Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2015

[whole diary]

[BBM]

Just had a quick glance at FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s Twitter feed - looks like there's a signalling problem tonight at Ladbroke Grove, plus the 1858 stopper to RDG^‡(resolve) from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) was terminated at EAL^▸ (Ealing Broadway Station) due to a cracked windscreen and the 1922 PAD-HFD^» (Hereford - next trains) has suffered a 'major fuel leak' before departure.

[NickB]

It's not a signalling problem but everything is running slow out of Paddington this evening. Bust doors on a service at southall. Nothing on journeycheck but trust me it's there. 20min delay so far.

I also had a 50min delay (on 20min service) this morning as the 7.08 Maidenhead to Paddington broke down 10ft from its destination.

Journecheck and others aren't picking these incidents up these days. Has their tolerance been adjusted??

[bobm]

I also had a 50min delay (on 20min service) this morning as the 7.08 Maidenhead to Paddington broke down 10ft from its destination.

And in doing so blocked both platforms 8 and 9 for a while. At the same time platform 1 was occupied for an hour longer than normal due to problems with the empty sleeper stock.  Gave the signallers a few headaches I should imagine.

[NickB]

And again tonight, the lines out of Paddington are painfully slow but journeycheck says everything is cushty. Does anyone have any insight on why the rose coloured glasses are being applied to (what I thought was) an independent service?

[Electric train]

And again tonight, the lines out of Paddington are painfully slow but journeycheck says everything is cushty. Does anyone have any insight on why the rose coloured glasses are being applied to (what I thought was) an independent service?

Just wondering if slow running is down to the increased amount of freight due to the Banbury - Lamington route being closed, the WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table) may have been adjusted to account for this increase in freight hence the Real Time Trains and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) own train running apps will not show a problem

[a-driver]

A track circuit failure near Twyford affecting London bound trains and a signal failure in the Hanwell area (a repeat of the same fault from a few days ago) affecting trains leaving London are the two problems being attributed to delays this evening.

[ChrisB]

Journeycheck has never been an independent service - the info us input to it by the operator

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services at Maidenhead
Due to signalling problems at Maidenhead some London bound relief lines are disrupted.
Impact:
Train services running through this station may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 09:00 18/02

..........lots of cancellations and delays this morning.

[a-driver]

The points between platform 4 and 5 at Maidenhead have failed.  London bound relief line closed between Twyford and Slough.
No London bound trains will call at stations Twyford to Slough so they can provide as much capacity as possible although I've heard that the fault with the points has just been rectified.

[Jason]

23rd February 2015

Delays between London Paddington and Reading until at least 17:00

A signalling problem at West Drayton is causing delays of up to 30 minutes to trains between London Paddington and Reading.There is no firm estimate yet of how long disruption will last but it is likely to continue until at least 17:00.

You can follow this incident using the hashtag #WestDrayton

[ Twitter messages say between Hayes and Iver ]

[Jason]

15 minutes lost between Reading and Maidenhead this morning on Paddington bound service.
This was due to congestion due to a late running freight train, apparently.
It's great that the entire morning peak commute is second class to freight.

[a-driver]

15 minutes lost between Reading and Maidenhead this morning on Paddington bound service.
This was due to congestion due to a late running freight train, apparently.
It's great that the entire morning peak commute is second class to freight.

The freight train activated a piece of equipment fitted to the track which detects wheelset faults.  The freight train was then allowed to proceed at a slow speed which then causes congestion behind it.

As I've said before, freight trains shouldn't be making there way towards London during the morning peak.  There simply isn't the space.

EDIT:  And now they've got a broken rail at Maidenhead.  Might be a coincidence, but this has happened after freight train with a defective wheel had recently passed through the area.

[ChrisB]

If they're given a path by Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)), of course there is.

So FGW^▸ (First Great Western) trains don't fault on that stretch then?....news to me.'

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[a-driver]

If they're given a path by Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)), of course there is.

There are passenger trains delayed every single day by the same freight trains.  The paths they've been allocated are not achievable.  In our opinion, Network Rail (NR) hope that the freight train is delayed prior to reaching the Reading area so that they can then lay the delay minutes to another train operator.

So FGW^▸ (First Great Western) trains don't fault on that stretch then?....news to me.

Our trains fail, course they do.  But what should be the priority at peak times, passengers or freight?


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[chrisr_75]

There are passenger trains delayed every single day by the same freight trains.  The paths they've been allocated are not achievable.  In our opinion, NR^» (Network Rail - home page) hope that the freight train is delayed prior to reaching the Reading area so that they can then lay the delay minutes to another train operator.

Who is/are 'our'? Is that an official/public FGW^▸ (First Great Western) opinion?

Our trains fail, course they do.  But what should be the priority at peak times, passengers or freight?

Neither. Both have paid their access fees, so should be fairly treated on that basis.

Personally, I would rather see slightly slower commuter trains and more freight on the railways, with less lorries on the roads, the latter being the cause of more congestion, more severe accidents and more damage to road infrastructure than cars.