Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

Just noticed to-day that, as well as there being no signage at the ends of the footbridge for the main North and South exits, there are no Fire Exit signs (ie the approved pictograms) anywhere on the footbridge either.   I'm surrpised: obviously it's legal as NR^» (Network Rail - home page) must have complied with Fire evacuation etc regulations, but I'm still surprised.

[aleph_0]

The path at the southern entrance from the station towards town has today been included in the work site (as in, now the only way to access the transfer bridge entrance, and subway, from town is by the path in front of the three guineas).

[stuving]

That'll be so they can demolish it - meaning the path - I think.

[ellendune]

Things seem quite quiet at Reading at the moment. If the station is to be finished by February there is still much to do in not so very much time.

P11 is not due to open until August - that's four months out of service.

However, P10 presumably needs to close for rebuilding and so does P7. There is also a canopy to put back over P1/2.  Is there something limiting the rate of progress at the moment that will allow the rate to increase later?

[aleph_0]

ellendune, I guess there has been quite a bit of boring tidying up to do and minor jobs that us outsiders won't notice since the big blockade. As observed above, at the front of the station the portacabins have been removed, presumably so the demolition/remodelling of Station Hill will have more activity soon.

I'd guess the work on Platform 11 is constrained by being surrounded by a functioning railway, so is very much a slowly-but-surely job, rather than something that manpower can be used to fix.

I believe the Platform 1/2 canopy is planned to fit into normal engineering time. Either way, it makes most sense to worry about this once Platform 7 is done (and if it does require, say, a weekend possession of platform 1/2, this could wait until all of platforms 7-11 are open, at which point you could probably close 1/2 on the weekend without much harm).

But I am also curious what is/will be happening soon, hopefully someone else will have some deeper insight.

[SandTEngineer]

.......well I was at Reading yesterday (11 May 2013) and it was quite windy.  The wind was going up one escalator, across the transfer deck and down the opposite escalator and this was the result............

Cue one embarrassed station cleaner.....

Image (c)2013 SandTEngineer

[Network SouthEast]

.......well I was at Reading yesterday (11 May 2013) and it was quite windy.  The wind was going up one escalator, across the transfer deck and down the opposite escalator and this was the result............

Cue one embarrassed station cleaner.....

Image (c)2013 SandTEngineer

I bet Railway Eye would appreciate that picture being submitted!

They have a photo on there of a crunched escalator at Reading at the moment too.

[SandTEngineer]

......another couple of observations from my trip through Reading yesterday (11 May 2013):

The new transfer deck catering department (note the very hi-tech waste bin )......

Image (c)2013 SandTEngineer

.....and the former Up Main Line now recovered.....

Image (c)2013 SandTEngineer

[SandTEngineer]

......and also.  I noted that on the transfer deck that the exit to the South entrance escalators/stairs is around a blind corner. Human beings like to to take the shortest route around corners so cue several human to human body collisions.  I think a few barriers will be required to direct people coming up the escalators/stairs to away from that corner

Also the original station entrance foyer was still as busy as ever.

Finally I had to suffer a last minute (or two) platform change from the London end of No.8 to No.7.  This took a good three minutes and the train was coming into the platform when I got there

[BerkshireBugsy]

I am interesting in S&Ts^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) pic of the re-worked track past P7 - does that mean that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) depot traffic to plats 4-6 will now go up through P8?

Dave

[JayMac]

The one currently available lift down from the Transfer Deck on the south side is also not immediately visible. There is a rather confusing sign in front of the doors of the other lift. Advising you to use the lifts, but then blocking access to the one immediately in front of you. You can't see the other one as, like the escalators, it is round a corner.

[SandTEngineer]

Hi BB.

The Reading Upper depot connection on the B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) line can be reached from either Platform 7 or 8 (and Platforms 9 and 10 as well).  The Reading Lower (Triangle) depot can only be reached from Platforms 8, 9 and 10.  The connection from Platforms 8, 9 and 10 doesn't conflict with the Down B&H so will be more likely to be used (personal opinion only).  The Southern Lines can be reached from Platforms 7, 8, 9 or 10 (and, of course, off the Relief Line Platforms 13, 14 and 15 via the new Southern dive-under).

Have a look at the signalling layout drawings posted further back in this thread (Page No.55, Post No.820).

B&H = Berks and Hants

[stuving]

.......well I was at Reading yesterday (11 May 2013) and it was quite windy.  The wind was going up one escalator, across the transfer deck and down the opposite escalator and this was the result............ ::)

Cue one embarrassed station cleaner.....

I've been resisting the temptation to say "I told you so"; I was really talking about accidents that injure people. On the other hand, I would not like to end up saying it after someone is seriously hurt. A few points one how likely this is:

How windy was it? Let's say it was windy, rather than just very breezy. Even so, "very windy" is a quite common occurrence, and even that is not the extreme weather that the design guide says we should be protected from.

Does it help that the wind has to squeeze through a narrow gap? Just across Station Approach there is a passageway under the buildings (outside the Gulshan restaurant) where there is a pivoted steel barrier. This can be moved out to block the passageway when it is windy, as otherwise when you turn the corner you could be knocked off your feet. I imagine there must have been a nasty accident due to this, though it would have been before I lived here (i.e. over 20 years ago).

Note that this is not at the top of a two-storey staircase.

[stuving]

There is of course a famous precedent for wind-related accidents at Reading, in the sad tale of Henry West - though I would not suggest it is likely to be repeated. I am sure that many members of this forum are familiar with the story, given their bathymetrically challenging knowledge of the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and all its history. For others, I have attached (I hope) a picture of his memorial in St. Lawrence's churchyard (behind the old town hall).

[Chris from Nailsea]

Many thanks for posting that picture, stuving! 

As you suspected, that sad incident has indeed been mentioned on this forum before - at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=4306.msg35986#msg35986