Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2017

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Get ready for a fun evening everyone, got the 1742 from Paddington, now stuck at Southall.......

Delays to services between West Drayton and Southall
Due to a fault with the signalling system between West Drayton and Southall some lines are blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 30 minutes. Disruption is expected until 20:00 05/07.

[JayMac]

I was just ahead of you TG on the 1733 from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains). We've just been authorised to pass next 5 signals at danger on down main. You were lucky to be able to cross to down relief and pass us. We have to stop at each red for driver to call signaller and get authorisation to continue.

[Timmer]

Quite a list of long distance services cancelled or starting from Reading. I feel for those stuck at Paddington on this very warm evening trying to get home.

[JayMac]

I've just left Reading for Castle Cary 65 late. Rather perversely after the delay had crept past 45 minutes I was hoping for another 15 mins at least. I get half my fare back!

[NickB]

Paddington is a mess.
I specifically did a count of official personnel on the concourse and counted as follows:
BTP^▸ (British Transport Police): 6
Network Rail: 2
GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway): 0
When are they going to learn?!?

I've decamped to marlybone and can report the following
1) I have a seat
2) it has working aircon

I will be billing GWR for my connecting taxi which should cost no more than £50.

[JayMac]

Could I ask our signalling experts what a 'module' is. It's one of these that apparently failed this evening.

And are these modules 'cheap Chinese crap' as I heard it described by a member of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff?

[Timmer]

I've just left Reading for Castle Cary 65 late. Rather perversely after the delay had crept past 45 minutes I was hoping for another 15 mins at least. I get half my fare back!

Yes I've been in that situation where you want the late running service you are on to just be a bit more late so you can at least have the satisfaction of getting some or all of your money back!

[broadgage]

Could I ask our signalling experts what a 'module' is. It's one of these that apparently failed this evening.

And are these modules 'cheap Chinese crap' as I heard it described by a member of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff?

Cheap, I very much doubt it !
Chinese, probably, or if made elsewhere almost certainly incorporating Chinese components or sub-assemblies.
Crap, Rather subjective, but going by the poor and apparently worsening reliability, then IMO^▸ ('in my opinion'), crap.

[SandTEngineer]

Could I ask our signalling experts what a 'module' is. It's one of these that apparently failed this evening.

And are these modules 'cheap Chinese crap' as I heard it described by a member of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff?

The signalling in that area is an upgraded version of the original 1992 BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) Solid State Interlocking (SSI^▸ (Solid State Interlocking)).  The interlocking is triplicated in a 'two out of three configuration' (i.e. it requires two of the three to agree before giving an output) and is located at the Thames Valley Signalling Centre (TVSC^» (Thames Valley Signalling Centre - about)) at Didcot.  The interlocking is connected to the trackside equipment by means of two diverse data links using a pair of Long Distance Terminals (LDT^▸ (Long Distance Terminals)).  At the local site the remote data links are connected to the local data links via duplicated Data Link Modules (DLM^▸ (Data Link Modules)). The actual signals and points are interfaced to by a Trackside Functional Module (TFM^▸ (Trackside Functional Modules - control signal lamps and points)) which although a single unit has two independent processors built into it, one connected to each separate data link.  In theory no single failure should close down the whole system.  All of this equipment is of British manufacture although the firms that make it are French (Alstom) and German (Siemens).

Hope thats not too technical?

Oh dear just realised thats a lot more acronyms/abbreviations for CfN......

[JayMac]

Thanks for that explanation, S&TE.

So, cheap British and European crap then? 

[SandTEngineer]

Thanks for that explanation, S&TE.

So, cheap British and European crap then? 

I can tell you that all of those modules I mentioned are certainly not cheap.

Personally I think there must be a fundamental underlying issue with the system configuration in the original Paddington to Hayes scheme as we don't seem to suffer quite as many failures on other more newer areas using the same equipment and system configuration.  Of course relay interlockings are much more reliable than modern electronic kit (look for example at Plymouth which is still using its original 1960 relay equipment and I can count the number of failures of that installation over the past 20 years on one hand).

[TaplowGreen]

Whether Chinese or British, cheap or expensive, it's clearly crap, like the rest of the service, and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s attitude to its customers........reports of people fainting on crush loaded trains in the heat tonight (.........but hey no doubt we'll be told that it's their own fault for boarding in the first place)

Here's a good example of the level of information customers are provided with during severe disruption (taken by a pal tonight at Paddington)

People still being told to complain to the non responsive @gwr email address, Twitter in meltdown

Well worth the steep rise in fares announced today..............

[DidcotPunter]

Personally I think there must be a fundamental underlying issue with the system configuration in the original Paddington to Hayes scheme as we don't seem to suffer quite as many failures on other more newer areas using the same equipment and system configuration.  Of course relay interlockings are much more reliable than modern electronic kit (look for example at Plymouth which is still using its original 1960 relay equipment and I can count the number of failures of that installation over the past 20 years on one hand).

+1 Thanks for the explanation!

The BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) SSI^▸ (Solid State Interlocking) was a well-proven system and my recollection from 1992 onwards when the Slough New (SN) scheme was implemented was that it was pretty reliable. Given all the inbuilt redundancy you describe I'm wondering what's changed in the past three years to make it fall over so regularly. Can't be the change to axle counters, can it?

[ChrisB]

What steep rise in fares is that, TG?

[TaplowGreen]

What steep rise in fares is that, TG?

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/rail-commuters-face-brexit-fare-hike-of-nearly-four-times-the-one-per-cent-public-sector-pay-cap-a3580271.html

.....................and on this occasion there is absolutely no need for you to ask "oooooooooooooo's gunna pay for it?"........we all are!!!