Cotswold Line redoubling: 2008 - 2011

[whole diary]

[Lee]

Personally, I hope you are right. It will be interesting to see what the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) announcement on October 30th brings, both in terms of the Cotswold line scheme and others.

[Btline]

And this is one project where the leader of the Conservative Party WILL put up a very strong fight if there is any suggestion of backtracking at this stage.

So the Tories have a use then??!

David Cameron expressed his wish for the Cotswold Line redoubling when he came to Worcester few weeks ago.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'm rather hesitant to post this, as I'm slightly unsure of my ground (technically speaking) - but here goes:

I attended the TravelWatch SouthWest meeting in Taunton on 4 October, where Dave Ward, Route Director, Great Western Zone, Network Rail, explained that funding has already been brought forward to enable work to start on the preparatory clearance of vegetation on the Cotswold Line.  This is because, without such work, starting now, he couldn't guarantee that the re-doubling of the track work would be completed on time.  As he said in his talk, no civil servant or politician is going to authorise the spending of millions of pounds now, only to say later that the rest of the scheme has been scrapped?

I don't see any reason why this view would have changed - even given the turbulent events of the past week.

[Lee]

Previous quotes regarding the vegetation :

Chris Bates, who is the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) customer panel rep for the Cotswold Line and Cherwell Valley stations, as well as a leading light in the Cherwell Rail Users Group, has posted the followng on the Charlbury.info site,  which may be of interest.

"The line work is no longer split into individual phases, but will be completed as one, with an earliest completion date of May 2010. THe ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) decision is slated for 30th October, and a lot more definite information will hopefully be available within 10 days after that date.

"What I can say now is that there will be some disruption obviously, which is currently be planned to be as least disruptive as possible. However, there will be one longish block in Summer 2009, with two further, shorter blocks in 2010. FGw are intent on running trains wherever possible where lines will be open. There will be 3 new platforms, 2 new footbridges and 1 new underbridge in total.

"I now understand that the clearance of vegetation will commence in about 2 weeks time in preparation for the works along with a survey of Chipping Campden tunnel."

That sounds like a much more realistic timescale for the considerable amount of work that will have to be done. Let's hope that the clearance of vegetation is not in vain!

The vegetation should be cleared whatever - last time I travelled the route there was the sound of the lineside vegetation smacking against the carriage windows - quaint.

How many millions are being spent on vegetation clearance, and what percentage of the cost of the overall redoubling scheme does this represent?

[Chris from Nailsea]

How many millions are being spent on vegetation clearance, and what percentage of the cost of the overall redoubling scheme does this represent?

Gulp!  Sorry, can't remember! Erm .. grahame ... Ollie - help! 

[Lee]

I dont wish to cause you panic, Chris 

Look, no-one would be more pleased than me if this scheme went ahead. I am utterly convinced of the case (especially as my initial concerns about it appear to have been addressed) and I fervently hope that willc, Dave Ward and others are correct.

[IndustryInsider]

I'm rather hesitant to post this, as I'm slightly unsure of my ground (technically speaking) - but here goes:

I attended the TravelWatch SouthWest meeting in Taunton on 4 October, where Dave Ward, Route Director, Great Western Zone, Network Rail, explained that funding has already been brought forward to enable work to start on the preparatory clearance of vegetation on the Cotswold Line.  This is because, without such work, starting now, he couldn't guarantee that the re-doubling of the track work would be completed on time.  As he said in his talk, no civil servant or politician is going to authorise the spending of millions of pounds now, only to say later that the rest of the scheme has been scrapped?

I don't see any reason why this view would have changed - even given the turbulent events of the past week.

Let's hope so. Though don't forget that beaurocracy means millions of pounds are routinely wasted by the Government or other bodies in studies and surveys that are not necessary. I doubt the removal of vegetation would be more than a couple of ^100k in the grand scheme of things.

I've recently had the chance to be at the 'sharp end' of a couple of trains down the Cotswold Line with one eye on what work will need to be done to achieve the stated aims. There will need to be:

* Three new platforms with access.
* Replacement of some bridges.
* Level Crossing replacements/infrastructure at four locations as well as mods to countless other unworked/foot crossings.
* Embankment strengthening work.
* Movement of miles of cables (mostly freshly laid 2 years ago!)
* Several new/re-aligned junctions.
* Tunnel work at Campden.
* Additional signalling equipment.
* 20 route miles of additional single track line.

Added to that, I would estimate that the track will need to be totally lifted for about 20% of the route as it is either too central to allow another line to be placed by it, or is slewing from one side of the old double track to the other.

Bearing in mind the inordinate costs of doing anything on the railway I would hazard a guess that the ^50m costs for the whole scheme as outlined originally will fall well short of the total cost. Even a budget of double will be difficult to achieve in my opinion. At least completing the work as one project rather than two seperate ones will mean nobody can get cold feet once one bit is done!

[John R]

Veg clearance has to take place in the winter months because of nesting birds. If it isn't finished by March (ish) then everything has to wait.

 

[Btline]

What will the line speeds be? Hopefully fast(er)!

[IndustryInsider]

What will the line speeds be? Hopefully fast(er)!

I believe they were looking to increase them to 90/100mph where practicable - that should be possible for most of Evesham to Moreton (Aston Magna curve and probably Worcester side of Campden Tunnel excepted) - though if they do run into trouble with funding, that'll be the first thing to be dropped in preference for retention of the current 75mph limit!

[Btline]

I thought it was mainly 90 -100 at the moment.

