⚠️Major changes to @Se_Railway services this evening from @NetworkRailCHX, with diversions and cancellations in place. This thread explains the changes to your trains and why we had to make them.⚠️ 
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX We will only be able to run 50% of our normal peak-time trains from Charing Cross tonight. Main Line services to Dover + Ramsgate will run to/from Victoria and there will be fewer trains to Tunbridge Wells + some other cancellations.
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX Passengers for Tunbridge Wells can use any train to Tonbridge and a shuttle train will be running between the two stations to carry you home. Online journey planners are being updated to reflect this, or check at southeasternrailway.co.uk
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX Why have we had to do this and why has this problem carried on all day? A track patrol found a cracked rail at New Cross just after 2am + had to close the 2 lines carrying all @se_railway services to Charing Cross, as it would have been unsafe to run trains over the damage.
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX In this case the crack started at ground level and worked its way up (the writing on the rail is from a previous defect fixed in 2018). Problems like these are usually spotted long before they happen thanks to our Ultrasonic Test Trains, which pick up defects buried inside rails
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX This rail is what is called a “crossing” which is part of a set of points that allow trains to cross from one track to another. It’s a big chunk of manganese steel, which is designed to get stronger with age, as every impact makes it harder. This pic shows an example at Ashford
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX The location was significant as it blocked the one line @Se_Railway have to get all their @NetworkRailCHX trains through #NewCross , circled on the track diagram. It effectively cut off all the routes shown in the red box on the right.
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX These crossings are bespoke and not “off-the-shelf” items so we couldn’t put a spare one in. In fact it can take some weeks to get new ones fabricated so we had to act quickly and replace it with straight track instead.
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX We had the rail replaced and the tracks opened again by 8am. However, in cutting out the crossing, we caused the set of points to tell the signalling system it had had effectively ceased to exist, and the signal next to it is stuck on red to protect it. networkrail.co.uk/running-the-ra…
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX Every train that passes by has to call the signaller and ask for permission to pass the red signal, which takes a few minutes, and we can only squeeze half the normal services through. Tonight we will run around 14 trains in the peak hour from Charing Cross, down from 26.
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX We can add some wiring to the rails here to get the signalling to operate normally but it will take 2 hours and that job is much better done overnight rather than stopping trains again. We have a team ready and they will do the job overnight tonight.
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX The circled track circuit HXJ has been disconnected, as that is the section of track that has been cut out, and hence, it is telling signal 2048 it's missing and not to let trains past. All those circuits are what tell our systems where trains are + without them, nothing moves.
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX We’re really sorry for this disruption today and we really appreciate your patience in what we know was a very difficult day for you. Don’t forget Delay Repay and check with @Se_Railway for travel information.
@Se_Railway @NetworkRailCHX Finally... if you made it this far down the thread you must really like engineering, so why not work for us or become an apprentice? We need the best people to help us run over 6,000 trains every day and you could make a real difference. Click here:
networkrail.co.uk/careers
networkrail.co.uk/careers
