Great Western Coffee Shop

Anyone know what the delay this morning was all about?

Dragged myself out of bed for the 07:22 from Tilehurst and ended up freezing on the platform for nearly 1/2-an-hour until it finally arrived at just after 07:45, then we sat at Reading for another 5 minutes before it finally left.

The 07:50 was cancelled altogether.

Anyone know what the problem was?

By the sound of things, the new system of dealing with long trains at short platforms has meant that station working is slower than it has been, and so some of the trains from beyond Bristol and fromthe Cotswold line have been getting held up.   That probably doesn't directly effect most of the Tilehurst trains, but it does mean that they can get held up behind the other services from Oxford to Didcot.

Welcome to the forum, by the way ....

and at Reading, I guess you might have been waiting for a "Path" beween those 125 expresses which make FGW most of their money  ;D

It was cancelled from Banbury - Oxford due to a broken down train which might explain the delay.

I missed the 07:22 from Tilehurst on Wednesday & today, so caught the 07:43. On both days, the train had an "extra unscheduled" stop at Reading?

Anyone know what this was all about?

This morning there were some late runners due to a points problem at Swindon which delayed several trains so your service was made to call additional at Reading, not sure about Wednesday though sorry.

Has anyone else noticed that the pre-recorded announcements on Turbos seem to refer to the station between Reading and Pangbourne as "Twilehurst" sounding like "Twyford"?

I've heard that Tilehurst Cycle racks/parking are to be removed and a cafe put it there place.

FGW have said that cyclists will not loose out on the parking .. i assume new racks elsewhere in the station complex?

Work is under way to build a new footbridge at Tilehurst station, as part of the Great Western track electrification programme. You can see the approved plans here: http://planninghome.reading.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=MHCEGIMS01X00. The design includes "passive" provision for later addition of passenger lifts. MIGGS (Mobility Issues Group for Goring and Streatley) is campaigning to have lifts added at the same time that the footbridge is rebuilt at Goring and Streatley station, also a part of the electrification programme. You can follow MIGGS on facebook, at: https://www.facebook.com/MobilityIssuesGroupForGoringAndStreatley?ref=stream.

Thanks for posting the links, and welcome to the forum.

Is there a similar application in for Goring's footbridge yet?  I wonder whether the opportunity to extend the 'down main' platform will be taken at the same time at Goring, given that it's current usable length is just 69 metres, and if 4-car 20 metre electric trains will be using it that's not long enough without SDO being used.

The case for lifts being installed is a difficult one.  There's a similar argument for other stations where footbridges will need to be altered/replaced as part of the scheme, and (as is the case near Oxford) others are, or will be, pushing for disabled access at 'their' bridge, but obviously the cost to each location of providing lifts or ramps eats into the budget.

Nothing on the planning application section of South Oxfordshire District Council's website yet so it seems that the plans for replacing the footbridges at Goring and Cholsey have not yet been submitted.

Moving further west, I understand that bridge replacement between Didcot and Swindon is scheduled for next year. The A338 bridge at Wantage Road (Grove) is planned for demolition on the weekend of 39/30th March and will take around 6 weeks to reopen. The A417 bridge at Challow is slated for demolition on the weekend of 11/12th October 2014 and will reopen in mid December.

I'm not sure about the timing for the other over-bridges on this section but I believe that bridges at Basil Hill Lane (entrance to Foxhall car park, Didcot), Steventon, Shrivenham, Bourton and on the east side of Swindon will be replaced.

That's going to cause some traffic disruption!

The bridge at Wantage Road was built for four tracks, but when the loops were restores it obviously did not quite meet the current requirements so the turnout on one side is just under the bridge.  I do hope they make it compatible with full four track formation.

Also there are other over-bridges between Didcot and Swindon that are on sections with four track formation, but currently only have two tracks.  It would be very short sighted not to renew these bridges as four track structures.

Yes we anticipate traffic chaos!  Diverting the local traffic through some of the villages like Denchworth won't be terribly popular either. However I can't think of any alternative.

Good point about allowing for four-tracking though I doubt if it'll happen except at Challow and maybe Wantage Road. I spoke to Richard Turner, Community Relations Advisor - Electrification for Network Rail. He emphasised that their budget for the project was very tight (well, he would wouldn't he) and that the bridges were being replaced on a like-for-like basis. This meant that any improvements - such as road widening, footpath improvements - would have to be funded from elsewhere, such as the local authority. Given this is Oxfordshire, it's unlikely to happen. There's controversy over the replacement of the footbridge in Hinksey at the moment, as Network Rail will only fund a basic replacement, whilst the locals want the replacement enhanced for disabled access. There's a standoff over who funds any enhancements.

I am less worried about footbridges as (a) they are cheaper and (b) they are usually less disruptive to change. At Challow there are four tracks already so there is no problem. It is at Wantage that a slight widening would be in order. 

My main concern is the other bridges around Shrivenham that are four track and where there are currently only two.

I noticed as I passed through Tilehurst tonight, a fire engine and a Water Rescue team. My thoughts turned immediately to the workers constructing the new bridge, and all the heavy plant they are having to use in the tiny space on the river side.

