Major Disruption At Nottingham Due To Fire (12/01)

[Pakenhamtrain]

Sections of the roof are being removed according to Radio Nottingham.

 

[LowLevel]

Train crews are struggling to get to work and the local side train crew supervisors etc work out or Nottingham and they've had to be moved to Derby and a nearby hotel - consequently things are a little difficult at the minute.

 

[Muzer]

That's because it's where The Train Line are based.
Factoid: All train company website booking engines are administered by thetrainline.

That's just not true. Most are Atos nowadays. A small handful are still Thetrainline, including EMT.

 

[MichaelAMW]

With regard to this concern about tickets, I don't believe EMT sell Print at Home tickets, although they possibly accept them on routes with other operators. Someone has helpfully simply posted this from the FAQ on the fire incident page:

https://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/#Decide

which tells you what to do if you choose not to travel owing to disruption. I think all they are doing there is pointing out they cannot process print at home refunds. Presumably, you go to the original operator for that.

(Sorry if I'm wrong about print at home tickets but their web site gives no indication they sell them.)

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm struggling to understand what is questionable about it? Most people who buy online at present will have TOD or posted out to them so it seems reasonable to send them in for a refund - those on print at home can surely do the same can they not or is that outside the realms of sensibleness

EMT's website clearly states that print at home tickets are not refundable on a web page which is about refunds due to being unable to travel due to disruption.

Something is wrong with that - either a copy-paste error or a legally questionable policy.

For refunds of any kind (other than Delay Repay which is compensation rather than a refund in terms of how it is processed) you go to the point of sale.

 

[MichaelAMW]

EMT's website clearly states that print at home tickets are not refundable on a web page which is about refunds due to being unable to travel due to disruption.

Something is wrong with that - either a copy-paste error or a legally questionable policy.

For refunds of any kind (other than Delay Repay which is compensation rather than a refund in terms of how it is processed) you go to the point of sale.

See my post - it says *They* [EMT] do not offer refunds but not that they are not refundable. It may just be the way it's expressed but the difference may also be what matters.

 

[MichaelAMW]

With regard to this concern about tickets, I don't believe EMT sell Print at Home tickets, although they possibly accept them on routes with other operators. Someone has helpfully simply posted this from the FAQ on the fire incident page:

https://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/#Decide

which tells you what to do if you choose not to travel owing to disruption. I think all they are doing there is pointing out they cannot process print at home refunds. Presumably, you go to the original operator for that.

(Sorry if I'm wrong about print at home tickets but their web site gives no indication they sell them.)

Humble pie - I was wrong:

https://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.u...ingham-station-changes/Self-Print-e-tickets3/

... which contains:

Refunds and changes to tickets
Self Print e-tickets cannot be refunded or changed after booking unless the booked train is cancelled.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As the booked train will be cancelled in this situation, the other website is an error. Really should fix that.

 

[Clip]

EMT's website clearly states that print at home tickets are not refundable on a web page which is about refunds due to being unable to travel due to disruption.

Something is wrong with that - either a copy-paste error or a legally questionable policy.

For refunds of any kind (other than Delay Repay which is compensation rather than a refund in terms of how it is processed) you go to the point of sale.

They don't sell them

8. What ticket delivery options are available?
You can choose from a variety of delivery options to suit your needs:

FastTicket machine (no fee):

Tickets will be ready for collection from the station two hours after ordering. Please remember to take with you the credit/debit card used to make the booking and a note of the FastTicket reference number.

If your local station doesn't have a ticket machine, you can buy your tickets (excluding Advance tickets) on the train at no additional cost.

1st Class post (no fee where there is no self service ticket machine at your departure station. £1 charge for delivery if there is a ticket machine available):

Tickets ordered before 15:00 will be dispatched the same day. To allow for Royal Mail delivery, tickets must be booked at least seven working days prior to travel.

Next Day Delivery (£6):

Tickets ordered before 15:00 will be delivered by 13:00 the next working day (Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays). Orders placed on Saturday or Sunday are fulfilled on Monday and delivered on Tuesday

And if anyone does have any for some reason as part oif a journey then they do state this

1. How do I get a refund?
Tickets are refunded at the place where the ticket was bought.

so again I am unsure of these legal issues you speak of

 

[Clip]

Disregard the above post it appears they do but isn't in the faq from what I could see - only m tickets

 

[Mathew S]

As the booked train will be cancelled in this situation, the other website is an error. Really should fix that.

Probably got other things on their minds right now, but yeah, they really should. Sounds like a copy-paste screw up, or a simple oversight, rather than anything else though.

 

[mushroomchow]

Maybe it's a bit "too soon", but if the central footbridge has been damaged and has to be removed, I sincerely hope its replacement is built at the far (eastern) end of the platform where all the connecting local services congregate, but for which switching between requires a hefty detour up the platform to the existing bridges.

No end of times I've had to run for a connection at the station and either just made it or missed it due to various combinations of delays and/or having to go back on myself between platforms 1 and 4, which even when sprinting takes upwards of 2 minutes - it's a very poor and frustrating station for anybody with a close (<10 minute) connection for that reason, but a footbridge at the far end would rectify that problem in a heartbeat and probably improve passenger safety too - there's an inevitable stampede every time there's a close connection to be made.

Nonetheless, that obviously isn't the priority now - I hope the damage can be assessed and the station reopened in some capacity as soon as possible, and I'm glad to hear nobody was injured (as yet).

