Great Western Main Line electrification - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[chuffed]

I don't know why, but I was reminded in this time lapse video of the grasshopper type Martians in the ethnic cleansing scenes, seen as ESP, in 'Quatermass and the Pit'. Crossrail 2 watch out !

[BerkshireBugsy]

Meanwhile in Newbury local residents are being very vocal about the closure of the Boundary Lane bridge (over the railway lines) for a year to allow for the spacing for OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE"). This is compounded by the fact the is a new bridge (out of the racecourse) which can not be used due to stipulations agreed by the council. I also understand there will be road works on the A339 which will happen for part of the time the bridge is closed.

Fun times ahead!

 I am really surprised it will take a year to replace that bridge but then I am not an engineer.

[Electric train]

Meanwhile in Newbury local residents are being very vocal about the closure of the Boundary Lane bridge (over the railway lines) for a year to allow for the spacing for OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE"). This is compounded by the fact the is a new bridge (out of the racecourse) which can not be used due to stipulations agreed by the council. I also understand there will be road works on the A339 which will happen for part of the time the bridge is closed.

Fun times ahead!

 I am really surprised it will take a year to replace that bridge but then I am not an engineer.

Was there talk of widening it for full 2 lanes of road traffic, if that is the case then it will take that long.

[BerkshireBugsy]

Meanwhile in Newbury local residents are being very vocal about the closure of the Boundary Lane bridge (over the railway lines) for a year to allow for the spacing for OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE"). This is compounded by the fact the is a new bridge (out of the racecourse) which can not be used due to stipulations agreed by the council. I also understand there will be road works on the A339 which will happen for part of the time the bridge is closed.

Fun times ahead!

 I am really surprised it will take a year to replace that bridge but then I am not an engineer.

Was there talk of widening it for full 2 lanes of road traffic, if that is the case then it will take that long.

Yes (I didn't know that,thanks). But if I read this article correctly there is other work that needs to be done for the full benefit to be appreciated

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/news/16549/Boundary-Road-won-t-be-two.html

[Thatcham Crossing]

Took my first trip to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) from Thatcham for about a month today, and I think the fact that I haven't made the journey for a while means the progress that's being made is more noticeable (than if was looking at no/small changes every day).

There's a lot more OHLE infrastructure in place (vertical and horizontal) between Maidenhead and West Drayton than a month ago, including the wires in the Taplow/Burnham area (that have been previously reported). Quite a bit more piling than I remember between Twyford and Reading also. This progress does however serve to highlight that the areas around the larger stations (eg, Maidenhead, Slough) still look pretty bare.

I also noticed that at Theale and Midgham there are what appear to be electrical feed "substations" (sorry for untechnical/incorrect description!). The one at Midgham is behind the up platform and at Theale it's to the east of the Station on the up side.

[ChrisB]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Oxford tweeted

BBC Oxford (@BBCOxford)

15/01/2016 07:43

There's a threat of legal action by campaigners in South #Oxfordshire unhappy about large metal gantries brought in over a railway line.

[TonyK]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Oxford tweeted

BBC Oxford (@BBCOxford)

15/01/2016 07:43

There's a threat of legal action by campaigners in South #Oxfordshire unhappy about large metal gantries brought in over a railway line.

Hurray!! (Signed: A Lawyer). We'll sue them for what's rightfully mine I mean yours!

[didcotdean]

Was interesting that the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio Oxford spin towards this on the news was rather anti the protesters; comments about hoping this wouldn't cause any delay and Network rail regretting they hadn't had an up front consultation.

[Electric train]

...........This progress does however serve to highlight that the areas around the larger stations (eg, Maidenhead, Slough) still look pretty bare.

This may be because the civils works on the stations is being done by a different contractor to the trackside OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") civils.  Either the station civils contractor will be installing the foundations or the project is waiting for the stations contractor to finish, my guest its a bit of both.  The foundations are unlikely to be driven piles in platform areas.

