Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2017

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

The motivation for many is about to sink as NR^» (Network Rail - home page) staff are now classed as public sector so 1% pay rise which will equate for most as 0.8% ................. I can see many skilled staff leave NR to work for contractors or like me contemplate retiring early and take final salary pension and the 40 plus years of experience with me

That 1% cap was one reason why I went. The main one was the thought of another winter getting up at 6.15 am. You could take the pension and presumably also go to work for the contractors.

[chuffed]

Just as well it isn't a Cross Country seat reservation ... those electronic bits can be very difficult to digest.....

[TaplowGreen]

............apparently there is as yet no decision as to whether yesterday will be declared a Void Day 

I would imagine the big cheeses at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) will be in Mark Hopwood's office right now digesting what's taken place these past few days deciding if passengers have suffered enough to declare a void day.

.......more likely on the 1st tee! I'm sure the amount of money they will trouser in compensation from NR^» (Network Rail - home page) in respect of the last couple of days will more than outweigh any gesture they may graciously decide to make......they certainly won't be passing it on to their customers in any other ways!

[JayMac]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have lifted ticket restrictions into and out of Paddington today.

[chuffed]

I will eat my seat reservation if they declare it as void!

Just as well it isn't a Cross Country seat reservation ...those electronic bits can be very difficult to digest....especially if someone comes along and turfs you out of your seat, having plucked it off the menu earlier.

[insider]

Just out of interest to those who say GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) response was poor and employees hide etc... From my experience last night that simply isn't true given the circumstances. What do you want to happen when the Railway is broken to such an extent they can NOT run trains through such a key location.

I was at Paddington just after 16:00 trying to get to Reading. By 16:20 the CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) had been turned off because service was suspended. TO advertise trains as Delayed and then cancel at train time is just annoying and false information. The announcer for Network Rail was making very clear PA^▸ (Public Address) that ALL service was suspended. By 1630 they were advising to use SWT^▸ (South West Trains) from Waterloo, Chiltern from MYB^▸ (London (Marylebone)). Local buses from Ealing (Central Line). Also LUL^▸ (London Underground Ltd) for Heathrow.

Many people including myself chose to ignore those messages, hoping it would be all ok soon. I headed upstairs to the pub. Is it GWRs fault that we ignore their advice?? Or just our own stubbornness or just that we are use to diverting for 2 hours to find that the line had opened 5 mins after you left.

From what I observed on the concourse there were plenty of staff at the 2 help desks. The announcements were frequent advising they had no estimate for service and to please use alternative routes. Also that tickets would be valid tomorrow if that was easier option for those who could postpone journeys. I actually stood near a help desk by the ticket office for about 20 mins just to be nosey.

The staff were well informed and were providing info on the diversions. By now it was around 1800, and they had been told at least another 2 hours before any departures. The diversions were extended to allow Virgin Trains via Birmingham for North Cots and also Bristol etc.

I had arranged a lift from a friend to Slough and got there about 1915. I didn't have to wait long and a turbo arrived from Reading to go back all stations. I asked the staff there how frequent the service had been. And they said not too bad. Local buses were taking tickets for Langley & Iver. Also on the 81 which runs towards Heathrow and connects for other buses to get to West Drayton & Hayes/Southall. So people were moving. London was being served via Windsor and a walk to SWT services.

When I got back to Reading, I had a wander around there were PA's, staff were visible. Yes it was busy on plats 456 for SWT services, but it was being controlled safely. From speaking to a friend later in evening. SWT even ran additional services to CLJ and WAT only vice booked ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock). So nice to see other TOCS helping.

There were services being turned around I see a Bristol and a S Wales service leave. Also Oxford trains seem to be running too.

Then being sad when I got home I watched what service ran when the lines opened which was around 2030.

And I was amased how many trains actually ran, given the displacement of crew. All HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) services from 2045 until close ran as booked. LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) services had an odd cancelled service. A couple of Oxfords called into Didcot extra to help ease congestion. But was far better than evening before. Even the 0022 Pad Oxford ran which is my normal train home after drinks in London.

And on a final note, I'm not saying GWR did good. But I don't feel they did as bad as some make out. Too many peoples default setting on here is just to criticise. From what I witnessed first hand, staff were dealing with a terrible situation as best they could. There were PA's. I could see staff.

Network Rail should be ashamed....but ultimately they are responsible for the safe operation of trains. And lets all just remember that no one was injured, we were all just late (some more than others) home, but we got home.
Personally I would rather be late home safe than someone try and risk running a train on an unsafe system of signalling.
Of course Id rather have a seat on an air conditioned train and be on time.....but to expect that every day is madness

[GBM]

Just as well it isn't a Cross Country seat reservation ... those electronic bits can be very difficult to digest.....

Bytes? 

[TaplowGreen]

Just out of interest to those who say GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) response was poor and employees hide etc... From my experience last night that simply isn't true given the circumstances. What do you want to happen when the Railway is broken to such an extent they can NOT run trains through such a key location.

