Big time. I’ve spent a good chunk of the week trying to plan what would actually happen including speaking to ticket office staff at Eastleigh, the staff running the coaches, national rail enquiries, SWR customer services and the guard on the train home. I’m kinda shocked that we got as far as Basingstoke before they announced we wouldn’t be stopping at Eastleigh and should continue to Southampton Central! The guard was lovely but even she didn’t twig that our itinerary wouldn’t work before I asked.
20 of us at Central for taxis to Eastleigh and on towards Fareham for those who would usually connect at Eastleigh.
Oddly out of all the options discussed (which included with a straight face suggesting I’d have to walk from Parkway) nobody said to carry on to Central, though that makes sense as it’s staffed.
I know, and I had previously offered to cycle to Parkway to start and end my journey but it didn't seem like they could let me do that!Tbf, the walk between SOA and ESL isn't that far and at times probably quicker than waiting for a train at parkway and definitely quicker to get off at parkway and walk back to Eastleigh than to all the way into city centre and taxi back, though I appreciate the walk might not be doable for everyone.
The RAIB’s preliminary examination found that a series of rail fastenings, intended to maintain the correct distance between the rails, had broken. Initial evidence suggests that some of these were already broken before the derailment. Consequently, as the freight train passed over the points, the rails moved apart and the train wheels dropped into the space between the rails.
On the SWR explanation page today, they mention that the usual buses are running, but because of variable traffic conditions “there’s no published timetable”.During the week they’ve advised people to change at Parkway and there’s been a bus running SOA - PMS via Eastleigh vice 2T75 00:30 Eastleigh - Pompey, I’m surprised they didn’t continue that last night.
One would hope control would know what the best to do is, will be odd if that coach was waiting for us and we never got on!On the SWR explanation page today, they mention that the usual buses are running, but because of variable traffic conditions “there’s no published timetable”.
Presumably with no timetable then they can’t appear on journey planners, (or on online sources like RTT), so a guard in Saturday night’s situation would see no buses on his planner either.
One would hope control would know what the best to do is, will be odd if that coach was waiting for us and we never got on!
Less risky to do the job in two parts maybe? So effectively they are reinstating one set of points. Then on another weekend reinstate another set?Looking at pictures from on site, it looks like the diamond from platform 3 towards Parkway has not been replaced.
Less risky to do the job in two parts maybe? So effectively they are reinstating one set of points. Then on another weekend reinstate another set?
(AIUI the slip diamond is still there but with the straight across route disconnected?)
That unusual DMU service runs Saturday all year round now, it’s the one each way that in the summer months connects with a service to Swanage.However long does it take to replace some damaged rails nowadays?
We went down to Weymouth on Friday/Saturday 21st/22nd. In the end we drove. The service back was not only bus substituted between Southampton and Winchester, but the whole evening service from Weymouth was pretty much given up on Saturday night, with the last departure from Weymouth seemingly at 6pm. As the normal Saturday service is every 30 minutes until well after then, and most of those from Weymouth etc at that time are not going beyond Southampton anyway, all rather poor.
Unusual was a diesel service at 5pm from Weymouth to Yeovil Pen Mill, reverse to the Junction, and reverse again on to London. However it then seemed to have been tacked on to a local service beyond Salisbury, taking over 4.5 hours to Waterloo. It looked a bit of a fragile arrangement and was the only one, so we gave it a miss this time.
That unusual DMU service runs Saturday all year round now, it’s the one each way that in the summer months connects with a service to Swanage.
AIUI the Southampton area closure all day Sunday was already booked, it was not directly connected with the Eastleigh derailment repairs. It’s likely the Saturday service changes were also caused by the pre-existing block, but it’s not easy to check what was showing earlier last week, after it has all happened.
I've gone down from London to family in Weymouth on a Saturday four times in the last year. So far a 25% success rate versus the timetable. One diversion via Havant, one bus between Eastleigh and Bournemouth, this weekend's abandoned attempt ... and one as in Table 158. If you are doing a day return having this both ways really cuts into the time at destination.
Weymouth station on Friday evening (went there to pick others up) had an overlong closely printed board (fortunately I had my spectacles with me) listing diversions all across the West of England, which after a lengthy inspection was a GWR-only item, written in Gricer-ese; the line to Yeovil had been closed all week for a bridge replacement (I'm sufficiently long in the tooth to remember when this sort of thing was achieved over a weekend). There was absolutely no sign, notice or on the monitors, of the SWR shutdown, for Saturday or Sunday.
It’s cancelled via Eastleigh all this week. Maybe it can’t be reinstated quickly for rostering reasons, if their traincrew don’t all know the route? Alternatively, the track situation may still be as you posted yesterday, and up main to P3 (as booked) via the slip diamond is not available, so they’ve intentionally dropped it from the timetable.I notice this morning that Southerns 1Y55 0926 Southampton - Brighton via Eastleigh ran as 1Z55 via Netley. Is full track flexibility not back yet? Or are Southern slow on the uptake?
It’s cancelled via Eastleigh all this week. Maybe it can’t be reinstated quickly for rostering reasons, if their traincrew don’t all know the route? Alternatively, the track situation may still be as you posted yesterday, and up main to P3 (as booked) via the slip diamond is not available, so they’ve intentionally dropped it from the timetable.
I’ve often used them into P2 back when a convenient train used to ran that way in the afternoon, but RTT shows it booked P3 at the moment. Maybe some planner somewhere might have assumed P3 must be what is normally used, without checking. Might all change back later in this week of course, if it’s just a communication failure...from experience it always used to use platform 2 at Eastleigh. I’ve not watched to see if it’s possible to to run from the Portsmouth line to Platform 2, but it would be silly if not.
I was under the impression that all drivers that sign Southampton for Southern also sign via Eastleigh, as Southampton is top link, I could well be wrong.
Isn't 70001 in warm store?Real headcode is 4O05 and it's reported to be 70001 at the helm
TOPS shows it in regular use, at least for the 14 days I can go back.Isn't 70001 in warm store?
My guess is that the missing connection is low priority for reinstatement.Thought I’d upload a photo showing the current state of play with half the reinstatement complete. (As described in post #341 by @pompeyfan)
Is there a date for phase 2 - I’m assuming there’ll be yet another short notice date, with chaotic diversions, etc etc? Maybe not until after the Laverstock embankment is fixed?
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Also affects a couple of GWR moves, and a number of XC ECS to/from the TRSMD. It does seem odd that they haven’t been able to fix it yet. Perhaps it would have been done if not for the virus - that will have been a factor in prioritising many jobs...I wondered that as well, I noticed recently shunts are still taking place via either 222 or 228 ground sigs. I guess with things how they are it's just not essential enough at the moment. Passenger movements are largely able to run OK now. Apart from the few southerns that reversed there.