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Someone should get to Uffington, apparently there is "oil everywhere" after a pipe ruptured on a freight train this morning.  Fortunately, it terms of disruption, in happened just past the crossovers so trains are able to get past using reversible working over the Up line as far as Bourton just outside Swindon.

Are you absolutely sure that "oil everywhere" is the correct technical term, bobm?

Apparently that was the phrase used by the driver to the signaller.

The Tilbury - Wentloog Freightliner appears to have stopped just west of Uffington at 6:20 this morning blocking the down main. Down trains have been using the reversible signalling to run on the up line between the Uffington and Bourton crossovers. Freight on the move just under 3 hours later though, at the time of posting, down trains are still being routed over the up line between the crossovers. Needless to say, it's causing some delays!

Apparently a pipe split and caused quite a bit of contamination of the rail head and ballast.

Once the train was rescued and moved they did try using the sanders on a following freight to clear the oil but it wasn't too successful.   The line has now re-opened and staff are treating the rails between trains.  With the route through Newbury closed that stretch is pretty busy this week.

Thankfully it failed just past the crossovers at Uffington so there was a relatively short stretch of reversible working needed.