Weather Disruption caused by storm Ciara (February 9th, 10th and 11th)

bramling · 9 Feb 2020

jon0844 said:
And now it's 0225, the wind is picking up quite considerably already in Hertfordshire. Very gusty at times.

I have a feeling we're going to have some powerful bursts of wind that will likely cause various issues later today. Not just on the railway either. Roads blocked, structural damage and loads of fence panels down.

It’s died down here compared to how it was earlier in the night, so far nothing in my garden has moved! However I’ve noticed the predicted wind speeds have tended to increase compared to what they were yesterday, with the highest predicted here now 69 mph - although I’m not sure how much reliance should be placed on these.

I have a suspicion my journey to work later will be interesting. It’s going to be GTR or not at all!

RailUK Forums

221129 · 9 Feb 2020

Samuel88 said:
Actually I’m thinking of those passengers, some of them would’ve paid hundreds of pounds. It’s like the railways have a death wish, this type of behaviour only pushes people into their cars...

Anyone

ValentaFan1974 said:
Incorrect. They are now running a couple of services Edinburgh/Newcastle to York and vice versa.

10:08 Edinburgh-York
14:08 Edinburgh-York
13:45 Newcastle-Edinburgh
15:45 York-Edinburgh
19:45 York-Newcastle

All 5 services will be double voyagers.

I wouldn't count on all of those running!

markymark2000 · 9 Feb 2020

An interesting one which I notice is LNWR will be terminating all services short at Liverpool South Parkway.
Given that everyone else is happy to run up to Liverpool Lime Street on a normal timetable, is this just LNWR using this storm as an excuse for low staffing levels?
I see no reason to cut trains back at South Parkway.

They are still planning to run their 8 car trains and are therefore advising people needing assistance to change at Runcorn.

Bovverboy · 9 Feb 2020

markymark2000 said:
An interesting one which I notice is LNWR will be terminating all services short at Liverpool South Parkway.
Given that everyone else is happy to run up to Liverpool Lime Street on a normal timetable, is this just LNWR using this storm as an excuse for low staffing levels?
I see no reason to cut trains back at South Parkway.

It sounds as though scheduled journey times are being increased and the service cut back to South Parkway in order to be able to run the remaining service with the usual number of trains.

MadCommuter · 9 Feb 2020

It seems the worst of the winds are in England, but some TOCs have decided to not run their usual services in Scotland where there is no Amber for wind, albeit there is one for rain in parts. Just a statement, not being critical

alxndr · 9 Feb 2020

Been out in it all night. Windy and wet here, but not half as bad as we feared it might be. Certainly had worse weather to work in. Just had to be careful with gates, doors, and move a few wheelybins out the middle of the road.

Wolfie · 9 Feb 2020

I'm in Grays Essex right now. Got woken at 0530 by howling winds. Damn rough out and l need to get back to London later... Ho hum...

jon0844 · 9 Feb 2020

I took a risk driving on a back road and had to drive on the other side of the road to avoid half a tree fallen down, plus loads of branches. Otherwise no other real damage seen yet.

Seems quieter at home now than through the night, but the worst was meant to be 1100 to 1900?

Samuel88 · 9 Feb 2020

Was supposed to go from Glasgow to Uig and back on Citylink this morning but advised by the driver that the coach was highly unlikely to make it to Skye...

C J Snarzell · 9 Feb 2020

I suspect given the rainfall in my area that flooding could very well be a problem just as much as the wind speed.

CJ

XC victim · 9 Feb 2020

I do wonder whether there would be such restrictions in place and service reduction if this had happened mid week rather than on a Sunday.

although I do understand the need for these restrictions, I do fear it may mean in future every time a weather warning is in place network rail may just decide to basically shutdown the rail network and just run a skeleton service

jon0844 · 9 Feb 2020

C J Snarzell said:
I suspect given the rainfall in my area that flooding could very well be a problem just as much as the wind speed.
CJ

It's pretty dry here. Light drizzle only for now. If that changes, local roads quickly flood thanks to the slashing of drain clearing by the county council. Add in debris from trees etc and it won't be pretty.

class 9 · 9 Feb 2020

ValentaFan1974 said:
Incorrect. They are now running a couple of services Edinburgh/Newcastle to York and vice versa.

10:08 Edinburgh-York
14:08 Edinburgh-York
13:45 Newcastle-Edinburgh
15:45 York-Edinburgh
19:45 York-Newcastle

All 5 services will be double voyagers.

Ah yes, these services have been put in after I left work yesterday afternoon!

GB · 9 Feb 2020

XC victim said:
I do wonder whether there would be such restrictions in place and service reduction if this had happened mid week rather than on a Sunday.

although I do understand the need for these restrictions, I do fear it may mean in future every time a weather warning is in place network rail may just decide to basically shutdown the rail network and just run a skeleton service

It would happen whether its a weekend or weekday. Such restrictions and closures have been done on a weekday in the past and its a decision that's not taken lightly.

