Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2023

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Important Announcement: Trains ARE currently running between Reading and Paddington

.............WERE..........

Delays to services between Reading and London Paddington

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Reading and London Paddington trains have to run at reduced speed.

Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed by up to 20 minutes. Disruption is expected until 10:45 16/12.

Customer Advice
Following a fault with the signalling system in the Southall area trains have to run at reduced speeds.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

As a life long railway engineer since 1978 and on Western TV area since 2007, I find it embarrassing that our infrastructure appears to be as fragile as apparently it is.
What I find worse is that internally within the business nothing appears to be getting said as how the situation is being addressed.
today, the Chief Executive was urging members of staff to complete the diversity and inclusion survey.......

I too was a lifelong railway engineer.  If to-day's managers are incapable of devising systems to safely evacuate electric trains before the batteries run out you need either better batteries or better management. 

[Electric train]

As a life long railway engineer since 1978 and on Western TV area since 2007, I find it embarrassing that our infrastructure appears to be as fragile as apparently it is.
What I find worse is that internally within the business nothing appears to be getting said as how the situation is being addressed.
today, the Chief Executive was urging members of staff to complete the diversity and inclusion survey.......

What I find worse is that internally within the business nothing appears to be getting said as how the situation is being addressed.
today, the Chief Executive was urging members of staff to complete the diversity and inclusion survey.......

Surely working for Network Rail isn't a zero sum game and the staff are able to do such a survey alongside their main role? Are you suggesting that doing this survey is somehow affecting the maintenance regime in the Thames Valley? Or suggesting that Andrew Haines is concentrating on this issue to the detriment of other problems?

As CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer) I'd hope he was able to multi-task.

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/diversity-and-inclusion/

Yes, such surveys can be done alongside our daily rolls in Network Rail for those of us that use laptops in an office, our on track front line colleges have a very often only basic i-phone and access to multi user PC's at the depots.

It just seems that the focus is doing these types of surveys, there's at least 4 of these a year and other "workshops" and events lord able as they are they do take away from the day job ............... which is running trains.

[plymothian]

As a life long railway engineer since 1978 and on Western TV area since 2007, I find it embarrassing that our infrastructure appears to be as fragile as apparently it is.
What I find worse is that internally within the business nothing appears to be getting said as how the situation is being addressed.
today, the Chief Executive was urging members of staff to complete the diversity and inclusion survey.......

I too was a lifelong railway engineer.  If to-day's managers are incapable of devising systems to safely evacuate electric trains before the batteries run out you need either better batteries or better management. 

It's worse, there IS a system - the Elizabeth line had extensive evacuation drills - but it takes too bloody long for everyone to decide to actually put it into practice.  There's always a 'just one more thing' to try to fix the root cause before someone sighs and says 'I suppose we'd better think about evacuation'. 

[Worcester_Passenger]

It just seems that the focus is doing these types of surveys, there's at least 4 of these a year and other "workshops" and events lord able as they are they do take away from the day job ............... which is running trains.

I have to disagree. The 'day job' isn't about running trains - it's about moving passengers and freight.

[Electric train]

It just seems that the focus is doing these types of surveys, there's at least 4 of these a year and other "workshops" and events lord able as they are they do take away from the day job ............... which is running trains.

I have to disagree. The 'day job' isn't about running trains - it's about moving passengers and freight.

Amounts to the same thing

[Oxonhutch]

Amounts to the same thing

With the greatest respect ET - and I speak as one intimately involved in railways - although that doesn't pay my mortgage. There is a perception amongst the paying public that many times their needs are low down the heap compared to keeping the big machine moving.

I think the Railway needs to address this and take on board that the customer is first - and wants/requires running trains. We all know that the railway would run seamlessly without passengers - ask me, I am a duty line manager on mine. But the system needs to reassess its messaging and realign its risk assessment/health and safety (established procedures) versus the comfort and basic needs of passengers.

It strikes me that there are not enough big voices in the management team to take command of the situation and say "just do that, and do it now!", and are prepared to accept as part of their remit (£££) that there might be a backlash, or criticism, in the future analysis.

