The Ticket Collector

FCC Cancellations on Monday

Update 1400:
GN Route services are back to a near normal timetable service, and FCC hope to run an as timetabled service tonight.

TL Route services to/from Moorgate, Wimbledon and Sutton are operating as timetabled but are subject to delays. A number of Bedford/Brighton services previously listed as cancelled have been reinstated. FCC aim to run a near normal Bedford/Brighton evening peak service following Network Rail withdrawing speed restrictions on the Brighton Main Line.

The following services have been reinstated.
15:04 Brighton to Bedford
18:38 London Bridge to Brighton
13:10 Bedford to Brighton
13:40 Bedford to Brighton
14:10 Bedford to Brighton
14:40 Bedford to Brighton
15:10 Bedford to Brighton
17:36 Bedford to Brighton
17:00 Bedford to Three Bridges
16:04 Brighton to London Bridge
16:14 Brighton to Bedford
18:03 Brighton to Bedford
15:34 Brighton to Bedford
18:34 Brighton to Bedford
19:34 Brighton to Bedford
20:04 Brighton to Bedford
20:34 Brighton to Bedford

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Due to the severe Weather Warning which has been issued by the Met Office, First Capital Connect services will be running to an emergency timetable from Monday Morning.

Customers are advised not to travel Monday, and if essential to allow up to 30-60 minutes extra for their journeys.

Thameslink Route
The following Bedford to Brighton services will be cancelled:
Services departing Bedford at: 04:50, 05:40, 07:00, 08:04, 08:40, 09:10, 09:40, 10:10, 10:40, 11:10, 11:40, 12:10, 12:40, 13:10, 13:40, 14:10, 14:40, 15:10, 17:36.
The 17:00 Bedford to Three Bridges service and the 18:38 London Bridge to Brighton service will also both be cancelled

The following Brighton to Bedford will be cancelled:
Service departing Brighton at: 07:50, 08:16, 09:00, 09:34, 10:04, 10:34, 11:04, 11:34, 12:04, 12:34, 13:04, 13:34, 14:04, 14:34, 15:04, 15:34, 16:14, 17:23, 18:03, 18:34, 19:34, 20:04, 20:34
The 16:04 Brighton to London Bridge service will also be cancelled.

Please be aware that an Emergency Speed Restriction (due to weather conditions) will be imposed and as such this will cause knock on delays.

Great Northern Route
Services will run to an advertised timetable, but will be subject to delays and short notice cancellations.

Please be aware that an Emergency Speed Restriction (due to weather conditions) will be imposed and as such this will cause knock on delays.

NXEC HST broken down at Sandy

Update: Normal Services have resumed.

We are currently receiving reports that an NXEC HST train has caught fire between Hitchin and Sandy. This has now been confirmed as a MTU engine fire

There were several NXEC cancellations due to this:
10:35 London Kings Cross to Leeds due 12:54
11:10 London Kings Cross to Leeds due 13:41
11:35 London Kings Cross to Leeds due 13:55
12:40 Leeds to London Kings Cross due 15:05
13:40 Leeds to London Kings Cross due 15:58

10:30 London Kings Cross to Aberdeen due 17:38
11:30 London Kings Cross to Newcastle due 14:47
Both started from Peterborough

NXEC takes down the wires at Biggleswade AGAIN.

What was it NX promised when they took over GNER? A new era in train travel?

Well they certainly exceeded expectations today!!

Shortly after 12pm this afternoon reports came through of several sections of the overhead wires on the ECML tripping out.

Another train was sent to investigate and reported that the wires had come down and were wrapped around an NXEC pantograph.

The Notwork Rail overhead line team gave an ETA of 1 hour to arrive to check the lines. Shortly after this the slow lines in both directions were reopened to diesel traffic at 20mph.

NX as per normal decided in their infinite wisdom that everything was hunky dory and perfect until at 13:10 they finally added a message to their website. Though what that message was is anyone’s guess as it was just blank. At 13:15 the blank message turned into something of sense.
At the time of writing this entry the website is still showing the same message timed at 13:15. Nice to see that the people at NXEC know how to update the site.
NX also refused to add extra stops on their diesel services, stating that they would run to the timetable as normal.

Buses were ordered by FCC to take passengers between Stevenage, Hitchin and Peterborough. Services towards Cambridge were not affected at first. However after a while due to the trains being in the wrong places and NXEC trains hogging up the lines other operators services were delayed and then cancelled.

Eventually the go ahead was given to allow electric trains back on the slow lines at a maximum “coasting” speed of 40mph.

Services still had huge delays, due to their being only one line working instead of two and again due to the fact that NXEC trains were hogging up the lines.

Credit must be given to First Hull Trains for having the decency to stop at the little stations on the ECML such as Arlesey when they did not have to and could have run straight through these stations. NXEC could have so easily stopped at these stations but more then likely would have stated “that they would run to the timetable as normal.”

Compensation will be paid out as below.
First Capital Connect Claim Form

• Customers delayed on First Capital Connect services between 30 and 59 minutes will receive compensation of at least 50% of the cost of a single ticket or at least 50% of the cost of either portion of a return ticket (by ‘portion’ we mean either the outward or the return part of a return ticket).
• Customers delayed on First Capital Connect services over 60 will receive compensation of at least 100% of the cost of a single ticket or at least 100% of the cost of either portion of a return ticket (by ‘portion’ we mean either the outward or the return part of a return ticket).
• FCC Claim Form

NXEC Claim Form

• Customers delayed on National Express East Coast services between 30 and 59 minutes will receive compensation of at least 50% of the cost of a single ticket or at least 50% of the cost of either portion of a return ticket (by ‘portion’ we mean either the outward or the return part of a return ticket).
• Customers delayed on National Express East Coast services between 60 and 119 minutes will receive compensation of at least 100% of the cost of a single ticket or at least 100% of the cost of either portion of a return ticket (by ‘portion’ we mean either the outward or the return part of a return ticket).
• Customers delayed on National Express East Coast services for 120 minutes or longer will receive compensation of at least 100% of the cost of a single ticket or at least 100% of the cost of a return ticket (i.e. both ways, not just one way).
• NXEC Claim Form
  

Buy now for half price - Young Persons Railcard

If you are 16-25 years old you can purchase a Young Persons Railcard for half the normal price.

A Young Persons Railcard gives you 1/3 off rail travel for a whole year.

Until 16 March 2008, you can get one online for just £12 instead of the usual £24.

You must get it online at http://www.youngpersons-railcard.co.uk and enter the promotional code SAVING12 .

Notwork Blunder - risked Lincoln rail catastrophe.

An apparently serious blunder by a Network Rail manager who worked a signal box during last Saturday’s Lincoln area signallers’ strike could have had catastrophic consequences.

The RMT union has today asked the Railways Inspectorate to investigate an incident at West Holmes box in which track workers and passengers were put at serious risk by an error that could have sent a passenger train on the Newark-Lincoln line through an engineering site at up to 70mph.

A document seen by the union indicates that the time an engineering ‘blockage’ was supposedly given up last Sunday morning (February 24) was entered on a safety-critical authorisation form the night before - more than eleven hours before the time indicated on the form.

The time the blockage is given up is meant to be recorded when it actually takes place, after checking with the person responsible for the safety of the engineering work on the ground, and only then is the line safe to be re-opened to traffic.

If the mistake had not been spotted by the experienced signaller who re-opened the box the following morning, and had the engineering work overrun, the line could have been re-opened to traffic with potentially fatal consequences.