Major disruption 15/02/2016, overrunning engineering works Bristol - Taunton

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

I for one certainly feel a void day is appropriate.

Should be, after all the taxpayer sorry I mean Network Rail will be paying and not GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

[chrisr_75]

Any reason for this being discussed here? I know 'Thames Valley Infrastructure' causes a lot of problems but I don't see how problems at Weston can be blamed on that. (Does make a change though)

I think TaplowGreen was responsible, presumably confusedly posted in this thread in a moment of shock and awe that it was the other end of the network that was disrupted for once! 

[TaplowGreen]

Any reason for this being discussed here? I know 'Thames Valley Infrastructure' causes a lot of problems but I don't see how problems at Weston can be blamed on that. (Does make a change though)

I think TaplowGreen was responsible, presumably in a moment of shock and awe that it was the other end of the network that was disrupted for once! 

My apologies for using the wrong thread & my sympathies to all those who have had a miserable day today thanks to all the chaos caused by this engineering overrun......It does make a change from the regular LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) problems & occasional meltdown however I'm sure none of us take any satisfaction from that.

[JayMac]

Network Rail failed miserably today after overnight engineering works between Bristol and Uphill Junction, Weston-super-Mare overran this morning. Every milestone they set themselves was missed. Initially lines were to re-open at 1200. Then 1200 for the Up and 1400 for the down. Then 1530 for both lines. that was pushed back to 1600. Finally, the first passenger train ran at 1610 from Weston to Bristol and 1612 from Bristol to Taunton all stops.

Whereas Network Rail were a complete shower, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and CrossCountry coped admirably with the problems. Rail Replacement Buses and ticket acceptance on local buses was quickly arranged for start of service this morning. CrossCountry diverted services via Westbury and seemed to have arranged for nearly all services to run despite staff and sets being displaced. I witnessed plenty of XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) staff in evidence at Bristol Temple Meads arranging things to ensure services continued to run. There were regular manual announcements at Temple Meads informing people of the disruption and plenty of GWR on hand to answer passenger queries.

My own chosen service to get me to Taunton was the 1445 XC from Temple Meads. Our TM^‡(resolve) was delayed on an incoming service but even then I witnessed him jogging to my train so as not to delay our departure any further. Left at 1502. TM was out of breath as he made his first PA^▸ (Public Address) on departure. Top marks for dedication to getting us on our way though. Had he just casually strolled we may well have lost another path to Taunton via Bath and Westbury. Clear announcements were made on board about ETAs down to Plymouth as well as answering individual queries about connections in Devon and into Cornwall

[LiskeardRich]

Your observations of the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) TM^‡(resolve) seems to be standard XC TM attitude, they always have a can-do and positive attitude and I've seen them go above and beyond duty on many occasions. The ones that cover through Cornwall always come across very cheerful- I only seem to see the same 3 or 4 TMs through Cornwall for XC.

XC staff makes good the experience of traveling on a Voyager.

Unfortunately I cant say the same about any of the other TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) I've experienced.

[John R]

It probably helped swift rail replacement services that North Somerset is on half term this week. So coaches would have been readily available, I'm guessing passenger numbers slightly down on normal, and also the roads would have been a little quieter in the rush hour with no schools traffic and some people taking holiday this week.

[Timmer]

Yes John R, if there was ever a day to have a major engineering work overrun this was it with the schools being on half term. Not that would have been much comfort to those who experienced extended journeys or missed connections of course.

[John R]

It appears the possession was to install the new bridge for the South Bristol Relief Road (that's the one that is all part of a public transport improvement if you remember, yeah, right...).  So a bit more complicated than the usual dig up the track, put it back, and sprinkle a few stones around the rails.  Without knowing exactly went wrong it's difficult to judge, but sometimes heavy engineering like this does go wrong even with the best laid plans.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Any reason for this being discussed here? I know 'Thames Valley Infrastructure' causes a lot of problems but I don't see how problems at Weston can be blamed on that. (Does make a change though)

I think TaplowGreen was responsible, presumably confusedly posted in this thread in a moment of shock and awe that it was the other end of the network that was disrupted for once! 

In the interests of clarity and continuity, I've moved and merged a couple of related discussions into this definitive topic here.

Thanks to 'bignosemac' for making the suggestion. 

[JayMac]

Also causing issues today at Bristol Temple Meads was a broken rail across a set of points. Near Barton Hill depot between the Up and Down Filton Relief lines. This caused some capacity constraints which didn't help matters with everything going in and out of Bristol the same way because of the line closure at Parson St.

I saw the broken rail from a passing train. About a foot long piece of railhead was missing. 

[grahame]

From the Noth Somerset Times

No delays on trains to Bristol ...

[TonyK]

On Sunday, I went for  pint in Taunton, just to enjoy the ride along the diversionary route. It was fine as a choice - I would have hated to have the extra journey time forced on me.