London Waterloo - station, services, facilities, incidents - and some quirks / odd facts (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[SandTEngineer]

Presumably one of the major aspects is the Wimbledon panel changes, because that is very much a hardware panel as opposed to a display?

Possibly.  But the panel there consists of 48x48mm tiles with 'plug-in' LED indications so relatively easy to alter.  The actual wiring is directly fed to/from a remote control system (ex-ML Engineering Ltd TEML-41) that is housed in the control desk, so again fairly easy to re-program/rewire.

[paul7575]

Another question would concern gauging for the various rolling stock to be used.  Would they have to physically test that, or just rely on accurate measurement?
 
I understood the existing Waterloo had all sorts of limitations as to which platforms could accept certain units or coaching stock, so hopefully they've allowed for more flexible use than before...

Paul

[SandTEngineer]

....and of course there is the traction conductor rail to test for gapping etc.  Calling ET 

[Electric train]

....and of course there is the traction conductor rail to test for gapping etc.  Calling ET 

Section and sub section proving is done as a "dead" test now ie uses a low voltage continuity test, the only "live" test will be track "alive" at the track circuit breakers if the circuit breakers are renewed; as Waterloo station has "stub end feeds" into the platform the E & P Engineer may ask for a live line tester (used to be a "crate of eggs" but these have more or less been banned from use) at the stop block ends.

Gauging is done by measurement, a hand trolley is initially used which has GPS and laser alinement instruments also the tamper will give accurate positioning and finally any pinch points can be checked by hand

[SandTEngineer]

This was posted on the WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) Forum earlier today:

The Industrial Action involving platforms 7 & 8 at Waterloo discussed upstream has been suspended for 8 weeks to allow NR^» (Network Rail - home page) to plan an engineering solution to the signalling issues raised. For the 8 weeks trains over 8 cars require an additional person holding driver competancy to assist with signal sighting during dispatch when leaving platforms 7 or 8.

[stuving]

Gauging is done by measurement, a hand trolley is initially used which has GPS and laser alinement instruments also the tamper will give accurate positioning and finally any pinch points can be checked by hand

Or, have they come over all up-to-date, with gauging done in the CAD/CAE and the track measured to check whether as built=as drawn? Though that's not a huge difference, in practice, but I'm sure that will have been done to the platforms and any other structures.

[Electric train]

Gauging is done by measurement, a hand trolley is initially used which has GPS and laser alinement instruments also the tamper will give accurate positioning and finally any pinch points can be checked by hand

Or, have they come over all up-to-date, with gauging done in the CAD/CAE and the track measured to check whether as built=as drawn? Though that's not a huge difference, in practice, but I'm sure that will have been done to the platforms and any other structures.

Yes gauging is done at the design stage, its one of the Interdisciplinary Checks (IDC) carried out by the Contractors Engineering Manager (CEM) and his/ her Contractors Responsible Engineers (CRE^» (Crewe - next trains)) one per discipline (Track, E&P S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) Structures etc) then the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) DPE (Designated Project Engineer) and his / her team of Project engineers carry out an IDR (Interdisciplinary Review) this is not the same as an IDC more an over view to ensure the IDC has be rigorous.

From the design data would be issued for the test and inspect checks as its built and then finally there is the commissioning and Entry into Service (EIS^▸ (Enters Into Service)) each discipline has it own process for this but all the certs need to come together for the CEM to enter it into service, note its the contractor who takes this responsibility as its their liability.

So in a nutshell there still needs to be some physical measurements taken on site most are done by machines either by laser and GPS or with a gauging profile fitted but there are some places where manual methods are still used 

[Surrey 455]

South Western Railway Alert Service <noreply@nexusalpha.com>
17:51 (1 hour ago)

 to me
Dear Customer,

A further five platforms at London Waterloo had to be closed from 16:00 this afternoon to help support the ongoing engineering works, resulting in platforms 1 -19 being closed.
Train services running across the whole South Western Railway network may be delayed or revised. We are anticipating disruption until the end of the day.

