Media centre

Friday 24 Feb 2017

Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail work around the clock to weather the storm

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail thank passengers for their patience during Storm Doris yesterday - which caused widespread disruption to much of the rail network.

Both organisations began preparation for the storm on Monday 20 February, with over 100 dedicated rail staff positioned yesterday ready for the impact.  Staff then worked around the clock yesterday in challenging conditions to deal with incidents across Wales and keep many services running for passengers.

Despite preparation and speed restrictions being in place, wind speeds in excess of 90mph resulted in trees falling on the track and even sheds and trampolines being blown across and onto the railway, resulting in the closure of some lines, and damage to trains.

Over 100 incidents were reported to the joint Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail Wales Rail Operating Centre in Cardiff, with action required across the whole of the Welsh rail network. Engineers and maintenance staff worked quickly to remove the debris and then repair damage to the track and trains, however, some parts of the network remain closed and some trains have fewer carriages whilst further inspections are carried out.

Tim Ball, Senior Incident Officer for Network Rail Wales,  said:

“I would like to thank passengers for their patience as Network Rail teams worked to minimise the impact and resolve the issues brought on by Storm Doris yesterday.

“Keeping passengers and our workforce safe is our top priority and it was decided on Wednesday that a 50mph speed limit be imposed on lines in mid and north Wales where winds were expected to be strongest, to minimise the risk to passengers and staff should trees or other objects get blown onto the tracks.  At start of service on Thursday, we had colleagues located across Wales ready to respond and deal with any incidents specifically related to Storm Doris.

“Working with our partners Arriva Trains Wales, we have been able to resolve many of the issues brought on by the weather, however, I urge passengers to continue to check before travelling today.”

The extreme weather also caused damage to trains, with Arriva Trains Wales working through the night at their depots across Wales in advance of service today.

Simon Hughes, Engineering Director for Arriva Trains Wales, said:

“15 of our trains were damaged by trees and other objects during Storm Doris. The damaged trains had to come back to our depots for repair and to get as many trains back in to service as possible, we brought in additional skilled engineers. Overnight, we had around 50 people working hard to get the trains back into service, the impact of the damage has unfortunately meant that as well as the disruption on the day of the storm, we also had to take the difficult decision to replace some trains with buses and take extra carriages off some services.

“We would like to thank all our customers for their patience whilst we dealt with the storm. We would also like to praise all our hard working people in Arriva Trains Wales and Network Rail for doing their absolute best to keep many services running for our customers and communities.”

Notes to editors:

• 49 trains arrived back into Canton Maintenance Depot in Cardiff with 15 trains requiring repair work. A number of other trains were also repaired in Machynlleth Depot.
• 50 people worked overnight to repair trains and get them back out to service.
• At the start of service on Thursday 23 February, 60 Network Rail staff were located across Wales to respond and deal with any Doris related incidents.
• Network Rail removed in excess of 30 trees throughout the day plus a number of items such as trampolines, garden sheds and a child's pop up tent.