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Serious incident at Penkridge

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thenorthern

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I have noticed that some of the London - West Midlands - Scotland trains are being diverted via Tamworth and the Cross Country trains are also being diverted although I am not sure which way.
 

D1009

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I have noticed that some of the London - West Midlands - Scotland trains are being diverted via Tamworth and the Cross Country trains are also being diverted although I am not sure which way.
They normally go via Nuneaton (reverse) and Tamworth in that situation.
 

QueensCurve

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Man died after being hit by a train at the station

Correct me if I am wrong, but the affected train was Virgin's
9M52 0852 Edinburgh to Euston
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y83264/2016/03/29/advanced

I was intrigued by too aspecgts of the train operators' response.

One was that XC diverted trains via Nuneaton between Stafford and Birmingham. I know Birmingham is the biggest population they serve, but I tought it might, for the short term duration, it would have been better to send them to Coventry where they could perhaps have taken up their original path. Passengers to/from Brum could have been directed to change at Coventry.

Virgin seem to have kept their 9M53 1000 Glasgow to Euston via Brum
at Stafford for 84 mins before deciding to send it on the direct route to Rugby. I know it is easy when you are watching this from your armchair, but had it been sent on earlier it could, again, have resumed its original path.

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y83266/2016/03/29/advanced
 

LowLevel

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It is quite possible that 9M53 was due a crew change at Wolverhampton thus meaning a relief crew would have had to be taxied out to it? Spares get used up quite quickly in disruption so if they had to wait for a new crew to book on at the normal time at Wolverhampton then send them over it would explain the long wait?
 

455driver

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It is quite possible that 9M53 was due a crew change at Wolverhampton thus meaning a relief crew would have had to be taxied out to it? Spares get used up quite quickly in disruption so if they had to wait for a new crew to book on at the normal time at Wolverhampton then send them over it would explain the long wait?

Wot yoo meen train cumpunees dont ave undreds ov droivers sittin round doin nuffink just in case they is neeeeded? ;)
 
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PHILIPE

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As Queens Curve suggested :-
It's no use diverting Cross Country to Coventry if they are going to Bristol !!!
Are Voyagers authorised to run between Nuneaton and Coventry ? Do their drivers have route knowledge ? Nuneaton to Birmingham is the regular diversionary route for XC in event of any blockage, Engineering or otherwise.
 
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thenorthern

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There has been another fatality at Sandy and the West Coast Main Line into Glasgow is closed because of signaling issues. Its a very bad day for Virgin Trains.
 

Jonfun

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As Queens Curve suggested :-
It's no use diverting Cross Country to Coventry if they are going to Bristol !!!
Are Voyagers authorised to run between Nuneaton and Coventry ? Do their drivers have route knowledge ? Nuneaton to Birmingham is the regular diversionary route for XC in event of any blockage, Engineering or otherwise.

Yes, they can and have gone via Bedworth in times of disruption. But they're generally sent via Birmingham because a) as you say, if its going to Bristol rather than Bournemouth, then going to Coventry is the wrong direction, b) most passengers on the train will be going to Birmingham, and c) most services have a change of crew at New Street so you have to factor in where the crews need to be to work the rest of the (disrupted) trains.
 

TDK

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Correct me if I am wrong, but the affected train was Virgin's
9M52 0852 Edinburgh to Euston
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y83264/2016/03/29/advanced

I was intrigued by too aspecgts of the train operators' response.

One was that XC diverted trains via Nuneaton between Stafford and Birmingham. I know Birmingham is the biggest population they serve, but I tought it might, for the short term duration, it would have been better to send them to Coventry where they could perhaps have taken up their original path. Passengers to/from Brum could have been directed to change at Coventry.

Virgin seem to have kept their 9M53 1000 Glasgow to Euston via Brum
at Stafford for 84 mins before deciding to send it on the direct route to Rugby. I know it is easy when you are watching this from your armchair, but had it been sent on earlier it could, again, have resumed its original path.

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y83266/2016/03/29/advanced

There are many things that need to be done after a serious incident and one is the train needs to be checked for various things with a myriad of other processes. It is easy from an armchair when you have no knowledge of the protocol involved
 

BHXDMT

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It is quite possible that 9M53 was due a crew change at Wolverhampton thus meaning a relief crew would have had to be taxied out to it? Spares get used up quite quickly in disruption so if they had to wait for a new crew to book on at the normal time at Wolverhampton then send them over it would explain the long wait?

