Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2018

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Jets duly cooled.  Good luck tomorrow.

Thanks Richard.

[ChrisB]

One comment I did see about being stuck on an electric 387 without power....that the door open button didn't work....whether that was usual for a door failure or as a result of having no power overhead, not sure.

But there were crossed legs for sure. Should the doors fail such that they aren't locked shut but have a manual lock lever?

[IndustryInsider]

One comment I did see about being stuck on an electric 387 without power....that the door open button didn't work....whether that was usual for a door failure or as a result of having no power overhead, not sure.

But there were crossed legs for sure. Should the doors fail such that they aren't locked shut but have a manual lock lever?

Assuming we're talking toilet doors here?

If so, then if there's no power left (no juice and batteries depleted) the doors won't open - the last thing to go will be the emergency lighting.  They can be opened by hand using a certain amount of force (and then forced shut again) in an emergency, but if there's no power the toilet flush won't work either on a Class 387.

[Surrey 455]

Simon Calder has just been interviewed at Paddington...

Nice of him to take time off from America's Got The Pop Factor...

Would that be Simon Cowell? and Pop Idol / American Idol / [insert another awful karaoke singing TV show here]

[hassaanhc]

Update posted on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Journeycheck

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading
Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between London Paddington and Reading fewer trains are able to run on the Reading bound high speed line.
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice
Repairs are continuing overnight on the damaged section of overhead line equipment. During Thursday 18th October it is anticipated that a near normal peak hour service will be able to operate between Reading and London Paddington. There will however be some restrictions on the use of the line from London Paddington in the Ealing Broadway area which is utilised by the express services. This will limit the use of electric trains from London Paddington during the evening peak period which will result in a small number of train service cancellations / alterations.
Last Updated:18/10/2018 00:39

[BBM]

Message posted on RailUKForums a couple of hours ago by member JN114:

1) The pantograph was raised, in a location not authorised for high speed changeover. It is unclear whether the raising of the pantograph was human error or mechanical failure.

2) When the pantograph did raise, it didn’t do so normally. The head of the pantograph remained stowed and the elbow impacted the contact wire. There is strong suggestion that the Pantograph had been tied down for its transit to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to Pistoria, and had not been untied for the journey to Stoke Gifford.

[patch38]

Do we (they) know if the move to Stoke Gifford was supposed to be under electric traction or diesel?

[eightf48544]

Diesel. So 105 is very unlikely.

Seems someone might have forgotten their Swiss Army knife.

[ChrisB]

I was thinking that when it was first reported.

[Red Squirrel]

Simon Calder has just been interviewed at Paddington...

Nice of him to take time off from America's Got The Pop Factor...

Would that be Simon Cowell? and Pop Idol / American Idol / [insert another awful karaoke singing TV show here]

Red Squirrel: Sewing confusion since 2013... 

[Electric train]

Message posted on RailUKForums a couple of hours ago by member JN114:

1) The pantograph was raised, in a location not authorised for high speed changeover. It is unclear whether the raising of the pantograph was human error or mechanical failure.

2) When the pantograph did raise, it didn’t do so normally. The head of the pantograph remained stowed and the elbow impacted the contact wire. There is strong suggestion that the Pantograph had been tied down for its transit to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to Pistoria, and had not been untied for the journey to Stoke Gifford.

I have been briefed (in confidence) on the footage of the roof mounted Pan CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision).

Defiantly not and infrastructure problem

There was a problem with the Pan, exactly what I am not at liberty to say; the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) report should make interesting reading

[broadgage]

Interesting update, thanks for that.
Hopefully you can give more detail at some future date, perhaps when it is published elsewhere.

[IndustryInsider]

I’ve seen the same CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) and concur.  Just two possible reasons remaining...

[JayMac]

I have been briefed (in confidence) on the footage of the roof mounted Pan CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision).

Defiantly not and infrastructure problem

There was a problem with the Pan, exactly what I am not at liberty to say; the Office of Rail and Road (ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about)) report should make interesting reading

Some speculation across rail related forums and social media that the pantograph was tied down at the head end and it was the elbow that raised. Either commanded or uncommanded. Speculated to have been left tied down after transit from the factory in Italy.

However, there is YouTube footage of 802016 running with pan up at Reading on 3rd October. 802016 has been in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) since 28th August. Hard to believe the pantograph would still be in delivery tied down status.

https://youtu.be/UDbRwfp3qio

So, had it been tied down again, and mistakenly put on test in that state and then raised accidentally, either commanded or uncommanded? Or could it be that the pan was fully operational and raised in error, again either commanded or uncommanded?

There's also some contention over the speed the train was running at. Could an 802 have reached 105mph on diesel by the time it was at the incident location?

Can those in the know confirm or deny that the pantograph head was tied down?

I too await with interest official reports. With the huge disruption caused I do hope such reports are going to be made public, and in a timely fashion. Had there been injury or a risk of injury then the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) would be involved and a report could take up to a year to be published. Hopefully Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and Hitachi/GB^▸ (Great Britain) Railfreight
(GBRf) will be honest and open as soon as reasonably practicable.

Oh, and Network Rail need to get a shift on and replace the headspan OverHead -Line Equipment (OHLE) sections with portals. Headspan has been okay on the Great Western Main Line (GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line)) up until recently as it was only used by Heathrow Express/Connect services. But the use is now far more intensive with Class 80x and 387 now also using this 1990s cheap headspan OverHead -Line Equipment (OHLE).

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

[BBM]

Meanwhile...

From what I can gather from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s Twitter feed, for the past 30 minutes the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) on 1C27 1900 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) has been blocking the DM at TWY^▸ (Twyford station) (having made an extra stop there due to other cancellations) because of an apparent loss of power. RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) and OTT^▸ (Open Train Times website) both appear to confirm that it's currently going nowhere.