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

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From Railcam UK^▸ (United Kingdom)

Iconic building at Swindon station has a brighter future as Network Rail takes back control

One of the most recognisable buildings in Swindon which is right next to the town’s station is set to get a new lease of life after Network Rail took back its ownership on 10 August.

Signal Point is steeped in railway history and still bears a huge British Rail logo on the front of the building and now Network Rail has plans to improve its look and present it as an iconic entrance to Swindon.

Network Rail have been trying to regain control of Signal Point for some years and have finally got it back into the railway family.

It's been an eyesore and would be good to have it fixed.  I have heard, though, of Network Rail tenants being less than happy with their landlords ... will Network Rail be using all (or some) of the building for their own purposes - perhaps releasing other buildings in Swindon back to there owners?

[johnneyw]

"Iconic" it might be but that doesn't guarantee a pleasing aesthetic.  I'm not entirely convinced that it could ever be anything other than a bit of an eyesore although I know it has some value in a post war railway architecture context.  I guess it's just a matter of personal taste.

[stuving]

That news item doesn't say what sort of transaction actually happened. Two years ago Signal Point was held under a lease by Narbeth Management Ltd, who had previously proposed to convert it to housing, but then applied for planning permission to update it as offices. What happened to that? Last year SBC listed it as a potential development location for housing ... so maybe the leaseholder got fed up with almost no tenants and no progress towards getting any. In any case, presumably they have now sold the remaining lease back to NR^» (Network Rail - home page) (always the ground landlords).

[Bmblbzzz]

I agree with johnneyw. Ever since I could read the sign, I've known Signal Point as the ugly building next to Swindon station.

[TaplowGreen]

I agree with johnneyw. Ever since I could read the sign, I've known Signal Point as the ugly building next to Swindon station.

Same as the virtually identical (and virtually empty) monstrosity that is Intercity House next to Plymouth station!

[grahame]

from the Network Rail Media Centre

Mike Gallop, Network Rail's Western route director, said:

“We are excited that we can now start to plan how Signal Point and the land around it can be restored in line with plans that Swindon Borough Council have to regenerate the area.

"We will now work with the council to help develop Swindon station and the town as a whole.”

My bolding ...

[Electric train]

Did NR^» (Network Rail - home page) own the land it is on?   The freehold lease was coming to an end and NR were not willing to renew the lease without the owners carrying out the structural repairs the building requires.

I wonder if NR will move its Wales and Western Region HQ^▸ (HeadQuarters) into it, also the ToC's (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) etc), part of Andrew Haines PPF (Putting Passengers First) reorganisation is to move NR closer to its customers both ToC's and Passengers

[RichardB]

I agree with johnneyw. Ever since I could read the sign, I've known Signal Point as the ugly building next to Swindon station.

Same as the virtually identical (and virtually empty) monstrosity that is Intercity House next to Plymouth station!

There are big plans for that.  https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/rail-minister-hears-of-plans-for-intercity-place

[johnneyw]

I agree with johnneyw. Ever since I could read the sign, I've known Signal Point as the ugly building next to Swindon station.

Same as the virtually identical (and virtually empty) monstrosity that is Intercity House next to Plymouth station!

There are big plans for that.  https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/rail-minister-hears-of-plans-for-intercity-place

Looks like even Plymouth will modernize their station before Bristol (I don't count the Temple Meads roof work as that's just overdue maintenance).

[grahame]

From a Facebook group - a report of 2 IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) (5 cars each) joining at Swindon for the first time. Trains from Cheltenham Spa and Swansea (both via Kemble this week) linked for the journey onwards to London.

As a future with long distance flows down, this could make sense.  This week this South Wales both on divert and lockdown, minimal flows through the barriers with people off the Swanseas (I have no measure of through passengers on those trains) - far and away the busiest arrivals are from Bristol Temple Meads (and Weston and Taunton). 

I can envisage 2 incoming trains per hour from South Wales (Cardiff + Swansea), 2 per hour from Temple Meads (one from Taunton and Weston), 1 per hour from Cheltenham Spa via Gloucester and 1 per hour from Weymouth, going on as 4 trains per hour to London (every 15 minutes, all 9 or 10 car, all calling Didcot and Reading) and 1 per hour to Oxford.  The short starters from Bristol and Cardiff serving intermediate stations, especially where the line is electrified.

As an aside, noticed a scheduled 8 minute wait scheduled at Swindon for the 07:40 none-stop to Paddington.  And (checked with RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website)) it arrived a further 5 minutes early.  What is the point of having a train wait at Swindon for nearly quarter of an hour just to race to London (4 minutes early at Royal Oak - 08:25; slow entry and just 2 early into the terminus) - or is that a temporary thing because of the engineering.  Can't, surely, be a reversion to the old custom of a refreshment stop at Swindon, where WHSmith is open but both platform buffets are closed (and Costa outside doing a notable trade in take away coffees|).

[bobm]

The joining of the two IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) at Swindon wasn?t planned.

The first train from Gloucester (already cut back from Cheltenham due to late running earlier) was cancelled at Swindon due to a lack of a driver to take it forward.  So the following service from Swansea was coupled to it on platform 3.

There was also another incident at the station today.  A Swansea service from Paddington booked to go via Gloucester was routed into platform 4 - but you can?t gain the Kemble line from there.  After a 45 minute delay it was reversed out, crossed over and continued its journey.

[MVR S&T]

The joining of the two IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) at Swindon wasn?t planned.

The first train from Gloucester (already cut back from Cheltenham due to late running earlier) was cancelled at Swindon due to a lack of a driver to take it forward.  So the following service from Swansea was coupled to it on platform 3.

There was also another incident at the station today.  A Swansea service from Paddington booked to go via Gloucester was routed into platform 4 - but you can?t gain the Kemble line from there.  After a 45 minute delay it was reversed out, crossed over and continued its journey.

Hope that was a computer error, rather than a human error, as a member of the Swindon panel society, that is pretty much rule one, you cant go to Gloucster from the down main...

[grahame]

The joining of the two IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) at Swindon wasn?t planned.

Yes - understood. Currently the only permissive platform is 2, and at 3 carriage length and no 153s around any more, the facility is unused.  So a "special" job yesterday.

[Bmblbzzz]

If nothing else I suppose it demonstrates that the 5-cars do have an advantage on occasions.

[grahame]

The joining of the two IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) at Swindon wasn?t planned.

Yes - understood. Currently the only permissive platform is 2, and at 3 carriage length and no 153s around any more, the facility is unused.  So a "special" job yesterday.

It appears this is complex.  Platforms 1 and 3 are permissive, however they are "PP-C / PF^▸ (Penalty Fare)" whatever that stands for.  It would appear to mean that such moves are permitted, but cannot be planned for (in the timetable?  Short notice changes?)