Oxford station - facilities, improvements, parking, incidents and events - merged posts

[whole diary]

[stebbo]

Or in other words, shunt the Cotswold train out of the way because there's been a foul up on the Cotswold mainline.

Bit like, some years ago, I was at Helsinki airport of a December evening. It's snowing and there's some useless EU^» (European Union - about) summit going on; BA^» (British Airways - about) are supposedly on time and we all board, only to be towed off the stand to wait for two hours whilst the authorities clear the runway/let the "bigwigs" land.

Know the form.

[paul7575]

Network Rail's plans for the southern bay online today:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/content/detail.aspx?ReleaseID=4835&NewsAreaID=2&SearchCategoryID=8

Paul

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks for posting the link, Paul. Exciting times ahead for Oxford! In three years time the number of platforms could be double what there are now.

I hope they don't lose too many spaces in the car park, or if they do they make provision for more elsewhere - when I had a gander at about lunchtime today there was only about 20 free spaces in the long stay car park.

Also, if you look at the aerial diagram of the proposed extra platform, it becomes clear that however they dress it up, this is a far from ideal solution to the capacity problems. Just look at the hike you'll have to do if you arrive at the London end of a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) in the new bay platform and want to connect with a Bicester train or something in platform 3!

[paul7575]

And presumably the First Class pax will have furthest of all to walk.   Poor things...

Paul

[gwr2006]

Thanks for posting the link, Paul. Exciting times ahead for Oxford! In three years time the number of platforms could be double what there are now.

I hope they don't lose too many spaces in the car park, or if they do they make provision for more elsewhere - when I had a gander at about lunchtime today there was only about 20 free spaces in the long stay car park.

Also, if you look at the aerial diagram of the proposed extra platform, it becomes clear that however they dress it up, this is a far from ideal solution to the capacity problems. Just look at the hike you'll have to do if you arrive at the London end of a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) in the new bay platform and want to connect with a Bicester train or something in platform 3!

I think there's around 250 lost parking spaces or so I am told.

Also, bear in mind that to reach the new bay platform terminating trains will have to crossover from the Down Main Line to the Up & Down Goods Loop at Hinksey North. Isnt that just shifting the shunting move from the north of the station to the south - it still takes out capacity doesn't it?

FC^‡(resolve) users will enjoy the exercise as they hike down the platform everyday to get back to their 4x4's in the car park!

[John R]

And presumably the First Class pax will have furthest of all to walk.   Poor things...

Paul

Does your comment allow for the planned flip of High Speed Train's (HST^▸ (High Speed Train))s (assuming this is still happening?)

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[willc]

I think there's around 250 lost parking spaces or so I am told.

Also, bear in mind that to reach the new bay platform terminating trains will have to crossover from the Down Main Line to the Up & Down Goods Loop at Hinksey North. Isnt that just shifting the shunting move from the north of the station to the south - it still takes out capacity doesn't it?

If it was 250 spaces that would account for about half of the entire car park and even taking the most pessimistic view, going by the plan, the area being used wouldn't account for that scale of losses.

As for the crossing move, of course it affects capacity, but not as badly as the shunt at the north end across from the sidings west of the line to platform 1, which blocks any other movement in the entire station area. Even under current arrangements, if there are two trains from Didcot heading into Oxford - one terminating and one behind it going towards Banbury or Worcester - the signallers are pretty skilled - so long as platform 1 is free - at switching the terminating train into platform 1, then resetting the route for the following train to head into platform 2, achieving near simultaneous arrivals. I have even seen this done while there is a freight bound for Didcot crawling along on the through line at low speed, waiting for the main line to clear once the train routed for platform 1 is safely in the loop line.

Of course this scheme is not ideal but due to interminable prevarication on the part of the city and county councils and the railway industry over grasping the nettle of what to do with the station and the adjacent Rewley Road LNWR^▸ (London North Western Railway) site, we are where we are. There were plans as far back as the 1950s to build the main city bus station on the Rewley Road land and link it with a better railway station, but nothing was ever done and Railtrack eventually flogged it off to the university to build the Said business school, thus effectively removing any room to shunt the station to the east - and compounded the crime by allowing the youth hostel to go up at the back of platform 2, making it much harder to make space for a loop line to create an island at that side.

And the business units alongside the tracks beyond the southern end of the car park were built on yet more former railway land, which would have been ideal for replacement parking. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing...

See also http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/archive/2009/11/26/Oxford+news+%28om_oxfordnews%29/4760538.__10m_platform_for_Oxford_railway_station_expansion/

[Oxman]

The car park is a major issue. The disproportional reduction in the number of spaces is caused by the creation of a drop off point and the introduction of a significant number of disabled parking spaces, with all spaces conforming to current standards. The number of disabled spaces is also governed by legislation, I believe.

Adding the Chiltern Evergreen 3 proposal (which will take out the short stay car park) increases the problem. A radical solution is needed - time to deck the car park?

[IndustryInsider]

A radical solution is needed - time to deck the car park?

That would be a good solution, but would it ever be allowed given the architectural status of the city? There's also plenty of spare land in the former South Yard which could be used, but it's a long way from the main part of the station.

[ChrisB]

Hmmm - there's little of historic interest about the car park, that decking couldn't be done.

[IndustryInsider]

Hmmm - there's little of historic interest about the car park, that decking couldn't be done.

I was thinking more about the immediate surrounding area, and the fact Oxfordshire County Council will no doubt see the station area as a gateway to the town when arriving by train. There was a fuss when the original car park was originally built about 15 years ago with little or no vegetation included - and a year or two later some small trees and bushes had to be added. So, if a fuss is going to be made about that, you can bet your life that a fuss will be made if anyone suggested a few thousand tonnes of steel decking gets plonked there!

[willc]

A bit of work getting under way this week, to replace the lifts installed 20 years ago when the footbridge was built

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=4630

[inspector_blakey]

I risk asking a silly question here, but if the footbridge is only 20 years old, where/how did people cross between platforms before it was built? Did it replace a previous structure?

[Worcester_Passenger]

There was a narrow and horrible subway.

[willc]

Which is still there, sealed off. Its position is marked on the sides of the platforms.