What We're Doing About It

Services from Exeter St. Davids will terminate at Basingtoke.You should change at Basingstoke to the next available London Waterloo bound service to continue your journey.

Services to Exeter St. Davids will commence from Basingstoke.You should travel on a Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Southampton Central or Weymouth bound service and change at Basingstoke.

Services to and from Guildford via Epsom will be suspended. You may use Southern services to and from London Victoria via Clapham Junction.

How We're Helping You Complete Your Journey

You may use your rail ticket on:

- Southern services via any reasonable route.
- Thameslink services via any reasonable route.
- Great Western Railway services via any reasonable route.
- Cross Country services between Bournemouth and Reading via Basingstoke.
- London Underground services via any reasonable route.
- TFL^▸ (Transport for London) buses across the South Western Railway network.

Replacement buses will be in operation between Guildford and Leatherhead in both directions, operating every half hour, commencing from Guildford at approximately 18:00 and Leatherhead at approximately 18:30.

We are in the process of organising supplemental road transport. More details will be provided as soon as they have been confirmed.

The reduction in services will mean that trains will be much busier than normal. We strongly recommend you allow extra time to travel and check your journey before setting off by using http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/.

We apologise for the disruption to your journey today.

Thank you,
South Western Railway

Will they finish tonight? I'm starting to worry about my journey to work tomorrow now. I'm expecting to wake up, turn my phone on and see multiple emails from SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) have arrived warning of delays and cancellations.

[TaplowGreen]

Unconfirmed but I'm hearing they're running 24 hours late.

[TaplowGreen]

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/168727.aspx

Warning of severe delays for most of the day on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

[paul7575]

Trains now (0800) appear to be running from most of the expected platforms for today, i.e. 1-20.  Not sure what proportion of the original timetable for today is running though.

Update at 1337, full timetable hoped for by 1400.

Paul

[eightf48544]

Further Problems today some lines blocked.

Not a good start for South Western Railways

[stuving]

Further Problems today some lines blocked.

Not a good start for South Western Railways

Yes, I heard that on the news this morning. However, having run through the arrivals into Waterloo up to 9:00 I can only see one that's over 10 minutes late, and that was less than 20 minutes lost around Raynes Park. So was there a problem with the signals - or someone in BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) local news having a problem with telling today's reports from yesterday's?

[GBM]

From RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) today (30th) 10h01
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/collision-near-london-waterloo-station-15-august-2017



News story
Collision near London Waterloo station, 15 August 2017
From:Rail Accident Investigation Branch Published:30 August 2017
Investigation into a collision near London Waterloo station, 15 August 2017.

Passenger train and wagons after the collision at Waterloo
Passenger train and wagons after the collision at Waterloo
At around 05:42 hrs on Tuesday 15 August 2017, a passenger train leaving London Waterloo station travelling at about 11 mph (18 km/h) collided with a stationary train of wagons. There were no injuries, but both trains were damaged and there was serious disruption to train services using the station.

The passenger train was the 05:40 hrs South West Trains service from Waterloo to Guildford and comprised 10 coaches, a combination of class 455 and class 456 electric units. The wagons were standing on a line adjacent to the intended route of the passenger train and had been provided as a safety barrier separating passenger services from an area where construction work was being undertaken as part of the Waterloo station upgrade project.

The collision occurred because a set of points were misaligned and directed the passenger train away from its intended route. The misalignment was a consequence of a temporary modification to the points control system which also caused the train driver and signaller to receive indications that the points were correctly aligned.

Our investigation will examine:

the circumstances leading to installation of the temporary control system modification
the safety measures provided while the temporary modification was in place
the checking and testing procedures applicable to the modification
any relevant underlying management factors.

[grahame]

From RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) today (30th) 10h01

The collision occurred because a set of points were misaligned and directed the passenger train away from its intended route. The misalignment was a consequence of a temporary modification to the points control system which also caused the train driver and signaller to receive indications that the points were correctly aligned.

Interesting to see this initial report ... removing the possibility of it being a SPAD^▸ (Signal Passed At Danger) or a signaller's error