Indeed - I'm still here en route to Leeds. Apparently another EMU (2H50 presumably) is attempting to push the failed unit back in to Skipton.Still nothing moving going by RTT.
Northern website saying no time available for resolution, which doesn't sound good at all.
Bizarrely, they only show it as minor disruption, not severe!
What a day, sleeper canned at Stafford, WCML shut, ECML shut, it's like the day the railway stopped. I don't want to tempt fate by asking what's next to go wrong!!
Yes, total chaos. Incredibly poor customer service staff from Northern, guards asked people to leave the trains (the one I was on in p3) so it could shunt out to allow another southbound service in to disembark - go over to platform 2 and speak to the staff there was the instruction.They also cancelled some of the Morecambe and the last two Carlisle services. The last one should’ve been my train home from work....
I believe 333010 failed on the crossing from the down line into platform 1 (2H48). An attempt was made to couple another unit (2H50) and shunt it forward but all that did was transfer the fault to the rescue unit. After I think not much over an hour they took the decision to evacuate to the nearest access point only 7-8 meters away.
I was also hoping to be on the 17.41 - I ended up on the delayed 18.12 Bradford as far as Shipley where my wife picked me up. How come your gf didn't catch this?My girlfriend was supposed to be on the 17:41 Leeds-Skipton as far as Bingley. Total chaos at Leeds station. Platforms dangerously overcrowded and staff unable to tell people anything. As there was so little information she eventually boarded the 18:45 Leeds-London Kings Cross and I drove all the way from Bingley to Wakefield Westgate to pick her up and take her home. Quite what Northern have to to do be shut down once and for all I don't know. All I do know is that they're making Brexit look like a smooth and well managed process.
A number of reasons...I ended up on the delayed 18.12 Bradford as far as Shipley where my wife picked me up. How come your gf didn't catch this?
Yes, total chaos. Incredibly poor customer service staff from Northern, guards asked people to leave the trains (the one I was on in p3) so it could shunt out to allow another southbound service in to disembark - go over to platform 2 and speak to the staff there was the instruction.
Staff over there useless - "We just do the ticket gates".
Around 5.30 it flashed up on the screens there would be a bus to Shipley at 6.05 so everyone piles through said ticket gates (which hadn't been opened so people scrabbling around for tickets).
At 1825 two coaches appeared from an operator in Burnley. Everyone rushed to them, 10 min chat beteeen Northern staff and coach drivers, both going to Keighley (not Shipley) one direct, one all stops. Lady sat next to me on the coach heading for Carnforth. Suggested she got off the coach before it left as Keighley was the wrong direction for her.
Got to Keighley, no Northern staff to assist people not familiar with the station, ran to platform 1 just as a Leeds bound train pulled in (which, you guessed it, had just come from Shipley!). Train wasn't held to let the remaining coach passengers get on.
Absolute Shambles, and to cancel the remaining Lancaster and Carlisles is inexcusable when there were units stabled at the north end of Shipton to work them (the 144 I'd come down from Lancaster on and a 158 that'd come down from Carlisle) and pelnty of drivers/guards sat around too.
Open Train Times maps can be good to see which trains are where. Traksy has more coverage but not as detailed.- Information on Realtime Trains was at odds with what appeared to be happening in the station, so I was unable to inform her adequately.
Maybe someone from Northern can justify this as on the face of it, it seems odd....and to cancel the remaining Lancaster and Carlisles is inexcusable when there were units stabled at the north end of Shipton to work them (the 144 I'd come down from Lancaster on and a 158 that'd come down from Carlisle) and pelnty of drivers/guards sat around too.
Just for future reference, going to Bradford Interchange is a much better option (though the trains were, I imagine, heavily overcrowded).My girlfriend was supposed to be on the 17:41 Leeds-Skipton as far as Bingley. Total chaos at Leeds station. Platforms dangerously overcrowded and staff unable to tell people anything. As there was so little information she eventually boarded the 18:45 Leeds-London Kings Cross and I drove all the way from Bingley to Wakefield Westgate to pick her up and take her home.
Yes (it was done, says RTT) and no respectively.Is it possible to turn EMU's round at Keighley or Kildwick?
Just for future reference, going to Bradford Interchange is a much better option (though the trains were, I imagine, heavily overcrowded).
Trains used to turn round at Keighley back in the day, so it's certainly possible. There's a set of points near the level crossing at Kildwick, so it's physically possible to turn a train round there, if unlikely for logistical reasons.Is it possible to turn EMU's round at Keighley or Kildwick?
