Landslip between Banbury and Leamington Spa (31.01.2015)

[LeylandLen]

Getting the required number of buses/coaches at peak times at short notice with suitable drivers with precise route knowledge of Leamington Spa and Banbury stations will not be easy; I presume M40 will be used ? Just hope drivers don't miss relative exits for Leamington / Banbury !!!

 

[Cherry_Picker]

What have 166s got to do with Chiltern moving 168s?

Some confusion is all. Chiltern have 165s which have the same dimensions as a 166, and that was probably the cause.

 

[syorksdeano]

I've got a friend travelling back to Sheffield from Oxford on Thursday and can see that this is certainly going to be fun.

As it stands at the moment limited information is available from Cross Country but given its a weekend I'm not surprised.

She's got split tickets (Oxford to Lemington Spa, Lemington Spa to Sheffield).

Does anyone know if Cross Country will keep the Oxford to Lemington Spa coaches that are running today due to engineering works, or keep a Lemington Spa to Banbury service?

The easier the journey for her the better as she has a disability and changing stations might be a problem for her .

 

[dvboy]

Yesterday Chiltern were running the Leamington-Banbury coaches, and I'd imagine that will be the same tomorrow. CrossCountry only put coaches on today because they already had them for engineering works so it was easy for them to extend them to Leamington.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Getting the required number of buses/coaches at peak times at short notice with suitable drivers with precise route knowledge of Leamington Spa and Banbury stations will not be easy; I presume M40 will be used ? Just hope drivers don't miss relative exits for Leamington / Banbury !!!

You'd hope that they'd have been sourcing buses for Monday since yesterday evening, given that CrossCountry were running buses today anyway that wasn't such a big problem for Chiltern - I would assume either XC were asked or offered to extend them to Leamington.

 

[HowardGWR]

She's got split tickets (Oxford to Lemington Spa, Lemington Spa to Sheffield).

Does anyone know if Cross Country will keep the Oxford to Lemington Spa coaches that are running today due to engineering works, or keep a Lemington Spa to Banbury service?

Just out of interest, it's Leamington. My spelling checker marks proper names if it has not had it registered by me. It just did.

 

[A0wen]

Nowt good for me, I've got 5 days of commuting between Wycombe and Gerrards Cross then on Saturday going up to London to go to loughborough

Not sure why you've got a problem?

Wycombe - Gerrards Cross will be running pretty much normally according to Chiltern's website.

And your Loughborough journey shouldn't be affected assuming you were planning to travel via St Pancras (which is the obvious route from that far south).

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...arbury-tunnel-landslip-update-1-Feb-2263.aspx

The initial week's closure is just to investigate the problem.
That suggests the closure could be significantly longer than that.

 

[swt_passenger]

Some confusion is all. Chiltern have 165s which have the same dimensions as a 166, and that was probably the cause.

Sorry, yes. I just assumed 165 and 166 would be the same for gauging purposes but didn't mention that aspect in my earlier post.

 

[TSR :D]

The initial week's closure is just to investigate the problem.
That suggests the closure could be significantly longer than that.

If it takes longer than 2 weeks to investigate and fix the problem, then it'll clash with WCML closure on 14 and 15th feb, effectively leaving West Midlands with no direct link to London.

 

[Metrailway]

I was on the 17:34 LM service from Euston to Birmingham New St and it was full and standing on departure. I think we may have left a few passengers on the platform.

The overcrowding would have been worse if we didn't bypass Northampton.

I managed to get a seat when we reached Milton Keynes but there were still a some standing in the carriage by the time we reached Coventry.

I hate to see what it will be like tomorrow morning.

 

[The Planner]

If it takes longer than 2 weeks to investigate and fix the problem, then it'll clash with WCML closure on 14 and 15th feb, effectively leaving West Midlands with no direct link to London.

They would bin the Watford work if that is the case.

 

[NickBucks]

I assume the Class 67s are cleared to work up the WCML with a rake of silver stock to work Kidderminster- Leamington ? or will they be used to operate more services Marylebone to Banbury releasing more 168s to go north ? Seems a shame that CR will have their brand spanking new Class 68 sitting in Wembley sidings with nowhere to go.

The inability of the 172 units to run Marylebone- Aylesbury via Amersham to release the odd 168 which run on that line will be felt I think.

 

[cm39275]

Not knowing what units are trapped North of Leamington, I'm sure if it was an absolutely necessary then any maintenance could always be carried out at Tyseley depot. This could be handy as any 168's are virtually identical to London Midland or Crosscounty 170 which are based there.

 

[mralexn]

Just had a read of this update on Facebook...

Re: Harbury Update
More
Getting reports that the land is still moving, and that it could be much
much longer than a 4 week closure. Full update when the structures team
have made their decision in the morning.
Posted on 02/02/2015
Kind Regards
Driff47844
On 2 Feb 2015 00:20, "Driff47844" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Just had a serious text message about the landslip around Harbury Tunnel
> between Banbury and Leamington Spa. Will be closed for at least 7 days, but
> could be much longer after the watchman has found this!:
>
> LNWS WL D 4 LOCATION: Harbury tunnel - INCIDENT: Embankment Slip
>
> 2230: Watchman on site has seen a crack appear on the north end of the
> tunnel mouth. Structures engineers will attend in daylight. If the tunnel
> safety has been affected we are looking at a possible 4 week closure.
> Updates to follow from site in the morning.
>
> Posted on 02/02/2015
>
> Kind Regards
>
> Driff47844

 

[tec]

Wow, Five pages to explain a landslip.

