2023 Delays and Cancellations

[whole diary]

[Mark A]

Is it ok if I be slightly alarmed by this...

Mark

[Timmer]

Is it ok if I be slightly alarmed by this...

Mark

From what Industry Insider has just reported it doesn’t sound good at all.

[IndustryInsider]

Is it ok if I be slightly alarmed by this...

Mark

From what Industry Insider has just reported it doesn’t sound good at all.

Alarm in the sense there will be a lot of disruption tonight and potentially into the future - YES
Alarm in the sense a bridge slowly sinking is likely to be a serious passenger safety issue - NO

[ray951]

I came across the bridge about 1 hour before this incident and it didn't seem any worse than usual, although I had had a beer 

More importantly this bridge has obviously been getting worse over the last few weeks, so is anyone aware of any plans to fix it or at least stabilise the situation.

[Mark A]

The good: the Thames has settled down a bit now.

The less good: if it's not the bridge superstructure, the ground's clay and mudstone overlain by stuff from the quaternary (so, thrown down after the last ice age, and there it's listed as sand silt and gravel so not a forgiving ground from the point of view of foundations).

This sort of ground can fail gently before picking up its heels a bit and generally becoming a nuisance.

Mark

[stuving]

Surprisingly, that bridge is less than 100 years old. After a short-lived timber bridge, the second had iron spans and timber lattice piers. The current one dates from 1929, and is much more solid. Though maybe too heavy for its foundations?

Copyright Mat Fascione and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

[grahame]

Delays to services between Oxford and Didcot Parkway

Due to a safety inspection of the track between Oxford and Didcot Parkway trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.

Train services running through these stations may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 07:00 26/01.

Customer Advice

Track conditions in the Radley & Culham area have necessitated an emergency speed restriction for trains. However, a train travelling through the affected area at 20mph earlier today had reported the conditions have worsened. This, tied with low temperatures (-9C), means we cannot perform the required repairs.
-
This line has since been inspected by structural engineers & Network Rail staff, and reopened as 20mph, when staff are not on the track. This means we can run trains again, but some may still be delayed.

Has it REALLY been -9C overnight??   All around elsewhere reports are of it being much warmer last night than the previous night.

[CyclingSid]

The -9C will not doubt refer to RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Benson which is a well known cold spot in south Oxfordshire. Alright for those residing in the tropical climes of Melksham.

[TaplowGreen]

Delays to services between Oxford and Didcot Parkway

Due to a safety inspection of the track between Oxford and Didcot Parkway trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.

Train services running through these stations may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 07:00 26/01.

Customer Advice

Track conditions in the Radley & Culham area have necessitated an emergency speed restriction for trains. However, a train travelling through the affected area at 20mph earlier today had reported the conditions have worsened. This, tied with low temperatures (-9C), means we cannot perform the required repairs.
-
This line has since been inspected by structural engineers & Network Rail staff, and reopened as 20mph, when staff are not on the track. This means we can run trains again, but some may still be delayed.

Has it REALLY been -9C overnight??   All around elsewhere reports are of it being much warmer last night than the previous night.

Those who waited for hours in those temperatures for replacement buses late last night (and were then charged to use them when they arrived!) would probably be best placed to confirm.

[charles_uk]

Has it REALLY been -9C overnight??   All around elsewhere reports are of it being much warmer last night than the previous night.

According to the Met Office website, Benson got as cold as 0C last night!

[IndustryInsider]

Has it REALLY been -9C overnight??   All around elsewhere reports are of it being much warmer last night than the previous night.

According to the Met Office website, Benson got as cold as 0C last night!

Perhaps it meant that with temperatures dipping as low as -9 over the previous few nights, including last weekend, temporary repairs to remove the 20mph restriction (and therefore prevent any further marked deterioration resulting in the report of a rough ride last night) weren’t able to be done.

[Mark A]

Surprisingly, that bridge is less than 100 years old. After a short-lived timber bridge, the second had iron spans and timber lattice piers. The current one dates from 1929, and is much more solid. Though maybe too heavy for its foundations?

Photo of the pre-1929 bridge here:

https://heritagesearch.oxfordshire.gov.uk/images/POX0118414

Does anyone know when, in the past, there's been talk of quadruple tracking Oxford to Didcot? It must have been a humungous bottleneck down the ages, is that still the case now? In 1929 the economy was shaky (when is it not...) but you wonder if four tracking was a consideration for the replacement bridge at that date. The width of the bridge deck is generous but not enough for two pairs of tracks, which is curious. The single central pier is wider still, perhaps that component actually was intended to be suitable to carry two pairs of tracks.



While it's something that would be difficult to do now: a 'least disruption option' might be quadruple tracking the existing line as far as Culham and then a 5 kilometre cut off to join the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) at a new junction just east of Didcot.

Mark

[IndustryInsider]

There's been rumblings of quadrupling over the last thirty or so years, most recently south from Oxford as far as Radley, but nothing has gone beyond the aspiration stage.  Anything beyond that, including cut-offs, would be very expensive and therefore probably unjustifiable.  Four tracks south from Oxford to Radley, and grade separation at Didcot and possibly a reversible loop line between Didcot and Appleford Junction would be much more suitable IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion).

I doubt the money will be forthcoming in the near term for anything though.

[charles_uk]

Alterations to services between Oxford and Didcot Parkway
Due to a safety inspection of the track between Oxford and Didcot Parkway all lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 08:45 27/01.
Last Updated:27/01/2023 07:53

[Worcester_Passenger]

There were other delays and cancellations today. RealTimeTrains has some of them being "due to a rail defect".

1P02 05:23 Hereford - Paddington. On time to Wolvercote Junction, but 25 late arriving at Oxford. Cancelled after Oxford.
1P16 06:43 Shrub Hill - Paddington. Also on time to Wolvercote. 17 late into Oxford, 19 late into Paddington.
2E80 07:01 Shrub Hill - Didcot. On time to Oxford, but cancelled after that.
1P03 06:40 Hereford - Paddington. Empty journey started 18 late from Stoke Gifford and arrived 26 late. Left Hereford 26 late. Held at Norton Junction. Ran 41 late from there to Reading. Cancelled after that.
1P20 08:13 Shrub Hill - Paddington. Also held at Norton Junction. 14 late through to Paddington.
1P22 08:56 Great Malvern - Paddington. 13 late more-or-less throughout.
1P24 09:54 Great Malvern - Paddington. Cancelled between Great Malvern and Foregate Street. Delayed at Kingham (8 late) but further delayed after Reading. 32 late at Paddington.

1W13 Paddington - Great Malvern. On time to Didcot. 25 late after that, 36 late from Oxford and into Shrub Hill. Cancelled after Foregate Street.
1W15 Paddington - Great Malvern. On time to Radley, but lost time after that. 27 late into Great Malvern.