A very frustrating trip home tonight. No more than a couple of hundred yards outside Paddington on the 6pm to Bristol Temple Meads we grind to a halt. After three or four minutes waiting, the train manager comes on the PA to tell us that there are trespassers on the line ahead and we’re being held while the long arm of the law reaches out to nab them. All fine and dandy so far. Granted, I think there’s quite a lot to be said for proceeding at full speed – the best deterrent to trespassing on the tracks I can think of – but that’s probably a more extreme commuter view.
Moments after the train manager’s announcement has concluded and the passengers have digested the news and made their first round of calls home – “Hi luv…just outside Paddington…trespassers on the line…yeah, tell me about it!” – an HST thunders past on the neighbouring line 10-20 yards away. Immediately you can see the question forming in everyone’s mind: how come we’re stuck here, yet the trains next door are still going at full speed?
And so it continued for the next 30 minutes, despite the train manager’s increasingly plaintive cries that ‘we’ll be on our way to Reading in just a moment or two’, us crawling along while next door scores of trains sped in and out of Paddington at normal speed.
What kind of trespassers are these whose mischief is limited to just a single track? Are they are some sort of small train or one of those funny little carts you see in old movies on which two men pump a handle up and down to travel along the tracks? (Comedy trespassers?)
Whatever the explanation, we took 40 minutes to reach sunny Slough while everybody on the track next door shot home at their usual speed. The frustration among my fellow passengers boiled over into a orgy of mass tutting and rolling of the eyes. In mobile phone calls around me loved ones were told not to bother waiting at the station; instructions were given to turn down the oven; children were wished goodnight, taxis were delayed. All part of the nightly ritual on First Great Western.
Moments after the train manager’s announcement has concluded and the passengers have digested the news and made their first round of calls home – “Hi luv…just outside Paddington…trespassers on the line…yeah, tell me about it!” – an HST thunders past on the neighbouring line 10-20 yards away. Immediately you can see the question forming in everyone’s mind: how come we’re stuck here, yet the trains next door are still going at full speed?
And so it continued for the next 30 minutes, despite the train manager’s increasingly plaintive cries that ‘we’ll be on our way to Reading in just a moment or two’, us crawling along while next door scores of trains sped in and out of Paddington at normal speed.
What kind of trespassers are these whose mischief is limited to just a single track? Are they are some sort of small train or one of those funny little carts you see in old movies on which two men pump a handle up and down to travel along the tracks? (Comedy trespassers?)
Whatever the explanation, we took 40 minutes to reach sunny Slough while everybody on the track next door shot home at their usual speed. The frustration among my fellow passengers boiled over into a orgy of mass tutting and rolling of the eyes. In mobile phone calls around me loved ones were told not to bother waiting at the station; instructions were given to turn down the oven; children were wished goodnight, taxis were delayed. All part of the nightly ritual on First Great Western.
7 comments:
"All part of the nightly ritual on First Great Western"
It's funny EK that you blame everything on FGW when a little more research on your behalf might bring you to the conclusion that it is actually Network Rail who operate the signalling systems and the same who decide which trains are cautioned and which are allowed to run at full speed. If you can't fathom this out arrange for a three year old to explain it!
Presumably the signaller had a fairly good idea of where the trespasser was. Your train was cautioned because it was travelling towards the trespasser (the crawl might have started some distance away because because of trains in front also slowing). The fast train on the other track was presumably travelling in teh opposite dirrection. It was presumably travelling fast because it had already passed teh trespasser and was travelling away from him.
Anonymous , please can you point out at where in the posting I BLAME First Great Western for the problem. My point was that it is indeed 'all part of the nightly ritual on FGW'.
Tim, thanks for your comment, but trains were passing in both directions on the adjacent lines - in and out of Paddington.
You were a bit unlucky being on the 18:00. The incident cleared at 18:10 so trains leaving Pad were able to use the relief passed queuing trains on the down main
I was on the 6.30 from Paddington and we were put on the fast track only to grind to a halt 5 minutes into our journey. The "Trespassers on line" explanation was given but I was also aggrieved to then see the 6.36 go flying past us on the relief line instead!
I'm guessing the trespassers had come back???
I like the idea of attaching "Cow-catchers" to the front of all trains to deal with such trespassers but sadly that is probably a bit extreme...
ah,
if there were trains passing in both directions, it does all seem a bit odd. perhaps the signaller was only abel to tell some of teh drivers about the trespassers (which would suggest a worrying lack of communication)?
perhaps this was an example of how targets distort behavour. Your train was already more than 10 minutes late so no extra pensalty is incured if it is made later still (until the 1 hr threshold is reached)
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