That did cross our minds during the exchanges we had as we tried to extricate her from the chaos, but the platforms were so overcrowded she wasn't confident she'd even manage to get on a train heading remotely the right way, so I decided to invoke a plan which would put us in control and give us a definite idea of when she'd be home rather than rely on the unknown.Just for future reference, going to Bradford Interchange is a much better option (though the trains were, I imagine, heavily overcrowded).
And Leeds North West workstation in person shows shunt signals L4544 on the Down Shipley Main and L4543 on the Up Shipley Main that can be used!The screenshot below contains a signalling diagram from traksy.uk, showing the points at Keighley enabling trains to turn around - the solid circles are normal signals, the hollowed out circles are shunt signals:
View attachment 64404
Fair play. Definitely the right thing to do to get away from the crowds in that situation.A number of reasons...
- Absolutely no accurate information was forthcoming from staff so she didn't know where to go.
- Platforms were so crowded that she couldn't get anywhere near where I said the train she needed should be (I was on the other end of the phone with Realtime Trains on my laptop).
- Information on Realtime Trains was at odds with what appeared to be happening in the station, so I was unable to inform her adequately.
- One train she actually boarded on the advice of staff then turned out to be for Ilkley so she got off again and gave up trusting what little information was available.
- She was starting to feel claustrophobic and unwell in the crowds so I told her to get to Wakefield and I'd pick her up (I didn't much fancy driving into the centre of Leeds).
Satellite view gives the impression that Kildwick crossover isn't wired (happy to be corrected!) but it's an awkward place to turn a train anyway.Reversing at Kildwick (OHLE permitting) would have allowed a service for passengers to Steeton and Silsden, and from where Skipton is a relatively easy journey by road (for those arranging lifts/taxis etc).
Satellite view gives the impression that Kildwick crossover isn't wired (happy to be corrected!) but it's an awkward place to turn a train anyway.
I was involved in this situation.
A few pointers for the future based on this topic.
Yes trains can be turned at Kildwick crossover in both directions. The question though has to be asked if it is sensible at that time of day. It's not just about train passengers is it. Kildwick crossing is a total bottleneck for road traffic, and turning trains there would lead to some very dangerous conditions on the A629 duel carriageway.
The communication from Northern as per usual was beyond poor. It is clear that lessons are just not being learned. That said, some passengers need to start helping themselves also and not expect to be wet nursed. We can argue the toss about rights and 'I've bought a ticket' until we are blue in the face, but if you are sat at a station and the train isn't going, how long are you And it is beyond stupid when there is a bus stop just 250 yards away where a bus will have got you home in 20 minutes, Instead they sit there demanding we put on a replacement bus that could take hours to organise.
I was involved in this situation.
A few pointers for the future based on this topic.
Yes trains can be turned at Kildwick crossover in both directions. The question though has to be asked if it is sensible at that time of day. It's not just about train passengers is it. Kildwick crossing is a total bottleneck for road traffic, and turning trains there would lead to some very dangerous conditions on the A629 duel carriageway.
The communication from Northern as per usual was beyond poor. It is clear that lessons are just not being learned. That said, some passengers need to start helping themselves also and not expect to be wet nursed. We can argue the toss about rights and 'I've bought a ticket' until we are blue in the face, but if you are sat at a station and the train isn't going, how long are you going to sit there?
I'm trying to be objective here, but trying to get the guard of a service stranded to offer something he can't is pointless. I understand why people do this, they think that getting all bolshy they can somehow control the situation, well they can't. And it is beyond stupid when there is a bus stop just 250 yards away where a bus will have got you home in 20 minutes, Instead they sit there demanding we put on a replacement bus that could take hours to organise.
From my point of view I will always offer the best advice based on my considerable experience. If someone decides to ignore that advice, I have nothing else to offer them.
Sorry, I live and work about 100 miles from Skipton. Forgive me for not being familiar with the local bus service.
I live just a few miles down the line in Shipley, we get a half hourly single deck bus to and from Leeds. It has no chance of taking all the passengers on a 4 car EMU. The reason for the poor bus service is that the train is usually so much better.
But maybe in North Yorkshire the train is a lot less loaded and the bus service better.
If the level crossing signaling doesn't allow for the road to be opened while a train is turned around that seems a bit of an oversight.
Hopefully a proper turn back facility a Keighley will soon arrive and will give additional options.
And it is beyond stupid when there is a bus stop just 250 yards away where a bus will have got you home in 20 minutes