I feel it is not so much 'risk' adverse as 'decision' adverse.

[AMLAG]

Extract from Andrew Haines communication of 8/12/23 concerning the major disruption incident  outside Paddington on the evening of Th 7/12/23.

“Thirdly, and importantly, we failed as a system. Too many individual actors seeing risk from their own perspective meant it was harder than it should have been to get things done whilst maintaining safety. Multiple self-evacuations, because of the pace at which we were able to move or even access trains, cannot be regarded as good safety practice.

Lastly, we have gone backwards on customer service. Tools to look after passengers that I would have used as a station manager in 1987 - before I'd even seen a mobile phone - were not available and we were hardly great at it then.
We can do better than we did last night when we take customers legitimate concerns seriously.”

[Electric train]

Amounts to the same thing

With the greatest respect ET - and I speak as one intimately involved in railways - although that doesn't pay my mortgage. There is a perception amongst the paying public that many times their needs are low down the heap compared to keeping the big machine moving.

I think the Railway needs to address this and take on board that the customer is first - and wants/requires running trains. We all know that the railway would run seamlessly without passengers - ask me, I am a duty line manager on mine. But the system needs to reassess its messaging and realign its risk assessment/health and safety (established procedures) versus the comfort and basic needs of passengers.

It strikes me that there are not enough big voices in the management team to take command of the situation and say "just do that, and do it now!", and are prepared to accept as part of their remit (£££) that there might be a backlash, or criticism, in the future analysis.

I feel it is not so much 'risk' adverse as 'decision' adverse.

Let me clarify my view as a professional railwayman of close on 50 years (I did start my railway career in 1975 with British Rail)

The railways were and remain to this day a complex operation, passenger trains are the most important part of the railway operation, I am a passenger myself! So is freight a failed / late running freight impacts passenger trains

How we as an industry treat, look after, protect our passengers is should be a vital part of the industry does and I totally agree with Andrew Haines, we the National rail industry let the travelling public down on that Thursday evening.  My current day job however is about supply vast amounts of electrical energy to the railway to ensure there is power for traction, signalling and whole host of ancillary equipment, which is all about keeping trains moving which I take extremely seriously.

I have in one of my past Network Rail engineering rolls worked on the emergency evacuation planning for the Thameslink core along side other NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Ops collages, LFB, BTP^▸ (British Transport Police), Met, City of London Police, GLA and 5 London Borough authorities, and whole host of other support organisations.   

[TaplowGreen]

Amounts to the same thing

With the greatest respect ET - and I speak as one intimately involved in railways - although that doesn't pay my mortgage. There is a perception amongst the paying public that many times their needs are low down the heap compared to keeping the big machine moving.

I think the Railway needs to address this and take on board that the customer is first - and wants/requires running trains. We all know that the railway would run seamlessly without passengers - ask me, I am a duty line manager on mine. But the system needs to reassess its messaging and realign its risk assessment/health and safety (established procedures) versus the comfort and basic needs of passengers.

It strikes me that there are not enough big voices in the management team to take command of the situation and say "just do that, and do it now!", and are prepared to accept as part of their remit (£££) that there might be a backlash, or criticism, in the future analysis.

I feel it is not so much 'risk' adverse as 'decision' adverse.

Let me clarify my view as a professional railwayman of close on 50 years (I did start my railway career in 1975 with British Rail)

The railways were and remain to this day a complex operation, passenger trains are the most important part of the railway operation, I am a passenger myself! So is freight a failed / late running freight impacts passenger trains

How we as an industry treat, look after, protect our passengers is should be a vital part of the industry does and I totally agree with Andrew Haines, we the National rail industry let the travelling public down on that Thursday evening.  My current day job however is about supply vast amounts of electrical energy to the railway to ensure there is power for traction, signalling and whole host of ancillary equipment, which is all about keeping trains moving which I take extremely seriously.

I have in one of my past Network Rail engineering rolls worked on the emergency evacuation planning for the Thameslink core along side other NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Ops collages, LFB, BTP^▸ (British Transport Police), Met, City of London Police, GLA and 5 London Borough authorities, and whole host of other support organisations.   

