Gowerton station platform reinstatement and replacement of Loughor viaduct

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Network Rail press release:

GO AHEAD FOR BETTER TRAIN SERVICES

A ^40m plan to boost rail services in West Wales has been given the go-ahead with permission granted to replace a bridge on the main route between Swansea and Llanelli.

The plan will see the redoubling of six miles of track between Cockett West Junction and Duffryn West Junction, the re-instatement of the disused platform at Gowerton station, and the replacement of the Loughor viaduct.

Funding is split between Network Rail, which is paying for the ^16m viaduct works, and the Welsh Assembly Government, which is behind the track redoubling.

The grade two listed Loughor viaduct has to be replaced as it can only bear the weight of one train at a time.

Listed building consent for work on the structure was received from Carmarthenshire Council yesterday (Thursday, May 31) and preparatory work will continue on site with the intention of opening a new bridge in mid-2013.

Network Rail is going to preserve some elements of the original viaduct and will rebuild two of the original spans on railway land to the west of the existing structure. It will also carry out a full photographic survey, so a record of the viaduct is available for future reference.

Route managing director for Network Rail Mark Langman said: ^Replacing the Loughor Viaduct is the key to improving rail services to West Wales and we^re keen to get on with the work on this vital link.

^We appreciate the need to preserve our industrial heritage, we also have to provide the people of Wales with the best railway possible. In this instance we are working hard to keep some of the structure in place, whilst also taking care of the natural environment of the Loughor Estuary.

^The improvements to the railway between Llanelli and Swansea won^t just allow for more trains, they will also make the existing services more reliable and give the economy of the area a welcome boost.^

As the Loughor Estuary is a site of special scientific interest, the work has been planned in close communication with the Environment Agency for Wales and the Countryside Council for Wales to minimise any impact on the environment.

Two platforms will be installed on either side of the bridge to effectively turn the structure into a quayside. This will then allow a barge to be floated up the estuary to tie up next to the bridge. Another barge will be lowered in from the other side of the bridge. These will then sink pilings into the bed of the estuary so construction can continue around the operating railway.

All spoil will then be taken way, rather than pumped back into the water, protecting wildlife.

Thanks to the way the new structure will be built alongside the existing viaduct, the railway will only have to be closed for an estimated three weeks ^ planned for Easter 2013.

By that stage the foundations for the new structure will be in place in the estuary, with the replacement bridge deck next to the original, ready to be slid into place.

Notes to Editors:

The work is designed to bring economic benefits to west Wales by improving capacity between the key employment centres of Swansea, Llanelli, Carmarthen and further west. As well as providing the capacity to run two more trains to run between Swansea and Llanelli (and a further one train to Carmarthen) it means the trains that already run can do so with greater reliability.

[anthony215]

Good  I will be glad when the bottleneck at Gowerton is sorted.

Interesting I was told that Milford Haven - Manchester services would be diverted via the Swansea district line during easter 2013 withe Pembroke Dock/Fishghaurd/Shrewsbury - Swansea services terminating at Llanelli.

I do hope however they run additional services into Swansea to cover for the loss of the services to manchester during the three week closure as the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) servies along with the swanline services will be unable to cope

[phile]

Hopefully Port Talbot to Swansea connectional trains.

[anthony215]

Hopefully Port Talbot to Swansea connectional trains.

Good suggestion except that there is no  crossover to allow trains from the Swansea direction to reverse at Port Talbot Parkway although this can be done for trains coming from  the Cardiff direction.

[grahame]

... there is no  crossover to allow trains from the Swansea direction to reverse at Port Talbot Parkway although this can be done for trains coming from  the Cardiff direction.

Purely technical question - how can that be possible?  In the worst case scenario, the train from Swansea would leave as if continuing to Cardiff, go in reverse through the motions of a train arriving from Cardiff and heading back there, but would then carry on back to Swansea from the "arrival from Cardiff" line when it's at a point common with trains that are coming from there and returning, and coming from there and carrying on.

Of course it could be that the signalling couldn't cope with this, and / or that capacity could get blocked.  But is the answer you've been given is "no crossover exists" it's a bit of a simplification at best, and perhaps a red herring or even a porkie!

[matt473]

A relatively simple solution would be to run numerous services from West Wales to use the bay platform at Bridgend allowing cross platform change at Bridgend for onward travel. Less trains blocking the mainline whilst also enabling ease of connection with minimal disruption, especially considering the bay platform from Bridgend is very rarely used. Not all services will need to do this, but a select few would be useful to provide more services from further west to other areas. Hopefully these could be timed to connect with Manchester or London services to which are likely to have the capacity to allow onward travel to Cardiff where suitable connections to the majority of services required for onward travel would exist.

[phile]

Run into the Up Platform at Port Talbot from Swansea, unload, then proceed ahead to Up Goods Loop clearing the Main Line at the same time.  Wait there until time, come back through the crossover and follow the train it would connect out of in the Down Platform.    This was a regular move some years ago when there was a timetabled Swansea Port Talbot turn round.   An additional Unit would be required unless the Swanlines, for example, were cut back.
On the other hand it could be connect into and out of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Paddington to Swansea.  Just wait and see because whatever we might speculate would probably not take place.

[welshman]

I am reliably informed that a few weeks ago the crane-barge started drifting seawards and struck an overhead powerline.    Fortunately, the line earthed into the water as otherwise the workmen on board would have fried.   The area was without electricity for a bit.   Here for the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) version.

[IndustryInsider]

Network Rail have released an update on the redoubling and viaduct replacement works:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/LOUGHOR-VIADUCT-PROJECT-MAKES-GOOD-PROGRESS-1bc4.aspx

[grumpysocks]

Gowerton Redoubling now commissioned, two tracks from Cockett west junction to Duffryn West Junction in service, with new up platform and refurbished down platform at Gowerton Station. There are now just finishing works to complete.

A time-lapse video of the track works is available here:

http://vimeo.com/66321523

A timelapse video of Gowerton Station is available here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qk1kqo93h9amx79/Gowerton%20rev%205%20with%20music.avi?m

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks for posting those links - the first one in particular is very good.  Great to hear of this increased capacity in west Wales, which I'm sure will come in very useful over the coming years.