Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2017

[whole diary]

[John R]

I have been reading on twitter that A Pidgeon flew into the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") and exploded ! Up Main is blocked by rubble from this or so it would seem .
Good luck to those trying to get home this evening ,hottest day of year so far  my sympathies .

Not Caroline I hope. That would be ironic given her transport responsibilities.

[charles_uk]

And the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website is helpfully informing passengers "There are minor disruptions on the GWR Network"! 

[broadgage]

I have been reading on twitter that A Pidgeon flew into the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") and exploded ! Up Main is blocked by rubble from this or so it would seem .
Good luck to those trying to get home this evening ,hottest day of year so far  my sympathies .

Did I not predict that Over-Head Line Equipment (OLHE) would be vulnerable to pigeons ?
And that "attacks" by such birds could cause widespread disruption.
IIRC^▸ ('if I recall/remember/read correctly') my remarks were considered unduly pessimistic.

And anyway, just how much rubble does one exploded pigeon create.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[stuving]

Last updated     19/06/2017 17:39

The obstruction on the track between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington has been removed (probably not by ambulance to St Columba's) allowing all lines to reopen.

Major disruption is expected until 19:00 due to trains and train crew being out of position.

[NickB]

Currently at Paddington and it is not looking pretty. Best avoided if you can.

Edit: the words piss-up and brewery spring to mind (as always). Fully seated High Speed Train (HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units))) that had been waiting for 40mins just got emptied at the last minute. No explanation other than 'disruption'.   The trains are well over 40 degrees and rising.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[Adelante_CCT]

+ a freight train has failed between Midgham and Aldermaston, meaning even less sets arriving Paddington to provide services outbound in the later part of the peak

[Thatcham Crossing]

freight train has failed between Midgham and Aldermaston

There is of course a loop just to the east of Aldermaston, but not sure if accessible from up as well as down lines?

Plenty of "parking" for freights just up the line at Theale. 

[Adelante_CCT]

No, only accessible in the down direction.

Yes, Theale is where they have shoved it for now

[SandTEngineer]

A word of warning for those who may be relying on it for information, OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website, or possibly 'over the top', depending on context) appears to be suffering from the heat as well as it seems to be lagging by over 5 minutes on the actual position of trains.

At 1900 its lagging by 30mins whereas real trains are lagging by up to two hours.  Like watching a time warp.....

[TaplowGreen]

+ a freight train has failed between Midgham and Aldermaston, meaning even less sets arriving Paddington to provide services outbound in the later part of the peak

......did it hit a pigeon?

[johoare]

I left work at 4 and got on a train to Swansea which was first stop Reading and then doubled back to Maidenhead.. I was aiming for the 16.42 which being electric was cancelled  and got back at 17.45 so not too bad.. I decided it better to be stuck at Reading than Paddington

[Sixty3Closure]

I saw there had been disruption during the day but the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website was saying minor disruption and all trains on time. Got  Paddington just before 5 and it looked like no trains running at all. Hard to tell as the display only had Heathrow Express services and some cancelled Maidenhead one. No staff around to ask of course, no station announcements and nothing on the board before I wandered up to H&C end to wait. There was a network rail person up there who I asked but he was 'security' and doing his checks. He did comment about the GWR staff and how they all disappear as soon as there's an incident.

I'm about truly staggered (each time - you think experience would teach me) how GWR fail to provide not just information but often wrong information. How can a company think it acceptable to withdraw all frontline staff every time there's an incident? This wasn't even a major one from the comments above. If you're worried about staff safety for a BAU incident then I think you seriously need to review your operating model.

Don't tell me my train is on time when it never was. I'm fortunate in that I can work flexibly. If there's problems I can work late, go to the pub, go for a meal and that's one less person at Paddington and I'm sure I'm not alone. Just give me information. Hottest day of they year and nothing. How about handing out bottles of water to the elderly and infirm? Or even not charging me to use the toilets when I've been stuck waiting for trains and/or information.

In the end I got on the first stopping (first service full stop) to Twyford which was truly horrible. People fighting to get on, other trying to get off because they're ill and one woman had a panic attack in the heat and crowds.

Barely seems worth mentioning being 25 mins late this morning.

[IndustryInsider]

Information and service recovery not helped by the complete removal of key behind the scenes operational staff at key locations (Cardiff, Westbury and Oxford) at the end of March to save money.  Savings that will no doubt be lost in extra delay minutes they would have prevented.

[Western Pathfinder]

For those who have been caught up in the pigeon poo today hope this helps
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY

[Surrey 455]

................now pushed out till 1100, to add to the joy, none of the ticket machines are working at Paddington......imagine the queues at the ticket offices.

And from my Monday morning email...

South West Trains Alert Service <noreply@nexusalpha.com>
09:23 (13 hours ago)

to me
Dear Customer,

Following an IT issue from earlier this morning, we are unable to process card payments on some of our ticket machines, including all the ticket machines at London Waterloo.

This fault has been reported and is under investigation. 

If you are travelling on one our trains and not able to purchase a ticket please speak to a member of staff or the Guard on your train for further advice.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Thank you.

South West Trains.