Swindon - facilities, improvements, signalling, events and incidents, including GWR history - merged posts

[whole diary]

[Adelante_CCT]

Indeed there is a measly one fast train and one slow per hour to London on that day from Oxford. Half what is generally provided when trains can't come from Swindon. There may be some DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains)-RDG^‡(resolve)-PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) shuttles added.

Yes there is 1tph DID-RDG-PAD, down as a turbo (probably 5 car), wether anything extra is done for the Swindon Pax remains to be seen.

[bobm]

Seems fans of Swindon's opponents, Preston North End, will also have problems due to engineering work on the West Coast Mainline.

Ever so slightly embarrassing for Preston's sponsors ..... Virgin Trains.

[TaplowGreen]

Seems fans of Swindon's opponents, Preston North End, will also have problems due to engineering work on the West Coast Mainline.

Ever so slightly embarrassing for Preston's sponsors ..... Virgin Trains.

Pretty embarrassing situation for the railways all round I'd say.

.......well getting home from Wembley is no longer a worry for myself and other Plymouth Argyle fans after last night, but good luck to Wycombe who beat us, and also to Swindon Town/Preston - and good luck to their fans trying to travel to Wembley to support them!

[johoare]

I am actually going to this match as my brother supports Swindon.. It's also my very first ever football match.. Luckily I don't have to travel from Swindon and also live close enough to travel direct to Wembley from Wycombe or Beaconsfield (and there don't appear to be any engineering works on that line fortunately) 

[grahame]

Pretty embarrassing situation for the railways all round I'd say.

I don't think the railways embarrass all that easily. But marketing wise it is unfortunate in the same way that the lack of trains on Boxing Day is, in that it shows how people can manage perfectly well without trains.

This is a huge game this year for both Preston and Swindon, but for one or other it's the portent of things to come - people will go to Wembley as perhaps this first support for the team and will likely start to follow whoever gets promoted.   What a pity their first trip will involve less than showcase services, as it will put many off just at the point they could be captured as regular passengers at the start of something.   However, the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) have been dealt a limited hand and the potentially excellent marketing and extra business for the next year really won't effect the infrastructure provider who have limited capacity to zero at Swindon in the first place (for understandable reasons!)

[TaplowGreen]

Pretty embarrassing situation for the railways all round I'd say.

I don't think the railways embarrass all that easily. But marketing wise it is unfortunate in the same way that the lack of trains on Boxing Day is, in that it shows how people can manage perfectly well without trains.

   However, the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) have been dealt a limited hand and the potentially excellent marketing and extra business for the next year really won't effect the infrastructure provider who have limited capacity to zero at Swindon in the first place (for understandable reasons!)

True - they seem quite shameless!!! -I wonder what (if any) pressure FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have put on NR^» (Network Rail - home page) over the Swindon issue, especially over the revenue they are likely to miss out on, and to what extent NR compensate TOCs in these circumstances?

[ellendune]

True - they seem quite shameless!!! -I wonder what (if any) pressure FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have put on NR^» (Network Rail - home page) over the Swindon issue, especially over the revenue they are likely to miss out on, and to what extent NR compensate TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) in these circumstances?

They are between a rock and a hard place. I don't think you really understand how much postponing the works is likely to cost. The contractor will need compensating for:

• hired plant that cannot be used elsewhere at such short notice;
• personnel who cannot be deployed elsewhere at such short notice;
• the costs of replanning the work to another time;
• the costs of delaying the other work that depended on this work being completed on time (further plant and personnel costs as well).

In addition they would have to consider that:

• specialist plant is not standing idle waiting for hire, it is allocated well in advance and may not be available at another time;
• there is a shortage of key skilled personnel - especially signalling resources. Not using those resources will delay further stages of this project and potentially also other projects. The skills may not be available at the new time so the delay may be much further than just a few days.

The result would more than likely be further delays to the already delayed GW^▸ (Great Western) modernisation programme and a further increase in the already escalated cost.

If the extra business was going to be a few ^10's millions is might just be worth it.  I suspect the increased costs of the GW improvements programme would far outweigh any increased track access charges. 

