European Railroad Discussion > Flooding in England?

Any news/photos of the flooding? I talked with someone in Chippenham who said the First Great Western was having problems with landslides and high water . . . we have had our own problems with the rain this last week in the Northwest USA.

SMU
Oregon, USA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/12 12:32 by smu.

Hi,
The problems this week were near Cullompton close to Exeter where there was flooding, landslide/washout between Tiverton and Taunton. There was flooding in the Westbury area.
Also there is a landslip/washout near Axminster on the line between Exeter and Salisbury on the line to London Waterloo, this line is not expected to open before Monday. There are buses operating between Exeter and Yeovil Junction connecting with trains to/from Waterloo.
Due to flooding also there are buses operating on the line from Exeter to Barnstaple.
Today I travelled from Dawlish in Devon to London Paddington and travelled by train to Exeter then coach to Tiverton Parkway then train to Paddington via Bristol and Chippenham/Swindon. Trains ran to/from Tiverton because track engineers from Network Rail worked through the night to stabilise the track between Taunton and Tiverton. Previously coaches ran from Exeter to Taunton to connect with trains and earlier in the week coaches ran to Bristol! due to the flooding.
Effectively Cross Country services started/terminated at Bristol Temple Meads, FGW ran Paddington to Taunton/Tiverton and back, FGW trains ran Penzance/Plymouth to Exeter. Cross Country had two/three Voyagers trapped to the west of Exeter and they shuttled Plymouth/Penzance to Exeter. The only trains seemingly unaffected were local trains between Exmouth/Exeter/Paignton/Totnes/Plymouth.
I hope this gives you a picture of the situation, I have to say it is not likely to get any better in the next few days, torrential rain and strong winds over the weekend and two more low pressure systems approaching the UK make the situation over the whole of the UK problematic to say the least.

Keith G, London, UK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=qb7SwAvPcic&NR=1 is a video of the railway bridge in Templecombe; wait for the train.

There were some cancellations on the line from Castle Cary towards Yeovil Pan Mill on Thursday but that's running again. The line between Castle Cary and Taunton was closed for a while then reopened in the westbound direction only.

I've got to drive home from Birmingham to Castle Cary tomorrow.

Thanks for the news! We just watched a video on the BBC of a section of the 200+ year old Grand Western Canal collapsing. Lots of mud and water flooding into the fields . . .

SMU
Oregon, USA

Well, I made it home. The M5 motorway (freeway) was partially flooded at one point but that didn't really slow me down (which surprised me). The last part of my journey was across the Somerset Levels which is an old area of bog which has been drained over the centuries. The road actually runs along a ridge about 200 ft above the Levels and whilst it's an exageration to say the Levels are covered in water there's an awful lot of it at the moment. And somewhere to my right (southish) was the railway from Taunton through Castle Cary to Westbury and London. The latest reports are saying delays of up to an hour along that line. Last I heard one track was useable (just) but the other wasn't so I'm guessing they're running it as a single line which will require all sorts of special arrangements because the line is not bi-directionally signalled.

This is the full text from the National Rail website:

Description

Recent heavy rain, flooding and high winds are causing disruption to some trains in south west England.

You can follow this incident on Twitter by using the hashtag: #ukrain

Exeter St Davids - Yeovil Junction (South West Trains)

Due to a landslip at Honiton, and flooding near Axminster, trains are currently unable to run between Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction.

Buses are running between Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction. However, due to new severe flooding affecting local roads these buses will not call at Exeter Central, Whimple, Pinhoe and Feniton.

Passengers travelling between Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction may use services on the Weymouth - London Waterloo line.

Trains between Yeovil Junction and London Waterloo are able to run normally.

Monday 26 November: Following further damage last night, the line between Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction will remain closed on Monday 26 November. Buses will be running again between Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction.

Background information on the disruption on this line can be found here.

Liskeard, Plymouth, Exeter St Davids, Taunton, Bristol Temple Meads (CrossCountry and First Great Western)

Flooding is causing disruption in the Tiverton Parkway area, while there are also landslips near Dawlish and near Saltash.

First Great Western are currently advising passengers not to travel on this route.

The following changes will apply until further notice:

Trains are unable to run between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton Parkway. A limited bus service is replacing trains between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton Parkway with journey times extended by up to two hours. However, the availability of these services are subject to road conditions in the area. Some of these buses will be extended to and from Bristol Temple Meads calling at Taunton.

Trains are also unable to run between Liskeard and Plymouth, buses are replacing trains

CrossCountry are not running trains between Exeter St Davids and Taunton

CrossCountry are running a service every two hours between Plymouth and Exeter St Davids

A landslip near Dawlish means that trains between Newton Abbot and Exeter are being delayed by up to 60 minutes

First Great Western passengers may use South West Trains on all reasonable routes

CrossCountry and First Great Western are accepting each others tickets between Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St Davids

First Great Western passengers with ticket dated for yesterday can use them today


The above changes are showing for today in the journey planner.

This disruption will continue throughout Sunday 25 November.

Monday 26 November - the line will remain closed between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton Parkway. Train companies will be affected as follows:

CrossCountry will run shuttle trains between Plymouth and Exeter. Buses will replace trains on all, or part, of the route between Exeter and Bristol Temple Meads
First Great Western information for Monday 26 November will follow shortly.


Taunton - Castle Cary (First Great Western)

Because of flooding, trains are being delayed by up to 60 minutes

Exeter St Davids - Barnstaple (First Great Western)

Buses are replacing trains between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple. Due to engineering work buses are already replacing trains between Barnstaple and Crediton. These buses are extended to run to and from Exeter St Davids.

Bristol Temple Meads, Yatton, Weston-super-Mare (First Great Western)

Because of a landslip, there are delays of up to 30 minutes between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare.

Swindon - Bristol Parkway (First Great Western)

Trains are being delayed by up to 30 minutes.

First Great Western Sleeper services

First Great Western Sleeper services tonight are cancelled. No replacement transport has been arranged.

To find out whether this will impact your journey and to get alternative options planned for you, please use the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner, or call TrainTracker on 0871 200 49 50.

For the latest rail travel news, why not follow National Rail Enquiries on Twitter, or find us on Facebook.

Landslips have also affected lines to the south of London, to Brighton and between the commuter towns of Horsham and Dorking. And it's raining again :-(

A telling piece of footage the railway comes in half way through the clip.
Cowley Bridge Jnc just east of Exeter St Davids station. This was similarly washed out a few years ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20484594

Steve



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/12 05:41 by driver.

Having got back from Birmingham I wanted to come up to the Thames Valley tonight (Monday). I went down to Castle Cary station about mid day and found a notice saying no trains to London unless you go via Bath Spa. Since that adds at least an hour to the journey I'm afraid I decided to drive. I'd much prefer to have made the journey by train.

Things are improving. The line between Yeovil and Exeter is scheduled to reopen tomorrow (Tuesday) although not a full service.