Weather related disruption 10/08

[londonmidland]

Just an advanced warning of anyone traveling out on the trains tomorrow to check their journey beforehand.

With strong winds and trees in full leaf, the wind speeds will have much more of an effect than say in winter, where most trees are bare.

Expect there to be some fallen trees just about anywhere on the network, and with saturated ground from all the recent rainfall, this could happen quite easily.

From the Met Office;
‘Unseasonably strong southwesterly winds are expected to cause some disruption, with gusts over 40 mph quite widely inland. Gusts over 50 mph are possible across parts of central and south-eastern England, particularly in association with showers. Gusts in excess of 60 mph are likely around coasts of Bristol Channel, English Channel and through the Strait of Dover’

 

[TrainGeekUK]

Was a tree down at Pulborough earlier which snarled up the Arun Valley route for a good hour... All removed swiftly and things returning to normal.

 

[ComUtoR]

Blanket 50mph restriction across all Kent routes. (0400 - 1800)

 

[Cletus]

Why is it that we are restricted to 50mph between Dover Priory and Ashford, but are able to go at full speed on the HS1 line?

 

[MadCommuter]

Why is it that we are restricted to 50mph between Dover Priory and Ashford, but are able to go at full speed on the HS1 line?

Less lineside vegetation with it being new construction?

 

[MalaiseForever]

Why is it that we are restricted to 50mph between Dover Priory and Ashford, but are able to go at full speed on the HS1 line?

HS1 overhead wires are built to withstand perpendicular winds at up to 100mph.

 

[Cletus]

Possibly.

Dover to Ashford doesn’t really have any more vegetation than the HS line though. Perhaps it’s just easier to have one speed limit than looking at lines individually.

 

[Cletus]

HS1 overhead wires are built to withstand perpendicular winds at up to 100mph.

Thanks.

 

[86246]

Journey check is reporting that the 07:07 Lowestoft to Ipswich has hit a tree between Oulton Broad South and Beccles. The line has reopened but reports that the driving cab is damaged. If so, they now have three damaged units.

 

[dk1]

Journey check is reporting that the 07:07 Lowestoft to Ipswich has hit a tree between Oulton Broad South and Beccles. The line has reopened but reports that the driving cab is damaged. If so, they now have three damaged units.

Thankfully just the windscreen by the sound of things.

 

[BrettSy96]

I was on the 07:07 Lowestoft to Ipswich sitting near the front, was a fairly large tree we hit too so lucky it wasn’t worse!

 

[dk1]

I was on the 07:07 Lowestoft to Ipswich sitting near the front, was a fairly large tree we hit too so lucky it wasn’t worse!

Cheers for that. Crown Point should have that back out by tomorrow should Depot space allow it. Thought your lovely (newish) driver would've taken that bit of branch as a souvenir.

 

[221129]

Flooding has shut the down WCML at Oxenholme with the up passable with a 15Mph ESR.

 

[BrettSy96]

There was a lovely bit of branch that somehow managed to wedge itself in the front set of passenger doors, that he could have took as a souvenir!

 

[221129]

Just a tad damp at Plumpton on the WCML... if I could work out how to shrink the file size I'd upload a photo from the train.

 

[QueensCurve]

HS1 overhead wires are built to withstand perpendicular winds at up to 100mph.

And without the massive ugly steelwork of the GWML.

 

[theironroad]

50mph blanket Southampton to Weymouth currently. (Until 1800 I think)

 

[tony_mac]

wcml is now closed around Lockerbie due to flooding. Message from train manager was no information on when it may reopen.
Tickets are being accepted via York.

 

[_toommm_]

Just a tad damp at Plumpton on the WCML... if I could work out how to shrink the file size I'd upload a photo from the train.

Take a screenshot of the photo - decreases it to about 1-2MB.

 

[221129]

Take a screenshot of the photo - decreases it to about 1-2MB.

Thank you, hopefully this will work

 

[irish_rail]

Tree down at crofton earlier. 0903 off Paddington took best part of 6 hours to eventually reach Plymouth! Severe delays to all other west country services with trains diverted via swindon

 

[Macwomble]

Hate to say this.....but it's been a lovely day here in "Hamilton West" land.

 

[InOban]

Beautiful in Oban!

 

[djpontrack]

Crap in Morecambe!

 

[djpontrack]

And the weather is awful too!

 

[DavidGrain]

Was at Birmingham New Street this evening. XC trains badly affected by tree on line near Tamworth. My sister going for the 1933 to Reading actually caught the 1833 running an hour late and was advised to get off at Leamington and catch the following train 4 minutes behind as her train was being terminated at Banbury.

All Nottingham trains cancelled so the Newcastle train was making extra stops at Tamworth and Burton on Trent. The Leeds train diverted via Lichfield with a bus from there to Tamworth.

