| Fallen tree on tracks at Portchester halts trains - 23 June 2025 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 08:26, 23rd June 2025 |     |
From the BBC:
A fallen tree has halted trains between Cosham and Southampton Central and Eastleigh.
The large tree across the railway line near Portchester means all lines are closed with trains unable to run affecting Great Western Railway, Southern and South Western Railway services.
National Rail said its staff were working to remove the tree as quickly as they can, however "the tree in question is very large and will take some time to remove".
Buses are replacing trains with major disruption expected until about 12:00 BST.
Routes affected:
* Great Western Railway services between Portsmouth Harbour and Bristol Temple Meads / Cardiff Central
* South Western Railway services between Portsmouth Harbour and Eastleigh / London Waterloo, between Portsmouth & Southsea and Southampton Central
* Southern services between Brighton and Southampton Central
| Re: Fallen tree on tracks at Portchester halts trains - 23 June 2025 Posted by TaplowGreen at 11:03, 23rd June 2025 | |
Leaves on the line? In June?
| Re: Fallen tree on tracks at Portchester halts trains - 23 June 2025 Posted by Bob_Blakey at 14:23, 23rd June 2025 | |
.....National Rail said its staff were working to remove the tree as quickly as they can, .....
.....because Network Rail were far too busy to be bothered with such trivia?
| Re: Fallen tree on tracks at Portchester halts trains - 23 June 2025 Posted by matth1j at 08:52, 24th June 2025 | |
I guess this could have been a pretty serious incident had it fallen at the wrong time. Is trackside vegetation monitored in any way to check for and prevent this sort of thing? Doesn't look easy along the lines in the picture.
| Re: Fallen tree on tracks at Portchester halts trains - 23 June 2025 Posted by AMLAG at 16:57, 24th June 2025 | |
Network Rail’s regularly programmed line and infrastructure monitoring trains detect tree and vegetation etc encroachments close to and in contact with trains and record and classify them as a ‘Guage Restriction’.
Infrastructure Managers are thus informed and should act accordingly to remove the offending
vegetation etc that caused a Guage Restriction.
| Re: Fallen tree on tracks at Portchester halts trains - 23 June 2025 Posted by Witham Bobby at 17:36, 24th June 2025 | |
Travelled from Bristol to Plymouth last month, (behind D1015) and the encroaching undergrowth bashing the rolling stock was very noticeable.
I'm absolutely certain that the vegetation on the trackside and on infrastructure (such as bridges) is not as well controlled as it used to be. I assume it's less costly to deal with events such as fallen trees here and there, than it is to keep things neat and tidy. I daresay there would be massive outrage if there was a significant programme to remove the lineside plants, shrubs and trees
