Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2018

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

....................who needs the "Beast from the East" to cause chaos? 

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and Slough some lines towards London Paddington are closed.
Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 10:30 27/02.

Customer Advice
Owing to signalling problems affecting the track which would normally carry the express services between Reading and London Paddington that line has had to be closed. All trains between Reading and London Paddington will therefore need to share the same line between Reading and Slough. As a result of this Twyford and Maidenhead stations will see a significant reduction in direct train services to Slough and London Paddington and Taplow and Burnham will have NO services towards Slough or London Paddington.

Any customers at Twyford, Maidenhead, Taplow & Burnham requiring stations towards Slough and London Paddington are advised to travel to READING and then return on an eastbound service. Similarly, any customers from Reading requiring Twyford, Maidenhead, Taplow & Burnham may need to travel through to SLOUGH and then return by a westbound service.

[Jason]

Due to a points failure between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington some lines are blocked.
Impact: Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 11:00 27/02.

[johoare]

The service rather had a meltdown this morning.. As from the previous post you can see they were advising Maidenhead and Twyford passengers to go to Reading to then go back towarfds London for stopping services... Even though the stopping services were running almost empty just not stopping at Twyford or Maidenhead..

[TaplowGreen]

The service rather had a meltdown this morning

Meltdown? the 2 inches of snow hasn't even arrived yet? (................I'll get my coat)

[johoare]

The service rather had a meltdown this morning

Meltdown? the 2 inches of snow hasn't even arrived yet? (................I'll get my coat)

Ha ha and exactly... It can only get worse as the week goes on...

I think the person in charge of the trains this morning was probably having a quiet cry in the corner rather than actually trying to get the passengers for the local trains anywhere..

The local train passengers were definitely forgotten this morning in their quest to get the long distance trains through

[broadgage]

Reports state two inches of snow in Kent, so you cant expect a proper train service in the Thames Valley.
We increasingly have a "fair weather only railway", they struggle a bit even in fair weather due to more trains than usual needing repairs, and the failure to engage enough staff to run timetabled services.
So don't expect too much if it is cold, wet, windy, or hot.

[hassaanhc]

The service rather had a meltdown this morning

Meltdown? the 2 inches of snow hasn't even arrived yet? (................I'll get my coat)

Ha ha and exactly... It can only get worse as the week goes on...

I think the person in charge of the trains this morning was probably having a quiet cry in the corner rather than actually trying to get the passengers for the local trains anywhere..

The local train passengers were definitely forgotten this morning in their quest to get the long distance trains through

That's normal for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway). As soon as a line is lost anywhere between Paddington and Didcot Parkway it is the stopping services which have stops cancelled just so their precious fast trains aren't delayed by a few minutes . Why should the Relief line services be cancelled when it was the Mains that had an issue on this occasion?

Until yesterday (Tuesday) I was looking forward to TfL^» (Transport for London - about) taking over the stopping services as I thought they'd be more stubborn at not removing stops for GWR's fast trains. But they gave up running services so easily on London Overground and TfL Rail on hearing about snow, and took ages to reinstate things once it was clear that there was no snow. And on Monday I had TfL Rail miss out two stations when the train was only 4 minutes late (only to gain 2 of those minutes), and there was no announcement on board. And I thought GWR's removal of the Southall stop at 7 minutes late without telling the station back in January was bad enough (train diverted to Up Main just before station, once again the thing about their beloved fast trains not being delayed comes into play).

[ChrisB]

If you check the @TFLRail twitter feed, the service they run has serious faults being levelled at them already....be careful what you wish for.

[Jason]

Due to a broken down train between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington some lines towards London Paddington are blocked.
Impact:
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 11:00 28/02.
Customer Advice:
A Heathrow Express train has failed on the fast line on the approaches to London. As a result and to ensure that High speed services into London are not delayed, these services are now running on the lines used by stopping services.
To keep the lines clear for the high speed services, the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) shuttle service between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington and also Heathrow Connect services are currently suspended.
Train services are conveying passengers between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5 in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.

HEX is suspended. I lost 25 minutes routing around the affected service. The train manager said the HEX service was being affected by ice in the overheads but I've not seen this mentioned anywhere else.

[ Problems now expected until 12:30 ]

[dviner]

Only really an infrastructure problem in as much as the infrastructure wasn't available to be used as there was a broken-down train sitting on it.

[TaplowGreen]

Doesn't bode well


Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading
Due to severe weather between London Paddington and Reading some lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled. Disruption is expected until 09:45 01/03.

[DidcotPunter]

Paddington closed from 8:00am this morning.

High Speed services being turned round at Reading and Didcot, LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) services tipping out at Ealing Broadway. Loads of cancellations. Very glad I'm not travelling today.

[ChrisB]

A few platforms now open at Paddington.

This was purely a safety issue with their shiny floor becoming a hazard as they haven't enough staff/suitable machines/mats to put down to absorb the wet.....Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) must get and sort this....they chose to put down that type of flooring. They need to sort it out.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) need to upgrade their website which couldn't cope with the number of enquiries it was getting though


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading


Following severe weather between London Paddington and Reading some lines will be reopened shortly.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 120 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until 16:00 01/03.

Customer Advice
Chiltern Railways are conveying passengers between London Marylebone and Banbury via Princes Risborough and Oxford in both directions until further notice.
Virgin Trains West Coast are conveying passengers between London Euston and Birmingham New Street in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.
West Mkidlands Trains are conveying passengers between Birmingham New Street and Great Malvern in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.
South Western Railway are conveying passengers between London Waterloo and Reading via Staines and Windsor & Eton Riverside in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Great Western Railway rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.
Additional Information
Local stopping services bewteen London Paddington and Reading
We will be reintroducing our shuttle train service between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington.
A limited train service will be introduced between London Paddington and Reading.

High-speed services to/from London Paddington will start/terminate at Reading.
XX:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington terminate at Reading.
XX:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads start at Reading.
XX:29 Swansea to London Paddington terminate at Reading.
XX:45 London Paddington to Swansea to start at Reading.
XX:03 London Paddington to Plymouth/Penzance start at Reading
XX:21 London Paddington to Worcester, Great Malvern and Hereford start at Reading.
XX:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central Suspended
XX:51 London Paddington to Oxford Suspended
XX:33 London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa Suspended

[Timmer]

A few platforms now open at Paddington.

This was purely a safety issue with their shiny floor becoming a hazard as they haven't enough staff/suitable machines/mats to put down to absorb the wet.....NR^» (Network Rail - home page) must get and sort this....they chose to put down that type of flooring. They need to sort it out.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) need to upgrade their website which couldn't cope with the number of enquiries it was getting though

It can be slippery at the best of times. I remember the old surface at Paddington, black tarmac surface with round indents.