Posted 19th July 2013 | 9 Comments
Heatwave continues to disrupt train services
FAILURE of two of its four diesel engines and associated air-conditioning units led to many passengers having to endure temperatures of almost 31 C in a CrossCountry service from Manchester to Bournemouth on 18 July.
The 16.27 from Manchester Piccadilly was eventually taken out of service after two hours when a replacement train was provided to take passengers onwards from Birmingham International.
But although the replacement train had one more coach than the four-car cancelled train, it still departed from Birmingham International with standing passengers – confirming that the rising demand for rail travel is continuing.
Our picture shows the last of the passengers from the Manchester train walking down the platform to the replacement train at Birmingham International.
This was not the first weather-related incident since the heatwave began.
Platforms 1 to 4 at London Waterloo were taken out of use during the evening peak on 15 July after a rail deformed by the high temperatures was detected in the station throat at about 14.00
Network Rail said it had no alternative but to bring in an emergency repair team to repair the rail, which had become deflected by about 50mm. The resulting disruption meant that Dorking passengers had to use Victoria instead, while other trains were turned short of Waterloo. These included Hampton Court services – which were reduced to a connecting shuttle from Surbiton.
South West Trains apologised, and said 'the decision to run an alternative service plan was not taken lightly', but it was the 'safest and most efficient way to get everyone home as quickly as possible'.
Parts of Britain have been experiencing daytime temperatures in the low thirties, but Network Rail reported that the strength of the sun has heated some rails to 50 C or even more.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Capetonianm, UK and SA
Over two weeks since I wrote to Cross Country, I have not even had the courtesy of an acknowledgement. This seems to indicate how much they care about customer service. Or perhaps they are inundated with complaints!
PeterB, Cheshire
If you thing the Cross-Country Voyagers are over-crowded and unsuitable for the routes they serve - and I do, you should consider the TP Express Class 185's on the Scottish routes - much much worse! At least with the Class 185 there is a replacement scheduled - but of course a it is also a commuter configured train with every seat no more than 3 seats away from double opening doors and offering a congestion busting 19 extra seats per trainset (and how many of those are jump seats?). What a difference that will make!
Capetonianm, UK and SA
I was one of the unfortunate passengers on this service. I wrote to the train operator to express my views and am awaiting, with some interest, their comments.
My letter to them is below :
Yesterday (18JUL) I was on the 1627 service from Manchester to Bournemouth (travelling to Basingstoke). I had a booking for seat F40. Shortly before departure from Manchester there was a series of loud noises and vibrations from underneath the coach which later we were told was the breakdown of the generator or engine which powers that unit.
As a result there was no air conditioning, on one of the hottest days of the year, with no possibility of opening a window, and the atmosphere in the crowded coach was rather like a sauna. I do appreciate that people pay to go to saunas for health and relaxation purposes, but that is their choice and the travelling public should not be forced to travel under such conditions.
In addition, there was no power for my laptop meaning I was unable to complete work I had scheduled for the 3 1/2 hour journey. I walked through the rest of the train to find it even more crowded with all seats either occupied or reserved. I do not wish to comment on the attitude of the train conductor, other than to say that he could have been more sympathetic to the complaints of passengers, as he was clearly under pressure. When I asked about the cost of an upgrade to First I got a short and unhelpful answer.
The conditions for the first hour and a half were extremely unpleasant, until the unit was switched at Birmingham International. Seat reservations were not transferred, meaning that passengers with reservations were competing for seats and it was very much ‘survival of the fastest’ and as I had a heavy suitcase, I ended up without a seat at a table, which I had booked. The other seats are very cramped with limited leg and working space, quite inadequate compared with those of some other UK rail operators, not to mention the hugely superior services offered in Europe and elsewhere.
As an aside, prior to departure I had asked at the ticket office at Manchester about an upgrade to First Class and was told this would cost £203. As this seems to be more than the cost of a First Return, I fail to see the logic in the pricing structure.
I appreciate that mechanical breakdowns happen, but as you invite passenger feedback I felt you would wish to know that perhaps things could have been better managed and that there were many other passengers who were dissatisfied, although I doubt if any will take the trouble to write as the British public seem to have become inured to such conditions and do not complain as it is generally futile to do so.
Yours faithfully
Ron Strutt, Diss
@Stephen Lawrence, Cambridge, England
>> re sensitive parts of the railway overheating, one way to mitigate this might be to
>> provide shade on the north side - like a fence or by growing a plant (up a fence?)
What a curious idea. Apart from the fact that the sun usually in the south at midday, at this time of year the sun is overhead for much of the day, hence the reason why it is so hot. So perhaps we should cover the railway over with plants and trees, or put it all in a tunnel. Maybe not - have you tried travelling on the Tube during this hot weather.
Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
Stephen Lawrence, Cambridge, England
re sensitive parts of the railway overheating, one way to mitigate this might be to provide shade on the north side - like a fence or by growing a plant (up a fence?)
Sounds logical until we reach leaves on the line I season!
Surely its time to order the extra electric coaches for Voyager stock and thus create more space and introduce bi-mode trains that can go anywhere !
Stephen Lawrence, Cambridge, England
re sensitive parts of the railway overheating, one way to mitigate this might be to provide shade on the north side - like a fence or by growing a plant (up a fence?)
George Davidson, Newport
It is quite clear that Britain is short of diesel trains and with large scale forthcoming electrification, it would not be cost effective to build new ones now. It is plainly daft that Voyagers (Virgin) operate under wires all the way from Birmingham to Edinburgh / Glasgow. Surely, new electric trains should be ordered as soon as possible to replace these Voyagers which could then be switched to non wired routes such as those operated by Cross Country.
Roger Capel, Sheffield
Not the only service where a 4 car Voyager is hopeless. I'm just about to resume my old job in Derby & for the first few Fridays will be avoiding the 12:44 Voyager home to Sheffield like the plague. Why? Because the Edinburgh Festival's on, & this train from the West Country will already be so packed that people literally can't get to the toilet. God help those going from down there to Scotland on it, 36 miles is too much!
The sick joke is that if one examines the old BRB regulations on the transportation of livestock, horses & cattle were pampered by comparison. Stopping to water them?!
Man In Shed, Manchester
"But although the replacement train had one more coach than the four-car cancelled train, it still departed from Birmingham International with standing passengers – confirming that the rising demand for rail travel is continuing."
No it doesn't "confirm" anything. It is representative of a trend, nothing else