Today’s chaos for rail passengers was compounded by Covid-related cancellations resulting from overhead cable issues and speed restrictions. This happened just a day before most of Britain returns home to work.
Southern Rail passengers, already facing longer travels than usual due to London Victoria’s staff absentees, were having difficulty getting between Brighton and Haywards Heath today.
The reason for this was a speed restriction that resulted from a safety inspection at the track which occurred earlier today. Services were therefore being cancelled in East Sussex or delayed due to an already reduced timetable.
Southern received a complaint from one passenger that the train they were taking to work was canceled twice, and that the train that would take them to work over an hour later is becoming more and more late by the minute. A second passenger complained that Haywards Heath was overcrowded and there weren’t any staff announcements.
Great Western Railway passengers traveling to England or Wales were faced with problems. There was an unexpectedly reduced service between Bristol and Cardiff as a result of overhead wire damage.
There were also delays up to 30 minutes between Sunderland, Middlesbrough and London on Northern services. This was due to signalling cables being stolen. Therefore trains were forced to move at reduced speeds.
These problems were added to the confusion affecting trains that is expected to create more misery for workers returning from work this week. In recent days, staff shortages forced nearly a quarter of all services to be cancelled.
However, it appeared many people had already returned from their Christmas and New Year holidays because the roads were extremely quiet – although The AA expects congestion to build when schools go back tomorrow.
Google Traffic was not affected by any major events today. It showed ‘green’ almost across the entire country.
LONDON: Congestion levels provided by TomTom this morning were very low, with the 10am data in London at 9 per cent
CONGESTION IN MANCHESTER: Manchester’s congestion was also 9 Percent this morning. That is 10 points lower than the average.
BIRMINGHAM, Congestion levels were 9 Percent which was eight per cent lower than the daily average.
Highways England nor Google Traffic reported no major traffic incidents. TomTom reported very low congestion rates, with 10am data in London Manchester and Birmingham at 9 percent.
It is 19% lower than the average time of day for London. Manchester’s was 10 points lower and Birmingham 8 points higher.
A congestion level is an average increase in travel time for drivers compared to uncongested baseline conditions.
The 9 Percent level results in a trip lasting 30 minutes with traffic, which is three more than the normal.
MailOnline was told by the AA that while roads are quiet today, tomorrow could be different as kids return to school or people work.
Train commuters who return to work this week will face travel chaos for several days as nearly a quarter of the services at certain stations have been cancelled in recent days.
Service disruptions due to Covid continued yesterday. Major engineering work on commuter routes is scheduled to continue through January 12.
Analyse by ontimetrains.co.uk showed that Manchester Airport passengers were the hardest hit. On New Year’s Day, 33% of scheduled service was canceled.
The New Year’s Eve cancellations included 30% and 26% respectively.
Manchester Piccadilly near Manchester was also a critical north-south or east-west hub that served the West Coast Mainline. It saw 16%, 21% and 15% of their services cancelled respectively.
Birmingham Moor Street also had 17%, 26%, and 22% of their respective cancellations.
The figures for Cardiff Central were 14%, 19% and 14% respectively, while Edinburgh saw 23 percent of services cancelled on 31/12 and 20% the previous day.
Some stations received less than half of their services on days when they were due.
A staggering 39% of Manchester Airport services were cancelled on December 19. This was a drastic increase from the previous day, which caused havoc for passengers who tried to travel by train.
On December 19, 53 percent of Manchester Oxford Road’s services were cancelled. Only 20% of the services were delivered on that date.
It is not a good sign for commuters trying to get back on the network over the coming days. There are large numbers returning to work after Christmas, and the cancellation rate is high.
Operators’ industry body, the Rail Delivery Group insists that only 5% of mainline services were cut on New Year’s Day.
Operator Southern announced that trains from London Victoria (Britain’s second-busiest station) will not run until January 10, 2010.
It is because of high levels of “coronavirus isolation” and “coronavirus sickness” among employees.
Numerous other train operators cancelled their trains as staff were sick, or aren’t feeling well due to the rising Covid infection.
These include Avanti West Coast and Greater Anglia as well as London North Eastern Railway’s Northern, ScotRail and TransPennine Express, Transport for Wales, and Transport for Wales.
Covid-related sickness is thought to have affected at least 10% of all railway employees across all trains firms.
CrossCountry employees staged a 24 hour strike on New Years Eve, which was organized by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT).
In a dispute about guard duties, senior conductors and train managers were at odds.
Network Rail’s final 370 engineering projects over Christmas and New Years will cause further disruption.
Passengers on the West Coast Mainline face disruption between tomorrow and 12 January while flood protection upgrades are carried out between Milton Keynes and Rugby.
Northampton is the next stop for trains, adding 25 minutes to their journeys.
London Northwestern Railway will operate fewer trains between Crewe and London Euston. This means that passengers may need to change trains at Rugby.
James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route Director, stated that the changes would result in fewer services and more packed carriages, as well as longer travel times.
The graphic below shows the Southern closures planned up to January 4, a time that was extended now until January 10.
Services in Manchester will be able to use upgrades for signalling and track along the Transpennine Route until at most tomorrow.
Anthony Smith, Chief Executive of Independent Watchdog Transport Focus called for operators to withdraw certain services in a temporary manner on a scheduled basis.
He stated this was to avoid last-minute cancellations that could cause chaos.
Rail Delivery Group spokesmen said, “Our colleagues, as well as those from other industries have been affected by the virus.”
“While we are working hard to ensure a reliable service for key employees and passengers, certain rail companies have introduced amended schedules due to lower demand.
** Are you facing any problems on the roads or rails today? Please email: tips@dailymail.com **