Banbury - station, facilities, signalling and incidents - merged posts

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, though noticeable how the lack of passing places on the Chiltern Line south of Bicester is causing hassles with on time stoppers in front of delayed fast trains from Marylebone.  The loop at South Ruislip is being used to get the fasts past, but other than that the next realistic* option is right down the line at Bicester.  Reinstatement of a through bi-directional loop at Beaconsfield would be so useful on such occasions.

* Signalling at Princes Risborough does allow for a down train to be overtaken, but it's quite a time consuming process due to the linespeeds involved.

[Oxonhutch]

Was working at Banbury North Signalbox today and en route from Oxford saw the queue of up trains between Anyho Jnc and Banbury around Kings Sutton. My goodness, signalling equipment is heavy! But he-ho all for a good cause. Beautiful 'box though.

[ChrisB]

For clarity, the box is shut - they are running visits in the few weeks before that too is demolished.

If you're volunteering there on the 27th, I'll see you there (as a visitor)

[ChrisB]

Yes, though noticeable how the lack of passing places on the Chiltern Line south of Bicester is causing hassles with on time stoppers in front of delayed fast trains from Marylebone. 

Actually, it's delayed stoppers affecting on-time fasts in the evening peak that causes problems.

In the morning, any delayed fasts on the up at Risborough passing stoppers is very easy.

[IndustryInsider]

Actually, it's delayed stoppers affecting on-time fasts in the evening peak that causes problems.

Well, actually, it's both isn't it.  A late stopper will delay an on time fast, and (as happened quite a lot yesterday) a late fast that departs after an on time stopper will then incur significant further delay when it catches the stopper up. 

All part of the problem of running an intense skip-stop timetable on a two track railway without enough passing points.

I noted several stoppers/semi-fasts recessed in the South Ruislip platform yesterday, to allow fasts to pass as best they could but the benefits were limited as the stopper then got in the way of later fast trains that had caught them up further along the line.

A bi-directional loop at Beaconsfield, or even better Gerrards Cross (but that would be more expensive) would be very useful.

[ChrisB]

GCX is bidirectional through the station, but in the peak, it would delay incoming services, so doesn't tend to get used as compounding the delays results

[IndustryInsider]

Yes that's not useful in the majority of cases, nor is the similar situation at High Wycombe in the up direction.

[ChrisB]

That section is used in the timetable to allow fast trains to pass slows in the up direction

[paul7575]

The Didcot to Banbury map at opentraintimes has been altered to reflect the new track and signals at Banbury.  Nothing currently showing on them as there's no trains yet of course.  The map has also been extended north as far as just before Leamington Spa, and the line from Oxford to Oxford Parkway is shown ready commencement of trains in December.

http://www.opentraintimes.com/maps/signalling/oxford

Very interesting.  It looks as if the signalling boundaries are shown, and I guess OL is "Oxford to Leamington" under WMCC control, but is "NA" on the Bicester to Aynho section right - it doesn't seem obvious so is it just a placeholder?

Do the signals that aren't showing either red or green (such as 7122 Banbury P4 up direction) signify a limitation in the data feed?

Paul

[ChrisB]

That platform/siding is decommissioned. There is still (disconnected) track in the platform, waiting to be lifted.

More interesting is 7120 - its possible that the freight loop is not yet commissioned, and 9128- the bi-directional southbound signal off the down through iine - I'll see if that's been replaced tomorrow morning. I didn't look this morning..

[paul7575]

That platform/siding is decommissioned. There is still (disconnected) track in the platform, waiting to be lifted.

Yet trains are using P4 - as I write 1H44 is sitting there due to depart at 1244?   Does that mean there is another signal that isn't shown on the diagram?

Paul

[ChrisB]

The new platform 4 is now at the other end of the island - the north end, protected by signal 9135 northbound. Interestingly, there is currently 1H43 sitting in the south end loop behind '1244' in the platform! Something slightly amiss there!

7122 protects the exit from the through line that now holds the built-out new platform 4 onto the up main line.

[IndustryInsider]

9128 signal has been replaced and commissioned as has 9135 and 7122.  Not sure about 7120.  Perhaps there is no data feed for the blank signals, or it just hasn't been added yet.  The '1244' you see would be a signaller reminder of the time of departure of the train in the platform.

[paul7575]

The new platform 4 is now at the other end of the island - the north end, protected by signal 9135 northbound. Interestingly, there is currently 1H43 sitting in the south end loop behind '1244' in the platform! Something slightly amiss there!

7122 protects the exit from the through line that now holds the built-out new platform 4 onto the up main line.

The black boxes are not geographically accurate as I understand it.  There is however a separate one for each direction for each platform, and having watched it for a few cycles of the timetable the southbound Chiltern stopping service always appears in the right hand box next to 7122, with its departure time in the other box to its left.  I'm fairly sure the train will however be physically alongside P4 during its period between arrival and departure?  Next one at 1300, 1U27, appeared in the LH box on arrival and then became 1H46 in the right hand box.   

(This happened while I was editing this post, I guess the sequence will show again in another hour.)

Likewise in the down direction, the box for 7129, is not drawn alongside the platform where a train would be standing.

Paul

[ChrisB]

ok, understood.

7122 protects the platform 4 through line out onto the UP mainline, not sure why it is white though. Ditto 7120 which protects the freight UP loop onto the UP mainline, again, why it's white?