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Fire at Vauxhall station

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Midmat

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SWT reporting:

At around 03:00 this morning, a major fire was reported at Vauxhall by Platforms 3 and 4. Vauxhall station is partially closed to enable emergency service and our response staff to respond and deal with the fire. We are unable to use 5 out of 8 main lines due to the fire at Vauxhall and will be running a very limited service until all lines are reopened.
Train services running through this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 mins or revised

Seems to have destroyed part of the ramp at the country end of platform 3/4 as well as destroying the train service into Waterloo...
 
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Chrisgr31

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There were what were called power supply issues at Vauxhall yesterday at around 12 that were causing delays and cancellations.

I don't know if the two events are linked.
 

infobleep

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Cancellations to services at Vauxhall

Due to a fire next to the track at Vauxhall fewer trains are able to run on some Windsor and Reading lines.

Impact:
Train services running through this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 mins or revised. Disruption is expected until 10:00 05/05.

Customer Advice:
At around 03:00 this morning, a fire was reported at Vauxhall by Platforms 3 and 4. Emergency services and our response staff are on site and are investigating the damage caused by this fire.
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The following plan will be in place from start of service this morning:
- London Waterloo to Reading will run as scheduled in both directions.
- London Waterloo to Weybridge will run as scheduled in both directions.
- London Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside will not run in both directions.
- London Waterloo to London Waterloo via Hounslow & Twickenham will not run
- London Waterloo to London Waterloo via Twickenham & Hounslow will not run
- London Waterloo to London Waterloo via Kingston & Richmond will terminate at Clapham Junction
- London Waterloo to London Waterloo via Richmond & Kingston will start at Clapham Junction
- Farnham to London Waterloo via Ascot services departing at 21 and 51 minutes past will not run.
-Shepperton to London Waterloo via Twickenham services departing at 00 and 30 minutes past will not run.
-
We are arranging to operate a train shuttle between Staines and Windsor in both directions.
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West Of England services will terminate and Start back from Basingstoke.
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Great Western Railway are accepting South West Trains ticket holders between Windsor Central/Slough via London Paddington
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Southern Railway are accepting South West Trains ticket holders between Dorking/Epsom/Clapham Junction and London Victoria.
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London Buses are accepting South West Trains ticket holders from London Waterloo on all reasonable routes.
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London Underground are accepting South West Trains ticket holders from London Waterloo on all reasonable routes.
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We will update you throughout the morning with the progress we are making to rectify the damage caused by this fire.
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We are sorry for any delay to your journey this morning.

Additional Information:
If you would like to make a comment or give us some feedback about your experience with us today, please email us at [email protected], 0345 6000 650 (option 4) or fill in the contact us webform http://po.st/ContactSWT
-
Have you been delayed by over an hour ? Please see here for information about compensation - http://po.st/SWTCompensation

Message Received :05/05/2016 05:31
http://m.journeycheck.com/southwest...=&savedRoute=false&incidentsType=LINE_PROBLEM

I see that between 7am and 8am only 2 trains left Surbiton, with the rest either just showing online as delayed or cancelled. I suspect those delayed are actually cancelled.

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--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I see they have now revised it and decided it's going to affect trains until end of service and it's not just affecting the Reading and Windsor lines either.

So glad I was on the 5.14 from Guildford to Surbiton as that at point trains weren't being canceled. In fact the 5.54 and 6.23 services from Hampton Court tan to London but after that they decided to terminate them at Surbiton.

Cancellations to services at Vauxhall

Due to a fire next to the track at Vauxhall some lines are blocked.

