Eurostar suspends services for third day

[aardvark2zz]

WOW >> As a northerner I'm amazed by these stories. I guess Bombardier trains would have done better; although some commuter trains here have some problems when it's below -20 C .

Eurostar suspends services for third day

Richard Brown of Eurostar said it was important to learn the lessons

Eurostar has said there will be no services for a third day on Monday while further tests are carried out on its fleet of trains.

But commercial director Nick Mercer said engineers have now pinpointed the cause of electrical problems and he hoped services would resume shortly.

Thousands of passengers were trapped on five trains in the Channel Tunnel on Friday and Saturday in wintry weather.

The company is transporting 500 of its "most vulnerable" passengers to France.

Train improvements

Mr Mercer said severe snowy conditions in northern France had caused snow to be ingested into trains in a way never seen before.

He said tests would be carried out on Monday with new modifications and it was hoped there would be an announcement later in the day that services would be able to resume.

He said screens and shields designed to prevent snow getting into electrics had failed and needed to be improved.

There was a severely disrupted service on Saturday, with 31,000 ticket holders forced to change their travel plans.

All services were cancelled on Sunday and a further 27,000 people were left stranded.

On Sunday evening, an emergency plan was introduced to put "vulnerable" stranded passengers on Javelin trains to Dover to catch ferries and then coaches on to Paris and Brussels.

The company ran test trains without passengers on Sunday after five trains broke down in the tunnel on Friday when condensation affected electrical systems.

Another train, which had been laid on to try to clear the backlog, suffered the same fate on Saturday night.

Those stranded complained of a lack of food and drink, power supplies and information, and there were further problems when some rescue trains themselves broke down. .....

BBC

[Sickbag]

It is the wrong kind of snow, this is a common problem for rail services in the UK.
In the past we have had the wrong kind of snow,
The wrong kind of leaves,
the wrong kind of Privatised maintenance companies
The wrong kind of Nationalised maintenance companies
The wrong kind of Private Public finance initiative

The list goes on.

[Marc 1]

It is the wrong kind of snow, this is a common problem for rail services in the UK.
In the past we have had the wrong kind of snow,
The wrong kind of leaves,
the wrong kind of Privatised maintenance companies
The wrong kind of Nationalised maintenance companies
The wrong kind of Private Public finance initiative

The list goes on.

Poor train services seems to be the real worldwide pandemic... In NSW they put in place measures to improve the ontime performance of the trains from 'Abysmal' to 'Barely Third World':

Did they put on more staff? No.

Did they put on more trains? No.

Did they purchase newer more reliable rolling stock? Nup.

Did they revamp the schedules to ensure one train breaking down didn't paralyze the whole network? No sirree...

In a move worthy of Sir Humphrey from Yes Minister, they just redefined the definition of a 'late train' from 5 minutes to 10 minutes late. Result!

[Sabre]

Maybe if the climate were to raise a few degrees, we wouldn't have these problems.

[Sickbag]

Maybe if the climate were to raise a few degrees, we wouldn't have these problems.

Or maybe they would be worse.

[el]

In a move worthy of Sir Humphrey from Yes Minister, they just redefined the definition of a 'late train' from 5 minutes to 10 minutes late. Result!

Reminds me of Lufthansas' flight schedule to and from Heathrow. They simply added 30 minutes to the scheduled flying time. Et voila.... on time performance on the route improved drastically.

[Sabre]

Maybe if the climate were to raise a few degrees, we wouldn't have these problems.

Or maybe they would be worse.

My bad, I forgot how this works:

If there is less snow - Cause: Global Warming
If there is more snow - Cause: Global Warming
If there is no Snow - Cause: Global Warming
If there is snow in the Sahara - Cause: Global Warming

[Sickbag]

My bad, I forgot how this works:

If there is less snow - Cause: Global Warming
If there is more snow - Cause: Global Warming
If there is no Snow - Cause: Global Warming
If there is snow in the Sahara - Cause: Global Warming

I'm not sure the presence of snow for a few days is the definitive proof or otherwise of climate change by the actions of man. However I do remember being told by one of my school teachers in the 70's that the next ice age was underway because a patch of snow on Snowdonia didn't melt one summer.

[Robert Hilton]

I'm not sure the presence of snow for a few days is the definitive proof or otherwise of climate change by the actions of man. However I do remember being told by one of my school teachers in the 70's that the next ice age was underway because a patch of snow on Snowdonia didn't melt one summer.

That's because the 'experts' had decided that a few really cold winters in the '60's constituted the beginning of an ice-age.
As long as the sun keeps expanding, then global warming is a fact. It might take a while...............

[J]

The cause of the failures has been traced to small very particles of "dry" snow being injested into the traction motor cooling fans resulting in electrical short circuits when moisture developed on the warm motors. The normal air filters were not effective against this type of snow. While not a common occurance, the same thing happened in the US in the late 1950's when the Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1 locomotives failed during an unusually dry snowfall. As I recall silk screens were used.

[flyboy2548m]

The cause of the failures has been traced to small very particles of "dry" snow being injested into the traction motor cooling fans resulting in electrical short circuits when moisture developed on the warm motors. The normal air filters were not effective against this type of snow. While not a common occurance, the same thing happened in the US in the late 1950's when the Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1 locomotives failed during an unusually dry snowfall. As I recall silk screens were used.

Ah yes, the glorious GG-1

[J]

The GG1 was an outstanding design with 16 traction motors driving 8 drive axles on a cast-steel frame built like a bridge truss. The prototype had a riveted boxy carbody that was later restyled by Raymond Loewy starting in 1934 in the form posted by Flyboy above. These locomotives lasted in service until 1983.

Loewy is known for other famous designs such as the Lucky Strike cigarette logo and the Studebaker Commander.

]

[aardvark2zz]

The cause of the failures has been traced to small very particles of "dry" snow being injested into the traction motor cooling fans resulting in electrical short circuits when moisture developed on the warm motors. The normal air filters were not effective against this type of snow. While not a common occurance, the same thing happened in the US in the late 1950's when the Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1 locomotives failed during an unusually dry snowfall. As I recall silk screens were used.

I would suspect that it was the more sensitive motor controlling-circuits that were failing than the high amperage motors. I just can't see how a warm motor would condense enough water unless it was kept very cold; like after a recent start. I guess ice buildup breaking off could cause havoc; like on a jet engine.

I guess they'll have to adopt practices used in aviation; hot-air de-icing anyone !? inflatable boots
.

[Sickbag]

The cause of the failures has been traced to small very particles of "dry" snow being injested into the traction motor cooling fans resulting in electrical short circuits when moisture developed on the warm motors. The normal air filters were not effective against this type of snow. While not a common occurance, the same thing happened in the US in the late 1950's when the Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1 locomotives failed during an unusually dry snowfall. As I recall silk screens were used.

I would suspect that it was the more sensitive motor controlling-circuits that were failing than the high amperage motors. I just can't see how a warm motor would condense enough water unless it was kept very cold; like after a recent start. I guess ice buildup breaking off could cause havoc; like on a jet engine.

I guess they'll have to adopt practices used in aviation; hot-air de-icing anyone !? inflatable boots
.

Or maybe refrigerate the channel tunnel.