Up through line at Newbury

[ChrisHogan]

This appears to be out of use as non-stopping up trains are diverted via the Up Platform Loop (platform 2) rather than their programmed Up Through Line. The TD on Traksy doesn't show the usual BLOC or BKD normally used by TVSC. Any ideas what the problem is, please?

Frequently causes delays to up services, particularly 1A73 0503 Penzance-Paddn, when 1K09 0920 Newbury to Paddn starts from platform 2 and 1A73 follows the semi-fast causing 10-15 minutes delay to Reading, and the ensuring loss of path onward to Paddn.

1A73 appears to be the worst performing Class 1 into Paddn in the morning peak - only 10% PPM punctuality and not a single instance of its RT arrival at 0955 (WTT 0956) in the 100 days up to 17th February 2024.

 

[JN114]

In the early part of the year, flooding at Newbury damaged various bit of signalling equipment. The Up Through line has been out of use ever since.

 

[ChrisHogan]

Thanks, that explains it. You would think a long-term infrastructure problem would have been reflected by the train planners with an STP alteration to 1A73 or 1K09 as the present timetable simply doesn't work. And the signallers at TVSC each do something different; today 1A73 has been given a run and only lost two minutes through Newbury while 1K09 was diverted to start from platform 1 and was a 10 late start. One or other of these trains needs to be retimed. If 1K09 leaves late then it is further delayed behind the 0925 stopper.

 

[CarrotPie]

In the early part of the year, flooding at Newbury damaged various bit of signalling equipment. The Up Through line has been out of use ever since.

Suprised it hasn't been fixed yet. Is it that hard or is it just a lack of will?

 

[JN114]

Suprised it hasn't been fixed yet. Is it that hard or is it just a lack of will?

Me too, unfortunately I have no idea why it hasn’t been sorted yet.

 

[stuu]

I'm travelling on 1A73 tomorrow, looking at the past few weeks data I can look forward to getting some of the fare back.

Anyone know when this is likely to be fixed?

 

[ChrisHogan]

I'm travelling on 1A73 tomorrow, looking at the past few weeks data I can look forward to getting some of the fare back.

Anyone know when this is likely to be fixed?

Still easily the worse performer into Paddn in the morning peak, NIL RT and 27% PPM with an average lateness of over 19 mins in the last six months. It has managed a 5 and an 8 late arrivals this week, some of the best this year.

I think back to B.R. days when its equivalent 1A19 0507 Penzance-Paddn was one of the trains watched like a hawk throughout with a detailed entry for it on each HQ Control Log SX. And I remember when I was covering the WR Passenger Operating Office I was asked if I would accept reduced recovery of the Up "Hind" at Subway by 1 minute after HST single-manning at 110mph started, to avoid double-manning from Taunton or having an arrival of 10.01 instead of what was considered an important 10.00 arrival. How times have changed.

 

[VP185]

Me too, unfortunately I have no idea why it hasn’t been sorted yet.

The water level is above the height of the sleepers and has been for several months.

 

[ChrisHogan]

The water level is above the height of the sleepers and has been for several months.

Then why don't the STP train planners do something about it and retime 1A73 and other delayed services properly? No wonder the Western Route is in the railway equivalent of "Special Measures".

 

[VP185]

Then why don't the STP train planners do something about it and retime 1A73 and other delayed services properly? No wonder the Western Route is in the railway equivalent of "Special Measures".

Not as simple as just retiming 1A73 and other delayed services.…you effectively need to redo the entire timetable!

 

[ChrisHogan]

Not as simple as just retiming 1A73 and other delayed services.…you effectively need to redo the entire timetable!

Why not retime it to start 0457 and run 6 mins earlier to Newbury, give it 6 mins extra for slowing through the up platform at Newbury and some recovery time from Cogload to Hungerford where 1A73 regularly loses 3-4 minutes for no obvious reason that exacerbates the clash with 1K09, and give it a fighting chance of getting to Reading at 0929.5. That wouldn't need the entire timetable rewriting.

There seem to be all sorts of SRT problems with 80x trains on GWR - Cardiff to Newport; Bristol Parkway to Westerleigh are examples that I regularly note where 1 minute is lost by trains. These ought to have been sorted out by now, particularly if Network Rail is ever going to deliver the mythical "Right Time Railway".

 

[Starmill]

Not as simple as just retiming 1A73 and other delayed services.…you effectively need to redo the entire timetable!

That's their job though. All they need to do is try to mitigate the negative effect. Doesn't need to be actually solved.

 

[brad465]

The water level is above the height of the sleepers and has been for several months.

Presumably that means that is the water table, otherwise it would have been pumped out by now. If that is the case they should look at future work to make the area watertight.

 

[Jrocks]

Why not retime it to start 0457 and run 6 mins earlier to Newbury, give it 6 mins extra for slowing through the up platform at Newbury and some recovery time from Cogload to Hungerford where 1A73 regularly loses 3-4 minutes for no obvious reason that exacerbates the clash with 1K09, and give it a fighting chance of getting to Reading at 0929.5. That wouldn't need the entire timetable rewriting.

Retiming A73 by 6 minutes may be an idea that works in theory however this would then cause a clash with 1J74 between Plymouth and Taunton. With 1J74 running 8 minutes ahead of 1A73 at Exeter and being only 4 minutes ahead of 1A73 at Taunton, this would cause no end of issues pathing wise. This would mean having to retime J74 in the short term which would then mess up most of the devon metro timetable as everything is super tight in Exeter around that time in the morning.

 

[stuu]

14 minutes late at the moment. Hoping for a couple more minutes delay and that pays for a nice dinner

Edit: and now we are being routed along the up relief towards Twyford. Dinner paid for, which is nice, but odd choice by the signallers

 

[jfollows]

14 minutes late at the moment. Hoping for a couple more minutes delay and that pays for a nice dinner

Edit: and now we are being routed along the up relief towards Twyford. Dinner paid for, which is nice, but odd choice by the signallers

13 late leaving Reading, 17 late arriving Paddington I believe.

 

[ChrisHogan]

14 minutes late at the moment. Hoping for a couple more minutes delay and that pays for a nice dinner

Edit: and now we are being routed along the up relief towards Twyford. Dinner paid for, which is nice, but odd choice by the signallers

Yes, par for the course with Network Rail. 3 mins late at Kintbury. Signaller at Didcot decided to put 1K09 in its booked platform (2) at Newbury (the previous days they started it from platform 1 and screwed up the 1J73 instead). Usual loss of time to Reading where there was no platform so it was diverted to 12 (booked 11), hence running RL. GWR shaved 2 mins off its station allowance so dropping only 4 more minutes running RL to Ruscombe was quite good with the SRT deficiency approaching Paddn. Any timing clerk who thinks a train can get reliably to Paddn from Reading on the UML in 23 or 23.5 minutes doesn't understand the railway. That is why we had 4 or 5 minutes pathing/recovery at Subway in BR days as most up trains were checked at signal OO.55. Nowadays they sit at 30 instead.

Now appears to have been fixed with 1A73 and 1J74 using the timetabled route through Newbury today.