STANDISH · 9 Feb 2020

Rochdale/Todmorden blocked by flooding. Assume Walsden area. Trees on line between Oldham and Rochdale and St Werburgh's Road and East Didsbury thus no trams running.

C J Snarzell · 9 Feb 2020

Jon0844

My town is always plagued with flooding because of the shocking road system in place that has a Victorian drainage system that should have been upgraded years ago. The rail network usually escapes the flooding near me but clearly other parts of the North have stretches of track that get badly affected. I seem to recall Merseyrail services were badly affected a few months ago because of bad flooding in southern Wirral.

CJ

Mak1981 · 9 Feb 2020

Wcml closed north of oxenholme to carstairs likely till end of day

bramling · 9 Feb 2020

markymark2000 said:
An interesting one which I notice is LNWR will be terminating all services short at Liverpool South Parkway.
Given that everyone else is happy to run up to Liverpool Lime Street on a normal timetable, is this just LNWR using this storm as an excuse for low staffing levels?
I see no reason to cut trains back at South Parkway.

They are still planning to run their 8 car trains and are therefore advising people needing assistance to change at Runcorn.

If trains are losing time due to the 50 mph running then turning short will allow some hope of maintaining a form of timetable, otherwise the service will just run later and later. With plenty of alternatives to cover the run into Lime Street this seems a reasonable decision to me.

Murray J · 9 Feb 2020

There are trees on the line between Farnborough North and North Camp, as well as between Guildford and Effingham Junction.
There was one between Fareham and Southampton central which has now been moved, disruption is ongoing.

bramling · 9 Feb 2020

Murray J said:
There are trees on the line between Farnborough North and North Camp, as well as between Guildford and Effingham Junction.
There was one between Fareham and Southampton central which has now been moved, disruption is ongoing.

Looks like GN has now gone up the wall, with some kind of issue at Letchworth.

Wivenswold · 9 Feb 2020

AA Roadwatch starting to show a number of downed trees across the South of the UK. The worst is forecast for this afternoon as some violent squall fronts move South East.

Saint66 · 9 Feb 2020

Worst of the winds aren’t expected expected until after midday (the amber warning only started at 8am), so it’s going to be a day of issues and disruption.

Steph_acc · 9 Feb 2020

markymark2000 said:
An interesting one which I notice is LNWR will be terminating all services short at Liverpool South Parkway.
Given that everyone else is happy to run up to Liverpool Lime Street on a normal timetable, is this just LNWR using this storm as an excuse for low staffing levels?
I see no reason to cut trains back at South Parkway

They do this on a fairly regular basis whenever there are significant delays or issues, it can cut a real chunk off the journey time on the route. Nothing unusual really

diffident · 9 Feb 2020

Avanti West Coast have just tweeted that they are not running north of Preston...

"Due to reports of flooding between Preston and Scotland, no services are running north of Preston until further notice, we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

https://twitter.com/AvantiWestCoast/status/1226438473101586440

LowLevel · 9 Feb 2020

Many trees down in many places, debris fouling OHLE etc. Not going to be a good day, I'm almost tempted to stay at home myself and have a nice pint in the Winchester until it all blows over.

LAX54 · 9 Feb 2020

CaptainHaddock said:
But that's just it, a weather forecast isn't an authority stating what will definitely happen just one predicting what might possibly happen, which is no more accurate than a horoscope. By all means cancel the trains if a tree blows onto the line but cancelling trains on the off chance that a tree might blow onto the line is ridiculous. One would hope that the TOCs cancelling trains needlessly tomorrow will face hefty compensation claims from passengers needlessly disrupted.

I was in on a NR/TOC/MET OFFICE Conference yesterday, and the Met Office were VERY CLEAR in stating what was going to happen today, and only an irresponsible authority would have ignored it !

RichT54 · 9 Feb 2020

Murray J said:
There are trees on the line between Farnborough North and North Camp, as well as between Guildford and Effingham Junction.
There was one between Fareham and Southampton central which has now been moved, disruption is ongoing.

The tree blocking the North Downs Line has now been cleared. However, there is another tree blocking all lines between Basingstoke and Reading.

168lover · 9 Feb 2020

The Chiltern mainline is taking a battering, tree down between Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield, Princes Risborough and Aylesbury, Rickmonsworth and Harrow on The Hill and also on the Stratford Upon Avon Branch.

contractador · 9 Feb 2020

RichT54 said:
The tree blocking the North Downs Line has now been cleared. However, there is another tree blocking all lines between Basingstoke and Reading.

That sounds like a fast response.

As a genuine curiosity woupd anyone be able to describe what happens when a tree is spotted fouling the line. Is there a team the driver or signaller will refer to who then assess and deal the tree in question?

43066 · 9 Feb 2020

swills said:
I was in on a NR/TOC/MET OFFICE Conference yesterday, and the Met Office were VERY CLEAR in stating what was going to happen today, and only an irresponsible authority would have ignored it !

Yes quite.

The storm has been well publicised for several days and anyone using the rail network today does so in the knowledge that disruption is very likely.

Weather Disruption caused by storm Ciara (February 9th, 10th and 11th)

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