Mass disruption due to flooding - December 2012

[whole diary]

[onthecushions]

Looking at some old photos of Cowley Bridge Junction, the bridge appears to have been moved up the Barnstaple branch since steam days. Oddly enough, the main wash-out seems to occur over the old bridge site!

A more drastic version of this took place in Madeira, where a river was moved to allow road improvements. After the last big storm, the road had gone and the river restored to its natural route!

The siting of electrical substations also seems to neglect nature with HV gear being sited at ground level barely a metre above nearby water courses. Reading district nearly lost power over the holiday because the site at Pingewood (alongside the railway, approx 38m60c) was threatened, only Corporation sandbags and two fire engines saving the day. The three sites at Gloucester were threatened last time, one being a 400kV supergrid station, only the crew of HMS Ocean coming to the rescue.

Are concrete plinths that expensive?


OTC

[TonyK]

I guess it would make sense to use plinths in any new or replacement installation, even if there is only a once a century chance of a flood. You can two of those in a week these days. The resignalling and electrification works give a good opportunity to strengthen the electrical infrastructure for the future at a relatively low cost - I hope someone is thinking about this?

(From the Uxbridge English Dictionary: "Plinth - The Artiste with two different speech impediments")

[vacmanfan]

Only thing amiss were the recorded announcements. They were struggling to keep up with the delays, cancellations and platform alterations. What would have been useful here were local announcements, ideally a system like that used on the Underground were platform staff use a microphone patched in direct to the PA^▸ (Public Address). That way platform staff would have been able to shout the necessary "Please allow people to disembark before attempting to board", "Please stand back", "Please keep access to the stairways clear" and so on. All of those announcements were needed.

This would certainly be a great addition to a lot of stations.  Although most stations have only just got new PA systems which are probably 10-15 years out of date technology..  Even if FGW^▸ (First Great Western) put wired microphones into locked cabinets on platforms it would be a help. Nothing worse than having to sprint back over a footbridge to the office to make an announcement then sprint back...


Edited to attribute quote. bignosemac

[ellendune]

Transport Secretary puts rail track bosses under pressure over flooding from Western Morning News Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Rail track bosses have vowed to shore up the Westcountry's flood-hit lines after coming under pressure from Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.

The pledge emerged after Network Rail, in charge of tracks and signals, published a ^5 billion investment plan for western Britain's infrastructure that offered few direct improvements in the peninsula ^ despite an explosion in rail travel in the region.
​
Heavy rain battered the region last year, with the main line at Cowley Bridge, near Exeter, failing three times ^ leaving the region marooned by rail.

Network Rail's 2014 to 2019 plan for the Western Route ^ a vast swathe of the country covering London to Oxford and Worcester and down to Bristol, Exeter and Penzance ^ offered little hope of immediate improvements to vulnerable stretches of line.

Instead, huge sums are being pumped into running more reliable electric trains ^ though they will go no further west than Bristol.

But it emerged last night Network Rail has been ordered by the Department for Transport to review 40 vulnerable sites on the route that cost up to ^20 million of emergency funding to repair.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Norman Baker, visiting Exeter yesterday, promised to put "urgent pressure" on Network Rail to make long-term improvements at Cowley Bridge. Chris Aldridge, Network Rail's principal strategic planner on the Western Route, told the Western Morning News: "We are drawing up a plan to help to combat these types of events in the future because they will happen more and more."

Exeter Labour MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Ben Bradshaw said: "Given Devon and Cornwall have been cut off from the rest of the country for between a week and ten days twice in the space of a month recently, it is imperative that action is taken to address the flooding problem at Cowley Bridge."

Yesterday, South West Devon Tory MP Gary Streeter held talks at Westminster with Mr McLoughlin on the "unacceptable disconnection between Devon and Cornwall and the rest of the country".

He went on: "The minister has already held talks with Network Rail to ensure that rapid infrastructure solutions are found to better defend the vital rail link against future flooding events."

The five-year Western Route plan referenced Devon County Council's proposals for a "Devon Metro" ^ though rail officials said the plans remain council "aspirations" rather than firm commitments.

They include re-establishment of the Exeter to Okehampton service and reinstating the link between Tavistock and Bere Alston. Cornwall Council's proposed extension of the St Ives service to Penzance and additional Looe Valley line services are also on the radar.

Devon County Council's Conservative leader John Hart said: "I am delighted to see these proposals within the Network Rail plans."

Network Rail said passengers in the Westcountry would get improved journey times from easing the Reading bottleneck and electrification.

Patrick Hallgate, Network Rail route managing director, said: "This programme of investment will deliver the biggest investment in the Great Western main line since it was built 175 years ago."

[JayMac]

Patrick McLoughlin (or his underling Norman Baker). AKA^▸ (also known as) King Canute. 

[trainer]

So while the railway industry comes up trumps in repairing the damage so swiftly all they get from grand-standing politicians is criticism for not being able to control nature and daring to place Devon and Cornwall so far from London.  I wonder if most voters are fooled by such huffing and puffing.  This one isn't.

[swrural]

Nor am I impressed, trainer.  'Putting pressure' would be better expressed as 'I have found the funds necessary and will make them available to NR^» (Network Rail - home page) while saluting the heroic efforts of the staff in December'.

That sounds better does it not? 

