Swindon to Kemble re-doubling - ongoing discussion and updates

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

No pain, no gain. Or in this case, no train, no pain.

[Sapperton Tunnel]

Here are 4 photos of the action at Kemble taken on Wednesday afternoon, 20th August. I can't seem to get into Flikr so I have added them as pdf's, which is the only way I know how to make them small enough

Kemble No 1 is a shot from the footbridge at Kemble Station. The new Signal SW1334 is in front of the old SN149 Gantry. Also of note is the new 100mph speed limit sign.

Kemble No 2 is taken from the bridge looking towards the tunnel. The old single to double switch has gone and has been replaced by plain line, which was done on Tuesday / Wednesday. The new facing points in the down line have also been completed.

Kemble No 3 is taken from the tunnel looking towards the station. The train of used track on the left is the first train over the new down line. It had come from Purton where they were replacing old track, some of which had been damaged in the wagon derailment last August. The train was well over a quarter of a mile long and 3 rails deep, so there must have been nearly a mile of track on the train. On the right, the ballast train has moved up over the new line.

Kemble No 4 shows ballast being unloaded and placed between the sleepers and on the shoulder of the new track. The road/rail machines went to the construction depot area beyond the station and got off the track to allow the engineers train in Kemble No 3 to pass. A fellow observer said that they were due to finish all the trackwork in the Kemble area today (Thursday 21st August).

Enjoy!!!

Sapperton Tunnel     

[Sapperton Tunnel]

Kemble No 3 attached here, as the cumulative size was too big with all four on the same post

[TonyK]

Great pictures there, ST. Thanks!

[patch38]

Done! 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28925722

Work to increase rail capacity between Swindon and Kemble has been completed and trains are running on the two-track route.

The redoubling of the track means trains can now head simultaneously to and from Kemble in Gloucestershire into north Wiltshire.

The line was reduced to a single track in the 1960s as a cost-saving measure by British Rail.

Rail operator First Great Western said the ^45m work was vital.

The project to add an extra track to the 12.5 mile (20km) stretch was approved in 2011 and began in January.

It is needed before the electrification of the Great Western Main Line (GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line)).

Dan Panes, from First Great Western said: "This prepares the way to run those services more quickly and more frequently should we need to."

First Great Western said there would be no extra trains on the route until a new service franchise agreement in 2017.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "In the long-term it will increase the capacity to four trains an hour in each direction on the route."

There still seem to be speed restrictions in place, particularly on the new down line.

[edfielden]

Went out today to see the reopened line at Kemble, where I saw 1G21 (0939 Paddington-Cheltenham) emerging from the tunnel at Kemble on the new Down line. Then pottered through the country lanes to Minety Crossing and saw 2G83 (1138 Swindon-Cheltenham) passing also on the new Down line.

For info, Minety and Collins Lane (Purton) crossings are still closed to road traffic for now, pending further work to enable their control and monitoring from TVSC^» (Thames Valley Signalling Centre - about) at Didcot.

[ellendune]

Thank you edfielden and welcome to the forum

An excellent way to celebrate a major achievement which will hopefully lead to better services from Swindon to Cheltenham in due course.

[JayMac]

Nice pictures. Even if one features an 'out of area' loaner DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)!

A very warm welcome to the forum edfielden! 

[TonyK]

Nice pictures indeed, edfielden! I add my welcome to those of ellendunne and bignosemac.

[Oberon]

Presumably whomsoever takes the GW^▸ (Great Western) franchise over after the interim we are currently enjoying will have to create a new timetable for when the Turbos become redundant and more stock is available for trains on the Kemble route? If so I wonder what nature the additional services might consist of, perhaps Swindon-Worcester or Swindon-Newport, or will we just have more trains to Cheltenham?

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Western Daily Press:

Commuters to wait years for new line

A ^45 million project to open the West's "rail bottleneck" has finally been finished ^ but desperate passengers will not see any benefit for another three years because of a government franchise bungle.

