Freight train derailed at Lewisham 24/01

[theageofthetra]

I took a morning train from LEE-WAE today which ran as planned.

Top effort from the Orange Army. Was a contractor used or the 'Top Link'?

 

[IanKR]

I took a morning train from LEE-WAE today which ran as planned.

The Bexleyheath - CHX line was fine and dandy this morning

 

[kentman]

With help from London Underground!

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/passengers-thanked-for-their-patience-as-railway-reopens-after-lewisham-derailment

Network Rail engineers and contractors moved the two derailed wagons, shifted 30 tonnes of spilled sand manually with shovels, relaid more than 50 metres of track and fitted a new set of bespoke points, including a crucial component built at very short notice by London Underground at its in-house factory near Earl’s Court.

 

[DJL]

With what kind of (ballpark) timeline could we expect to find out what the cause of the derailment was?

 

[mcmad]

RAIB report around 12 months time. Unofficially, the main cause is likely to slowly leak out in the next month or so I'd guess

 

[hwl]

RAIB report around 12 months time. Unofficially, the main cause is likely to slowly leak out in the next month or so I'd guess

Oooh that long to leak out

 

[DJL]

RAIB report around 12 months time. Unofficially, the main cause is likely to slowly leak out in the next month or so I'd guess

Thanks

 

[Ploughman]

Will there be an RAIB investigation?
Tend to be more Safety alerts or Digests recently.

 

[kentman]

Will there be an RAIB investigation?
Tend to be more Safety alerts or Digests recently.

The press release, at then end, says RAIB are investigating.
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/passengers-thanked-for-their-patience-as-railway-reopens-after-lewisham-derailment

Also on the use of London Underground in-house facilitates to manufacture the crossing parts, after the Lewisham crossover failure a while back the bespoke parts had to be manufactured/sourced from a supplier in Germany, adding to a delay in restoration of service. Having a in-house (or a co-op with LU) supplier for break fix is very good way to go.

 

[OFFDN]

I can't say much, as it would be unfair to the investigation, but going from what I have been told it will probably be longer than your average RAIB investigation.

 

[hwl]

The press release, at then end, says RAIB are investigating.
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/passengers-thanked-for-their-patience-as-railway-reopens-after-lewisham-derailment

Also on the use of London Underground in-house facilitates to manufacture the crossing parts, after the Lewisham crossover failure a while back the bespoke parts had to be manufactured/sourced from a supplier in Germany, adding to a delay in restoration of service. Having a in-house (or a co-op with LU) supplier for break fix is very good way to go.

I looks like they didn't have the of the correct dimension concrete sleepers available so probably got LU to drill the wooden replacement ones.

 

[AndyPJG]

The press release, at then end, says RAIB are investigating.
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/passengers-thanked-for-their-patience-as-railway-reopens-after-lewisham-derailment

Also on the use of London Underground in-house facilitates to manufacture the crossing parts, after the Lewisham crossover failure a while back the bespoke parts had to be manufactured/sourced from a supplier in Germany, adding to a delay in restoration of service. Having a in-house (or a co-op with LU) supplier for break fix is very good way to go.

And the train was still (allegedly) 1km long too in the NR press release. :roll:

 

[Deepgreen]

And the train was still (allegedly) 1km long too in the NR press release. :roll:

How long was the train?

 

[AndyPJG]

18 wagons in the same press release, so each wagon was 55m long. :roll:

 

[Deepgreen]

18 wagons in the same press release, so each wagon was 55m long. :roll:

No wonder it derailed!

 

[hwl]

How long was the train?

About 290m (or about 950' so you might see why someone got confused with a bit of rounding???)

 

[trainmania100]

18 wagons in the same press release, so each wagon was 55m long. :roll:

50 meters is longer than my local leisure centre swimming pool.
I cant see JGA wagons being more than 15 meters in length each

 

[Deepgreen]

50 meters is longer than my local leisure centre swimming pool.
I cant see JGA wagons being more than 15 meters in length each

The point being made was that the correlation between the claimed train length (1km) and wagon numbers (18) would have meant that each wagon would have to be 55m long - which they clearly aren't.

