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grahame
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« on: March 31, 2025, 12:53:53 » |
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2ewd8m2rmkoA number of train services between Birmingham, Hereford and Worcester are being temporarily cut, with a shortage of carriages blamed.
West Midlands Railway (WMR» ) has halted four of its 48 daily services on these routes including a rush-hour morning train, with the changes starting on Monday and expected to last until early summer.
The company was currently short of specialist parts needed to fix some carriages' wheels due to "a blip" in its supply chain, WMR public affairs manager Andrew McGill said.
"Our message to customers is: Please do bear with us, we're very, very sorry for this inconvenience," he told BBC» Radio Hereford & Worcester.
The halted services include the 07:23 BST train from Worcester Foregate Street to Birmingham New Street, as well as the 17:50 train from Birmingham New Street to Hereford.
The 19:50 train from Hereford to Birmingham New Street, plus the 22:00 service from Birmingham New Street to Worcester Shrub Hill, have also been withdrawn.
Mr McGill said WMR hoped to have enough parts to begin reinstating services in June or July, but it was not yet possible to give an exact date.
"These are really specialist parts" and "it's not like Tesco has run out of something and you can pop to Sainsbury's to pick up what you need," he said.
Mr McGill said WMR had considered all options before withdrawing the services, adding that the company still ran several services from Worcester to Birmingham for commuters in the morning peak period. Tip of the iceberg? My understanding is that quite a few trains may be stopped awaiting parts - but this tends not to be something that hits the headlines.
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Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
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John D
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« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2025, 14:48:52 » |
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They might be 'specialist parts' but they clearly wear out, degrade or fail regularly (otherwise why do so many trains need the part).
That sort of suggests the stores manager, or company contracted to maintain them doesn't know what they are doing, and forgets to order in time sufficient replacement parts. If something has a lead time of many months, then you need at least that many months stock, and bit extra in case more than average fail.
It's not like they are parts for classes of train about to be withdrawn, so run down the stock, these are parts for trains they expect to have for years/decades, so should still be ensuring they have spare parts.
This is management spin, someone somewhere didn't get the spare parts, and now they are making excuses for the one job they are supposed to do (run sufficient trains per their business commitments with DfT» ). Someone ought to fall on their sword.
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grahame
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« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2025, 15:17:54 » |
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This is management spin, someone somewhere didn't get the spare parts, and now they are making excuses for the one job they are supposed to do (run sufficient trains per their business commitments with DfT» ). Someone ought to fall on their sword.
I haven't a clue what part(s) WMT or others are short of, but there is a worldwide supply chain - we are long past the days of Trevithick popping down to the village farrier and having him forge a new crankcover between shoeing horses. The stuff comes worldwide. Comment has been made that the war in Ukraine has disrupted supply chains and it could actually be a sign of a good stock holding that it's taken so long to be a problem. But the rail industry is not always good at having fallbacks in sufficient numbers - "staff" comes to mind and a network with diversionary routes. No need, perhaps, to have an alternative way to Aberystwyth, but an alternative to Plymouth is overdue and perhaps should not have been lost. |
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Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
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Worcester_Passenger
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« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2025, 16:50:04 » |
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They might be 'specialist parts' but they clearly wear out, degrade or fail regularly (otherwise why do so many trains need the part).
That sort of suggests the stores manager, or company contracted to maintain them doesn't know what they are doing, and forgets to order in time sufficient replacement parts. If something has a lead time of many months, then you need at least that many months stock, and bit extra in case more than average fail.
It's not like they are parts for classes of train about to be withdrawn, so run down the stock, these are parts for trains they expect to have for years/decades, so should still be ensuring they have spare parts.
This is management spin, someone somewhere didn't get the spare parts, and now they are making excuses for the one job they are supposed to do (run sufficient trains per their business commitments with DfT» ). Someone ought to fall on their sword.
Agree completely. Usually WMR» are better than this. |
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ChrisB
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« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2025, 19:45:11 » |
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Retreading wheels is the problem - so whole axles....they tend to go away in a job lot if my understanding of another TOCs▸ engineer was correct. So likely a contract with a specified (by the stock owner) contractor, out of the TOC control.
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TonyN
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« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2025, 20:10:05 » |
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One of West Midland trains class 196 units was in the down side turbo sidings at Oxford last Wednesday.
Mosy likley on loan to Chiltern for training on the Oxford - Milton Keynes service and it will have to be followed by others.
So even when the current problem is solved there will be a reduction in the number of units available to West Midland.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2025, 21:25:52 » |
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Chiltern are due 6 Cl 196s from WMR» ....to be rebranded with the Chiltern name, but not sure about the colour scheme yet.
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Electric train
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« Reply #7 on: Yesterday at 07:31:47 » |
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WMR obviously do not understand the supply chain were as we all starve if Tesco's and Sainsbury get their supply chain wrong |
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Starship just experienced what we call a rapid unscheduled disassembly, or a RUD, during ascent,”
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John D
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« Reply #8 on: Yesterday at 08:09:16 » |
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Retreading wheels is the problem - so whole axles....they tend to go away in a job lot if my understanding of another TOCs▸ engineer was correct. So likely a contract with a specified (by the stock owner) contractor, out of the TOC control.
Wheels regularly need work (both at intervals due to wear, and unplanned if they get flat spots), hence a number of wheel lathes around the network. But unless I am mistaken if it is the sort of thing that get sent away in batches for repair, you would think they should have had the nouse to order spares which they can use, to cover those sent away. That seems to be the failing, not having enough available until repaired ones return. |
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #9 on: Yesterday at 08:15:45 » |
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I seem to recall a few years ago the sleeper's reliability was so poor due to constant breakdowns of the ancient engines that they took to towing an extra one along to act as a mobile source of spares to be cannibalised if necessary , scarcely credible.
At least Trigger kept a stock of spares for his broom!
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #10 on: Yesterday at 10:55:36 » |
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Chiltern are due 6 Cl 196s from WMR» ....to be rebranded with the Chiltern name, but not sure about the colour scheme yet.
They are now starting to be used on training runs over EWR▸ between Oxford and Milton Keynes, though no branding/livery alterations have yet been applied. |
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To view my GWML▸ Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/ |
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ChrisB
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« Reply #11 on: Yesterday at 11:26:21 » |
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I'm hearing that other spare parts (doors, interconnectors for example) for these Cl 196s are also being awaited direct from the train manufacturer, CAF▸ .
It may be that's where the bogies are going back to, as well, I'm not certain.
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #12 on: Yesterday at 13:18:46 » |
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I seem to recall a few years ago the sleeper's reliability was so poor due to constant breakdowns of the ancient engines that they took to towing an extra one along to act as a mobile source of spares to be cannibalised if necessary , scarcely credible.
I think it was more to act as a rescue locomotive in case the original one failed as there are very few spare parts that could be removed and replaced enroute. In the case of vehicles that are close to the end of their working lives it’s been common practice for several generations to have a unit locomotive/unit to cannibalise for spare parts. It makes perfect sense as getting new parts for older trains can be very difficult. A good example is the Isle Of Wight stock that was replaced a few years ago by the Vivarail units. Towards the end they were struggling to keep even one unit available for service with other vehicles in the depot slowly looking more shell like! |
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To view my GWML▸ Electrification cab video 'before and after' video comparison, as well as other videos of the new layout at Reading and 'before and after' comparisons of the Cotswold Line Redoubling scheme, see: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/IndustryInsider/ |
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