Wimbledon signal box evacuated due to fire.

[Bigfoot]

Wimbledon signal box evacuated due to fire.

From SWT Journey Check page.

Cancellations to services between London Waterloo and New Malden
Due to the fire alarm sounding in a signalbox between London Waterloo and New Malden all lines are blocked.
Impact
Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 04:00 08/11.
Customer Advice
The signalling centre which is responsible for operating the signals and ensuring the safe passage of trains has had to be evacuated due to a fire.

This means that we are unable to run any trains between Waterloo and Barnes/New Malden/Leatherhead and Norbiton.

Trains that are already in service have had to stop and will need to wait until it is safe to move. Please be assured that we are focussed on arranging for trains that have had to wait outside of a station to be safely taken to a platform.

Because of this, services across the whole network may be severely disrupted.

Other lines that will be affected will be:

London Overground (LOROL) services through Clapham Junction
London Underground (Tube) services on the District Line from Wimbledon
Southern Services from London Victoria that go through Clapham Junction.
ThamesLink services that go through Wimbledon

Emergency services are going to the signalling centre and we will keep you informed.

You may use your rail ticket on London Buses between London Waterloo and Wimbledon/Surbiton/Kingston/Twickenham if this will help you to complete your journey.

We are sorry for the disruption to your journey tonight.

Allen trains currently at a stand. Many have been for almost an hour now...

 

[bb21]

Just about a fitting end to an eventful day, not. :roll:

 

[Bigfoot]

The signalling centre which is responsible for operating the signals and ensuring the safe passage of trains has had to be evacuated due to a fire. The fire has now been extinguished and safety checks are being carried out by the fire brigade. When this has been completed, the signalling staff will be allowed to re-enter the centre.

Sounds like it wasn't too large and everyone is safe.

The signalling centre which is responsible for operating the signals and ensuring the safe passage of trains has had to be evacuated due to a fire. The fire has now been extinguished but a fault has developed with the signalling equipment.

This means that we are currently unable to run any trains between Waterloo and Barnes/New Malden/Leatherhead and Norbiton.

 

[Pumbaa]

Yesterday was a farce start to finish.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

How old is Wimbledon box? I thought that some boxes had the staff an maybe the interlocking equipment as well contained in a "fire proof box"

 

[swt_passenger]

How old is Wimbledon box? I thought that some boxes had the staff an maybe the interlocking equipment as well contained in a "fire proof box"

Old enough not to be to the latest specifications, it dates from about 1990 without looking it up. It's an area signalling centre (ASC) not a 'box' in the historic sense, but appears to be a prefabricated building.

 

[gazr]

Signalbox is at the end of platforms 7/8 and I believe is a listed building and OOU. The signalling center which had the fire is a fairly large building located on the old Wimbledon West Yard.

 

[carriageline]

Cue the "wait until it's all controlled by one ROC then watch it get evacuated"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stampy]

Cue the "wait until it's all controlled by one ROC then watch it get evacuated"

Will it be going into Three Bridges ROC ??

Just curious?? :roll:

 

[AndyPJG]

Basingstoke ROC I'd guess.

 

[nom de guerre]

Cue the "wait until it's all controlled by one ROC then watch it get evacuated" :roll:

My place was evacuated fairly recently. Didn't make the press though as it was quite late at night, with only a handful of trains moving.

Vandals set a derelict former pub on fire in a nearby town and our building's air vents are so sensitive that they ingested the smoke. Cue an 'aromatic' operating floor and multiple fire alarms. At least it wasn't a signaller's burnt toast

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Does the ROC that Wimbledon will eventually move into have all the panels in one large room or a series of rooms separated by fireproof bulkheads?

 

[pompeyfan]

Believe Basingstoke will be open plan but with the ability to switch control to another ROC. I was caught up in it.

 

[carriageline]

The ROCs won't be switching control.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[swt_passenger]

Does the ROC that Wimbledon will eventually move into have all the panels in one large room or a series of rooms separated by fireproof bulkheads?

An open plan operating floor with only modern IT and no flammable materials shouldn't present a fire hazard. I think that there's a NR spec for a generic ROC layout somewhere online - the operating floor must be separated from the mess rooms etc. Can't find it at the moment but will look again later.

 

[Carntyne]

An open plan operating floor with only modern IT and no flammable materials shouldn't present a fire hazard. I think that there's a NR spec for a generic ROC layout somewhere online - the operating floor must be separated from the mess rooms etc. Can't find it at the moment but will look again later.

It's not an 'everybody out immediately' type of fire alarm either. Signallers/Control are protected.

 

[theironroad]

The ROCs won't be switching control.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In the original press releases etc about rocs, iirc there was talk about the ability to switch some control to another roc for incidents like fires etc.

has this now been scrapped?

 

[Sunset route]

In the original press releases etc about rocs, iirc there was talk about the ability to switch some control to another roc for incidents like fires etc.

has this now been scrapped?

I don't think it was ever going to be a starter. You are never ever going to sign all of the workstations in your own ROC let alone hold knowledge of the workstations, control systems and special instructions in the other ROCs. Plus where are they going to place all of these spare workstations if all of the opps floor is just for your area. It's an idea like moving block on the mainline without fixed signals that is going to have to wait for the technology to catch up (probably sometime after they finish the great western electrification, MML, transpennine, electric spine and east west rail lol ).

