Cotswold Line redoubling: 2008 - 2011

[whole diary]

[willc]

Work to build the walls of the new platform at Ascott-under-Wychwood was under way this morning at the same time as concreting of more of the foundation trenches.

The defences against invasion by newts at Charlbury are now taking shape on the town side of the line as well, opposite the barrier already installed.

Mini-update at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

[chris from stroud]

Hello, new person here 

Used to work at Stow on the Wold YHA and quite often caught the train from Moreton in Marsh. Am very pleased that the line's being redoubled, though it is a shame they're not lengthening some of the platforms as well. Hopefully we'll see that in the near future.

Does the new platform at Ascott mean it's going to get more than one train a day, or is it just going to have a similar service to Shipton, which also has two platforms?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hello, new person here 

Welcome to the Coffee Shop forum, chris from stroud.

chris from nailsea 

[chris from stroud]

Hello, new person here 

Welcome to the Coffee Shop forum, chris from stroud.

chris from nailsea 

I'll be honest, I may have plagiarised the title somewhat. Kind of like Duke of Monmouth and Duke of Gloucester, you might say

I rather like the fact that rail improvements tend to follow me everywhere I go: lived in Falmouth for three years, loop gets installed; live in the Cotswolds, line gets doubled; live in Brockley, Overground gets opened; move back to Stroud, line gets doubled. Next stop Chipping Campden?

[JayMac]

No no. Head to Melksham! 

[Don]

If Chipping Campden gets re-opened that really well be something !

[willc]

Sadly, not very likely to happen, as the idea isn't even mentioned in the new Gloucestershire county transport plan, which just says that the RUS^▸ (Route Utilisation Strategy) doesn't propose any new stations in the county and leaves it at that.

While you could squeeze platforms within the railway boundary, the line is quite a way from the centre of Chipping Campden, so you would need lots of parking and the only way to make room for that would be to buy back the old station site, which is now a business park. One for the 'too difficult' category I fear.

Platform lengthening just isn't going to happen. Too expensive and most of the trains working the route now and for the foreseeable future don't need it.

Ascott-under-Wychwood is likely to get a modest increase in services but timetable plans for September/December are still under discussion. The advantage it will have over Shipton is that both platforms will be able to take a three-coach Turbo set, rather than Shipton's lop-sided two coaches towards Oxford/three coaches towards Worcester arrangement, which is the reason for that station's lop-sided service.

Work observed today included yet more newt barrier at Charlbury, more hardcore being delivered for the platform there, more wall-building and foundation-digging at Ascott and a lot of vegetation cutting just north of Bruern on the west side of the line - not quite clear what that is in aid of.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

Early warning of Cotswold Line closures

Rail passengers are getting advance warning about closures of the Cotswold Line this summer for completion of the ^67m track redoubling project.

Staff from Network Rail and train operator First Great Western are getting out and about along the line between Oxford and Worcester to explain why the closures are needed and help passengers plan ahead for periods when trains are suspended.

The extra track is being laid to improve punctuality and reliability of trains on the line, which can suffer extended delays due to long single-track sections created as a cost-cutting measure in the early 1970s.

Rail officials visited Hanbrough and Charlbury stations earlier this week and travelled on afternoon commuter trains from Oxford. They will be at Kingham station between 6am and 9am on Monday.

Network Rail project manager David Northey said: ^We^re doing everything we can to minimise the impact of our work on commuters. However, we will need to close parts of the railway this summer.

"We want to make sure we get the message out to the people who use the route to make sure commuters are well informed.^

The first closure will run from Saturday, May 28, until Sunday, June 5, between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, in Gloucestershire, while four miles of new track and signals from Charlbury to Ascott-under-Wychwood are commissioned. Trains will use the new track from Monday, June 6.

During the closure two replacement bus services will operate, linking Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh,from where trains will run to Worcester, and Oxford and stations along the line in west Oxfordshire.

