Marylebone closed due to cable fire.

[Cherry_Picker]

Some signalling cable has caught fire in St John's Wood tunnel. Job potentially stopped for 24 hours.

Cancellations to services on all routes

Owing to signalling problems between London Marylebone and Wembley Stadium all lines are blocked.

Impact:
Train services running across the whole Chiltern Railways network may be cancelled or delayed at short notice. Disruption is expected until 08:00 16/06.

Customer Advice:
Marylebone station is closed due to a cable fire. Around 2 metres of signalling cable in the tunnel into the station has burned away meaning the signalling system is not working. Without signals we cannot safely run trains, so are not running to or from Marylebone until new cables are installed and tested. We are not sure how long this will take, but we may not be able to run until Monday morning.

TRAINS TO LONDON:
Trains from Aylesbury via Amersham are finishing at Harrow-on-the-Hill. From there, Chiltern tickets will be valid on the normal Metropolitan line tube trains to Baker Street, which is a few minutes' walk from Marylebone.
Trains to/from Birmingham and Aylesbury via High Wycombe are finishing at West Ruislip. From there, Chiltern tickets will be valid on the normal Central line tube trains to/from Central London. To reach Marylebone, change at Oxford Circus onto the Bakerloo line northbound.
We will aim to run trains at the times they would normally run, but this will not always be possible. Please check chilternrailways.co.uk before travel but there may be some delays during your journey. Trains are especially likely to be delayed or cancelled between 0730 and 0930.

From Birmingham and the West Midlands, it is likely to be easier to use Virgin Trains services via the West Coast Mainline, and your Chiltern ticket will be valid.

TRAINS FROM LONDON:
Trains to Aylesbury via Amersham will start at Harrow-on-the-Hill. Do not travel to Marylebone. Please travel directly to Harrow-on-the-Hill, which is on the Metropolitan line. If you already have a Chiltern ticket, you can use it to travel to Harrow-on-the-Hill.
Trains to/from Birmingham and Aylesbury via High Wycombe are starting at West Ruislip. Do not travel to Marylebone. Please travel directly to West Ruislip, which is on the Central line. If you already have a Chiltern ticket, you can use it to travel to West Ruislip.
Our aim is that trains will leave Harrow or West Ruislip around 15 minutes after they would have left Marylebone. However, these are much smaller stations to turn trains round in, so there may be further delays and cancellations. These are especially likely between 0730 and 0930
If travelling to Birmingham or the West Midlands, it is likely to be easier to use Virgin Trains services from Euston. Your Chiltern ticket will be valid.
Cross Country, Virgin Trains and London Overground services are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice. Arrangements have been made for Chiltern Railways rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.
First Great Western services are conveying passengers via any reasonable route until further notice.

Last Updated :15/06/2014 08:56

 

[oversteer]

Cripes- they'll do well to repair that for tomorrow !

 

[Qwerty133]

Not good, hoping it'll be fixed by tomorrow's peak, and that staff don't get too much abuse from affected customers!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Is there any reason why High Wycombe line services can't use Paddington?
There shouldn't be a capacity problem there on a Sunday.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Dunno how many blokes who sign Paddington are in. While it's possible that there probably are enough, I don't think control would have had the time to cross reference rosters and route cards while they had to make up a train plan for the day.

 

[edwin_m]

Cripes- they'll do well to repair that for tomorrow !

It's Solid State Interlocking (or was, it may have been replaced by something more modern) so there should be just a few cables to repair - the single (but duplicated) data cable from the SSI controlling this area to its trackside functional modules, and any tail cables that run past the site between TFMs and the actual equipment.

The whole Chiltern route out to Aynho is controlled from Marylebone apart from the LUL bit, but TFMs elsewhere will be connected by diverse routeings. This is probably why trains are able to operate north of Ruislip and Amersham.

 

[Bald Rick]

It's Solid State Interlocking (or was, it may have been replaced by something more modern) so there should be just a few cables to repair - the single (but duplicated) data cable from the SSI controlling this area to its trackside functional modules, and any tail cables that run past the site between TFMs and the actual equipment.

SSI is indeed done via telecoms links. However there are a lot of other cables in there, a lot have been damaged. No news on reinstatement yet.

