Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2018

[whole diary]

[grahame]

AIUI^▸ (as I understand it) there were people trapped on trains for hours and still hundreds stranded on the concourse at Paddington well after midnight - judging by reports customer service was pretty poor at Paddington (the usual gaping mouthed hopelessness and no-one prepared to make decisions about taxis/hotels etc) but better at Reading where there was some coordination - naturally of course that was if people were able to get to Reading.

I understand that the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) at Paddington got thoroughly p'd off with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff constantly summoning them to deal with frustrated customers who were not being threatening or abusive but just needed help, and then as the night drew on the GWR staff mostly steadily disappeared leaving the Police to deal with it all (that's from the (Police) horses mouth- TVP version).

Graham, There were many more than the 802 that got trapped when those wires descended...all the other electric units that got trapped with no power would have presumably not been running ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) but wiuld have had passengers on them? What happened to them?

Fair questions - I misread (didn't engage brain) and answered purely from the viewpoint of the train involved - classic error of not looking at the wider picture.   I need another coffee.

My mis-read shows how classically easy it is to be involved in the detail of what's going on and overlook the passenger - the very person for whom the services are being run.

[BBM]

On BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio Berkshire just now there was a report from BBC South's Paul Clifton saying that the test IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) involved was being driven by a GB^▸ (Great Britain) Railfreight  (GBRf) driver and it brought down half a kilometre of cables.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying acronym

[ChrisB]

Something else that was missing last night were announcements were necessary on the tube on lines passing through Paddington....as has happened in the past - that the station was shut, likely to be shut for the rest of the evening & to go directly to Waterloo to get to Reading or Windsor/Slough, or via Piccadilly line to Heathrow.

No announcements meant pax were still going to Paddington after 10pm....simply then telling them not to travel after a night out was insufficient.

On BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio Berkshire just now there was a report from BBC South's Paul Clifton saying that the test IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) involved was being driven by a GBRf driver and it brought down half a kilometre of cables.

Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) are saying less than half that - 200 metres.

I wondered whether it was one of the couple of newly delivered 802s....seems so.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying acronym

[BBM]

Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) are saying less than half that - 200 metres.

Network Rail (NR) are reported as saying "500 metres of extensive damage caused to overhead power lines" in this Guardian article:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/17/paddington-station-suffers-major-disruption-after-overhead-wires-damaged

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[ChrisB]

Yes, indeed, they are tweeting this now too.

[a-driver]

All passengers were evacuated from stranded trains by 00:30

[BBM]

I've just found a Tweet from someone called Anila Babla with a photo showing passengers being evacuated onto the ballast at an unspecified location last night:

https://twitter.com/AnilaBabla/status/1052360086633340933

[SandTEngineer]

According to info on the WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) Forum, 15 Headspans damaged and up to 500m of wire.  The IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) is still stranded with the wires wrapped around it.  14 headspans now repaired.

[broadgage]

Damage to overhead lines apparently.  Just what is the point of switching to overhead electricity?  It just adds another thing to go wrong .

In theory, electrification is the way forward.
Less reliance on imported oil.
No pollution at point of use.
Better performance
Electric trains should be simpler and more reliable.

However as recent events have shown, network rail are not capable of electrifying on time or within budget, neither are they able to maintain existing infrastructure properly.

[ChrisB]

Wrong again.

How do you suggest Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) prevent IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) from ripping down their wires?? Hardly Network Rail's (NR)s fault, this.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[YouKnowNothing]

Wait for the root cause, could be that the OverHead- Line Equipment (OHLE) wasn’t maintained (by Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page))) could be other infrastructure issue, could be a pant issue..

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

[ChrisB]

Wouldn't an in service IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) have done the damage if the wires themselves were faulty?

I think it's moving towards a faulty pan on the test train personally.

[IndustryInsider]

Wrong again.

How do you suggest Network Rail (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)) prevent IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) from ripping down their wires?? Hardly Network Rail's (NR)s fault, this.

Depends on whether the wires were in any way faulty and to blame or whether it was the Class 802s faulty equipment which brought them down.

Either way, it’s in an area of electrification done in the 1990’s again using headspan wiring which we know is more prone to these sorts of problems. Network Rail (NR) have modified some of it, but much still remains as far as Airport Junction.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

[broadgage]

Wrong again.

How do you suggest NR^» (Network Rail - home page) prevent IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) from ripping down their wires?? Hardly NRs fault, this.

Network rail can not prevent IETs or any other train from ripping down the wires.
My post however was in reply to an enquiry about the merits of electrification in general.

I stand by my reply about electrification having many advantages, but that network rail have not proved competent in electrifying routes on time or to budget, and that maintenance of existing equipment has been found wanting.

[grahame]

From my inbox at 09:25

Dear Graham
 
You may have heard that we are not currently able to run trains between London Paddington and Reading.  This follows damage to the overhead electric wires at Ealing by a test train operated by Hitachi Rail Europe yesterday evening – it was not in passenger service.
 
Network Rail have worked through the night, but need more time to safely repair and recommission the overhead wires.    They expect to be able to re-open two of the four lines into Paddington around midday. Disruption will however continue throughout the day.
 
We are therefore operating a reduced long distance service and there will be no local services between Reading and Paddington until lines re-open.  We are advising customers not to travel unless absolutely necessary and to check carefully before setting out.
 
For those who do need to travel we have arranged for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) tickets to be accepted on London Waterloo services (change at Reading) or services to London Marylebone and our tickets are valid on South Western Railway, Chiltern Railways, Virgin Trains, West Midlands Railway and Transport for Wales services.  Customers between Reading and London can also use TfL^» (Transport for London - about) underground and bus services.
 
I am sorry for the very difficult start to the day for our customers.  We will be working with Network Rail and Hitachi to understand what happened and will do all we can to get the lines opened as quickly as possible.
 
All the latest information will be on our website www.gwr.com and will be regularly updating traditional and social media outlets.
 
Best wishes
 
Mark

* Not a GWR operated train

* No attribution yet (except "not us")