Green light for ‘802s’ to continue Dawlish running

Class 802s can still operate along the Dawlish Sea Wall in stormy conditions, Great Western Railway told RAIL on October 31.

Speculation had been mounting that a blanket ban would be imposed on the Hitachi trains operating west of Exeter in poor weather (in the same manner as CrossCountry Class 220/221s), after October 30’s 1703 London Paddington-Penzance was cancelled at Newton Abbot while running some 93 minutes late.

The service, formed of 802004 and 802022, had been 12 minutes late at Dawlish, 42 minutes late at Teignmouth (three miles away) and 93 minutes late at Newton Abbot (eight miles). GWR confirmed the following day that the train had been taken out of service for checks, and that an issue surrounding the reset protocol was being examined.

The operator continued to run trains, although the 1733 London Paddington-Paignton (also formed of Intercity Express Trains) was cancelled at Exeter St Davids.

Albeit delayed, both the 1803 London Paddington-Penzance and 1742 Penzance-London Paddington (both booked to pass Dawlish around an hour after the cancelled train) did run.

GWR spokesman Dan Panes told RAIL that where possible, the operator will use the Up line in poor weather conditions for trains operating in both directions, while a blanket 20mph speed restriction has also been introduced for all trains.

The Class 802s were built specifically with roof-mounted electrical equipment located in wells on the roof in which water can run off the equipment.