Devon and Cornwall resignalling

[whole diary]

[GBM]

Meanwhile I have also seen it mentioned on another forum that the eastern section of Plymouth PSB^▸ (Power Signal Box) - Totnes (excl.) to Hemerdon - is due to be resignalled in 2024 and that will be controlled from a new workstation to be housed at Plymouth PSB rather than from the Plymouth panel: among the alterations in connection with the Totnes - Hemerdon work will be the abolition of the loop on the Up Main at Hemerdon. The closest I get to signalling nowadays is playing a certain computer game.

Dave

Am I reading this correctly!
Cornwall (well, parts) will be worked from Exeter, whilst Plymouth to Totnes will be worked from Plymouth.
Surely more effective for Cornwall to be worked from Plymouth, unless, of course, the future plan is for Exeter to control all West.

[paul7575]

Am I reading this correctly!
Cornwall (well, parts) will be worked from Exeter, whilst Plymouth to Totnes will be worked from Plymouth.
Surely more effective for Cornwall to be worked from Plymouth, unless, of course, the future plan is for Exeter to control all West.

I think it was last Christmas, (or maybe the year before), that saw the sudden renaming of the existing IECC^▸ (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) to Tyneside ROC^▸ (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region), previously expected to be re-controlled to York.  Turned out the plan to have one location covering the entire stretch from Kings Cross to the border was now significantly changed.   I predict another mini-ROC at either Exeter or Plymouth, but probably not both?

Paul

[DaveHarries]

Am I reading this correctly!
Cornwall (well, parts) will be worked from Exeter, whilst Plymouth to Totnes will be worked from Plymouth.
Surely more effective for Cornwall to be worked from Plymouth, unless, of course, the future plan is for Exeter to control all West.

[.....]I predict another mini-ROC^▸ (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region) at either Exeter or Plymouth, but probably not both?

Paul

I have heard it said that Exeter may become an ROC and eventually end up controlling everything southwest of the Bristol PSB^▸ (Power Signal Box) boundary at Bridgwater: apparently TVSC^» (Thames Valley Signalling Centre - about) isn't big enough and Plymouth wouldn't be big enough to house an ROC of the size needed to control all west either.

Dave

[GBM]

I have heard it said that Exeter may become an ROC^▸ (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region) and eventually end up controlling everything southwest of the Bristol PSB^▸ (Power Signal Box) boundary at Bridgwater: apparently TVSC^» (Thames Valley Signalling Centre - about) isn't big enough and Plymouth wouldn't be big enough to house an ROC of the size needed to control all west either.

Dave

Sort of a shame.
Would have preferred a Plymouth mini ROC, but at least Exeter is still in Devon

[DaveHarries]

Sort of a shame. Would have preferred a Plymouth mini ROC^▸ (Rail Operating Centre - a centralised location for railway signalling and train control operations for a specific route or region), but at least Exeter is still in Devon

Quite. If, however, you consider that each workstation on an ROC can require between 5 and 10 screens - see https://photos.signalling.org/picture?/25367/category/3217-2013_november - then you would need to expand the Plymouth PSB^▸ (Power Signal Box) (or build a new one) but there isn't much space in the Plymouth station area for that I don't think. Exeter is a bigger building.

TBH^▸ (to be honest) I think having Kings Cross (and, as of very recently, Peterborough) controlled from York is silly: not only is putting all your eggs in one basket a very bad idea but I always say that there is also no substitute for local knowledge when it comes to things such as signalling. Kings Cross and Peterborough might have been better housed at Doncaster if that had been an ROC (or converted to one).

Dave

[bobm]

I remember a few years back being shown round TVSC^» (Thames Valley Signalling Centre - about) and the screens were arranged in a giant horseshoe.  Paddington was at one end with Penzance planned for the other.  A signaller remarked he would be able to send a train out from London and before the end of his shift see it arrive in West Cornwall.

Obviously plans change. 

[grahame]

Someone's going suggest it could all be done from Bengaluru or Jaipur

[GBM]

Someone's going suggest it could all be done from Bengaluru or Jaipur

As was National Rail enquiries a while ago - is it still sent overseas?

[ellendune]

Someone's going suggest it could all be done from Bengaluru or Jaipur

But consider the security implications of offshoring a critical safety function. Its not going to happen.

[GBM]

Cancellations to services at St Erth
Due to urgent repairs to the railway at St Erth the line is closed.
Train services running through this station may be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes. Disruption is expected until 14:15 10/09.
Customer Advice
The Main Line in Cornwall is closed today for routine engineering works. Replacement road transport is operating, however it has not been possible to cover all of the advertised service, and coaches have been leaving Penzance full, meaning St. Erth has received very little service. We are urgently trying to source additional resources, however this is taking time. Limited road transport has been confirmed, however this is unlikely to arrive at St. Erth until 13:30 at the earliest.
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 2 hours.
...........
Last Updated:10/09/2023 12:44

[DaveHarries]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are publishing information about the works. This comes from Network Rail...
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/signal-upgrade-set-to-modernise-cornwalls-railway

...but doesn't mention that the line between Looe and Liskeard will be closed on Monday 20th November for level crossing upgrades (the equipment is, I presume, being installed over the weekend of 11th / 12th November during the blockade for the resignalling works): that is referred to here from GWR.
https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering/cornwall

Other upgrades to level crossings are, I believe, planned for the Plymouth to Gunnislake route but there seems to be no date for these yet.

I noticed today that there has been recent replacement of the signals at the north ends of Plymouth station platforms 4 to 8 and this heralds the start of the upgrades to signalling between Totnes and Plymouth to be done in several overnight closures of which the first will be 25th / 26th September with the work carrying on until early 2024: GWR's engineering works list confirms this and there will then be alterations to services the following morning. See NR news item above.

Dave

[DaveHarries]

Another line closure has been listed in Cornwall for Tuesday 27th February to Sunday 10th March 2024. I had heard that the new signalling system was due for commissioning in the first quarter of 2024 so I guess that will be the period when that work will take place.

Dave

[Kernow Otter]

This is around the date that has been indicated to me for installation of the new footbridge at Lostwithiel.

[DaveHarries]

This is around the date that has been indicated to me for installation of the new footbridge at Lostwithiel.

All to be done in one go then by the sound of it: footbridge + signalling.

Dave

[Jamsdad]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0grvrrp

Cornwall signalling uograde is nearly finished. Control from Exeter is schedules to go live from February according to this  good BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) interview.