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A derailed engineering train has closed the line between Malvern and Ledbury. Major delays this morning and some cancelled trains (both on the cotswold line and knock on effects from Paddington.

From the FGW website :

Line problem in the Malvern Wells area.
Train services between Ledbury and Great Malvern are being disrupted due to emergency engineering works in the Malvern Wells area.Engineers are working as fast as possible to restore services to normal. Short notice alterations and delays of up to 60 minutes can be expected.

08:51 Great Malvern to Westbury due 11:36
This train will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.It will no longer call at: Great Malvern, Malvern Link and Worcester Foregate Street.This is due to emergency engineering works.

08:51 London Paddington to Hereford due 12:01
This train will be terminated at Worcester Foregate Street.It will no longer call at: Malvern Link, Great Malvern, Colwall, Ledbury and Hereford.This is due to earlier emergency engineering works.

10:43 Great Malvern to Brighton due 16:14
This train will be started from Worcester Shrub Hill.It will no longer call at: Great Malvern, Malvern Link and Worcester Foregate Street.This is due to emergency engineering works.

11:06 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 13:59
This train will be started from Worcester Foregate Street.It will no longer call at: Great Malvern and Malvern Link.This is due to emergency engineering works.

11:51 London Paddington to Hereford due 14:58
This train will be terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill.It will no longer call at: Worcester Foregate Street, Great Malvern, Colwall, Ledbury and Hereford.This is due to emergency engineering works.

13:20 Hereford to London Paddington due 16:59
This train will be started from Worcester Foregate Street.It will no longer call at: Hereford, Ledbury, Colwall, Great Malvern and Malvern Link.This is due to emergency engineering works.

BBC article link.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/7374776.stm

Buses ran at xx45 each hour to Hereford from Worcester Foregate Street.

But if the prob was at M Wells, why didn't (at least some) trains go to Malvern?

Trains terminating at Great Malvern actually reverse at Malvern Wells, stopping just beyond the signalbox. If you look at the story on the Worcester News website, that's just where tamper derailed. I suspect a catch point is the cause of the derailment, as I think there is one just the far side of the signalbox, to stop reversing trains running away back down the hill if the brakes fail. Was certainly there in a 2003 picture in a book I have.

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/search/display.var.2237845.0.travel_chaos_as_train_comes_off_the_tracks.php (http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/search/display.var.2237845.0.travel_chaos_as_train_comes_off_the_tracks.php)

Anyway, the morning's events proviuded yet more strong evidence for Network Rail and FGW to put to the ORR about knock-on delays, as the timetable on the Cotswold Line proper - and Oxford-London - was out of shape for the rest of the morning, never mind all the trains that didn't get beyond Worcester.