 

[MarkyT]

The section through the tunnels from Marylebone and through to Neasden was still equipped with its original LNER 1920s colour light signalling when it was handed over from the Midland Region to the Western Region shortly before full route modernisation commenced. Little but absolutely essential maintenance had been carried due to expectations that the route into Marylebone was to close, and the worn out equipment and cabling was condemned immediately by the newly responsible S&T engineer on first inspection, with I think temporary Absolute Block working instituted instead. An emergency project was launched then to put in replacement conventional relay controlled automatic signalling just through the plain track section, with the station and junction layouts at Marylebone and Neasden respectively remaining controlled from their electro-mechanical lever frames. That relatively new equipment I believe remained in place alongside the new SSI installed elsewhere on the route, incorporated and interfaced into the new Marylebone control centre. So I think the signalling in the tunnel may be slightly older and more 'cable intensive' than the standard SSI configurations elsewhere, with trackside multicore cables still in use rather than the simpler twin datalinks to local TFM 'object controllers'. That could have an impact on the time to restore to full operation, depending on how severe the fire damage is.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

Picture on here

https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net...57_10152443897381348_196040281270923789_n.jpg

 

[aylesbury2]

I've just taken the Met Line from Amersham and it's absolute chaos, as it's not a Chiltern-run station, people are trying to get answers about NR from the LU staff and nobody is any the wiser.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

I think Chiltern might have to look at a "Plan B" for the Monday morning peak!

 

[aylesbury2]

I think Chiltern might have to look at a "Plan B" for the Monday morning peak!

Seems so, I wonder that that may entail. Definitely still ticket acceptance with other TOCs, looks like Virgin may be in for a busy day tomorrow at BHM!

 

[BBBR]

I'm travelling back to London from Stratford-upon-Avon tomorrow morning, looks like this could be an interesting journey! Chiltern are due to provide another update at 10 tonight but at the moment are advising against 'essential' travel...

 

[91103eastcoast]

What actually caused the fire?

 

[t_star2001uk]

What actually caused the fire?

Unkown at the moment. There have been several rumours floating around today but that is all they are.

 

[NickBucks]

I think Chiltern might have to look at a "Plan B" for the Monday morning peak!

Plan B ? Chiltern have no contingency plans in my experience never mind Plan B. Cancel everything is their moto . All we will get at Marylebone tomorrow is the squawking banshee over the PA. The auto messages can now be heard clearly but when Chiltern go into panic mode you cannot hear a thing.

I see from the previous post that commuters may have been travelling on tracks with dodgy signalling for years What would have happened if the whole lot had gone up when trains were travelling at peak time ? St Johns Wood tunnel is not the Channel Tunnel. Is it too much to expect that Network Rail instigate some sort of enquiry along Health and Safety lines when this has been sorted especially if Chiltern were complicit in knowing that the wiring was life expired ?

 

[The Planner]

Does life expired mean its unsafe? Im not sure it does, unreliable maybe.

 

[Clip]

I suppose the only plan B they can have is for trains to terminate at South/West Ruislip & Harrow on the hill on the joint line.

They do have facilities for drivers to have PNB at West Ruislip(or did) so I can see that being a more obvious choice than South so driver swaps are also possible so one can take it down to South then use the switch just north of the platform to get back on the down.

 

[cm39275]

Surely a good idea for chiltern is to divert one of their Birmingham services into Oxford so that passengers can connect easily onto FGW's service to paddington. I know Oxford certainly has some space available as the bay platform 3 is only used by only a handful of services daily since the Bicester branch went over to a bus service.

 

[455driver]

I see from the previous post that commuters may have been travelling on tracks with dodgy signalling for years

Where does it say that then?

What would have happened if the whole lot had gone up when trains were travelling at peak time ? St Johns Wood tunnel is not the Channel Tunnel.

The trains would have stopped, the drivers would make announcements, the trains would be talked past the signals and everyone would have got home, eventually.
Which is exactly what happens when any (fixed) signalling system fails whether it is 50 years old, 20 years old or a week old!

Is it too much to expect that Network Rail instigate some sort of enquiry along Health and Safety lines when this has been sorted especially if Chiltern were complicit in knowing that the wiring was life expired ?

The signals failed, big deal! Each sigalbox has well laid plans for such eventualities, its not really an issue, inconvenient but not a problem.
Why all the outrage? Do you actually have a clue what you are talking about or are you just trying to be melodramatic for effect?

 

[Rich McLean]

Surely a good idea for chiltern is to divert one of their Birmingham services into Oxford so that passengers can connect easily onto FGW's service to paddington. I know Oxford certainly has some space available as the bay platform 3 is only used by only a handful of services daily since the Bicester branch went over to a bus service.

That is likely to be the plan tomorrow with the fast services, and slower ex BHM going to West Ruislip

 

[cm39275]

I know chiltern have already said that they are not running any mark 3 sets Monday and that network rail have said they hope to be able to have it fixed by about 1400 on Monday.

 

[tsr]

I appreciate the route can be much slower if used as an alternative by passengers, but is there any potential for services between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury to be strengthened, in case more passengers wish to switch between the Amersham and High Wycombe Routes, for whatever reason? (Say, for example, if the West Ruislip Central Line services are deemed to take too long for those needing to access the Northern half of Central London, and people want to use the Met from Harrow instead.)

Is there any possibility that one or two units can be freed up by the reduction in journey times, or is that just the folly of my imagination?

