Storm Doris Thursday 23rd - Major disruption on some routes

[Wivenswold]

Not likely to be snow, even on the highest parts of the line, with temperatures only down to about 3C and heavy, driving, rain. You might be lucky, though.

To add to Deepgreen's comment. The easiest way to see whether it will be snow or rain is to look at the "Dew point" aka "wet bulb temperature". In effect this differs from the advertised air temp as it indicates the temperature of water in the air. The dew point near the surface has to be below freezing for snow to form and fall.

So the air temp that you see on forecasts gives little indication of snow potential.

 

[gavin]

Updated info from national rail

"Arriva Trains Wales

A 50 mph speed restriction will be imposed at a number of locations in Wales, resulting in possible delays to trains of up to 15 minutes. Arriva Trains Wales services will also be temporarily suspended between Wolverhampton and Birmingham International - the last service out of Birmingham will be the 09:10 Birmingham International to Holyhead, and services will resume with the 11:27 Holyhead to Birmingham (New Street only).

Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink

Due to unusually high winds, widespread speed restrictions have had to be imposed for safety reasons due to the likelihood of line obstructions being encountered. Disruption to train services is expected from 07:00 onwards, and may increase in severity throughout the day.

Customers should see the Alternative Routes posters here for Southern and Thameslink, or at the station, for more information on how to complete your journey should your service be affected. Please be aware that buses have a limited capacity and you may not be able to board the first available bus.

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains plan to run a full timetable on Thursday 23 February. But speed restrictions mean it is possible journeys might take longer than usual. If customers want to change their journey, tickets for travel tomorrow can either be used for the rest of today, or on Friday providing you begin your journey before 14:00."

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/today.aspx

 

[Blindtraveler]

Unclear if they will allow usage of different trains than booked during tomorrow as ideally Id like to go a bitty earlier than planned to allow time for it all to go horribly wrong.

 

[CommuterPigeon]

Chiltern have also said due to strong winds their trains will be restricted to 50mph between 1000 and 1600 tomorrow. Nice of the storm to pass through their neck of the woods off peak!

 

[96tommy]

VTEC advising those booked on trains tomorrow to travel tonight or Friday. I'm booked on a train from Kings X tomorrow night so take it it means I can travel tonight.

 

[D1009]

Chiltern have also said due to strong winds their trains will be restricted to 50mph between 1000 and 1600 tomorrow. Nice of the storm to pass through their neck of the woods off peak!

If they are limited to 50 mph for that length of time, it is highly likely the resultant displacement of rolling stock and train crew will cause disruption in the peak, even if there is no actual damage to the infrastructure.

 

[gavin]

VTEC advising those booked on trains tomorrow to travel tonight or Friday. I'm booked on a train from Kings X tomorrow night so take it it means I can travel tonight.

Yes though a seat wouldn't be guaranteed

 

[Groningen]

Several trainseries are deleted tomorrow in the Netherlands. Although it arrives in the afternoon; it (i believe) for the whole day. BTW; why not call the storm Donald! In Germany the storm is called Thomas!

 

[Cletus]

1st Southeastern changes. Seems a bit of a over-reaction? Didn't think the weather was going to be that bad down here?

https://www.southeasternrailway.co....784538974#INC76EF0C46CFC64A7FAA667D2A06D26680

Strong winds due to #StormDoris are forecast across Kent tomorrow, Thursday 23 February.

Trains services across our entire network will be affected by a 50mph speed restriction from midday to 17:00.

Coastal routes between Ashford and Ramsgate and between Hastings and Battle will be subject to a 50mph speed restriction from 10:00 to 17:00.



- High Speed services between Ashford and Ramsgate via Dover Priory will be diverted via Canterbury West between 10:00 and 18:00

- An additional shuttle service between Dover Priory and Ramsgate will run between these times.

