Great Eastern Line Problems

[Coxster]

At around 2pm emergency engineering works were started at Kelvedon and lasted for around two and a half hours (reported cleared at 16:31). Looking on the LDB the 15:18 London to Harwich train left Chelmsford 15:51 and arrived at Witham 16:43 - a journey time of 52 minutes that should have taken 9!

Anyone know what the problem was?

 

[TheSlash]

Possibly a track geometry fault requiring the line to shut with immediate effect

 

[Nick W]

I was lucky in that a delayed train for norwich happened to arrive at Colchester 5 mins after I got to the station.

All I heard was that it was a "track problem requiring emergency engineering works".

I am impressed that they managed to get to the problem and fix it in under 3 hours. Keep up the good work!

 

[TheSlash]

Well said Nick, it's a shame NR don't have a customer relations part, as comments like that do alot for team moral.

 

[O L Leigh]

Broken rail between Kelvedon and Marks Tey.

We also had to manage without P1 at LST all day. Someone drove a battery tractor with a wheelie bin in tow off the platform edge. They managed to get the wheelie bin back without too many problems, but the tractor proved to be a bit too heavy. I imagine that it will have been recovered by the morning and the Cl317 that had been trapped on the stops will be back in service.

one TN

 

[TheSlash]

I originally thought broken rail but 2.5 hours seems abit light to fix one

 

[O L Leigh]

Well, that was what I was told.

Perhaps the Nitwit Rail gangs around our way are quicker on the draw than elsewhere on the network.

one TN