Train delays caused by signalman stuck in toilet (From Evesham Journal)
Get involved! Send your photos, video, news & views by texting EJ NEWS to 80360 or e-mail us
In-convenience for passengers on Worcester - Malvern - Hereford line after toilet break at Henwick
8:00am Monday 11th February 2013 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed
WE APOLOGISE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE: The Henwick signal box and outdoor toilet in St John’s, Worcester. Picture: Paul Jackson. 0613241601
TRAINS travelling through Worcester had an unscheduled stop after an unfortunate signalman got stuck in the toilet.
Passengers found themselves being held up at the Henwick signal box in St John’s on Wednesday afternoon after the man who was meant to be controlling the signals made an ill-fated dash to a Victorian outdoor toilet.
The disruption was publicly announced as “signalling problems”, but one mischievous web forum user lifted the lid on what really happened when he posted Network Rail’s official incident log.
It shows that trains were being forced to stop at Henwick after all contact was lost with the signalman.
The driver of the 15:13 Hereford to London service is then reported to have got out of his train and walked to the signalbox to see if he could sniff out the problem.
The next update simply states: “Local operations manager is on site and the signaller is stuck in the toilet.”
Network Rail apologised for the “unfortunate incident”.
“Much of the railway is still controlled from Victorian signal boxes, which often have outside loos,” a spokesman said. “Our plans to modernise the railway will see control moved to state-of-the-art regional control centres, where unfortunate incidents such as this simply wouldn’t be an issue. We apologise to anyone whose journey was delayed or disrupted.”
Comments(18)
spider666
says...
9:17am Mon 11 Feb 13
No1 - Was it a No2
No2 - Was it a No1
Please respond so i don't get pee'd off
;-)
brooksider
says...
9:26am Mon 11 Feb 13
There is a movement to improve them but the Government keep poo pooing them.
The way they are cisternmatically dismantling a once great industry hardly leaves them flushed with success.
Arthur Blenkinsop
says...
10:04am Mon 11 Feb 13
......... :-(
spider666
says...
10:57am Mon 11 Feb 13
brooksider wrote:Good one,made me chuckle
Another example of our railways going down the pan.
There is a movement to improve them but the Government keep poo pooing them.
The way they are cisternmatically dismantling a once great industry hardly leaves them flushed with success.
More Tea Vicar
says...
11:31am Mon 11 Feb 13
Arthur Blenkinsop wrote:....brilliant.
'Network Rail apologised for the “unfortunate incident”.'
Surely they should have apologised for the inconvenience!
More Tea Vicar
says...
11:34am Mon 11 Feb 13
Surely this is the kind of infrastructure modernisation we should be investing in.
Rather than blowing billions on that pointless HS2, we should be modernising the kind of Victorian infrastructure that still seems to underpin so much of our railway system.
imustbeoldiwearacap
says...
12:17pm Mon 11 Feb 13
More Tea Vicar wrote:Couldn't agree with you more. Government couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery!
Though you're all flushed with the success of your postings....a serious point if I may...
Surely this is the kind of infrastructure modernisation we should be investing in.
Rather than blowing billions on that pointless HS2, we should be modernising the kind of Victorian infrastructure that still seems to underpin so much of our railway system.
spider666
says...
12:42pm Mon 11 Feb 13
imustbeoldiwearacap wrote:Don't you mean they couldn't organise a p**s down a victorion rail network loo
More Tea Vicar wrote:Couldn't agree with you more. Government couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery!
Though you're all flushed with the success of your postings....a serious point if I may...
Surely this is the kind of infrastructure modernisation we should be investing in.
Rather than blowing billions on that pointless HS2, we should be modernising the kind of Victorian infrastructure that still seems to underpin so much of our railway system.
More Tea Vicar
says...
1:53pm Mon 11 Feb 13
imustbeoldiwearacap wrote:Indeed, and it's not just THIS government, either.
More Tea Vicar wrote:Couldn't agree with you more. Government couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery!
Though you're all flushed with the success of your postings....a serious point if I may...
Surely this is the kind of infrastructure modernisation we should be investing in.
Rather than blowing billions on that pointless HS2, we should be modernising the kind of Victorian infrastructure that still seems to underpin so much of our railway system.
