Landslip between Banbury and Leamington Spa (31.01.2015)

[L&Y Robert]

Railtrack? bit out of date there....

OK OK OK - I've fixed it!

But I thought you, Oh Planner, might know the answer.

 

[Phil from Mon]

Suggestion by George Monbiot that NR's deliberate deforestation of the cutting may have been a contributory factor in the landslide: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/25/green-natural-disasters-britain-farming-damage

Almost certainly a contributing factor, but I don't understand how NR would not have known this. I think we are likely to see similar collapses elsewhere too - the problem of course is to balance removal of branches that might block the line, or cause the tree to topple and do the same, with maintaining slope stability in these times of increasing rainfall intensity.

 

[The Planner]

OK OK OK - I've fixed it!

But I thought you, Oh Planner, might know the answer.

Not aware of muck going by rail, no... The MoD traffic still runs though.

 

[didcot]

How is the stuff being transported? - and where's it being taken to? I stopped car today by an overbridge north of Banbury (Cropredy) to look at the rusty rails, but saw that there is a bit of shine on them - both roads - so there is traffic of some sort north of Banbury. Could be MOD Kineton, I suppose, or is it all those tonnes of land-slip going south? - and empties coming back. Remembering the haste needed to clear the Bluebell cutting before the land-fill levy came in, I wondered if Ne'Twork Rail has to pay levy for disposing of its own muck!

The loco off the Mountsorrell - Banbury Lafarge self discharge train goes to Fenny Compton to cross over and run round (tues & thurs) and as you say the Didcot - MOD Kineton trains. As I understand it they are using adjacent fields to dump the soil at the moment. In todays Banbury Cake (local newspaper) NR state over 200000 tonnes has been moved

 

[Cherry_Picker]

How is the stuff being transported? - and where's it being taken to? I stopped car today by an overbridge north of Banbury (Cropredy) to look at the rusty rails, but saw that there is a bit of shine on them - both roads - so there is traffic of some sort north of Banbury. Could be MOD Kineton, I suppose, or is it all those tonnes of land-slip going south? - and empties coming back. Remembering the haste needed to clear the Bluebell cutting before the land-fill levy came in, I wondered if Ne'Twork Rail has to pay levy for disposing of its own muck!

Posted earlier in the thread, Network Rail purchased some farmland adjacent to the landslip (compulsory purchase order) so presumably the earth is simply being moved there.

 

[Aictos]

Local Liberal Democrats in Banbury calling for XC to ignore safety issues of landslide and to resume a full service as soon as.... :roll:

Just look up @LibDem4Banbury to see what I mean..

 

[Zoidberg]

Local Liberal Democrats in Banbury calling for XC to ignore safety issues of landslide and to resume a full service as soon as.... :roll:

Just look up @LibDem4Banbury to see what I mean..

He seems to be asking for XC to implement a better service running north into and south out of Banbury.

Here is a link to the Twitter account. It's a mobile device link but should work on proper computers.

https://mobile.twitter.com/LibDem4Banbury/tweets

 

[jimm]

Local Liberal Democrats in Banbury calling for XC to ignore safety issues of landslide and to resume a full service as soon as.... :roll:

Just look up @LibDem4Banbury to see what I mean..

I have no idea what you mean, never mind what "safety issues" you're on about.

As Zoidberg says, from reading the full conversation it's clear what he means is reinstating a half-hourly XC train service south of Banbury and north of Leamington. But as others have pointed out to him, rolling stock availability is probably the key factor in what service XC is able to offer at the moment, particularly between Banbury and the South Coast.

Maybe try getting the full picture before posting.

 

[Aictos]

Umm it's actually you guys who need to take a another look at what he's saying :roll:

1.) He's asking for a FULL service to be done NOW.

2.) He's asking Network Rail to NOT wait for the landslide to be fixed.

Nowhere in that tweet has he mentioned running half hourly either side of the blockade, also the safety issues I speak of that Jimm seem to be ignorant of is the actual landslide itself :roll:

I don't believe it's safe to ignore the landslide and not wait for it to be fixed.

It's only AFTER he's been taken to task that he mentions any talk of a half hourly service, so to tell me to get the full picture before posting is insulting my intelligence!

 

[Zoidberg]

Umm it's actually you guys who need to take a another look at what he's saying :roll:

1.) He's asking for a FULL service to be done NOW.

2.) He's asking Network Rail to NOT wait for the landslide to be fixed.

Nowhere in that tweet has he mentioned running half hourly either side of the blockade, also the safety issues I speak of that Jimm seem to be ignorant of is the actual landslide itself :roll:

I don't believe it's safe to ignore the landslide and not wait for it to be fixed.

It's only AFTER he's been taken to task that he mentions any talk of a half hourly service, so to tell me to get the full picture before posting is insulting my intelligence!

My reading of the conversations is that he wants in place a full service similar to that introduced by Chiltern, which is running either side of the landslip area. I did not sense that he was seriously suggesting that services be run through the landslip area.

He was 'taken to task' because he badly expressed his desires in the original Tweet.

 

[Aictos]

If he had only worded his original tweet properly, he wouldn't have been taken to task over it. Seems a case of not thinking though what he was asking for originally.

 

[Zoidberg]

If he had only worded his original tweet properly, he wouldn't have been taken to task over it. Seems a case of not thinking though what he was asking for originally.

Indeed.

 

[infobleep]

To be fair tweets lengths are very short so it's not easy to get your point across in one tweet.

