Snow in February 2018 affects services for up to 4 days

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Not been made clear yet why the Didcot-Oxford shuttles aren't running in anything I've seen. Nor what has happened to the stopping service from Didcot onwards. They have vanished from CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) information, not even there as cancelled.

Good question, I caught the train to Oxford this morning but had to return on the bus.
It seems to me that as soon as Paddington was shut the service just collapsed.
There have been no trains from Oxford to Didcot for 4 hours and none scheduled until after 12:00 and for 3 hours between Didcot and Oxford.
I fail too comprehend how the buses can run but the trains can't, isn't there any resilience?
It is very cold here (Didcot and Oxford) but there is hardly any snow we had more in December.

Precious little resilience these days I'm afraid.  Resourcing managers have been cut to the point where Control can't cope as soon as things go more than slightly awry.  In the 'good old days' the Traincrew Supervisor at Oxford would have taken the lead at times of disruption ensuring his staff, and available trains in the area, were used in the most effective way - which was usually an all-stations shuttle service of some sort for the local trains.  Appleford often got its best ever service when there was disruption!  Now there is no supervisor at Oxford, so it gets forgotten amongst the 'more important' stuff.

[TaplowGreen]

I take it all the appropriate platforms/areas were gritted/salted overnight?

I saw plenty of staff late last night treating platforms at several stations.  Not much you could do with Paddington though given the extensive use of terrazzo tiles and the wind blowing snow into places it would never normally reach.

That's a "no" then! ................sadly, as ever the threat from terrazzo is never far away these days! 

[IndustryInsider]

That's a "no" then! ................sadly, as ever the threat from terrazzo is never far away these days! 

Given that part of the area is known as the Lawn, perhaps they should rip up the terrazzo and replace it with grass?   

[TaplowGreen]

That's a "no" then! ................sadly, as ever the threat from terrazzo is never far away these days! 

Given that part of the area is known as the Lawn, perhaps they should rip up the terrazzo and replace it with grass?   

...........how about a water feature? Maybe with Mark Hopwood as a cherub?

[grahame]

From Southern (with whom this thread started) on Twitter
 

@SouthernRailUK

⚠️Due to an 8 foot icicle in a tunnel at #Balcolmbe, services between Brighton and Gatwick are subject to delay. Engineers are working to remove this icicle.

Original discussion asked if Southern were right in suggesting disruption for up to 4 days when others said just a day or two.  Looks like Southern may have been the ones who were closer to what would happen and even they may have underestimated!

[ChrisB]

I have no problem with terazzo per se, but they must make available alternatives live bloody great mats for incelement weather. Or rip the terazzo up for something more suitable in all weathers!

They used terazzo simply because it is ultra-smooth & thus very weasy to keep clean. No one gave any thought to the regular inclement weather, did they @nationalrailPAD?

[grahame]

... live bloody great mats  ...

... very weasy to keep clean ...

And ice on keyboard causing fingers to slip .. or are you back onto the idea of grass on the lawn 

Love the idea of coughing and spluttering in the cold as one keeps the ground clean.

The surfaces in Paddington ARE lovely but even in the wet they get slippery to the extent that there are warnings. I can well imagine how they must have got this morning!

[ChrisB]

*like :-)

[bobm]

Rather appealed to my sense of humour that the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) sent a reporter called Victoria to cover the situation at Paddington.

[trainer]

Rather appealed to my sense of humour that the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) sent a reporter called Victoria to cover the situation at Paddington.

Yes.  Apparently Peter King's cross he wasn't sent.

[JayMac]

Surely Mary Le Bone would have been closer to Paddington.

[grahame]

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46583.aspx

From the top of (I suspect all) pages on National Rail

Heavy snow affecting Britain

Train companies affected: Arriva Trains Wales, c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains, Gatwick Express, Grand Central, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Heathrow Express, Hull Trains, London Overground, Merseyrail, Northern, ScotRail, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, TfL^» (Transport for London - about) Rail, Thameslink, TransPennine Express, Virgin Trains, Virgin Trains East Coast,

Can help feeling "Train companies affected: All" would have been clearer - or are there one or two missing from the list?

[SandTEngineer]

Bit like the Devon/Cornwall school closures announced on the radio today.  They went through a detailed list of over 200 schools.  It would have been better to say "all schools closed except......" 

[Oxonhutch]

I was there this morning at 0715 off 1A02 in platform 5. Although in walking boots, it was very difficult not to slide and I chose to stick to the tactile paving on the platforms.  The Lawn was something else - like it had been greased. I was surprised the station was not shut sooner.

The snow appeared to be coming down through the Brunel roof. It was very cold and the snow a fine dry powder.  I suspect it was blowing in through air vents in the roof. I chose to leave town via Marylebone and Oxford.

[patch38]

The snow appeared to be coming down through the Brunel roof. It was very cold and the snow a fine dry powder.  I suspect it was blowing in through air vents in the roof.

That was happening yesterday too - heading home I was unexpectedly rewarded with a generous mouthful of powdery snow at the top of the stairs to P2.