The project to re-lay a second track on the 12-mile stretch between Swindon and Kemble is supposed to mean extra trains can run between Gloucestershire and the Great Western mainline to London.

But because of delays to the appointment of a new long-term franchise train operator for the West Country, the extra services connecting Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud with Swindon and London will not be brought on to the new tracks until the new franchise is up and running ^ in 2017. The line through north Wiltshire was downgraded and one track was pulled up as part of the Beeching cuts in the early 1960s.

For 50 years, Intercity services between Gloucestershire and London, along with connecting services to Swindon, have had to wait for each other in passing areas with only one train able to be on the section.

For years, politicians, councillors and passengers in Gloucestershire said the poor service was badly hitting the economy in the county, and there were celebrations in Gloucestershire when the Government decided back in 2010 to switch ^35 million earmarked for a new road bypass around Westbury to the "re-doubling" of the Kemble line instead.

The following year the rest of the money was found and work began a year ago, and despite being hit by bad weather, and even a derailment of one of the track-laying trains, work was completed over the August Bank Holiday.

The redoubling will also make it much easier to continue the massive electrification of the Great Western Mainline to Bristol and south Wales, and allow the route via Gloucester to be used as an alternative if or when the electrification work closes the main lines further south.

"This prepares the way to run those services more quickly and more frequently, should we need to," said Dan Panes, from First Great Western. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) has been awarded a temporary three-year franchise until 2017, to allow the Government extra time to sort out its franchise-awarding process, following the debacle over the awarding of franchises elsewhere in the country.

But passenger groups and local politicians in Gloucestershire want to see the benefits for them much sooner than three years' time, and will urge the Government to help FGW put on more trains.

"I think it's a great shame we're not going to have more trains and I will talk to the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) to try to lobby Government to help First Great Western to do this before then, because we've got the capacity to do it," said county councillor Will Windsor-Clive.

Network Rail said it had increased capacity, but it was up to the Government and rail franchise to sort out filling it.

Spokesman Simon Maple said the work to re-double the line was the first step in a longer programme to improve rail services in Gloucestershire. "It's a long term programme," he said.

[Rhydgaled]

Presumably whomsoever takes the GW^▸ (Great Western) franchise over after the interim we are currently enjoying will have to create a new timetable for when the Turbos become redundant and more stock is available for trains on the Kemble route? If so I wonder what nature the additional services might consist of, perhaps Swindon-Worcester or Swindon-Newport, or will we just have more trains to Cheltenham?

Have any of the announcements actually said there will be more trains? I believe it is planned to double the PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-Cheltenham through service to hourly but I'm not clear whether that is in addition to the existing Swindon-Cheltenham DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) workings or simply extending those to run through to London.

From the Western Daily Press:

Commuters to wait years for new line

A ^45 million project to open the West's "rail bottleneck" has finally been finished ^ but desperate passengers will not see any benefit for another three years because of a government franchise bungle.

The project to re-lay a second track on the 12-mile stretch between Swindon and Kemble is supposed to mean extra trains can run between Gloucestershire and the Great Western mainline to London.

But because of delays to the appointment of a new long-term franchise train operator for the West Country, the extra services connecting Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud with Swindon and London will not be brought on to the new tracks until the new franchise is up and running ^ in 2017. The line through north Wiltshire was downgraded and one track was pulled up as part of the Beeching cuts in the early 1960s.

For 50 years, Intercity services between Gloucestershire and London, along with connecting services to Swindon, have had to wait for each other in passing areas with only one train able to be on the section.

For years, politicians, councillors and passengers in Gloucestershire said the poor service was badly hitting the economy in the county, and there were celebrations in Gloucestershire when the Government decided back in 2010 to switch ^35 million earmarked for a new road bypass around Westbury to the "re-doubling" of the Kemble line instead.