 

[Deepgreen]

About 290m (or about 950' so you might see why someone got confused with a bit of rounding???)

Indeed, but it's a bit concerning when NR openly demonstrates confusion about this sort of thing.

 

[GW43125]

50 meters is longer than my local leisure centre swimming pool.
I cant see JGA wagons being more than 15 meters in length each

One word: Sarcasm :P

 

[DelW]

Initial RAIB description of the derailment is on their website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/freight-train-derailment-lewisham

 

[Dr_Paul]

18 wagons in the same press release, so each wagon was 55m long.

Or perhaps 55 feet long?

 

[talldave]

If they don't refund you promptly, refer the matter to London Travelwatch or Transport Focus, as appropriate (you may wish to refer to PIDD page 8)

Double delay repay means that my travel that day was effectively free, so I'll be OK when the promised funds hit my PayPal account.

 

[AY1975]

Does anyone know exactly where the set of points manufactured by London Underground was installed?

 

[hwl]

Does anyone know exactly where the set of points manufactured by London Underground was installed?

Replacement wooden sleepers including drilling for chairs for half a fixed crossing rather than points (the Lewisham /St John end of the crossing that was destroyed now has wooden rather than concrete sleepers).

The new wooden sleepers can be seen nearest the camera and the surviving concrete one further away in this photo:
http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/resources/lewisham-sunday-2#

 

[Chris M]

The RAIB released their report into the derailment of a freight train on newly-laid track at Courthill Loop South Junction in Lewisham on Wednesday.

At about 05:30 hrs on 24 January 2017 two wagons within an aggregate train derailed on newly-laid track at Courthill Loop South Junction in Lewisham, south-east London. The first of the wagons ran derailed, damaging the track, then overturned spilling its payload of sand. There was major disruption to rail services while the wagons were recovered and the infrastructure reinstated. No-one was injured.

The new track had been installed during renewal w ork on the weekend of 14 and 15 January 2017. It was made up of separate panels of switch and crossing track, comprising the rails, point and crossing components and the supporting concrete bearers. Most of these track panels had been brought to site pre-assembled. A mechanical connector, known as a ‘bearer tie’, was used to join the concrete bearers that were designed to support rails on more than one panel. Network Rail originally developed the concept for this type of track in the mid-2000s; it is referred to as ‘modular S&C’.

Planned follow-up engineering work was undertaken on the subsequent weekend. The derailment happened on the day after hand-back checks on completion of this work had confirmed that the track geometry was suitable for the passage of trains. It occurred because the first of the two derailed wagons, which was probably carrying an uneven payload, encountered a significant track twist, resulting in there being insufficient wheel load at the leading left-hand wheel to prevent its flange climbing over the rail head.

The track twist had developed rapidly following the hand-back because:

• the support offered by the track bed to the concrete bearers was poor
• the inherent flexibility of the bearer ties located between the two running rails made one side of the track more susceptible to the poor track bed support than the other

Network Rail’s engineering processes for specifying and developing modular S&C layouts were an underlying factor, in that they were inadequate for controlling the risks associated with flange climb derailment.

Recommendations
The RAIB has made five recommendations:

• Four are directed to Network Rail, concerned with:
  • the processes it uses to identify and manage risks associated with vertical track geometry features following track renewal and heavy maintenance
  • the design and validation of its modular S&C layouts
• One is directed to RSSB concerned with understanding and managing the derailment risks associated with uneven loading of bulk hopper wagons

The RAIB has additionally identified learning points concerning the management and planning of track installation work, and procedures for the routine maintenance of railway vehicles.

The full report is available at the linked page on the RAIB website, I've not read it yet.

 

[theageofthetra]

It doesn't make for good reading.