Parts of the line will also be closed in August. From Saturday, August 6, until Sunday, August 14, trains will only operate between Oxford and Charlbury, with replacement coaches serving all other stations to Worcester.

From Monday, August 15, to Sunday, August 21, trains will run between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh only, with coaches providing connections to Worcestershire.

A further 16 miles of double track will open between Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham, in Worcestershire, on Monday, August 22.

During the closures, some London Paddington to Cheltenham services which call en route at Didcot Parkway will be extended to and from Worcester, Great Malvern and Hereford.

[willc]

Good progress with the new platform at Ascott-under-Wychwood today. All excavations for the foundations completed (brick rubble from the old platform turned up in the trenches near to the level crossing) and filled with concrete when I passed this evening. The eastern end wall and about half of the front wall are built so far.

S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) crews were out west of Charlbury this morning. More vegetation cutting has been done between Bruern and Kingham and a new small, round sign has been put in place on this stretch next to the up line (towards Oxford) but it is covered over with black plastic, so no idea what it's for.

add - just remembered that more work seems to be starting on the area where the footbridge support at the end of the car park at Charlbury will go. Mini-excavator parked there tonight.

And after newt barriers, meet some more of the Charlbury wildlife http://www.youtube.com/user/NetworkRailMedia#p/u/1/vJH6_cn-GAU
this is also in the newt exclusion zone in the shallow cutting just east of the station and the River Evenlode bridge, which a family of badgers had turned into what was described to me as their 'holiday home' - the main sett is nearby. Network Rail called in the experts who have netted over the area and stopped up all the access holes to the sett. Seems to have done the trick judging by the video.

[willc]

Went over to the Vale of Evesham to check on the week's progress there.

Trackbed clearance is now west of Littleton & Badsey level crossing towards Aldington, with about a mile-and-a-half to go to Evesham, so that side of the job could be out to the new double track to single junction west of Evesham in a fortnight or so.

Base ballasting is up to the slew point east of Littleton & Badsey, while the trackbed clearance work has revealed the front wall of the old Worcester-bound platform of Littleton & Badsey station.

Sleepers have almost reached Clayfield level crossing while rails are clipped on for some way west of Honeybourne towards Clayfield - I didn't have the time today to walk out to Sheenhill footpath crossing to see quite how far.

Some pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/willc2009/

[Don]

Lots of work planned for pretty well every night next week too with quite a few engineering trains working through during the night.

Something about installing signals in amongst all this in the southern end too.

[IndustryInsider]

S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) crews were out west of Charlbury this morning. More vegetation cutting has been done between Bruern and Kingham and a new small, round sign has been put in place on this stretch next to the up line (towards Oxford) but it is covered over with black plastic, so no idea what it's for.

Nothing more interesting than a Whistle board for Bosley's UWC^▸ (User Worked Crossing) I think.

[Chris from Nailsea]

This Network Rail press release gives more details and pictures of the protected wildlife - particularly great crested newts and roman snails: watch where you're treading, willc! 

[willc]

The cutting in question is surrounded by private land, so the wildlife is safe from my size 10s.

Work was under way at Charlbury today digging trenches for drains in the new platform, along with more wall-building at Ascott and cable ducts were being laid at the north end of Moreton-in-Marsh station towards the signal box.

Tracklaying in West Oxfordshire has finally resumed, with a half-mile or so of sleepers laid under the road bridge at Chilson and some rails lifted on as well. Not sure when, perhaps Friday night, or I may just not have been looking out of the window at the appropriate point in my journeys on Friday. Looks like they may be going to do the 'easy' bit down to Ascott first, where it's just a case of dropping the sleepers straight from the supply trains and fixing on the rails, before going back to the section between Ascott and the road brdige at Shorthampton/Chadlington, where all the sleepers need picking up from the side of the trackbed to be positioned after the pre-Christmas hold-up due to snow.

[IndustryInsider]

Here's a list of the changes from September 2011.

Nothing too radical, though some real benefits to be felt - especially to passengers travelling east of Moreton-In-Marsh.