Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[stuving]

In the far distance there was a large amount of work going on, hopefully you'll be able to pick out the new points that will provide access to/from P3.  They are much closer to the platform end than before, and I'm presuming that is to allow for a more direct route from P3 onto the Festival line and the down main? 

I think it also allows Westbury Line Junction to come further East, to clear the start of the gradient up to the viaduct.

I reckon they will be rebuilding over 200 m of P7, so it should hold a whole HST^▸ (High Speed Train). I'm not convinced it is strictly not possible to get any access directly to the end of the temporary P7 - with only access across the staging to P6, the passageway by P4 is going to be very congested (unless that can be widened).

The posters are definite that P6 will stay closed until January, and the WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table) now agrees. There are some minor timing changes on SWT^▸ (South West Trains) services, but there would be some on October 6th anyway (leaves). It looks as if this change is happening a little early this year, though I can't see any announcement of that.

[paul7575]

Just to elaborate on the relative lengths of the P7 temporary platform, and the remaining part of platform 7 which will become the worksite, I reckon they'll have left about 240m out of use - based on Google Earth measuring to the ramp end.  

The significance of that seems to be that the section they'll be working on from next week will easily be long enough for an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) once it's finished, so the second phase of the work shouldn't actually result in any operational limitations?

In terms of access to the temporary platform, there is a relatively large section alongside the 'old concourse' (where the footbridge was) which appears to give access as I've now marked up below - I wasn't intending to suggest that the scaffold bridge (or bridges) I mentioned earlier would be the only route, it already seemed clear from yesterdays picture it or they are additional.

Paul

[ironstone11]

In terms of access to the temporary platform, there is a relatively large section alongside the 'old concourse' (where the footbridge was) which appears to give access as I've now marked up below - I wasn't intending to suggest that the scaffold bridge (or bridges) I mentioned earlier would be the only route, it already seemed clear from yesterdays picture it or they are additional.
Paul

But there looks to be a scaffold 'wall' being built in the gap between P7 and the extension - just where your red access arrow is drawn. If it is really is there, what would its purpose be?

[stuving]

But there looks to be a scaffold 'wall' being built in the gap between P7 and the extension - just where your red access arrow is drawn. If it is really is there, what would its purpose be?

The temporary platform is quite narrow, with a gap behind most of it. Hence the wall, which I thought was continuous when seen from the deck. Looking again at a picture I took from P8, there is a gap in that wall and the line of lights on it. It's a bit more complete than in Paul's picture - you can clearly see the end wall. So the other accesses are needed I think because it is so narrow, and they don't need to take too much of the traffic.

[paul7575]

We both happen to have put up pictures from similar oblique views, (although high and low),  so the foreshortening doesn't really allow you to easily gauge how long it currently is.  In hindsight a straight across view from P8 would have made it much clearer I think.

Can't help until Monday unfortunately...

Paul

[Jonty]

Apologies if this has been answered before, but could they not have waited to do platform 7 until 8,9 and 10 had been finished and fully re-opened?

You would'nt need to worry about messing around with a temporary platform as the increased capacity elsewhere could have picked up the over-flow from 7.

Seems a much cheaper way than what they are currently doing...?

[stuving]

The posters are definite that P6 will stay closed until January, and the WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table) now agrees. There are some minor timing changes on SWT^▸ (South West Trains) services, but there would be some on October 6th anyway (leaves). It looks as if this change is happening a little early this year, though I can't see any announcement of that.

That's not actually true for the whole period. Platform 6 reappears in the WTT patchily from now to December, starting, oddly, on October 5th.

On timings, basically the leaf-fall timetable (October 6th to December 7th) removes the conflicts by removing the short overlap needing an extra platform. For the next two weeks, the extra (to two per hour) trains are delayed incoming achieve the same thing.

[SandTEngineer]

Also noted on Camera 02/02 that the new passenger access route to Platforms 1 and 2 seems to be ready for opening tomorrow.

[paul7575]

P7/8/9 sequencing has been mentioned before, but probably deserves another discussion.  The main reason being because I think until only a few months ago no-one was really aware of the temporary platform plan, early references were usually to it just 'closing'...

I think though, that the existing P7 really has to close to finish its roof and its remaining connecting sections up to the transfer deck - these cannot be built over the existing tracks, and they cannot easily add all the main steelwork with the platform in public use.

The way they are temporarily 'moving' P7 now therefore allows for it being properly available again from some time after Christmas.  P8 and P9 won't ever fully close, and I have been assured they will always remain at least partly available during the working weeks although there will be periods with one or other's overall length curtailed to about a 6 car length.