[trainer]

It certainly sounds more collaborative and the great cry is 'partnership' these days.  Most people respond better to encouragement and praise than they do to pressure, constant carping and threats.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Western Morning News:

Cornwall B&B owner calls on First Great Western to pay for ad campaign

A Cornish bed and breakfast owner is calling on First Great Western to fund a marketing campaign for the Westcountry as compensation for "closing down" the peninsula.

When a landslide as a result of severe flooding closed the rail line between Exeter and Tiverton for five days last month, train operator First Great Western advised passengers not to travel by rail to Devon and Cornwall.


Sarah Horne of Roscrea B&B Bodmin

Sarah Horne, who has run the Roscrea B&B, in Bodmin, for the last eight years, lost a booking over Christmas as a result. Bookings for January and beyond are down on what she would expect. She blames it on FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s "don't travel" message.

"I have lost out and so have quite a few other places," she complained. "How many people were there who didn't come down because they'd had the frighteners put on them? It seemed like they closed Cornwall down."

Miss Horne is now calling on FGW to fund a marketing campaign to promote the Westcountry to restore its reputation in the minds of visitors.

"The First Great Western website was just saying 'don't go'. That message is going to stick in people's heads and people do think about booking a holiday at this time of year," she said.

It comes as the region's business and political leaders continue to lobby for infrastructure investment to ensure that rail routes remain open in event of extreme weather.

Malcolm Bell, head of Visit Cornwall, said he would be adding Miss Horne's concerns to evidence being collated by the authorities to maintain this lobbying drive. He said he understood why FGW had advised people not to travel by rail ^ but he warned this could impact on tourism well into 2013.

"If consumers feel that transport links are unreliable it can make a difference about whether they decide to go. People can easily go to somewhere like Suffolk of the Cotswolds instead of Cornwall and the rest of the South West," he said.

But with no mention of upgrades to the flood-hit Cowley Bridge junction in Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan for 2014-19, which was released yesterday, Mr Bell acknowledged that such investment could be a long way off.

"We need to know that plans are in place. These things do take time but it's all about taking a step in the right direction. It may take time but if people know that things will be resolved they are willing to put up with them for a while," he added.

Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Somerset Local Enterprise Partnership, called on Network Rail to set out plans to protect the rail line from future extreme weather events. "We want to see a very clear plan for long-term resilience on the network. We have been seriously compromised on rail travel and we want to see long-term protection for Cowley Bridge," he said.

James Davis, a spokesman for FGW, said: "The closure of Cowley Bridge by Network Rail meant that we could not run train services into and out of the county and poor road conditions meant that we couldn't guarantee our customers would be able to complete their journeys by road. The right thing to do for our customers in these circumstances was to advise them not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

"We will continue to work with Devon and Cornwall tourism boards to promote the South West as a destination."

[ellendune]

Network Rail pledge to Tiverton line improvements From this is the West Country

A STRETCH of railway line through Tiverton is set for improvements as part of a project to sort out problem hotspots across the country.

Network Rail are looking at 40 sites in the South-West affected by the heavy rainfall in the past two months, which they say cost between ^10m to ^20m of emergency unbudgeted funding to put right.

A spokesman said: ^Whilst some schemes require improvements to drainage provision, sites such as the Cowley Bridge Junction will require a holistic view in conjunction with the Environment Agency to make sure we implement a fit-for-purpose solution.


^We are looking to raise the signalling equipment off the ground throughout to add robustness in the short term. We have also added boulders on the embankment to add some protection from washouts.

^Recent weather events related to extremely severe flooding in the South West are not specifically highlighted so we are looking at a separate exercise to review our response to the flooding.

^There are two dimensions to this. Firstly, in terms of asset resilience, we are reviewing all the areas we had problems with in November and December to see what we can do to restore services quicker in reaction to flooding.^

As part of wider meetings, Network Rail are holding a Devon stakeholder review in February to look at how to combat flooding on the tracks.

Network Rail^s strategic business plan for Wessex, which covers the route through Tiverton, has been submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation.

In April 2004, South West Trains ran 43,600 trains over four weeks but in April 2012, the total number of trains had risen to 45,646 trains all of Network Rail say has put added pressure on the infrastructure.

The spokesman added: ^To address this continuing increase in train movements, ^1.025billion will be spent on the infrastructure across the south and south west of England between 2014 and 2019 to make it more reliable and able to cope with the continued increase in use.^

I thought Tiverton was in Western not Wessex!

[paul7575]

^We are looking to raise the signalling equipment off the ground throughout to add robustness in the short term.

They must have read our detailed posts on that issue...   

Paul

[devon_metro]

Well I think Sarah Horne is simple after some free publicity.

Then again, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) ought to pay, after all, they do control the weather 

[eightf48544]

In April 2004, South West Trains ran 43,600 trains over four weeks but in April 2012, the total number of trains had risen to 45,646 trains all of Network Rail say has put added pressure on the infrastructure.

Translation please.

[TonyK]

In April 2004, South West Trains ran 43,600 trains over four weeks but in April 2012, the total number of trains had risen to 45,646 trains all of Network Rail say has put added pressure on the infrastructure.

Translation please.

Just missing a comma, a preposition, a full stop, a start of a sentence in a way approved of by the English master of a secondary modern near Wigan, and maybe a conjunctive, or even a gerundive. But then I'm no leather-elbowed Grammar school teacher.  At least no-one said that we had loosed a service, or that they should of definately complained about a flagrant breach, or fragrant bleach, of there human rites.

Once your of learned English, its a peace of puss.

[swrural]

FTN
You could of warned me.  I am now deeply effected.