FGW train stranded at Pewsey

[tony6499]

Apparantly a FGW train has been stuck at Pewsey for 5 hours according to BBC news

 

[dvboy]

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P05524/2013/08/04/advanced

347 down at Bedwyn at 21:12.

 

[Kristofferson]

Was just going to ask about this, we were turfed off the 1850 CDF-PAD HST at Reading so the crew could attend at Pewsey. Does anyone know what went wrong and how come a train is stuck for 5 hours? On the WCML there's the Thunderbird rescue trains or a dozen other 66s to haul a broken train away. Is this not present on this line?

 

[Searle]

347 minutes...? hock: that's outrageous!

 

[crispy1978]

Glad I aren't on that train! hock:

 

[Mojo]

I was on the train behind this. The train left Westbury and then immediately stopped with most of the train still in the platform, and then continued up towards Swindon via Melksham.

The failed train is 1A85, the 11.01 Penzance to Paddington. I hope it isn't as busy as min was, which was full and standing before Taunton! It was reported as a possibly activation of the passenger emergency alarm, and then as a total loss of air causing the brakes to come on, with the fitter unable to rectify the problem.

Not been a good day for Great Western, earlier there was a Track Circuit failure at Hungerford and a points failure at Southall East Junction, plus a suicidal male on a bridge between Plymouth and Totnes. This evening 1A98, the 17.25 Penzance - Paddington stopped and was cancelled at Exeter St Davids with a suspected fire in the roof of coach E, this turned out to be smouldering wiring in the coach roof.

 

[CC 72100]

Not been a good day for Great Western, earlier there was a Track Circuit failure at Hungerford and a points failure at Southall East Junction, plus a suicidal male on a bridge between Plymouth and Totnes.

Another day, another suicidal male on a bridge in Devon! Was caught up in the chaos following the incident yesterday between Torre and Newton Abbot. Was also on yesterday's equivalent of the 11:00 PNZ - PAD, although was off at Taunton myself. Not a good weekend on the Great Western if you ask me.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

347 minutes...? hock: that's outrageous!

Apparently it has been rescued by 59 202?

 

[Eagle]

Now finally arrived at Paddington at 22.22, a total of 352 minutes late. (link)

 

[louis97]

Apparently it has been rescued by 59 202?

The rear power car was detached and was taken back to Westbury by a 59. Passed the train just before Pewsey as It was pulling away, looked weird having no rear power car.

 

[Kristofferson]

Certainly shaken my faith in FGW's HSTs - and the fact they clearly don't have rescue locos within a reasonable distance!

 

[Antman]

LBC Radio reports passengers stuck for hours and no food or water provided, brake failure was said to be the reason

 

[Sleepy]

Six hours !!!! Surely something could drag / push it to next station ? Bet the pax would have pushed it in the end.

 

[1e10]

Any news reports for this?

 

[theageofthetra]

I find this kind of thing utterly disgusting. Surely in the procurement process a TOC is targeted to have failed trains moved in a set reasonable timescale? There will of course be exceptions in cases of extreme weather, derailment or say a collapsed bridge but this hardly applies here. I really feel for any children or elderly people on board as this kind if treatment is totally unacceptable in 2013 in a first world economy.

 

[starrymarkb]

One thing about TOCs with rescue locomotives is that their fleets are electic. AFAIK EMT don't have any either...

Maybe it shows that the HSTs are getting near needing replacement [/troll]

 

[Eagle]

LBC Radio reports passengers stuck for hours and no food or water provided...

Surely there must have been "a selection of drinks and light refreshments" available from the Express Café thingy. Okay what there would have been left in stock by that point in the journey probably wouldn't have satisfied everyone fully, but still it's a bit sensationalist to claim that there were no provisions at all on an intercity train. (Then again this is what I expect from a typical LBC report about trains.)

Shame it was a Sunday, otherwise there would also have been a travelling chef onboard who could have helped out :P

 

[richw]

LBC Radio reports passengers stuck for hours and no food or water provided, brake failure was said to be the reason

Pirate fm in Cornwall reported the same. Pirate uses sky news in the evening so guess its a national bulletin.

