Farringdon electrical problems (2020-09-14 to 2020-09-16, and ongoing)

[flitwickbeds]

Third day in a row that Thameslink services through the core have been severely impacted by electrical problems at Farringdon. National Rail disruptions page says the fault is intermittent and that engineers are basically there 24/7 ready to fix when the problem re-occurs.

Any idea what the issue is?

 

[Bald Rick]

Being fixed tonight (hopefully!)

Let’s just say it is an ‘external issue’.

 

[Gerard92]

The issue has been identified and will be fixed tonight, Core will be shut tonight between Blackfriars - St Pancras (2300-0500) with replacement buses between those stations, for now services will run Bi-Di until 2300

 

[Mag_seven]

Power to the signalling or OLE?

 

[Surreytraveller]

Power's been tripping when trains have raised pantographs. So not sure what the 'external issue' referred to above is

 

[Bald Rick]

Power to the signalling or OLE?

OLE.

 

[Elecman]

Faulty Protection Relay?

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Lots of cancellations at London Bridge with no advice being given to alternative travel

Mysteriously all the station staff have vanished from the concorse and barrier line...

 

[Saint66]

Today's issues were amplified by 8 damaged cables being discovered this morning in the St Albans area.

A very forgettable couple of days infrastructure wise.

 

[flitwickbeds]

Absolutely appalling customer service last night. I knew I wouldn't catch the 2214 north from Farringdon (finishing work at 10pm) which was the last one scheduled to be through the core as the 2231 (my usual train), the 2246 and 2301 were all cancelled, and the information states the core was to be closed at 2300.

National Rail said that trains north would be starting at St Pancras so I headed there instead. At the gateline a man was telling everyone the next train was a 2233 train which wasn't appearing on any screen, app or even RTT. I headed down to the platform and a different group of staff were saying the train was only going as far as St Albans.

At this point I tweeted Thameslink asking how I could get to Flitwick. They suggested getting a tube to Hendon Central, walking for 20 minutes to Hendon where a train would start there at 2351. Yes, they were actually suggesting someone walk through unfamiliar London suburbs at midnight to catch a train an hour and a half later!

Then this magical train (still not on any boards or apps) pulled in at about 2240 displaying a destination of Bedford, all stops to St Albans but skipping Leagrave, Harlington or Flitwick. This is usual at this time of night where all-stop trains (which would normally terminate at Luton) run fast from Luton to Bedford (presumably to go to the depot for the night) and a fast train runs 2 minutes later, first stop St Albans then all stops to Bedford.

There were no announcements to clarify whether it was going to Bedford or St Albans, other than the automated train announcing the planned stops. I got on as either way I could get a bit further north.

It all turned out well in the end as the train was rescheduled to call at the missing Bedfordshire stops that it was passing through anyway, but this morning I cannot find any mention of that train on RTT, not can I find any Hendon departure at 2351, and not a single departure from even St Albans to Flitwick departing SAC between 2246 and 0046.

 

[LowLevel]

Absolutely appalling customer service last night. I knew I wouldn't catch the 2214 north from Farringdon (finishing work at 10pm) which was the last one scheduled to be through the core as the 2231 (my usual train), the 2246 and 2301 were all cancelled, and the information states the core was to be closed at 2300.

National Rail said that trains north would be starting at St Pancras so I headed there instead. At the gateline a man was telling everyone the next train was a 2233 train which wasn't appearing on any screen, app or even RTT. I headed down to the platform and a different group of staff were saying the train was only going as far as St Albans.

At this point I tweeted Thameslink asking how I could get to Flitwick. They suggested getting a tube to Hendon Central, walking for 20 minutes to Hendon where a train would start there at 2351. Yes, they were actually suggesting someone walk through unfamiliar London suburbs at midnight to catch a train an hour and a half later!

Then this magical train (still not on any boards or apps) pulled in at about 2240 displaying a destination of Bedford, all stops to St Albans but skipping Leagrave, Harlington or Flitwick. This is usual at this time of night where all-stop trains (which would normally terminate at Luton) run fast from Luton to Bedford (presumably to go to the depot for the night) and a fast train runs 2 minutes later, first stop St Albans then all stops to Bedford.

There were no announcements to clarify whether it was going to Bedford or St Albans, other than the automated train announcing the planned stops. I got on as either way I could get a bit further north.

It all turned out well in the end as the train was rescheduled to call at the missing Bedfordshire stops that it was passing through anyway, but this morning I cannot find any mention of that train on RTT, not can I find any Hendon departure at 2351, and not a single departure from even St Albans to Flitwick departing SAC between 2246 and 0046.

Realtime Trains - 9V90 2146 Sutton (Surrey) to Bedford

Realtime Trains provides live realtime running information for the Great British railway network using open data.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Perhaps this is your train. Losing a few minutes in a slack schedule between Luton and Bedford suggests it gained some stops without them being put into the system. The times seem about right.

 

[Bald Rick]

It all turned out well in the end as the train was rescheduled to call at the missing Bedfordshire stops that it was passing through anyway, but this morning I cannot find any mention of that train on RTT, not can I find any Hendon departure at 2351, and not a single departure from even St Albans to Flitwick departing SAC between 2246 and 0046.

