Xmas Train Alert - Some Windy Weather.....

[HawkTheSeagull]

The above, its going to cock trains up from tomorrow afternoon and Xmas Eve.

Southern are (somehow) planning to run a full service with delay and cancellations, though a 50mph blanket speed restriction has been put in place by Network Rail with the Mainline and Coast services expected to be badly hit.

FCC are running a full service until 12PM, then a reduced service will run.

Whats going to hit is only a bit less worse than the storm at the end of October which saw over a hundred trees fall on rail lines in Sussex alone, so of course this is a precaution and trains will still run unlike the last storm.

 

[JTR938]

FFS!!! Seriously fed up with these trains now!!

 

[clapham_gull]

Started early. Currently no trains between Hastings and Tunbridge Wells due to one of those regular landslides in the Wadhurst area. Just got a lift to Sevenoaks.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

FFS!!! Seriously fed up with these trains now!!

If you want to be on a train going at 90mph which then hits a tree it then be my guest !! Stopping distance is long too, so collision is inevitable.

Speed restriction lowers the risk of a serious collision.

Started early. Currently no trains between Hastings and Tunbridge Wells due to one of those regular landslides in the Wadhurst area. Just got a lift to Sevenoaks.

They were meant to have sorted that the other day. They either didnt do a decent enough job or all the rain has made it fail again.

 

[worthingseagull123]

If you want to be on a train going at 90mph which then hits a tree it then be my guest !! Stopping distance is long too, so collision is inevitable.

Speed restriction lowers the risk of a serious collision.



They were meant to have sorted that the other day. They either didnt do a decent enough job or all the rain has made it fail again.

To be fair, Southern Trains cannot be trusted to run an acceptable service when the weather is fine

http://www.theargus.co.uk/NEWS/1089...almost_half_of_Southern_Rail_trains_run_late/

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

To be fair, Southern Trains cannot be trusted to run an acceptable service when the weather is fine

http://www.theargus.co.uk/NEWS/1089...almost_half_of_Southern_Rail_trains_run_late/

The majority of the time its down to the awful infastructure failing or "3rd party" incidents (people being hit by trains etc). Though the constant trains breaking down do need sorting, especially on those Gatwick Express trains, not a day goes past without 1 breaking down.

 

[worthingseagull123]

The majority of the time its down to the awful infastructure failing or "3rd party" incidents (people being hit by trains etc). Though the constant trains breaking down do need sorting, especially on those Gatwick Express trains, not a day goes past without 1 breaking down.

Fair play, it is not all Southerns fault. But there has been a lot of cancellations owing to breaking down trains and members of train crew not being available.

Network rail are also very poor. It seems every week there are signal problems. Perhaps if they gave less to shareholders and spent more on maintanence we would not have weekly signal failures.

My gripes with Southern extend way beyond train punctuality though. Why the run 10 car empty trains, and then have packed 8 car ones (minutes apart) is beyond me.

They need to scrap Gatwick Express, or make it same price as regular Southern services and have it stop at East Croydon.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Fair play, it is not all Southerns fault. But there has been a lot of cancellations owing to breaking down trains and members of train crew not being available.

Network rail are also very poor. It seems every week there are signal problems. Perhaps if they gave less to shareholders and spent more on maintanence we would not have weekly signal failures.

My gripes with Southern extend way beyond train punctuality though. Why the run 10 car empty trains, and then have packed 8 car ones (minutes apart) is beyond me.

They need to scrap Gatwick Express, or make it same price as regular Southern services and have it stop at East Croydon.

Staff issues are being sorted, a hell of a lot of staff have been taken on recently.

The 10-car, 8-car issue is operational reasons. Chances are that they call at different stations, or 1 is a fast service and 1 is a stopper. Although they would leave minutes apart, the arrival times at the station would be different and both would arrive full up.

For Gatwick Express, id extend them to Brighton, also to Eastbourne and Littlehampton. It might actually carry passengers then outside peak times.

 

[worthingseagull123]

Staff issues are being sorted, a hell of a lot of staff have been taken on recently.

The 10-car, 8-car issue is operational reasons. Chances are that they call at different stations, or 1 is a fast service and 1 is a stopper. Although they would leave minutes apart, the arrival times at the station would be different and both would arrive full up.

For Gatwick Express, id extend them to Brighton, also to Eastbourne and Littlehampton. It might actually carry passengers then outside peak times.

Gatwick Express needs sorting. At 1600 one passes through East Croydon, 10 coaches and less than 30 people on it (i have counted). At 1603 the Ore - Littlehampton turns up, eight carriages and rammed.

The Ore/Littlephampton trains leaves Victoria at 1547. It passes a 10 coach train headed to Sutton (again near empty). Why not do 10 coach trains to Ore and Littlehampton, 5 coaches each, dividing at HH?

 

[Guinness Boy]

The majority of the time its down to Thea awful infastructure failing or "3rd party" incidents (people being hit by trains etc). Though the constant trains breaking down do need sorting, especially on those Gatwick Express trains, not a day goes past without 1 breaking down.

