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A broken down train has caused commuter mayhem this morning.
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CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
"Mayhem" (the new word for chaos) + added “shambles”
(231 posts)-
Posted 7 years ago #
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I was 45 minutes late at most (I did have the advantages that I was starting at Haymarket and travelling away from Edinburgh - they ran the first trains starting from Haymarket not long after 8am). The one I was on was surprisingly uncrowded given the circumstances - there were quite a few bikes, though! (If you don't have a bike and you want to get to Livingston, then walking round the corner and getting a bus is an option. Cyclists want the train.)
When I got to Livi North, the car park was quite empty for the time of day and they were announcing that there was not going to be any alternative transport into Edinburgh; so I suspect that people who would normally have taken the train drove instead. I wonder if there was a noticeable increase in traffic?
Posted 7 years ago # -
Seems like a lot of shambles for one train failure -
"
Disruption is expected to continue until approximately 11am.
A ScotRail spokesman said: “Due to a broken down train between Haymarket and Edinburgh, services on all routes through these stations have been subject to disruption.
“The train was on the move by around 0830, however there has been a knock-on delays to services.
"
Obviously (as 'we' know) they don't have enough 'spare' trains.
'Train breaks down at Haymarket, nearby shed empty'.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I think it is a lot more complicated than we realise. The tunnel at Haymarket is a known bottleneck.
I used to know someone who worked for one of the big TOCs and remember him saying that there was a particular long-distance train that came through Waverley at a particular time (evening rush-hour, probably, but I can't remember) - if that train was on time everything else would be fine, but if it was late the knock-on effects were noticeable.
Posted 7 years ago # -
The Westy colleagues came in late. The Linlithgow guy thought, stuff it, and is working from home.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@ fimm
"I think it is a lot more complicated than we realise"
True!
Posted 7 years ago # -
Obviously (as 'we' know) they don't have enough 'spare' trains.
I think was about a lack of spare line capacity around the broken down unit than spare trains.
To keep people moving, ScotRail has continued to operate a reduced timetable with Glasgow Queen Street – Edinburgh running every half hour, and Edinburgh – Dunblane services running every hour.
I imagine there's very little resilience in the timetabling for the rush hour through Haymarket. I don't even know if Haymarket Shed has a shunter these days to haul a dead unit out of the way.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I think you'd use another unit rather than a shunter these days.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Not much sign of Mayhem at South Gyle. In fact there wasn't much sign of anything heading out of town until after 9.
With flooding on Queensferry Road the advice was not to try and get a bus heading out of town but a a good number of people gave up and went home when they got too cold.
We don't know where the train was between Haymarket and Waverly but it's quite possible that it was switching between lines and so blocking 50% or more of the capacity on a stretch of line which is pretty much full.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I wonder if there was a noticeable increase in traffic?
I planned to run today, but decided to drive due to a combination of the weather and feeling physically tired.
It took 1.5 hours from Currie to Leith, leaving Currie just after 8.
I can run it in just under an hour.
I should definitely have run. It was dry and almost sunny by the time I got to Leith.Posted 7 years ago # -
"We don't know where the train was between Haymarket and Waverly but it's quite possible that it was switching between lines and so blocking 50% or more of the capacity on a stretch of line which is pretty much full."
This is the one that caused the problems.
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G36043/2016/11/17/advanced
So, blocking westbound.
Resulting in
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/EDB/2016/11/17/0740
Posted 7 years ago # -
As noted earlier, took a colleague 55 minutes to drive 1.5 miles today.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I imagine there's very little resilience in the timetabling for the rush hour through Haymarket
Haymarket is very special bottleneck on the network - East Coast Mainline, West Coast Mainline, Cross Country, Edinburgh-Glasgow (via 3 different routes), Edinburgh-Fife, Edinburgh-anywhere north, all have to threaded through the four-track tunnel, so there's very little resilience in the timetable at any time.
There isn't really a solution, short of making Haymarket a terminus for westerly services from Edinburgh and Waverley a terminus for easterly services and operating some sort of constant shuttle between the two and that wouldn't go down well with passengers.
Or you could dig another tunnel, but you'd have to demolish an awful lot of central Edinburgh real estate to do that.
Posted 7 years ago # -
One look at the chaos in Haymarket this morning and I decided it was a better idea to cycle in to Livingston than stand around waiting and getting cold. Weather was wet and cold - I'm still drying out the socks on the radiator.
Usually cycle the full way home in the evenings but not feeling particularly enthused today - are the trains back running normally again?
Posted 7 years ago # -
"are the trains back running normally again?"
