Flooding at Nailsea and Backwell - historic, 14 January 2023

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

Cancellations to services between Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton
Due to heavy rain flooding the railway at Nailsea & Backwell all lines are blocked. Disruption is expected until 15:00 14/01.
Train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton may be cancelled.

Tweet from Network Rail: https://twitter.com/networkrailwest/status/1614213725623406592

All SW fast services up to London from Penzance and Plymouth now additionally calling at Westbury for the rest of the day.

[Timmer]

Further travel advice from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway):

Passengers south of Taunton wishing to travel to Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads should use GWR London Paddington services from Taunton towards Reading and then change there for Westbound services.

Passengers at Bristol and Bath Spa for Taunton, should travel to Reading on London Paddington services and then change at Reading for Westcountry-bound services.

Not sure about the first part of that advice when they are getting all services up from the SW to stop at Westbury???

[Timmer]

Advice has now been updated to travel via Westbury:

Passengers from Bristol should travel to Westbury and change there for West of England services to Taunton.

Passengers from the SouthWest for Bristol/Bath Spa should travel to Westbury and change there for services towards Bristol Temple Meads.

Passengers south of Taunton wishing to travel to Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads should use GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) London Paddington services from Taunton towards Westbury and then change there for services to Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads.

Passengers at Bristol and Bath Spa for Taunton, should travel to Westbury and then change at Westbury for Westcountry-bound services.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for posting this topic originally, Timmer. 

I've just stumbled across it again (while looking for something else, as usual!) and it reminds me that I previously found their location of that 'flooding' to be rather puzzling.

Nailsea & Backwell station is built on top of a quite high embankment, and the mainline tracks on either side are similarly raised significantly above the surrounding ground for some considerable distance. If you wanted to flood Nailsea & Backwell itself, you'd have to put most of North Somerset under water.

I therefore reckon that the flooding was actually towards Bristol, at Flax Bourton (which has previous for it, being down in a cutting) or possibly beyond Chelvey (towards Yatton).  They maybe just located the flood as being 'Nailsea & Backwell' because that was nearest station to the actual location (although Flax Bourton used to have a station).

[UstiImmigrunt]

I remember going at walking pace from where the ground frame was for the sidings past the station building, through the tunnel and most of the way through the cutting due to flooding. I think mid 2010s? There was a lot of rain!