Class 802 failure between Exeter and Tiverton Parkway requiring evacuation (13/09)

[Dren Ahmeti]

Mod Note: Posts #1 - #31 originally in this thread.

1A93 (1400 ex Penzance) has decided that it doesn't like the concept of air inside of it after passing Exeter St. Davids and is now standing (and has been for quite some time, since 1708!) on the UML Up Main Line at Hele & Bradninch LC after developing a very significant air leak.

It is a 2x5 802 and has blocked the Up Main towards Tiverton Jct, forcing Single Line Working (with a pilotman) to be put in place on the Down Main.

Train has been declared a complete failure and they're currently in the process of deboarding a significant amount of passengers onto a rescue Voyager inbound for a rescue as 1Z99.

 

[Jamesrob637]

This one must've gone via Yeovil as a result?

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C40065/2018/09/13/advanced

But not a good day for the 800s only weeks after having been introduced on West Country services!

 

[43096]

This one must've gone via Yeovil as a result?

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C40065/2018/09/13/advanced

But not a good day for the 800s only weeks after having been introduced on West Country services!

Yes, 1A96 went via Yeovil.

 

[PHILIPE]

1A93 (1400 ex Penzance) has decided that it doesn't like the concept of air inside of it after passing Exeter St. Davids and is now standing (and has been for quite some time, since 1708!) on the UML Up Main Line at Hele & Bradninch LC after developing a very significant air leak.

It is a 2x5 802 and has blocked the Up Main towards Tiverton Jct, forcing Single Line Working (with a pilotman) to be put in place on the Down Main.

Train has been declared a complete failure and they're currently in the process of deboarding a significant amount of passengers onto a rescue Voyager inbound for a rescue as 1Z99.

The culprits were 802005 and 802010 (Japanese versions) and 802005 and 802010 ran as 1Z99 and currently standing behind it while the Voyager currently on the Down Line for the transfer via the Ballast of the passengers (reported 389) with Fire Service assisting in the evacuation.

 

[bnm]

Evacuation continues five hours after coming to a stand.

Five hours.

GWR and Hitachi will be facing some serious and awkward questions once the media pick up on the incident.

 

[D1009]

Sorry if I am missing something simple, but if the train is formed of 2 sets, surely they haven't both got serious air leaks?

 

[PHILIPE]

Sorry if I am missing something simple, but if the train is formed of 2 sets, surely they haven't both got serious air leaks?

It could be that the good set couldn't get air through to the failed set due to the nature of the fault.

 

[D1009]

It could be that the good set couldn't get air through to the failed set due to the nature of the fault.

What I meant was that they could have split the sets without the need to summon a rescue train.

 

[ash39]

What I meant was that they could have split the sets without the need to summon a rescue train.

You'd still have to find a way to get all the passengers off the failed unit though.

 

[broadgage]

Sorry if I am missing something simple, but if the train is formed of 2 sets, surely they haven't both got serious air leaks?

A bad enough air leak on one unit would lock the brakes on and prevent the train from moving.
But I agree that it SHOULD have been possible to uncouple the good unit and use that on its own, I can only surmise that the loss of air "confused" the good unit and resulted in a "computer says no" situation on the unit WITHOUT the air leak.

Transferring passengers into the good unit would be a challenge due to the lack of through gangways, but no worse than transfer along the track into a voyager, which is now underway.

 

[43096]

What I meant was that they could have split the sets without the need to summon a rescue train.

They tried that. Computer said no.

 

[43096]

You'd still have to find a way to get all the passengers off the failed unit though.

But you only have to move five vehicles of passengers, rather than ten, which cuts the amount of time taken to do it.

 

[bnm]

Evacuation complete just shy of six hours after the train failed.

The no doubt weary passengers are now on their way back to Exeter St Davids.

Get ready for the s**tstorm tomorrow GWR.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

So the idea was no rescue locomotives would be needed as these new sets could 'rescue themselves' with the diesel engines.

Someone want to start fitting couplers onto a bundle of Class 68s?

 

[43096]

Get ready for the s**tstorm tomorrow GWR.

Nothing on their Twitter. Absolutely nothing.

sH*tachi have some serious questions to answer, too. And, you would hope, a big bill to pay, as this will be a several thousand delay minutes incident.