Posted 7 years ago # -
Interestingly I had never noticed the the signal at South Gyle is at what I would consider the wrong end of the platform for trains heading into town. Trains would approach the station then have to wait until the signal changed before they could advance to the platform and let passengers off/on. It must be quite frustrating for the passengers waiting 50m from where they want to go.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I dunno about mayhem. If there were any vikings splitting skulls with battle axes, lopping off the limbs of their helpless victims, or raping and pillaging the passengers at Waverley station, I failed to spot it happening. Neither did I notice any scenes of violent affray nor spontaneous rioting and insurrection.
It was a burach all right, but all much more prosaic. I arrived from the east and immediately saw on the departure boards near platform 2 that *everything* was delayed. So much for my 11am talk, then. However as I reached the main concourse an announcement was broadcast that the delayed Aberdeen train would depart from platform 14 (except it wasn't delayed at this point, there were still five minutes to go).
So we all sat down in the train and waited. There was no sign of a driver nor conductor, though the beleaguered looking trolley lady did get on after about 15 minutes. Other trains, to Dunblane and Glasgow, came and went. We sat patiently, waiting for news. I used the free wi-fi to inform my students the talk is postponed until next week: by this point it was physically impossible to get to Dundee in time.
About 35 minutes into our warm, dry, comfy wait a harassed looking platform super came onboard and claimed our train crew were in the station and we would depart in 5 or 10 minutes. A conductor did get on, but still no driver. As time passed, we began to suspect the train would be cancelled and Lo! exactly an hour after we boarded an announcement came over the tannoy to this effect. We could all catch the next train instead, which was due to depart in two minutes exactly.
Much muttering, cursing and revealing of unkind thoughts towards Scotrail ensued as we all packed our belongings and headed....where? We did not know. Nothing on the departure board. The fellow at the ticket barriers told us platform 2, so we all hurried to the waiting Virgin trains service. The train departed five minutes late and was much busier than normal. Actually very comfy and quiet running, but only 15 mins of free wi-fi: Boo! I enjoyed the journey in that philosophical way that one must when there is nothing to be done. Always a nice view on the Fife line, at least.
Got in just in time to deliver my second talk of the day.
Yes a shambles by any measure but we got there eventually, over an hour late.
Posted 7 years ago # -
"over an hour late"
and your money back!
Posted 7 years ago # -
"
"The Government accepts responsibility in this matter," Ms Sturgeon said at First Minister Questions today.
"I repeat the apology caused by this extraordinary set of circumstances."
"
Posted 7 years ago # -
@chdot: Exactly what I needed - thanks!
@crowriver: búrach? My new word for the day and a fitting noun for the scene also at Haymarket this morning.
Warm, dry, comfy wait eh? It's well for some! Salt and wounds come to mind :)
Posted 7 years ago # -
@ivangrozni
Click detailed and you can change times etc.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Posted 7 years ago #
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@ivangrozni, it was all very civilised I must say. I did feel sorry for the forlorn looking throngs huddled on the main concourse though.
Posted 7 years ago # -
ivangrozni I think you may have made the wrong call to cycle, depending on exactly when you were travelling....
I bumped into a friend on the train who was supposed to have been in Glasgow at 9am - that wasn't going to happen but he wasn't too bothered about it.
We were talking places to live vs commutes etc and he said that when he & his wife were house hunting they looked at a nice house in Balerno and did a practice commute as his wife works in Leith - after they'd waited for however long it was just to get through the traffic lights to get onto the Lanark Road that house was off the list...
Posted 7 years ago # -
The day I decide to take the train rather than ride in...sigh. I wasn't so fussed about being late but my train was freezing #coldtoes
Posted 7 years ago # -
Bloke at my work who was coming in from Glasgow said that the conductor or whoever it is who makes announcements turned it into a game, eg "And it's me again." Lightened the mood.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@fimm: I arrived at Haymarket ~8am - so by the sounds of it this is roughly when trains started running again? Decision to cycle meant at least I could control when I arrived in work (I made it in on time).
I may moan - but secretly I enjoy the misery of a good winter cycle (headwind and rain just add to the experience).
Posted 7 years ago # -
"secretly I enjoy the misery of a good winter cycle (headwind and rain just add to the experience)."
You sound like a perfect candidate for audax riding: throw in the mix lots of steep climbs, hair raising descents, silly long distances and sleep deprivation.
It's all worth it though. Honest.
:-)
Posted 7 years ago # -
My 8.45 meeting in Glasgow became 10am...
Got a nice diversion crawling around the South Suburban line at least. Makes you realise that whilst the line for passengers would be nice to have, it actually passes a lot of nothingness and would only be attractive if run very frequently.
Posted 7 years ago # -
All four lines in Princes St Gardens were blocked as the train broke down while it was crossing from the very north to the very south.
Just about the worst possible place for it to happen.
There's no useful blame to be assigned here. It's like a plane having blowout on a runway. Nothing moves past it. The maintenance fitters got it going really quite quickly once they were in attendance.
Posted 7 years ago #
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