 

[swt_passenger]

To be fair tweets lengths are very short so it's not easy to get your pocket not across in one tweet.

You said it...

 

[infobleep]

You said it...

Dam predictive text. Haha. Now corrected

 

[jimm]

Umm it's actually you guys who need to take a another look at what he's saying :roll:

1.) He's asking for a FULL service to be done NOW.

2.) He's asking Network Rail to NOT wait for the landslide to be fixed.

Nowhere in that tweet has he mentioned running half hourly either side of the blockade, also the safety issues I speak of that Jimm seem to be ignorant of is the actual landslide itself :roll:

I don't believe it's safe to ignore the landslide and not wait for it to be fixed.

It's only AFTER he's been taken to task that he mentions any talk of a half hourly service, so to tell me to get the full picture before posting is insulting my intelligence!

If he had only worded his original tweet properly, he wouldn't have been taken to task over it. Seems a case of not thinking though what he was asking for originally.

Maybe you should have thought through what you were posting originally as well, then you wouldn't have been taken to task for it...

And I'm well aware of the landslide thanks.

 

[West Ruislip]

Network Rail has just announced that the line will reopen on Friday 13 March.

 

[Oxfordblues]

This is excellent news. Only eight more days then.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Network Rail has just announced that the line will reopen on Friday 13 March.

Link here for more details
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...eopen-three-weeks-ahead-of-schedule-22ae.aspx

 

[swt_passenger]

Link here for more details
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...eopen-three-weeks-ahead-of-schedule-22ae.aspx

It also says (in the editor's notes towards the end) that overnight only freight services may start on Monday 9th.

 

[6862]

Well that certainly is welcome news for me (I travel on the 14th!), and I'm sure many other people too. Well done Network Rail and all those who've been working hard to get this sorted!

 

[Zoidberg]

Link here for more details
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...eopen-three-weeks-ahead-of-schedule-22ae.aspx

For the benefit of those who face challenges accessing links, an extract follows:

Network Rail has confirmed that the railway between Leamington Spa and Banbury will reopen on Friday 13 March - three weeks earlier than originally expected.

The key route between Birmingham and London Marylebone and Birmingham, the Thames Valley, south coast and the port of Southampton is used by 130 passenger and freight trains a day. It has been closed since 31 January following a 350,000 tonne landslip near Harbury, a few miles south of Leamington Spa.

Network Rail has worked 24 hours a day to repair the landslip and the railway will reopen less than six weeks after the landslip occurred.

Train services will begin to operate along the line from the start of service on Friday 13 March.

 

[Deepgreen]

Should be a lucky day to re-open!

 

[L&Y Robert]

Looking once more this morning (04/03) at the rusty rails north of Banbury, I noticed that an area north of the Lefarge stone terminal is being cleared and levelled, and a part of this area at the north end about the size of a tennis court has been fenced to form a compound. I thought at first the stone terminal might be being extended, but there was a Network Rail van there, about a dozen high viz men, and an excavator - rail equipped. All to do with the land-slip? - or something else?

The UP and DOWN loops have more polish than the mains at this point, so there is traffic of some sort, but why on the loops?

 

[Oxfordblues]

The UP and DOWN loops have more polish than the mains at this point, so there is traffic of some sort, but why on the loops?

That'll be the 07:29 Didcot - Fenny Compton "daily goods" and the 09:29 return. Plus the weekly Mountsorrell to Banbury LaFarge aggregates has been running, diverted via Oxford.

 

[ic250]

Have they used the opportunity of the line being closed to do any ancillary works on the line?

Trackwork/signalling/preparing for the electric spine?

 

[swt_passenger]

Have they used the opportunity of the line being closed to do any ancillary works on the line?

Trackwork/signalling/preparing for the electric spine?

Not likely at all, given that Oxford - Nuneaton OHLE is nowhere near a design, still only being 'considered for development' as of the Dec 14 enhancements plan.

 

[L&Y Robert]

Good work, men - so the landslide has been - er - fixed. What did the job entail? Sheet piling? Gabions? We read that material has been removed and stored on land nearby. It will be in a heap I suppose, and it will, of course, be stable - won't it? Harbury Heap! One remembers trouble with coal-mine spoil heaps in the past. How long will the heap be there? If it is to be removed, one trusts that it will be taken by rail. And where to? I've asked before, does Ne' Twork Rail have to pay a landfill levy?

 

[HowardGWR]

Good work, men - so the landslide has been - er - fixed. What did the job entail? Sheet piling? Gabions? We read that material has been removed and stored on land nearby. It will be in a heap I suppose, and it will, of course, be stable - won't it? Harbury Heap! One remembers trouble with coal-mine spoil heaps in the past. How long will the heap be there? If it is to be removed, one trusts that it will be taken by rail. And where to? I've asked before, does Ne' Twork Rail have to pay a landfill levy?

Given your location, I'm tempted to write 'on yer bike then'.

Seriously, it would be good if you could have a go at finding out from the lads on site. What's with the "Ne'Twork Rail"? I don't follow that one.

 

[L&Y Robert]

Given your location, I'm tempted to write 'on yer bike then'.

Seriously, it would be good if you could have a go at finding out from the lads on site. What's with the "Ne'Twork Rail"? I don't follow that one.

I'm not allowed out simply to look at railway stuff. But I will if I can combine it with a 'proper' errand.

It's how it's often pronounced! - yes, i' Tiz - and then I'm wondering what a 'twerk' is. Some speakers habitually detach and mis-couple words like this.