Having looked it up this evening, I was pleased to see it was nothing serious:

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2013/06/10/90228-cow-rescued-from-a-river-in-tilehurst/ (http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2013/06/10/90228-cow-rescued-from-a-river-in-tilehurst/)  ;D

Mysteriously, the Tilehurst station footbridge planning application has disappeared from the Reading Borough Council planning website.

Though work has resumed on that bridge and also on the footbridge just west of the station which leads down to the River Thames.  I wouldn't walk down that stretch of the Thames Path at night though!

Work was due to begin on the Manor Bridge (A4310) in Didcot today, meaning closure until 5 August. Diversion via Station Road and Hitchcock Way.

or, if not a lorry, I assume that Foxhall road and Basil Hill road is still open.
And what exactly are the doing to the bridge?


Also I note that they are working on the bridge over the Thames at Appleford. Is this maintenance rather than electrification work?

Well there are other ways round but what I said is the official (and signed) diversion.

It is for 'rail bridge maintenance and carriageway resurfacing work'.

That's disappointing- I only have to lug my bike up & down stairs @ TLH but I see many families with pushchairs struggling with them. In this day & age I would have hoped that any opportunity to improve such faciilities should be grasped. Within the overall cost of the Reading area improvements I would have thought the cost of lifts @ Tilehurst wouldn't have registered!

Welcome to the forum 'Andy'...

The problem with comparing the possible cost of Tilehurst lifts with the overall Reading area improvements is that they are separate issues completely, they just happen to be going on in parallel.  The footbridge rebuild is for OHLE clearance as part of the GWML electrification project, as is the next footbridge along.

At the many stations where they have been fitting lifts in the last few years the lifts themselves have usually been paid for by the DfT's ring-fenced 'Access for All' funding line, and that has yet another list of priority stations, which is mainly based on station usage, so Tilehurst probably must not have enough day to day usage to justify lifts.

Paul

 

The three sets of steps and the main line span are in position at Tilehurst , the attached photo clearly shows the overall style. 

I noticed a small snag on the up relief side, the bottom flanges of the intermediate support legs have not lined up with the studs in the concrete footings, missing by a few cm, so the studs appear to have been sawn off flush.  I guess there'll be some sort of quick re-work will have to be done to solve that problem.

Paul

From what I've heard the old footbridge will be removed over the Christmas shutdown, so I'd expect the new footbridge to be opened in a month or so.

A little earlier that I thought, but Tilehurst's new footbridge is now open (with some snagging works to complete), and the demolition of the old footbridge has now started.

I think it opened on Thursday or Friday last week.

We try to avoid the word demolition .........

They are deconstructed

After a thorough check for bats, newts and fairies I hope?   :D

Yep and 'elf n safety checks on the paperwork to make sure there are no sharp edges ................ to get paper cuts

For 14 months now the customers of Tilehurst station have had to out up with the mess and disruption caused by the creation of a new Footbridge, and the removal of the old one. All part of the Western Electrification work.

The already overcrowded car park has has more than 20 spaces removed to accommodate contractors portacabins and equipment. This means on most mornings if your not in the car park by 8am - forget it.

But today I learnt (from a FGWer) that the newly commissioned footbridge (open for about 2 months) is in fact 2' 4" too low !!!

 >:(

For the time being the contractors (who are only responsible for the erection) have left the site while a plan is formed to resolve. There are customer information screens inoperative and wires running visible all over the place held in place by temporary plastic ties.

A fairly decent station turned into a builders yard. Such a shame. And clearly more disruption to come.

In a very belated (for which I must apologise) response to a helpful suggestion from member 'paul7755', this topic has now been moved and merged here, in the interests of clarity and continuity.

Sorry, Paul.

CfN  :-[

Access improvement works begin at Goring and Streatley station

Work has begun at Goring and Streatley station that will culminate in the construction of a permanent new footbridge with passenger lifts at all three platforms plus an accessible (disabled) toilet and various other improvements designed to help mobility impaired passengers.
The target date for completion of the main works is June 2015, following which (according to First Great Western) the line between Tilehurst and Didcot will be ^energised^ for the testing and the training purposes. Evidently, this will be the first section of the Great Western electrified network to go live.
   Contractors have already set up a construction compound in the station car park: this will reduce the number of parking spaces available until works are completed. However, one of the options still being considered by First Great Western is an extension of the car park into the old coal yard after electrification.
   The first stage of the works, well under way, is clearing shrubs and undergrowth from platform 1, the west side of the line. This is to make way for realignment of the footpath along the platform between Station Road and Holmlea Road. It will enable the platform to be re-surfaced and its level raised so that six coach trains can stop at platform 1 safely when the relief lines are out of use ^frequently^ between December this year and April 2015. FGW says there will be no interruption of train services.
   Next, a temporary footbridge will be erected opposite Station Road and Reading Road, although access on the eastern side will continue to be via the booking office entrance. Stairs on the western side will be immediately facing Station Road. The temporary bridge is due to be open from January 2015. The existing footbridge is due to be demolished in February; the new, permanent footbridge installed by the end of April and the temporary bridge removed by the end of June. 
   The permanent footbridge will be near the Reading end of the platforms, with the bridge deck between platforms 1 and 2 skewed towards Station Road. To make space for the staircase on the island platform the disused building at the Reading end will be demolished. Also, in place of the existing staircase on platform 4 (the booking office side) the platform canopy will be restored to match the existing style.
   With passenger lifts now certain to be installed, the main obstacle to disabled access to trains at Goring and Streatley is the narrow and overgrown pavement alongside the railway line in Wallingford Road. This path was upgraded and new crash barriers installed at the High Street end in 2006. A similar upgrade was carried out opposite Reading Road in 2012 but the 60m stretch in between has remained more or less as it was when the path was declared a public highway by the GWR nearly 90 years ago. The barrier and fence are actually supported on sections of railway track salvaged from Brunel^s broad gauge line, lifted in 1892! The Mobility Issues Group for Goring and Streatley (Miggs) is leading a community partnership scheme to plan an upgrade of the remaining pavement and secure funding for it.

