Great Western Main Line electrification - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[chrisr_75]

Club 140, speed is free,
Fun and sunshine, there's enough for everyone,
All that's missing is the speed,
But don't worry, you can make up time!

WHAM  BAM you are giving your age away  and mine come too think of it !.

I suspect speed was most certainly not missing where that particular group are/were concerned...! 

[TonyK]

Nice reasoning.  But the other advantages of electric are better acceleration, regenerative braking and lower air pollution.  It could be argued that the best bits to electrify are the approaches to the stations in order to reduce urban air pollution, get the trains up to speed and away from the stations quickly and allow energy recovery on deceleration to the station.  The gaps in OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") might be best left out in the countryside.   

I returned from Blackpool yesterday, where electrification is well under way between Blackpool North and Preston. The line shuts next week for 4 months to finish the job! The benefit was plain to see at Preston. My seat was in the second carriage from the rear in an 11-car Pendolino, and it felt as though we were up to 60 mph by the time I passed the end of the platform.

[hassaanhc]

2. A report that according to them as know, IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) on diesel power are about 15km/h slower at balancing speed than HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train). Marvellous.

If the faster high speed sections are electrified how much difference does this make?

Let's take a journey of 305 miles that takes 5 hours and 5 minutes (conveniently, an average of exactly 60 m.p.h.) with an HST, but where the first 173 miles are covered in 120 minutes (86 mph) and the remaining 132 miles take 185 minutes (43 mph).

Electrify the first (fast) 173 miles ... big gains from electrification.  And you will probably never reach balancing speed in those final 132 miles so it really doesn't matter.   

Isn't that the sort of plans they have?

Nice reasoning.  But the other advantages of electric are better acceleration, regenerative braking and lower air pollution.  It could be argued that the best bits to electrify are the approaches to the stations in order to reduce urban air pollution, get the trains up to speed and away from the stations quickly and allow energy recovery on deceleration to the station.  The gaps in OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") might be best left out in the countryside.   

Class 387 acceleration is lethal, and I thought 360s were fast! On departing Maidenhead the 387s can already be at 90mph by the time they pass Taplow, also departing Slough they can be at 90 before Langley. A 165 or 166 would be in the 60-70mph region. In January my brother's usual morning train from Southall to Reading will gain more stops yet be a minute faster!

My usual journey (between Southall and Paddington) means I have more chance of getting an EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) rather than a DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit). Whenever I get a DMU after multiple EMU journeys I'm always surprised by how slow they are . They do manage to get to 70mph between Paddington/Ealing Broadway/Southall but actually feel slower than a EMU doing a lower speed due to the crap acceleration. And of course normal passengers notice the noise difference too. Back in July we had guests and they kept getting EMUs to/from Paddington, but the first time we got a DMU to Reading they noticed it was an old train and commented on it.

I remember Crossrail promoting that Paddington to Southall will be a minimum of 12 minutes once the project is complete. However, Heathrow Connect services on Sundays (only calling at Ealing Broadway on the way) are already booked to take that long in the down direction! The GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) DMUs are booked to take 14 minutes.

[WelshBluebird]

Do we know for sure that Chippenham to Temple Meads electrification has been cancelled? As I understand it the work has merely been pushed to the next control period and it is only Cardiff-Swansea which has actually been canned. 

Officially I believe that is still the case.

But after seeing how slow some of the progress has been, the cancellation of Cardiff-Swansea and the talk coming from government regarding electrification and bi-modes - many of us are very skeptical! 

[Red Squirrel]

Having seen this:

This NR^» (Network Rail - home page) video shows the current state of electrification.  Enjoy the ride......
https://youtu.be/OOAqWW-KXrM

I am rather taken aback by the sheer quantity of ironmongery involved. You can see where the money went.

[Bmblbzzz]

Club 140, speed is free,
Fun and sunshine, there's enough for everyone,
All that's missing is the speed,
But don't worry, you can make up time!

WHAM  BAM you are giving your age away  and mine come too think of it !.

Wham! Bam!
I am
An engine driver
Volts or no volts
You can't tell me that I'm not!

<retires, gracelessly>

[bobm]

Had to post this for the headline if nothing else.

From the Swindon Advertiser

Cracked toilet bowl blamed on Network Rail piling

A FED-UP Stratton Road resident has suggested Network Rail should be using less disruptive piling methods in its engineering work to upgrade the London to Bristol line.
Residents have complained for months that their sleep is being disturbed as piles are driven deep into the ground to provide a stable base for pylons needed for the electrification of the route.

Edward Browning said: “It is not necessary. I have had my toilet pan cracked and it leaked on to the floor. The flashing on the front bedroom window was shaken off at the same time as the pile driving was happening.

Continues.....

[Tim]

avoiding a joke about piles.... has people's sleep really be disturbed for months?  Even at NR^» (Network Rail - home page) speed they should have moved off from a particular location after a few nights. 

[stuving]

avoiding a joke about piles.... has people's sleep really be disturbed for months?  Even at NR^» (Network Rail - home page) speed they should have moved off from a particular location after a few nights. 

There will be a lot more ironmongery at the end of Swindon station than for a stretch of plain line. There are all the extra wires needed for overlaps and switching above the points, and each of those terminations of wire runs needs an upright with a stay.

[TonyK]

Had to post this for the headline if nothing else.

From the Swindon Advertiser

Cracked toilet bowl blamed on Network Rail piling

Edward Browning said: “It is not necessary. I have had my toilet pan cracked and it leaked on to the floor.

I heard BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) called, but found they had nothing to go on...

[chuffed]

I suppose Mr Browning was lucky he didn't find a flash in the pan....tograph. That should stop the  diggers and/or sniggers

[Thatcham Crossing]

On a bustitution last night - Reading to Thatcham just after midnight. Noticed an engineering train at work near Midgham.

[NickF]

Had to post this for the headline if nothing else.

From the Swindon Advertiser

Cracked toilet bowl blamed on Network Rail piling

A FED-UP Stratton Road resident has suggested Network Rail should be using less disruptive piling methods in its engineering work to upgrade the London to Bristol line.
Residents have complained for months that their sleep is being disturbed as piles are driven deep into the ground to provide a stable base for pylons needed for the electrification of the route.

Edward Browning said: “It is not necessary. I have had my toilet pan cracked and it leaked on to the floor. The flashing on the front bedroom window was shaken off at the same time as the pile driving was happening.

Continues.....

Well it sounds like someone is taking the p**s

[broadgage]

No complaints as yet then of cows yielding sour milk, hens ceasing to lay, or horses being frightened (before becoming extinct)

[Adelante_CCT]

Class 387 and a Class 800 on AC did test runs on Saturday night between Slough and Didcot.