When overhead wires were damaged on the West Coast main line recently, it could have meant that trains would be cancelled until repairs could be affected.
However, by arrangement with Network Rail, Avanti West Coast ran its Pendolino trains without power underneath the damaged overhead wires and so kept passengers moving.
Drivers lowered their pantographs and ‘coasted’ through the three-mile section near North Wembley without power at around 80mph. Then, once clear of danger, they raised the pantographs again and continued at up to 125mph.
This temporary solution, which was in place for five days, enabled Avanti West Coast to operate a full timetable until Network Rail, who are responsible for the overhead wires, could arrange a permanent fix.
Initially, when the damage to the wires had been detected, a speed restriction of 20mph was imposed to reduce further damage or risk of failure to the OLE. By making use of the ability to coast, trains could travel at a much faster speed – significantly reducing the impact to customers and saving thousands of delay minutes.
Gus Dunster, executive director of operations at Avanti West Coast, said: “Working with Network Rail we adapted our response to the overhead wire issues near North Wembley by coasting – a technique we’ve been trialling that enables our Pendolino trains to move along the line without electrical power. This is the first time we have used coasting to operate a full timetable and is a great example of our collaborative efforts to put customers at the heart of everything we do.
“By utilising our ability to coast we were able to keep our trains moving through the affected area, minimising the impact to customer’s journey and preventing further damage to the overhead wires.”
Phil Barnes, head of operations at Network Rail, said: “Last month, condition monitoring equipment on a London Northwestern Railway train alerted us to a fault on the overhead line equipment in the neutral section in North Wembley.
“North Wembley is a complex part of the West Coast main line. There are several crossovers for freight and passenger trains and (pre-Covid) about a thousand train movements a day. In order to complete our repairs, we need to close all six lines for at least 10 hours.
“Working with Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway, we arranged for trains to coast on the fast lines through the impacted area, until we could complete the repairs overnight on the Saturday. This kept trains moving and minimised disruption to passengers.”
