No trains to Kings Cross over weekend

[Ignitionnet]

Due to overrunning engineering works, yes really, there will be no trains to Kings Cross on Saturday at very least, and Sunday seems unlikely.

The work was scheduled to take place over the Christmas period and is currently running 24 hours behind.

No idea what's going on, though I'm not alone as the railway operators have no idea either yet it seems.

Network Rail were replacing overhead lines between Finsbury Park and Kings Cross and a cantilever in the Cannonbury tunnel was broken.

I guess this is what happens when you insist on constantly using the lowest bidder for the contract over and over again. Seems to be an intermittent feature of the Christmas season, was Liverpool Street last time I believe.

---------- Post added at 21:57 ---------- Previous post was at 21:52 ----------

West Coast main line is closed for planned engineering works.

Some genius thought it'd be clever to do major planned engineering work on both East and West Coast main lines simultaneously.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

I guess this is what happens when you insist on constantly using the lowest bidder for the contract over and over again.

this is civil engineering not accountancy or tippy tapping on a key board.

Some times issues arise and to do things safely e.g. On a railway and with high voltage overhead lines it can take time.

I don't know how often you use the east coast main line. I use it 2/3 times a month. And there were prominent information posters advising that there would be high levels of disruption over the Christmas period.

I'm sure they're doing all they can, and I would doubt this has anything to do with " cheap" work

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by Pierre

this is civil engineering not accountancy or tippy tapping on a key board.

Some times issues arise and to do things safely e.g. On a railway and with high voltage overhead lines it can take time.

I don't know how often you use the east coast main line. I use it 2/3 times a month. And there were prominent information posters advising that there would be high levels of disruption over the Christmas period.

I'm sure they're doing all they can, and I would doubt this has anything to do with " cheap" work

Wow, not sure this could be any more patronising.

Issues do indeed arise, which is why you put in contingency. Even us 'tippy tappers on a keyboard' know this. The bigger the potential impact of issues the more contingency you put into the plan to mitigate them.

The comments about safety are odd given my post; they were replacing overhead lines so there is no electrical danger to be had unless they were feeling daring and left the power on.

Until relatively recently I used the ECML for 4 journeys every fortnight. My daughter lived in London while I was in Yorkshire and that was how I grabbed her each alternate weekend, so I'm quite familiar with the ECML, thank you.

There was exactly nothing indicating that there would be no trains running between Kings Cross and Finsbury Park this weekend which is presumably why no alternative timetables are in place and the train operators and National Rail are currently scrambling to produce one.

Incidentally, yes, Network Rail use cheap contractors. They've a long and distinguished history in their various guises for it. No care for value, just spending as little as possible.

You have incredibly low expectations of the rail service if you're fine with a main line being closed for at least 24 hours due to work that was supposed to take 24 hours. Someone messed up badly on the implementation of the work, someone else with the planning. End result being that for the past 5 hours tens of thousands have been waiting to see if their train is going to Peterborough, Stevenage or Finsbury Park, if it goes anywhere.

Still I thought other people who may be travelling would find my post useful. I will update the thread as and when I get any information.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

The comments about safety are odd given my post; they were replacing overhead lines so there is no electrical danger to be had unless they were feeling daring and left the power on.

of course, it's really that simple.

Until relatively recently I used the ECML for 4 journeys every fortnight. My daughter lived in London while I was in Yorkshire and that was how I grabbed her each alternate weekend, so I'm quite familiar with the ECML, thank you.

so you saw the the information posters then?

There was exactly nothing indicating that there would be no trains running between Kings Cross and Finsbury Park this weekend which is presumably why no alternative timetables are in place and the train operators and National Rail are currently scrambling to produce one.

obviously it wasn't that specific, there will be numerous sites all working all with the potential to have issues, that's why there was a general poster advising of the potential for delays and to contact the site before you travel to get the latest information

Incidentally, yes, Network Rail use cheap contractors.

. Who? What was the size of the tender And by how much did they undercut the next bidder

You have incredibly low expectations of the rail service if you're fine with a main line being closed for at least 24 hours due to work that was supposed to take 24 hours.

