Mass disruption due to flooding - December 2012

[whole diary]

[swrural]

Excellent research Chris, thank you.  I judge that job to be a PWI.  The one I did a few days' training with timed our morning inspection miraculously so that we finished up outside the pub on Whiteladies Road, Clifton Down at about 1230.   

[Chris from Nailsea]

No problem, Howard. 

Now, on the subject of the loop(s) and the possibility of allowing additional services to pass, I have received the following comments from a member of railway staff, who would prefer not to be identified by posting them here on the forum personally:

"... I can assure you that HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s can definitely fit in without disrupting the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) services!  They may have to wait for a path 11 minutes behind the SWT service and utilising the loops at Honiton and Yeovil Junction in the up direction and Chard and Pinhoe on the downs.  This leaves no room for error and on the downs Pinhoe would be very tight but that's for an hourly.  A FGW^▸ (First Great Western) service every two hours in each direction should cause no problems.

But two things already happen which contradict that SWT email.  The morning peak - look at Honiton around 7am and also during disruption I have lost count of how many services I have seen within 10 minutes of each other: they used to have to wait at Yeovil for the up but can now continue in the previous service's wake and pass the up in Chard loop.

So, while not ideal, and in all honesty would probably cause delays in the loops which could be restricted to the HST's, it is definitely possible!"

I have taken slight liberties in selecting certain text and amending punctuation accordingly, simply to ensure anonymity, but that is what my informed source tells me.

[SandTEngineer]

.....good to see that an operator agrees with my earlier (technical) post then....

[Southernman]

An article in Western Daily Press on plans (not much detail!) to reduce effects of future flooding.

http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Plans-drawn-end-rail-disruption-caused-floods/story-19131228-detail/story.html

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Network Rail South West flooding compensation cost revealed

By Chris Ellis
BBC News Online, South West

Railway line flooding - described as the worst in a decade - on the south-west of England's rail network has resulted in about ^12.5m in compensation being paid. The payments, from Network Rail, were made to train and freight operators because services could not run due to the damage caused to the lines.

The mainline near Exeter was closed for 11 days in November and December. Network Rail said the amount reflected the "significant disruption" caused.

"It's a significant amount of money and one that's been unprecedented in the last 10 years in the South West," said Mike Gallop, Network Rail's director of route asset management in the West.

As well as the mainline at Cowley Bridge, near Exeter, being affected by floods, many of the region's branch lines - including those extending to Looe and Newquay in Cornwall, and Barnstaple and Exmouth in Devon - were also damaged.

Mr Gallop said: "The Barnstaple branch line suffered significant problems with washouts of track. It took much longer to get back into service than the mainline between Exeter and Bristol. We also suffered severe flooding on the Looe branch line."

He said there were still problems with the stability of the cliffs in Teignmouth, in south Devon, which were being addressed.

'More resilient'

"In terms of the cost of putting things right, we're looking at something in the order of ^10-15m in the South West," he said. "It was the wettest summer in 100 years followed by a very, very wet autumn and winter, which led to the problems towards the end of 2012."

The compensation has been paid to operators including First Great Western and CrossCountry.

Mr Gallop said his company was looking at how it could make the railway network "more resilient to flooding".

"Network Rail is looking to make sure the tracks and electronics we have in the signalling systems are able to withstand the floodwater, so, when it recedes, we can start running trains much quicker than we did last time."

The company is also facing a compensation claim from the Cowley Bridge Inn, which is next to the railway line near Exeter and was flooded.

Almost six months on, the inn is still clearing up after three floods

Inn manager Peter Lavers-Mason said plastic dams or booms, used by Network Rail in a bid to protect signalling, caused the pub to flood by an extra 6-8in (15-20cm).

"The natural flow was impeded so it [the water] was backing up. It got into our electrics, all the cooker systems. We raised our fridges off the ground after the previous floods, but, because more came in, all our new fridges were totally ruined."

Mr Lavers-Mason said the water level was 3ft (90cm) deep at its peak.

Almost six months on, the inn is still clearing up after three floods which affected the pub.

Peter Lavers-Mason said the third flood in December was the worst

Mr Lavers-Mason said so far ^35,000 had been spent on repairs, although staff had managed to reopen the inn.

He said he contacted Network Rail about the flooding and received a letter from the company saying its claim handlers were investigating the case.

Mr Gallop said: "We have a well-established procedure for dealing with claims against Network Rail and that matter will be dealt with by our insurers as any other company would."

Mr Lavers-Mason said: "If it did flood again, there's a good chance the pub would be sold on for other uses."

[Phil]

Just out of interest, is the Chris Ellis who wrote the above piece any relation?

[grahame]

Just out of interest, is the Chris Ellis who wrote the above piece any relation?

Not to my knoweldge ... and it's a common enough name.  "Our" Chris lives near Ratfyn Junction.

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Network Rail spends ^5m 'to protect' lines in 'extreme' weather

Cables, points and trackside equipment were all under water

Network Rail has spent ^5m in a bid to protect Devon's railway lines from being affected by "extreme weather" after a washout last year.

The work includes installing nets to cliffs to prevent rock falls and buying inflatable dams in a bid to protect signalling cables and tracks.

Network Rail said they would "help boost the resilience of the railway".

The mainline near Exeter was closed for 11 days in November and December 2012 because of flooding.

'Hugely destructive'

Network Rail said the dams, which are made of synthetic fabric, would "help divert water away from the railway track and speed up the recovery process".

The netting has been attached to cliffs at Teignmouth after a number of landslides and rock falls last year.

Mike Gallop, the organisation's route asset management director, said: "Extreme weather has had a hugely disruptive impact on the railway.

"We are also taking a long-term approach to prepare us for the changing weather and climate over the next 70 to 80 years."

"As part of this process, we are developing a high-level strategy that includes a ^31m intervention plan targeting high risk flood sites such as Cowley Junction."

Last winter, the junction near Exeter, was submerged, causing several days of train delays and cancellations.

Mr Gallop added that the long-term plans, subject to government approval, included lifting track, upgrading culverts, and strengthening earthworks.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From First Great Western JourneyCheck:

Line Update
Cancellations to services between Newton Abbot and Paignton
Owing to flooding between Newton Abbot and Paignton all lines are affected.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled at short notice. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.
Stagecoach South West Bus 12 Newton Abbot - Torre - Torquay - Paignton (Bus Station) services are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.
An update will follow within the next 1 hour.
Customers are advised that road transport has been sourced to cover stations between Newton Abbot and Paignton. But due to limited service and possible poor road conditions it is not possible to run to train times. This will be in place for most of the day due to the weather conditions.
For the latest rail travel news, why not follow us on Twitter @FGW^▸ (First Great Western).
Message Received: 21/12/2013 10:56

[TonyK]

Nothing another ^5 million couldn't put right? At least it isn't Cowley Bridge again.

[bobm]

12:20pm Reports of flooding at Melksham.

Swindon to Westbury services to be diverted via Bath, not calling at Melksham.

[ChrisB]

And more to come Monday into Christmas Eve.

[grahame]

12:20pm Reports of flooding at Melksham.

Swindon to Westbury services to be diverted via Bath, not calling at Melksham.

Melksham, just prior to the 11:47 to Swindon calling.  We went up on that / back on the 15:22 off Swindon.   If there were diversions, relatively few.  Car parking spaces at station all full and the temporary extra ones in use too at 11:45 before we left, but a number of cars had left by the time we got back, so something had run in between.