[willc]

Of the bits I'm most familiar with, speed limits are 100mph Wolvercot to Ascott - usually only achieved by trains which don't call at Hanborough - then 90mph Ascott to Moreton - though Kingham stops usually mean HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) rarely seem to hit this, but the halts train is a good bet to fly along for a few miles at 90, as a two-car Turbo doesn't have air con to drain off the power. Beyond Moreton it gets more twisty and undulating down into the Vale, so as Industry Insider says 75mph prevails here, while distances between stations in the Vale limit speeds achieved before you have to brake again.

Aston Magna curve will always remain a constraint on speed, especially with double track - thinking about it, it's a most un-Brunel like feature, though short of demolishing much of the medieval part of the village or giving it a wide berth, he couldn't do much else. With Campden bank, trains climbing from Honeybourne face four-and-a-half miles of 1 in 100, so I wouldn't have thought you'd manage much more than 70mph going up it anyway - unless the line was electrified.

As for cost, Arup, who looked at the plan for the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about), said it could hit ^105m, while the range Network Rail gave me in April was ^74m to ^92m, already up from the ^51m it cited in the strategic business plan, from which ORR came up with ^48m, which always looked like a case of 'just slice a bit off and that will do'.

[IndustryInsider]

Of the bits I'm most familiar with, speed limits are 100mph Wolvercot to Ascott - usually only achieved by trains which don't call at Hanborough - then 90mph Ascott to Moreton - though Kingham stops usually mean HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) rarely seem to hit this, but the halts train is a good bet to fly along for a few miles at 90, as a two-car Turbo doesn't have air con to drain off the power. Beyond Moreton it gets more twisty and undulating down into the Vale, so as Industry Insider says 75mph prevails here, while distances between stations in the Vale limit speeds achieved before you have to brake again.

Aston Magna curve will always remain a constraint on speed, especially with double track - thinking about it, it's a most un-Brunel like feature, though short of demolishing much of the medieval part of the village or giving it a wide berth, he couldn't do much else. With Campden bank, trains climbing from Honeybourne face four-and-a-half miles of 1 in 100, so I wouldn't have thought you'd manage much more than 70mph going up it anyway - unless the line was electrified.

It's interesting to hear your speed perceptions as a passenger, Will. They're mostly pretty accurate, but from my cab observations I can confirm the following (using a down HST as an example):

* WOLVERCOTE-HANBOROUGH - Will reach about 80-85mph.
* HANBOROUGH-CHARLBURY - Will reach linespeed of 100mph around Finstock (after a Hanborough stop).
* CHARLBURY-KINGHAM - Will reach about 85mph before braking for the 75mph restriction Ascott-Shipton then back up to 85mph before Kingham.
* KINGHAM-MORETON - Will easily reach 90mph (usually by just after Adlestrop).
* MORETON-HONEYBOURNE-EVESHAM - Reach line speed of 75mph.
* EVESHAM-PERSHORE - Will reach linespeed of 95mph just before braking for Pershore.
* PERSHORE-NORTON - Will reach 90mph before braking for Norton Junctions silly 25mph restriction.

Speeds the other way are much the same, except Campden bank after Honeybourne where the severe gradient means that a HST will reach 75mph but it will take longer to do it (usually about a mile before the tunnel). If the speed was increased to 90mph a train would not get up to that until coming down the hill after Campden Level Crossing. A turbo will struggle to get up to more than 65mph until after the level crossing.

Finally Aston Magna curve is very sharp for 70mph and I believe it was part of a BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) research project back in the 70's, when the linespeed was raised from the previous 40mph limit?

[willc]

Sounds like a pretty sharp bit of driving. Wish it was always like that.

Finally Aston Magna curve is very sharp for 70mph and I believe it was part of a BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) research project back in the 70's, when the linespeed was raised from the previous 40mph limit?

But will it be allowed to stay at 70? With two tracks to fit in and the road bridge dictating the alignment, may it have to be reduced, or is this one of the bridges to be replaced, to give some more room to work with? If something is going to be done about it, then this is the time.

[IndustryInsider]

Sounds like a pretty sharp bit of driving. Wish it was always like that.

Finally Aston Magna curve is very sharp for 70mph and I believe it was part of a BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) research project back in the 70's, when the linespeed was raised from the previous 40mph limit?

But will it be allowed to stay at 70? With two tracks to fit in and the road bridge dictating the alignment, may it have to be reduced, or is this one of the bridges to be replaced, to give some more room to work with? If something is going to be done about it, then this is the time.

Just an average over several trips I have witnessed. Virtually all drivers will take notch 5 of power by the time the train is doing 30mph. That's the maximum power output and the speeds I stated will be achieved doing that with a normal HST^▸ (High Speed Train) - wheelslip is the only factor that might seriously affect it. The main differences between drivers occur with their braking technique.

The perception of speed differs quite a lot as it always feels like you're going faster in a turbo with windows open and an engine powering beneath, than it does in a virtually silent Mk3 saloon - even more so at night.

One driver told me that whenever he's on time leaving Moreton he gets the train up to 90mph and then coasts for about 3 miles before braking for Kingham. The slight downhill gradient means the trains speed only drops to about 80mph and so only a few seconds are lost and an on time departure from Kingham is easily achieved and 3 miles worth of fuel is saved. Sensible driving I say.

It will be interesting to see what they do with Aston Magna as you say. I can't see 70mph being possible if the curve is sharpened any more that it already is. Legend has it that It actually gained the nickname of Microwave Curve for a little while after a HST went round there a little too quickly and a Microwave went flying in the buffet vehicle!