Balloons On The Overhead Line

[Malcmal]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-43006771

Commuters using Greater Anglia services were delayed in the Billericay area of Essex when about 50 yellow and black balloons got stuck.

Asked why a train could not plough through balloons, Greater Anglia said they could damage the train. Network Rail engineers removed them.

The company said while it understood passengers' frustration, "we cannot help if something does get caught in the overhead wires [and] we have no option other than to remove it safely".

Disruption to trains started just after 08:00 GMT on Friday and lasted until 10:35.

This was an unusual reason for a delay!

 

[DanTrain]

Certaintly interesting. I can’t helo but ask why the driver couldn’t just remove them, after all ballons are rubber so won’t carry the current?

 

[ANorthernGuard]

I wouldn't take the risk of touching anything in contact with the overheads if its covered in moisture that's enough to kill you.

 

[DanTrain]

Fair point. Couldn’t they just turn the power off whilst they retrieve the ballons though. 2 hours strikes me as a very long delay

 

[Domh245]

Note that it says "Disruption to trains started just after 08:00 GMT on Friday and lasted until 10:35." I would read that as the service being back to normal after two hours. The actual fixing of the problem won't have taken that long, the sorting out of the disruption afterwards will have been the bulk of delays

 

[33056]

I'd say two hours to deal with something of that nature isn't bad. It is possible to remove something like a balloon(s) from the OHL without an isolation but it needs someone with the correct equipment and training to do so who would need to be called out.

 

[aylesbury]

Pictures on the BBC news website a lot of balloons and well and truly hooked into the overhead .

 

[2HAP]

It could have been worse. There was a pushbike in the overhead in the Netherlands today.

https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1653230/fiets-in-bovenleiding-geen-trein-naar-dieren

ZUTPHEN - Doordat er een fiets in de bovenleiding lag konden de treinen vanuit Zutphen richting Arnhem vrijdag eind van de avond niet stoppen op station Dieren. De vertraging liep op tot een half uur.

 

[AndyPJG]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-43006771

This was an unusual reason for a delay!

Photo from link

and text:-

Bunch of balloons in Billericay halts trains in their tracks
Rush-hour trains were disrupted for more than two hours by a bunch of balloons tangled on overhead lines.
Commuters using Greater Anglia services were delayed in the Billericay area of Essex when about 50 yellow and black balloons got stuck.
One commuter said his driver announced a "party balloon" was to blame.
Asked why a train could not plough through balloons, Greater Anglia said they could damage the train. Network Rail engineers removed them.
Disruption to trains started just after 08:00 GMT on Friday and lasted until 10:35.

 

[12guard4]

Certaintly interesting. I can’t helo but ask why the driver couldn’t just remove them, after all ballons are rubber so won’t carry the current?

25KV volts and you want to just start pulling balloons off. Just no. Driver would end up dead. Ridiculous suggestion.

 

[306024]

25KV volts and you want to just start pulling balloons off. Just no. Driver would end up dead. Ridiculous suggestion.

Absolutely.

Remember going to a meeting regarding the 2012 Olympics where someone suggested what a great idea it would be to give all the children ‘Olympic’ balloons. All the operators in the room just rolled their eyes.

 

[6Gman]

Balloons are a pain in the ****

Cause pollution; dangerous to livestock; disruptive on occasions like this.

And don't get me started on Chinese b***** lanterns!

 

[Lockwood]

it needs someone with the correct equipment and training to do so

Give drivers a BB gun

 

[edwin_m]

I wouldn't take the risk of touching anything in contact with the overheads if its covered in moisture that's enough to kill you.

Also some balloons have a conductive foil layer.

Fair point. Couldn’t they just turn the power off whilst they retrieve the ballons though. 2 hours strikes me as a very long delay

You'd presumably have to stop and isolate both tracks in case the balloons blew onto the other wire during removal, then bring up a road-rail vehicle with some kind of elevated platform.

 

[John Webb]

Photo from link

I would think that an attempt for a train "to plough through them" would probably result in the pantograph being ripped off at the very least, and likely to bring the wires down as well, causing even more delay!

 

[DarloRich]

Certaintly interesting. I can’t helo but ask why the driver couldn’t just remove them, after all ballons are rubber so won’t carry the current?

I am not sure this statement has been thought through fully

 

[DanTrain]

I am not sure this statement has been thought through fully

I would agree, but I think it’s been thoroughly disproven now.

