[infobleep]

Did anyone mention the broken down train at Thornton Heath causing problems between Clapham Junction and Victoria. I also think there were problems this morning.

Would I be right when I heard replacement bus to Brighton? I was waiting for a delayed train t
from Clapham Junction to Victoria at the time. I may have misheard though.

[WestCoast]

Ufton Nervet again! If I ever become rich, I'd be tempted to build a bridge there, purely for symbolic reasons.

On a positive note, the weather has been extremely pleasant in Lancs today (don't know about other areas). Basking in the sun waiting for the train!

[142094]

Originally Posted by Pumbaa

Or perhaps communication is better so now we are aware of the disruptions far more readily?

That would be a good reason for say over the past 2-3 years due to increased use of social media, but this year seems to be a lot worse than last year. Someone on WNXX was keeping a tally, and it did seem to be more than the same point last year.

[VTPreston_Tez]

Today has seen my twitter feed clogged with Southeastern updates along with a couple others such as FCC, LM, and SWT also experiencing disruptions. Now I know about the FGW incidents it's even more of a shock.
RIP to all those who died, and good job to the ToCs for trying their hardest (on Twitter, everyone's blaming FCC but at exam time it's no surprise that people want to be in school on time so the train disruptions ain't useful )

[tsr]

Originally Posted by infobleep

Did anyone mention the broken down train at Thornton Heath causing problems between Clapham Junction and Victoria. I also think there were problems this morning.

Would I be right when I heard replacement bus to Brighton? I was waiting for a delayed train t
from Clapham Junction to Victoria at the time. I may have misheard though.

Yes indeed - the Thornton Heath problem involved a service being detrained onto the platform. The Down Fast (I believe) was blocked for a time. Delays of up to 60 minutes were forecast, but in reality there were some cancellations and delays of up to 40 minutes, as well as congestion.

No replacement buses were used, as far as I know. It would be very, very unusual for a bus to stand in for a train between a station in the London area and Brighton. TfL were accepting train tickets on London Buses, which is probably where you got that idea from.

[455driver]

How many "signalling problems" are down to points losing detection (because of heat expansion) and not the signals themselves?

[ChiefPlanner]

Probably quite a few - that and microswitches , poor rail slide greasing etc on the points.

(with temperatures edging up - watch for the heat imposed ESR's coming up , plus sagging OLE ...)

Not that I look on the dark side of life .....

[Pumbaa]

Yep. Speed limit on the Anglia tomorrow of 80mph. Love it - not...

[ChiefPlanner]

The GE section is a prime case of "sagging OLE" - Good luck ...(meant most sincerely)

[TEW]

20mph speed restriction Dorchester-Weymouth today, better not hope for any hot weather when the Olympics come round.

[tsr]

I will fully expect to see a greater number of heat-related ESRs than that tomorrow - I reckon the temperature could easily get just over 27ºC in many parts of the South East, which could lead to some problems that passengers will almost definitely not be in gear to expect after the cooler temperatures of late.

[fgwrich]

Apparently the Parsons Street incident was a case of vandilisim - where the cables were found on fire with solvents and carpets layed across them...

To add to that, Southampton Centrals announcement system was announcing delays due to signalling problems at Filton Abbey Wood too, so overall not a particually good day on the Western.

[brillopad]

Originally Posted by 455driver

How many "signalling problems" are down to points losing detection (because of heat expansion) and not the signals themselves?

I see a lot of points painted white this year.

[WelshBluebird]

Glad I was only travelling between Cardiff and Bath today. Defiantly feel sorry for FGW staff who would have had to deal with quite a lot (especially at Bristol where they had impacts from everything!).

[MattRobinson]

Originally Posted by tsr

A person tried and failed to commit suicide at Wimbledon

Hmm, that must be a horrendous feeling if you fail to kill yourself by jumping in front of a train, given that you have to be pretty depressed to consider throwing yourself under one in the first place...