Storm Henk travel disruption 02/01/24

[Sun Chariot]

Everything at standstill and cancelled through Southampton, Fareham, Portsmouth and Havant. Looks like it until the end of the day .... Although Southern are running as far as Chichester and turning round there.

My local station (where West Coastway and Pompey Direct Line merge) told me the West Coastway's closed due to fallen trees, although I don't know specific location(s).

 

[Andy Ps Bricks]

I've just tried to travel from Eastleigh to Cosham and ended up stuck at Swaythling for a few hours. The London - Portsmouth via Basingstoke trains were delayed so I decided to get on the stopper service to Southampton and change there.

The train was held at Swaythling for two hours then eventually cancelled (along with every other train in the area) and with no replacement buses. Fortunately a family member gave me a lift home otherwise I would've been stranded or faced paying a three figure sum for a taxi home.

 

[MarkWi72]

Indeed, the most recent attempt I recall was to build a new lagoon to hold the flood water they pump out so it can be dispersed. Unfortunately, when you get day after day (week after week) of rain, it cannot cope.

[Slight digression. According to a local history book, the old GWR didn't really want to build the Badminton cut-off (i.e. the link from Wootton Bassett Jn to Stoke Gifford Jn via Chipping Sodbury, so that trains for south Wales didn't need to go MLN via Box). There's a story that after getting the Act of Parliament to enable it, they realised the cost was more than originally expected due to geology, so delayed building it for years..... until the original Vale of Glamorgan Railway joined forces with the Barry railway to propose a direct route to London via a Severn bridge...... the deal for withdrawing the proposal being that GWR finally build the Badminton Cutoff and allow access. This was in the days when Barry Docks was one of the main coal exporting ports in the world, so seems plausible.]



It was very wet here in south Wales overnight, and the rain was falling onto already saturated ground. The Valleys have also been affected today, with flooding between Pontypridd and Merthyr/Aberdare (the Treherbert line is of course still under blockade for upgrade). Penarth-Rhymney was running to timetable, with trains running a shuttle pattern Cardiff-Rhoose (vice Bridgend) and out to Barry Island. The train planners basically rejigged the whole timetable. [This used to be done as a matter of course in the past when flooding closed the Merthyr and Aberdare lines in the "usual places" so I guess they have some pre-done schedules they can use].

It's times like this that any cut backs in Off Track a few years ago will be felt. Not just falling trees, but at this time of year, drainage ditches need constant clearing, (yesterday I noticed a lot of huge puddles where road drains had blocked- it's not just the railway). Traffic Wales also suggests that the A483 is closed due to flooding in the "usual place" at Builth Wells, and I'm quite surprised that the A483 at Pool Quay isn't also under water the way it was in 2000.

These things go in phases- typically in line with ENSO (En Nino Southern Oscillation). I wish people would stop falling back on the too-convenient excuse of climate change, and understand the consequences of a beancounter-led approach to maintenance. It's too easy to say "climate change" and not face the responsibility for making the wrong call by saving a few quid from cutting staff. There's a LOT that can be done to cope with any changing climatic conditions, but that needs a practical approach starting with enough people to maintain ALL of the infrastructure properly- including the "Cinderella" elements called Drains, Vegetation and suchlike.

TPO

When I earlier mentioned "climate change" (a convenient monicker for a wider issue, granted) I am talking about the issues which are leading to the worsening , extreme weather patterns we are experiencing. We do have wet and windy winters, down to ENSO, and have for sometime, but recently these usual weather issues are being exacerbated by climate change/warming etc.

This is no excuse for not updating maintenance and spending on infrastructure and human resources. There are things railways could do a lot better and , hopefully, they will see the business case for doing so (sometimes passenger satisfaction and comfort can be secondary priorities).

For example, what can be done to strengthen or maintain OLE against high winds? Isn't there some innovatory technology out there? Flood issues must be tackled, but I fear this isn't the sole responsibility of the railway.

 

[MikeWM]

Something appears to be blocking Waterbeach-Ely, doesn't look like anything has moved for 90 minutes or so. Another good day to have worked from home...

Seems a bit odd though, the storm barely hit here at all, was merely a little bit gusty for half an hour.

 

[dk1]

Separate issue. Tree on the down line at Bentley AHB.

Cheers, not seen that one yet. Quite a night out there.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Okehampton was only reopened in 2019

In June 2009, took a "summer timetable" scheduled service (class 150) from Exeter Central to Okehampton and return.

From 1997 to 2019, the station was open for seasonal scheduled services; and regular services resumed as of November 2021.