 

[Saint66]

Chiltern's 10pm update: http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/mobile/news/service-disruption-1516-june-2014

Marylebone station is closed due to a cable fire. Around two metres of signalling cable in the tunnel into the station has burned away meaning the signalling system is not working. Without signals we cannot safely run trains, so are not running to or from Marylebone until new cables are installed and tested. Engineers are on site however, disruption is expected into Monday afternoon and Marylebone station will remain closed until further notice. Passengers are advised to avoid travelling unless essential.

Chiltern Railways services on Monday 16 June

We are able to run a very limited services tomorrow and as a result the trains we are running will be incredibly busy. This is because we will be able to run far fewer trains as we will be turning round at stations which have two platforms instead of at Marylebone which has six. If you can avoid travelling we advise that you make alternative arrangements.

Harrow on the Hill – Amersham – Aylesbury –Aylesbury Vale Parkway
We are running two trains an hour to/from Harrow on the Hill and Aylesbury (with one per hour going to Aylesbury Vale Parkway) Select here for the timetable. From there, Chiltern tickets will be valid on the normal Metropolitan line tube trains to Baker Street, which is a few minutes' walk from Marylebone.

West Ruislip –High Wycombe – Banbury – Birmingham – Kidderminster
We are aiming to run two trains per hour Birmingham and West Ruislip. If travelling north from London, please take the central line to West Ruislip. From there, Chiltern tickets will be valid on the normal Central line tube trains to/from Central London. To reach Marylebone, change at Oxford Circus onto the Bakerloo line northbound. A timetable for the morning peak will be uploaded as soon as possible.

Using Chiltern tickets on other train operators’ services
Your Chiltern ticket is valid on Virgin Trains, London Midland, First Great Western, CrossCountry and London Underground services for the rest of Sunday evening and on Monday until further notice. If travelling to/from Birmingham, we recommend using Virgin Trains or London Midland if at all possible between Birmingham New Street at London Euston. Your Chiltern ticket will be valid.

If travelling from Banbury to London, we advise travelling to Reading with CrossCountry and then boarding First Great Western services to Paddington.

Click here to see a map of alternative routes.

Ticket restrictions

On Monday, advance tickets can be used within an hour of when they are booked. Peak ticket restrictions still apply.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

08:30 update repeats the same message, says they hope to open the line at 14:30 but advise passengers that residual delays caused by displaced train crew and stock will almost certainly happen.

 

[Western Lord]

What is the point of maintaining drivers route knowledge into Paddington if they are never going to use it?

 

[oversteer]

My understanding is that Paddington is too busy to allow for Chiltern sending services there too. Back in August 2011 they ran some services there but only on one platform.

Mildly concerning update from Network Rail:

"@NRE_Chiltern: There is now no estimate for the line to re-open at London #Marylebone"
Must be serious damage

 

[MarkyT]

I see from the previous post that commuters may have been travelling on tracks with dodgy signalling for years What would have happened if the whole lot had gone up when trains were travelling at peak time ?

Poor maintence of the ancient and pioneering 1920s signalling was the case prior to 1986, when the Marylebone approaches were reprieved from proposed closure and conversion to a road coach route and terminus. Very soon after that decision the line was transferred from Midland Region to Western Region of British Railways, and modernisation commenced immediately with the emergency total renewal of that old colour light signalling, as I described in my previous post. The signalling and cabling in the tunnels dates therefore from around 1988, not life expired, since maintained adequately to modern standards, and no different in design to similarly aged technology employed all across the UK.

Transfer to WR was a precursor to and one of the numerous reorganisations associated with the shift from the historic BR regional structure to the new 'Organising for Quality' business regime. Chiltern train operations would eventually become linked to Thames Valley operations in the NSE Thames and Chiltern division, so transfer to WR was a logical choice. Later, Chiltern was to be split from Thames Valley at privatisation, and the new operator started to develop longer distance service. Under Railtrack and Network Rail the management of the Chiltern infrastructure has reverted to the modern equivalent of the Midland Region.

 

[Saint66]

Chiltern have posted this photo: http://ow.ly/i/5V2m9

 

[67018]

I appreciate the route can be much slower if used as an alternative by passengers, but is there any potential for services between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury to be strengthened, in case more passengers wish to switch between the Amersham and High Wycombe Routes, for whatever reason? (Say, for example, if the West Ruislip Central Line services are deemed to take too long for those needing to access the Northern half of Central London, and people want to use the Met from Harrow instead.)

Is there any possibility that one or two units can be freed up by the reduction in journey times, or is that just the folly of my imagination?

Well, yesterday trains were terminating at Wembley Stadium, so it was actually quicker to walk (or take a short bus journey) to Wembley Park or Central. Presumably that doesn't work today with more trains hence reverting to West Ruislip.

I suspect that going via Aylesbury would be slower than the Central Line option, tedious as that journey is. When trains went via Aylesbury last week because of the failed freight train, it looks like they were running 40-50 minutes late.