Class 700 hits bike at Wivelsfield (14/11)

[RichardKing]

Down Brighton is blocked at the moment; 1A88 has just departed Haywards Heath towards Wivelsfield via the Up Brighton...thank God for bi-directional working!

Southern's Twitter people say the CCTV suggests that kids placed the bike on the tracks.

1B47, which was stuck behind the incident train, is now working back towards Haywards Heath on the down Brighton.

EDIT: the bike has now been removed and the line has now re-opened.

So, we've had a boy stuck in a tree affecting blocking platform 1 at Brighton earlier this afternoon and now this? You couldn't make it up!

 

[tsr]

1W49, the train involved, has just moved. Said bike was wedged somehow between bogies at the front of the train. The train was moved back slightly to try to clear it. If this hadn’t happened then it may have needed to have been removed piece by piece.

There will probably be slower running through the area for a bit so that the track can be inspected. (EDIT: All done now.)

Impressive deployment of resources by all concerned (NR, Siemens etc.) but something like this is always going to cause chaos at such a time and place.

Trains have been held in stations wherever possible or diverted via the Arun Valley. Unfortunately the major stations did get blocked up very quickly. Luckily 1W49 was fully in the platform and doors were released pretty much straight away.

Although this was believed to have been deliberate, the good news is that some suspects have already been detained and investigated. Can’t (and wouldn’t be able to) confirm the exact circumstances or outcome of that.

 

[Sunset route]

A good day not to be in the office then!

 

[RichardKing]

1W49, the train involved, has just moved. Said bike was wedged somehow between bogies at the front of the train. The train was moved back slightly to try to clear it. If this hadn’t happened then it may have needed to have been removed piece by piece.

There will probably be slower running through the area for a bit so that the track can be inspected. (EDIT: All done now.)

Impressive deployment of resources by all concerned (NR, Siemens etc.) but something like this is always going to cause chaos at such a time and place.

Trains have been held in stations wherever possible or diverted via the Arun Valley. Unfortunately the major stations did get blocked up very quickly. Luckily 1W49 was fully in the platform and doors were released pretty much straight away.

Although this was believed to have been deliberate, the good news is that some suspects have already been detained and investigated. Can’t (and wouldn’t be able to) confirm the exact circumstances or outcome of that.

I was surprised and impressed to see how quickly the relevant parties were deployed as well! For this to happen during the evening peak, the result hasn't been that bad.

Delighted to hear that the Police have located the suspects!

 

[RichardKing]

A good day not to be in the office then!

Absolutely. There were a couple of train breakdowns today as well, both causing a fair bit of disruption (one at Barnham and the other at Pevensey, the latter blocking the Eastbourne to Hastings line for approximately 2 hours!). Not the best day...

 

[westcoaster]

The boy in the tree scaled down the wall !!! To retrieve his drone.

Went past 1w49 bike looked to be wedged under the lifeguard.

 

[tsr]

Delighted to hear that the Police have located the suspects!

Not the police. Railway staff were in the right place at the right time.

Absolutely. There were a couple of train breakdowns today as well, both causing a fair bit of disruption (one at Barnham and the other at Pevensey, the latter blocking the Eastbourne to Hastings line for approximately 2 hours!). Not the best day...

Both Barnham and Pevensey failures stopped irritatingly close to stations but were both immobilised and had to have rescue units sent - a day with two uses of the 1Z99 headcode at one TOC is rarely a good one! Fortunately the passengers and staff were in good spirits, the trains weren't too crowded, etc. The Barnham one has put another setback against the current numbers of available 313s, though.

The boy in the tree scaled down the wall !!! To retrieve his drone.

.

Above/near Brighton Platform 1. Not the best thing to do above an electrified railway.

Went past 1w49 bike looked to be wedged under the lifeguard.

Makes sense.

Reading the emails, I can't quite tell if 1W49 was actually running under caution or not. If it was, I'm not sure how the bike managed to get so far down the train before it stopped! Cautioning trains in the rush hour is a nuisance, but it happens... and you should be able to stop short of a bike on the track if travelling at an appropriate speed. (Been there, done that...)

 

[westcoaster]

Reading the emails, I can't quite tell if 1W49 was actually running under caution or not. If it was, I'm not sure how the bike managed to get so far down the train before it stopped! Cautioning trains in the rush hour is a nuisance, but it happens... and you should be able to stop short of a bike on the track if travelling at an appropriate speed. (Been there, done that...)

It is booked to call at Wivelsfield, and formed of a flu unit. Train stopped at the end of the platform in the correct place, and doors released. The only thing not stated is where the bike was along the platform.