Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2017

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Another one has just broken down at Slough - a Turbo which is now blocking platform 4.

[martyjon]

How long did it take to rescue it in the end, I had to go out so couldn't follow progress of the rescue on OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website).

[a-driver]

Another one has just broken down at Slough - a Turbo which is now blocking platform 4.

Not broken down. Someone defecated in the passenger saloon of the train. It was taken out of service at Slough for cleaning. (17:46 Paddington to Reading)

[SandTEngineer]

How long did it take to rescue it in the end, I had to go out so couldn't follow progress of the rescue on OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website).

Elsewhere it was reported it took 6 hours in total to clear the Down Main Line for normal working.

Also......

Delays currently north of 7,500 minutes with almost 150 trains cancelled either in full, part or failed to stop. That's going to cost GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) an awful lot of money.

[Timmer]

Surely going to cost Hitachi a lot of money?

[a-driver]

Elsewhere it was reported it took 6 hours in total to clear the Down Main Line for normal working.

Correct. They even attached a 57 and they still couldn’t shift it.

Delays currently north of 7,500 minutes with almost 150 trains cancelled either in full, part or failed to stop. That's going to cost GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) an awful lot of money.

Surely that cost falls to Hitachi?

[grahame]

Elsewhere it was reported it took 6 hours in total to clear the Down Main Line for normal working.

Correct. They even attached a 57 and they still couldn’t shift it.

Delays currently north of 7,500 minutes with almost 150 trains cancelled either in full, part or failed to stop. That's going to cost GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) an awful lot of money.

Surely that cost falls to Hitachi?

I wondered that.  And if it is GWR, it wasn't one TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) on another.  Where one TOC delays another, they pay each other. Where they delay themselves, do they pay themselves, or is the author looking at the cost of repaying passengers and providing buses, taxis and overnight accommodation where required.  And if a Hitachi train - leased and serviced to provide a certain level of availability - falls over due to a train fault, is the money that comes back from GWR or Hitachi?

Perhaps GWR might make money out of it if Hitachi have to pay them, but they only pay customers on each customer's claim?

[SandTEngineer]

Elsewhere it was reported it took 6 hours in total to clear the Down Main Line for normal working.

Correct. They even attached a 57 and they still couldn’t shift it.

Delays currently north of 7,500 minutes with almost 150 trains cancelled either in full, part or failed to stop. That's going to cost GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) an awful lot of money.

Surely that cost falls to Hitachi?

I wondered that.  And if it is GWR, it wasn't one TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) on another.  Where one TOC delays another, they pay each other. Where they delay themselves, do they pay themselves, or is the author looking at the cost of repaying passengers and providing buses, taxis and overnight accommodation where required.  And if a Hitachi train - leased and serviced to provide a certain level of availability - falls over due to a train fault, is the money that comes back from GWR or Hitachi?

Perhaps GWR might make money out of it if Hitachi have to pay them, but they only pay customers on each customer's claim?

Don't forget Heathrow Express.  When I looked mid-way through the disruption their delays were racking up.....

[martyjon]

How long did it take to rescue it in the end, I had to go out so couldn't follow progress of the rescue on OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website).

I did wonder if the 0Z99 sat in the Brentford sidings was a 57 and then saw a 1Z99 appear on the Down Main and draw up to one signal away from 1B05 after the word SHUT had been removed from the same signal 'dock'. Then 5B03 appeared in the signal 'dock' as if to run back into Brentford sidings or by using a trailing crossover back towards Paddomgton. All on OTT.

[SandTEngineer]

Just for info, and not intended to be critical, the 'DOCK' is actually a Train Describer 'BERTH'.

[SandTEngineer]

This interesting snippet was posted by somebody 'in the know' on the WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) Forum:

Oh to be a fly on the wall at 0900 Friday in M Hopwood's office eh?

That meeting has already taken place. There was a face to face on Wednesday afternoon between Hitachi seniors and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) seniors where it was made plain that the current situation wasn’t acceptable. As they were meeting there was another failure. The failures, the continued inability to couple in service (with no solution having yet been sorted) the running with engines out, the short forms on key trains and the over optimal tuning of the 700kw output leading to pp performance on the road all got aired, apparently.

The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) are also not too amused that they have paid for all the unmuzzling and GWR have been telling them for weeks that the performance seems to be worse than the 700kw test runs. A formal letter asking for an explanation of what they have actually done to the engines over the whole speed range is now rumoured to have been sent.

After this mornings incident a very senior man at FG who has an american accent has got involved and he isn’t bothering with the likes of the people who GWR met yesterday. After his personal experience of the first day and what has happened since, he is reported to be seriously hacked off.

NR^» (Network Rail - home page), as yet, have not complained to GWR that these units are not performing as promised but if there are too many more incidents or delays, even considering they are not in the strongest moral position on matters Western, they might start to put real pressure on GWR to “resolve or remove”.

When the units talk to each other and are set up right, they are fine pieces of kit. But currently they are starting to behave like class 50’s on a very bad day and for the money you and I, as taxpayers, have forked out for all this, that isn’t remotely good enough.

[W5tRailfinder]

I watched events on OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website).

The failed unit(s) eventually moved to North Pole from Southall TC^‡(resolve) at 21:15 as 5Z06. There was an earlier movement 5Z05 at 19:30.

Yet again the Heathrow Connect was cancelled. It will be interesting in the future when the Elizabeth Line commences, will their services be cancelled. Will they also claim that the Relief Lines belong to them and the other services can keep off.

What is also never mentioned is that not only does EL take over Heathrow Connect, but it also takes over the role of the inter terminal shuttle between T2/3 and T4, which is part of Heathrow Express. When problems occur, it will be interesting what happens if an EL class 345 unit cannot reach the airport to act as a shuttle.

[Timmer]

I think it’s a case of ‘told you so’ long before these trains came off the production line. Running a diesel/electric high speed train is asking for trouble yet dft tell us is the answer to the railways problems rather than doing the job properly fully electrifying the route.

People may not have much time for Roger Ford on this forum, but he’s been around a long time reporting on the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail industry so might be in a position to say this is not a good solution and a very expensive one too.

If Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) had to pull these trains now the timetable would be in serious trouble with High Speed Train's (HST^▸ (High Speed Train))’s and 180’s leaving the fleet.

Oh and whilst we are talking about GWR seniors meeting up, don’t suppose they had a meeting to discuss the so called service they are meant to be operating on the Cardiff-Portsmouth line. I think yesterday’s service sunk to new lows with 7 out of 22 southbound services cancelled, most during the evening peak.

Can’t wait to see what beholds Great Western Railway GWR passengers heading home for Christmas on what’s been dubbed ‘frantic Friday’.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

[grahame]

If GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) had to pull these trains now the timetable would be in serious trouble with HST^▸ (High Speed Train)’s and 180’s leaving the fleet.

Correct.  But then when any significant part of a transport operator's fleet has a "type problem" the timetable is up sh*t creek. Seen it (near to home) with all the units on - was it Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect.

[rower40]

An IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) sitting down at Hayes generates 2 pages on the ‘infrastructure’ thread...
Must be because there are only 4 tracks there. Campaign for 6 tracks from Ladbroke to Airport Junction, anyone? It would have to be called ‘Hexification’!