 

[JR4489]

Something appears to be blocking Waterbeach-Ely, doesn't look like anything has moved for 90 minutes or so. Another good day to have worked from home...

Seems a bit odd though, the storm barely hit here at all, was merely a little bit gusty for half an hour.

I've just been detrained from 1T46 KGX-KLN which damaged the OHLE near Little Thetford. A ramp was set up from 1T46 onto a FLIRT that came from Ely.

 

[stuu]

For example, what can be done to strengthen or maintain OLE against high winds? Isn't there some innovatory technology out there? Flood issues must be tackled, but I fear this isn't the sole responsibility of the railway.

Yes, it is possible to install rigid OLE which is virtually indestructible, it just depends where the balance between costs of installation meets costs of just dealing with disruption. At the moment we seem to only be interested in the latter

 

[MikeWM]

I've just been detrained from 1T46 KGX-KLN which damaged the OHLE near Little Thetford. A ramp was set up from 1T46 onto a FLIRT that came from Ely.

Oh, that doesn't sound much fun - or indeed something that will be fixed immediately.

Maybe this one is incidental to the storm then.

 

[Essan]

I thought storms were only named when the weather was due to get to a certain level, eg wind speed and other combinations of factors?

Storms are named whenever an amber warning is issued (by the Irish, UK or Dutch met agencies, in the case of "our" list of names.). The MetO issued an amber warning this morning for wind - probably justified by the number of trees down though as always it's a moot point. Flooding may actually prove a bigger issue from today's weather.

Have they?
According to the Met Office many areas received twice the amount of rainfall in Dec than is normal, and I think Aberdeen three times. That is not "typical British weather"

Aye, had 200% normal rainfall in Evesham in December and overall 2023 was my wettest year since I started keeping records in 2007. Today's rain falling on very saturated ground has only one possible outcome.

That said, the Avon in town is at its highest level since..... 3rd Jan 2023. Though it may yet exceed that in next 24 hours with more rain expected tomorrow before we finally get a more settled period of drier/colder weather.

I do agree though that our transport infrastructure should to be much more resilient - especially given that an increase in frequencies of extreme weather has been widely predicted for the past 2 decades...... Albeit I think we are seeing things happen a bit quicker than expected.


Meanwhile I see GWR have found a shuttle to run between Moreton and Evesham and then back to Oxford to make up for some of the cancellations on the Cotswold Line.

 

[MarkWi72]

Yes, it is possible to install rigid OLE which is virtually indestructible, it just depends where the balance between costs of installation meets costs of just dealing with disruption. At the moment we seem to only be interested in the latter

This is my fear. I understand some issues may be unavoidable, but much of this could be dealt with. Flooding could be mitigated by tree planting, further away from railway lines were there's high ground as well as drainage.

 

[43066]

The following from EMR website with them advising not to travel.

Flooding at Draycott has got worse so the line between Derby and Long Eaton is now blocked.
Also flooding around Market Harborough some services have gone via Melton but Intercity is now suspended.
Landslip east of Nottingham station meaning all routes east of Notts blocked.
Flooding at Meir Tunnel so no Derby - Crewe.

Flooding shut the line between Kettering and Leicester mid afternoon. Further severe flooding at Ashwell and Oakham on the Manton diversion, and Melton box also locked out further knackered capacity that way.

A few 360s running but advice for those wanting further North is use LNER .

 

[infobleep]

Looks like everything is at a stand at Basingstoke. SWR has issued a Do Not Travel message.

From looking at the weather forecast earlier, I'm surprised trains on the South Western Railway didn't grind to a halt sooner. I guess it takes time to uproot trees and block lines.

I'm in Haywards Heath where the wind gusts were showing on the BBC weather page as only slightly lower than Guildford but we aren't a bad effected in terms of train services from Haywards Heath.

I guess we got lucky.

 

[louis97]

This is all because of high and fast flowing water under the line between Totnes and Ivybridge which needs a diver to examine. Quite why only one line is affected I don’t know!

In the past both lines have been closed when the closure mark has been breached at South Brent, so there has been progress in keeping the route open. I can only assume the structure at risk is only under the up line.

 

[Couru]

In June 2009, took a "summer timetable" scheduled service (class 150) from Exeter Central to Okehampton and return.

From 1997 to 2019, the station was open for seasonal scheduled services; and regular services resumed as of November 2021.

Thanks for the correction, and apologies to all if the source's presentation was problematic - wanted to back up my claims, and as much as I hate Reach-owned sites it is often the only source of information.

