West Coast weather warning to and from Scotland for Friday 30/12/2022

[Horizon22]

i must apologise my statement number 1 an act of God is as the other 5, could/can be included in a list of contingency planing... ie if this happens, we call so and so, to arrange so and so, if this cannot be done, we arrange something else... So if we have any problem that stops our service, we arrange that our passengers can get alternative transport or means to go to their destination, if none available somewhere safe to stop till they can be moved... old school planing, and if its done properly your customers are happy, and will travel with you again.
i know that sounds very old fashioned, and its easy for me to say it, but as a train company you ply your trade at a price, to get a person from A-B for a price, its a contract, and if you can't stick to that contract, you should be fined and contract cancelled...
As to emergency staff, you pay to have staff on call, aye thats the rub, people sitting about on call getting paid just in case they are needed, but when they are needed, job done.
All this comes at a price, so profits and stockholders have to take the hit.

You're explaining the same things over and over. I've given you the scenario with the 6 points at hand - what has happened is what you have said " if none available somewhere safe to stop till they can be moved... old school planing, and if its done properly your customers are happy, and will travel with you again"

Only people won't be happy. If you hold hundreds of passengers at say, Preston with no onward travel presently available or in the near future, then they will not be happy. But there might not be anything further you can do for them if plans A/B/C have all been attempted.

Avanti is indeed a bit of a mess continuously but the same scenario could happen to any operator - so should they be "fined and contract cancelled"? That's a tad extreme.

Staff on-call is normally a few individuals. But in certain situations they can offer a helping hand to deal with the disruption and provide advice to teams on the ground. They won't necessarily be able to resolve the issue any quicker.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Avanti is indeed a bit of a mess continuously but the same scenario could happen to any operator - so should they be "fined and contract cancelled"? That's a tad extreme.

Especially as the same people would likely be employed by whoever replaced Avanti.

 

[Horizon22]

Especially as the same people would likely be employed by whoever replaced Avanti.

Well exactly. Wholesale change isn’t going to remove the drivers, platform staff, guards and most control staff.

 

[Walter Whigham]

I'd be interested in knowing how much wriggle-room the TOCs actually have to sort out situations.

It has been intimated to me by an industry contact that TOCs are not allowed to change the figurative lightbulb without permission from DfT- basically any extra cost over a few quid needs specific authorisation. If that's the case then it's DfT micro-management we should be directing ire at, not the TOCs management.

TPO

I can confirm from my own contacts that the DfT is exercising a stranglehold over decisions involving expenditure within TOCs - even small items. Unless and until we can eradicate this cadaverous influence the rail industry is going to continue to suffer. Industry insiders have been berating the attitude of Harper.

 

[exbrel]

You're explaining the same things over and over. I've given you the scenario with the 6 points at hand - what has happened is what you have said " if none available somewhere safe to stop till they can be moved... old school planing, and if its done properly your customers are happy, and will travel with you again"

Only people won't be happy. If you hold hundreds of passengers at say, Preston with no onward travel presently available or in the near future, then they will not be happy. But there might not be anything further you can do for them if plans A/B/C have all been attempted.

Avanti is indeed a bit of a mess continuously but the same scenario could happen to any operator - so should they be "fined and contract cancelled"? That's a tad extreme.

Staff on-call is normally a few individuals. But in certain situations they can offer a helping hand to deal with the disruption and provide advice to teams on the ground. They won't necessarily be able to resolve the issue any quicker.

Avanti have been bad for a good while now, Virgin did well previous, so what happened after the change over, other operators have had problems, but not as bad as Avanti. Some have gone al' together,
Given the land slide was exceptional, was there a chance of stopping the train earlier to give the passengers chance of bus onward travel, or hotels?...or even taking them back on the train.
Regarding the passengers stranded in a locked up station, surely control? knowing a train would be arriving after the staff had gone home, should have had someone called out to open the station, and give infomation to the them.
Its not good enough in 2022 for things like this to happen, our railways must be a laughing stock to the rest of the world.

 

[snowball]

Press release with video

West Coast Mainline repair works completed

Emergency engineering works to fix flood-damage to the West Coast Mainline near Carstairs have now been completed.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Emergency engineering works to fix flood-damage to the West Coast Mainline near Carstairs have now been completed.

The line will reopen for passenger trains on Friday, January 6, but customers are being urged only to travel if their journey is essential as services on the line will be severely limited by ongoing RMT strike action.

Engineers have been working around-the-clock to repair and reopen the line since heavy rain on December 30 caused a landslip beneath the tracks – destabilising the foundations of the railway.

Over the last week, work has been undertaken to remove hundreds of tonnes of loose material from beneath the line, regrade the slopes and install over 300 tonnes of new stone to stabilise the embankment.

The track has also been relaid and signalling systems tested ahead of the line reopening on Friday.

 

[Class83]

Press release with video

West Coast Mainline repair works completed

Emergency engineering works to fix flood-damage to the West Coast Mainline near Carstairs have now been completed.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Good work by the repair team there.

Though it does beg the question, given the proximity to Lamington, wasn't that whole section checked thoroughly after that and preventative engineering carried out at vulnerable points. Hopefully that is something which will be done this summer to prevent repeats, the upper Clyde valley section from Carstairs to Abington has often looked pretty soggy over the years, and unfortunately we're not getting any less rain.