Lineside Equipment Problem Scuppers Oxfordshire Halts Train (16/10/2008)

[whole diary]

[Lee]

From the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website :

17:31 Oxford to Worcester Foregate Street due 19:16

This train has been cancelled.This is due to a problem with line-side equipment.

19:27 Worcester Foregate Street to Oxford due 21:22

This train has been cancelled.This is due to a problem with line-side equipment.

17:21 London Paddington to Hereford due 20:37

This train has been revised.It will additionally call at: Combe, Finstock, Ascott-Under-Wychwood and Shipton.This is due to an earlier problem with line-side equipment.

[willc]

An evening of signalling and single-line hell. Have just made it home on a train running 85 minutes late - the 17.51 London-Worcester, which arrived at Oxford at 18.45. And just sat there. I already knew there was something wrong from the website - my suspicion is the axle-counters between Wolvercot and Ascott, which are fault-prone, though usually wet weather is what does for them.

First we were told we would be held for about 20 minutes, awaiting the arrival of a train from Worcester. then that the 18.21 London-Hereford would be terminated at Oxford and its passengers would join us. It eventually rolled in at 19.40, about 25 minutes down. Not sure what they were going to do with people travelling beyond Worcester, but it meant an early finish for the Bristol crew, who turned round in platform 1 and headed off to Didcot and home.

We finally set off at about 20.00 but even then had to hang around for another 15 minutes or so at Wolvercot waiting to be given permission to head to Ascott, where we incurred another five-minute delay stopping to inform the signaller we were now waiting to leave the single line and halting briefly at the other side of Ascott to drop the pilotman to take the 18.50 from Worcester back to Oxford.

I hope that they will be installing new axle-counters during the redoubling, otherwise all the extra double track in the world won't make any difference in this sort of situation.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Your forbearance in such circumstances is quite remarkable, willc. 

Thanks for that very useful summary of the situation - and you do have my sympathy over such a delay! 

[willc]

Your forbearance in such circumstances is quite remarkable, willc.

Chris, I - and fellow Cotswold-Liners - have had a lot of practice in such situations, though I'd have to say this was one of the all-time worst delays I've suffered.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hence my comment. 

Hopefully, things will be better tomorrow? 

[John R]

my suspicion is the axle-counters between Wolvercot and Ascott, which are fault-prone, though usually wet weather is what does for them.

I hope that they will be installing new axle-counters during the redoubling, otherwise all the extra double track in the world won't make any difference in this sort of situation.

I'm surprised there are axle counters on this route, as it hasn't been resignalled recently. I have to say, I'm still a bit puzzled as to why they are preferred against track circuits in modern installations, as they always seem to be causing problems.

[willc]

The axle counters only cover Wolvercot to Ascott-under-Wychwood, presumably to work in conjunction with the power signalling in the Oxford area.

And sadly more mayhem tonight, though this time it seems to be down to a badly-delayed 17.21 London to Hereford, which seems to have been losing time throughout its journey. Just checked and it's shown expected 45 minutes late at Ledbury, but no explanation is offered on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website.

The 17.52 was about 30 minutes late leaving Oxford after waiting for a CrossCountry to overtake and the 17.06 from Malvern to clear the single line. Was 35 late when I got off at Moreton, where it crossed the 18.48 from Worcester, which was about 30 down. The 18.21 London-Hereford was about 20 late.

Hope the past couple of evenings are just a blip and not an early start to another nightmare winter.

[G.Uard]

Axle counters are often fitted in wet locations which would play havoc with track circuits.  The Severn Tunnel is a good example.

The use of axle counters instead of track circuits reduces also costs for power supply hardware, as axle counters sections do not have the same limitations in length that track circuits have.  As such, they are sometimes found on long sections, but can be also be useful where there is complicated point work, which can prove troublesome for track circuits. 

The WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) has several sections controlled by Axle Counters, as does the main Bournemouth Line. 

Axle counters may 'forget' how many axles are in a section for reasons such as power failure.  In such cases, an override and reset is necessary. Obviously this process is subject to stringent safety precautions, which can delay services.