Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[lbraine]

Taken from platform 9 country end. First signage on new transfer deck in place.

[ellendune]

Notice alot of the scaffolding has gone from the Country End today

[paul7575]

Here's another forecast guess about future happenings then... 

By Friday last week, the 'Station Hill' site compound alongside the new ramps (ie west of the temporary access route) was completely empty of all contractor equipment.  Late this afternoon, a few blokes have been re-arranging the hoarding, but the clue is that they aren't wearing NR^» (Network Rail - home page) style full orange clothing.   Could this possibly be a different contractor about to start work on an area that Reading Borough Council are responsible for, e.g. demolition of the roadway down to ground level?

Paul

[ellendune]

Here's another forecast guess about future happenings then... 

By Friday last week, the 'Station Hill' site compound alongside the new ramps (ie west of the temporary access route) was completely empty of all contractor equipment.  Late this afternoon, a few blokes have been re-arranging the hoarding, but the clue is that they aren't wearing NR^» (Network Rail - home page) style full orange clothing.   Could this possibly be a different contractor about to start work on an area that Reading Borough Council are responsible for, e.g. demolition of the roadway down to ground level?

Paul

Sound very plausible to me.

[BerkshireBugsy]

When I came through reading tonight they seemed to be hanging cross cables across one of the gantries near the country end of the station. This surprised me - I didn't think they would start that so soon.

[Electric train]

Passed through Reading today, first time in a while, good to see they are installing light weight LED signals along the route.

The only thing I cannot work out are the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") structure numbering although only laminated paper at the moment the structures seemed to have "RW" where the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) should be "J" might just be temporary construction numbers

[Network SouthEast]

Passed through Reading today, first time in a while, good to see they are installing light weight LED signals along the route.

The only thing I cannot work out are the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") structure numbering although only laminated paper at the moment the structures seemed to have "RW" where the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) should be "J" might just be temporary construction numbers

Do you know that for certain?

The current OHLE on the GWML is controlled by the Romford ECR, but I don't think the new wiring is going to be, is it?

[Electric train]

Passed through Reading today, first time in a while, good to see they are installing light weight LED signals along the route.

The only thing I cannot work out are the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") structure numbering although only laminated paper at the moment the structures seemed to have "RW" where the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) should be "J" might just be temporary construction numbers

Do you know that for certain?

The current OHLE on the GWML is controlled by the Romford ECR, but I don't think the new wiring is going to be, is it?

The current OLE on the GWML was controlled from Slough IECC^▸ (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) when it was commissioned.  The ECR has no bearing on the structure numbers, I was involved in the project that closed Hornsey and Doncaster ECR and the opening of York the ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) remained E for the primary route and the MML^» (Midland Main Line. - about) remained as F.

It is not unusual to use temporary construction numbers for structures.

[Jason]

Could this possibly be a different contractor about to start work on an area that Reading Borough Council are responsible for, e.g. demolition of the roadway down to ground level?

That looks rather likely - there are various pieces of machinery laying into the former road surface this morning.

[Jason]

An interesting discussion has developed on the Reading Forums regarding the nature of Station Hill and the subway.
It starts somewhere around about here:

http://www.reading-forum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=1383&start=280

[IndustryInsider]

Wires are starting to be strung between the overhead line structures installed in the east sidings of the new depot.  Meanwhile it looks as if the new platforms won't be wired up in time for their opening after the Easter blockade, though the structures will be in place for them.

[paul7575]

I don't quite see the practical benefit of fully wiring the station area yet.  Yes there are a few possessions avoided if the portals and gantries over the platforms and canopies are installed now, but in the overall scheme of things is it actually useful to have the catenary and contact wire doing nothing much for a few years?

The situation is slightly different in the depot area, because if as I suspect they'll be using a simpler headspan construction, it is probably more difficult to install those once the depot is in full use 24/7...

Paul

[Electric train]

The difference between the depot and the station is the station is (or will be) part of the operational railway as such when the track becomes operational after a possession the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") comes under rules of "The Green Book" (the green book is rule book for OLE) as such the OLE needs to be declared "LIVE" even though it is not this generates the need for an awful lot of form filling and trained staff, no one can work within 9' (2.75m) of it without a "Form C" (permit to work on or near OLE) it also make it difficult for machines to work under the wires; the depot is a construction site the OLE comes under the control of the PWC (Principle Works Contractor) for the depot until handed over therefore they can happily leave the wires without status.


Apart form that the "main line" possible is not ready for wire runs yet, track needs to be in its final position the wire is set to track and not the other way round.

[TonyK]

Electric Train,

That is a very clear explanation - thank you. It makes perfect sense to finish the job in the depot, which won't be needed for a while, and then the wires in the station to the very last minute. Presumably, if the art of any job is the preparation, electrification is the perfect example. The actual fitting and connecting of the cables looks straightforward compared to the rest.

[Electric train]

Electric Train,

Presumably, if the art of any job is the preparation, electrification is the perfect example. The actual fitting and connecting of the cables looks straightforward compared to the rest.

You need all the structures in place, with all the rakes applied to them, all the small part steels fitted and insulators.  The wire runs are done in a sequence the planning of the sequence is the art.  Once the wire is run its hight and stagger (the zig zag) is set to the track geometry (rail position and cant has to have been done before the heights and staggers), then a check pan is run through is done.

Then system test, electrical section proving to prove that the right switch livens up the only the correct piece of wire.   Short circuit and steady current test are likely to be done to prove immunisation of Telecoms and signalling all these tests have to be done under full possession with only those involved in the test out an about on the track.

Spent many a long night doing short and steady current tests ............. a lot of setting and up waiting around and the flash all done in less than 200 mili seconds in reality 3 tests are done.  Section proving involves a lot of walking around removing and placing earths and applying live line testers usually rains when I'm involved