Storm Darragh - 6/7th Dec

[trundlewagon]

stranded, and quite possibly damaged, electric trains

At the very least, they've probably acquired a new livery overnight...

 

[QueensCurve]

Checking online weather forums there's talk of another storm brewing out in the far Atlantic waiting ready to unleash itself in time for next weekend. Thats another Christmas Saturday of "stay at home" disruption. The weather gods just couldn't pick a better time for it.

An interesting one between Greenland and Iceland for.11 December.



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[alansmithee]

So I'm trying to get from Bournemouth to Burscough.

This train is going to terminate at Birmingham New Street and I'll be there about 3pm. As far as I can tell my best option is to get a train to Wolverhampton and Uber to Stafford and stafford to wigan and the (planned) rail replacement service?

Unless I've missed any other sort of option?

 

[Lewisham2221]

So I'm trying to get from Bournemouth to Burscough.

This train is going to terminate at Birmingham New Street and I'll be there about 3pm. As far as I can tell my best option is to get a train to Wolverhampton and Uber to Stafford and stafford to wigan and the (planned) rail replacement service?

Unless I've missed any other sort of option?

According to National Rail there are replacement buses operating from Wolverhampton.

 

[alansmithee]

According to National Rail there are replacement buses operating from Wolverhampton.

Thanks to Stafford?

 

[Lewisham2221]

Thanks to Stafford?

Avanti replacement buses operating BHM - WVH and WVH - STA.

West Mids replacement buses operating WVH - CRE (presumably via Stafford)

 

[yorksrob]

I'm old enough to remember the Lakenheath matchstick forest!

Dit it have matchstick cats and dogs in it ?

I have to say, the railway did pretty well up here yesterday, considering how blustery it was.

 

[86206]

And one EMU stranded between Gravelly Hill and Erdington.

More generally it was announced that dated CrossCountry tickets for Saturday would accepted until Wednesday 11 December.

Stock in Kings Norton station/Bromsgrove left during the storm or did I read that wrong?

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Shrub Hill issue is unsafe roof

 

[SouthStand]

Congestion at Birmingham New St earlier with lots of cancellations. Trains crawling between Stamford and Peterborough due to tree debris on the line.

 

[dvboy]

Nothing has run between Cheltenham and Birmingham so far today. XC have cancelled all their direct trains between Cardiff and Birmingham.

Yesterday they didn’t run between Cardiff and Gloucester and 1449 was the last one to leave Gloucester.

 

[Horizon22]

GWR have fully stopped running anything to South Wales. Most of the rest of the High Speed routes are also heavily disrupted with trains sometimes every 3 hours (partly due to crew also).

 

[londonmidland]

Still a long way away in terms of weather forecasting but next Sunday and into Monday is one to keep an eye on.

Could be some more disruption if this comes off.

The weather chart below shows the potential for some disruptive windy weather for Monday the 16th of December.

 

[43066]

GWR have fully stopped running anything to South Wales. Most of the rest of the High Speed routes are also heavily disrupted with trains sometimes every 3 hours (partly due to crew also).

That seems sensible in the circumstances.

Your second sentence alights on another key issue: if lots of crews are delayed for several hours tonight, you’ll then encounter disruption tomorrow afternoon due to those crew members needing 12 hours between shifts.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

All trains cancelled in north Wales and I can blow stronger whilst whistling. Joke

 

[Lewisham2221]

All trains cancelled in north Wales and I can blow stronger whilst whistling. Joke

Ah, yes. I forgot that the railway was able to magically repair and clear itself the second the wind dies down a bit.

 

[danofthewibble]

All trains cancelled in north Wales and I can blow stronger whilst whistling. Joke

Should they run trains while the lines aren’t cleared and the staff aren’t there to run them because they’re in different locations to those they should be? If so, how?

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Should they run trains while the lines aren’t cleared and the staff aren’t there to run them because they’re in different locations to those they should be? If so, how?

Let me know where there is any infrastructure on the north wales coast that is preventing any service at all running.
Yesterday was truly horrendous, I get it today there isn't even a strong breeze. There is nothing blocking tracks and plenty of booking on depots. No excuse for a blanket shutdown. All though to be fair car is a lot lot cheaper than the train in north Wales. Where as south get brand new everything and cheaper tap and go prices. ... off topic but ...

 

[Horizon22]

That seems sensible in the circumstances.

Your second sentence alights on another key issue: if lots of crews are delayed for several hours tonight, you’ll then encounter disruption tomorrow afternoon due to those crew members needing 12 hours between shifts.

Was more it's just standard Sunday GWR crew issues which is partly responsible for the cancellations.

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Yesterday was truly horrendous, I get it today there isn't even a strong breeze. There is nothing blocking tracks and plenty of booking on depots. No excuse for a blanket shutdown.

Are you 100% certain about that? Trains aren't completely cancelled for the fun of it you know.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Was more it's just standard Sunday GWR crew issues which is partly responsible for the cancellations.

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Are you 100% certain about that?

Happy to be corrected

 

[43066]

Let me know where there is any infrastructure on the north wales coast that is preventing any service at all running.

