Broken down Pendolino on West Coast Main Line for 33 hours after losing power

A Pendolino was stuck on the West Coast Main Line for 33 hours after breaking down.

The unit, 390104, was operating the 0603 London Euston-Glasgow Central on Saturday December 28 when it lost power near Cheddington at 0641.

The Avanti West Coast EMU’s pantographs were damaged when they struck a failed earth strap hanging from an overbridge, leaving it unable to move under its own power.

The train was evacuated within a couple of hours before repairs to the overhead line equipment got under way, with other expresses routed via the Down slow line.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “As soon as we had the appropriate team with the necessary competencies to address the issue, we were on site. To keep as many trains moving as possible, we reopened one of the affected lines while our teams worked to re-energise the impacted section of overhead line equipment. Air leaks from the pantograph on the stranded train prevented it from moving under its own power.”

DRS-owned 57308 was dispatched from Crewe to rescue the stricken set.

“After completing overhead line repairs during an emergency closure of the railway, we encountered further issues when attempting to couple the broken-down train with the rescue unit,” the Network Rail spokeswoman added.

It’s understood the problem was with the coupling on the Pendolino.

The train then ended up in a planned engineering possession for that stretch of line, which ran from 2005 on Saturday until 1200 on Sunday.

The EMU was removed to the scene at 1529 on Sunday December 29, arriving at Wembley Inter City Depot at 1612.