News RSS Feed


Follow the Daily Echo on Facebook to get headlines straight to your news feed. Readers Letters Tweet with the Daily Echo Don't Be A Fuel Fool

Train delays in Hampshire due to frozen rain

2:12pm Monday 21st December 2009 in


PASSENGERS are facing long delays throughout Hampshire as rare 'frozen rain' is causing chaos.

Many people have been delayed as train services are being cancelled and alternative arrangements made due to severe weather conditions.

A spokesman for Network Rail said rain coming down on the tracks, freezing and creating a layer of ice on impact has led to electrical problems with the trains, which normally get their power from the contact with the track.

He said: "We call it frozen rain. It is one of these unfortunate circumstances and it is as bad as it gets but fortunately it is quite rare.

"We are doing everything we can to get the trains up and running again and apologise for any delays."

Network Rail said workers were out last night defrosting tracks but their efforts have been reversed now it is raining in freezing conditions.

Related links


Comments(14)

southy says...
2:17pm Mon 21 Dec 09

bring back steam trains

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

goard says...
2:41pm Mon 21 Dec 09

Southy is right - bring on the steam trains - ditch the up to the minute rail - let the passenger taste the smell of a truly rich atmosphere of fish, smoke and steam - the like of which is my favourite smells - The powers that be keep these engines, replace them when needed - they are the stalwarts and will ALWAYS be there when we need them.

goard

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Donald2000 says...
3:06pm Mon 21 Dec 09

goard wrote:
Southy is right - bring on the steam trains - ditch the up to the minute rail - let the passenger taste the smell of a truly rich atmosphere of fish, smoke and steam - the like of which is my favourite smells - The powers that be keep these engines, replace them when needed - they are the stalwarts and will ALWAYS be there when we need them. goard
To which I would respond, this is the authentic frontier gibberish which we have grown to know and love.

Happy Christmas to goard.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Andy Locks Heath says...
3:27pm Mon 21 Dec 09

Not sure what fuel Goard's locos are using if they smell of fish, and I'd be interested to know which "powers that be" are still keeping them because every single post war engine that ran on BR is fully accounted whether preserved or scrapped. Interstingly the most reliable of local trains all things considered were probably the old Hampshire DEMUs built in the late 1950s - they carried a reliable onboard power source so they weren't susceptible to power failures, didn't need water stops, carried no sensitive microswitches telling onboard computer systems to shut down the unit and - very importantly they used rim brakes which cleaned the wheel surface as they braked. The disk brakes on modern EMUs allow leaf mulch to collect on the wheel surface which causes wheel slips and leads to wheel flats and motor burn out. When a driver gets a false warning from the thousands of sensors on a modern Desiro Unit he has no choice but to obey and fail the unit. Things tend to be over-engineered today simply because the technology is available. I suspect the Eurostar units only failed because the onboard computer was instructed to shut them down, not because a mechanical component had actually broken.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Donald2000 says...
4:49pm Mon 21 Dec 09

As someone who is ex BR and South West Trains, I fully agree with Andy; the Eurostar situation and SWT results from an oversensitivity in electronics and is not necessarily the fault of the design. To support Goard, however, we did not have the multitude of problems in the days of steam.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

freemantlegirl2 says...
5:00pm Mon 21 Dec 09

Rare frozen rain? they're having an absolute laugh... this is among the same genre of excuses as leaves in autumn! it happens EVERY year! dear oh dear....

In the words of the Fat Controller, 'you are causing confusion and delay'! get a grip SWT and sort yourselves out!

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Saintade says...
8:09pm Mon 21 Dec 09

Considering the extremely heavy snowfall in London and down to Basingstoke at about 4pm today, my train at 5.05 was bang on time. No problems there with SWT. Shame I couldn't get out of Winchester and had to abandon my car for the night :-(

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

OSPREYSAINT says...
10:24pm Mon 21 Dec 09

We have been reasonably fortunate in the last few years, with only a few occasions when the conditions were as severe as this mornings combination of rain on top of a frozen surface, this tends to lead into complacency, and a sudden learning curve to find ways of resolving the difficulties, it took me fifteen minutes to negotiate a three minute walk to the station this morning, the train was on time and I came close to missing it! Luckily it was a diesel unit.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

SFC4EVA says...
9:53am Tue 22 Dec 09

Turn up the current running through the rails. It will melt the snow. Of course this will cost money so they won't do it. They'd rather just cancel trains.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

dibsy1984 says...
10:11am Tue 22 Dec 09

God you lot are boring! Get a life!

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Andy Locks Heath says...
11:05am Tue 22 Dec 09

dibsy1984 wrote:
God you lot are boring! Get a life!
And what do you talk about all day - let me guess - football?

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

Andy Locks Heath says...
11:10am Tue 22 Dec 09

SFC4EVA wrote:
Turn up the current running through the rails. It will melt the snow. Of course this will cost money so they won't do it. They'd rather just cancel trains.
Full marks for trying but stick to football because physics isn't your strong point. I could explain why but it would be better if you thought about it yourself for a bit :-)

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

southy says...
11:41am Tue 22 Dec 09

Andy Locks Heath wrote:
dibsy1984 wrote:
God you lot are boring! Get a life!
And what do you talk about all day - let me guess - football?
if he talks about football all day he would need to get a life.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

OSPREYSAINT says...
1:41pm Tue 22 Dec 09

SFC4EVA wrote:
Turn up the current running through the rails. It will melt the snow. Of course this will cost money so they won't do it. They'd rather just cancel trains.
lol What a crock! Well it made me chortle anyway, it is more about timing the de-icing trains to run before the service starts, nothing to do with voltage or amperage!
Most of the railway track points in our area have heaters on them, but they do have a few problems, particularly if a fuse blows! There is not enough staff available to repair them. Well done those that do struggle to keep our transport going.

Report this post »    Register/Log In »

More News stories


South West Train Frozen rain causing problems on railways

Most popular



Local Information

Enter your postcode, town or place name

House prices »   Schools »   Crime »   Hospitals »

Local Businesses