Balcombe Tunnel Flooded

Bedsex said:

Good news, you must owe me one then!

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HawkTheSeagull said:

I was using it as an example, flooding, lightning strikes, animals on the line etc also count. Staff do give a shit, mainly because they are often stuck as well. They do do a thankless job at times where they just get abuse from commuters who they are trying to help - often frontline staff have barely any info to work with when they are confronted with hundreds of people wanting info immediately.

The line at Balcombe still has some water on it (hence the reduced service) and there is a speed restriction over it now. IT systems cant predict when or where flooding can occur (though some places are pretty obvious of course) especially when the ground is already soaking wet. With running an intensive service with tight turnarounds at final stations, delays get carried onto the next service, and the one after that, and after that etc - why trains get cancelled and terminated short.

Also, train companies only get 3p from every £1 of train fare as profit. The train companies dont deal with the infrastructure so wont invest in it, though Southern have new trains on the way so your 3p isnt just going into their bank account. Network Rail are the ones who need to sort the infrastructure out. Balcombe Tunnel needs an upgrade, but it will take months to sort with a full closure, even then - people will still moan.

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worthingseagull123 said:

People are fully justified in moaning. In 2014, the service is a shambles. I have still not had a train get me to work on time. 11 days now. Total delays are around 4 and a half hours.

We pay a lot of money for an inept service.

With Balcombe floods, if it floods regulalry, why not do something about it? I am no hydro engineer, but surely draining ditches could prevent flooding. Or is the flooding actually inside the tunnel?

Still we could actual build a second tunnel the then fix the first one. With additional bridge at the Balcombe Viaduct, we could have four tracks right down to Haywards Heath.

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