Is it possible john_boler to provide a source for that information you've posted?

Looks like a paraphrased version of the full page article in the latest Goring Gap News. I was meaning to ask them if I could republish it here, but forgot all about it, so not much point now :)

Edit: Ah ha ... I just spotted at the end of the article in the Goring Gap News.... John Boler, Chairman MIGGS

In which case, it's excellent to have the article on the forum, and as it's John's work and copyright.  Thank you for adding it, John ...

Like you, lordgoata and bignosemac, I was concerned that this article / text might have been posted here from another site in contravention of copyright, and that the original author would require credit at the very least.  That happens so often that I'm afraid I tend to check unaccredited long journalist-style postings ... in this case it appears I was worrying needlessly and the posting is 110% OK  ;D

No need for concern about copyright. Ultimate sources of information: Network Rail and FGW.

A freight train has broken down on the relief line just east of Tilehurst station, unfortunately the next train on the up main is also a freight waiting to go towards Reading West, leading to both up lines being blocked.

Flying Scotsman, if she's out, seems to be stuck at Didcot East Jn on the avoiding lines.  Now 15:37 on Up Releif both UP lines seem to be open.

Doubt about Scotsman I was  told it was filature with leaking tubes. RTT shows it as diesel but that may be deliberate.

Interesting to watch on OTT I might wander down to Taplow.

This was Reading platform 12 at about 16h45 on 5th June. Something very leaky, and environmentally unfriendly, had recently passed through in the London direction.  What ever it was, it looked expensive.

Obviously making sure there was plenty of lubrication to the middle cylinder.

Why do you say "in the London direction"?

Oxonhutch appears correct, the failed train passed through P12 at 16:00

It was the direction of spatter that showed movement from right to left

This is beginning to sound a bit like CSI Oxonhutch 😁

A geologist can't help himself working out in which direction things flowed! There's money in that game ...  ;D

I was just wondering whether you did reckon there was enough evidence to track the track on the track*, since the photo isn't that clear. After all, you did know what you were expecting and could have checked what had come out on the data feeds. Obviously you need to assume the train was moving fast enough to overcome any directional ejection of the oil from its source, though that is not unreasonable.

*works in Dutch too, and perhaps other languages

Mx Stuving is casting nasturtiums at my sleuthing abilities - good grief  ;)

I had heard of a breakdown in the Reading area and I did wonder if it had anything to do with the very fresh, and copious, oil spillage along platform 12 normally used by down services - indeed, I was waiting for the down stopper - without having consulted the web. 

The finest evidence of a 'wrong'* direction move was directly in front of me, but was a less dramatic photo in terms of capturing the volume of the spill. There is however one of the tell-tales visible in my photo and I refer the jury to the fifth sleeper from the right, just left of centre: an outstretched hand of a splatter with two slightly diverging fingers pointing away from the camera. It was this asymmetric, divergent distribution of spatter from the larger splat of oil hitting the sleeper that gave the observer an indication of the direction of the fouling train. Throw an egg-cup full of water on the patio to replicate.

I will now submit my invoice at my usual rates.

* I am aware that all the through platforms are signaled bi-directionally

The capacity of short-stay parking on the concourse at Tilehurst Station has diminished over the years, what with hatched lines reserving a space for an ambulance (always slightly annoying when the driver ignores it and parks close to his Portacabin), two spaces dedicated to disabled drivers, another for the station staff member (who works only mornings), and another surrendered to an electrification gantry. But outside peak hours four or five cars could happily be parked so their drivers could wait for and see off passengers.

Then "they" painted double-yellow lines, leaving just one formal parking-space for short-stays. Curiously "they" did not extend the yellow lines in front of bollards protecting the cycle storage units, and it's possible to leave a car there for a few minutes. With a bit more imagination, at least four more short-stay bays could have been created.

The double-yellows are routinely ignored when more than a couple of cars are at the station for a few minutes. And they are completely ignored in the evening rush-hour when friends and families collect commuters, with cars spilling back onto the busy main road.

Marlburian

The rule for the proportion of car parking spaces that are to be designated for blue badge holders has, I think, changed over the years; I understand that the number of such spaces at our station will rise from 1 to 5 in the new year as car parking spaces rise from just under 30 to around 70.  And because of the lie of the land, those five will take up just about all the space by the station gate.

I have no problem at all with spaces dedicated to drivers with disabilities (though, as at supermarkets, I wonder about some of the motorists who park in them - and I do appreciate there are "hidden" disabilities). It's just that with a bit of imagination several spaces for others could have been delineated.