Took me a minute to read the BBC News about this.

So, as I understand it from the 5 pages, this has happened before, so why was it not fixed properly the first time?

It's no wonder I don't use trains anymore when it's run by incompetent budget cutting personnel.

 

[AndyPJG]

The initial week's closure is just to investigate the problem.
That suggests the closure could be significantly longer than that.

and if NR's estimate of 350,000 tonnes to be moved is true, you won't be shifting that in a week.

"You're going to need a bigger boat"/bucket....

 

[Tomnick]

Wow, Five pages to explain a landslip.

Took me a minute to read the BBC News about this.

So, as I understand it from the 5 pages, this has happened before, so why was it not fixed properly the first time?

It's no wonder I don't use trains anymore when it's run by incompetent budget cutting personnel.

Much the same as the road across the Mam Tor landslip then, which they've tried to fix on numerous occasions. Presumably it was similar incompetent budget cutting personnel who failed to halt the movement of millions of tons of material there by fixing it properly, though I suspect (and hope) that they know rather more about the subject than you clearly do.

 

[HSTEd]

330,000t of material?
Are they going to solve the problem of the embankment slipping by removing the entire hillside?
Really shows the capability of modern earthmoving equipment that we can just do that in a matter of a handful of weeks, with no prior planning (before the event I mean).

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

They would bin the Watford work if that is the case.

This is what occurred to the scheduled work programme at Selby when the works to remedy the Hatfield Colliery earth heave took priority.

 

[jopsuk]

I guess that one of the biggest challenges with moving the material is finding somewhere to put it!

 

[Essexman]

I guess that one of the biggest challenges with moving the material is finding somewhere to put it!

Norman Stanley Fletcher's solution comes to mind - dig another tunnel and put it in there.

 

[6862]

I know in the grand scheme of things it's only a small thing, but I'm due to be travelling over that route in 6 weeks time on an advance ticket. What are my rights regarding cancelling it (I know that advance fares are normally non refundable) and going another way (if I can find another way from Oxford to Derby!)?

 

[dzug2]

If things are still disrupted then you will be able to travel via an alternative route at no extra cost

AFAIK you cannot cancel now

 

[6862]

If things are still disrupted then you will be able to travel via an alternative route at no extra cost

AFAIK you cannot cancel now

My reason for asking was that I have heard of people being stopped from boarding a rail replacement bus because they have luggage, and I will have a large suitcase with me. The problem is I can't really see any alternative routes, except for going Oxford - Paddington, St. Pancras to Derby. Would that be allowed?

 

[unlevel42]

The Network Rail photograph shows an awful lot of material piled up on top of the bank above the slip.

At Hatfield creating a new coal waste tip was a major factor and its removal was necessary before any work could be done on the slip or the track.
This slip looks much smaller.

A survey was apparently done of the network to find similar potential problems.

A six months closure affected 20% of UK freight.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

My reason for asking was that I have heard of people being stopped from boarding a rail replacement bus because they have luggage, and I will have a large suitcase with me. The problem is I can't really see any alternative routes, except for going Oxford - Paddington, St. Pancras to Derby. Would that be allowed?

Try Oxford-Worcester-Birmingham New St-Derby (FGW/LM/XC).
I think there are lifts at both Worcester stations now - certainly at Foregate St.
Make sure you don't end up at Snow Hill!

 

[6862]

Try Oxford-Worcester-Birmingham New St-Derby (FGW/LM/XC).
I think there are lifts at both Worcester stations now - certainly at Foregate St.
Make sure you don't end up at Snow Hill!

Thanks - I will look into the possibility of doing that. If a replacement bus service is still running when I go (which presumably it would be if the line is still closed) am I not obliged to use that, even though they don't like luggage on rail replacement buses?

 

[unlevel42]

My reason for asking was that I have heard of people being stopped from boarding a rail replacement bus because they have luggage, and I will have a large suitcase with me. The problem is I can't really see any alternative routes, except for going Oxford - Paddington, St. Pancras to Derby. Would that be allowed?

MML are not shown on the CrossCountry site as accepting CrossCountry tickets.

I am travelling from Bournemouth to Sheffield tomorrow.
I am hoping to travel by SWT /Underground/ECML to Doncaster then any to Sheffield- all accepting tickets- no real time penalty. I shall ask at the station today.

 

[bengley]

Thanks - I will look into the possibility of doing that. If a replacement bus service is still running when I go (which presumably it would be if the line is still closed) am I not obliged to use that, even though they don't like luggage on rail replacement buses?

You'll be fine taking one large suitcase on a bus!

 

[sprinterguy]

I assume the Class 67s are cleared to work up the WCML with a rake of silver stock to work Kidderminster- Leamington ? or will they be used to operate more services Marylebone to Banbury releasing more 168s to go north ? Seems a shame that CR will have their brand spanking new Class 68 sitting in Wembley sidings with nowhere to go.

There's at least one 67 hauled silver set being used north of Leamington Spa today.

As far as I know there are no restrictions on the silver sets using the WCML for ECS moves.