Severe weather affecting stations between Worcester and Oxford - 11 Dec 2017

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Cancellations to services between Hereford and Oxford
Following severe weather between Hereford and Oxford all lines are now open.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. All stations between Worcester Shrub Hill and Oxford will not be served. Disruption is expected until 10:00 11/12.

Customer Advice
Due to the severe weather conditions yesterday, services will continue to be disrupted between Hereford and Oxford.
Because of the weather conditions also affecting the road network, where train services are cancelled there will be no replacement road transport. Customers are therefore advised to check before travelling and make alternative arrangements.

Oh dear, but somewhat understandable; no longer is the snow plough available at each station along the way for use on perhaps one or two days a year.

Some better wording could have been found.   I suspect that services are running via the South Cotswold line rather than through the North Cotswold, so question "all lines open".  And I suspect that if GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) haven't been able to make any alternative arrangements, private individuals will be pretty hard pressed to do so.   Best and safest alternative may be to stay at home and work online today if that's possible in your line of business!

Have a good day everyone.   The weight of ice on my broadband cable  hasn't brought it down and I suspect I'll be around much of the day.  A quieter week as we start the wind down toward Christmas, except that I have so many report to write and data to move from uncorrelated masses into something more digestible.

[chuffed]

I see we've had a bad spell of affecting weather again, grahame !

[stuving]

I see we've had a bad spell of affecting weather again, grahame !

So that was another train rammed ...

[stuving]

Whether the railways did keep going in the old days in these conditions, using snow ploughs or just men with shovels, I'm not sure. It's the kind of question that needs proper research to answer it, since popular conceptions of what happened (and even memories of those old enough to remember) an be very misleading. But I think it's fair to be disappointed that modern trains and track systems have  not been better designed to cope.

Snow happens: it's a foreseeable component of the railways' environment. So why are trains etc. not designed to cope? Your and my favourite train requirement (OK, the only published one), the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) one, says:

TS1845 The IEP Trains must maintain Full Functionality during and after running through snow up to a depth of (above rail level):
• 200mm; continuous operation with no speed restriction; and
• 300mm; continuous operation is required but reduced speeds are permitted

Given that the rail itself is almost 20 cm high on its clip, that "full speed" depth is well over a foot - far more than snowfall we had yesterday. Presumably that requirement reflected industry views of current normal practice, so what went wrong?

I can see one thing straight off - snow isn't flat, and you don't want to go steaming (or dieseling) into a drift at 125 mph. Nothing in that requirement says how the driver will get to know what snow depth ahead is, nor even whether that should be the absolute deepest value. So it's not a very useful requirement, really. ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies see - here)'s "Key Technical Requirements for Rolling Stock" (2013) does mention snow, but only to say it should not be allowed into various places.

But the point stands - should trains and railways not be more capable?

[IndustryInsider]

I think that message has confused everyone!  It’s just Hereford to Worcester that is  closed.  Worcester to Oxford is open and trains are running and have been since the start of service.

[Richard Fairhurst]

I believe the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) did get through between Worcester and Oxford yesterday, even while the rest of the service was cancelled: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/V80288/2017/12/10/advanced . Did anyone get any pics?

[Red Squirrel]

Eeh, not like the old days when they got through with nothing but snow and bad language...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ugIoMD495E

[Chris from Nailsea]

I see we've had a bad spell of affecting weather again, grahame !

Point taken: I've now tidied up grahame's typo of 'wether' in the heading of this topic. 

[chuffed]

Obviously nobody has been affected by the need for another alteration in the heading, to take effect.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Obviously nobody has been affected by the need for another alteration in the heading, to take effect.

My further apologies, chuffed: this topic's heading has now been amended again, to correct grahame's second typo of 'effecting'.