Mainline chaos as hairline cracks are discovered on fleet of 140mph trains
PASSENGERS on two of Britain’s busiest rail lines face at least a week of misery after cracks were discovered in the carriages of highspeed trains.
Thousands of passengers had their travel plans ruined yesterday after services on the Great Western and East Coast mainlines were cancelled because of the scare.
Great Western Railway (GWR), which runs trains to South-West England and South Wales, and London North Eastern Railways (LNER), which serves northern England and Scotland, both urged passengers not to travel yesterday and warned of further disruption today. There were also cancellations on TransPennine Express and Hull Trains.
The chaos has been caused by the discovery of hairline cracks in the suspension units of Class 800 trains, which are made by Japanese firm Hitachi and are under four years old. A senior rail source last night warned that it was ‘highly likely’ there would be disruption through this week, adding: ‘I just do not think this is going to be a quick fix.’
The cracks were first discovered late last month and six GWR trains were withdrawn. More problems were identified early yesterday morning, sparking the cancellation of trains across the two networks.
A GWR manager at Paddington, West London, where hundreds of passengers were stranded, yesterday said there was a ‘huge safety problem’ and ‘we expect disruptions for the rest of the week’. GWR has a fleet of 93 Hitachi 800 trains, which are capable of 140mph.
Staff at King’s Cross, Central London, said they were alerted to the problem at 5am yesterday. All of LNER’s 65 Hitachi 800s – known as Azuma trains – were being taken back to a depot in North London to be inspected by Hitachi staff.
Among those caught up in the chaos at King’s Cross was Zahra Amir, 40, who was attempting to travel to Leeds to spend the Muslim festival of Eid with her parents.
She said: ‘Two of my trains have been cancelled now. I’ve got two big cases so it’s not as simple as going a different route and taking coaches. I just can’t manage that on my own.’ At Paddington, Irene Ferla was desperately trying to find an alternative way of travelling to the Cotswolds, where she was due to have lunch with two friends she hasn’t seen for a year.
‘We were supposed to be going Kingham today for a girls’ lunch,’ she said. ‘We are now having to go to Oxford and get a bus.’
Rail bosses held crisis talks with Hitachi yesterday and Rail Minist er Chris Heaton- Harris said: ‘While some trains are starting to be reintroduced, disruption is likely for a prolonged period, particularly on GWR.’
Rail expert Roger Ford said the cracks had been found in aluminium brackets called yaw dampers. Each train carriage has four of these and Mr Ford estimated that around 4,400 brackets had to be inspected. ‘It will take a long time,’ he said.
Hitachi Rail apologised for the impact on passengers.