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More GN/GE anarchy today! (10/08)

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railnerd

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Hi.

I dont know what happened, but today I was out photographing the 'spate of freight' north of Spalding.

The Selby - Felixstowe went through no probs and I saw two passenger trains pass at the same time at one of the former crossings.

Then, the trains on the down line ground to a halt! At one point, 2K60 was stuck at platform 2 at Spalding station. At the very next signal just around the corner, 6E88 was held up just before Park Road LC and the Bow Plasmor was at the next signal just before Blue Gowt LC.

AFAIK no barriers were stuck down and trains on the up ran normally so im guessing the down protecting signal for Blue Gowt LC wouldnt clear! All this took about an hour and half to rectify. Anyone know anything?
 
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jopsuk

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Sounds like the opposite of anarchy, with train drivers obeying authority and respecting signals.
 

railnerd

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Hi.
The drivers werent being anarchists, the equipment was.
It couldnt have happened at a worse time, with 3 trains within half hour of each other and the last one being a passenger train.
 

railnerd

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Hi.

Alright ill come clean. I used the word 'anarchy' because i didnt think that 'More GN/GE suspected problems with lineside equipment' would fit in the description box.
In future I will be more descriptive and use less deep meaningful words :oops:
 

DaleCooper

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Knowing how pedantic this forum tends to be you shud no you haf to bee veri carefull wiv spelin, punctuation's grammer, meening and to never split an infinitive.
 

ultrabox

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Problems with lineside equipment last Saturday at Tinsleys LC, trains being cautioned past the crossing.

Local farmer insists he drove over the crossing with a train passing soon after and the barriers didnt lower. Truly scary if correct!!!
 

ultrabox

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From Spaldingtoday website:

An end to the disruption that has caused months of misery for pedestrians and motorists stuck at railway barriers across South Holland is in sight.

According to Network Rail, there have been two recurring faults – one relating to condensation in the axle counters, which detect the presence of a train, and a second relating to signalling output modules, which provide power to the level crossings.

The Great Northern Great Eastern (GNGE) line upgrade, which has seen the removal of signal boxes, was one of Britain’s most technically complex projects of recent years and cost £280million.

Transforming 86 miles of restricted rural railway between Doncaster and Peterborough to deliver more services and faster journey times, the work included the renewal of 92 level crossings – the largest such programme ever undertaken at one time.

Now 300 counters will have to be replaced at 37 level crossings, with the ones which have failed on a regular basis taking priority.

Who will pick up the bill for replacing the faulty axle counters will depend on whether the fault lies with Network Rail or Siemens, who installed them.

It is also not known at this stage how much the work will cost.

In the meantime, Network Rail is asking motorists for their continued patience, as it is likely there will be more disruption in the short-term, from the faults on the line and when the work to fix them begins.

The Free Press understands it is unlikely rail passengers will be affected, but there could be closures at railway crossings overnight and at weekends.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are fully aware of the unacceptable levels of disruption caused by crossing failures on the Great Northern Great Eastern (GNGE) line that runs through Spalding and would again like to apologise unreservedly for the delays and inconvenience caused when the barriers are closed to road traffic.

“Following our thorough investigation into the cause we have discovered that there are two recurring faults – one relating to axle counters, which detect the presence of a train, and a second relating to signalling output modules, which provide power to the level crossings.

“We are currently working on a plan to replace 300 components at 37 level crossings on the GNGE and although we are still in the process of drawing up a timetable to do this, we will be prioritising the crossings which have seen the highest number of failures.

“While we acknowledge that waiting at the barriers in the meantime can be frustrating, it is vitally important to remember that drivers and pedestrians should not attempt to cross the railway when the barriers are down.

“If a fault is detected the barriers ‘fail safe’ to protect the public but trains will still be running, so crossing the barriers poses a significant safety risk as well as being a criminal offence.”
 

Grumpy

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I cant quite understand "spate of freight' . What is it 4/5 trains each way per day? Plus a sparse passenger service and nothing on Sundays.

What a waste of £280m
 

ultrabox

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I cant quite understand "spate of freight' . What is it 4/5 trains each way per day? Plus a sparse passenger service and nothing on Sundays.

What a waste of £280m

You obviously don't live next to the line then! Higher line speeds, faster journeys, more capacity and a line that is now open 24/7 plus the advantages for both passenger and freight services to divert off the ECML especially overnight.
 

railnerd

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Hi.
Ultrabox has pretty much nailed it. Pre upgrade we had 3 freight trains a week and that was about it.
Now we have the same amount of passenger trains and about 5 freight trains during weekdays.
Occasionally more freight runs overnight when the ecml is shut. Although we dont get as much regular freight as the panic mongerers told us we would get (the local rag in other words), NR has acheived the goal of a 24/7 railway again.
As for the problem with the axle counters, anyone in the know knew what the problem was the first time it happened! We all thought the problem would lie with the lidar system when the boxes went last year. Oh well!:D
 

ultrabox

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Littleworth crossing (A1175) failed this morning. Driving to work just before 6.30am, eight vehicles waiting at the crossing like sheep. Knew instantly that something wasn't right, walked over to the yellow phone and spoke to Lincoln who said the crossing had failed followed by some ranting drivers that we're not too happy when I told them to turn around or wait. :)
 

70014IronDuke

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From Spaldingtoday website:

........
The Great Northern Great Eastern (GNGE) line upgrade, which has seen the removal of signal boxes, was one of Britain’s most technically complex projects of recent years and cost £280million.

Transforming 86 miles of restricted rural railway between Doncaster and Peterborough to deliver more services and faster journey times, the work included the renewal of 92 level crossings – the largest such programme ever undertaken at one time.
.......
”

As I understand it, the passenger service, or at least through trains, were limited in the early morning and evening so as to allow boxes to close and thereby restrict box operating costs.

If the upgrade means these boxes have closed, does this mean that more through passenger trains will now be run on the line - assuming, that is, the crossing problems can be solved?
 

railnerd

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Hi.
East midlands trains arent interested in more passenger trains. The line was upgraded, not only cos it needed it, but also as a 24 hour freight route.
Not naming names, but a certain ecml franchise wants more paths so getting rid of the freight is a good leaping off point.
So we go back on topic, i wonder how many motorists still think theres someone in Littleworth box?
 
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