 

[gavin]

Tickets dated for today can be used tomorrow

Tickets can be used on the following operators

• CrossCountry
• Greater Anglia (between Peterborough and Norwich via Ely and between London Liverpool Street and Norwich)
• London Northwestern Railway
• TransPennine Express
• Virgin Trains East Coast
• Virgin Trains
• West Midlands Railway

 

[Wivenswold]

Any news from the frontline on the progression of the fire. I would assume it's mainly contained but burning embers in these old buildings can take hours to find and extinguish.

 

[gavin]

Any news from the frontline on the progression of the fire. I would assume it's mainly contained but burning embers in these old buildings can take hours to find and extinguish.

The wooden bridge that runs across platforms 2 and 4 is still on fire

 

[BackOnTheTrain]

Any word on how they’re handling journeys from Nottingham to Alfreton? I’m familiar enough with the local buses so can use those from Victoria bus station, but have a train ticket (part used) already.

 

[gavin]

Any word on how they’re handling journeys from Nottingham to Alfreton? I’m familiar enough with the local buses so can use those from Victoria bus station, but have a train ticket (part used) already.

EMT have issued the following advice

• London St Pancras International - Nottingham: Trains are running between London and East Midlands Parkway
• London St Pancras International - Corby: Because trains and crews are not where they should be, some cancellations may occur.
• Leicester - Nottingham - Lincoln: A limited train shuttle service is running between Loughborough and Leicester only
• Nottingham - Grantham - Skegness: East Midlands Trains are working to run trains between Grantham and Skegness only
• Derby - Crewe: Because trains and crews are not where they should be, some cancellations may occur
• Peterborough - Lincoln - Doncaster: Because trains and crews are not where they should be, some cancellations may occur
• Matlock - Nottingham: East Midlands Trains are working to run trains between Matlock and Derby only
• Nottingham - Mansfield - Worksop: There will be no service on this route today
• Liverpool - Nottingham - Norwich: East Midlands Trains are working to divert trains away from Nottingham between Peterborough and Chesterfield. This diversion means that trains will not call at Grantham, Nottingham and may also be unable to call at Langley Mill, Ilkeston and Alfreton.
• Cardiff Central - Birmingham New Street - Nottingham: Trains are terminating at Derby

 

[LowLevel]

To be clear the fire is in the main station building and more specifically the new southern concourse and the main entrance footbridge. The middle overbridge appears to be unaffected and the same applies to the platform buildings. The effort is concentrated on preventing the fire spreading from the southern concourse and footbridge to the original main concourse.

NB - this is all information easily available from the BBC and others and is nothing internal.

 

[M60lad]

It does seem that due to the incident that a number of services to/from Liverpool Lime Street have already been cancelled this morning, the last EMT train from Lime Street was 08:52 and looking at National Rail no EMT services have run to/from Liverpool since obviously due to crew and train displacement.

 

[Shimbleshanks]

Main line station fires are pretty rare events, in this country at any rate.
Excluding London Underground, I can't recall any in a large mainline station building, though I do remember a couple of airport terminal fires in other countries.
Given the amount of combustible material and the fact that they're open to all comers, drunks, drug addicts, surreptitious smokers and the like, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
CL

 

[thenorthern]

According to the BBC the fire brigade are having to use thermal imaging as the fire is hidden in many areas such as ventilation ducts.

It's not the size of the fire more the difficulty in controlling it.

 

[Mitch in Notts]

Carrington Street outside the station reopened at 1125am according to local bus companies. Indicates that the fire must be under control.

 

[thenorthern]

Main line station fires are pretty rare events, in this country at any rate.
Excluding London Underground, I can't recall any in a large mainline station building, though I do remember a couple of airport terminal fires in other countries.
Given the amount of combustible material and the fact that they're open to all comers, drunks, drug addicts, surreptitious smokers and the like, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
CL

I think there was one in the booking hall at Stoke-on-Trent in 1999 but it was smaller and Stoke-on-Trent is a smaller station in any case.

 

[theageofthetra]

Are these toilets a new building and if so do they have electrical dryers or hand towels. If smoking was involved I can't imagine what there is to combust other than paper towels in a bin (which would probably be damp)

If its an old wooden building and full of litter then of course its much more likely

 

[MG11]

Thinking ahead, it sounds as though some service could be resumed by running Skegness services from the eastern bay platform, with access via the most eastern bridge. XC services would only be able to get as far as Beeston, London services could start from Beeston. Obviously the Newark/Worksop services would still be in limbo, and the Liverpool services too.

 

[MG11]

Are these toilets a new building and if so do they have electrical dryers or hand towels. If smoking was involved I can't imagine what there is to combust other than paper towels in a bin (which would probably be damp)

If its an old wooden building and full of litter then of course its much more likely

It sounds as though it's the pay toilets, IIRC, they have electrical dryers and most of the walls are tiled.

 

[BackOnTheTrain]

Thank you gavin. Looks like there’s no replacement buses from Nottingham to Alfreton, so local buses it is then.

 

[thenorthern]

Are these toilets a new building and if so do they have electrical dryers or hand towels. If smoking was involved I can't imagine what there is to combust other than paper towels in a bin (which would probably be damp)

If its an old wooden building and full of litter then of course its much more likely

It could be something else like an electrical fault.

 

[Quakkerillo]

Any word on how they’re handling journeys from Nottingham to Alfreton? I’m familiar enough with the local buses so can use those from Victoria bus station, but have a train ticket (part used) already.

There have only been two trains so far today at Alfreton; one from Sheffield southbound which missed out Nottingham direct to East Midlands Parkway at 07:50, and just now at 11:30 one southbound to Norwich which is going via Loughborough too. I've only seen them talk about buses to/from Derby and East Midlands Parkway. nothing for the other directions.

 

[thenorthern]

According to news reports British Transport Police are saying Arson is a possible cause.