Improving regional airports, road and rail would make a lot more sense than HS2 and London airport expansion.
And investing in Worcester's transport infrastructure makes a lot of sense. I am all for preserving heritage, but not at any cost. Replacing a lot of our Victorian bridges would relieve road choke points, and the railway stations are still a joke.
Samboy
says...
2:46pm Mon 11 Feb 13
courtesycall
says...
3:03pm Mon 11 Feb 13
Sniffing someone on the toilet is surely beyond the call of duty!
BadgerMash
says...
3:45pm Mon 11 Feb 13
More Tea Vicar
says...
4:00pm Mon 11 Feb 13
Samboy wrote:Blame Margaret Thatcher...seems to be the standard response to any problem for most people.
What has a sticky door in a signal box toilet got to do with the government?
But the story, and the attendant picture, just seemed to point up how dilapidated our infrastructure is.
Seems odd that that Victorian building is within sight of our brand new library.
I'd have thought it would be sensible to be modernising and automating our infrastructure, re-building old bridges etc, and bringing the whole thing into the 21st century.
spider666
says...
4:14pm Mon 11 Feb 13
BadgerMash wrote:It's the same at Droitwich Spa --unfortunately it's a sign of the times,if they were left unlocked all day then they would no doubt be wrecked or used for drug taking.
Glad to hear that the signalman in question has an acccessible toilet. The same cannot be said for passengers using Great Malvern Station. For most of the day there is no toilet and during the limited hourse the ticket office is open you have to ask permission to use the facilities like a child who can't be trusted. What must tourists and business people think of us?
Lew Smoralz
says...
8:16pm Mon 11 Feb 13
More Tea Vicar wrote:Forget HS2 and build us a Northern Link!
imustbeoldiwearacap wrote:Indeed, and it's not just THIS government, either.
More Tea Vicar wrote:Couldn't agree with you more. Government couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery!
Though you're all flushed with the success of your postings....a serious point if I may...
Surely this is the kind of infrastructure modernisation we should be investing in.
Rather than blowing billions on that pointless HS2, we should be modernising the kind of Victorian infrastructure that still seems to underpin so much of our railway system.
Improving regional airports, road and rail would make a lot more sense than HS2 and London airport expansion.
And investing in Worcester's transport infrastructure makes a lot of sense. I am all for preserving heritage, but not at any cost. Replacing a lot of our Victorian bridges would relieve road choke points, and the railway stations are still a joke.
Our sewage system in Worcester is struggling to cope, and Victorian drains are collapsing, after 100+ years.
Only the "rich boys" will gain any benefits from HS2, and we need our existing infrastructure brought into the 21st century and give us all some benefits.
More Tea Vicar
says...
11:30am Tue 12 Feb 13
Lew Smoralz wrote:Indeed. It is easy to see how our local transport could be upgraded; improving the A449 and the A38 for a start, at least one new railway halt - not just Norton, but maybe one west of the river...
More Tea Vicar wrote:Forget HS2 and build us a Northern Link!
imustbeoldiwearacap wrote:Indeed, and it's not just THIS government, either.
More Tea Vicar wrote:Couldn't agree with you more. Government couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery!
Though you're all flushed with the success of your postings....a serious point if I may...
Surely this is the kind of infrastructure modernisation we should be investing in.
Rather than blowing billions on that pointless HS2, we should be modernising the kind of Victorian infrastructure that still seems to underpin so much of our railway system.
Improving regional airports, road and rail would make a lot more sense than HS2 and London airport expansion.
And investing in Worcester's transport infrastructure makes a lot of sense. I am all for preserving heritage, but not at any cost. Replacing a lot of our Victorian bridges would relieve road choke points, and the railway stations are still a joke.
Our sewage system in Worcester is struggling to cope, and Victorian drains are collapsing, after 100+ years.
Only the "rich boys" will gain any benefits from HS2, and we need our existing infrastructure brought into the 21st century and give us all some benefits.
So much that could be done with the billions currently earmarked for HS2.
grumpy woman
says...
7:16pm Tue 12 Feb 13
Arthur Blenkinsop says...
8:15am Mon 11 Feb 13
Surely they should have apologised for the inconvenience!