You'd presumably have to stop and isolate both tracks in case the balloons blew onto the other wire during removal, then bring up a road-rail vehicle with some kind of elevated platform.

I see that, I guess delays soon mount once you need to call out engineers.

 

[waynemorrell]

Certaintly interesting. I can’t helo but ask why the driver couldn’t just remove them, after all ballons are rubber so won’t carry the current?

Train crew are not aloud above cab floor level under any circumstances and for a very good reason.

 

[Llanigraham]

Give drivers a BB gun

And the residue and the strings still end up wrapped around the wires, so are still a risk.

 

[skyhigh]

I see that, I guess delays soon mount once you need to call out engineers.

I was told in my PTS (Personal Track Safety) course that just 'switching off the current' wasn't that simple - someone needs to come down with earthing poles to remove any residual current before you can go near the wires as it can be enough to kill you. I'm not sure if that's 100% true, but I wouldn't take anything to do with 25kv lightly!

 

[Steptoe]

I was told in my PTS (Personal Track Safety) course that just 'switching off the current' wasn't that simple - someone needs to come down with earthing poles to remove any residual current before you can go near the wires as it can be enough to kill you. I'm not sure if that's 100% true, but I wouldn't take anything to do with 25kv lightly!

Not sure if it would be the same on the railway but a gang repairing a 33KV O/L (damaged by fallen trees in the recent storms) were protected by jumper cables linking the three phases in the adjacent undamaged section. I presumed that this was protection against the circuit breakers being accidentally switched in before the repairs were completed.

 

[Raul_Duke]

I notice the usual crew of professional twitter complainers (who usually like to put what high powered office jobs they have in their bio’s...) were out in force.

 

[AndyPJG]

I was told in my PTS (Personal Track Safety) course that just 'switching off the current' wasn't that simple - someone needs to come down with earthing poles to remove any residual current before you can go near the wires as it can be enough to kill you. I'm not sure if that's 100% true, but I wouldn't take anything to do with 25kv lightly!

Have a look at this video to see the procedures needed (and for very good reasons)

 

[al.currie93]

I was told in my PTS (Personal Track Safety) course that just 'switching off the current' wasn't that simple - someone needs to come down with earthing poles to remove any residual current before you can go near the wires as it can be enough to kill you. I'm not sure if that's 100% true, but I wouldn't take anything to do with 25kv lightly!

This is true, the overhead line conductors will need to be earthed after the power supply is turned off; there can be a residual voltage in the lines that can definitely induce a large current.

I'm not sure if earthing rods are used as commonplace, however the lines will have earthing switches installed at regular intervals, which can be closed to link the line to an earth. A lot of these are manually operated, however some more modern switches are motorised and remotely controlled.

 

[randyrippley]

Balloons are dangerous to aircraft as well.............a few years back I was at the perimeter of Blackpool airport and watched as the takeoff of a Ryanair jet was delayed as a six foot tall Barney the Dinosaur floated across the runway....

Besides which its a criminal waste of Helium

 

[skyhigh]

Have a look at this video to see the procedures needed (and for very good reasons)

This is true, the overhead line conductors will need to be earthed after the power supply is turned off; there can be a residual voltage in the lines that can definitely induce a large current.

I'm not sure if earthing rods are used as commonplace, however the lines will have earthing switches installed at regular intervals, which can be closed to link the line to an earth. A lot of these are manually operated, however some more modern switches are motorised and remotely controlled.

Thank you both, very interesting

 

[Lockwood]

And the residue and the strings still end up wrapped around the wires, so are still a risk.

Yeah, but it gives them something to do while waiting for assistance...

 

[Intermodal]

Certaintly interesting. I can’t helo but ask why the driver couldn’t just remove them, after all ballons are rubber so won’t carry the current?

Would you be fishing your hands around near 25kV?

Fair point. Couldn’t they just turn the power off whilst they retrieve the ballons though. 2 hours strikes me as a very long delay

That is a big 'just'. I don't think you appreciate the technicalities of working with such huge voltages.

 

[DanTrain]

Would you be fishing your hands around near 25kV?


That is a big 'just'. I don't think you appreciate the technicalities of working with such huge voltages.

Ok, ok, ok enough of the onslought. I don't really know what I'm on about, can we just ignore my ill-advised comments and move on!? I never claimed to be an expert, they were questions and they have already been answered.

 

[Mag_seven]

You do not mess with 25kV - end of.