cancellations to services at Strawberry Hill' which doesn't really do justice to the situation

The other day the mainline between Bournemouth and Southampton was blocked, but the headline on JourneyCheck only referred to problems on the Lymington branch. Once you read the text underneath it explained that the mainline was shut too.

I quite agree about the communications. I arrived at Waterloo at 2200 intending to get the 22:20 to Bracknell. The indicators and the announcements were just saying the trains on that line were all cancelled, but no advice was being given out about what people were supposed to do.

Fortunately I know the system, so I immediately went to Paddington to get a train to Maidenhead and then a taxi from there. But there were a lot of people at Waterloo who didn't know how they were supposed to get home.

I hate to think what happened to the passengers left sitting around at Waterloo waiting for at least some guidance. Now I'm just waiting to see whether I get the refund on the taxi fare.

Lawrie

 

[NSEWonderer]

Slightly off topic but what are the drivers doing when facing disruption like this?

Not much if you're stuck in the cab, you'll mostly be asking the Guard for information as they'll have a device out and can get more information than us at times. Signaller will be often too busy to give interval updates. If you're stuck however waiting for your train to relieve then either you're waiting for ages or told that a change of plan is happening instead.

In a nutshell, not much as you're waiting often for instruction during such degraded work.

 

[Matt Taylor]

They've got 15-24 which could be access at Queenstown Rd Jcn to avoid west Crossings but I suppose the main line drivers don't sign the old international platforms.

Mainline crews sign all platforms at Waterloo.

 

[Deepgreen]

One of the huge disadvantages of centrally-controlled signalling over large areas - a fault at a single (remote) location shuts down a large chunk of a network.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Jul 2025 ==

SWR don't help themselves with unclear communications - the entry on JourneyCheck for this incident is headlined 'Cancellations to services at Strawberry Hill' which doesn't really do justice to the situation

The other day the mainline between Bournemouth and Southampton was blocked, but the headline on JourneyCheck only referred to problems on the Lymington branch. Once you read the text underneath it explained that the mainline was shut too.

The whole railway has a pretty abysmal information response to most situations like this. Lessons are either never learnt or are not implemented, and so it goes on, time after time...

 

[pompeyfan]

Not much if you're stuck in the cab, you'll mostly be asking the Guard for information as they'll have a device out and can get more information than us at times. Signaller will be often too busy to give interval updates. If you're stuck however waiting for your train to relieve then either you're waiting for ages or told that a change of plan is happening instead.

In a nutshell, not much as you're waiting often for instruction during such degraded work.

There are definitely crew that fully take advantage of the situation though and play dumb or insist on direct instruction (which isn’t always feasible) rather than being proactive (although I can’t really blame them for not being proactive, as it usually means more work)

 

[r1_biker]

My booked train is due 60 mins late but my next working after that leaves on time in 30mins, how do I be proactive and decide which train to ignore without direct instruction?

 

[godfreycomplex]

Isn't Waterloo controlled by Wimbledon panel? Not Basingstoke?

Correct, this is a separate issue to yesterday

 

[pompeyfan]

My booked train is due 60 mins late but my next working after that leaves on time in 30mins, how do I be proactive and decide which train to ignore without direct instruction?

Maybe I’m being thick but I don’t understand your point? By being proactive I was referring to seeking advice from the resource manager or train service controller rather than some that see their train is cancelled and sit around waiting for someone to contact them.

 

[NSEWonderer]

Maybe I’m being thick but I don’t understand your point? By being proactive I was referring to seeking advice from the resource manager or train service controller rather than some that see their train is cancelled and sit around waiting for someone to contact them.

Often the problem with trying to call around to find out "how you can help" is that often you barely will get through to anyone as the people you'd like to speak to are often bombarded with other Drivers, Guards etc calling about what they can do or what they can't do, and these people only have a limited amount of processing capability before overload.

Again even if you get through to someone, they've got to make sure that any work they potentially might give you still matches with your book off time, PNB if not had any and more so doesn't collide with any upcoming work, if it does, they need to shift that work onto someone else and then do the same with them.

It's messy and so I don't blame any driver that decides to sit and wait for instructions because often if the call comes through then that means the Service/Resource manager has often checked it all.

 

[r1_biker]

Often the problem with trying to call around to find out "how you can help" is that often you barely will get through to anyone as the people you'd like to speak to are often bombarded with other Drivers, Guards etc calling about what they can do or what they can't do and these people only have a limited amount of processing capability before overload. Again even if you get through to someone, they've got to make sure that any work they potentially might give you still matches with your book off time, PNB if not had any and more so doesn't collide with any upcoming work, if it does they need to shift that work onto someone else and then do the same with them. Its messy and so I don't blame any driver that decides to sit and wait for instructions because often if the call comes through then that means the Service/Resource manager has often checked it all.

I made 41 attempts to call resource manager recently when all was going wrong.

if they won't answer and tell me what is happening I shall sit and wait