Train service suspended Penzance-Plymouth and Par-Newquay

[whole diary]

[Chris2]

Train services are currently suspended due to flooding and landslides.
There is a landslide at Lostwithiel and at Luxulyan.
The national rail website does not state how long the disruption will continue for.

[broadgage]

Suprised that AFAIK^▸ ('as far as I know') no one else has posted this.
Severe flooding in parts of Cornwall, rail line expected to be shut for at least 2 days.
More details on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website.

[Super Guard]

From nationalrail.co.uk

Route affected
Penzance, Truro, Par, Lostwithiel, Bodmin Parkway, Liskeard, Plymouth, Totnes and Exeter St Davids

TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)(s) affected
CrossCountry, First Great Western

Description
A landslip is causing disruption in the Lostwithiel area.
Because of this, buses are replacing trains between Par and Liskeard. Although only a limited bus replacement service is available at this time and therefore only essential journeys should be made. This is expected to continue until the end of the day.
Note: There is also a limited bus replacement service running non stop between Truro and Plymouth.
Trains on the branch lines between Penzance and Plymouth are running normally, except for trains between Newquay and Par which are also suspended.

Tickets
First Great Western tickets for today will accepted on services for tomorrow.
First Great Western and Cross Country are accepting each others tickets today on journeys between Penzance and Plymouth.

[Super Guard]

Suprised that AFAIK^▸ ('as far as I know') no one else has posted this.
Severe flooding in parts of Cornwall, rail line expected to be shut for at least 2 days.
More details on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website.

They have 

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=7997.0

[The SprinterMeister]

1C99, the down sleepers ran through floodwater and debris on the line at Brown Queen Tunnel near Lostwithiel. 57605 sustained damage to windscreen due to flying rocks and mud. 1C99 terminated at Par.

Buses replacing trains between Liskeard & Par. Severe flooding in the area making these bus services prone to disruption as well. 

[Tim]

1C99, the down sleepers ran through floodwater and debris on the line at Brown Queen Tunnel near Lostwithiel. 57605 sustained damage to windscreen due to flying rocks and mud. 1C99 terminated at Par.

I hope that the driver isn't too shaken by his experience

[The SprinterMeister]

I hope that the driver isn't too shaken by his experience

As far as I know he is ok. 57605 + stock now at Long Rock depot.

[caliwag]

Radio 4 interview with FGW^▸ (First Great Western) at 12:50 states that main line is open now to Penzance. Only travel if absolutely necessary though.

[JayMac]

Two similar topics merged to avoid duplication.

bignosemac.

[JayMac]

I can confirm that the mainline reopened shortly after 1215. I arrived into Plymouth at 1222 and the next timetabled down service from PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains)-PNZ departed as scheduled. Was informed by station staff that there was single line running and a 5mph speed limit on the affected section between Lostwithiel and Par.

Par to Newquay remains closed and will remain so for the next couple of days, according to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Live Updates.

[RailCornwall]

Showing a bit of ignorance here ....

Finding it virtually impossible to drive at less than 15mph, how does a train driver manage to keep to 5mph, is there some sort of auto limiter that is used?

[SDS]

The 10:00 off PNZ arrived into PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) at 17:10. Only 106mins late!

[inspector_blakey]

Showing a bit of ignorance here ....

Finding it virtually impossible to drive at less than 15mph, how does a train driver manage to keep to 5mph, is there some sort of auto limiter that is used?

Not as far as I am aware, except sometimes on good locos that have a "crawl" speed setting for automatically unloading coal trains whilst on the move. The driver just needs to be judicious and skillful in using the power and brake handles to maintain a constant low speed (bear in mind it's a very different driving technique from a car, of course - acceleration and retardation tend to happen much more slowly and the control handles generally stay in the notch where they're put rather than returning to a neutral position like the accelerator/footbrake in a car).

[JayMac]

One thing that did strike me as a little odd was the PA^▸ (Public Address (broadcast loudspeaker announcements) or Passenger Assist (railway staff providing physical assistance to passengers with mobility issues), depending on context) announcement I heard at Exeter St Davids explaining the cancellation of an 'up' Paddington service.

A pre-recorded Phil Sayer announcing, "I'm sorry to announce that the xxxx to London Paddington has been cancelled. This is due to a landslip at Lostwithiel. Please listen for further announcements. I'm very sorry for the delay this will cause to your journey."

Begs the question, has Phil Sayer recorded a 'landslip' announcement for every station on the network? If so, then I wonder what other specific disruptions he's recorded announcements for.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm.

I rather think such announcements are compiled from a range of pre-recorded 'stock phrases' - in this case, by combining "This is due to" ... "a landslip" ... "at Lostwithiel".

Sometimes it sounds quite professional, but it can sound rather 'clunky' sometimes: for example, at Nailsea, it's often quite obvious that separate recordings by Digital Doris have been 'cut and paste' into her announcements!