 

[bnm]

Nothing on their Twitter. Absolutely nothing

Plenty of tweets from passengers on the affected train and other trains caught up in the delays.

Report on tonight's late BBC Spotlight (covering the South West) TV news. Reports in local media too.

 

[SWTrainspottin]

Already reached the local news too! https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/passengers-evacuated-intercity-express-train-2002629

Still on the Up Main Line as of 00:00 14 September! Oh Hitachi...

 

[Dren Ahmeti]

Already reached the local news too! https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/passengers-evacuated-intercity-express-train-2002629

Still on the Up Main Line as of 00:00 14 September! Oh Hitachi...

Hiding it away in the Tiverton Loop

 

[SWTrainspottin]

Hiding it away in the Tiverton Loop

Ah yes, just looked. Finally moved then.

 

[Dren Ahmeti]

Ah yes, just looked. Finally moved then.

Terminated there and has become 5A93, possibly to Stoke Gifford.

 

[cambsy]

I’m a Taxi driver in Tiverton and picked up at 20.45 a couple of hitachi engineers from Tiverton Parkway and took them to Hele and Bradnich level crossing, to deal with the stricken 802’s, which from what they said, was a brake problem, to do with air, something about BCU etc was also mentioned, and they were going to look at some software program to release the brakes, so seems like a load of stuff going on with lap tops, they were based in Swindon, and not Stoke Gifford or North Pole, I’m only going on what they said to me, so may not be totally accurate, also when arrived at the level crossing there were stop boards on the lines, to protect the trains as think they were de training when I got there, had interesting chat with them.

 

[43096]

Terminated there and has become 5A93, possibly to Stoke Gifford.

Spare a thought for the passengers off 1A93, their eventual arrival at Paddington was no less than 7hrs 45mins late.

 

[sprinterguy]

1A93 (1400 ex Penzance) has decided that it doesn't like the concept of air inside of it after passing Exeter St. Davids and is now standing (and has been for quite some time, since 1708!) on the UML Up Main Line at Hele & Bradninch LC after developing a very significant air leak.

Curiously there was also a third IET that had failed with the brakes hard on blocking access to Long Rock depot last night at the same time as the incident with 1A93 was unfolding.

So the idea was no rescue locomotives would be needed as these new sets could 'rescue themselves' with the diesel engines.

Someone want to start fitting couplers onto a bundle of Class 68s?

If it's not possible to build air within the consist then it doesn't make any difference what you try and attach to move the stricken train out of the way. This sort of failure is little different to those you'd see in the days of loco hauled stock, except that back then you'd stand a much better chance of patching up the fault with brown paper and boot laces, rather than with a laptop.

 

[CHAPS2034]

This sort of failure is little different to those you'd see in the days of loco hauled stock, except that back then you'd stand a much better chance of patching up the fault with brown paper and boot laces, rather than with a laptop.

Come back Jeremiah Jobling

 

[D1009]

I’m a Taxi driver in Tiverton and picked up at 20.45 a couple of hitachi engineers from Tiverton Parkway and took them to Hele and Bradnich level crossing, to deal with the stricken 802’s, which from what they said, was a brake problem, to do with air, something about BCU etc was also mentioned, and they were going to look at some software program to release the brakes, so seems like a load of stuff going on with lap tops, they were based in Swindon, and not Stoke Gifford or North Pole, I’m only going on what they said to me, so may not be totally accurate, also when arrived at the level crossing there were stop boards on the lines, to protect the trains as think they were de training when I got there, had interesting chat with them.

Were any passengers evacuated to road transport at the LC or did they wedge all 389 of them on to the voyager?

 

[sprinterguy]

Were any passengers evacuated to road transport at the LC or did they wedge all 389 of them on to the voyager?

All of them onto the Voyager. It was a 5-car unit admittedly but that's still going to be cosy.

 

[JN114]

Were any passengers evacuated to road transport at the LC or did they wedge all 389 of them on to the voyager?

All passengers were transferred from the 802s to the Voyager. The Voyager then took the passengers back to Exeter and contrary to the BBC article all passengers who wanted to travel to stations to London Paddington were able to do so, by train.

