Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2017

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Affecting several services this morning

08:52 Oxford to London Paddington due 09:57


08:52 Oxford to London Paddington due 09:57 will no longer call at Slough.
It has been delayed at Oxford and is now 39 minutes late.
This is due to engineering works not being finished on time.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services at Reading
Due to a points failure at Reading some lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or running non stop. Disruption is expected until 22:00 20/12.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between Ealing Broadway and Slough
Due to a safety inspection of the track between Ealing Broadway and Slough the line towards Reading is blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:00 21/12.

[NickB]

I’m london bound on an High Speed Train (HST^▸ (High Speed Train)) and have been told that it’s a broken down train...

Update: broken down train to Swansea necessitating a track inspection of all lines.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[TaplowGreen]

I’m london bound on an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) and have been told that it’s a broken down train...

Update: broken down train to Swansea necessitating a track inspection of all lines.

Yep, another one of the wonderful new trains has broken down.....stuck outside Paddington waiting for a platform, half an hour late already & driver says he has "no idea" how long we'll be waiting.....outstanding performance GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

[ellendune]

Journeycheck says:

Cancellations to services between Ealing Broadway and Slough
Due to a broken down train between Ealing Broadway and Slough the line towards Reading is blocked.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 09:00 21/12.
Customer Advice
London Buses are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 1 hour.
Last Updated:21/12/2017 07:47

I note that they have stopped talking about emergency line inspections

[ChrisB]

Why would a broken down train necessitate a track inspection? Understand if something like the fuel tank collapsed on the track, but a simple break down?

[Oxonhutch]

Earlier passed a IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) to Swansea 1B05? stationary on the Down Main with all pans down on the town side of Hayes and Harlington.  We queued to crawl passed it on the Up Main with the TM^‡(resolve) saying that a safety inspection of the overhead wires was in progress.  Couldn't see anything wrong in particular. Delayed 30 minutes so not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

[ChrisB]

That explains it - the wires are considered as part of the 'track' - which I guess is reasonable.

[martyjon]

Looks like there a drag on the horizon.

A 0Z99 is shown on open train times at the west end of Brenford sidings at Southall.

[IndustryInsider]

It had an ADD^▸ (Automatic Dropping Device) (Automatic Dropping Device) activation, which is a pantograph safety feature and could mean problems with the train or overhead wires - hence the need for the inspection.  Worryingly it was then unable to proceed on diesel power for some reason, which should be one of the great advantages of these new trains.  As I’ve said before though, brand new trains with brand new technology will take a while to settle down and overall reliability is probably a little better than I was personally expecting.  Hitachi bods will no doubt do a thorough investigation.

[martyjon]

Looks like there a drag on the horizon.

A 0Z99 is shown on open train times at the west end of Brenford sidings at Southall.

A 1Z99 is now proceeding on the down main towards the disabled 1B05

[Boppy]

Just passed it on the way into London.

Looks like in an attempt to move it they have connected a third IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) to it. (There were 3x5 sets all connected - certainly an unusual sight!)

[martyjon]

Looks like there a drag on the horizon.

A 0Z99 is shown on open train times at the west end of Brenford sidings at Southall.

A 1Z99 is now proceeding on the down main towards the disabled 1B05

There is now a 5B05 which appears to be a prospective working UP the Main Down to either Brentford sidings or back towards  Paddington.

[Electric train]

It had an ADD^▸ (Automatic Dropping Device) (Automatic Dropping Device) activation, which is a pantograph safety feature and could mean problems with the train or overhead wires - hence the need for the inspection.  Worryingly it was then unable to proceed on diesel power for some reason, which should be one of the great advantages of these new trains.  As I’ve said before though, brand new trains with brand new technology will take a while to settle down and overall reliability is probably a little better than I was personally expecting.  Hitachi bods will no doubt do a thorough investigation.

Given the time it took to rescue it and there are no reports of wire damage, I suspect the trains on-board confuser got errrrrrrrrrr confused dropped the pan which will give a ADD and if the confuser was in a really bad mood may have locked out all traction power, if I recall correctly the power pack (inverter) is powered by either the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") or the diesel generator

Hitachi seem to be having a nightmare with these trains compared to their older siblings the 395's which have performed very well over the last 10 years, although they don't have a diesel engine