Separately a train from London was expected 30 minutes late.

 

[al78]

Unfortunately it looks like August crapness is now in full swing. More low pressure and rain over the next week, with potentially some large accumulations over the hilly parts of NW UK. Scotland appears to be getting hammered with rain nearly all of summer so far.

It has now been 16 years since we had a really good August weatherwise.

 

[Bungle]

Was at Birmingham New Street this evening. XC trains badly affected by tree on line near Tamworth. My sister going for the 1933 to Reading actually caught the 1833 running an hour late and was advised to get off at Leamington and catch the following train 4 minutes behind as her train was being terminated at Banbury.

All Nottingham trains cancelled so the Newcastle train was making extra stops at Tamworth and Burton on Trent. The Leeds train diverted via Lichfield with a bus from there to Tamworth.

Separately a train from London was expected 30 minutes late.

I was also at New St last night, taking the 2103 to Leeds (ex-Bournemouth.) It became delayed on the approach, and appeared that most WCML “direct” (via Trent Valley) services were diverting through New St due to a blockage on the WCML somewhere between Lichfield and Tamworth. As I waited on platform 7, a diverted Euston-Manchester (next stop Crewe) came through and waited there for a good while before moving on, without “calling” as such. This caused obvious congestion at New Street and many short-notice platform alterations (in my case, the announcement went out and by the time we got up and over to platform 8, the train was pulling in.)

This got me thinking... are Virgin no longer able to divert via Stechford - Aston and on towards Wolverhampton/Stafford from there, avoiding New Street? I travelled on that line from Crewe to Coventry many years ago (2005/6) on a Pendolino, so it has been done before, and is surely less congested than going via New Street and Sandwell & Dudley. Have they stopped using it as a diversion, or was there another reason it was not used/unavailable?

With regards XC going via Lichfield, this was always planned after 20:00 last night and all day today anyway (according to NRE.) My train was always booked to call there, it was advertised as such when I booked 2 weeks ago. Did something happen in the afternoon to cause earlier diversions? What time did the fallen tree occur?

 

[pt_mad]

I was also at New St last night, taking the 2103 to Leeds (ex-Bournemouth.) It became delayed on the approach, and appeared that most WCML “direct” (via Trent Valley) services were diverting through New St due to a blockage on the WCML somewhere between Lichfield and Tamworth. As I waited on platform 7, a diverted Euston-Manchester (next stop Crewe) came through and waited there for a good while before moving on, without “calling” as such. This caused obvious congestion at New Street and many short-notice platform alterations (in my case, the announcement went out and by the time we got up and over to platform 8, the train was pulling in.)

This got me thinking... are Virgin no longer able to divert via Stechford - Aston and on towards Wolverhampton/Stafford from there, avoiding New Street? I travelled on that line from Crewe to Coventry many years ago (2005/6) on a Pendolino, so it has been done before, and is surely less congested than going via New Street and Sandwell & Dudley. Have they stopped using it as a diversion, or was there another reason it was not used/unavailable?

With regards XC going via Lichfield, this was always planned after 20:00 last night and all day today anyway (according to NRE.) My train was always booked to call there, it was advertised as such when I booked 2 weeks ago. Did something happen in the afternoon to cause earlier diversions? What time did the fallen tree occur?

It was loss of signalling Northbound between Lichfield and Rugeley. I believe 390s and 221s can divert via Aston, perhaps it had to go through Birmingham New St for train crew reasons?

 

[voyagerdude220]

I was also at New St last night, taking the 2103 to Leeds (ex-Bournemouth.) It became delayed on the approach, and appeared that most WCML “direct” (via Trent Valley) services were diverting through New St due to a blockage on the WCML somewhere between Lichfield and Tamworth. As I waited on platform 7, a diverted Euston-Manchester (next stop Crewe) came through and waited there for a good while before moving on, without “calling” as such. This caused obvious congestion at New Street and many short-notice platform alterations (in my case, the announcement went out and by the time we got up and over to platform 8, the train was pulling in.)

This got me thinking... are Virgin no longer able to divert via Stechford - Aston and on towards Wolverhampton/Stafford from there, avoiding New Street? I travelled on that line from Crewe to Coventry many years ago (2005/6) on a Pendolino, so it has been done before, and is surely less congested than going via New Street and Sandwell & Dudley. Have they stopped using it as a diversion, or was there another reason it was not used/unavailable?

With regards XC going via Lichfield, this was always planned after 20:00 last night and all day today anyway (according to NRE.) My train was always booked to call there, it was advertised as such when I booked 2 weeks ago. Did something happen in the afternoon to cause earlier diversions? What time did the fallen tree occur?

Very likely to have been the 19:30 Euston to Preston, which diverted via Birmingham New Street.