[TaplowGreen]

True - they seem quite shameless!!! -I wonder what (if any) pressure FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have put on NR^» (Network Rail - home page) over the Swindon issue, especially over the revenue they are likely to miss out on, and to what extent NR compensate TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) in these circumstances?

They are between a rock and a hard place. I don't think you really understand how much postponing the works is likely to cost. The contractor will need compensating for:

• hired plant that cannot be used elsewhere at such short notice;
• personnel who cannot be deployed elsewhere at such short notice;
• the costs of replanning the work to another time;
• the costs of delaying the other work that depended on this work being completed on time (further plant and personnel costs as well).

In addition they would have to consider that:

• specialist plant is not standing idle waiting for hire, it is allocated well in advance and may not be available at another time;
• there is a shortage of key skilled personnel - especially signalling resources. Not using those resources will delay further stages of this project and potentially also other projects. The skills may not be available at the new time so the delay may be much further than just a few days.

The result would more than likely be further delays to the already delayed GW^▸ (Great Western) modernisation programme and a further increase in the already escalated cost.

If the extra business was going to be a few ^10's millions is might just be worth it.  I suspect the increased costs of the GW improvements programme would far outweigh any increased track access charges. 

An eminently fair explanation, and one which would be better received by thousands of frustrated Swindon fans than "The lines closed, there are replacement buses.....hopefully".............it will also be interesting to consider what effect the NR strike, now confirmed as 24hrs from 5pm 25th May will have?

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Swindon Advertiser:

Transport police move in to new post at train station



The sensory garden at Swindon train station has been replaced with a new team of transport police officers charged with manning the Wiltshire rail network seven days a week.

Officially opened last Wednesday by British Transport Police Chief Constable Paul Crowther, the team will operate out of two new fully equipped offices, one replacing the former garden.

The move has been made to allow for increased availability of officers and quicker response times to incidents arising not only in Swindon, but also the wider area of Wiltshire and south Somerset, on the rail network.

The station was previously covered by BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) officers based at Reading and Bath, which meant long response times for officers reacting to incidents at Swindon.

Superintendent Matt Allingham, commander of BTP^s Western sub-division, said: ^Swindon sits at a key location between Bath and Reading, along a very busy First Great Western route connecting London with the west of England and Wales. This new post will help us reassure passengers and allow us to provide a visible, proactive policing presence at stations and on trains. This means we can keep disruption to a minimum and keep services through Swindon running smoothly.

^BTP places a huge emphasis on working within the community with our partners like First Great Western, so I am delighted we have been able to strengthen our relationship in this way. As a force we are committed to reducing crime and disruption on the railway and increasing passenger confidence. This new policing post at Swindon will be a big step in the right direction.^

Paula Durrans, head of security for First Great Western, added: ^While total crime across our network continues to fall year-on-year as passenger numbers continue to rise, we very much welcome the BTP to Swindon and look forward to continuing our work with them to maintain the security of our stations and on board our trains.^

The company also moved to assure people the environment of the station would be maintained in the future despite the loss of the garden.

A spokesman for First Great Western said: ^To make way for further improvements at the station, including the return of the British Transport Police to an on-site location, it has not been possible to maintain the sensory garden at its current location. Recognising the role that rail plays to the local community and to the economy, we will continue to work to ensure that the station remains a bright and inviting environment.^

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Swindon Advertiser:

Swindon Heritage events commemorate 75th anniversary


Swindon's Battle of Britain hero, Squadron Leader Harold Starr

As well as fighter planes of the Second World War flying over Swindon on Battle of Britain Day, a locomotive will be named after town hero Harold Starr.

Swindon Heritage has set up a series of events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of that fateful day, and our victory, that changed the course of the war.

Swindon's own fighter ace, Harold Starr, lost his life when he bailed out of his plane after being hit at 15,000 feet in the skies over Kent.

Sqd Ldr Starr was the leader of 253 Squadron. He was machine gunned to death by three BF^▸ (Brake First (carriage)) 109s, as he parachuted from his burning plane.

He is buried in Radnor Street Cemetery where the flypast and family day will take place on Battle of Britain Day - Tuesday, September 15.

Sqd Ldr Starr's name will also live on through First Great Western's naming of a Class 43 locomotive after him.

During the week leading up to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Swindon Heritage team, led by Graham Carter, have organised a number of events for what has become the Swindon Remembers event, sponsored by First Great Western.