The following year the rest of the money was found and work began a year ago, and despite being hit by bad weather, and even a derailment of one of the track-laying trains, work was completed over the August Bank Holiday.

The redoubling will also make it much easier to continue the massive electrification of the Great Western Mainline to Bristol and south Wales, and allow the route via Gloucester to be used as an alternative if or when the electrification work closes the main lines further south.

"This prepares the way to run those services more quickly and more frequently, should we need to," said Dan Panes, from First Great Western. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) has been awarded a temporary three-year franchise until 2017, to allow the Government extra time to sort out its franchise-awarding process, following the debacle over the awarding of franchises elsewhere in the country.

But passenger groups and local politicians in Gloucestershire want to see the benefits for them much sooner than three years' time, and will urge the Government to help FGW put on more trains.

"I think it's a great shame we're not going to have more trains and I will talk to the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) to try to lobby Government to help First Great Western to do this before then, because we've got the capacity to do it," said county councillor Will Windsor-Clive.

Network Rail said it had increased capacity, but it was up to the Government and rail franchise to sort out filling it.

Spokesman Simon Maple said the work to re-double the line was the first step in a longer programme to improve rail services in Gloucestershire. "It's a long term programme," he said.

That article doesn't sound very correct to me. Firstly, I don't see how a 'franchise bungle' has delayed the start of improved services since as far as I know there were never any improvements planned before IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.), ie. 2017. Even if there are non-IEP plans for the route as well, these will in any case have to wait until the electrification futher east is done to cascade DMUs. As Northern-land have found out with the new curve recently completed, there is very little in the way of spare stock to introduce improved services (although wasn't there talk of FirstGW re-introducing the CDF^» (Cardiff - next trains)-Taunton loco-hauled workings?) Also, they may be correct in saying the single-tracking was done in the Beeching era, but I think the fairly recent redoubling at Gowerton was putting back capacity which was lost about 20yrs more recently than Beeching, so was Swindon - Kemble actually a Beeching cut or a more-recent one?

[grahame]

Swindon to Kemble was singled at the same time as Thingley to Bradford - 1967 as I recall - when Swindon was last resignalled

The d.m.u. workings from Swindon to Cheltenham Spa are very inefficient - running time of the train is only around 50%.  With the Kemble - Swindon section redoubled, it might be possible to retime trains to pass near to Swindon and thus get up to a service about every 40 minutes.  Lots of ramifications, I suspect, and I've not seen it suggested. 

There are aspirations beyond the introduction of IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.); an hourly London - Cheltenham Spa train with an efficient turn around at Cheltenham Spa would have trains passing each other every hour at around Minety on the newly redoubled section and there is scope for an extra service (making it half hourly overall) to also pass there.   That means ... (again) a unit at Swindon for the best part of an hour (45 mins), unless it formed an onward service to somewhere else, with an incoming train from that somewhere else carrying on to (or beyond?) Cheltenham Spa.

[Phil Farmer]

Admin message - the original post was fascination information about signalling changes at Swindon with a particular reference to Kemble redoubling and signals there - a long article.  That article may now be found at http://www.swindonpanel.org.uk/2014/08/27/kemble-line-migration/ and I comment readers of this thread to take  look at it. Not quoted in this post, as it's been clarified to be their copyright, but member are welcome under normal "fair use" rules to quote small sections for review if they wish.  [1st September / 11:30]

[Oberon]

When reading in newspapers or media generally it is always Beeching who is credited with singling & rationalising lines, Swin-Kem, Thingley-Bradford Jct, Castle Cary-Dorchester, Salisbury-Exeter being obvious examples. But of course the "Good Doctor" departed in 1965. The real culprits for the damage inflicted on the railway, lasting right up until the 1970s, can be laid squarely at the door of governments who saw rail as a thing of the past and put in place ministers' of transport who had absolutely no idea or interest in the workings of their department. I know this is academic now but lazy media reporting always annoys me..