No, I have low expectations of the network. I am sure that the work being undertaken is being done as well as can be, by those contracted. If there is in sufficient resilience in the network for this work to be carried out without major impact, it is the fault of the design of the network not those trying to maintain it.

Someone messed up badly on the implementation of the work, someone else with the planning. End result being that for the past 5 hours tens of thousands have been waiting to see if their train is going to Peterborough, Stevenage or Finsbury Park, if it goes anywhere.

Well truth is you have no idea What the issue is, so you can only speculate what might have happened.

Still I thought other people who may be travelling would find my post useful. I will update the thread as and when I get any information.

Or we could read the news.

[Ignitionnet]

Originally Posted by Pierre

Well truth is you have no idea What the issue is, so you can only speculate what might have happened.

Care to try reading posts before you weigh in with what is, in your mind, the authoritative view on the topics discussed in them? Had you actually bothered to read the first post properly you'd have noted this:

Network Rail were replacing overhead lines between Finsbury Park and Kings Cross and a cantilever in the Cannonbury tunnel was broken.

So yes, I have more than an idea what the issue is. I took the time to find out rather than giving an uneducated opinion.

Originally Posted by Pierre

so you saw the the information posters then?

I'm quite aware of the expected disruptions - they were going to add half an hour onto my journey tomorrow and cause additional congestion on the train as direct ones were only running hourly.

Strangely contractors breaking a cantilever in a tunnel and thus causing a work plan lasting a day or so to overrun by at least 24 hours wasn't on any posters it seems.

Might be an idea to get a sobriety test for your computer before it allows you to use it.

In other news still no word on a new timetable, 5.5 hours after the issues were first announced.

---------- Post added at 23:14 ---------- Previous post was at 23:01 ----------

Trains are starting to filter through to the checker now - check them at http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/servic...journey/search

Season of good will folks.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

Care to try reading posts before you weigh in with what is, in your mind, the authoritative view on the topics discussed in them? Had you actually bothered to read the first post properly you'd have noted this:



So yes, I have more than an idea what the issue is. I took the time to find out rather than giving an uneducated opinion.

I did read it. It doesn't you anything, I'm non_ the wiser. Does it tell you, how it was broken? How badly broken it was, could it be repaired? Did it have to be replaced? Etc etcetera.

"Broken" is a simplistic term.

Might be an idea to get a sobriety test for your computer before it allows you to use it.

8.00 am perfectly sober, nice use of cheap insult to avoid answering half the post where facts may be required, but hey crack on.

[raging bull]

Daughter just landed back into Gatwick to arrive in Kings Cross with no warning of missing trains. Trying to get back to Yorkshire with a pre booked seat on a missing train!

[raging bull]

Update to my earlier post, daughter just arrived back in Leeds after a difficult journey!
She reports fighting at Finsbury Park due to frustration of the hundreds of passengers waiting for train journey's north.

Originally Posted by raging bull

She reports fighting at Finsbury Park due to frustration of the hundreds of passengers waiting for train journey's north.

Could just be a normal day at Finsbury Park to be honest.

[raging bull]

The entrance gates were reported to have been locked earlier this morning to prevent access to platform, people getting off at Finsbury were delayed because of large numbers waiting for trains north?

[007stuart]

From the BBC News website

Network Rail's managing director Robin Gisby acknowledged a lot of passengers had been let down.

He told the BBC that the delay to work at Kings Cross was caused by the failure of heavy lifting equipment on Christmas Day. A decision was taken on the afternoon of 26 December to put alternative arrangements in place and make an announcement to passengers

Seems to be a case of bad luck - not really practicable just to have a spare lying around "just in case" that said I would have thought that someone would have realised that the original finish time was a dead duck and issuing an immediate press release may be a good idea.

Methinks whoever is responsible for this work will be trying very hard to come up with a reason for keeping their job tomorrow at the moment.

Unfortunately, this type of bad luck is every day occurrence. The signals and the line north of Southampton Central do not have enough electricity for how long now? a year?

As a "Sardine express" (that's a technical term, we earned the honour) passenger from Woking, I am an expert...