 

[MarkWi72]

Storms are named whenever an amber warning is issued (by the Irish, UK or Dutch met agencies, in the case of "our" list of names.). The MetO issued an amber warning this morning for wind - probably justified by the number of trees down though as always it's a moot point. Flooding may actually prove a bigger issue from today's weather.

Aye, had 200% normal rainfall in Evesham in December and overall 2023 was my wettest year since I started keeping records in 2007. Today's rain falling on very saturated ground has only one possible outcome.

That said, the Avon in town is at its highest level since..... 3rd Jan 2023. Though it may yet exceed that in next 24 hours with more rain expected tomorrow before we finally get a more settled period of drier/colder weather.

I do agree though that our transport infrastructure should to be much more resilient - especially given that an increase in frequencies of extreme weather has been widely predicted for the past 2 decades...... Albeit I think we are seeing things happen a bit quicker than expected.


Meanwhile I see GWR have found a shuttle to run between Moreton and Evesham and then back to Oxford to make up for some of the cancellations on the Cotswold Line.

Last Thursday I travelled across the bridge on the road to Wellsbourne at Shelbourne/ Barford. It looked swollen then, and returning the following day i had burst it's banks. This was before the weekend rain plus last night. And by Evesham, the Alne and Arrow flows into it. Tewkesbury must be in a pretty bad way too.

In Dorridge, where I am, my rain gauge was overflowing. That's 2'' of rain over the weekend.

 

[FuzzyDuck]

Just saw a TikTok video posted on the Basingstoke Gazette website showing a XC Voyager with front end damage after hitting a tree, suspect it is 1M54.

https://www.basingstokegazette.co.u...qzvbTcNNNdooZwwlx38FRTlpensNpL_U0SAJBLkhqinXM

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:G24868/2024-01-02/detailed

 

[infobleep]

I agree in principle but sometimes nature throws-up unexpected events. I'm sure the TOCs would have preferred to have issued that warning last night rather than have full trains suck between stations but the Met Office and TOCs would have got even more flack if they'd warned everyone not to travel and this was a non-event.

We've all seen the comments on here over the years complaining that services are cut when the weather isn't that extreme. The TOCs can't win but it's better to put a warning out now so those making evening journeys are prepared.
EDIT: Just checked the BBC lunchtime forecast, winds of 40-60mph mentioned for the South, latest highest gusts approaching 70mph.

I once read in recent years that the weather forecasters now get it right 6 days out of 7 days. So perhaps this is the one day in the week they didn't.

I say this as someone, who as a teenager, wanted to be a meteorologist. However, when I did my A levels I realised I didn't have the right brain for that job. I admire the people that do though. It's an extremely difficult science.

Does anyone know what trees are down on the North Downs Line as nothing running but nothing on National Rail Enquiries, other than a note against each train saying cancelled due to severe weather.

I've partly found the answer:

Due to a tree blocking the railway between Wokingham and Guildford the line is blocked. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Impact:
Train services between Reading and Gatwick Airport via Guildford and Redhill have been suspended.
Customer Advice:
We're sorry for the delay to your journey.
Customers travelling between Reading and Gatwick Airport may travel via London (in either direction). Your ticket will be accepted on the London Underground Circle line between Paddington and Victoria and on Southern Railway services between Victoria and Gatwick Airport.
Customers may also use South Western Railway services between Reading and London Waterloo and between Guildford and London Waterloo. You should change at Clapham Junction for Southern Railway services to Gatwick Airport.
We will update this message with more information when we have it.

Live Train Times and Journey Updates | Great Western Railway

See the Great Western Railway TrainTracker for live departure times and up-to-the-minute train journey updates.

www.gwr.com

So what is stopping trains running east of Guildford? The fact they don't know how bad it is out there or actual known issues.

 

[JD2168]

The Tram Train service is unable to operate between Meadowhall South & Parkgate due to flooding, possibly around Rotherham Central.

 

[modernrail]

We have had a few storms this year that have turned a bit nasty at the last minute. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come, where the pressure suddenly drops as they reach the end of their Atlantic crossing.

Whilst one or two of these storms is normal, the stats seem to show the closeness of the storms, in. conveyer belt effect, is delivering a lot more rainfall.

The railways and farming seem to the the most susceptible so far. Loads more land slips, flooding, damage to bridge abutments and lots more for farmers to work around.

I would have thought there would be some stats out there on weather damage to railway infrastructure. Is nobody keeping tabs on the trends so we can see what the patterns are? We could do with moving from the anecdotal to the statistical if the railway is going to successfully argue for higher resilience funding.

 

[Peterthegreat]

The Tram Train service is unable to operate between Meadowhall South & Parkgate due to flooding, possibly around Rotherham Central.

