Service suspension Guildford-Redhill due to rail maintenance vehicle hitting footbridge

[whole diary]

[adc82140]

This doesn't look good does it- hope the vehicle driver's insurance company have deep pockets.....

A vehicle has struck a bridge at Shalford, this means trains cannot run between Guildford and Redhill. Replacement transport has been requested.

A vehicle has damaged a support pier of a footbridge which crosses the line at the eastern end of Shalford station, an inspection has indicated the structure is unsafe so therefore no train service will operate.

This is expected to continue until end of service.

(National rail enquiries)


Update- found this http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/trains-cancelled-after-rail-maintenance-7710970

Seems it was a NR^» (Network Rail - home page) (or subcontractor's) vehicle- oops 

[stuving]

Seems it was a NR^» (Network Rail - home page) (or subcontractor's) vehicle- oops 

Indeed, how embarrassing. When I saw the news flash, I was thinking in terms of the area next to the other end of the bridge, which is full of old shipping containers used for self-storage. But, despite the carefully vague wording, it's an own goal.

Shouldn't speculate, but ... was it actually working there? That would be bad. But if it was in transit - for example an unsecured digger arm - that sounds more like an HSE^▸ (Health and Safety Executive) prosecution.

[a-driver]

Someone tweeted a picture of the damaged bridge.

https://twitter.com/GetSurreyDavid/status/507075126685618176

[stuving]

And here's another thing. The National rail travel news page says:

Passengers may travel to Gatwick Airport via London. Tickets can be used on South West Trains services to London, then London Underground services to get to London Victoria. Southern trains can then be taken to Gatwick Airport.

Now, from Reading you might go via Paddington and Victoria, but using SWT^▸ (South West Trains) to Waterloo you go through Clapham Junction twice, from anywhere! Apart from peak-hour fast trains on the SWML^▸ (South Western Mail Line) (non-stop through CLJ) it's always better to change there.

I thought that was a standard routeing and fare, though that seems not to be the case now.  I've gone that way before when the direct route from Wokingham was messed up, even only slightly. It's about 1h40, or 30 minutes longer, but with more trains can work out not so bad and more reliable.

[stuving]

Someone tweeted a picture of the damaged bridge.

https://twitter.com/GetSurreyDavid/status/507075126685618176

That's from he GetSurrey news piece (he's their reporter). The other picture in that piece must have been taken from the "dangerous" footbridge. So how dangerous is it, and to what?

[stuving]

At Wokingham there are announcements saying get a Waterloo train and change at CLJ. And blaming a road vehicle. The guy doing them was standing at an open door onto the platform (unlike the case recently discussed elsewhere in the forum), so I was able to tell him it (whatever it was) was on the railway.

[grahame]

And blaming a road vehicle.

There's an agreement between rail industry companies not to blame each other in public when things go wrong ... so I guess that's a neat way of doing it, even if not quite right in fact (i.e. wrong  )

I suspect that there isn't a standard clause "This is due to damage to infrastructure during engineering works"


An update ...

Due to a vehicle striking a bridge between Guildford and Redhill all lines are blocked.

Now, let's be fair, it doesn't say road vehicle ... it's just that's an easy assumption to make, bearing in mind that's what bridge strikes are virtually every (other) time!

[adc82140]

Line is now closed again- the bridge is being demolished.

I'm not that familiar with Shalford station- how will the loss of this bridge affect station access?

[grahame]

I'm not that familiar with Shalford station- how will the loss of this bridge affect station access?

I wondered that and had a look at stations plans and Google maps.   As far as I can tell, there's a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) on the Guildford bound platform but not on the Redhill side.  There are platform entrances on both sides, but I can't see a particularly obvious route around via roads / footpaths.   It appears not to be in a penalty fare zone, so I think you can hop on and buy your ticket in the Redhill direction from the Train Manager?

[JayMac]

And here's another thing. The National rail travel news page says:

Passengers may travel to Gatwick Airport via London. Tickets can be used on South West Trains services to London, then London Underground services to get to London Victoria. Southern trains can then be taken to Gatwick Airport.

Now, from Reading you might go via Paddington and Victoria, but using SWT^▸ (South West Trains) to Waterloo you go through Clapham Junction twice, from anywhere! Apart from peak-hour fast trains on the SWML^▸ (South Western Mail Line) (non-stop through CLJ) it's always better to change there.

I thought that was a standard routeing and fare, though that seems not to be the case now.  I've gone that way before when the direct route from Wokingham was messed up, even only slightly. It's about 1h40, or 30 minutes longer, but with more trains can work out not so bad and more reliable.

I wonder whether tickets were being accepted on Gatwick Express? That option wouldn't allow for a change at Clapham Junction.

[LiskeardRich]

I'm not that familiar with Shalford station- how will the loss of this bridge affect station access?

I wondered that and had a look at stations plans and Google maps.   As far as I can tell, there's a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) on the Guildford bound platform but not on the Redhill side.  There are platform entrances on both sides, but I can't see a particularly obvious route around via roads / footpaths.   It appears not to be in a penalty fare zone, so I think you can hop on and buy your ticket in the Redhill direction from the Train Manager?

On all my travels on that line I've never encountered a member of staff, so much so it made me believe it was a DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)) route until I was recently corrected on another thread here that there are staff.

[stuving]

Line is now closed again- the bridge is being demolished.

I'm not that familiar with Shalford station- how will the loss of this bridge affect station access?

It's the public footbridge right across the station linking the houses each side - there's another smaller one in the station linking the platforms. It doesn't serve the station at all, so I guess they will have to put it back - or replace it.

It's a steel lattice girder on stone piers, so I guess they could put the span back after the piers are rebuilt. JourneyCheck says "remove the damaged footbridge", which must be a mobile crane job, though the pier may need demolishing.

[Surrey 455]

Someone tweeted a picture of the damaged bridge.

https://twitter.com/GetSurreyDavid/status/507075126685618176

I can't see any damage. The picture is too overexposed for me to make anything out.

[stuving]

I wonder whether tickets were being accepted on Gatwick Express? That option wouldn't allow for a change at Clapham Junction.

It wasn't listed, isn't in the current vaguer wording:

South West Trains, Southern Railway and London Underground are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice. Arrangements have been made for First Great Western rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.

and would be unusual, wouldn't it?

In any case it's not going to be "express", since changing at CLJ is so much quicker.

By the way, National Rail are still saying:

A temporary repair has been made and trains are now able to run, but delays of up to 10 minutes can be expected until the end of service.
A full repair to the bridge will take place overnight.

but then they add:

Alternative travel arrangements

Passengers may use South West Trains, Southern and London Underground services on any reasonable route.

.

[LiskeardRich]

Someone tweeted a picture of the damaged bridge.

https://twitter.com/GetSurreyDavid/status/507075126685618176

I can't see any damage. The picture is too overexposed for me to make anything out.

I think beyond the signal there is a pile of rubble, which i guess is the damage.