Landslip between Salisbury and Romsey

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

For Southampton onwards travel is permitted via Reading.

[bradshaw]

From SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) Journey Check this morning

Engineers have been on site at the landslip and have confirmed there is significant damage to the embankment, with substantial repair work needed. It is expected that it will take up to 2 months to fully repair the railway. We are not currently able to run trains on this route. 

[grahame]

National Rail - updated at 03:10 this morning (20.02.2020) but I suspect not current for replacement trains, as my understanding is a Romsey to Romsey loop ("Romsey 0" not "Romsey 6"?) and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) calling at Dean and Mottisfont.  Three Rivers CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) and SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) working together on this.

And as I write, looks like both lines closed - whether the problem has spread, or whether that's just for investigation / work to be done remains to be seen.

Description

A landslip has damaged part of the railway between Salisbury and Romsey resulting in only one of the two lines being open for trains to run. As a consequence of this, fewer trains are able to run and some intermediate stations will not have a train service.
This is expected to continue until Tuesday 31 March.

How is this affecting the train service?
Trains will not call at Dean, Mottisfont & Dunbridge, Redbridge, Millbrook and Chandlers Ford.
Replacement buses will operate as follows:
Salisbury - Southampton in both directions via Redbridge and Millbrook
Romsey - Southampton in both directions via Chandlers Ford and Eastleigh

Alternative travel options:
Great Western Railway customers may use:
CrossCountry between Southampton Central and Reading
South Western Railway via any reasonable route

South Western Railway customers may use:
Great Western Railway via any reasonable route
Southern between Clapham Junction and Gatwick Airport

What's happened?
Engineers have been on site at the landslip and have confirmed there is significant damage to the embankment, with substantial repair work needed. It is expected that it will take up to 2 months to fully repair the railway.

Check before you travel:
You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner
You can find the location of your bus replacement by checking station signs or by searching for your station on our station information pages

Twitter:
If you would like to follow this incident on Twitter, please use #Dean

[paul7575]

Suggestion in other forums that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) had found the single line working wasn’t reliable enough, or took too long or something.

I’d have thought it more likely the embankment failure is worse than they thought, unlikely to just neatly affect one side after all...

Paul

[fullspeedahead]

There should be no need to introduce random trips to Totton, or anywhere else, just because it’s there. 

A few weeks back, before the Eastleigh problems, SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) had a weekend of planned Romsey to Romsey circulars, with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) running hourly Romsey Portsmouth at the same time.  Maybe though, it’s been realised Millbrook and Redbridge  aren’t actually going to overwhelm the Cardiff trains...

Just seems a very negative way of doing things...

I think a lot of people are saying this. With the Eastleigh works drawing to a close soon, seems incredible that there will not even be a Romsey "0" until the end of March. Then again, nothing about SWR shocks anyone any more.

[Timmer]

Latest:

Due to a landslip between Salisbury and Romsey all lines are closed.
Train services running through these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until the end of the day on 31/03/20.

Customer Advice
Due to a landslip between Salisbury and Romsey all lines are blocked. Engineers have been on site at the landslip and have confirmed there is significant damage to the embankment, with substantial repair work needed. It is expected that it will take up to 2 months to fully repair the railway. We are not currently able to run trains between Salisbury and Romsey.

An amended train service will operate. Cardiff Central-Portsmouth Harbour services will terminate/start at Salisbury. Road replacement transport will operate between Salisbury & Romsey/Southampton Central in both directions to connect with the train service either side of the closure.

CrossCountry are conveying passengers between Southampton Central and Reading in both directions until further notice.
South Western Railway are conveying passengers between Salisbury and Southampton Central via Basingstoke in both directions until further notice.
South Western Railway are conveying passengers between Salisbury and Portsmouth Harbour via Basingstoke in both directions until further notice.
Replacement road transport services are conveying passengers between Romsey and Salisbury in both directions until further notice.

[paul7575]

There’s talk elsewhere of an SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) Romsey circular service from next week, hopefully coinciding with the Eastleigh track repairs allowing calls there again.  Believe it when I see it...

Paul

[froome]

For Southampton onwards travel is permitted via Reading.

Is this still the case?

I've just checked the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) website and this says GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) customers may use South-Western services on any reasonable route, but does not make any mention of Cross Country services.

[paul7575]

For Southampton onwards travel is permitted via Reading.

Is this still the case?

I've just checked the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) website and this says GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) customers may use South-Western services on any reasonable route, but does not make any mention of Cross Country services.

They may have altered the options for the weekend since the earlier list on NRES^▸ (National Rail Enquiry Service) because XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) aren’t running to Southampton now because of the Eastleigh block.

[paul7575]

Romsey to Romsey SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) services are now showing in RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) for Monday, calling at Eastleigh in both directions, so maybe they are assuming some progress over the weekend.

Also shows certain GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) through services (but with many calls “unadvertised”) so it might still be subject to change.

[paul7575]

As one door opens, another one slams shut.

I bet no one was assuming that the reinstatement of a Romsey circular (as my previous post) would coincide with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) cancelling the Portsmouth to Romsey leg...   

Paul

[grahame]

Somewhat unclear to me as to what's running and what's not. 

"The Brightons" seem to be running but diverted on departure from Brighton to Portsmouth Harbour instead of Bristol and Great Malvern, which in effect turns them into peak hour relief services for commuter traffic into Brighton and back out - extra diesel trains in what is otherwise a service run entirely with third rail electrics.  Perhaps a 319 awaiting conversion or a 769 not yet passed to run on diesel could release a 158 back from Fratton to help with shortages in "The West" fleet?

[Timmer]

As one door opens, another one slams shut.

I bet no one was assuming that the reinstatement of a Romsey circular (as my previous post) would coincide with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) cancelling the Portsmouth to Romsey leg...   

Paul

Hmmmm I bet that will go down well with those used to 'fast' services between Southampton and Portsmouth now having to use SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) stoppers.

So what will GWR traincrew based at Fratton be doing for the next two months?

[paul7575]

Somewhat unclear to me as to what's running and what's not. 

"The Brightons" seem to be running but diverted on departure from Brighton to Portsmouth Harbour instead of Bristol and Great Malvern, which in effect turns them into peak hour relief services for commuter traffic into Brighton and back out - extra diesel trains in what is otherwise a service run entirely with third rail electrics.  Perhaps a 319 awaiting conversion or a 769 not yet passed to run on diesel could release a 158 back from Fratton to help with shortages in "The West" fleet?

Very odd, especially as Southern are running Brighton <> Portsmouth as per their normal timings anyway.   I believe the early Portsmouth to Brighton is considered an important part of morning peak capacity into Brighton, but it’s really only there because of a positioning move from Fratton.  As I’ve said in earlier discussions, capacity into Brighton really ought to be Southerns problem to sort out, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) should be seen as a welcome bonus.

Paul

[grahame]

Very odd, especially as Southern are running Brighton <> Portsmouth as per their normal timings anyway.   I believe the early Portsmouth to Brighton is considered an important part of morning peak capacity into Brighton, but it’s really only there because of a positioning move from Fratton.  As I’ve said in earlier discussions, capacity into Brighton really ought to be Southerns problem to sort out, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) should be seen as a welcome bonus.

Paul

I've understood it to be important in to Brighton in the morning as peak capacity provision, then out to Bristol as a through train, south to west.  I've also understood it to be important to franchise revenue calculations, allowing the Great Western franchise to get a share of the Portsmouth, Chichester, Worthing to Hove and Brighton revenue. What are the rules for revenue distribution when a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) doesn't run its service?