 

[Mojo]

To be fair, the incident happened at the 73½ milepost between Pewsey and Savernake and it's over 20 miles from Westbury (the nearest place of any railway significance) to Pewsey. A fitter was sent to site and couldn't rectify the issue.

Still, once it got past the fitter arriving on site and being unable to fix it, I do wonder why a cross transfer could not have been arranged with a train in the other direction, or for another train to be tipped out and sent up to collect the customers and take them in the direction of travel.

 

[Kristofferson]

Where did the rescue 59 come from out of curiosity?

 

[Eagle]

Merehead, presumably (that's where the 59/2s live).

 

[Goatboy]

It was 20 miles from Westbury.

I cannot remember the last time I went past Westbury and there wasn't at least one Class 66 kicking around. I'm sure there are a myriad of excuses as to why nothing could be done but really? 6 hours with pax stranded onboard and blocking the main line?

 

[starrymarkb]

Well FGW may be doing better then this http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-23566079

Why bus pax to Birmingham for Hotels, to bus them back to Manchester for the flight?

 

[quarella]

Well FGW may be doing better then this http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-23566079

Why bus pax to Birmingham for Hotels, to bus them back to Manchester for the flight?

Airline may only have contracts with hotels near airports they use. An event like the Cricket match at Old Trafford + start of football season may have meant a shortage of sufficient numbers of rooms at a few hotels in Manchester. The more passengers you can keep together the better. It is easier to bus passengers to Birmingham and back than to deal with all the issues of moving the plane.

 

[paul1609]

To be fair, the incident happened at the 73½ milepost between Pewsey and Savernake and it's over 20 miles from Westbury (the nearest place of any railway significance) to Pewsey. A fitter was sent to site and couldn't rectify the issue.

Still, once it got past the fitter arriving on site and being unable to fix it, I do wonder why a cross transfer could not have been arranged with a train in the other direction, or for another train to be tipped out and sent up to collect the customers and take them in the direction of travel.

You shouldnt be fair. The rail industry has to get it in to its head that delays of 6 hours in a small country like the UK is not acceptable.
The TOCs should be legally obliged to pay punitive compensation, proper back up arrangements would be made quickly if this was the situation imho.

 

[bb21]

It does make the mind wonder sometimes as to why in this day and age there is no back-up plan for transferring at least the most vulnerable of the passengers as quickly as possible in such circumstances, if it is not feasible for transferring everyone in a fully occupied HST.

 

[Goatboy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23571002

500 people! For almost 6 hours. Whatever the situation was, it was handled badly.

 

[Be3G]

Just a thought – I don't know much about the technical side of the way trains work (beyond the basic bit about wheels on rails…) – but I assume that if brakes were locked, that'd mean it can't be moved whether under its own steam or another locomotive's. So the only other option would be to detrain/transfer passengers to another service.

 

[Eagle]

The brakes were locked in the rear powercar. That powercar was detached and dragged off by the loco, while the rest of the train proceeded to London.

 

[Taunton]

we were turfed off the 1850 CDF-PAD HST at Reading so the crew could attend at Pewsey. Does anyone know what went wrong and how come a train is stuck for 5 hours?

This is very reminiscent of the incident two years ago at Kentish Town, where a broken-down First Capital Connect train was recovered with a ridiculous use of just their own resources, including turfing off everyone from another train at a station with no platform staff, and ended up taking over 3 hours to relieve a packed train in tunnel where the emergency lighting had given out.

Two common factors are firstly happening outside 9-5 Monday to Friday, when anyone with any authority is absent, and secondly First Group.

The brakes were locked in the rear powercar. That powercar was detached and dragged off by the loco, while the rest of the train proceeded to London.

OK, that takes 5 minutes to uncouple and leave it there, a few more to put detonators down each side of it. Where did the remaining 5 hours 55 minutes go?