Impact:
Train services running through this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 mins or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Customer Advice:
At around 03:00 this morning, a major fire was reported at Vauxhall near to the line through platforms 3 and 4. Vauxhall station is partially closed to enable emergency service and our response staff to respond and deal with the fire. The line for fast services from Woking and the South West to London Waterloo is now open at a reduced speed. We are still unable to use 4 out of 8 main lines due to the fire at Vauxhall and will be running a very limited service until all lines are reopened.
-
The following plan will be in place from start of service this morning:
-London Waterloo to Reading will run as scheduled in both directions, but may terminate at Clapham Junction
-London Waterloo to Weybridge will run as scheduled in both directions, but may terminate at Clapham Junction
-London Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside will not run in both directions.
-London Waterloo to London Waterloo via Hounslow & Twickenham will not run
-London Waterloo to London Waterloo via Twickenham & Hounslow will not run
-London Waterloo to London Waterloo via Kingston & Richmond will terminate at Clapham Junction
-London Waterloo to London Waterloo via Richmond & Kingston will start at Clapham Junction
-Farnham to London Waterloo via Ascot services departing at 21 and 51 minutes past will not run
-Shepperton to London Waterloo via Twickenham services departing at 00 and 30 minutes past will not run
-London Waterloo to Portsmouth stations may start and terminate at Woking and Guildford
-London Waterloo to Salisbury and Exeter st Davids will start and terminate at Basingstoke
-London Waterloo to Hampton Court will be cancelled
-A shuttle train service will run between Hampton Court and Surbiton
-Some of our Suburban lines may be subject to short notice alterations.
We are arranging to operate a train shuttle between Staines and Windsor in both directions where possible.
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You may use your tickets on Great Western Railway via any reasonable route, Southern Railway between Dorking/Epsom/Clapham Junction and London Victoria, London Buses on all reasonable routes, London Underground, Overground and Tramlink on all reasonable routes, Govia Thameslink services, Cross Country services on all reasonable routes.
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We are trying to source road replacement transport and will provide details when we have confirmation that they are in operation.
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Please be aware that stations will be busier than normal and you are strongly advise to check our website before your travel and use alternative routes to travel into London stations as we are currently running a very reduced service this morning.
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We will update you throughout the morning with the progress we are making to rectify the damage caused by this fire.
-
We are very sorry for the dsiruption to your journey today.

Additional Information:
If you would like to make a comment or give us some feedback about your experience with us today, please email us at [email protected], 0345 6000 650 (option 4) or fill in the contact us webform http://po.st/ContactSWT
-
Have you been delayed by over an hour ? Please see here for information about compensation - http://po.st/SWTCompensation
-
For more information about lineside fires and what we're doing to reduce them, please see Delays Explained here: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/timetables-and-travel/delays-explained/lineside-fires/

Message Received :05/05/2016 07:49

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SpacePhoenix

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Has it also damaged some signalling cable/equipment? I would have thought it would be possible for West of England services to pass through there. Do the Waterloo-Weymoth trains use different platforms (and lines in/out) of Waterloo from the Waterloo-Portsmouth and the West of England services?
 

TheLastMinute

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Looks bad out there. Southern and SWT just tweeted that Clapham Junction has been closed and evacuated UFN because of overcrowding. SWT also advising against travel unless absolutely necessary.
 

SPADTrap

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The crew on the rail grinder attempted to fight the fire but with so much rubbish under the platforms it caught hold rapidly and the canons weren't effective.
 

TEW

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There were what were called power supply issues at Vauxhall yesterday at around 12 that were causing delays and cancellations.

I don't know if the two events are linked.

I don't think so. The problem yesterday was an electrical fault on a train leaving Platform 8, the fire was on the opposite side of the station this morning.
 

RichJF

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If you have Twitter do a search for #Vauxhall.

The images & video of the aftermath give you an idea of the scale. I'm by no means an expert but it looks like it's gutted one end of the platform & damaged some surrounding infrastructure.
 

hwl

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Depending on how the platforms are built, then those platforms might be out of use for a while then...

Older wooden platform extension so potentially very quick to replace.
 

mbreckers

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It's nice to see some on Twitter finding ways to blame SWT for the whole situation -_-
 

Deepgreen

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The crew on the rail grinder attempted to fight the fire but with so much rubbish under the platforms it caught hold rapidly and the canons weren't effective.

Have I missed something here or is this suggesting that rail grinding was underway and that sparks from it ignited the fire?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I wonder how much of the length of the platform is damaged? It will be an interesting test of the flexibility of the ASDO to see if they can temporarily amend things so that the remaining length of the platform can be used.

