Queens Park signal failures

The incident that occurred on the Bakerloo on Wednesday afternoon was rather more serious than just a signal failure!

Indeed, what DID happen on Wednesday?

Thanks for the plug EirikhO! Causton, I’ll endeavour to be a worthwhile waste of your time.

Signal failures up there are nothing new, when I worked on stations at Paddington many moons ago the Bakerloo was regularly suspended north of QP due to signal failure somewhere or other. We always used to write “Due to Railtrack signal failure” on the whiteboards to emphasise that it wasn’t LUL’s fault.

To the best of my knowledge all trains that serve stations between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone use the same track so unless the signal failure is on the sheds all service will be suspended.

I knew a ELL dirver who used to work up there and he used to refer to the stretch north of QP as “bandit country”, nothing to do with the local raggamuffins more with the mainline drivers and their casual attitude to signals. He told me that more than once he’d be stopped at a station, feel vibration and look back to see a Silverlink train far too close for comfort.

Maybe Network Rail's maintenance program isn’t as intensive as LUL’s or maybe the signals are old and need replacing but the DfT won’t cough up the spons.