Monday 3rd February 2014.

All lines blocked between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot - Update at 1530

The train service between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot has been suspended due to high seas and strong winds causing significant damage to the track along the Dawlish sea wall.  Network Rail have started to carry out the required repairs but we do not expect the affected lines to reopen until tomorrow at the earliest.

Road transport is operating between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot serving all stations.  In addition, limited road transport is operating direct between Plymouth and Taunton (non-stop). Ticket restrictions have been lifted for all First Great Western services from, to and within Devon and Cornwall until further notice.

From 1600 this afternoon we plan to introduce an hourly stopping service between Exeter St Davids and Dawlish Warren.

Trains cancelled until Wednesday as South Devon floods


Flooding In Totnes

Train services between Exeter and Newton Abbot have been cancelled until Wednesday.

First Great Western has reported that major damage has been caused to parts of the track due to poor weather.

Bus replacement services are running instead. Train passengers can not however use Stagecoach buses.

A Stagecoach South West spokesman explained: "We have not currently had an approach from First Great Western with regards to accepting their train tickets on our bus services. Therefore anyone wishing to use our buses instead of the train will need to buy a ticket in order to travel."

Interesting internal comment about black being declared for the 'first time ever' on XC tyrell. I understand the PIDD colours but what is 'mouchel'?

DAWLISH SEAWALL -

UPDATE - MOUCHEL warning for Tuesday morning is GREEN however the evening 2100 - 2300 is BLACK (first time ever recorded) which coincides with very high spring tides and 70 mph SW winds.

If not then I can imagine some folk would have been somewhat annoyed having been told by FGW at Exeter and Newton Abbot to catch the Stagecoach service 2 where rail tickets were being allowed, only to get on the bus and find they had to buy a new ticket.

Due to the forecase high winds there will be blanket 50mph speed restriction on all lines (that are open) west of Exeter as well as the Barnstaple branch between 3 and 9pm today.

Just tried posting a train plan sent to Customer Panel members, but it exceeded the 20,000 character limit - sorry guys! (And after formatting it all too - grr)

Can it not be added to a post as an attachment? Either as a .pdf or .doc?

Dawlish railway repairs halted over safety fears


Repairs on a section of storm-damaged coastal railway line in Devon have been halted because of safety concerns.

Network Rail said it was pulling all repair staff away from working on the section of track at Dawlish. The infrastructure owner said up to 50m (165ft) of track was unsafe after supporting ballast was washed away this week, but it was stopping work because fresh storms were due to hit the coast. It said it hoped trains would run again by Friday at the earliest. The withdrawal of staff is as the result of the first black safety warning Network Rail has ever issued in the South West, it said.

The line at Dawlish, which passes along the town's sea wall, is vulnerable to high waves.

Julian Burnell, from Network Rail, estimated "hundreds of tonnes" of ballast had been dislodged from under tracks after they had "taken a real pounding from the sea". He added that the town's station had also been damaged by the weather.

Dawlish is between Exeter and Newton Abbot on the main railway line through the county. The section had already been closed off on Monday because of "poor weather conditions", train operator First Great Western said. The company had hoped services would resume on Wednesday, but this has now been delayed until Friday. It tweeted that replacement road transport was being used to ferry passengers between the two stations. Sleeper services between London Paddington and Penzance have also been cancelled until further notice. It and rival operator CrossCountry were currently accepting each others' tickets between Bristol and Penzance, it added.

The Met Office has issued a yellow alert for high winds in the South West until 23:00 GMT on Wednesday.

BBC have reported that part of the sea wall has been washed away - RailUK forum rumours it to be a 30-40ft stretch. Sounds like it could be well past Friday before trains are running again.

Strong winds and adverse weather conditions in the Devon & Cornwall areas overnight have caused severe disruption to both road and rail infrastructure. Train services on Wednesday morning between Newton Abbot and Penzance, including all branch lines, are likely to be severely disrupted until daylight inspections of all routes have been made. In addition, road conditions are likely to be hazardous and replacement road transport is not being operated. Passengers are advised NOT to attempt to travel on routes between Exeter St David's and Penzance during this morning until in has been confirmed that services have resumed.

NOW is it time to reconsider an alternative inland route?!

