Storm Pia disruption - Thursday 21st December 2023

[Trainguy34]

Can anyone provide a summary of current disruption as its all a bit too chaotic...

 

[EllieAquitrain]

Something's going on at Fletton. We (1E07, southbound) have been crawling for a good few minutes and there's a 4-train queue northbound.

 

[JW4]

According to National Rail, disruption between Birmingham Snow Hill-Whitlocks End, Coventry-Nuneaton, Bournemouth-Brockenhurst has now ended.

 

[EllieAquitrain]

Something's going on at Fletton. We (1E07, southbound) have been crawling for a good few minutes and there's a 4-train queue northbound.

Train manager tells us our driver was asked to inspect the line and noticed plastic in the northbound overheads.

 

[Sniffingmoose]

Tensions are high at the hell hole known as Euston with a huge amount of people stuck outside. The security will have to be careful opening those gates.

 

[Failed Unit]

Kings Cross isn’t actually that bad. But trains have gone north.

In other news. Power failure on the Thameslink core (now restored) and the channel tunnel shut because of a strike makes things not to pretty at St Pancakes.

Not storm related. Just a bad day for the railway.

 

[Bletchleyite]

All trains stopprd between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central since around 12.15 due to overhead line damage, as yet dont think it is down to the stom, as winds in the london area are not as strong as further north, all trains south of Milton Keynes are suspended those on route either stopped at stations or are being worked to stations and the lines cleared. London Overground are operating a normal service to Watford Junction, Southern services also suspended from Clapham Junction to Watford.

Winds at Cheddington when I was sat there were extremely strong. That part of the WCML is very exposed.

On the Marston Vale bus now to try that way!

 

[MontyP]

The Watford/Hemel disruption is the 3rs major incident in 2 weeks that has brought one of the main lines out of London to a grinding halt - Paddington on 7th, ECML at Grantham on 10th and now this. None caused by what I would call exceptional weather for the time of year - today is a bit windy in the South (admittedly much worse in the north) but the sort of thing that happens once or twice a month in autumn/winter. Why is the OHLE infrastructure so fragile? Is this due to maintenance cutbacks?

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Is this a normal timetabled service? RTT trains showing a direct train from Euston to St Albans Abbey, via Bricket Wood ?

Realtime Trains | 2F23 1518 London Euston to St Albans Abbey | 21/12/2023

Real-time train running information for 2F23 1518 departure from London Euston to St Albans Abbey on 21/12/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[james_the_xv]

Is this a normal timetabled service? RTT trains showing a direct train from Euston to St Albans Abbey, via Bricket Wood ?

Realtime Trains | 2F23 1518 London Euston to St Albans Abbey | 21/12/2023

Real-time train running information for 2F23 1518 departure from London Euston to St Albans Abbey on 21/12/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Looks like it's part of the LTP and does run. Yesterday and the day before for example. https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C59680/2023-12-20/detailed https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C59680/2023-12-19/detailed.

 

[Reliablebeam]

Told they cant find a driver for the Holyhead servoce. Wondering whether its time to give up and go home

 

[Bletchleyite]

Told they cant find a driver for the Holyhead servoce. Wondering whether its time to give up and go home

I'd go via Chiltern and TfW instead though it'll be busy!

(Assuming walk up ticket)

 

[Essexman]

We’ve given up after sitting in 12.43 at Liverpool for two hours. Booked back into hotel and will travel tomorrow.
Passengers were told to get 14.33 to Birmingham. Which they promptly cancelled but then reinstated 15 mins late.

 

[Reliablebeam]

I'd go via Chiltern and TfW instead though it'll be busy!

(Assuming walk up ticket)

Cheers, thought did occur but this is looking bad. No walk up ticket either!!

 

[Bald Rick]

None caused by what I would call exceptional weather for the time of year - today is a bit windy in the South (admittedly much worse in the north) but the sort of thing that happens once or twice a month in autumn/winter.

I don’t know where you are, but I’m only a few miles from ehere the wires came down at Bourne End, and not long before they did the wind got up markedly such that the whole house was shaking.

 

[jfollows]

Cheers, thought did occur but this is looking bad. No walk up ticket either!!

You don’t need one:

Incident: London Euston | National Rail

Lines reopened: disruption between Milton Keynes Central and London Euston. Find details of all current incidents on National Rail Enquiries.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

Avanti West Coast Customer Advice

You may use your tickets on:

• Chiltern Railways services between Birmingham New Street and London Marylebone
• CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Reading
• Great Western Railway services between Reading and London Paddington

Maybe not every permutation, but the more obvious alternatives anyway.

 

[Egg Centric]

Currently sitting in St Neots on the rather late Stirling service, awaiting further instructions...

 

[BRX]

Pity the folk on 1S93, still sat outside Doncaster 4 hrs late.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C11451/2023-12-21/detailed

I don't really understand why it's waiting in the queue on the line into the platform given that it doesn't have a booked stop at Doncaster. Maybe they are giving up & terminating there? Meanwhile my train 1S95, the following northbound Lumo, has gone through on the fast line & overtaken it.