I was at Paddington just after 16:00 trying to get to Reading. By 16:20 the CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) had been turned off because service was suspended. TO advertise trains as Delayed and then cancel at train time is just annoying and false information. The announcer for Network Rail was making very clear PA^▸ (Public Address) that ALL service was suspended. By 1630 they were advising to use SWT^▸ (South West Trains) from Waterloo, Chiltern from MYB^▸ (London (Marylebone)). Local buses from Ealing (Central Line). Also LUL^▸ (London Underground Ltd) for Heathrow.

Many people including myself chose to ignore those messages, hoping it would be all ok soon. I headed upstairs to the pub. Is it GWRs fault that we ignore their advice?? Or just our own stubbornness or just that we are use to diverting for 2 hours to find that the line had opened 5 mins after you left.

From what I observed on the concourse there were plenty of staff at the 2 help desks. The announcements were frequent advising they had no estimate for service and to please use alternative routes. Also that tickets would be valid tomorrow if that was easier option for those who could postpone journeys. I actually stood near a help desk by the ticket office for about 20 mins just to be nosey.

The staff were well informed and were providing info on the diversions. By now it was around 1800, and they had been told at least another 2 hours before any departures. The diversions were extended to allow Virgin Trains via Birmingham for North Cots and also Bristol etc.

I had arranged a lift from a friend to Slough and got there about 1915. I didn't have to wait long and a turbo arrived from Reading to go back all stations. I asked the staff there how frequent the service had been. And they said not too bad. Local buses were taking tickets for Langley & Iver. Also on the 81 which runs towards Heathrow and connects for other buses to get to West Drayton & Hayes/Southall. So people were moving. London was being served via Windsor and a walk to SWT services.

When I got back to Reading, I had a wander around there were PA's, staff were visible. Yes it was busy on plats 456 for SWT services, but it was being controlled safely. From speaking to a friend later in evening. SWT even ran additional services to CLJ and WAT only vice booked ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock). So nice to see other TOCS helping.

There were services being turned around I see a Bristol and a S Wales service leave. Also Oxford trains seem to be running too.

Then being sad when I got home I watched what service ran when the lines opened which was around 2030.

And I was amased how many trains actually ran, given the displacement of crew. All HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) services from 2045 until close ran as booked. LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) services had an odd cancelled service. A couple of Oxfords called into Didcot extra to help ease congestion. But was far better than evening before. Even the 0022 Pad Oxford ran which is my normal train home after drinks in London.

And on a final note, I'm not saying GWR did good. But I don't feel they did as bad as some make out. Too many peoples default setting on here is just to criticise. From what I witnessed first hand, staff were dealing with a terrible situation as best they could. There were PA's. I could see staff.

Network Rail should be ashamed....but ultimately they are responsible for the safe operation of trains. And lets all just remember that no one was injured, we were all just late (some more than others) home, but we got home.
Personally I would rather be late home safe than someone try and risk running a train on an unsafe system of signalling.
Of course Id rather have a seat on an air conditioned train and be on time.....but to expect that every day is madness

Always good to hear the alternative view! 

[a-driver]

There was a good brief issued to staff about the cause of the failure.  In short, it could happen again until NR^» (Network Rail - home page) get to the root cause of the issue

[TaplowGreen]

There was a good brief issued to staff about the cause of the failure.  In short, it could happen again until NR^» (Network Rail - home page) get to the root cause of the issue

Not very reassuring - perhaps that Brief should be shared with customers so that our expectations can be managed as to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)/NRs future performance?

If it's the case that it could happen again at any time, no doubt GWR will be increasing the robustness and resilience of their contingency plans for severe disruption? As they pretty much appear to be non existent at the moment, beefing them up shouldn't be too difficult.

[SandTEngineer]

Well this was published on the WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) Forum and appears to be from the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) MD to its staff:

This week’s infrastructure problems

As you’ll be aware we’ve had two days of catastrophic infrastructure failure in the Thames Valley, principally around the Hayes - Airport Junction area. This has massively impacted on our evening peaks on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, delaying and frustrating our customers across our network. It has also put huge strain on colleagues in GWR and in Network Rail.

The failure is a repeat one, based upon information between the points giving detection, i.e. if they are fully pointing in the right direction, and therefore how the signalling can work. This information all must be present for signallers in the Thames Valley Signalling Centre to signal trains.

For two nights running, as we’ve gone into the evening peak, as the air temperature has gone up and we’ve lost all the track circuits and detection on all the points in that area due to a problem with data transmission. Without that detection, the Signallers can’t signal trains and move them. The Signallers need confirmation that the points are in position. To do that they are ‘clipped’ or clamped and a process called Temporary Block Working (TBW^▸ (Temporary Block Working)) put in place. TBW effectively gets a reduced number of trains through a section. So when it goes in, we know the timetable plan isn’t going to work.

Over the last two nights this TBW process has gone badly and been too slow to implement. This has meant huge delays and confusion and ultimately the distressing scenes that we’ve witnessed.