I have peered up at various posts to see if there are CCTV cameras on the tops, but haven't spotted any. And there  aren't any signs reinforcing the prohibition of parking. I guess the lines are meant to drop a broad hint and may not be enforceable in law. I park on them for a few minutes at quiet times to pick up and see off friends, but they are ignored by many others in the evening rush hour.

Marlburian

Was it really the case that the footbridge was 30 inches too low? I visit the station two or three times a week and was never aware of this calamity, nor of any resolution of it. And I frequently chatted to Ernie, the very popular,  ticket man, now retired in Thailand, who expressed his own views on aspects of the station modifications.

I did hear a rumour from another passenger that the bridge was a couple of centimetres too low, though I did wonder whether this discrepancy related to a couple of threaded studs in the concrete footings that were not quite in the right position.

There were problems with the ducting designed to carry electric cables behind the fence on platform 4. Soon after it had been installed, it had to be replaced with ducting of larger size.

Marlburian

Setting down and picking up passenger is allowed almost anywhere - yellow lines don't forbid it. Likewise loading and unloading, unless there are the kerb markings that indicate restrictions on that. (I note, however, that supermarket and parcels delivery drivers are unwilling to use this right to the full - they'd much rather sneak onto any off-road parking they can spot, whoever's it is.)

But you have to be doing what you stopped for - not just waiting to do it. The rules about on-street parking and the yellow-line restrictions are all worded is terms of "waiting", not "parking". Of course there are other higher-priority bans that do apply - motorways, red routes, etc. 

The main problem at Tilehurst is the absence of lifts! I remember signing a petition for them about a year or so ago wich apparently was rejected on "safety" grounds. The safety of, for example, a lone woman at a quiet time of day trying to transport a pram or pushchair plus child(ren) up and down long flights of stairs obviously doesn't count for anything....

It just makes me so mad when far less busy stations such as Taplow and Iver have lifts, but a really busy (at least in the peaks) station like Tilehurst cannot have them.

You forgot the refreshment truck!

The quickest way of getting them currently would be via an application to GWR's CCIF fund....as Access for All funding is currently in abeyance

I'm sure that the truck is a welcome addition for early-morning commuters. Last month it had a badly-damaged front, with one side's lights being written off. It has either been repaired or replaced. There's a similar one on the north side of Reading Station.

The issue of lifts at Tilehurst forms a long-running saga, with one political party's representatives visiting the station to ask passengers to sign a petition.

on-line petition here (https://www.change.org/p/glenn-dennis-we-need-a-lift-at-tilehurst-station-for-wheelchair-users-907a4057-d80e-45a7-9a81-981f99bf535f)

Another political party has also joined in. Network Rail has signalled their intent to develop plans for step-free access at the station. (https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2019/10/mp-welcomes-development-work-at-tilehurst-station.html)

A year or so after the new footbridge opened, the ticket clerk, Ernie, reckoned lifts might be added the following year and wondered why they couldn't have been included in the original construction.

It was replaced to give clearance for the overhead wires.  I imagine the budget was for a like-for-like structure and no money ‘wasted’ on lifts unless it came from another budget.  That’s the way things work, not just on the railways, these days.

After what seems a very long time since work started (at least 18 months, if not two years) the extension to Platform 3 at Tilehurst has been completed and is accessible to passengers. But on my train this afternoon there was still the customary warning to passengers in coach 8 to more forward if they wanted to get off.

I'm guessing that platform extensions at other local stations are not yet complete and to avoid confusion the warnings will continue until they are.

Marlburian

Don’t hold your breath. On the North Cotswold line the extensions lay unused for most of 2018 before finally coming into service. I know SDO needs to work properly, but...

Costs ££ to update hitachi software...guess its not seen as urgent & will get done when an update is urgently needed

I wasn't on a Hitachi but an Electrostar.

As I'd learned to my dismay the other day, as well as spending 12-15 minutes at Reading before continuing to Twyford and beyond, the Didcot-Paddington-Didcot stoppers also linger at Reading on the way back.

I suppose that this means they are more likely to leave on time which, to be perverse, is a mixed blessing. On quite a few occasions, friends have just caught the Reading-Tilehurst trains during the day because they're a couple of minutes late leaving, to allow freight trains to plod on ahead.

Talking of software, this morning at 0910 some of us were confused by the station info at Tilehurst announcing "No Service" from all four platforms.

Marlburian

Not sure why it’s taking so long. Alterations for Maidenhead, Slough and West Drayton happened recently for 387s, but (despite being finished earlier) the Thames Valley stations are still waiting.

Cholsey to Tilehurst inclusive opening to 8-car length as of tomorrow.  It took a while!

I think that the work was finished weeks (months?) ago, as trains have been "platformed" (yuk!) on the entire length of the extended platforms for some time at Goring to Tilehurst - it just seemed that the on-train announcements needed updating.

Cholsey too.

Still "front seven coaches only " announcements this morning

I wonder what would happen if one tried to enter or exit carriage number eight? I'll be going into Reading later on, but won't be tempted to put the matter to the test.

(BTW I can be very mean, but nearly always opt to use the train into Reading, cost £1.80 return with Senior Railcard, though I could use my bus pass from the stop at the bottom of Kentwood Hill.)

Marlburian

The announcements might not alter immediately, but the doors should open now on carriage 8.  Perhaps someone can check?  If the BIL (the orange light illuminates) then car 8 is opening.