 

[96tommy]

Got to Kings X and they said they haven't heard anything about the ticket acceptances so bit sure what's going on

 

[ANorthernGuard]

From our internal website

Storm Doris is predicted to impact the north of England on Thursday morning, and we are asking all colleagues to be prepared.

It is unclear, at this stage, exactly what impact Doris may have on transport networks, but high winds and heavy rain are forecast, particularly west of the Pennines, with the potential to cause disruption to rail services.

The Met Office predicts the worst of the storm is likely to hit between 09:00 and 15:00. We will make every effort to run as many services as possible and keep disruption to a minimum, but customers are being advised to check National Rail Enquiries before travelling, and colleagues are advised to make allowances in their journeys to work tomorrow.

 

[attics26]

Got to Kings X and they said they haven't heard anything about the ticket acceptances so bit sure what's going on

Twitter account

Virgin Trains ECVerified account‏@Virgin_TrainsEC 2h2 hours ago
More
#VTECUpdate Due to forecast bad weather avoid travel tomorrow (23 Feb) if possible. Booked tix valid for trains tonight until 12.00 Friday.

 

[bengley]

GTR Southern alterations... Seems a tad of an overreaction but we'll see how it pans out tomorrow.

London to Portsmouth/Southampton via Barnham:

Between around 11:00 and 18:00 customers travelling on the route between Southampton/Portsmouth and London may need to change trains at Barnham. Trains to and from London will only be running to and from Bognor Regis.

London Victoria to Brighton:

Between around 11:00 and 18:00 there will only be 1 direct train per hour between London Victoria and Brighton, customers should use Thameslink services to and from London, changing at East Croydon for travel to and from London Victoria.

Ashford to Brighton:

Direct trains from Ashford to Brighton will only run between Ashford and Eastbourne, customers will need to change and use alternative services between Eastbourne and Brighton.

Thameslink: London Bridge to Brighton

There will be no direct service from London Bridge to Brighton between around 11:00 and 18:00, customers should travel to East Croydon and change for alternative trains towards Brighton.

 

[LBSCR Times]

GTR Southern alterations... Seems a tad of an overreaction but we'll see how it pans out tomorrow.

Network Rail insist on service reductions once the expected wind speed reaches 50mph, so GTR have to plan accordingly.

 

[MichaelAMW]

Stagecoach seem to be the ones with a bit more bravado or a bit less panic. While Southern and Southeastern are imposing speed limits and cancelling trains, adjacent SWT are planning a near-normal service. Similarly in the midlands, EMT are planning to run as normal. That said, nearby VTEC are advising passengers to avoid travelling - usual worry about the wires falling asunder?

 

[Skimble19]

With regards to the Great Northern side of GTR, SDC have sent the following out (although it does seem to have been reworded slightly on the customer site).

The following message is being put out on the GN website, regarding tomorrow's expected high winds.

Extreme High Winds Storm Doris

High winds are forecast to arrive from the west across the Great Northern area during the daytime on Thursday 23rd February which will impact our train service and result in disruption and short notice alterations and cancellations. Passengers are advised to check their plans before setting off to travel as gale force winds from Storm Doris have prompted Network Rail to impose a speed restriction for trains travelling north of Hitchin between 11.00 and 18.00hrs.

 

[LBSCR Times]

Stagecoach seem to be the ones with a bit more bravado or a bit less panic. While Southern and Southeastern are imposing speed limits and cancelling trains, adjacent SWT are planning a near-normal service. Similarly in the midlands, EMT are planning to run as normal. That said, nearby VTEC are advising passengers to avoid travelling - usual worry about the wires falling asunder?

It is Network Rail that impose the speed restrictions, NOT the TOC's.

 

[gavin]

VTEC are starting to cancel services for tomorrow now

44 services cancelled so far

 

[Darandio]

VTEC are starting to cancel services for tomorrow now

44 services canceled so far

All depends where you look.

As of 21:03 on this page....... https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/travel-information/timetable-changes/

No changes and 'We expect a good service across the Virgin Trains East Coast route'. However, the yellow banner above says otherwise.