 

[carriageline]

Plus speaking to various S&T chaps that know their onions, it would require quite a rethink on how the equipment is set up. It certainly hasn't been designed in at the this stage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LAX54]

I don't think it was ever going to be a starter. You are never ever going to sign all of the workstations in your own ROC let alone hold knowledge of the workstations, control systems and special instructions in the other ROCs. Plus where are they going to place all of these spare workstations if all of the opps floor is just for your area. It's an idea like moving block on the mainline without fixed signals that is going to have to wait for the technology to catch up (probably sometime after they finish the great western electrification, MML, transpennine, electric spine and east west rail lol ).

True, it was never thought through correctly, for a start you have to have an 'Authority to Work' for whatever w-stn / panel /box you work, and if you do not work that location for 6 months you have to have a 'refresher' before you get a new Authority.

Also, as has been said, where do you keep all these 'extra' workstations ?

But as it seems most of the ROC programme is on a hiatus, then its a bit of a non starter anyway

 

[Bald Rick]

In the original press releases etc about rocs, iirc there was talk about the ability to switch some control to another roc for incidents like fires etc.

has this now been scrapped?

Last time I was involved was in the previous decade, and it wasn't happening then.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Plus speaking to various S&T chaps that know their onions, it would require quite a rethink on how the equipment is set up. It certainly hasn't been designed in at the this stage.

It's about testing. Every signalling function of a control centre must be 'through tested' from the control point to the element on the ground. Ie the relevant switch pushed / pulled / clicked on the screen. If a control centre is to have a back up, the testing requirement doubles. That means twice as many testers, twice as much testing cost, and notably, twice as many weekends of replacement buses. Far better to build in the redundancy at the control centre itself.

Or, look at it another way. Aircraft don't have a back up cockpit.

 

[carriageline]

Also, when I was speaking to our TO about it, he was discussing about how the network switches are set up, in how they send and receive data, and how they act if they don't receive what they expect (I.E. incorrect IP addressed as an example)

OF course, none of this unbeatable, but as you say increases costs and time in installing. How far can you go, for something that doesn't happen once a year? (TBROC has been live for 2 years this Christmas, and we haven't had an evacuation yet! And we have had a few fire alarms, and a few local power cuts which haven't hit us!)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bald Rick]

Also, when I was speaking to our TO about it, he was discussing about how the network switches are set up, in how they send and receive data, and how they act if they don't receive what they expect (I.E. incorrect IP addressed as an example)

OF course, none of this unbeatable, but as you say increases costs and time in installing. How far can you go, for something that doesn't happen once a year? (TBROC has been live for 2 years this Christmas, and we haven't had an evacuation yet! And we have had a few fire alarms, and a few local power cuts which haven't hit us!)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope you had your fingers crossed when you typed that last part.

 

[tsr]

I hope you had your fingers crossed when you typed that last part.

...aaaand there you go!

Sometimes I wonder just how you do get away with it...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
EDIT: For those not informed, signallers at Three Bridges ROC were required to begin the evacuation process shortly after midnight due to a fire alarm sounding. Trains were brought to a stand, for the most part at stations, in many places across the Southern network, but were on the move within around 30mins. There are residual delays but the service is sparse anyway at this time of night. Unless the problem re-occurs, I'm hoping morning peak service will be OK.

 

[Bald Rick]

...aaaand there you go!

Now that is a coincidence too far.

Fortunately I have very strong alibis!

 

[nom de guerre]

You are never ever going to sign all of the workstations in your own ROC

There's at least one ROC-cum-Pebble where the signallers sign all the workstations. Not the norm, I accept.

 

[LAX54]

There's at least one Pebble-cum-ROC where the signallers sign all the workstations. Not the norm, I accept.

Colchester ASC (or what maybe Colchester pebble-cum-ROC) All Signallers sign all workstations (with more to come in 2019 )

 

[Sunset route]

Colchester ASC (or what maybe Colchester pebble-cum-ROC) All Signallers sign all workstations (with more to come in 2019 )

But that doesn't fit in with the fabled promise of 12 ROCs all able to take over each other's territory if there is a total loss of one for whatever reason. As it stands at my location we sign the thick end of 10 panels and we rotate through all of them on our roster but we are not a ROC, but we might end up as one of these proposed 30 odd sub-ROCs.

I still can't see any ROC with maybe up to 30 or 40 workstations being abled to be transferred to another ROC or ROCs and being resourced by their staff holding the correct competence.

 

[LAX54]

But that doesn't fit in with the fabled promise of 12 ROCs all able to take over each other's territory if there is a total loss of one for whatever reason. As it stands at my location we sign the thick end of 10 panels and we rotate through all of them on our roster but we are not a ROC, but we might end up as one of these proposed 30 odd sub-ROCs.

I still can't see any ROC with maybe up to 30 or 40 workstations being abled to be transferred to another ROC or ROCs and being resourced by their staff holding the correct competence.

I agree, I do not think the 'transfer of work' between ROCs was ever really thought through correctly, it never was going to work in reality, in fact here the SSM's have the exact same screens on the desk as the Signallers, but unable to switch in to work any panel, as it is deemed not safe, and the cost (even within the same building) was too high.
We have 3 MCS w/stns and 2 NX panels at the moment, but we do have a couple more w/stns coming over the next 2 years we are told (Wherry Lines)

 

[carriageline]

Now that is a coincidence too far.



Fortunately I have very strong alibis!

Jesus Christ, I simply cannot believe that!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk