Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2022

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Sorry II I am notoriously not very time aware when I am out on one of my Saturday trips. The Aircon went off first, then the crys of there are no loos started! I would say at lest 30 minutes. My other thought was what if the driver ran out of hours, presumably they would have to taxi a replacement from Paddington, Maidenhead or Reading.

OK, thanks for that.  Always interesting to see how long it takes for an EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) batteries to start 'load shedding'.  At least 30 minutes isn't too bad I suppose, but again if it was a baking hot day or a freezing cold night then it will become uncomfortable quite quickly without an engine to provide hotel power.

In these situations trains that are stranded at stations will be a much lower priority than any that are stranded between stations or in tunnels, etc.  So, whilst the Elizabeth Line will deal with their trains at any location they serve, if it's a large number of trains affected I can see why you would have felt rather left alone if at a stand at Iver station.

[BBM]

Sorry II I am notoriously not very time aware when I am out on one of my Saturday trips. The Aircon went off first, then the crys of there are no loos started! I would say at lest 30 minutes. My other thought was what if the driver ran out of hours, presumably they would have to taxi a replacement from Paddington, Maidenhead or Reading.

BBM, my other half was at PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) and eventually got on a rammed GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train to Bristol/Swansea.

I was wondering if the driver on my train would run out of hours and we'd terminate at SLO or MAI^▸ (Maidenhead station) but fortunately we ran through. My fallback option was to get the 19:32 to Bristol as far as RDG^▸ (Rail Delivery Group, or Reading station, depending on context) and then get a taxi back to TWY^▸ (Twyford station) but luckily that wasn't necessary. (Another advantage of being stuck at PAD was the availability of loos!)

In these situations trains that are stranded at stations will be a much lower priority than any that are stranded between stations or in tunnels, etc.  So, whilst the Elizabeth Line will deal with their trains at any location they serve, if it's a large number of trains affected I can see why you would have felt rather left alone if at a stand at Iver station.

At around 18:00 last evening I took a quick look at Open Train Times maps for the EL^▸ (Elizabeth Line - Transport for London line from Reading and Heathrow in the west through central tunnels across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.) core section and it was noticeable that practically every train was being held at a platform, the exceptions being two trains in the WB tunnel between Stratford and Whitechapel. I understand however from Twitter that an eastbound EL train was stuck just east of Hayes and Harlington.

[plymothian]

So do forum members reckon that the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s want for NR^» (Network Rail - home page) to modernise and reform will be more effective or less effective at reducing all these infrastructure problems?

It very much seems like we're sweating the assets again, and we know where that ended up last time.

[Ollie]

On the subject of TfL^» (Transport for London - about) offering support outside of their core area, I assume I need to do Delay Repay with GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) as I bought the ticket from them at Twyford. I'll see what happens but GWR were not being very helpful on Twitter last night with them referring queries from TWY^▸ (Twyford station) and MAI^▸ (Maidenhead station) passengers to TfL.

I'd expect you'd be referred to TfL as they ran the train you were on and there were no scheduled GWR services to Twyford due to the industrial action.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

If the OHLE^▸ (Over-Head Line Equipment (electrification via catenary)) is switched off at Westbourne Park, either on purpose or because of a trip, why should it affect the OHLE at Langley 15 miles down the line, and the other side of Airport Junction?  Why is the OHLE not switchable in smaller sections, thus reducing service disruption?

There’s a parallel here with the National Grid and domestic electricity suppliers.  If there’s a cable fault in a road in Westbourne Park I wouldn’t expect my lights to go out in Langley.

[stuving]

If the OHLE^▸ (Over-Head Line Equipment (electrification via catenary)) is switched off at Westbourne Park, either on purpose or because of a trip, why should it affect the OHLE at Langley 15 miles down the line, and the other side of Airport Junction?  Why is the OHLE not switchable in smaller sections, thus reducing service disruption?

How do you expect the power to reach there? It goes along the two wires over each track and, in autotransformer installations, the ATF wire(s) as well. Individual stretches of track can be isolated, though I think that needs manual switching on site. I assume power flows around the break above the other tracks.

Feed stations (ATFS) are about 60 miles apart (Kensal and Didcot), so if you need to remove power from all the overhead wires at one point they go dead up to the next place all those circuits are switched. In this case I guess that would be the Maidenhead MPATS^▸ (Mid Point Auto Transformer Site - electrification).

Older systems needed feed stations closer together; AT feeding is preferred largely because it allows them to be further apart. As usual, efficiency and resilience pull the design in opposite directions.

[nickswift99]

Up main closed at Ealing Broadway. Long queue of trains now back past Iver.

[TaplowGreen]

Here we go again..................

Alterations to services between Reading and London Paddington

Due to a points failure between Southall and London Paddington fewer trains are able to run. Disruption is expected until 09:00 01/12.

Train services between Reading and London Paddington may be delayed or terminated at and started back from Reading.

Customer Advice
We've received notification from Network Rail that a set of points have failed. We are sorry for any changes this brings to your travel plans today.

[TaplowGreen]

Up main closed at Ealing Broadway. Long queue of trains now back past Iver.

Saw an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) "parked" at Iver and another near Hayes too.......disruption now expected till 10.

[Electric train]

If the OHLE^▸ (Over-Head Line Equipment (electrification via catenary)) is switched off at Westbourne Park, either on purpose or because of a trip, why should it affect the OHLE at Langley 15 miles down the line, and the other side of Airport Junction?  Why is the OHLE not switchable in smaller sections, thus reducing service disruption?

How do you expect the power to reach there? It goes along the two wires over each track and, in autotransformer installations, the ATF wire(s) as well. Individual stretches of track can be isolated, though I think that needs manual switching on site. I assume power flows around the break above the other tracks.

Feed stations (ATFS) are about 60 miles apart (Kensal and Didcot), so if you need to remove power from all the overhead wires at one point they go dead up to the next place all those circuits are switched. In this case I guess that would be the Maidenhead MPATS^▸ (Mid Point Auto Transformer Site - electrification).

Older systems needed feed stations closer together; AT feeding is preferred largely because it allows them to be further apart. As usual, efficiency and resilience pull the design in opposite directions.

The requirement for an "Emergency Isolation" is all lines between 'Neutral Sections' for the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) the area being discussed it means Maidenhead MPATS, (the Neutral Sections at Maidenhead are located to the West of Maidenhead station) to the Stop Blocks at Paddington Station and Neutral Sections at the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) / Crossrail boundary at Westbourne Park.

So quite a large area, but then these Emergency Isolations are a matter of life and death!

[TaplowGreen]

Up main closed at Ealing Broadway. Long queue of trains now back past Iver.

Saw an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) "parked" at Iver and another near Hayes too.......disruption now expected till 10.

Original problem seems to have been resolved (albeit with disruption now until midday), but there's now another points failure outside Reading which is causing more problems.

[nickswift99]

Down main blocked at Goring. Not been my best commuting day today.

[nickswift99]

Another points failure this morning. This time at Twyford.

There’s a freight train blocking the up main so all services are having to run in the relief.

As usual Didcot stoppers getting CAPEd at Reading.

[TaplowGreen]

....and for a bit of variety....

Delays to services between Twyford and London Paddington

Due to a fire next to the track between Twyford and London Paddington some lines are blocked.
Train services running to and from these stations will be delayed by up to 30 minutes. Disruption is expected until 08:30 08/12.

[Marlburian]

And a lineside fire and "other issues".

(TaplowGreen beat me to it by five seconds.)