The wooden section is only under a car length, over the road bridge at the far country end. Not the most intensively-used island platform at the station.
 

swt_passenger

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Has it also damaged some signalling cable/equipment? I would have thought it would be possible for West of England services to pass through there. Do the Waterloo-Weymoth trains use different platforms (and lines in/out) of Waterloo from the Waterloo-Portsmouth and the West of England services?

No. As a generalisation everything that goes on to destinations west of Woking uses the single Down Main Fast line through Vauxhall P6, and the one corresponding up line through P5. The fan out of the two tracks (three for a short distance) towards different platforms is done immediately outside Waterloo.
 
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theageofthetra

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Far too many parallels with the Kings Cross fire for my liking. Wooden structure packed with years of passengers litter, oil and grease and a ready supply of ignition sources. I know this isn't the busiest platform in London but that could have been a lot worse if the station was full of passengers. Hopefully this will spark (no pun intended) NR into clearing up the litter (some of which is left by their own contractors) from high risk areas such as this.
 

Deepgreen

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Far too many parallels with the Kings Cross fire for my liking. Wooden structure packed with years of passengers litter, oil and grease and a ready supply of ignition sources. I know this isn't the busiest platform in London but that could have been a lot worse if the station was full of passengers. Hopefully this will spark (no pun intended) NR into clearing up the litter (some of which is left by their own contractors) from high risk areas such as this.

Indeed. There was a thread here not long ago about NR's failure to clear up (albeit usually non-flammable materials) after itself. Given the very small section of platform that is wooden I think the safety risk overall here was very low (given the very open site and ample evacuation opportunities), but the business risk of disruption must have been far higher (and now realised of course).

One of my local stations is Dorking Deepdene, one of few in the south east area to have 100% wooden platform structures. Again, a very open site, but a fire would probably destroy most or all of the platform(s).
 

marks87

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Just viewed your link. Do we have to view a profile of an individual and pictures of what i assume are his children?

I copied a link to his full Twitter feed by accident. I've now updated my post with a direct link to the relevant Tweet.

Thank god i am not on twitter.

Yes, because as soon as you join they compel you to upload photos documenting your entire life, to be shown to the entire world.

Bizarre post...
 

Bletchleyite

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Far too many parallels with the Kings Cross fire for my liking. Wooden structure packed with years of passengers litter, oil and grease and a ready supply of ignition sources. I know this isn't the busiest platform in London but that could have been a lot worse if the station was full of passengers.

Probably not. The key difference with Kings Cross was it being underground, in tunnel and the chimney effect causing a fierce fire into the ticket hall.

There would have been plenty of time to evacuate in this case as soon as there was the slightest sign of fire.
 

gazr

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Anyone in the area know of any unusual passenger workings caused by this (if any?)
 

infobleep

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Indeed. There was a thread here not long ago about NR's failure to clear up (albeit usually non-flammable materials) after itself. Given the very small section of platform that is wooden I think the safety risk overall here was very low (given the very open site and ample evacuation opportunities), but the business risk of disruption must have been far higher (and now realised of course).

One of my local stations is Dorking Deepdene, one of few in the south east area to have 100% wooden platform structures. Again, a very open site, but a fire would probably destroy most or all of the platform(s).
Isn't Berrylands mostly wooden?

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hassaanhc

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Far too many parallels with the Kings Cross fire for my liking. Wooden structure packed with years of passengers litter, oil and grease and a ready supply of ignition sources. I know this isn't the busiest platform in London but that could have been a lot worse if the station was full of passengers. Hopefully this will spark (no pun intended) NR into clearing up the litter (some of which is left by their own contractors) from high risk areas such as this.

Luckily only a very short section was wood, and was out of use due to being beyond the starter signals and fenced off. Until a few months ago the surface of it was in an incredibly poor condition but that was replaced during an engineering possession at some point.
 

infobleep

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Why when during disruption 's are some trains cancelled and others just left as delayed? Do they eventually plan to run the 6.30am to Portsmouth from Guildford?

If there isn't time to update the trains marked as delayed, how come their is time for other trains to be marked as cancelled?

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