Freight Train Derailment near Ely 14/08/17

[Wavertreelad]

(from the NR press release)

I think you may be right with that! A 106 tonne container on its own would overload any wagon. Misprint or misunderstanding in the press office I presume.

The 106 tonne container is almost certainly wrong, the plated weight of the container would probably be around 30 tonnes but UK road weight limits would mean the maximum would be limited to about 28 tonnes per 20ft or 26.5 tonnes per 40ft. More likely that they were referring to the total weight of three fully laden 20ft containers, plus the tare weight of each unit say 2400kgs each and the wagon which would give a total of about 106 tonnes.

The Port of Felixstowe who would have loaded the container on the train would have had access to the Verified Gross Mass weight (VGM) of each container which is collected by the shipping company at the foreign port of loading and down loaded into the port inventory system prior to the vessels arrival. Any container laden above the maximum weight would automatically set of the alarms on the ports equipment so it's virtually impossible that the container would have been loaded if had been recorded as overweight.

The mandatory VGM legislation was introduced a little under 18 months ago globally but in the run in Maersk and other shipping lines carried out random checks of container weights and found one 20ft presented for shipment came our at about 74 tonnes. Whether this was in the UK has never been revealed but I suspect not.

 

[eastdyke]

I did my (bus) tour of East Anglia yesterday.

Coming into Ely last night from Norwich on the train just after 20.30 I could see the lit extended jib of the recovery crane in the distance.

Cambridge News has a short video of the start of the container recovery:

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/ely-derailed-train-wagons-recovery-13486858

I did 2 bus legs, Peterborough - Bury St Edmunds (GA - timings OK but delays could easily happen in the A14 roadworks section north of Bar Hill), and finally Ely - Peterborough (xcountry) in time to return north to Newark.

The buses were orderly enough but I saw no input from rail staff at Peterborough in the morning around 9-45. Having been both expecting and had previous of using replacement buses I had no issues. First timers might have had concerns as evidenced by a set of worried parents at Ely in the evening whose 16 year old was at Peterborough and apparently having trouble finding staff who new what to do to get to Ely. (They were able to give him advice by phone having talked to staff at Ely).

My overriding comment would be 1 railway, 3 sets of replacement buses. :cry:

 

[XDM]

(from the NR press release)

I think you may be right with that! A 106 tonne container on its own would overload any wagon. Misprint or misunderstanding in the press office I presume.

Many people these days take whatever Network Rail says with a strong dose of salt. Such a shame - important public bodies like NR should be scrupulous with the truth. Noticed their press releases about the Waterloo blockade implied they were lengthening all the platforms. In fact 2 are being reduced from 12 to 10 coaches & all the 5 Eurostar platforms have been considerably shortened. Far more being reduced than those being extended. That is NR for you.

 

[jamesontheroad]

My overriding comment would be 1 railway, 3 sets of replacement buses. :cry:

I'm travelling Norwich - Peterborough as I write this. There is someone at Norwich dispatching buses, appears not to be local as he referred to the fact he was being put up in a hotel for this role.

The bus I'm on has come from a company in St Ives. Two others came from a company in Harlow. My driver doesn't know Norwich, and as a result spent forty minutes getting us out of town and onto the A47 (via Queens Road, Grapes Hill and the length of Dereham Road; when it would have been much quicker to go via County Hall and join the A47 there).

Surprising number of spare seats; definitely not as busy as equivalent train.

On another note, how is this affecting the container traffic and sand from Middleton Towers? Going via London? Is there sufficient capacity?

 

[GB]

On another note, how is this affecting the container traffic and sand from Middleton Towers? Going via London? Is there sufficient capacity?

Most, if not all sand trains have been cancelled. Amount of container trains via London is causing chaos for all concerned...definitely not enough spare capacity that way, particularly as some have also been cancelled.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Just a short a quick addendum to earlier comments about lack of bus dispatch at PBO. A few minutes ago (20:30 Thursday) the station announced here is advising passengers for Ely to travel to March and catch a bus from there. Isn't there supposed to be a bus fast to Ely from here?

 

[ocelocelot]

Just a short a quick addendum to earlier comments about lack of bus dispatch at PBO. A few minutes ago (20:30 Thursday) the station announced here is advising passengers for Ely to travel to March and catch a bus from there. Isn't there supposed to be a bus fast to Ely from here?

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/169367.aspx says this about some morning trains starting at March, but I think the same idea applies in the evening:

Some early morning train services will be extended beyond Peterborough to start at March instead, calling additionally at Whittlesea (in replacement of Greater Anglia services). When this happens, the rail replacement buses will only run between March and Ely.