Correct, I think I recall reading that it was held at Stafford awaiting train crew coming in a taxi to take it forward.
 

AndrewE

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I don't agree with the topic title. This is unfortunately yet another fatality with all the usual terrible fallout for the traincrew, maintainance staff, witnesses, emergency services and the like (oh, and also inconvenience for the travelling public.) A "Serious incident" sounds like a management euphemism for a crash or some other accident that writes of rolling stock and takes multiple lives.
 

HLE

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As Queens Curve suggested :-
It's no use diverting Cross Country to Coventry if they are going to Bristol !!!
Are Voyagers authorised to run between Nuneaton and Coventry ? Do their drivers have route knowledge ? Nuneaton to Birmingham is the regular diversionary route for XC in event of any blockage, Engineering or otherwise.

Yes they do and refresh it regularly as well. Think I'm correct in that travelling pass (well upfront) on one trip to Nuneaton and back on route refreshing is actually part of one of the jobs at XC Birmingham.

Not the most difficult route if I'm honest!
 
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AndrewE

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The media were reporting it initially as such

I hadn't realised that the description came from the (famously unreliable) media, I just read
"Virgin, Cross Country and London Midland reporting on Twitter delays due to serious incident at Penkridge - Emergency services attending." and believed it.
 

najaB

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Quite. "Emergency services dealing with an incident" is not the same as "Serious incident at..."
They aren't that dissimilar. I've seen both as 'Emergency services attending a serious incident...'
 

dangie

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My railway knowledge is not great so please excuse if this is obvious, but in situations such as this, why don't they utilise the Chase Line from New Street through Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley and then join the WCML to Stafford?

I remember many years ago watching HST's use this line for Sunday diversions.
 

thenorthern

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My railway knowledge is not great so please excuse if this is obvious, but in situations such as this, why don't they utilise the Chase Line from New Street through Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley and then join the WCML to Stafford?

I remember many years ago watching HST's use this line for Sunday diversions.

I think it has been used before yes. I have been at Witton before and seen diverted trains passing because the West Coast Main Line has been closed. Aston Villa had been playing so it was a congested day for the Walsall Line.

I think the difficulty as well with the Chase Line is there is a high volume of trains already and a large amount of stations which make it difficult to run express trains.
 

The Planner

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More to do with it not having wires and route knowledge for Virgin, XC and possibly LM. You could fit diverted trains down there without much hassle in the current timetable as all the old absolute block boxes are gone now.
 

QueensCurve

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My railway knowledge is not great so please excuse if this is obvious, but in situations such as this, why don't they utilise the Chase Line from New Street through Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley and then join the WCML to Stafford?

I remember many years ago watching HST's use this line for Sunday diversions.

I was diverted that way many years ago on a Sunday:-


  • It is painfully slow
  • It has little capacity
  • It is now once again in use as a regular passenger route
  • It is not (yet) electrified.
 

neilb62

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One of my colleagues was the Driver on this and it was a particularly nasty one. Thats 3 involving Preston Drivers in the last 6 weeks. Not good. We crew change at New St now, not Wolves (okay there are a couple that still do but not any of these) and I assume the one stuck at Stafford was victim of the NR creeping death symptom (it'll only be another 10 mins, repeat every 10 mins ad-infinitum). No VT crews sigh the 'Chase' either and only Wolves sign Nuneaton to New St.
 

The Planner

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I was diverted that way many years ago on a Sunday:-


  • It is painfully slow
  • It has little capacity
  • It is now once again in use as a regular passenger route
  • It is not (yet) electrified.

Certainly isnt the quickest at 50mph but there is a scheme in the pipeline to sort that, as for capacity it has buckets of it now it has been resignalled as I said above.
 

DarloRich

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Certainly isnt the quickest at 50mph but there is a scheme in the pipeline to sort that, as for capacity it has buckets of it now it has been resignalled as I said above.

indeed - I suggest route knowledge and lack of diesel trains are more likely to be the issues now.
 
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