I’ve been speaking to the Chief Operating Officer for Network Rail Western, Route Gareth Vest, who is committed to improving the situation and offers a full apology. As someone who has worked for a train operator, he knows the impact this has on people and how they react. He has put a huge amount of resource together to get this right.

Fundamentally NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have an issue around understanding the technical failure and as a result have brought in additional tech support from the manufacturers of the signalling equipment (Siemens and Alstom). I am in regular contact with Gareth and his team to ensure they get to the bottom of the failure and the mitigation for the failure.

In order to protect ourselves this evening, we have a number of points ‘clipped’ already, whilst the NR team watch data streams from the point work (transmitted to the TVSC^» (Thames Valley Signalling Centre - about) that tell them they are working). They have local teams watching and patrolling the area in case of a repeat failure.

I can’t promise that we won’t have any issues this evening but I can say that at all levels of Great Western and First Group, we are working with Network Rail to ensure they get this right.

I want to thank all of you on behalf of the Exec Team for your effort and professional conduct throughout a really tough couple of days. I am always amazed by what GWR can do in a crisis, from manning stations, to crew resourcing through to the energy and robustness of our Control and everything in between.

Note in particular that last paragraph.....

[a-driver]

There was a good brief issued to staff about the cause of the failure.  In short, it could happen again until NR^» (Network Rail - home page) get to the root cause of the issue

Not very reassuring - perhaps that Brief should be shared with customers so that our expectations can be managed as to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)/NRs future performance?

If it's the case that it could happen again at any time, no doubt GWR will be increasing the robustness and resilience of their contingency plans for severe disruption? As they pretty much appear to be non existent at the moment, beefing them up shouldn't be too difficult.

Any kind of contingency plan will require an operational railway line.

[ChrisB]

.....and to back up what I said earlier in this thread the signalling has just failed again at Hayes (1600 on 06/07/2017)

Paddington at a standstill as well.  Seems nothing being let out to avoid blocking up the whole area for the next few hours.

You really couldn't make it up could you? Totally unfit for purpose.

Especially when I hear that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are saying its the same fault that caused the stoppage on Wednesday!

[TaplowGreen]

....apparently no news on a Void day until next week, how long can it take to decide that there was "....serious, extended disruption during a morning or evening peak period and when no reasonable alternative such as rail replacement service has been provided...."

[Timmer]

Well this was published on the WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) Forum and appears to be from the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) MD to its staff:

This week’s infrastructure problems

As you’ll be aware we’ve had two days of catastrophic infrastructure failure in the Thames Valley, principally around the Hayes - Airport Junction area. This has massively impacted on our evening peaks on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, delaying and frustrating our customers across our network. It has also put huge strain on colleagues in GWR and in Network Rail.

The failure is a repeat one, based upon information between the points giving detection, i.e. if they are fully pointing in the right direction, and therefore how the signalling can work. This information all must be present for signallers in the Thames Valley Signalling Centre to signal trains.

For two nights running, as we’ve gone into the evening peak, as the air temperature has gone up and we’ve lost all the track circuits and detection on all the points in that area due to a problem with data transmission. Without that detection, the Signallers can’t signal trains and move them. The Signallers need confirmation that the points are in position. To do that they are ‘clipped’ or clamped and a process called Temporary Block Working (TBW^▸ (Temporary Block Working)) put in place. TBW effectively gets a reduced number of trains through a section. So when it goes in, we know the timetable plan isn’t going to work.

Over the last two nights this TBW process has gone badly and been too slow to implement. This has meant huge delays and confusion and ultimately the distressing scenes that we’ve witnessed.

I’ve been speaking to the Chief Operating Officer for Network Rail Western, Route Gareth Vest, who is committed to improving the situation and offers a full apology. As someone who has worked for a train operator, he knows the impact this has on people and how they react. He has put a huge amount of resource together to get this right.

Fundamentally NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have an issue around understanding the technical failure and as a result have brought in additional tech support from the manufacturers of the signalling equipment (Siemens and Alstom). I am in regular contact with Gareth and his team to ensure they get to the bottom of the failure and the mitigation for the failure.

In order to protect ourselves this evening, we have a number of points ‘clipped’ already, whilst the NR team watch data streams from the point work (transmitted to the TVSC^» (Thames Valley Signalling Centre - about) that tell them they are working). They have local teams watching and patrolling the area in case of a repeat failure.

I can’t promise that we won’t have any issues this evening but I can say that at all levels of Great Western and First Group, we are working with Network Rail to ensure they get this right.

I want to thank all of you on behalf of the Exec Team for your effort and professional conduct throughout a really tough couple of days. I am always amazed by what GWR can do in a crisis, from manning stations, to crew resourcing through to the energy and robustness of our Control and everything in between.

Note in particular that last paragraph.....

I know this is very technical but why don't they make something like this public instead of the usual we're really sorry this has happened waffle? Explain what's going wrong to your passengers and what's being done to fix it.