The damage looks pretty epic:
https://twitter.com/richardwestcott/status/430991304823427072/photo/1

NOW is it time to reconsider an alternative inland route?!

I reckon there's at least a fortnight's repair work - with the proviso of no further storms (haha!)

That sea wall will need reinstating with piling before the track can be restored.

Been predicted for a few years now. How easy would it be to dust off the old inland route from Exeter to Newton Abbot, though I'm not sure if that would be susceptible to high speed running? Going via Okehampton would require two train reversals for Penzance - Paddington. But both of these would make electrification easier.

How about diverting some of the HS2 cash to preserve an existing line to an important part of the countryside?

I decided to return on 1C87 the 1448 ex PAD, and not bother waiting for the 1703 (and missed meeting thetrout - sorry).

BTW, 1C87 not booked to stop at Westbury, but ran through the station rather than the avoiding line - points failure again?? (see my earlier topic about Totnes - is it me?!)

Let us not be too hasty.
It might however be nearly time to consider appointing a commitee, to consider calling a meeting, to call for more studies.

Due to a recent severe weather conditions in the Devon & Cornwall area. We have had to make the decision to cancel the Night Riviera Sleeper services between London Paddington and Penzance/Penzance and London Paddington until Friday 28th February 2014.

If you are affected by this change to your journey, and have not been contacted by our dedicated team concerning your travel arrangements, please contact our Customer Services team on 03457
000125 for further information.

In Somerset, the line between Castle Cary and Cogload Junction is also closed due to flooding.

Large lake <> 'mere' speculation! 

Nice connection there...   

Paul

Well here is the first view I have seen from the sea side of the actual breach: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=580867352007226&set=p.580867352007226&type=1

Looking ahead, the very real problem for FGW and Cross Country is what stock have they got trapped west of the sea wall and what effect will it have on the rest of the fleet which cannot access Laira depot for maintenance.  How much of their work can be done at FGW's other depots?

As I understand it most of the Cornish branchlines use stock based in Plymouth, Par or Penzance so should be relatively unaffected however the Paignton line uses stock from Exeter which is currently not an option.  Also I think Cornish DMU stock goes to Exeter for exams etc. from time to time.

As for HSTs and Voyagers there could possibly be too many the wrong side of the seawall which might impact on services "up country".

All in all I expect some midnight oil is being burned by the train planning teams.

State of play as it stands between Newton Abbot and Penzance:

The total amount of rolling stock in the area amounts to 10 units (mix of 1 and 2) coaches, 4 HSTs, 2 voyagers and 1 sleeper train.

FGW are trying to get a PLY - PNZ shuttle in place for tonight and will no doubt be trying to plan a timetable with what stock is available for the next 4-6 weeks.

Probably a wild guess but I can see the sleeper stock coming in handy....

With National (Quantitative Easing ?!) and EU funding (after all Cornwall has Objective One status) to re-instate Meldon to Tavistock/Bere Alston  with a Parkway station at Sourton to serve West Devon, North West Devon and mainly North Cornwall ..and as someone has already suggested  by extension of SWT Exeter/Waterloo service which is increasingly needing some fast limited stop trains - perhaps just Honiton, Axminster, Sherborne, Salisbury, & Basingstoke.
Perhaps in time Overhead Electrification ..no problems with sea, salt,sand & eyesore O/H coastal wires or limited clearance Marley Tunnels. 

Engineers working to shore up damaged railway at Dawlish as weekend storm approaches

Thursday 6 Feb 2014

Network Rail engineers are today starting work to try and prevent any further damage to the railway at Dawlish in Devon as another Atlantic storm system is forecast to hit the south-west of England on Saturday.

Around 80m of sea wall has been destroyed by high tides and stormy seas, causing a significant stretch of railway to collapse into the sea. The road adjacent to the railway and several houses have also been significantly damaged, along with damage at Dawlish station itself.

Network Rail has mobilised a range of specialist contractors, engineers and suppliers from across the country to help with the work needed at Dawlish and has also taken up the offer of discussions with the Ministry of Defence to see if there is any help which can be provided by armed forces personnel based in the south-west.

Initial estimates are that it will take at least six weeks to reopen the railway, but the immediate priority is to shore up the damaged section on Thursday and Friday using a concrete spraying machine which was until recently being used to refurbish Whiteball Tunnel in Somerset.