Rotherham Central is flooded again. Trains not calling either.....

 

[43066]

We have had a few storms this year that have turned a bit nasty at the last minute. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come, where the pressure suddenly drops as they reach the end of their Atlantic crossing.

Whilst one or two of these storms is normal, the stats seem to show the closeness of the storms, in. conveyer belt effect, is delivering a lot more rainfall.

The railways and farming seem to the the most susceptible so far. Loads more land slips, flooding, damage to bridge abutments and lots more for farmers to work around.

I would have thought there would be some stats out there on weather damage to railway infrastructure. Is nobody keeping tabs on the trends so we can see what the patterns are? We could do with moving from the anecdotal to the statistical if the railway is going to successfully argue for higher resilience funding.

This one really did seem to come out of nowhere. I’ve never driven in such torrential rain as I experienced earlier, and have certainly never had to drive through a flood at 5mph for half a mile (about twice as tedious as it sounds).

 

[dk1]

This one really did seem to come out of nowhere. I’ve never driven in such torrential rain as I experienced earlier, and certainly never had to drive through a flood at 5mph for half a mile (about twice as tedious as it sounds).

It all started so quickly. I almost thought they’d got it wrong at 17:30 then by 18:00 all hell let loose.

 

[43066]

It all started so quickly. I almost thought they’d got it wrong at 17:30 then by 18:00 all hell let loose.

It was chaos today. Going north I was talked past a red and cautioned through the first flood - correctly as water was significant but well below railhead - then, when clear of the first, went blasting through a similar flood at 110mph linespeed, which obviously hadn’t been reported . Luckily no harm done. Our main route was entirely closed soon after.

Heading back south was sent via the diversion, which was also mostly knackered due to flooding (and the half mile crawl ensued). Arrived back in London two hours late, and encountered a few of our northern crews wondering how they would get home.

 

[Horizon22]

It all started so quickly. I almost thought they’d got it wrong at 17:30 then by 18:00 all hell let loose.

Yes a lot of trees all came down / obstructions on track / flooding all seemed to occurred around the same time and Network Rail responders have been unable to deal with the sheer number of incidents at once.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

So what is stopping trains running east of Guildford? The fact they don't know how bad it is out there or actual known issues.

Drivers are based at Reading, roads are also flooded it’s just not operationally feasible.

 

[dk1]

It was chaos today. Going north I was talked past a red and cautioned through the first flood - correctly as water was significant but well below railhead - then, when clear of the first, went blasting through a similar flood at 110mph linespeed, which obviously hadn’t been reported . Luckily no harm done. Our main route was entirely closed soon after.

Heading back south was sent via the diversion, which was also mostly knackered due to flooding (and the half mile crawl ensued). Arrived back in London two hours late, and encountered a few of our northern crews wondering how they would get home.

Oh my days mate. Glad you and everyone are okay. Just goes to show how quickly everything can change.

Yes a lot of trees all came down / obstructions on track / flooding all seemed to occurred around the same time and Network Rail responders have been unable to deal with the sheer number of incidents at once.

Been a while since I’ve known it deteriorate so fast. They can’t be everywhere which so many people don’t seem to grasp.

 

[Dave W]

I once read in recent years that the weather forecasters now get it right 6 days out of 7 days. So perhaps this is the one day in the week they didn't.

I am very reluctant to criticise meteorologists who are pursuing a noble science, but the Met Office at least has been pretty wide of the mark this month. Over Christmas they've not predicted much rain in my corner of North London and it's been pretty inclement...

I wonder if this is something to do with the pattern of weather? I've got a garage with an old roof which only leaks when the rain is exceptionally heavy, so I've been taking a keen interest in the rain this autumn/winter - I really can't remember one as wet as this, in London at least which is well known for being rather dry.

 

[43066]

Yes a lot of trees all came down / obstructions on track / flooding all seemed to occurred around the same time and Network Rail responders have been unable to deal with the sheer number of incidents at once.

Our issues started mid PM, but we’re a little further west/more exposed than @dk1 ’s parish.

Oh my days mate. Glad you and everyone are okay. Just goes to show how quickly everything can change.

Thanks mate. I was impressed by how much of a professional job was done by all involved today: control, signallers, front line staff, I was barely off the GSMR.

Days like this we all pull together.

 

[dk1]

Thanks mate. I was impressed by how much of a professional job was done by all involved today: control, signallers, front line staff, I was barely off the GSMR.

Days like this we all pull together.

Great stuff. Just proves the railway family is alive and strong in such predicaments.