I caught the 1053 Reading - Pangbourne this morning.  Train announcements were OK, ie nothing about short platforms Tilehurst - Cholsey, and the info about what car you're in has gone from PA and scrolling screens.  But announcements at Reading station still saying travel in front 7 coaches only.

And doors in car 8 did open at Pangbourne.

Good to know, thanks.  I rejoice in the fact the short platform announcements are gone as that used to be rather annoying for every station.  A bit more peace and quiet now.

The recorded announcement at Pangbourne this morning for the 0952 to Paddington (8 car 387) advised passengers for Tilehurst and West Drayton to travel in the front 7 coaches.  No other short platforms mentioned.  So still some work to be done on getting platform announcements right.

West Drayton was also changed to SDO 8 last weekend.  The on-train announcements are correct I believe, but the station ones have yet to catch up by the sounds of it.

Reading station on the Down this evening is still announcing short platforms on the intermediate stops to Didcot. The 8-coach train itself did not.

The rear doors opened on the 7:54 from Tilehurst this morning. No-one was standing in that spot though so obviously the message hasn't got out yet! I will try standing there tomorrow and see what happens....

I had a leaflet from a political party on Monday announcing that more yellow lines would be painted down Overdown Road to deter rail commuters leaving their cars there all day. I walk and drive along that road now and then and have never noticed a problem, and it could be said that the odd parked car calms traffic. Time was when commuters could park in many side streets and on Oxford Road itself, but yellow lines have been gradually extended. It was certainly necessary at the bottom of Oak Tree Road, where a long line of cars reduced it to a single lane.

Now and then I have wondered how many commuters who drive to stations and don't live that locally opt for Tilehurst and Theale, rather than pay far more and suffer more congestion at Reading - where there's more  hassle getting on rush-hour trains. (Not a good idea the last three days, of course, with the disrupted services we're discussing elsewhere.)

Oak Tree Road is ridiculous! They have just a 1-hour period in the day where you can't park - which inexplicably is a different hour on each side of the road - which is obviously intended as pure pettiness and spite against us poor commuters who can't afford and/or can't get a space in the ridiculously small and overpriced station car park, because there is absolutely no other rational explanation for such an arbitrary restriction. The result is that (depending on when people arrive) some people park one side of the road and some on the other - and many ignore the restrictions altogether and park there anyway.

And now here they go again - they should be ENCOURAGING people to park in roads surrounding the station and use the train, not keep trying to stop it.

Fortunately you can still (for the moment anyway) park for free on Kentwood Hill and some of the surrounding roads if you are prepared to endure the occasional poison pen note on your windscreen from the NIMBYS.

And yes I find it totally incomprehensible why anyone would ever even consider paying the extortionate car park charges to park at Reading Station - if everyone boycotted that car park and used suburban stations or came in by bus they would have to reduce the charges. While there are still enough mugs/millionaires prepared to pay them there is absolutely no incentive for them to do so!

Isn't it time someone considered one of those "self assembly " mechanno type car parks like the ones at Didcot and Wokingham for Tilehurst (and Theale- even Goring which fills up although I doubt that there is the space)?

Before the council restricted commuter parking at the bottom of Oak Tree Road it was hazardous to other motorists and to residents trying to extract their cars from their drives through a narrow gap between two parked cars that blocked sight lines and into a road that was in effect a single lane with bi-directional traffic.

I saw several near-misses when a car followed another from Kentwood Hill into Oak Tree Road, only to find that the car in front had braked suddenly to allow an oncoming vehicle to pass a dozen parked cars. The second car would then brake suddenly, sometimes half-across Kentwood Hill and in front of a vehicle descending at speed.

The section of Carlisle Road next to Oxford Road once had commuters parked on both sides. With the bollards now inhibiting through traffic, it could be argued that all-day parking could be allowed on one side.

And Elsley Road (also with bollards discouraging through traffic) is wide enough to have parking on both sides, though I recall complaints that the garage next to the Roebuck was using it as a car park.

NR are trying to obtain the land beyond the current car park at Goring so that they can move their stuff further up, and add additional spaces at Goring - or something along those lines, was in the Goring Gap magazine this month, but I don't have it anymore. I think that land acquisition is tied to several others, so its probably all tied up in tape like usual.

My point about the restrictions on Oak Tree Road was referring to the totally ridiculous nature of them - either the road is safe to park on or it is not, period. It cannot possibly be unsafe to park there between 11-12am on one side of the road and between 12-1pm on the other side, but perfectly safe at all other times! Double yellow lines on the whole of one side, and unrestricted parking on the other with a few sections of double-yellows stuck in at sufficient intervals to provide safe passing places, or a blanket "30 mins only - no return within 1 Hour" restriction that did not specifically discriminate against commuters would not have aroused so much ire!

And yes Carlisle and Elesley Roads were exactly the places I meant - I really can't think of any rational reason at all why you are not allowed to park there, except for mindless adherence to some weird dogma mandating that "we have to stop people parking in roads near stations" without ever questioning why.

The problem is not just restricted to Tilehurst BTW - the whole country has perfectly parkable-in roads within 500 yards of stations left empty all day due to double yellow lines or CPZ's that simply cannot be justified on the grounds of safety or preventing obstruction, but purely because the locals say they "don't want commuters parking here" (even if they have their own garages or driveways and don't actually want to be able to park there themselves).