Whoever the initial fault is with it always results in an omnishambles. Friday was classic. Signal failure at Redhill which is the responsibility of NR.But then no one knew what trains were running where. Platform alterations all over the show, no information and a guy on our train (8.04 from Gatwick) insisting the train was going to Redhill while the platform staff at Gatwick insisted it wasn't. Net result? Train full of confused people with massive suitcases being dumped at Purley. Then on the way home the train just stopped at HH and had to be rebooted. I kid you not, turn the train off and on again. It took so long for the ****wits involved to do so that the train then no longer stopped at half the advertised stations.

I'm not asking anyone to ram a train in to a tree. But basic competence for £4K a year would be nice.

 

[Frutos]

What happens if, come lunchtime tomorrow, there is no extreme weather?

Presumably the restrictions would be lifted?

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Gatwick Express needs sorting. At 1600 one passes through East Croydon, 10 coaches and less than 30 people on it (i have counted). At 1603 the Ore - Littlehampton turns up, eight carriages and rammed.

The Ore/Littlephampton trains leaves Victoria at 1547. It passes a 10 coach train headed to Sutton (again near empty). Why not do 10 coach trains to Ore and Littlehampton, 5 coaches each, dividing at HH?

Because 5 coach trains dont exist. Whoever plans how the 8 car/4 car split happens is beyond me as often the 8 car is empty and the 4 car is full and standing. Lots of operational reasons behind it too which are complicated to explain. Some trains cant run on certain routes either.

What happens if, come lunchtime tomorrow, there is no extreme weather?

Presumably the restrictions would be lifted?

Fairly sure the restrictions would get brought in at midday as its going to hit us from 4PM onwards. But yeah, should the weather change, then a normal service would run.

 

[Frutos]

Fairly sure the restrictions would get brought in at midday as its going to hit us from 4PM onwards. But yeah, should the weather change, then a normal service would run.

Forgive the daft question, but why would there be restrictions four hours before something that might not happen?

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Forgive the daft question, but why would there be restrictions four hours before something that might not happen?

Because the last time they made a switch to an "emergency" service, they completely buggered it up and nothing could run because everything is all over the place.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Because 5 coach trains dont exist. .

Yes they do. About half the Gatwick Express trains are 5 cars. It's just that some of them were supposed to be 10 cars long before the inevitable breakage of doors on the 40 year old stock no one knows how to maintain.

 

[Frutos]

Because the last time they made a switch to an "emergency" service, they completely buggered it up

How unusual.

To think, it's the 21st Century, fares rise all the time and yet we're still expected to put up with toilet-less, archaic trains and an infrastructure which can't cope with the British weather.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Because the last time they made a switch to an "emergency" service, they completely buggered it up and nothing could run because everything is all over the place.

I rest my case m'lud.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Yes they do. About half the Gatwick Express trains are 5 cars. It's just that some of them were supposed to be 10 cars long before the inevitable breakage of doors on the 40 year old stock no one knows how to maintain.

I meant in the normal Southern stock. The 10-car trains on the Sutton line are made up of multiple units. Actually that said, Southern are taking delivery of brand new 5-car trains but they are for use in the London area only as the government have set franchise requirements that London Urban services must be 10-car in length.

The rest of your post is 100% correct though.

How unusual.

To think, it's the 21st Century, fares rise all the time and yet we're still expected to put up with toilet-less, archaic trains and an infrastructure which can't cope with the British weather.

We probably have some of the most contrasting weather in the world. It can either be incredibly cold with lots of snow, then incredibly wet with lots of rain, then incredibly hot, then incredibly windy. Infrastructure takes a pounding in extreme weather, which is bad enough as its in a bad condition as it is. Government need to stop with stupid HS2 projects and improve what we already have.

 

[worthingseagull123]

Because 5 coach trains dont exist. Whoever plans how the 8 car/4 car split happens is beyond me as often the 8 car is empty and the 4 car is full and standing. Lots of operational reasons behind it too which are complicated to explain. Some trains cant run on certain routes either.



Fairly sure the restrictions would get brought in at midday as its going to hit us from 4PM onwards. But yeah, should the weather change, then a normal service would run.

I am sure the new Southern London routes are served by 5 coach trains. They look high density and do not have first class. Ideal for rush hour coastway trains (they should do away with first class as it seems to be used only by Southern senior managers as well as Network Rail managers (see a lot of first class users go into Southern House in Croydon - I think that is what it is called, by the Waitrose).

Also could the Gatwick Express trains ever split at Haywards Heath like the Southern ones do (for Ore, Littlehampton etc).

 

[Frutos]

We probably have some of the most contrasting weather in the world. It can either be incredibly cold with lots of snow, then incredibly wet with lots of rain, then incredibly hot, then incredibly windy. Infrastructure takes a pounding in extreme weather, which is bad enough as its in a bad condition as it is. Government need to stop with stupid HS2 projects and improve what we already have.

Without meaning to be rude (and I'm genuinely not attempting to start an argument here), your definition of "incredibly" is ridiculous.

We in this country do not have weather that is "incredibly" anything at all.

I fully agree with you on the need for improvement though - would be nice to think that the latest fare increases would be spent on that rather than payrises for senior management.