If the routes haven’t been cleared nobody knows whether it’s safe to run over them, including Network Rail and the train operator. That’s the point! It’s probably best to avoid sending trains out to smash into fallen trees etc., potentially killing people or ending up with them stranded for hours on end.

You’ve also ignored the point about crews being displaced. Or do imagine there are unlimited numbers of crew sitting spare at every location?

Was more it's just standard Sunday GWR crew issues which is partly responsible for the cancellations.

People who aren’t at work today but are working tomorrow won’t be affected, so I suppose there’s an upside to the Sunday woes!

 

[Horizon22]

Happy to be corrected

Considering the intensity of the storm, isolated nature of some of the lines and need to prove routes, potential stock and crew displacement and you making such a confident statement, I would suggest it is on you to prove otherwise. If there was no infrastructure or major crewing issues, the trains would run and they are evidently not which suggests an issue.

 

[Caaardiff]

Let me know where there is any infrastructure on the north wales coast that is preventing any service at all running.
Yesterday was truly horrendous, I get it today there isn't even a strong breeze. There is nothing blocking tracks and plenty of booking on depots. No excuse for a blanket shutdown. All though to be fair car is a lot lot cheaper than the train in north Wales. Where as south get brand new everything and cheaper tap and go prices. ... off topic but ...

Given that was the worst hit area theres probably a large amount of trees and debris on the line across the length of North Wales. Its dependant on NR staff being available to check and clear the route.

Services East of Chester are running, so it's nothing to do with this ridiculous North/South bitterness.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Given that was the worst hit area theres probably a large amount of trees and debris on the line across the length of North Wales. Its dependant on NR staff being available to check and clear the route.

Services East of Chester are running, so it's nothing to do with this ridiculous North/South bitterness.

Someone from the south having an opinion on the north. Shock

TfW taking leaf from the avanti training school. Let's cancel anything towards North Wales at any given opportunity

 

[Lewisham2221]

Let me know where there is any infrastructure on the north wales coast that is preventing any service at all running.
Yesterday was truly horrendous, I get it today there isn't even a strong breeze. There is nothing blocking tracks and plenty of booking on depots. No excuse for a blanket shutdown. All though to be fair car is a lot lot cheaper than the train in north Wales. Where as south get brand new everything and cheaper tap and go prices. ... off topic but ...

You've personally walked every inch of the track from Holyhead to Chester and confirmed that there is absolutely no flooding, damage or obstruction and all signalling equipment is working perfectly? All the stations are undamaged and safe to open? Notwithstanding the need to have the correct traincrew in the correct places to operate the service, the need to ensure that rolling stock and traincrew end up back in the correct places and wanting to be pretty confident that there's no risk of restarting services and then having to suspend services again shortly afterwards, potentially leaving passengers, traincrew and trains stranded?

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

You've personally walked every inch of the track from Holyhead to Chester and confirmed that there is absolutely no flooding, damage or obstruction and all signalling equipment is working perfectly? All the stations are undamaged and safe to open? Notwithstanding the need to have the correct traincrew in the correct places to operate the service, the need to ensure that rolling stock and traincrew end up back in the correct places and wanting to be pretty confident that there's no risk of restarting services and then having to suspend services again shortly afterwards, potentially leaving passengers, traincrew and trains stranded?

Have you. So many obsessively defensive people here. I would never want anyone tk be put at risk. But as someone who lives here, but didn't walk the entire length of the track as that would be trespassing, knows pretty well there isn't any good reason a limited service could not be run. And the continued threat of danger and strong winds today just haven't happened. There is a strong breeze at best

 

[mmh]

Ah, yes. I forgot that the railway was able to magically repair and clear itself the second the wind dies down a bit.

Repair what? I've not seen anyone post any stories of damage to the railway here, and TFW's pictures of flooding are all from the south.

If NR were genuinely checking things, surely there would be engineering type trains doing that. I don't think any have gone past mine at all

 

[Lewisham2221]

Have you. So many obsessively defensive people here. I would never want anyone tk be put at risk. But as someone who lives here, but didn't walk the entire length of the track as that would be trespassing, knows pretty well there isn't any good reason a limited service could not be run. And the continued threat of danger and strong winds today just haven't happened. There is a strong breeze at best

No, I haven't. But I'm not the one unilaterally declaring that there is absolutely no reason why trains can't run.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

No, I haven't. But I'm not the one unilaterally declaring that there is absolutely no reason why trains can't run.

Find me a post from national or network rail saying there is a single issue down the north wales coast?

 

[mmh]

Have you. So many obsessively defensive people here. I would never want anyone tk be put at risk. But as someone who lives here, but didn't walk the entire length of the track as that would be trespassing, knows pretty well there isn't any good reason a limited service could not be run. And the continued threat of danger and strong winds today just haven't happened. There is a strong breeze at best

Quite. It's a little irritating to be told I don't know what happened in the area that I live in by people hundreds of miles away.

This approach doesn't bode well for the future, both in Wales and everywhere else.

 

[Caaardiff]

Someone from the south having an opinion on the north. Shock

TfW taking leaf from the avanti training school. Let's cancel anything towards North Wales at any given opportunity

Have you proof the routes are safe to be operated through? Because we're all waiting for it.