Parking restrictions aren't purely about safety. There is express DfT guidance that they can be used for "tackling congestion and changing travel behaviour".

I wonder if the Council sought a compromise between the sensitivities of the residents about commuter parking and their wishes to park outside their houses. With so many houses now having two or three car-owners, I wonder what they do with their vehicles up to 1500.

Incidentally, to depart from the theme of the last few posts, I and several of my neighbours treat the bend in Oak Tree Road with caution as the majority of drivers seem unable to keep to their sides of the white line.

Indeed.   I was in a meeting yesterday and a topic that came up was a car park which, previously free, will become charging.  A desire for yellow lines on surrounding roads was raised - not because of any initial concern at the safety aspects, but rather ... well, I'm sure you can guess!

It's a fairly clever way of ensuring that commuters don't clog up side streets adjacent to stations to save the parking cost, and thus preventing residents and visitors from parking. By alternating it means that residents can move their car during the day, whilst always having somewhere to park, and prevents commuters from using the space.  It's been used in places for over 20 years, and residents prefer it to a residents parking scheme which inevitably costs money to administer which of course falls on the residents.

And by barring commuter parking it helps safety, as often the roads do become completely clogged with parked cars. 

You may not like it, but I think it's reasonable to put in place measures to ensure that commuters use the car park provided for them and don't park locally to the detriment to the living conditions of residents.

Cholsey APCOA carpark will sting you £100 (reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days) if you forget to ticket or park outside of their marked bays - that includes the unmarked gap between the first bay and the council's double yellow lines on the highway which swing into the carpark (northern side of the lower carpark). This compares to £70 (reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days) if you just park on the yellow lines outside on the street.

There were two tickets issued today for parking in the blank zone.  This blank zone looks a bit dodgy - GWR please note, it is your managed station. A fancy lawyer I believe would have a field day. The bays were repainted after they faded to near-nothing (tickets still being issued) but then failed to add a 25m stretch of double yellow lines.

That argument can only be used when sufficient affordable station car parking is provided to meet the demand. In this case it is not. And as for the families with 2 or 3 cars - surely THAT is something that should in no way be condoned or facilitated by the Council. Especially when they live near stations! What should be happening under the heading of "changing travel behaviours" is encouraging as many people as possible to use public transport by complete deregulation of all parking in the vicinity of stations and radial bus routes (apart from where it genuinely does cause congestion or safety hazard, or prevent people parking near their homes or local shops, of course - the bar for proving those conditions should be set high) and making things hard for people with more than 2 vehicles in their household.

In Oxfordshire the official criteria for review of waiting restrictions are: "when there are changes to the road layout or usage as a result of development and when requested by the local member or local councils due to concerns over parking obstructing traffic and/or being detrimental to road safety."

Within the last month additional restrictions have been approved to be put in place for a number of roads in the vicinity of Didcot Parkway arising from "long-standing dissatisfaction with antisocial commuter parking" and to "improve drivers’ sightlines by removing dangerous and obstructive parking, whilst also providing some residents, who have shared driveways, with some ‘on street’ overflow/visitor parking availability". The latter is achieved by a one hour restriction from noon until 1pm, and the former by double yellows.

On street parking enforcement in South Oxfordshire has been non-existent in recent years as it is still for the moment in the hands of Thames Valley Police who have considered it hitherto a low priority, although this is likely to change in the short term by the intervention of the Police and Crime Commissioner (*) and the medium term by it being taken over by SODC and possibly some Town Councils.

(*) it is election year ...
 

I would like to know how far away the cars parking on street near Tilehurst station have actually come. When I used to drive the Loddon Bridge park and ride in Reading, on frosty days you could tell many cars had come from just around the corner as they were still covered in frost. One little sports car in particular I recall arriving with just a small square of frost removed in front of the driver while the rest of the screen and side windows remained frost covered.

I passed Lewknor turn by the M40 the other day and decided I would have a look in the village to see if there was any evidence of the bridge where it's halt on the Watlington branch line was (there isn't, the main road now appears to be in it's place). Lewknor is a strange coach park and ride for the Oxford to London route. Along the main road by the motorway junction are parked cars legitimately parked everywhere in most cases and others wherever they can fit. The village, which is relatively nice is also littered with cars in a wherever they can fit manner. Now as much as these are public roads through this village, it didn't make it a pleasant place anymore and it occurred to me that a line has to be drawn somewhere as to what can be accommodated. It also occurred to me that if the Watlington branch was relaid as far as the M40/old A40 that there would be fair demand for Chiltern to run a train from there to Prince's Risborough to meet London trains.

The Lewknor bypass road is indeed on the old branch alignment - use the transparency sliding bar (https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.933333333333323&lat=51.67113&lon=-0.96646&layers=168&b=1). M40 Trains, the precursor to Chiltern Railways proposed a commuter service in the 1990s - Evergreen 3 happened instead. One day, we might have a heritage railway (https://www.chinnorrailway.co.uk) running all the way from Aston Rowant to the Chiltern mainline at Princes Risborough.

To warn everyone due to pass Tilehurst- all trains have been halted due to a lineside fire between Tilehurst and Reading.

