Great Western Coffee Shop

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/09/24/disruption-between-cardiff-central-and-paddington-91466-27334113/

Line problem between Reading and Didcot Parkway.
Train services have been disrupted due to earlier signalling problems between Reading and Didcot Parkway.Engineers have worked as fast as possible to restore services to normal. Short notice alterations, cancellations and delays of up to 30 minutes may still occur.
All services are running with the exception of the following services below. CrossCounty Trains are accepting First Great Western Customers between Oxford and Reading.
Last Updated: 24/09/2010 10:08

Service incidents

07:28 Swansea to London Paddington due 10:32
This train has been revised.It will call additionally at: Didcot Parkway.This is due to signalling problems.
07:30 London Paddington to Penzance due 13:16
This train has been revised.It will call additionally at: Westbury.It will no longer call at: Swindon and Chippenham.This is due to signalling problems.
08:18 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids due 11:10
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Theale and Thatcham.This is due to signalling problems.
08:22 London Paddington to Hereford due 11:44
This train will be started from Oxford.It will no longer call at: London Paddington, Slough and Reading.This is due to signalling problems.
08:31 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 10:37
This train will be terminated at Swindon.It will no longer call at: Didcot Parkway, Reading and London Paddington.This is due to signalling problems.
08:37 Oxford to London Paddington due 10:31
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
08:57 London Paddington to Oxford due 10:40
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
09:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 10:39
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Chippenham and Swindon.This is due to signalling problems.
09:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington due 10:39
This train has been revised.It will no longer call at: Chippenham and Swindon.This is due to signalling problems.
09:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central due 11:23
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
09:31 Oxford to London Paddington due 10:29
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
09:37 Oxford to London Paddington due 11:31
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
09:48 London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa due 12:01
This train will be started from Swindon.It will no longer call at: London Paddington, Reading and Didcot Parkway.This is due to signalling problems.
09:55 Cardiff Central to London Paddington due 12:00
This train has been cancelled.This is due to earlier overhead wire problems.
09:57 London Paddington to Oxford due 11:40
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
10:01 Oxford to London Paddington due 11:00
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
10:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central due 12:21
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
10:18 Reading to London Paddington due 11:16
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
10:31 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington due 12:37
This train will be terminated at Swindon.It will no longer call at: Didcot Parkway, Reading and London Paddington.This is due to signalling problems.
10:37 Oxford to London Paddington due 12:31
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
10:55 Cardiff Central to London Paddington due 13:06
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
10:57 London Paddington to Oxford due 12:40
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
11:01 Oxford to London Paddington due 11:57
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.
11:55 Cardiff Central to London Paddington due 14:06
This train has been cancelled.This is due to signalling problems.

Oh dear. Looks bad this morning- the signals failed at Cholsey first thing. I was travelling contra-peak to Maidenhead and seemed to get on the only train still running (the 08:06 from Paddington, which fortunately comes in from Henley). Still at this time my Windows desktop departure board gadget for Maidenhead is showing a whole lot of red cancellation notices (screenshot attached below)

Cable theft - there's another thread somewhere....

Wow, they must have electrified the GWML when we weren't looking  ;D

Not again.  Is there nothing that can be done to prevent this at least on the important bits of mainline?

Can't we encase the cables in concrete or something?  will next generation incab signalling reduce this problem?

These two topics are now merged here.

bignosemac

Network Rail presented to the Customer Panel about the things that they are doing to counter this - but obviously can't cover 000s of miles of cable immediately....

It was not a good morning. I got to my desk at 11am...

There were very few trains running out of Maidenhead at 9am.. 9.33 was the first to go.. 9.03 apparently stuck in the middle of nowhere somewhere, 9.17 cancelled.

Since at least 10 if not more intercities sailed past us as we were all crammed into 3 carriages, I do wonder if maybe it could have been handled slightly better..Maybe just one stopping at Twyford and another at Maidenhead and maybe one at Slough might have alleviated the overcrowding and meant that people closer into London could actually get onto the train..
Just an idea... ;)

I suspect the HSTs were just as full....there were many HST cancellations too. THe only ones seemingly unaffected were the few West country trains.

43 messages on my BlackBerry when I woke up around lunchtime, Code Red was due to lightning strike at Cholsey is the information I have.

That was last night.....

On the Wokingham line.

My Journeycheck alerts went wild last night - between Reading & Didcot it said...

Regarding the Wokingham incident last night. My partner was held up in this, staff at wokingham had no idea what was going on. (similar problem at Ascot a few months ago) what is the duty of care from the TOC? He ended up getting a taxi in the end. Cant believe that these were not provided ASAP. Really was a joke.

Rant over! :P

Getting any decent info from Network Rail must be TOCs worst nightmare in situations like this.

They weren't... Most that went past us had half the seats empty (and not just in first class).. Sorry I meant to say that in my initial post but totally  forgot  ;D

Pile up in the XC voyagers!

Sure but, good to know that are taking steps as and when it is sensible  for them to do so.  Hopefully mainlines like this will be a priority.

As we renew assets we try to engineer out as much vulnerable metal and cabling as possible, there are however some cabling that has to be copper which were possible security methods are put in place, but there is so much cabling on the network and older equipment that only works with copper cable.

The problem is the scrap dealers that don't question where the copper comes from, fail to take down correct details of the seller or the vehicle reg no, scrap copper and aluminum runs about a ^1000 a tonne

To my knowledge this was not cable theft, failure of a transformer - whatever that is :)

"Transformers - Robots in Disguise!" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_Robots_in_Disguise)

No?  ;D

I would assume no :P

These are every where in the signaling system some will only supply power to a single item like a points motor or signal head to intermediate sized ones that supply a relay room to larger ones that will supply a whole area including a panel box, it is unusual, but not unknown for the larger ones to fail intermediate size and smaller ones can be more common.  It would not surprise me if the recent lightening was the root cause of the transformer to fail.

Well besides using Smart Water technology, I reckon there is a simple way that NR can catch low life cable thiefs and the BTP arrest these low lifes before the cable has even reached any scrap merchant!

Network Rai got a staff suggestion scheme?

should thread the copper inside an insulated cable inside a high voltage cable which will shock the hell out of anyone that cuts it and then encase it in concrete.

The thief or the cable :P