It snowed 1in this morning in London. Can someone PLEASE tell me how this caused trains to be cancelled.?

Question

It snowed 1in this morning in London. Can someone PLEASE tell me how this caused trains to be cancelled.?

Answer 1

Modern trains are a lot lighter than older trains and do not carry sand to drop on rails like the old steam trains did.This means that if snow or ice settle on the lines they cannot get enough traction to get up to speed and more importantly are not able to stop safely as the wheels become like ice skates on ice!

Answer 2

are you serious they got cancelled again?

i didnt get out of bed, took a mid-week break (shhhh)

its so annoying when they get cancelled, they ought to arrange some alternative.

i was stuck in really bad weather a few days ago with no alternative!

Answer 3

Simply snow and ice on the power rails, at first sign of arcing modern trains shut down to prevent damage to the motors and traction equipment. The older trains could operate, but (and this is a big but) the amount of arcing would probably damage the electrics and you'd be having short formed trains for several weeks afterwards while the train mechanics deal with burnt out equipment...

Do the sensible thing like they do on the continent and if your journey isn't essential (and is work really that essential) then don't travel!

Answer 4

In response to Pumpkin, much of the London Underground is in fact above ground, including every depot and most sidings. The cold weather meant points were frozen and could not be thrown.

However, in this day and age I can't understand why such problems occur. Scandinavia copes OK.

Unfortunately, this is Britain. We still think we lead the world but our noses are buried so far in the sand we can't see that the country has become a shambles and that most other Western countries are years ahead of us in so many ways.

Answer 5

The last time i heard it was the wrong type of snow,

Answer 6

I agree with David - 2'' of snow and the roads grind to a halt. Also who remembers the air chaos before Christmas because of the fog? And the planes that couldn't land at Bristol because of the wrong kind of tarmac on the runway?

Later. I've spoken to my son who lives in Sussex. My grandson couldn't get to school because the mini-bus that takes him couldn't get out. His was only one of several schools in his area were closed due to transport difficulties

Answer 7

slippery tracks and the trains don't use coal

Answer 8

Someone forgot to turn on the points heaters.

It is also possible that trains may have been cancelled for reasons other than snow.

Answer 9

being that i live in upstate ny and we get tons of snow i can tell you. it is because they are afraid of the trains loosing traction on the slippery(with ice and snow) rails especially on corners.

Answer 10

Train wheels are metal and so are the tracks put ice on them and you have the same effect as ice on the rink with skates.As for the wrong type of snow,  this is when the snow flakes are very fine  and they get sucked into the engines and short out the electrics. Also when snow freezes on the points, they cannot move.

Answer 11

I understand it even less on the Underground - most of the Tube lines were delayed one way or another. The trains are underground. They're affected by snow....how?

Answer 12

Ice and snow do not make rail slick AT ALL. Now it will mess with the switch points. They have to clean them or heat them. Here in the USA we run into a drift until it stops you, back off and hit it again. That is on a freight train mind you. But this stuff about slipping and sliding on rail is bull. Rain is slicker than snow and ice on rail.

Answer 13

Rain and frost caused the point ends to freeze together,probably in the sidings where no point heater are used,  and make the track have exceptional rail head condition's, which would cause the train to slip and not stop at red signal's.

The first Train driver, to pass over the track, would have reported these conditions to the signaller, he would tell the next train to do a running brake test in this area, and if this proved to dangerous he would report to Network Rail Control and all trains would be stopped.

Answer 14

There's a strike on and they don't want the bad publicity.

Answer 15

Chris p is almost there. 1 inch of snow in itself will not stop a train. However if that snow becomes compacted by trains passing over it at a set off points for example the compacted snow jams up the points mechanism so that they cannot work. Accordingly if the routes for the trains cannot be set then service is cancelled. I agree that it sounds stupid but as we have relatively little snow in the UK we simply aren't set up to deal with even modest amounts

Answer 16

Wheeew ! what a bunch of bull marliky these people are feeding you,  

I live where we mesure snow by the foot not inch, our trains run every day.

yes even in the bush where there is no electric to run so called heaters.

Answer 17

Because the snow caused a lot of points to fail. Ridiculous - half of our office was missing today as nobody was able to get into work from Kent.

Answer 18

In reply to pumpkin - two thirds of the 'underground' network is above ground.

Yes, trains were disrupted to a certain extent  - but most got through. Now would someone like to explain why north London's road system came to a standstill?

It's easy to sneer at trains - but they often seem to cope rather better than road transport.

Answer 19

The electric rail iced over, and so the trains had no power, or thats what I heard anyway.

Answer 20

drivers took a duvet day

Answer 21

On some of the older trains the coal took longer to light because it was wet.