So if P8/9 never actually close, they don't really provide a worthwhile reason not to start P7 now.  Basically, they are doing it now because they can, and any delay would delay the station area part of the overall project.

PS FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s website description of the works does include this bit:

Works to upgrade platforms 8 and 9 will take place simultaneously. To ensure minimum disruption to customers, the platforms will remain in use while the phased upgrade works are carried out. Platforms 8&9 are due to complete by late spring 2014. 

We are also now suggesting that when P7 re-opens it will be almost full length, certainly allowing for HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) - and that suggests that the final area to be worked on will be just the old gateline area and new overall roof by platforms 4/5/6.

Another point that's just occurred to me, is that we don't know the full sequencing of the track layout alterations to bring the main viaduct, the 'festival line' (XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) underpass) and the 'feeder lines' (Freight and Up Westbury underpass) into use - it's possible that the route through P7 will be more important at some stage in a future transitional period.  I'm sure they'll have a cunning plan.  It isn't inconceivable that they'll eventually need to use P7 for more XC reversals because they can no longer use P9 for those trains, although P9 would probably remain in use for down main trains towards Didcot.

Meanwhile though, I don't think the timing of the P10 rebuild has a huge impact on the down service at all, so it is possibly of little relevance to your main question.

Paul

[paul7575]

Also noted on Camera 02/02 that the new passenger access route to Platforms 1 and 2 seems to be ready for opening tomorrow.

It also now seems that despite my earlier suggestion (#2185), it does skirt round the building leaving the construction site between the concrete pathway and P3/7.  Last weekend there were some signs of a new pathway just behind the 'east/west' hoarding line, there's even a picture on this flickr link, it continued to the corner of the waiting room: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52834510@N00/9741281155/

Paul

[SandTEngineer]

(We're possibly going to need a new track diagram shortly I think...)

Well they seem to be sticking to the plan:


Image (c)2013 S&TEngineer


Image (c)2013 S&TEngineer

[SandTEngineer]

Another point that's just occurred to me, is that we don't know the full sequencing of the track layout alterations to bring the main viaduct, the 'festival line' (XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) underpass) and the 'feeder lines' (Freight and Up Westbury underpass) into use - it's possible that the route through P7 will be more important at some stage in a future transitional period.  I'm sure they'll have a cunning plan.  It isn't inconceivable that they'll eventually need to use P7 for more XC reversals because they can no longer use P9 for those trains, although P9 would probably remain in use for down main trains towards Didcot.

According to the staging plans the new flyover will come into use before the Westbury Line Junction is finally remodelled and until then the only connection to/from the Reading Festival Line will be to Platform No.8 only.

Just to complicate matters, shortly afterwards the temporary connection from Platform No.8 to the Down Main (Country End of Platform No.9) will be recovered

However, don't panic, as by then the Reading Feeder Main and Reading Feeder Relief from Oxford Road Junction will also be in use giving full access to/from the B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) to the Relief side of the station.

[paul7575]

A few pics of today's progress:

The full length of the temporary P7 firstly as seen from the transfer deck, and then from P8.

Paul

[paul7575]

A few pics showing the access to the temporary P7.  Two shots of the area adjacent to the old concourse, and one of the first bridge over to P6, a second was also being completed.   The London end of the temporary platform is roughly level with the middle of the fifth car of one of SWT^▸ (South West Trains)'s trains, so about 80 metres beyond the original P7 ramp...

Paul

[stuving]

More on P7, from yesterday.

I'm sure you will be enormously reassured to see that the gauge clearance of the new temporary platform has been carefully checked by the latest hi-tech instruments. Look closely and you can see the adjustment mechanism - a few scaffolders who dived underneath to loosen some of the clamps, gave the platform a heave, and then retightened the clamps.

That's a capability you don't get with the masonry ones. Raises all sorts of options, if you add some motors to it ... no more compromises between gauge differences, with gaps to mind, and then there's HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) with its two sets of trains (compatible and UIC gauge). And new announcements too - "this train will no longer call at Nextown due to a platform failure" - or does that already happen on the Jubilee Line?

There was a poster about P7 that I perhaps ought to have photographed too. While it was not really clear, I think it was explaining why they bothered with this temporary one rather than just closing it. It said they needed to keep the down West country trains out of the way of the Newbury and Bedwyn trains using P8-11.

I think what's behind this is that only P7 connects to the Down Westbury, so without it putting all down trains through the Up line adds an extra choke point in addition to the squeeze of platform slots. Of course there's a further assumption: we don't want to add temporary track instead.