Paul Weaver wrote:
On Mar 17, 3:57 pm, Paul Terry wrote:

Lineside fire near Wandsworth Road station yesterday afternoon:
danger of exploding gas cylinders means that the line has to be
closed for more than 24 hours.

Didn't Olympia used to be a possible destination for E*?

The location of the fire precluded the use of either terminal (and of access
to North Pole depot by sets stuck on the "country" side).

In article ,
(Jack Taylor) wrote:

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:

Oh, not that again! Acetylene gas cylinders should be banned or
else some way found of protecting them from this nonsense.

Something should be done about many things that are stored on
properties adjacent to major rail and road arteries.

Up until a while ago there was a yard at Neasden (the old
McNicholas yard), just on the Dollis Hill side of Neasden South
Junction, that was full of skips of different sizes. There were
several piles of them, stacked up to ten or twelve skips high,
backing onto the Chiltern line. At the top they were leaning
towards the railway. I often wondered what would have happened if
they had toppled over in a gale, or something, onto the track.

I was being more specific about acetylene cylinders because the London
Fire Brigade insist on cooling them down for a long period before
approaching them if they have been in or near a fire. If the precautions
the LFB specify are necessary then the cylinders shouldn't be allowed out
without proper protection for the public.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In message , J Clavox
writes

I was wondering this myself but maybe Ashford isn't geared up to
handling E Terminating and departing from there.

Even if it is possible, there would have been difficulties getting
passengers into or out of London from Ashford, as the fire also
disrupted southeastern services between Ashford and Victoria (I think
they were diverted to Blackfriars). Although there are other
possibilities, I suspect that services in south London were so badly
disrupted by the 24-hour closure that trying to get the large numbers
carried by Eurostar through the mess was just impossible.

--
Paul Terry

In message , asdf
writes

I assume it suffers from the same cost issues as keeping Waterloo
International open (i.e. lots of staff needed to run the security
checkpoints, duplicating those over at St P), and I'd have thought a
station at Stratford is less useful/desirable than one at Waterloo...

I wonder if it will be possible to turn Eurostar services at Stratford
if an incident like the one this weekend makes access to the terminus
impossible?
--
Paul Terry

In message , Paul Corfield
writes

I cannot understand why anyone would fly to somewhere like Paris.

Everyone's sums will vary according, amongst other things, to their
starting point. In my case (and travelling light as I always do):

Home to Heathrow: 30 minutes
Waiting: 90 minutes (2 hours is not necessary with advance check-in)
Journey: 75 minutes
CDG to central Paris: 45 minutes
Total: 4 hours

The figures for Eurostar from Waterloo a
30 + 40 + 160 + 10 = 4 hours

The figures for Eurostar from St Pancras will be:
55 + 40 + 135 + 10 = 4 hours

So, the sums are finely balanced. Waterloo is very convenient (virtually
a cross-platform change) while St Pancras will add a tube journey across
central London.

Eurostar is more pleasant, but catering is very basic in standard class
- the wait at Heathrow is annoying, but since it is not unexpected the
time can be used for a meal or some last-minute shopping.

Costs can be cheaper by air - BMI are currently offering £29 each way.
I've seen occasional Eurostar offers that can beat that, but they are
usually very limited.

So, I don't think decisions are necessarily clear-cut. As I've said, I
think that its a pity that Eurostar are going to abandon Waterloo - not
least because a second London terminal would give them an alternative to
closing the complete service, as happened this weekend - and also, of
course, because the inconvenience of a journey across London may tip the
balance in favour of flying from Heathrow or Gatwick for those living in
quite an arc of W/SW/S London.
--
Paul Terry

"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Paul Terry) wrote:

In message ,
writes

Do you know the reason for the cancellations Paul .

Lineside fire near Wandsworth Road station yesterday afternoon:
danger of exploding gas cylinders means that the line has to be
closed for more than 24 hours.

Oh, not that again! Acetylene gas cylinders should be banned or else some
way found of protecting them from this nonsense.

The LFB are campaigning for improved controls:
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/cylinders.asp
--
David Biddulph

"David Biddulph" groups [at] biddulph.org.uk wrote in message
...


Lineside fire near Wandsworth Road station yesterday afternoon:
danger of exploding gas cylinders means that the line has to be
closed for more than 24 hours.

Oh, not that again! Acetylene gas cylinders should be banned or else some
way found of protecting them from this nonsense.

The LFB are campaigning for improved controls:
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/cylinders.asp

Good - a few large disruption claims from the railway and other third
parties should get the insurance industry playing ball too. Was it the ECML
out of Kings Cross that suffered a similar problem last year some time?

Paul

"David Biddulph" groups [at] biddulph.org.uk wrote in message
...
"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Paul Terry) wrote:

In message ,
writes

Do you know the reason for the cancellations Paul .

Lineside fire near Wandsworth Road station yesterday afternoon:
danger of exploding gas cylinders means that the line has to be
closed for more than 24 hours.

Oh, not that again! Acetylene gas cylinders should be banned or else some
way found of protecting them from this nonsense.

The LFB are campaigning for improved controls:
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/cylinders.asp

.... and further info at
http://www.gerdasecurity.co.uk/gerda...%20Article.pdf
--
David Biddulph

J Clavox wrote:
On Sun, 18 Mar 2007 08:01:49 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:


I suspect that services in south London were so badly
disrupted by the 24-hour closure that trying to get the large numbers
carried by Eurostar through the mess was just impossible.

I had to smile when I read what you wrote here and I am sure you must
know more than I do Paul BUT every time I have traveled
London/Brussels/London with the exception of once two coaches would
have been sufficient. I usually travel outward by the 15.40 on a
Tuesday and return Wednesday by the 14.59 the first time I traveled it
was on a Monday afternoon and the train was heaving .

The reason the tickets are cheaper Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons is
because these are the least crowded services.
--
Michael Hoffman

"J Clavox" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Mar 2007 08:01:49 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:


I suspect that services in south London were so badly
disrupted by the 24-hour closure that trying to get the large numbers
carried by Eurostar through the mess was just impossible.

I had to smile when I read what you wrote here and I am sure you must
know more than I do Paul BUT every time I have traveled
London/Brussels/London with the exception of once two coaches would
have been sufficient. I usually travel outward by the 15.40 on a

I am sure that you can work out that Friday afternoon/evening
is going to be the peak traffic flow of the week.

It was also stated that this weekend was one of the busier of
the season, though I'm struggling to work out why (it's not half
term is it?)

tim