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Rogang
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« on: October 06, 2009, 20:19:20 » |
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Apologies to any customers caught up in the vandalism at Severn Tunnel Junction last night. 6 major signalling cables cut at the same time brought the whole area to a standstill for nearly 4 hours. Because only one cable was initially discovered, we hoped that NR» could fix quite quickly, but as more vandalism was found, the delays grew. A huge vote of gratitude to the staff at Bristol Parkway who had the 20:15 Paddington-Swansea in their care from 21:40-01:15 + the 21:15 ex Paddington terminating there and the 22:45 ex Paddington also have a rest in the platforms. The 21:15 became an 01:45 back to Paddington to cover the 20:29 ex Swansea that had terminated at Newport with customers bussed to BPW» .
And, of course, we had to reorganise the Temple Meads to Cardiff services as well
All customers arriving late in South Wales were given taxis home, but it was not a night I would like to see again in a hurry.
Worst delays were to 20:15 ex Paddington - 236 minutes late into Swansea at 03:27!
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #1 on: October 06, 2009, 20:37:28 » |
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Thanks for that detailed summary, rogang.  Interestingly, the incident only merited a brief mention on the BBC» : The main railway line between south Wales and England has partially reopened following signal problems.
Passengers were advised to make other travelling arrangements after the Severn Tunnel junction was seriously affected.
But Arriva Trains Wales has said services are gradually returning to normal.
Services between Maesteg and Gloucester were among those disrupted.
Passengers were told to make alternative arrangements as only limited replacement transport was laid on to and from Newport for Cheltenham and Gloucester.
"Trains should be running normally in time for this evening's peak time services," said a spokeswoman.
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William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
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devon_metro
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« Reply #2 on: October 06, 2009, 20:45:14 » |
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Apologies to any customers caught up in the vandalism at Severn Tunnel Junction last night. 6 major signalling cables cut at the same time brought the whole area to a standstill for nearly 4 hours. Because only one cable was initially discovered, we hoped that NR» could fix quite quickly, but as more vandalism was found, the delays grew. A huge vote of gratitude to the staff at Bristol Parkway who had the 20:15 Paddington-Swansea in their care from 21:40-01:15 + the 21:15 ex Paddington terminating there and the 22:45 ex Paddington also have a rest in the platforms. The 21:15 became an 01:45 back to Paddington to cover the 20:29 ex Swansea that had terminated at Newport with customers bussed to BPW» .
And, of course, we had to reorganise the Temple Meads to Cardiff services as well
All customers arriving late in South Wales were given taxis home, but it was not a night I would like to see again in a hurry.
Worst delays were to 20:15 ex Paddington - 236 minutes late into Swansea at 03:27!
At least it made up time from being 248 late at Swansea! Bet that was a long night...! |
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Ollie
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« Reply #3 on: October 06, 2009, 22:20:07 » |
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Ollie is glad he has 2 weeks off.
Did read the log though. Lets give the vandals the cost of every single delay minute please?
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Mookiemoo
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« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2009, 22:32:37 » |
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Looks like I got a lucky escape last night then on the 1911 from reading!
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Ditched former sig - now I need to think of something amusing - brain hurts -I'll steal from the master himself - Einstein:
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love"
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2009, 20:53:18 » |
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Some further details, from the BBC» : Rail delays 'caused by vandals'
Disruption to train services between south Wales and England after signals failed was probably caused by vandalism, Network Rail has said.
Main line trains were disrupted on Tuesday morning and passengers were advised to make other travel plans. Services have returned to normal, but 42 passenger and freight trains were either cancelled or diverted earlier.
Network Rail and the police are investigating whether attempted cable theft from the railway was the cause. Signal problems at Severn Tunnel Junction meant services on the Bristol, London and Gloucester route were hit.
Mark Langman, area general manager for Network Rail, said: "This looks like a case of attempted cable theft. Cable theft is a major issue on the railway, costing millions of pounds a year and causing unnecessary delay and disruption to passengers. Although the circumstances of this incident are not yet clear, I would warn anyone tempted to trespass on the railway to think again. It is not only a serious offence, it could also cost trespassers their lives."
British Transport Police are investigating reports that railway signalling cable was damaged near Severn Tunnel Junction station on Monday night. The incident happened at 2130 BST and engineers worked around the clock to fix the problem.
A police spokesman said: "Inquiries are ongoing and anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 405040, quoting incident log 593 of 05/10/09, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
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William Huskisson MP▸ was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830. Many more have died in the same way since then. Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.
"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner." Discuss.
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JayMac
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« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2009, 00:19:43 » |
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That interesting response from Network Rail flags up one interesting issue: If the delays are, at the moment, only due to 'suspected' cable theft with no definitive cause yet established; what is the situation for affected passengers claiming compensation? What if no crime is proved? Under the current rules FGW▸ pay compensation for delays which are attributed to the rail industry. Vandalism, tresspass, weather, force majeure etc do not warrant compensation payouts.
Time for FGW to adopt the all encompasing 'Delay Repay' scheme, methinks.
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"A clear conscience laughs at a false accusation."
"Treat everyone the same until you find out they're an idiot."
"Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity."
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readytostart
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« Reply #7 on: October 08, 2009, 07:36:06 » |
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So much for the high cost of rail travel, folks travelling to Swansea got an extra 200 odd minutes for gratis, that before even filling in a compenstion form!
*Tongue firmly in cheek, no RTS bashing please, I'm a bit delicate today*
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super tm
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« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2009, 13:14:40 » |
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That interesting response from Network Rail flags up one interesting issue: If the delays are, at the moment, only due to 'suspected' cable theft with no definitive cause yet established; what is the situation for affected passengers claiming compensation? What if no crime is proved? Under the current rules FGW▸ pay compensation for delays which are attributed to the rail industry. Vandalism, tresspass, weather, force majeure etc do not warrant compensation payouts.
Time for FGW to adopt the all encompasing 'Delay Repay' scheme, methinks.
I think the reason it is suspected cable theft is that the cable was found cut in five places. So it was either mindless vandalism or someone getting ready to steal the cable. |
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