Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2017

[whole diary]

[grahame]

However, there were only two possibilities mentioned in the SW franchise ITT^▸ (Invitation to Tender).   One was to carry on as is, and the other was to permanently transfer to it GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) by returning it via the ROSCO^» (Rolling Stock Owning Company - about). 

The unit sub-lease to GW^» (Great Western - used as an abbreviation for the area / lines under the Great Western franchise, as opposed to FGW which includes "First", the company operating them too. For tickets - about) has an explicit end date of March 2020.

That is an interesting comment.   Whilst adherence to the ITT ("giving what they asked for") is a key feature of winning a franchise, it is open to bidders to propose alternatives, and to negotiate on them.

[TonyK]

I may suggest to a fellow moderator to split some of these posts off -  I fear I'm getting off topic in my explanations, but editing / splitting off myself would be like being judge and jury ...

You may think you are judex in sua causa, but I couldn't possibly comment...

In any case, I lack the technical skill. That's me off the hook.

[TaplowGreen]

You may think you are judex in sua causa, but I couldn't possibly comment...

Are they the same as the People's Front of Judea?


(Edit by FT,N! to correct format)

[TonyK]

You may think you are judex in sua causa, but I couldn't possibly comment...

Are they the same as the People's Front of Judea?


(Edit by FT,N! to correct format)

No, and I think in any case you are confusing them with the Judean Peoples' Front. Splitters!

[W5tRailfinder]

You may have missed this one!

I was checking on Open Train Times last night about 11:00pm for any engineering work - there was main lines closed west of Airport Junction - I was looking at the West Ealing to Heathrow map.

All of a sudden everything came to a grinding halt at Southall - there was yet another signalling failure, and amongst all of this a freight train then looked liked it also failed just east of Southall.

Although down trains faired better than up trains the late night chaos continued to well past midnight. HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) and DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) were eventually routed through Hanwell Bridge Up Loop.

At one point there were 4 up Hex services between Hayes and Southall, one was still in the Southall area at 00:45, when I gave up watching.

[IndustryInsider]

Possibly connected to electrical activity following the large number of lightning storms?

I was quite surprised how well the signalling throughout GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s region held up given the number of flashes in the sky!

[TaplowGreen]

Welcome to Monday - another pigeon?

Cancellations to services between Hayes & Harlington and Ealing Broadway


Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Hayes & Harlington and Ealing Broadway the local stopping line is blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 15 minutes or running non stop between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington. Hanwell and West Ealing will not be served. Disruption is expected until 08:30 24/07.

[IndustryInsider]

Up relief shut between Hayes and Acton which means the service needs to be thinned out.

 That's on another existing electrified section before anyone gets too excited about reliability of the new electrification equipment.  Though of course if the old sections prove unreliable then that will not be good news as more and more services go over to electric haulage.

[PhilWakely]

Welcome to Monday - another pigeon?

Cancellations to services between Hayes & Harlington and Ealing Broadway

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between Hayes & Harlington and Ealing Broadway the local stopping line is blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 15 minutes or running non stop between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington. Hanwell and West Ealing will not be served. Disruption is expected until 08:30 24/07.

Consider yourselves lucky......... at least the line from Reading into Waterloo is operating normally....

Cancellations to services on all routes
Following a complete loss of signalling. between London Waterloo and Woking all lines are now open.
We experienced a complete loss of all signalling in the Earlsfield area around 04.00 this morning, our engineers have been working on the issue and signalling has now returned however we are continuing to monitor the affected area in case of any further signalling failure.
We are now working to introduce a few trains back into circulation around the network however, we continue to strongly advise you not to travel towards London Waterloo until after 09.00. We are able to operate trains normally on our Reading and Windsor lines at the current time.

[TaplowGreen]

Up relief shut between Hayes and Acton which means the service needs to be thinned out.

 That's on another existing electrified section before anyone gets too excited about reliability of the new electrification equipment.  Though of course if the old sections prove unreliable then that will not be good news as more and more services go over to electric haulage.

Disruption now expected until 1030

[TaplowGreen]

Up relief shut between Hayes and Acton which means the service needs to be thinned out.

 That's on another existing electrified section before anyone gets too excited about reliability of the new electrification equipment.  Though of course if the old sections prove unreliable then that will not be good news as more and more services go over to electric haulage.

Disruption now expected until 1030

.......and now it's 2030.....what a fantastic performance, with the reduction in services to Oxford all week too.

[Timmer]

Trouble on SWT^▸ (South West Trains) between Woking and Surbiton expected until close of service tomorrow night! 

https://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/disruptions/9CCE3C022E4C4F9C83A4C2718D1CE8FB/

A track defect at a set of points on the fast line at Byfleet & New Haw has resulted in the London bound line between Woking and Surbiton being blocked.

What's Going On:

Trains may be delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected to continue until the end of service tomorrow, Tuesday 25 July.

What We're Doing About It:

Following an earlier signalling problem at London Waterloo services are now returning to normal however delays may occur in the evening peak. The track defect at Byfleet & New Haw is delaying services.

On Sunday 23 July, our engineering teams were carrying out routine maintenance and found a fault affecting a set of points in the Byfleet & New Haw area which allows trains to cross from one line to another. The fault also affects trains continuing on the same section of track and therefore the line used by trains running non-stop from Woking to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo has been blocked from Woking to Weybridge. Trains normally using this line will be diverted onto the slow line, and this will result in trains taking longer than usual to reach their destination. Some services will cancelled, delayed, or altered.

We will be working to repair the track defect on Monday night, but the repair will require significant testing. In the event that testing is unsuccessful or that repairs cannot be completed, services on Tuesday 25 July may also be disrupted.

Continues...

[IndustryInsider]

Overhead wire damage was caused by vegetation.  Now cut back, but damage is substantial enough to need to be repaired overnight so although it should open soon to diesel trains, electric trains will be only able to use the mains until tomorrow.

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) will want to forget about July!

[ChrisB]

Preventative Maintenance doesn't seem to be in NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s vocabulary. Vegetation is known to grow during summer months particularly.

[Timmer]

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) will want to forget about July!

So will its customers.