 

[robbeech]

Pity the folk on 1S93, still sat outside Doncaster 4 hrs late.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C11451/2023-12-21/detailed

I don't really understand why it's waiting in the queue on the line into the platform given that it doesn't have a booked stop at Doncaster. Maybe they are giving up & terminating there? Meanwhile my train 1S95, the following northbound Lumo, has gone through on the fast line & overtaken it.

Some trains were given SSO earlier in their trips, it may be that passengers on that train are requiring Doncaster.

A southbound 10 car exc Harrogate sat in P1 at Retford for 35 minutes with the doors locked. Eventually when the time that the service that should call there had passed they opened the doors and let people on.

Currently sitting in St Neots on the rather late Stirling service, awaiting further instructions...

Looks like you’re moving now.

 

[Howardh]

Can a driver, with permission, stop at an unscheduled station so the pax wanting to terminate and return can do so? If I were on a London-bound train, 4hrs late (eg the 1155 from Piccadilly) for a day trip I'd certainly want to pack it in and return. Delay repay is no consellation.

 

[Twingo37175]

Pity the folk on 1S93, still sat outside Doncaster 4 hrs late.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C11451/2023-12-21/detailed

I don't really understand why it's waiting in the queue on the line into the platform given that it doesn't have a booked stop at Doncaster. Maybe they are giving up & terminating there? Meanwhile my train 1S95, the following northbound Lumo, has gone through on the fast line & overtaken it.

I could be wrong, but it had been on the road for around 4.5 hours by that point, is it a break for the driver (was stopped for 40 minutes before then proceeding through the UF at Doncaster, as against a platform). 1S95, having left over 3.5 hours later was nothing like that in terms of driver hours. Unlike LNER they couldn't swap drivers. I noticed a few of the earlier disrupted trains were terminated at Doncaster (including one which returned empty to London). Again, I wonder if driving time had kicked in

 

[AndrewE]

Can a driver, with permission, stop at an unscheduled station so the pax wanting to terminate and return can do so? If I were on a London-bound train, 4hrs late (eg the 1155 from Piccadilly) for a day trip I'd certainly want to pack it in and return. Delay repay is no consellation.

very good question. 3 hrs late, just approaching MK (as I write) and potential EUS arrival now just after 5pm instead of 2pm: you can see how someone's afternoon is wasted or their 4 pm entry to an exibition has gone... (it lost an extra 4 mins at MK so maybe it did let people off...)
Although the railway doesn't accept liability for consequential losses, if we want people to use trains there is a very good argument for reimbursing them for losses like this.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Can a driver, with permission, stop at an unscheduled station so the pax wanting to terminate and return can do so? If I were on a London-bound train, 4hrs late (eg the 1155 from Piccadilly) for a day trip I'd certainly want to pack it in and return. Delay repay is no consellation.

Control can certainly authorise it provided the stock is passed to stop there.

very good question. 3 hrs late, just approaching MK (as I write) and potential EUS arrival now just after 5pm instead of 2pm: you can see how someone's afternoon is wasted or their 4 pm entry to an exibition has gone... (it lost an extra 4 mins at MK so maybe it did let people off...)
Although the railway doesn't accept liability for consequential losses, if we want people to use trains there is a very good argument for reimbursing them for losses like this.

To be fair everyone's going to get their fare back!

 

[Banham7]

1H04 has come to a stand just outside Grantham on the northbound line. 1D18 directly behind.

 

[zwk500]

1H04 has come to a stand just outside Grantham on the northbound line. 1D18 directly behind.

It's now in the platform, was presumably waiting for the route to be reset after the train in front (1N93).

In the aftermath of an incident like this signallers are going to be struggling to set routes as soon as trains are clear, it's not necessarily a new incident if a train takes a couple of minutes longer to move forward.

 

[gazzaa2]

Tensions are high at the hell hole known as Euston with a huge amount of people stuck outside. The security will have to be careful opening those gates.

Should have a firm 'do no travel' warning for these strong storms, as something always goes wrong on the main west or east coast line (and others).

If you have to travel then you have to travel, but a lot of journeys are non-essential.

 

[AndrewE]

To be fair everyone's going to get their fare back!

...but after an utterly wasted day, and they might be wondering (even if they were allowed to alight at MK) whether they will get home tonight! They also won't get back the fares they paid to get to Piccadilly, or car parking fees.

 

[Bletchleyite]

...but after an utterly wasted day, and they might be wondering (even if they were allowed to alight at MK) whether they will get home tonight! They also won't get back the fares they paid to get to Piccadilly, or car parking fees.

They'd not be advised to alight at MKC because that has fewer fast services.

Yes, I'd be concerned about getting back, I'm not back until tomorrow.

Should have a firm 'do no travel' warning for these strong storms, as something always goes wrong on the main west or east coast line (and others).

If you have to travel then you have to travel, but a lot of journeys are non-essential.

It's interesting that this was one of the few cases recently where one was not issued for the South East. I don't think the wind was expected to be as bad.

 

[Bald Rick]

turns out the wires werent doen on the WCML at Bourne End after all!

 

[Bletchleyite]

turns out the wires werent doen on the WCML at Bourne End after all!

What was the actual cause then? The blockage does appear to have been there.