I am stuck on a train (7-45 ex Goring) at Tilehurst and there's an IET alongside us at platform 2

Smoke is horrific, drifting towards Caversham

We have now been cleared to proceed. Just passed spectacular fire and smoke at Stadium Way

...and arrived at Reading still in time for my onward train to Guildford.

A number of delays showing for trains on the line and some last platform changes at Reading

Updated reports being filed here - https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/18293729.reading-fire-live-updates-black-smoke-seen-tilehurst/ (https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/18293729.reading-fire-live-updates-black-smoke-seen-tilehurst/)

Looking at the pictures, that appears to be the back of that row of sheds which is ITP - "Europe's largest dealer of empty cartridges". That sounds like would indeed burn enthusiastically and blackly.

On my extended walk this morning to buy a newspaper, I popped into Tilehurst Station for the sake of nostalgia.  There's a new refreshment van there, slightly smaller (and in better nick) than the pre-Covid one. A sign says that it's open from 8 to 12 on weekdays, which struck me as slightly curious times as most commuters bound for London would have caught their trains by then, and perhaps it's that sort of customer who's more in need of a caffeine fix than those heading only for Reading.

Back in Normal Times, there didn't seem to be much trade for the previous van after about 0915.

Not that I have any idea of how many people are using the train services nowadays.

Sad to see even more rubbish than usual around and behind the memorial bench to Jack Stockton, with beer cans and crisp packaging being prominent. (I'm not suggesting any connection to the refreshment van.)

In a related note - the coffee shop at Goring & Streatley now appears to be permanently closed (as announced in local media). Does anyone know if the same fate has met Pangbourne's facility?

I'm not sure, but it was also very heavily reliant on commuter custom, which, as we know, has slowed to a trickle since mid-March.

We've come some way from Tilehurst to Lewknor in this thread, but so did I today. I parked my car in Lewknor village and walled past the "informal" parking area mentioned above. Just six cars. On the corners of Hill Road plasticy bollards had been placed since my last visit, presumably to deter parking on them. A couple had been knocked askew. Hours later, I returned via Chinnor and was puzzled to see half-a-dozen security guards spread out along the Ridgeway. I enquired, to be told they were there to deter idiot swimmers in the Taylor Wimpey lake formed out of the old quarry workings. Googling revealed there were major problems there earlier in the summer.

GWR seeks ?6.5 million government funding to build decked car park (https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/18887166.tilehurst-station-will-finally-become-accessible-get-new-car-park-10-million-transformation/)

And Network Rail is investing ?4 million into constructing lifts at the station - it's hoped this work will start in Spring 2022.

It would be interesting to know the thinking about the need for another 99 car-park spaces, given speculation about how many passengers will return to the trains.

I walked past Tilehurst Station today and noticed half-a-dozen vehicles on the forecourt and a number of people standing around. I guessed that they were patronising the refreshment van. For some months there's been a smaller one in better condition than the first van that was parked there. Perhaps coffee-lovers have established a morning ritual?

I smiled to myself as I recall one of my earliest posts in the Coffee Shop, about double-yellow lines being painted around the forecourt  leaving only one temporary parking bay.This had led me to speculate about how conscientious I should be when it came to parking my car and hanging around waiting for friends to arrive.

And 13 months ago I was muttering about the new timetable that would cause me to have to hang around at Reading Station when heading eastward.

Then Covid came along ...

Just six cars parked at Tilehurst Station at 0730 this morning, plus a very small trickle of passengers arriving on foot. I was able to walk across the Oxford Road twice without pausing, impossible in the rush hours of the old days.

(That having been said, when turning right out of Waitrose on Wednesday morning at 0800 my wait for a gap in the traffic was "long" by pre-COVID standards.)

A dozen cars parked at 1600 this afternoon, as I returned from Reading on a two-car DMU for Oxford that had all its windows closed - perhaps they could have been opened to provide the ventilation we are promised on trains?

A very high proportion of people at Tilehurst and Reading stations and on the two trains that I took were wearing masks and a small number were doing so on Reading's streets.

Today at 0955 there were 21 cars parked at Reading Station. And, to be really nerdish, just three copies remaining of Metro, which informed me that train travel had boosted W H Smith's profits, with sales for the six months up to August 31 being 65% of the same period in 2019 and that demand for rail travel is two-thirds of what it was at the same time in that year.

(Over that period Metro seems to have increased its superficial waffle content.)

You are Angus Loughran, and I claim my five pounds!

TikTok sensation Francis Bourgeois has been trainspotting at Tilehurst station. (https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/20274637.francis-bourgeois-tiktok-star-trainspotting-reading/) 

"... at the Reading station to wave in a 37688 ‘Great Rocks’ carriage. The diesel-electric locomotive raced through ..."

 ;D ??? ::)

Isn't this what other geeks call "spotting and photting"?

From the title I wondered what the Conservative MP was doing, but I think there is an "o" in his name!

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/23378639.tilehurst-station-revamp-includes-step-free-access-lifts/

The Reading Chronicle reports that work on this upgrade is due to begin in the spring, with completion by the autumn. It includes installing lifts, so that all platforms will be fully accessible for the first time.

Further story in the Reading Chronicle (https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/23529239.tilehurst-station-lifts-finally-move-closer-reality/)

The reporter, James Aldridge, has form when it comes to not knowing what's already been published.  Recently he noted that a planning  application had been submitted to  remove the cash machine from NatWest in Tilehurst, adding that the reason was not  known.  Yet his news website  has several times covered the imminent closure of the branch.