Graham said: "The flypast would be a tremendous honour at any time, but on the very day that the country is marking the 75th anniversary it becomes even more special. Swindon Remembers is an open invitation to everybody in the town to join in and help us remember The Few.''

Rob Mullen, general manager for the central region of FGW^▸ (First Great Western), said: "We are proud to be naming one of our high speed trains in honour of Harold. It is important as a country that we commemorate this anniversary and remember those who bravely gave so much.''

[bobm]

Indeed - quite a lot of events planned in the town around the anniversary.  As well as the fly-past and naming ceremony, there also talks arranged.  The service in the cemetery is being relayed live to the big screen in Wharf Green as well.

Full details are at http://www.swindonheritage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/swindonremembers-events-sep8-15.pdf

I took a walk up to Radnor Street yesterday and after a lot of searching around finally found Harold Starr's grave - one of over 100 Commonwealth War Graves



As an aside the cemetery is high on the hill between the "new" part of Swindon and Old Town and has some great views over the Railway Village.

[Rob on the hill]

Article about today's naming ceremony:
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/13721191.Prince_Richard_proudly_unveils_train_dedicated_to_memory_of_Harold_Starr_as_part_of_Battle_of_Britain_Day/

[Rob on the hill]

Shortly after the naming ceremony 4 Spitfires and 2 Hurricanes flew over Radnor Street cemetery.

[bobm]

HST^▸ (High Speed Train) Power car 43023 was duly named Sqn Ldr Harold Starr - one of the few at a brief ceremony at Swindon Station earlier this afternoon.


The ceremony was performed by HRH The Duke of Gloucester (far right)



The flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial flight, which was due to precede the ceremony was delayed by bad weather and took place after

[ellendune]

From the Swindon Advertiser

Network Rail plans major signalling works on November 21 and 22

TRAINS will be replaced by buses next weekend when the railway is closed around Swindon to allow Network Rail to carry out signalling works.

Replacement bus services will run from Swindon to Chippenham, Didcot and Kemble during the 48-hour shut-down over Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22, which will see no trains run through or to Swindon.

During this time Network Rail will be installing and testing a new signalling system which will replace equipment dating from the 1960s and 70s. This, they say, will pave the way for greater reliability and fewer delays for passengers and is necessary for the arrival of the new electric trains expected from 2017.

Paddy Gregg, Network Rail^s signalling project director for the Western and Wales routes, said: ^This project forms part of our programme to re-signal the whole of the Great Western route, providing passengers with greater reliability, fewer delays and smoother journeys.

^Our work to increase reliability, together with the ability of the new electric trains to reduce journey times and accommodate more passengers, will also help to drive economic growth across the Thames Valley, west and south west England.^

The work taking place over the weekend of 21 and 22 November is the second stage of the Swindon re-signalling project, which has already seen the installation of more than 700km of signalling and power cables.

Around 250 members of Network Rail^s ^orange army^ will be working along 80 miles of railway over the weekend, with testing of the new signalling system being carried out before control of the railway moves from the mechanical signal box at Swindon to the state-of-the-art Thames Valley signalling centre in Didcot early next year.

Network Rail said that all signallers who used to work at the Swindon signal box have been moved into other signalling roles, predominantly at the Thames Valley signalling centre.

Paddy said: ^Replacing and upgrading 40-year-old signalling equipment is very complex and for safety reasons must be carried out when trains aren^t running.


"I would like to thank passengers in advance for their patience and understanding while we complete this essential upgrade that will lead to greater reliability and fewer delays, and pave the way for the advantages electrification and the new electric trains will bring to both passengers and those who live close to the railway.^

The third and final stages of the Swindon re-signalling project will take place early next year, the details of which will be provided later this year.

All passengers are advised to check travel information before leaving by visiting www.gwr.com.

------

To date, the Swindon re-signalling project has included the installation of:

Eight new under-track crossings

Three new under-road crossings

Under-track and under-road crossings are large ducts that allow power, signal and telecoms cables to run from equipment on one side of the track/road to the other.

740km of new signalling and power cables

80km of telecoms cables

165 new signal post telephones, enabling train drivers to contact signallers if needed.

109 new signals