Mass disruption due to flooding - December 2012

[whole diary]

[Super Guard]

The sleepers appear to be running through tonight, so they must be going via Yeovil.

There may be a concern of sets getting trapped if the Yeovil line is subsequently closed (I don't know how good/bad the line is there.)

If SWT^▸ (South West Trains) are still running hourly Exeter-Waterloo, then the paths are not there for FGW^▸ (First Great Western).  Exeter TM^‡(resolve)'s & Drivers certainly sign this diversion, i'm not sure about other depots though, so crewing issues may be a problem too.

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) National News are filming at Cowley Bridge, and to see the rails twisted out of shape is quite a sobering picture.

[paul7575]

I wonder why FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are not running via Yeovil and Castle Cary?  This route is sometimes used for autumn diversions etc. and I have been that way several times in the past.  I did notice one Up train went that way late yesterday (Saturday 22nd December).

No paths without cancelling SWT^▸ (South West Trains) services?  During planned diversions don't FGW pick up the intermediate calls as well, hence all the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) stop markers most places along the route.

As we know, the Axminster loop only allows for a regular hourly service each way - but why they can't they run alternate services on the SWT and FGW routes, seems that's a fair question...

PS, the route has been downgraded by the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) now, it's "...the Exeter to Tiverton branch line"!

Paul

[SandTEngineer]

But when the line was resignalled earlier this year additional signal sections were put in at Crewkerne to allow two trains to follow each other in the same direction on the single line.  This was always the stretch that constrained the route to one train per hour in each direction.  The rest of the route can handle two trains per hour in each direction.
What a waste of investment.  I would like to have seen the business case that justified the new signals

[Super Guard]

I didn't realise it was improved to 2tph in each direction.

With this happening twice in a short space of time, perhaps plan B should be drafted between FGW^▸ (First Great Western) & SWT^▸ (South West Trains) for when this happens.

There are certainly enough Exeter crew around today to be able to run some trains, I don't know if Plymouth sign the diversion, but I think some London crews do too.

[swrural]

I wonder why FGW^▸ (First Great Western) are not running via Yeovil and Castle Cary?  This route is sometimes used for autumn diversions etc. and I have been that way several times in the past.  I did notice one Up train went that way late yesterday (Saturday 22nd December).

Single line capacity.  Route knowledge, stock positioning, etc, etc.

[swrural]

Sorry, I should add that SWT^▸ (South West Trains) are accepting FGW^▸ (First Great Western) tickets and the route is a passenger desert between Taunton and Reading, so what's the gain?  You can get to Reading from Basingstoke (and go back down the Kennet valley if needed).   

[Southern Stag]

There are certainly enough Exeter crew around today to be able to run some trains, I don't know if Plymouth sign the diversion, but I think some London crews do too.

Some Plymouth TMs^‡(resolve) do but I don't believe any drivers do. Wasn't aware that London crews signed the route. Last time there were booked diversions they only used Exeter crew, with many services having crew changes at Castle Cary. Should be possible crew and stock wise to run a decent level of service via Yeovil, but it seems NR^» (Network Rail - home page) won't allow it.

[Southern Stag]

Sorry, I should add that SWT^▸ (South West Trains) are accepting FGW^▸ (First Great Western) tickets and the route is a passenger desert between Taunton and Reading, so what's the gain?  You can get to Reading from Basingstoke (and go back down the Kennet valley if needed).   

SWT run a mix of 3 and 6-car trains once per hour. The services are already fairly busy, if you try adding FGWs passengers from roughly hourly 8-car HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) you can imagine the overcrowding that will result.

[swrural]

Sorry, just thought of something else.  I imagine SWT^▸ (South West Trains) could put on extra stock as they often run with three cars west beyond Salisbury in the off peak.  There may be scope to put on another set but I believe the favourite word here is 'rammed'.  I would certainly do my best if I were SWT, tremendous PR^▸ (Public Relations) advantage (apart from common humanity).

[SandTEngineer]

Well in the 2010 timetable for March the line was closed between Taunton and Exeter and the Sunday service pattern between Exeter and Yeovil was one hour SWT^▸ (South West Trains) next hour FGW^▸ (First Great Western) then repeated throughout the day, and this was before the new signals were added but after Axminster loop was added, so it can work.  In the event of late running there is the backup of the loops at Honiton and Chard Junction.

As far as overcrowding between Exeter and Yeovil goes I have travelled on this route on three car sets at all times of day and days of the week and I have yet to encounter a SWT train that I would class as 'Full' on that section.

[swrural]

I read in Modern Railways mag that the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) sets win the most reliable prize yet again.  There is a challenge here for SWT from which it could gain immense profit.   But this is just temporary sticking plaster.   

To take this further, is it not clear that resources have to be diverted from an existing planned rail project to put the Cowley Bridge to Stoke Canon up on a viaduct while the Axminster route via Castle Cary takes the strain.

Even while all is in operational smithereens, surely a strategic approach must get the engineers to sit in a quiet room and plan for a strategic solution.  I also believe that the reinstatement of the Okehampton Route is now of high importance.

Our West strategic railway routes simply need to be reinstated and made climate change proof. 

[Southern Stag]

Well in the 2010 timetable for March the line was closed between Taunton and Exeter and the Sunday service pattern between Exeter and Yeovil was one hour SWT^▸ (South West Trains) next hour FGW^▸ (First Great Western) then repeated throughout the day, and this was before the new signals were added but after Axminster loop was added, so it can work.  In the event of late running there is the backup of the loops at Honiton and Chard Junction.

As far as overcrowding between Exeter and Yeovil goes I have travelled on this route on three car sets at all times of day and days of the week and I have yet to encounter a SWT train that I would class as 'Full' on that section.

In 2010 the timetable was 3tp2h. FGW and SWT both ran two-hourly in the standard SWT pattern with SWT running a further train in a different path, around 30 minutes away from the other path.
I've been on some pretty busy services along the route, but a lot of the traffic is local within Devon. I imagine the service has been rather busy the last couple of days though being the only way from the South West to London without using a bus.

[bobm]

Purely anecdotal but I saw the 11:15 from London Waterloo arrive at Exeter St Davids today and the six car train was not too heavily loaded.  I am told it was full and standing from Clapham Junction to Woking but gradually thinned out after that and was pretty quiet after Salisbury.

Good bit of station working at EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) too with a Cross Country service for Plymouth being held for over 10 minutes to allow those arriving on the SW Trains service to change.  Message was also conveyed to the train manager so he could advise passengers before the train pulled in.

[JayMac]

It really is d^ vu at Cowley Bridge Junction. Having seen the main BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News this evening you could be forgiven for thinking that they just re-used footage from November.

And you have to feel for the Network Rail engineers and track workers who worked tirelessly to get the line reopened after the last flood. To see their hard work washed away after just two weeks must be really frustrating.

Let us all hope that things don't kick off again flooding wise over the next couple of weeks.

We hoped. Some may have prayed or tried other invocations. Sadly things did kick off again.

[paul7575]

I didn't realise it was improved to 2tph in each direction.

It still doesn't allow a regular 2 tph in both directions AFAICT^▸ (as far as I can tell).  What can now happen is that an additional train can follow another more closely together than previously but only in one direction at a time in specific sections of single track route, but not over the whole length.

Edit: I just had a look to see if this was covered in the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) timetable planning rules, (formerly rules of the route), but if it is I can't fathom it out...

Paul