I made what is nowadays an occasional trip into Reading this morning. As on the last occasion, the ticket machine was out of order. At least the ticket office was open, otherwise there would have been a long queue of people at "excess fares" at Reading.

At 0930 (and midday) the car park was less than half full.But several cars were parked in the forecourt, their users enjoying the hospitality of the refreshments van.

No sign of the "upgrade", including the lift instalments that were meant to begin in the Spring. I gather that the process is going through the planning-application stage.

According to NextDoor "the Wolsey Coffee van at Tilehurst station was broken into, for the 3rd time".

Dates set to finally add lifts to Tilehurst train station (https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24045352.dates-set-finally-add-lifts-tilehurst-train-station/)

Now covered on the BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-67976382)

Well I hope Pangbourne, which is now busier than both Goring & Streatley (which has lifts) and Tilehurst, is next.  There’s only a subway at Pangbourne and no footbridge, but I guess that above-ground lifts (2 required) and a new bridge in between would be cheaper than lifts down to the subway. 

And Cholsey too, where the platforms are completely inaccessible to people who can't climb stairs.

So true. And yet platform 4 could be easily made step free by using the carpark access road.

It would only need a lift for the down platform as there's step free access from the street to the up platform. Not sure who owns the roadway to the south of the down platform but I could easily imagine a lift there from the street direct to the platform.

Sad to report that the french van has been removed from the station forecourt.

Reports of vandalism/theft on this forum may have played a part.

Weren't they paying any rent?...ohhh, naughty

https://nextdoor.co.uk/p/N3rd_Zh3J_b6?view=detail&init_source=search&query=wolsey (https://nextdoor.co.uk/p/N3rd_Zh3J_b6?view=detail&init_source=search&query=wolsey)

Rather stupidly, requires a free account logged in to read. can't be a*sed.

Sorry. This is the initial post of about ten days ago :

"Heard this morning that the Wolsey[sic] Coffee van at Tilehurst station was broken into, for the 3rd time

I would think it unlikely that your previous comment triggered anything - after all, it was reporting on something that had happened multiple times previously and was clearly known about. 

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24078960.owner-reading-coffee-van-thank-customers-closure/ (https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24078960.owner-reading-coffee-van-thank-customers-closure/)

This morning I collected a friend from Tilehurst Station and noticed that the Wolseley Street Bakery was back with a pop-up gazebo, one side of which was filled by the back of a small van with its rear doors open so coffee etc could be dispensed from it.

At Tilehurst Station the lockable cycle-storage cabinets on the station forecourt have been removed, presumably to facilitate the installation of the lifts. I wonder if they were used much? A few years ago I peered through the mesh and all were empty. A sign promises that the installation will be completed by the year's end. (Yesterday four guys in hi-vis were conferring close to the stairs on platform 1.)

Being a Friday it didn't surprise me that the car-park was only half full.

Nowadays I only visit Tilehurst Station occasionally, but today I picked up and later dropped off a friend there. Lots of scaffolding for the lifts, the framework of at least one was in place. No short-term parking spaces on the forecourt, except one for passegers with disabilities. The rest were cordoned off. Must be chaotic during the rush hour.

(On a previous visit there was an ailing bird on the platform in front of us. For some reason a rail worker shooed it into a very brief flight that ended between the rails of the down relief.A few minutes later, a very long freight train rumbled over it, followed by a passenger train that stopped over it. Poor bird.)

Thank you for posting that latest update, Marlburian.  :)

I noted that, over the years, we have built up a fair few informative posts on the subject of Tilehurst station (mostly by Marlburian, also by IndustryInsider - to both of them, and other contributors, many thanks!)  ;)

Purely in the interests of continuity and clarity (given the acknowledged limitations of the Coffee Shop forum's search facility), I've now taken the opportunity to move and merge quite a few posts here, to offer a definitive reference topic for Tilehurst.

As ever, I hope this helps!  ;D

Tilehurst man hit by a train at station identified by fingerprints (https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24511393.tilehurst-man-hit-train-station-identified-fingerprints/)

Rodway Road is just a couple of hundred yards from the station.

Work on station lifts progresses. I don't visit Tilehurst Station as much as I used to, but this afternoon at 1330 there was a rare instance of an ambulance parked in its bay, ready to respond to local calls. A little later, the Reading Chronicle  (https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24588227.royal-berkshire-hospital-patients-note-overcrowding-e/)reported "chaos"at the Royal Berks A & E with a photo of a queue of ambulances, though the hospital said it was no busier than usual for a Monday. (I suspect that a disgruntled  patient or their relative may have rung the Chronicle to complain.)

This morning I had a leaflet through my letter box from my local branch of a political party announcing that there have been delays to completing the lifts which were "due to open last winter, but an upgrade to the local electricity supply is required before they can become operational".

I expect a leaflet from another political party also claiming credit for initiating the project. The one I had this morning was a modest four small pages, one devoted to contact information, another helpfully giving a timetable for local road re-surfacing between March 20 and 31. Today is the 28th and all but two of the 17 roads listed have already been treated. My cul de sac serving nine houses had its first re-surfacing since it was built 49 years ago. It was "micro-surfaced", giving a somewhat rough effect.