Mass disruption due to flooding - December 2012

[whole diary]

[The SprinterMeister]

Open again at Westerleigh

According to BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) West, it was finished 2 days early. Fantastic work.

Cowley Bridge Jn now apparently back up and running normally too, subject to a 20 mph ESR^▸ (Emergency Speed Restriction ) on the up and down main.

[Timmer]

Let us all hope that things don't kick off again flooding wise over the next couple of weeks. The so called 'Beast from the East', drier but cold and perhaps snow won't be visiting our shores despite promising signs over the past few weeks. Instead the Atlantic will once again be let in bringing ...yes you've guessed it...more rain. Met have already issued an early warning for the Southwest Thursday night into Friday.

Still at least it will be mild but I know what I prefer in winter, dry and cold rather than mild and wet. For those who have suffered from flooding or major disruption due to flooding these past few weeks I would suspect dry and cold would be what they prefer too.

[broadgage]

Disruption again due to heavy rain, not as bad as last time though.

Hope that the 18-03 runs OK tonight as I expect to be on it.

[JayMac]

Both the Looe and Newquay branches in Cornwall are closed due to flooding.

There is also disruption on the South Western Main Line between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth and the West Coastway Line/Bognor Regis branch at Barnham. Both again due to flooding.

[bobm]

Keeping my fingers crossed for Cowley Bridge.  I'm due to pass through there at about 22:30 on Saturday!

[JayMac]

It won't be much of a surprise to anyone to learn that the West of England Main Line between Yeovil Junction and Exmouth Junction has closed again (1314 20/12/2012). Flooding in the Axminster area. Replacement road transport is in operation between Yeovil Junction and Exeter St Davids.

There is also replacement road transport between Fareham and Eastleigh due to flooding near Botley. Flooding is also causing disruption at Southampton Central. Because of this, trains from and to this station may be delayed by up to 15 minutes. These delays will continue until further notice.

The rail network in the west is really having a bad time of it this winter. Should we blame the Mayans? 

[JayMac]

An update on the situation in the Brockenhurst area:

From National Rail Enquiries:

- Services from London Waterloo will terminate at Southampton Central / Brockenhurst.

- A train 'shuttle' will run between Bournemouth and Weymouth, departing Bournemouth at xx:04 minutes past the hour and departing Weymouth at xx:20 minutes past the hour.

- There are no SWT^▸ (South West Trains) services between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst. SWT are running buses between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst.

- CrossCountry services may be delayed by up to 60 minutes.

- Services have been suspended between Brockenhurst and Lymington Pier. Passengers are advised to use local buses (route 65).

- Parking restrictions have been lifted at alternative stations throughout the area.

- First Great Western are accepting South West Trains passengers between Weymouth and London Paddington.

- South West Trains and CrossCountry passengers may use replacement buses between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst.

- CrossCountry passengers may use First Great Western services between Basingstoke and Reading

[thetrout]

Whilst I support a routing easement for Weymouth - Paddington. I'm not sure that is something FGW^▸ (First Great Western) want to hear at the moment, considering Contingency Plan 3 is in operation...

[JayMac]

Related, but away from the rail network, the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) are reporting on the situation. Particularly badly affected is the south Hampshire area.

News item and video report featuring the usual cars caught in floods:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20786462


EDIT: Have to say, you've got to admire German engineering. That Porsche, caught in a flood and submerged up to a few inches below the roof, still has it's windscreen wipers working! 

[broadgage]

Whilst I support a routing easement for Weymouth - Paddington. I'm not sure that is something FGW^▸ (First Great Western) want to hear at the moment, considering Contingency Plan 3 is in operation...

What is contingency plan 3 ? (not certain if this is a serious remark or a joke, but I need enlightening in either event)

[bobm]

Interesting article here from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) - Saturday is the 50th anniversary of the start of the big freeze of the 1962/63 winter.

Won't quote it all - but this bit is rail related

There's no guarantee trains would do better today, says Andrew Martin, author of The Necropolis Railway. The technology was basic back then - steam trains were the norm. But steam trains were heavier and hotter so could often get through the snow, he argues.

Rail expert Barry Doe says the railways had a huge army of manpower to call on in times of need. Signal boxes were manned every few miles down the line in 1962. Problems could be sorted out manually if something went wrong either by shovelling snow or replacing signals.

"If a lever broke in the signal box, the signal man would lean out of the box with a green flag. Nowadays if the green signal fails in the wilds somewhere, everything is linked electrically so a succession of things down the line can go wrong."

Did steam trains cope better with snow than their electric counterparts?
Christian Wolmar, author of Fire and Steam, disagrees. Steam trains coped badly with slight inclines and slippery rails. Modern trains have intelligent fault reporting systems that spot problems. The points, which used to freeze up all the time, are today heated.

Problems remain, Wolmar concedes. The commuter trains in southern England still rely on the "third rail" system. Instead of being powered by overhead electric lines, the power supply comes from a rail on the track. When it snows there is a tendency for the power to fail.

And even modern trains go wrong. Eurostar was heavily criticised after five trains became stuck in December 2010. It is believed they failed to adjust from the cold air of northern France to the warm tunnel.

[JayMac]

What is contingency plan 3 ? (not certain if this is a serious remark or a joke, but I enlightening in either event)

See my post on another thread (Major delays/cancellations, Paddington to Reading 20/12/2012) where there is a file attached - Network Rail/FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s 'Contingency Plan Three'.

(It's a .pdf document so may not be viewable on some devices)

[JayMac]

The WoE Main Line between Yeovil Junction and Exmouth Junction has now reopened. Buses are still running until a full service is resumed. Estimated to be around 1820.

[swrural]

I was in Axminster this afternoon.  The road to Chard was closed and the road to Honiton was closed.  Of course the A35 bypass would not be because it is built on an embankment and viaducts.

I notice the local and national press do not emblazon their websites and front pages with those type of headlines about road travel (you know,  'More chaos on rail') and wonder why that is so.

[devon_metro]

Raining again in Hampshire last time I looked outside!