Poor ballast conditions and falling darkness meant that customers first had to be evacuated from the front set into the rear set (cab - down main 4ft - cab), walk the length of the rear set then repeat the same process to get from the rear 802 to the Voyager. The process took around 2 hours to do safely. It certainly wasn’t viable to move them to Hele & Brandninch LC.

Somewhat ironically the delay in starting the evacuation was primarily down to the response staff needed to oversee the evacuation already being deployed to implement single line / pilotman working over the Down Main - by (for once) being able to quickly implement degraded working it then hampered the controlled evacuation.

There were also some delays after a passenger on the stranded train decided they wanted to self-evacuate while the evacuation was in progress. This took the staff involved away from managing the controlled evacuation while they were rounded up and brought back to a place of safety.

 

[43096]

If it's not possible to build air within the consist then it doesn't make any difference what you try and attach to move the stricken train out of the way. This sort of failure is little different to those you'd see in the days of loco hauled stock, except that back then you'd stand a much better chance of patching up the fault with brown paper and boot laces, rather than with a laptop.

All passengers were transferred from the 802s to the Voyager. The Voyager then took the passengers back to Exeter and contrary to the BBC article all passengers who wanted to travel to stations to London Paddington were able to do so, by train.

Poor ballast conditions and falling darkness meant that customers first had to be evacuated from the front set into the rear set (cab - down main 4ft - cab), walk the length of the rear set then repeat the same process to get from the rear 802 to the Voyager. The process took around 2 hours to do safely. It certainly wasn’t viable to move them to Hele & Brandninch LC.

Somewhat ironically the delay in starting the evacuation was primarily down to the response staff needed to oversee the evacuation already being deployed to implement single line / pilotman working over the Down Main - by (for once) being able to quickly implement degraded working it then hampered the controlled evacuation.

There were also some delays after a passenger on the stranded train decided they wanted to self-evacuate while the evacuation was in progress. This took the staff involved away from managing the controlled evacuation while they were rounded up and brought back to a place of safety.

Three words: standard coupler height.

Then the Voyager can drag the whole lot at 5mph to Exeter or Taunton or wherever. I get all the issues with brakes etc but the railway has got to stop disappearing up its own backside with incidents like this and realise that getting the punters moving is #1 priority. An almost 8hr delay is just totally unacceptable and indefensible on every level.

 

[43055]

All passengers were transferred from the 802s to the Voyager. The Voyager then took the passengers back to Exeter and contrary to the BBC article all passengers who wanted to travel to stations to London Paddington were able to do so, by train.

Poor ballast conditions and falling darkness meant that customers first had to be evacuated from the front set into the rear set (cab - down main 4ft - cab), walk the length of the rear set then repeat the same process to get from the rear 802 to the Voyager. The process took around 2 hours to do safely. It certainly wasn’t viable to move them to Hele & Brandninch LC.

Somewhat ironically the delay in starting the evacuation was primarily down to the response staff needed to oversee the evacuation already being deployed to implement single line / pilotman working over the Down Main - by (for once) being able to quickly implement degraded working it then hampered the controlled evacuation.

There were also some delays after a passenger on the stranded train decided they wanted to self-evacuate while the evacuation was in progress. This took the staff involved away from managing the controlled evacuation while they were rounded up and brought back to a place of safety.

Wouldn't it been easier and slightly quicker for the passengers on the front set to go down the 4ft all the way instead of going via the rear set or is that too unsafe for them.

The Daily Mail have done an article but I think they need to get the facts right as the train involved is the 1257 from Penzance and not the 1400 from Penzance according to them.

 

[JN114]

Wouldn't it been easier and slightly quicker for the passengers on the front set to go down the 4ft all the way instead of going via the rear set or is that too unsafe for them.

In short - too unsafe. Perhaps if it were still daylight at the time it might have been a different story; but walking on ballast with safety boots is uncomfortable enough - I wouldn’t fancy it in trainers; (or heels!) or whatever other footwear regular passengers who weren’t expecting a trackside excursion might have to do it in.

The train involved was the 1400 Penzance to London Paddington (1A93) - not sure why anyone would think otherwise.