 

[Crossover]

Just a short a quick addendum to earlier comments about lack of bus dispatch at PBO. A few minutes ago (20:30 Thursday) the station announced here is advising passengers for Ely to travel to March and catch a bus from there. Isn't there supposed to be a bus fast to Ely from here?

Yes there is, but it seems like (if RTT is to be believed) a 2 hour gap in the evening - one left at 19:52 with the next at 21:49 so the train to March is the best advice (as long as it gets held given the train is currently around 20L!)

 

[eastdyke]

Just a short a quick addendum to earlier comments about lack of bus dispatch at PBO. A few minutes ago (20:30 Thursday) the station announced here is advising passengers for Ely to travel to March and catch a bus from there. Isn't there supposed to be a bus fast to Ely from here?

As others have said, Cross Country are running a few trains early/AND LATE Peterborough (PBO) - March so no non-stop buses to Ely when they run the trains.

I'm travelling Norwich - Peterborough as I write this. ......
The bus I'm on has come from a company in St Ives. Two others came from a company in Harlow. My driver doesn't know Norwich, and as a result spent forty minutes getting us out of town and onto the A47 (via Queens Road, Grapes Hill and the length of Dereham Road; when it would have been much quicker to go via County Hall and join the A47 there).

Glad you made it to PBO. The route from/through Norwich would only have been sensible if there had been road disruption by the alternative that you suggested.
Sounds like your non-local driver set the satnav to 'shortest route'

 

[shredder1]

It looks like I`m going to struggle to get from Norwich back to Manchester Sunday evening then

 

[jamesontheroad]

It looks like I`m going to struggle to get from Norwich back to Manchester Sunday evening then

My tip is to leave NRW at least an hour earlier. Bus is fine but it's a solid 2 hours to Peterborough. Advance tickets valid any train all day so leave earlier to catch your intended train at PBO.

Or fly. Flybe / Loganair have a few seats left on the early evening NWI-MAN flight on Sunday for less than £200

 

[eastdyke]

It looks like I`m going to struggle to get from Norwich back to Manchester Sunday evening then

Going on timetables so far published (GA/EMT), leaving on the last Norwich - Peterborough (PBO) bus at 19.58 will get you to PBO at 22.08.

22.47 ex PBO to Leeds arr 00.12.
02.05 ex Leeds to Manchester Pic arr 03.29

When Cross Country publish their revised TT for Saturday/Sunday you may be able to schedule a more sensible arrival time by first using the 18.56 EMT service Norwich to Ely.

Bon chance!

 

[Mugby]

Norwich City are away at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Wonder if fans will use replacement buses or travel via London!

 

[LAX54]

Going on timetables so far published (GA/EMT), leaving on the last Norwich - Peterborough (PBO) bus at 19.58 will get you to PBO at 22.08.

22.47 ex PBO to Leeds arr 00.12.
02.05 ex Leeds to Manchester Pic arr 03.29

When Cross Country publish their revised TT for Saturday/Sunday you may be able to schedule a more sensible arrival time by first using the 18.56 EMT service Norwich to Ely.

Bon chance!

Looks like the last EMT service to Ely on Saturday is the 1750, 1G68 then rest are AGA Cambridge services.

 

[LAX54]

My tip is to leave NRW at least an hour earlier. Bus is fine but it's a solid 2 hours to Peterborough. Advance tickets valid any train all day so leave earlier to catch your intended train at PBO.

Or fly. Flybe / Loganair have a few seats left on the early evening NWI-MAN flight on Sunday for less than £200

2 hours bus, it's an hour and half by train anyway !

 

[RichmondCommu]

Most, if not all sand trains have been cancelled. Amount of container trains via London is causing chaos for all concerned...definitely not enough spare capacity that way, particularly as some have also been cancelled.

I wonder if long term any customers will be lost because of this.

 

[XDM]

I wonder if long term any customers will be lost because of this.

Any traffic loss will please the Network Rail barons. Fewer trains to have to manage, fewer things to go wrong.

 

[InOban]

Norwich City are away at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Wonder if fans will use replacement buses or travel via London!

I'm sure hardly any of them would have used train anyway. Car or chartered coach. I've seen a transport use map which showed that the train has a tiny share of the market for all journeys except for London.

 

[Stampy]

It looks like I`m going to struggle to get from Norwich back to Manchester Sunday evening then

Depends on what time you can leave...


17:00 d Norwich
18:55 a London Liverpool Street
Underground to London Euston

19:57 d London Euston
22:09 a Manchester Piccadilly


There's no 1800 from Norwich, but there is a 1900 via the same route as above...

Unless of course you go Norwich-Cambridge-Stevenage-Leeds-Manchester ??

