Exeter signal box power failure

[whole diary]

[LiskeardRich]

Exeter signal box suffered a full power failure this afternoon.
Currently no trains running on lines controlled by Exeter.
If I have understood it is Taunton to Totnes on the main line, Exeter to Axminster, Exeter to Barnstaple and Newton Abbot to Paignton affected.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) live running seems to have forgotten to mention Axminister, assume they forgot they are diverting that way!

Also note the offer to reimburse consequential losses of additional bus fares in the journey updates.

Alterations to services between Totnes and Taunton 


 
Due to signalling problems between Totnes and Taunton all lines are closed.
 Impact: 
 Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 60 mins or revised. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.
 Customer Advice: 
 Owing to signalling problems centred around Exeter St Davids we are currently unable to operate any train services in the area bounded by Taunton / Barnstaple / Exmouth / Paignton / Totnes. Network Rail engineers are working to try and resolve the situation. Road transport is being sourced but will take some time to establish overb such a wide area.
 During this disruption if you wish to use local buses as an alternative means of transport and the local bus is not accepting First Great Western tickets please keep the bus ticket and send it, together with your rail ticket, to us for a refund.
 First in Devon Cornwall & Mid Somerset and Stagecoach South West are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.

Last Updated :08/02/2015 16:47

collapse  Alterations to services between Barnstaple and Exmouth 


 
Due to signalling problems between Barnstaple and Exmouth all lines are closed.
 Impact: 
 Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 60 mins or revised. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.
 Customer Advice: 
 Owing to signalling problems centred around Exeter St Davids we are currently unable to operate any train services in the area bounded by Taunton / Barnstaple / Exmouth / Paignton / Totnes. Network Rail engineers are working to try and resolve the situation. Road transport is being sourced but will take some time to establish overb such a wide area.
 During this disruption if you wish to use local buses as an alternative means of transport and the local bus is not accepting First Great Western tickets please keep the bus ticket and send it, together with your rail ticket, to us for a refund.
 First in Devon Cornwall & Mid Somerset and Stagecoach South West are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.

Last Updated :08/02/2015 16:48

collapse  Alterations to services between Newton Abbot and Paignton 


 
Due to signalling problems between Newton Abbot and Paignton all lines are closed.
 Impact: 
 Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 60 mins or revised. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.
 Customer Advice: 
 Owing to signalling problems centred around Exeter St Davids we are currently unable to operate any train services in the area bounded by Taunton / Barnstaple / Exmouth / Paignton / Totnes. Network Rail engineers are working to try and resolve the situation. Road transport is being sourced but will take some time to establish overb such a wide area.
 During this disruption if you wish to use local buses as an alternative means of transport and the local bus is not accepting First Great Western tickets please keep the bus ticket and send it, together with your rail ticket, to us for a refund.
 Stagecoach South West, First in Wessex Dorset & South Somerset and First in Devon Cornwall & Mid Somerset are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.

[TaplowGreen]

All sounds very dramatic - I think I'm right in saying there is loads of bustitution as well already this weekend?

Going to be some very long journeys home today.

[plymothian]

Exeter Panel controls everything on the main line from (just up from) Cogload Junction to Rattery including Newton Abbot to Torquay and Exeter Central station.

Barnstaple is controlled from Crediton SB^▸ (Signal Box), Torquay - Paignton from Paignton SB, and Exmouth and the South West Main line from Exmouth Junction SB; but are obviously useless without Exeter SB being unable to take over.

[JayMac]

I seriously considered going out today to bash a diverted HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Exeter to Westbury via Honiton. Glad I decided not to now.

[bobm]

Some trains on the move again at 18:00.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Exeter signal box suffered a full power failure this afternoon.
Currently no trains running on lines controlled by Exeter.

Exeter Panel controls everything on the main line from (just up from) Cogload Junction to Rattery including Newton Abbot to Torquay and Exeter Central station.
Barnstaple is controlled from Crediton SB^▸ (Signal Box), Torquay - Paignton from Paignton SB, and Exmouth and the South West Main line from Exmouth Junction SB; but are obviously useless without Exeter SB being unable to take over.

Hmm. 

With the centralisation of signalling centres, one would have hoped that there should have been robust provision made to avoid a complete outage of power at Exeter causing such widespread problems? 

