Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[paul7575]

SWT^▸ (South West Trains)'s engineering work pages suggest that they have changes yet to be made as well, because they state that the normal Weybridge via Staines services are being cancelled for the period to provide extra stock and paths for a strengthened Reading service: 

On the Friday, Saturday and Monday a revised train service will run on routes from London Waterloo to Reading and to Windsor & Eton Riverside. This is to provide extra trains between London and Reading as the First Great Western route will be closed.

On the Friday, Saturday and Monday there will be no train service for much of the day (about 0700 to 1930) between London Waterloo and Weybridge via Staines, as the trains are required for the above special service. During this time, replacement bus services will run between Virginia Water and Weybridge, calling at Chertsey and Addlestone.  Other stations on this route will be served by some of the altered Reading and Windsor trains.

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/MarEng2013.aspx#112618

I expect a few things will become clearer over the next couple of weeks...

Paul

[IndustryInsider]

Not quite in view from any of the lobstervision.tv webcams, but the new connection at the western end of the station from Platform 8 (what will be the 'Down Main Loop') to the Down Main was also installed over the Christmas shutdown.  It looks like a fairly slow turnout of 25mph to me (compared with everything else installed so far which looks like 40mph) and cuts across what was the extreme end of Platform 8 and, prior to 2012, the connection into the old Platform 7 bay platform.

[SandTEngineer]

According to the Signalling Scheme Plan (final layout) its 50mph along the Down Main Loop and back to the Down Main (back up to 60mph) with a 40mph turnout to the Up Westbury.

[IndustryInsider]

According to the Signalling Scheme Plan (final layout) its 50mph along the Down Main Loop and back to the Down Main (back up to 60mph) with a 40mph turnout to the Up Westbury.

Well, there's no way on earth that it'll be 50mph - I'll try and get a picture to demonstrate how sharp it is.  I suspect it's a temporary crossover pending further remodelling and a higher linespeed when all the bits of the jigsaw at the western end of the station are in place?

[SandTEngineer]

According to the Signalling Scheme Plan (final layout) its 50mph along the Down Main Loop and back to the Down Main (back up to 60mph) with a 40mph turnout to the Up Westbury.

Well, there's no way on earth that it'll be 50mph - I'll try and get a picture to demonstrate how sharp it is.  I suspect it's a temporary crossover pending further remodelling and a higher linespeed when all the bits of the jigsaw at the western end of the station are in place?

Does the turnout start over Caversham Road underbridge directly parallel with the existing turnout between Platforms No.1 and No.2?  That is where the final turnout will be located.

[IndustryInsider]

No, it starts before the western end of Platform 8 (a small section of which has been demolished if you see what I mean), then arcs over to the current Down Relief line joining it before (I think) the Caversham Road bridge, in a similar position to where the old Platform 7 line converged with the Down Relief.

[SandTEngineer]

......so that looks like the temporary turnout (as numbered 5c and 10c) on the Easter 2013 track diagrams provided by your good self in a previous post.  Quite likely it is going to be used by all the Cross Country reversers (but not terminators):

[IndustryInsider]

......so that looks like the temporary turnout (as numbered 5c and 10c) on the Easter 2013 track diagrams provided by your good self in a previous post.  Quite likely it is going to be used by all the Cross Country reversers (but not terminators):

Indeed it does, with the 05c and 10c being the distance in chains from MP36.  Took another look at it today and if anything it looks like 15mph not 25mph!

[SandTEngineer]

Quite likely then that the turnout from Platform 8 is going to connect with the old (existing Down Relief) to old Platform 7 turnout which was 15mph.  I won't be going through Reading for a few weeks yet so a photograph of that end would be nice to see (there seem to be lots of photographs on the www of the work at the London end but not much at the Country end).

[TonyK]

The routing via Oxford from Bristol gives me an option I didn't know I would ever see - all very interesting! I'm struggling with an acronym or abbreviation or two, though. I can see WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table) in the list, but not VAR or STP. Nor HX or HC, although I figured those out for myself.

[paul7575]

I think this might approximate to what happens:
LTP^▸ (Local Transport Plan) 'is long term planning' - which is the normal timetable process that produces the WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table).
STP is 'short term planning' - which is adjusting the former for those planned eventualities such as engineering work diversions. The short term deadline I believe is 12 weeks.
VAR is minor 'variations' to the WTT e.g. anything that causes a slight adjustment to the WTT on a particular day, eg a planned re-platforming but calling at the same time as normal, and I think it also comes up for any emergencies on the day that stop that day's timetable from working;  so for example that would be your diversion via Westbury following a sudden landslip at Swindon.

(The 12 week STP deadline is also closely related to why Advance fares are only available up until 12 weeks, by the way.)

Corrections welcomed as always.

Paul

[IndustryInsider]

Corrections welcomed as always.

Sounds like a spot-on assessment to me. 

[TonyK]

Thanks, it makes sense. Doubtless one of our excellent mods will make any necessary addition to the acronyms page.

[swrural]

I think this might approximate to what happens:
LTP^▸ (Local Transport Plan) 'is long term planning' - which is the normal timetable process that produces the WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table).
STP is 'short term planning' - which is adjusting the former for those planned eventualities such as engineering work diversions. The short term deadline I believe is 12 weeks.
VAR is minor 'variations' to the WTT e.g. anything that causes a slight adjustment to the WTT on a particular day, eg a planned re-platforming but calling at the same time as normal, and I think it also comes up for any emergencies on the day that stop that day's timetable from working;  so for example that would be your diversion via Westbury following a sudden landslip at Swindon.

(The 12 week STP deadline is also closely related to why Advance fares are only available up until 12 weeks, by the way.)

Corrections welcomed as always.

Paul

Paul, that is most interesting.  We have booked our Easyjet tickets for next May (Lisbon),  Late July (Bordeaux) and Split (September).  We chose Bristol a starting point because of the convenience of the car, and not being able to book a rail ticket (plus bus to Airport) if we wanted to.  This really belongs on the fares thread (sorry mods) but can you all see that whole tranches of revenue are being lost from we baby-boomer young retired people because The ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here) people can't book advance tickets?  If they could, we might have gone from Gatwick (Cardiff even) and saved the parking fee, etc.  One cannot compete with private car using unknown timetables and thus un-bookable mystery fares.   

[Southern Stag]

VAR is minor 'variations' to the WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table) e.g. anything that causes a slight adjustment to the WTT on a particular day, eg a planned re-platforming but calling at the same time as normal, and I think it also comes up for any emergencies on the day that stop that day's timetable from working;  so for example that would be your diversion via Westbury following a sudden landslip at Swindon.

Use of VAR paths does vary with different TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company). FGW^▸ (First Great Western) use VAR paths for some quite major changes such as Penzance-London services being diverted via Bristol. You also have VSTP paths, Very Short Term, which are generally input on the day for short notice alterations.