A period of calmer weather is predicted once the weekend^s storm system has passed, which will enable Network Rail and its partners to fully assess the damage and how long it will take to begin the task of rebuilding the railway.

Network Rail^s route managing director for the Western route, Patrick Hallgate, said: ^We absolutely understand the importance of the railway to the south west and will do everything we can to rebuild the railway at Dawlish as quickly and safely as we can.

^After a quieter night^s weather, we have been able to begin delivering machinery to our site compound with a view to protecting the exposed section of railway and the land behind it. We need to make sure we limit any further damage this weekend so that the significant repairs that are needed do not become greater still.

^We will continue working with the Government, Environment Agency, local authorities and other partners to explore ways of improving the railway^s resilience to extreme weather. The disruption to rail services in the south-west highlights the importance of that work and the need for all forms of transport to ensure that they are fit for the future.^

In addition, engineers are on site at a number of locations in the south west of England and are making repairs where the weather conditions permit. Services have resumed between Plymouth and Newton Abbot, but there will be no trains east of Newton Abbot to Exeter until the line is repaired at Dawlish.

Notes to editors

Further photos of the damage at Dawlish can be found here: bit.ly/LSxX2Q

Timeline:
Tuesday, 4 February ^ Weather forecasts predict a major storm off the coast of Devon and Cornwall. Network Rail marine buoys predict ^black^ storm conditions, with six-metre waves. This is the first ^black^ conditions predicted since the system was installed in 2007.

3.15pm ^ The line through Dawlish is closed to trains and staff withdrawn to safe locations.

Serious overtopping by waves is reported through the evening.

9pm onwards, damage reports received concerning both the railway and the adjoining land.

11pm-2.30am Inspections confirm extent of severe damage.

Wednesday, 5 February ^ Engineers on site at first light but unable to inspect the line due to contiuning storm conditions. Teams of engineers, contractors and suppliers mobilised and head to Dawlish. Work begins on site compound to store machinery to shore up damage, including spray-concrete equipment.

Looking ahead, the very real problem for FGW and Cross Country is what stock have they got trapped west of the sea wall and what effect will it have on the rest of the fleet which cannot access Laira depot for maintenance.  How much of their work can be done at FGW's other depots?

As I understand it most of the Cornish branchlines use stock based in Plymouth, Par or Penzance so should be relatively unaffected however the Paignton line uses stock from Exeter which is currently not an option.  Also I think Cornish DMU stock goes to Exeter for exams etc. from time to time.

As for HSTs and Voyagers there could possibly be too many the wrong side of the seawall which might impact on services "up country".

All in all I expect some midnight oil is being burned by the train planning teams.

I don't see any 'short-life' if the sea wall is rebuilt properly & defences also built properly.

But the council is going to have to accept that their beach there may well disappear.

As for an emergency repair, my first thought was to get some big concrete blocks and plonk them on the flat wall (path) in front of the ex-embankment. "Big" would mean big enough to stay put by their own weight - I'd guess about 20 tons or so. However, I can't find any mention of that as a standard technique, and it may not be possible to find a combination of crane size and crane siting that provides strong enough ground and adequate reach - the access road in front of the houses looks to narrow and likely to collapse. Still, I can't help feeling that there must be a method that starts with a phone call to Ainscoughs.

Mr McLoughlin promised MPs a "rigorous review" of alternative rail routes in south-west England in the wake of the storm that destroyed parts of the railway line in Dawlish, Devon.

But UKIP, which dismissed the extra spending as "far too little, far too late", called on the government to channel part of its foreign aid budget into helping those worst hit by the flooding.

It is urging the government to suspend payments from the ^11bn annual budget and divert them "on a month by month basis" to areas in most need of repairs to storm-damaged property, renewal of flood defences and restoration of transport links.

David Cameron, who is chairing a Cobra emergency committee, insisted: "We're not just talking, we're acting."

Asked whether visiting flood-hit Somerset would be more useful than talking in London, the prime minister said: "It was because of Cobra that we got extra pumps down to Somerset. It was because of Cobra that I forced through the extra ^100m of funding.

"It's because of Cobra that the army is available to help in Somerset. If there's anything that they can do to help, they will do."

And he added: "Believe me, I will be in Somerset before long, listening to people directly."