 

[DarloRich]

I'm sure hardly any of them would have used train anyway. Car or chartered coach. I've seen a transport use map which showed that the train has a tiny share of the market for all journeys except for London.

Lots of people travel to the match by train and it is a decent revenue source for XC especially. Villa fans, say, don't just come from Brum The benefit is you can have a drink.

I wonder if long term any customers will be lost because of this.

I would hope not in the short time this route will be closed.

 

[eastdyke]

It looks like I`m going to struggle to get from Norwich back to Manchester Sunday evening then

Going on timetables so far published (GA/EMT), leaving on the last Norwich - Peterborough (PBO) bus at 19.58 will get you to PBO at 22.08.

22.47 ex PBO to Leeds arr 00.12.
02.05 ex Leeds to Manchester Pic arr 03.29

When Cross Country publish their revised TT for Saturday/Sunday you may be able to schedule a more sensible arrival time by first using the 18.56 EMT service Norwich to Ely.

Cross Country have now published their TT for Sat/Sun. The Sun TT for Stansted - Birmingham is here:
https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/media/1925/ssd-bhm-20-aug.pdf
The preceeding connections to the above are:
Leave Norwich on the 18.56 EMT (train) which is due Ely 19.44 makes the last bus from Ely.
20.23 ex Ely (XC bus) to PBO arr 21.43.
21.52 ex PBO to Leeds arr 23.27.
23.45 ex Leeds to Manchester Pic arr 00.37

 

[xotGD]

I wonder if long term any customers will be lost because of this.

To be found in 20 years time, wandering the fens...

 

[snowball]

Another press release

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds...ely-as-engineers-begin-to-replace-the-tracks/

Derailed wagons cleared from the line at Ely as engineers begin to replace the tracks

Damaged track is being taken away today from the site at Ely where a freight train derailed on Monday as engineers start extensive repair work to the damaged line. Wagons have been lifted off the track with a rail crane as part of a major recovery operation which was completed yesterday.

A rail crane was brought in overnight on Tuesday (15 August) to lift the 11 derailed wagons from the tracks. Each wagon was lifted onto the undamaged track and towed away yesterday afternoon.

Work has started today to remove the broken rails ready for replacement tracks to be installed over a ¼ mile stretch. The work is scheduled to complete over the weekend and the line is due to open again on Monday. In the meantime, the line will remain closed and passengers are urged to check before they travel.

Simon Ancona, Network Rail’s chief operating officer for Anglia, said: “We’ve made excellent progress and have moved all the wagons from the track. We’re now starting extensive repair work to replace the damaged track over a quarter of a mile stretch. Our engineers are working tirelessly to complete this so we can reopen the line on Monday as planned so passengers will be on the move once again. I’d like to thank passengers for their continued patience.”

The incident affects CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains and Greater Anglia passengers. Passengers are advised to check how their journey may be affected with their train operator, or nationalrail.co.uk

 

[eastdyke]

ITV News report, including some pictures of works preliminary to track renewal:

http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/upda...freight-train-derailment-could-top-1-million/

 

[robbeech]

Forgive me for being one to wind up social media people from time to time, they're aware it's said partially in jest but with a hint of a true meaning behind it. But most of the EMT Liverpool to Peterborough trains over the last couple of days have been short formed, and when i asked them why this was they blamed the derailment and claimed it was because so many of their trains were the wrong side of it. Now, correct me if i'm wrong but the maths doesn't add up surely? They'd be over there running backwards and forwards anyway, and they split at Nottingham, so i'm struggling to understand why having a couple of units stuck the other side is causing almost ALL of the services between Nottingham and Liverpool to be short formed.

 

[TheBigD]

Deleted

 

[CockneySparrow]

Do we know yet whether the driver noticed it or was told and stopped the train themselves or if it pulled the brake pipe off? Never good when it runs a long distance with nobody noticing

I think he probably did notice it

 

[gavin]

It looks like I`m going to struggle to get from Norwich back to Manchester Sunday evening then

You could do the following

Greater Anglia Norwich to London Liverpool Street

Tube to Euston

Virgin Trains West Coast Euston to Manchester

 

[jamesontheroad]

So, do we know if the line is opening tomorrow morning?

All the TOCs are repeating the "as far as we know" line, but it's after 8PM and I have to decide what time to set my alarm to get to Peterborough tomorrow morning

 

[LAX54]

So, do we know if the line is opening tomorrow morning?

All the TOCs are repeating the "as far as we know" line, but it's after 8PM and I have to decide what time to set my alarm to get to Peterborough tomorrow morning

As far as we know, its all on schedule for an 0400 end time, although I think the route direct to Norwich will out of use for a couple of weeks.