Realtime Trains - 9V90 2146 Sutton (Surrey) to Bedford

Realtime Trains provides live realtime running information for the Great British railway network using open data.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[flitwickbeds]

Realtime Trains - 9V90 2146 Sutton (Surrey) to Bedford

Realtime Trains provides live realtime running information for the Great British railway network using open data.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Ah, thanks, it wasn't coming up for a search which included a stop at Flitwick, because RTT doesn't recognise that it was altered to stop there. Thanks, now I can put more evidence into my Delay Repay claim!

 

[hwl]

Being fixed tonight (hopefully!)

Let’s just say it is an ‘external issue’.

Those contractors shouldn't be let near railway lines again...

 

[frediculous]

When going down the stairs at the north end of P2 Blackfriars yesterday evening, I noticed a big sign saying "Raise Pantograph at Farringdon, not City Thameslink" (or words to that effect). Thought it was odd at the time.

 

[FlippyFF]

When going down the stairs at the north end of P2 Blackfriars yesterday evening, I noticed a big sign saying "Raise Pantograph at Farringdon, not City Thameslink" (or words to that effect). Thought it was odd at the time.

I thought the baillaise (sp.?) automatically trigger the pan being raised - is there a moment or two when the drive can override it?

Simon

 

[AM9]

When going down the stairs at the north end of P2 Blackfriars yesterday evening, I noticed a big sign saying "Raise Pantograph at Farringdon, not City Thameslink" (or words to that effect). Thought it was odd at the time.

Was it a temporary or new sign? That would reduce the effective load on the 25kV feed side of the dual voltage section. It would also mean that the signalling on both northbound and southbound tracks would have the same earthing arrangements.

 

[frediculous]

Was it a temporary or new sign? That would reduce the effective load on the 25kV feed side of the dual voltage section. It would also mean that the signalling on both northbound and southbound tracks would have the same earthing arrangements.

Temporary. It was a bit of A3 stuck to a whiteboard.

 

[dlj83]

Those contractors shouldn't be let near railway lines again...

What did the contractors do?

 

[whoosh]

I thought the baillaise (sp.?) automatically trigger the pan being raised - is there a moment or two when the drive can override it?

Simon

There is a balise yes. There is a switch with AC, AUTO, DC in the cab. Usually you'd run with it in AUTO and the changeover would happen automatically, but you can manually place it in either of the other two positions to manually changeover or for it not to automatically changeover and hold its current state.

 

[FlippyFF]

There is a balise yes. There is a switch with AC, AUTO, DC in the cab. Usually you'd run with it in AUTO and the changeover would happen automatically, but you can manually place it in either of the other two positions to manually changeover or for it not to automatically changeover and hold its current state.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

 

[Andrew S]

I'm not sure if it is connected to the power supply issues, but yesterday afternoon I was on a northbound train which proceeded at caution speed from City Thameslink to Farringdon with the shunt signal displaying two flashing white lights. I believe this signal means degraded working, ie authority to proceed but be prepared to stop short of another train or any obstruction. Does this mean there were also signalling problems caused by the power supply problems?

 

[Bald Rick]

I'm not sure if it is connected to the power supply issues, but yesterday afternoon I was on a northbound train which proceeded at caution speed from City Thameslink to Farringdon with the shunt signal displaying two flashing white lights. I believe this signal means degraded working, ie authority to proceed but be prepared to stop short of another train or any obstruction. Does this mean there were also signalling problems caused by the power supply problems?

Yes there were.

For info, what you saw is not a shunt signal, but a POSA (Proceed On Sight Authority) signal. This is an additional control on the signal that can be used in the event if (normally) a track circuit or signal failure, where all points in the route ahead are proven setcorrectly and locked. This enables a driver to proceed through the section concerned, but being prepared to stop short of any obstruction. They are nearly a decade old (gulp!) but have paid for themselves several times over already.

 

[westcoaster]

Yes there were.

For info, what you saw is not a shunt signal, but a POSA (Proceed On Sight Authority) signal. This is an additional control on the signal that can be used in the event if (normally) a track circuit or signal failure, where all points in the route ahead are proven setcorrectly and locked. This enables a driver to proceed through the section concerned, but being prepared to stop short of any obstruction. They are nearly a decade old (gulp!) but have paid for themselves several times over already.

Apart from the faitfull first day of operation in the thameslink core. I joined the queue 1 section south of St Albans, also to this date my longest delay at just over 2 1/2 hours. 5 hours bedford to brighton in a 4 car 319.

 

[Bald Rick]

Apart from the faitfull first day of operation in the thameslink core. I joined the queue 1 section south of St Albans, also to this date my longest delay at just over 2 1/2 hours. 5 hours bedford to brighton in a 4 car 319.

The POSAs weren’t commissioned at that point. That was an awful day. Cost well over £2m in performance payments.

However there have been a handful of very similar incidents to that since the POSAs have been commissioned, and nobody has noticed...