Great Western Coffee Shop

A security alert has closed Basingstoke station this morning. No trains are being permitted through the station either. Disruption expected until 3pm. That's all services calling cancelled/terminating short. SWR, GWR and CrossCountry.

Earlier this morning a suspicious package was discovered on a train at Winchester. Passengers were detrained there and the train was taken forward to Basingstoke. Quite why that was done, and not dealt with at Winchester, I know not. BTP will have had their reasons.

Buses in Basingstoke that are routed via the station are also being rerouted. Also, the top end of the of the shopping centre, and several other buildings near the station have been evacuated.

Delays to services between Basingstoke and Reading
Following a security alert earlier today between Basingstoke and Reading all lines have now reopened.
Train services running to and from these stations are returning to normal but some services will still be delayed. Disruption is expected until 11:00 03/04.
Customer Advice
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We're pleased to advise that Basingstoke has since reopened and traffic will resume very shortly.

Last Updated:03/04/2024 10:16

Police have just declare the item non-suspicious and the station has reopened. Service recovery can begin.

Intention was to take it to Woking?

Mark

Why Woking?

Woking was a hat-tip to a piece of 70s graffiti. That aside, it's understandable that a train with a large suspect device might be moved from Winchester, but Basingstoke was a curious choice of destination.

Mark

Why not Micheldever?There are still sidings there, I think, isolated, little need for disruption.

Are the Micheldever sidings electrified (might be relevant)?

They're not, neither are they accessible by vehicles, which may be a further problem.

The train involved was 2B24. Class 450 electric unit which would've been unable to access the sidings at Micheldever.

Im still none the wiser. ???

To ensure no damage to historic artifacts at Winchester, not a problem at Basingstoke???

John Betjeman would have had it run through to Slough!

From the very recently departed** days when train toilets still discharged onto the track, someone, attempting humour, added to a notice 'Do not flush the toilet when the train is at a station' ... 'Except Woking'.

Mark

Preserved railways aside, is this actually extinct on the national network?

150s, 155s, 156s and 158s?

When I travelled on a South African Railways train in the early 80s I was disturbed to see, looking down the bowl, the sleepers flashing by. :o.  No U-bend ...

There was a shower though!

It's my understanding that all rolling stock used on the national rail network now have retention tank toilets. Even heritage stock used on Network Rail metals has to have them fitted. There were a few derogations until last year for charter train rolling stock but they should've been converted by now.

The BR Mk1 toilet I used today was the old school non-retention type. However that was on a heritage railway. My 'leavings' are somewhere on the line between Groombridge and Eridge!

Sort of back on topic. More problems around Basingstoke this afternoon. Track circuit failures and routes locked. I was delayed by around 45 mins on my way home from Kent/Sussex. There may be a trip report, including the Spa Valley Railway, elsewhere on the forum at some point.