Fortunately in Bristol the dreaded threatened snow passed us by today. I detest the stuff and would be happy to never see any of it again in my lifetime. Global warming; bring it on…
The railways, though, managed to cock it up magnificently:
A major inquest was launched by both Network Rail and train operators this evening after a small dusting of snow threw much of the country’s system into disarray and turned the daily journey of millions of commuters into a nightmare.
Network Rail admitted that it had failed to spray enough anti-freeze on the points and rails as a precaution against the predicted bad weather.
So much for the winter weather plan, then. In an echo of the embarrassment of British Rail and the oft misquoted “wrong type of snow” we get this, from Network Rail:
…on Tuesday night, the fall in temperature was insufficient to automatically trigger the built-in points heaters which would have prevented them from freezing up.
Instead the train operators were confronted with what a Network Rail spokesman described as “loose wet snow”, which compacted between the points and caused them to jam.
“This is when you have a little snow which was compacted by the points. Had there been more, and had it been colder, the point heaters would have switched on automatically,” he added.
This is the “oh, fuck!” moment. Network Rail have contingency plans in place. You would think, would you not, that the plans include such contingencies as, er, snow. Well, yes, they plan for snow. Somewhere in the signalbox and operations managers’ offices there will be a winter weather plan that has a list of activities that kick in when the temperature drops and snow is forecast – such as going out to de-ice the points. They have point heaters (which will have been checked as part of the plan) and they have an antifreeze product that they can manually apply to the points – they also have folk who go out and apply it.
When temperatures are predicted to drop to around freezing point – but not substantially below – Network Rail would normally spray the tracks with a substance known as Magic Ice Stop to prevent them from jamming.
But…
A spokesman was unable to explain why this was not done extensively on Tuesday night. “We made a call on the information we had, but we may not have had the full picture.”
Yup; “oh, fuck!” Someone, somewhere, will be regretting that “call”. Nothing changes. Snow is a predictable phenomenon in this country. We tend to get it come winter time, And, come winter time it always takes us by surprise. Horrible, hateful stuff it is, but bringing the rail network to a halt?
Challenged over his description of Tuesday night as extreme, the spokesman added: “We are a temperate country, snow is extreme weather.”
Wrong answer. Come back Terry Worrall, all is forgiven. While senior managers are doubtless fuming, this is nothing new, is it? When it comes to fucking up royally, the rail industry is an expert. Not just getting the “call” wrong, but the subsequent media disaster. Network Rail needs to urgently review the performance of its corporate affairs team. Having seen it all from the inside, I can’t resist a chuckle. But, then, I wasn’t on a platform freezing my balls off waiting for a train this morning, so I can afford the luxury of a wry smile.
South Eastern Trains, which fared particularly badly yesterday with delays of up to an hour during the height of the morning rush hour, laid the blame with Network Rail.
Well, yes, who else? And that’s gonna hurt the bottom line with all those penalty charges stacking up like stranded trains on a snowbound suburban line.
Only in Britain could the failure of points to operate in extreme conditions be blamed on the snow not being cold enough.
Foot.
Shotgun.
Some assembly required.
Sigh…
Wrong kind of snow again. Why can they not get the snow right? Huge resources, record profits, and still the wrong kind of snow. Surely they can hire a snow specialist from Switzerland or somewhere like Dubai to create the ‘right’ kind of snow?
To be fair to Terry Worrall, he never did use the expression “wrong kind of snow” – he was misquoted. What he pointed out was that the powdery snow experienced that winter got into the electric motors and shorted them out. In this case, wet slushy snow gets crushed in the between the point blade and the stock rail, causing the point to fail. Fair enough. What is unforgivable is the lack of foresight – and the waffle in its wake.
Well, fair comment about Worrall’s choice of description, but it’s certainly not as if the very minor snowfall was entirely unpredictable nor forecast. The rail services are teetering on a knife edge of collapse at all times of the year, what with snow, leaves, heat buckling the permanent way etc etc. What should be recognised is the demanning which has gone on since privatisation. There simply aren’t enough bodies around to throw at problems and fix them. Add to that the fact that those who are employed on this third world system have abolutely no pride in their work (understandibly!), so it’s always an avoidance of taking action and/or responsibility.
In other European countries this sort of excuse is regarded as a joke…
Actually, the opposite is true. There are still railway people who take enormous pride in the industry and the job they do. Unfortunately, they are frequently let down by their lords and masters.
Maybe in Bristol, but not in North Kent! Mind you, the North Kent line has been infamous for years. And I’m not entirely surprised it’s that way, given the monumental lack of investment for decades.
It’s only within the last couple of years that the ancient slam-door rolling stock has been replaced. It’s the disconnect between the train operators and Railtrack which has been the main contributor to commuter frustration. I commuted by train along this line into London for years. Almost without exception the trains were unreliable (every day), filthy, expensive and overcrowded. I recall getting off the evening struggle back home routinely homicidal. Maybe things have changed – I hope so.
The only time I use the trains now is when I have no alternative. That is mostly off peak. But, still, trains are cancelled or late because of ‘technical problems’.
I use public transport in Switzerland, and that is an altogether different and more pleasurable experience. Trams and trains are clean, punctual, and completely reliable. A scheduled bus journey from Basel to Mulhouse (the airport) runs exactly on time. In the UK I would never rely on a bus to get me to any airport on time.
We need to recall Prescott’s boasts – almost ten years ago now – about he would radicalise the transport system. You bet!
Agree with the consensus that this is a debacle, but I have to say that I absolutely love snow.
Am currently in Canada. There is a railway line next to the town I’m living in that currently has around a foot of compacted snow on the tracks. It still seems to run okay.