Traction current failure at Southampton

[nowananorack]

Insufficient traction current through Southampton this morning.
From what was said on the radio, signals were not affected as diesel trains were running.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Insufficient traction current through Southampton this morning.
From what was said on the radio, signals were not affected as diesel trains were running.

Looks like diesel trains were just as screwed; from: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/ne...o_major_delays_on_trains_through_Southampton/

One rail user who is stuck on a train at Southampton said all platforms are blocked and there is an hour delay so far.

He said nothing is moving and has been told a substation at St Deny's has gone down.

How far into it's lifespan is the traction supply in that area likely to be at?

 

[HarleyDavidson]

Well into it, although the stuff around Northam should be relatively new because of the Seimens maintenance depot there, however there has been a fair increase in the number of trains passing through that area too.

I don't know if even the 25Kv OHLE would withstand the pounding that the electrification equipment takes down in the Soton area.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Could they eventually split the main electrical feed with half the tracks on the existing one and half on a new one so if a feed goes down they'd at least be able to keep some trains moving?

 

[Elecman]

You could but wouldn't from a safety point of view

 

[dtaylor84]

Even if it was treated as a single "area" for isolation purposes, just fed independently for reliability?

 

[swt_passenger]

Well into it, although the stuff around Northam should be relatively new because of the Seimens maintenance depot there, however there has been a fair increase in the number of trains passing through that area too.

It was the relatively new trackside equipment at the down end of St Denys that had orange men crawling all over it at lunchtime yesterday. That was put in as part of the power strengthening for Desiros, so relatively new stuff.

It would be interesting to know the exact proportions of 'elderly' and 'relatively new' DC equipment, because as seen from a train window I'd suggest about 50% of sites alongside that part of the SWML (e.g. at St Denys, Winchester and Wallers Ash) are of similar age to the Desiro fleet...

Incidentally, and to save starting a new thread, has anyone noticed the growing stockpile of DC power equipment in the yard alongside P1 at Fareham? (Where the PARS temporary offices were a few years back.) That suggests some major power system renewals in the area are about to happen - maybe on the Botley or Netley routes? There'll still be brand new stuff being installed for many years despite eventual changes to AC being discussed...

 

[HarleyDavidson]

I don't see the SWML being wired up in the remaining years of my career & that's about 14.

Nor do I see any further capacity improvement or electrification projects such as filling the gaps between Uckfield & Oxted, Marshlink or North Downs going in either.

 

[dcd]

Failed again on 6th delayed 57 mins at Southampton on XC service
1O16 which had a bad journey should have been Manchester to Bournemouth ended up

This service was cancelled between Manchester Piccadilly and Macclesfield due to unknown cause ().This service was cancelled between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth due to unknown cause (IH).

Macclesfield to Brockenhurst 2 minutes late past Eastleigh 57 late at Southampton less than 6 miles further on.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[tsr]

I wondered if someone would bring up the second issue yesterday. I believe that was due to metal debris shorting out the traction current in Southampton Tunnel.

 

[edwin_m]

It would be interesting to know the exact proportions of 'elderly' and 'relatively new' DC equipment, because as seen from a train window I'd suggest about 50% of sites alongside that part of the SWML (e.g. at St Denys, Winchester and Wallers Ash) are of similar age to the Desiro fleet...

Presumably this was put in as part of the power upgrade that was needed to allow the Desiros and Electrostars to operate at something slightly nearer their maximum performance.

Incidentally, and to save starting a new thread, has anyone noticed the growing stockpile of DC power equipment in the yard alongside P1 at Fareham? (Where the PARS temporary offices were a few years back.) That suggests some major power system renewals in the area are about to happen - maybe on the Botley or Netley routes? There'll still be brand new stuff being installed for many years despite eventual changes to AC being discussed...

Much of the new equipment is likely to be "modular" so if a particular route is converted to AC then it might be possible to move it to replace older equipment on other DC routes where AC conversion isn't sensible at least in the short term.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Would any resignalling done within the last 10ish years be done so that it can work with both AC and DC?

 

[edwin_m]

Would any resignalling done within the last 10ish years be done so that it can work with both AC and DC?

To a large extent yes. Most modern kit is dual-immune though I've no doubt there are some systems and standards that are still different.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Any news on what caused the first failure? Too many electrics in the area?