As a long serving professional railwayman with experience of emergency evacuation planning, can you advise which one person would have been in overall control of recent events where you had GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), HEX and Elizabeth Line trains stranded and would have ultimately have made the decisions and the call on all those trains being evacuated?

Not a witch hunt, not looking for a name, more like a role - ie would it fall under the remit of a senior Network Rail manager, or someone else?

[Electric train]

Amounts to the same thing

With the greatest respect ET - and I speak as one intimately involved in railways - although that doesn't pay my mortgage. There is a perception amongst the paying public that many times their needs are low down the heap compared to keeping the big machine moving.

I think the Railway needs to address this and take on board that the customer is first - and wants/requires running trains. We all know that the railway would run seamlessly without passengers - ask me, I am a duty line manager on mine. But the system needs to reassess its messaging and realign its risk assessment/health and safety (established procedures) versus the comfort and basic needs of passengers.

It strikes me that there are not enough big voices in the management team to take command of the situation and say "just do that, and do it now!", and are prepared to accept as part of their remit (£££) that there might be a backlash, or criticism, in the future analysis.

I feel it is not so much 'risk' adverse as 'decision' adverse.

Let me clarify my view as a professional railwayman of close on 50 years (I did start my railway career in 1975 with British Rail)

The railways were and remain to this day a complex operation, passenger trains are the most important part of the railway operation, I am a passenger myself! So is freight a failed / late running freight impacts passenger trains

How we as an industry treat, look after, protect our passengers is should be a vital part of the industry does and I totally agree with Andrew Haines, we the National rail industry let the travelling public down on that Thursday evening.  My current day job however is about supply vast amounts of electrical energy to the railway to ensure there is power for traction, signalling and whole host of ancillary equipment, which is all about keeping trains moving which I take extremely seriously.

I have in one of my past Network Rail engineering rolls worked on the emergency evacuation planning for the Thameslink core along side other NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Ops collages, LFB, BTP^▸ (British Transport Police), Met, City of London Police, GLA and 5 London Borough authorities, and whole host of other support organisations.   

As a long serving professional railwayman with experience of emergency evacuation planning, can you advise which one person would have been in overall control of recent events where you had GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), HEX and Elizabeth Line trains stranded and would have ultimately have made the decisions and the call on all those trains being evacuated?

Not a witch hunt, not looking for a name, more like a role - ie would it fall under the remit of a senior Network Rail manager, or someone else?

The event would (should) have escalated from Bronze to Silver to Gold command.  These command levels are an agreed process with the Blue Light Services and within Railway Industry. 

The NR Region will have a Silver Command "suite" a dedicated meeting room with all the tech resources, the lead on Silver is a NR Region / Route Director level with TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) or multiple TOC equivalents. 

Gold is National level which will be lead by Regional Route Managing Director or senior National Executive.

There is an on-call roster for all the excusive, director and senior leads National, Regional, Route level (including myself but I am not part of Wales and Western)

Generally the "command" process works very well.  I am sure there is a lesson learned on the "command" process in this incident (as there is for every time its used)

The ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) should have opened an investigation, although they may, as they often do, wait to see what comes out of the internal investigations 

[GBM]

Thank you ElectricTrain, a much appreciated explanation.
Just out of curiosity, when the final report on the failure is released, might you and other region managers have access to it to see the learning points?

[Electric train]

Thank you ElectricTrain, a much appreciated explanation.
Just out of curiosity, when the final report on the failure is released, might you and other region managers have access to it to see the learning points?

The detailed report will be circulated, the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) will require that a public version to be published

[TaplowGreen]

Thank you ElectricTrain, a much appreciated explanation.
Just out of curiosity, when the final report on the failure is released, might you and other region managers have access to it to see the learning points?

The detailed report will be circulated, the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) will require that a public version to be published

It'll be interesting to see their conclusions on whether or not any of the learnings from the Lewisham train stranding incident in 2018 had been put into practice.

[JayMac]

The Lewisham incident was investigated by the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch). Has there been any indication that this incident will be investigated by them?