To be fair, they probably don't know their arse from their elbow tonight.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

Internal TPE messages may see LIV - newcastle services operating as a shuttle NCL-YRK, middlesbrough services may form the ××:53 departures from York to MIA as opposed to the ××:24 path as a blanket 50mph restriction may be imposed from Diggle/Dore to DON, Clee, Hull, YRK, SCA, MBR and NCL. Such a speed restriction will also impact on and affect VTEC, GC and XC services

 

[gavin]

I wonder if VTEC will reinstate later services should the winds not cause and major damage?

 

[gimmea50anyday]

Following Northbound VTEC services have been cancelled

09:08 KGX-YRK
10:00 KGX-ABD
11:05 KGX-LDS
11:08 KGX-YRK
11:30 KGX-EDB
12:03 KGX-LDS
12:30 KGX-EDB

Added to that the following Southbound services have been cancelled

11:45 LDS-KGX
11:54 NWK-KGX
12:03 YRK-KGX

 

[D1009]

This is something which has changed a lot very recently. The railway has become far more proactive to weather forecasts rather than reactive to the actual weather, both TOCs and Network Rail. We all know that weather forecasts are never 100% reliable, but if the railway is better prepared for the chances of it going tits up, that's surely got to be a good thing.

 

[gavin]

Following VTEC services have been cancelled

09:08 KGX-YRK
10:00 KGX-ABD
11:05 KGX-LDS
11:08 KGX-YRK
12:03 KGX-LDS

They've cancelled way more that that 40+

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/travel-information/travel-alerts/#serviceupdates

"Storm Doris means we’re expecting high winds tomorrow (Thursday 23 Feb). As a result, we’re running a reduced timetable and journeys are likely to take much longer than usual. If you wish to change your journey you can use your ticket for travel tonight (22 Feb) or before 14:00 on Friday. We’re sorry for any inconvenience."

 

[marks87]

All depends where you look.

As of 21:03 on this page....... https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/travel-information/timetable-changes/

No changes and 'We expect a good service across the Virgin Trains East Coast route'. However, the yellow banner above says otherwise.

To be fair, they probably don't know their arse from their elbow tonight.

But if you look on the service updates page there's a ton of services cancelled.

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/travel-information/travel-alerts/#serviceupdates

Edit: oops, sat too long before clicking reply. Already posted above.

 

[D1009]

They've cancelled way more that that 40+

https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/travel-information/travel-alerts/#serviceupdates

"Storm Doris means we’re expecting high winds tomorrow (Thursday 23 Feb). As a result, we’re running a reduced timetable and journeys are likely to take much longer than usual. If you wish to change your journey you can use your ticket for travel tonight (22 Feb) or before 14:00 on Friday. We’re sorry for any inconvenience."

As customer information, that website looks crap to me.

 

[dk1]

Oddly enough GA are reporting possible disruption but only on the Sheringham & Clacton lines. Seems a very random couple of routes to select.

 

[gavin]

Cancelled services going up on twitter

https://twitter.com/Virgin_TrainsEC

 

[Timrud]

I've got to do a return XC journey from Sheffield to Birmingham - oh joy!

 

[rg177]

Internal TPE messages may see LIV - newcastle services operating as a shuttle NCL-YRK, middlesbrough services may form the ××:53 departures from York to MIA as opposed to the ××:24 path as a blanket 50mph restriction may be imposed from Diggle/Dore to DON, Clee, Hull, YRK, SCA, MBR and NCL. Such a speed restriction will also impact on and affect VTEC, GC and XC services

Interesting, NRE saying no Newcastle services at all with ticket acceptance in place etc. I'm booked on the 1942 tomorrow from Picc to Huddersfield then 2021 to Newcastle.

Oh well, it's only York to Newcastle so someone will run something eventually. Will probably aim to travel back to York a tad earlier.