Weather disruption caused in 2014, and how to prevent it happening again - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Pb_devon]

some excellent images taken in the last couple of days, especially of the landslip which is much bigger then I had imagined.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/81949-washout-at-dawlish/page-75

scroll down to #1861

[Pb_devon]

.......and the concrete pump has gone.

[SandTEngineer]

Short BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Spotlight video of the landslip here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=690332161032285

[ChrisB]

Looks as if the fall happened....from Lee Edworthy's twitter feed

[Lee]

"Orange Army" patriotism to the fore in this NR^» (Network Rail - home page) press release - http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/Network-Rail-s-orange-army-battle-on-second-front-near-Dawlish-2029.aspx

[stuving]

"Orange Army" patriotism to the fore in this NR^» (Network Rail - home page) press release - http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/Network-Rail-s-orange-army-battle-on-second-front-near-Dawlish-2029.aspx

In that page, there are the following two links to airborne "drone" videos:

Superb moving images are available on the following link taken from a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) courtesy of Aerial Technics:

Teignmouth landslip drone footage - http://youtu.be/IW2B8pv0rKg
Dawlish sea wall drone footage - http://youtu.be/6IIiED7SMF0

The second on isn't very recent, but still gives a whole new view.

[ironstone11]

Dawlish sea wall drone footage - http://youtu.be/6IIiED7SMF0

Amazing to see from the UAV what a pounding the sea "wall", takes at high tide even in relatively quiet weather.

[sorch]

On a slightly off-topic note, does anyone know if FGW^▸ (First Great Western) plan to run the replacement buses to/from Tiverton and Bodmin next week? The A38 appears to be shut (so is Bodmin Parkway itself closed?), and the buses certainly ran directly to Truro last week.

I'd rather not go via Plymouth if possible, adds so much time onto the journey.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Exeter Express and Echo:

First Great Western denies it is profiting from rail chaos caused by storms


The storm hit Dawlish line

Train operator First Great Western has denied a claim that it could be making a profit out of rail passengers^ misery.

The South West Green Party questioned whether the winter storms might have worked in the favour of First Great Western and Cross Country trains owner Arriva.

It said that the complex compensation models used by the privatised rail industry may result in train operators making a profit out of delays caused by the going closure of the railway line between Exeter and Newton Abbot due to storm damage at Dawlish and floods in the Somerset levels disrupting journeys between Bristol and Exeter.

Network Rail compensates TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) when they are not able to provide access to the railway, the Greens said yesterday. The companies can also submit claims to the Department for Transport for lost revenue due to the closure of the railway.

Prospective Green Party candidate for Exeter and long-time transport campaigner Andrew Bell said: ^We challenge the train operating companies to tell us straight whether or not they are profiteering from the chaos and misery inflicted on thousands of passengers in recent weeks.^

First Great Western said: ^Put simply, we will not be profiting from this situation. While standard industry arrangements apply when we are unable to use Network Rail^s infrastructure, the costs of keeping our passengers moving around the problem goes beyond that. Even once everything is back up and running, it will be an uphill battle to win back customers to the railway.^

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) said it had arranged for train tickets to be valid on local bus services in Devon and Cornwall; doubled the opening hours of its customer helpline; and provided a 24-hour Twitter response to support customers.

^We have also provided overnight accommodation for hundreds of volunteers who have been away from home to support staff and customers in the affected areas and we have had to move dozens of trains by road and transfer our engineering teams into and out of train maintenance depots cut off by the breach to make sure trains are still clean and safe for customers; as well as offered 25per cent discounts on all tickets, and refunds to affected customers.

^There also things we are doing for customers that go beyond what we might normally do, such as the complimentary refreshments at stations, the extra direct buses that we are operating from Cornwall and Plymouth through to Tiverton to speed up journeys for business travellers across the peninsula. We also have a new car park at Tiverton, initially to provide a good bus / coach turning area.^

The Green Party said it believes in a railway for the common good, not for private profit, which means public ownership of the railways.

An epetition set up by Dr Molly Scott Cato, the Greens^ lead South West candidate in the European election, calls for the Great Western franchise to be taken back into public ownership when it ends next year. The petition has so far received 1,500 signatures.

[JayMac]

I don't doubt FGWs^▸ (First Great Western) response to this criticism, which, in my opinion, is somewhat unfounded, except when they say they have 'doubled the opening hours of their customer helpline'

Normal times are 7am-10pm every day. Double that would mean they are on hand 30 hours a day. 

[grahame]

I don't doubt FGWs^▸ (First Great Western) response to this criticism, which, in my opinion, is somewhat unfounded, except when they say they have 'doubled the opening hours of their customer helpline'

Normal times are 7am-10pm every day. Double that would mean they are on hand 30 hours a day. 

Interestingly, the paragraph that describes that isn't using quote marks whereas other statements from FGW are. Therefore I take it as having been reworded from a longer, more complex text. I would suspect that what's actually happened will have been a doubling of man-hours on the customer helpline. And I would suspect that it came to the paper in those terms, too.

[paul7575]

Track laying has commenced in the main breach, starting at the west end as far as I can see from the webcams.

Paul

[stuving]

Track laying has commenced in the main breach, starting at the west end as far as I can see from the webcams.

Paul

Cor! With each length of track laid being so short, there's going to be an awful not of welding to do.

[ellendune]

Track laying has commenced in the main breach, starting at the west end as far as I can see from the webcams.

Paul

Cor! With each length of track laid being so short, there's going to be an awful not of welding to do.

Or are they laying it with recovered rail and then switching over the rails with new welded lengths afterwards. 

[ChrisB]

On a slightly off-topic note, does anyone know if FGW^▸ (First Great Western) plan to run the replacement buses to/from Tiverton and Bodmin next week? The A38 appears to be shut (so is Bodmin Parkway itself closed?), and the buses certainly ran directly to Truro last week.

I'd rather not go via Plymouth if possible, adds so much time onto the journey.

Do you mean the fast buses - yes they are, stopping at Bodmin P