 

[DidcotPunter]

...........This progress does however serve to highlight that the areas around the larger stations (eg, Maidenhead, Slough) still look pretty bare.

This may be because the civils works on the stations is being done by a different contractor to the trackside OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") civils.  Either the station civils contractor will be installing the foundations or the project is waiting for the stations contractor to finish, my guest its a bit of both.  The foundations are unlikely to be driven piles in platform areas.

 

From what I've seen the platform area foundations are concrete. They certainly are at Didcot and it looks like the same at Cholsey and Goring. On the station approaches at Cholsey they appear to be installing twin track cantilevers on driven piles between the main and relief lines where there is plenty of room. Same at Burnham and Taplow I think.

[ellendune]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Network Rail apologises for Goring Gap gantries

And they wonder why this project is overspending!

Network Rail has apologised for building large new gantries in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty without consulting nearby residents.

Installed near Goring Gap in the Chilterns, they are the latest step in the electrification of the Great Western Railway.

Residents have criticised the gantries for ruining the landscape.

The rail operator met with villagers on Thursday and promised a consultation on alternative designs.

'Absolutely horrible'

The company is undertaking a 10-year modernisation programme on the line at a cost of up to ^1.74bn.

This includes upgrades along the section between Reading and Didcot, Oxfordshire.

Goring resident Roy McMillan said: "There was no foreknowledge of the actual design Network Rail has used... it is heavily, heavily over-engineered."

Roy McMillan, chair of South Stoke Parish Council, said there was an "absolute forest" of the new gantries "stretching over in the distance towards Didcot".

He added: "They're absolutely horrible... people see them the whole time, every day of their life".

But Lucy Murfitt, from the Chiltern Conservation Board, said the meeting at the village hall had been positive.

She added: "They've now conceded there's a problem and they're going to look at redesigning and removing them which is fantastic, and they're going to involve us in it and consult the public."

But she said campaigners needed to keep the pressure up because of "significant caveats".

Network Rail said developing new designs was a "complex process" that involved "balancing the need for the designs to be less visually intrusive with requirements around safety, reliability and operational efficiency".

It added: "We apologise to residents for not carrying out the public consultation before the installation of the existing overhead line equipment.

"Going forward we are committed to working with them and other stakeholders on alternative designs."

...it is heavily, heavily over-engineered.

Presumably their commentator is a qualified electrification engineer

[BBM]

I noticed today that in the past week there's been significant tree-felling at the western end of Sonning Cutting. The trees on the left-hand side of this Google Street View image have now all gone but they were still there last Saturday.

[stuving]

Paul Clifton was reporting on tonight's South Today that the due dates for electrification had been put back still further (but nothing on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) site yet). This was based on some kind of Network rail announcement, though as usual I can't find one (yet).

Coincidentally (or perhaps not), DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) have announced a consultation on their response to the Hendy Review. Basically, they are minded to accept all the recommendations, such as that almost all of the enhancements should still be delivered, but later. In the document for that consultation, it says:

Network Rail has also published its draft updated Enhancements Delivery Plan (EDP).
 This document can be found here.

That link, inevitably, does not work. But maybe it will sometime soon...

[Timmer]

Looking at least two years delay to each of the previous section completion dates. Pathetic.

Scroll down to 16:43 for a summary of revised dates: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-oxfordshire-35284853?

To watch Paul Cliftons report:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06wddv9/south-today-21012016 from 08:10 onwards.

Worth watching but very concerning going forward with regard to the delays and the knock on implications.

Expires 7pm 22nd

[John R]

Yes, NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have released an update on the Hendy Report.  There's a lot to plough through (170 pages). Most notably its showing no electrification available west of Maidenhead until Dec 17 (to Didcot) and beyond to Bristol Parkway and Cardiff until Dec 18. Wootton Basset to Temple Meads is somewhat vague at Feb 19 to Apr 20.  Newbury by Dec 18, and Oxford by June 19.

That must surely delay the cascade of 165 and 166 to the west services?

Four tracking on Filton Bank to be completed by Dec 18, but not electrified at that point.