[Electric train]

Major and total power failures at Panel Signal Boxes (PSB^▸ (Power Signal Box)) are quite rare, they have (usually) a "hospital" level of supply from the DNO^▸ (Distribution Network Operator) (Distribution Network Operator) and in the case of Exeter will have a standby diesel genset which is kept pre heated and may well have a UPS although these only have a limited capacity. 

The weakness is usually the change over panel, or if there has been a fire in the PSB itself. 

With the new ROC^▸ (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region)'s there is the facility to operate remote at the principle interlocking centres, obviously this will limit the service.  Work is being undertaken to see if other ROCs can take over should a ROC fail, I know this will be the case with electrical control.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Many thanks for your reply, Electric train - even though I only understood most of the non-technical words in it. 

[Palfers]

Major and total power failures at Panel Signal Boxes (PSB^▸ (Power Signal Box)) are quite rare, they have (usually) a "hospital" level of supply from the DNO^▸ (Distribution Network Operator) (Distribution Network Operator) and in the case of Exeter will have a standby diesel genset which is kept pre heated and may well have a UPS although these only have a limited capacity. 

The weakness is usually the change over panel, or if there has been a fire in the PSB itself. 

With the new ROC^▸ (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region)'s there is the facility to operate remote at the principle interlocking centres, obviously this will limit the service.  Work is being undertaken to see if other ROCs can take over should a ROC fail, I know this will be the case with electrical control.

I would laugh if they couldn't get the back up gen started I rember a similar issue at derriford hospital luckily it was only a test but they quickly realised they were short on diesel!!

[LiskeardRich]

Three different Facebook friends posted statuses that they were stuck at Honiton for a long time with no communication. None of the three know each other so not traveling together.
I'm rather glad I had a unplanned lie in this morning as was going to use some RTVs to take a trip to use a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) a long the Honiton stretch.

[bobm]

I'll go next Saturday when it is all fixed. 

[PhilWakely]

I took a train from Pinhoe to Honiton for a spot of photography and neglected to take my phone with me. I just happened to be on the overbridge to the east of the station when 1C84 was held in the station and 1A85 failed to show after 30 minutes- so a short walk to the station provided me the reason for the delays. Fortunately, a friend of mine lives nearby and was at home, so I abused his hospitality to phone home to be rescued. 

Thankfully, my trip to Castle Cary and Yeovil Pen Mill was yesterday 

Incidentally, what happened to 1C86  PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) - PNZ ?
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C20333/2015/02/08/advanced

last seen at Heywood Road Junction, so I guess it disappeared down the black hole that is Westbury ??

[Timmer]

Yep, terminated at Westbury. Formed an additional 1805 service to Penzance that will now only hope as far a Plymouth.

[Electric train]

Major and total power failures at Panel Signal Boxes (PSB^▸ (Power Signal Box)) are quite rare, they have (usually) a "hospital" level of supply from the DNO^▸ (Distribution Network Operator) (Distribution Network Operator) and in the case of Exeter will have a standby diesel genset which is kept pre heated and may well have a UPS although these only have a limited capacity. 

The weakness is usually the change over panel, or if there has been a fire in the PSB itself. 

With the new ROC^▸ (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region)'s there is the facility to operate remote at the principle interlocking centres, obviously this will limit the service.  Work is being undertaken to see if other ROCs can take over should a ROC fail, I know this will be the case with electrical control.

I would laugh if they couldn't get the back up gen started I rember a similar issue at derriford hospital luckily it was only a test but they quickly realised they were short on diesel!!

The standby gensets of the western are automatic 3 attempt start on a mains fail of more than 10 seconds.  The 3 attempt start was introduced in the early 1980's it was found that if the set just cranked over and did not start it would just flatten the batteries, it was found that a set would often start on attempt 2 if it did not start on the first, the 3 attempt just cranks over until the batteries are flat.  There is a hydraulic hand starter as well which the S & T Box Techs are trained on.  The engines have water jacket and sump heaters and generally as a rule (certainly on the years I worked on them) they started reliably.

The standby sets are "crash tested" every 3 months and that is a full switch off at the incoming mains even on a large Box like Exeter.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks again for posting, Electric train! 

I understood (I think!) every word of that - but it seems to me that it still doesn't explain quite why everything went so comprehensively pear-shaped at Exeter earlier today?