Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[Jason]

Public meeting over intensive rail works in West Reading

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/public-meeting-over-intensive-rail-6254723



Motorists and householders are being warned of disruption and noise while engineers carry out further works on the railway tracks.

Teams will be carrying out overnight and weekend works in the Oxford Road area right through to early February, including Christmas.

Overnight closures of part of Cow Lane have also been announced in November.

Network Rail is holding a public event in the pentahotel today to give neighbours the chance to find out more about the works.

Letters have been sent to thousands of householders likely to be affected by the intensive work programme over the next three months.

Eimear Fitzpatrick, communications manager at Network Rail, said: ^Due to the nature of the work, there may be some noise generated at night-time. The work will also have to be illuminated.

^We hope you will bear with us while these improvements are being carried out and we apologise for any inconvenience our work may cause.

^We will do all we can to minimise any impact it may have.^

Activity in the area around the Oxford Road railway bridge, near Reading West station, has already started and will continue on Saturday or Sunday mornings through to January 13, 2014.

Engineers will be working over Christmas from 11pm on Christmas Eve through to 5am on Monday, December 30.

Follow-up works will then be carried out on Saturday nights, between 11.30pm and 8.30am, between January 18 and February 2, 2014.

They are part of the ^895 million improvement programme and includes building a new viaduct, near Loverock Road and piling foundations for new signals and to carry overhead lines to enable electric trains to run.

Householders are being warned the work will include earthwork excavations, laying tracks using trains and cranes, unloading and compacting ballast, deliveries and plant movements and illumination for night working.

Network Rail says the Cow Lane bridge widening project will require the closure of Cow Lane, between Cardiff Road and Portman Road roundabout, between 11pm and 5am from Sunday, November 10, to Thursday, November 14, and then again between 11pm and 5am from Sunday, November 17, to Thursday, November 21.

Vehicle and pedestrian access will be maintained from Portman Road to Safestore, as well as the First Great Western depot and a diversion route will be signposted.

Engineers and project managers will be on hand to discuss the works at the pentahotel, Oxford Road, between 3.30pm and 7.30pm today.

[lordgoata]

The work will also have to be illuminated.

Talking of illumination, does anyone know if that's the reason for that gargantuan fence that's being fitted at the new depot ? Given it was installed after the site was opened, and only appears to be along the section that has residential buildings along side, that they seem to be backing it with black plastic (I assume to keep the light from the lights that are being fitted from bleeding through the gaps), it seemed the most logical reason, but I am curious to know none the less!

[Jonty]

Presumably they will be demolishing the old FGW^▸ (First Great Western) depot buildings?

There will be then lots of land freed up, even after the new underpass line has been built. Anyone know whether there are any plans for that vacant land.

Housing/flats perchance...?

[Network SouthEast]

There are rumours floating about that Freightliner might take over the remaining land, although I don't know of anything official.

[ChrisB]

It'll be so contaminated that I doubt decontamination is a viable option....

[paul7575]

The upper triangle site is to be re-modelled for use by the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) National Delivery Service, (NDS).  They need to replace the ability to park up on track plant etc, like they did in parts of the lower depot.   AFAICT^▸ (as far as I can tell) from plans it means shortened sidings in the area of the old upper depot, an access road for lorries and hardstandings for transfer of material from road to rail.  There's a recent planning application for the road layout changes which include an entrance off Cow Lane and an underpass under the new east chords (Feeder Lines):

RBC^‡(resolve) reference: 130763 
The Triangle Area Of Railway Land To The West Of Reading Station And To The South Of Western Railway Lines
Alteration to the new railway line through the triangle area to incorporate a new access roadway on the eastern side of the embankment.

Regarding Freightliner, perhaps they have an eye on one of the buildings, as I think they previously operated out of a couple of portakabins near the entrance to the lower depot site.  But a Freightliner driver depot doesn't necessarily mean locos and trains using the site...

Another aspect of the plans is that there are parts of the lower site given over to surface water drainage ponds, wetlands and planted areas of trees and shrubs to compensate for wildlife habitats lost elsewhere.

I doubt there will ever be anything other than railway use, sorry Jonty. 

Paul

[sprinterguard]

There is also a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) training centre there.. it's not been there that long (don't know exactly, but at the very least 2-3 years) and shall remain in situ for the time being.

[paul7575]

There is also a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) training centre there.. it's not been there that long (don't know exactly, but at the very least 2-3 years) and shall remain in situ for the time being.

Yes, I'd heard that stays too.   

Now that the planning website is alive again, I've just been looking at some of the site plans, and it seems to me that most of the buildings in the upper triangle site are not actually in the way of the new chord.  I guess it is possible that some might be re-used for other purposes?   So that might be why there seems to be no rush (so far) to flatten everything up there?

Paul

[John R]

I can't seem to get a view of camera 6 anymore, showing the flyover construction. Does anyone have a link that works please?

[ellendune]

I can't seem to get a view of camera 6 anymore, showing the flyover construction. Does anyone have a link that works please?

Old link still works, but it gets confused if you open more than one camera at once

[ironstone11]

I can't seem to get a view of camera 6 anymore, showing the flyover construction. Does anyone have a link that works please?

Old link still works, but it gets confused if you open more than one camera at once

It's at https://www.lobstervision.tv with the same login. In my opinion this new version is most unsatisfactory. Seems like change for change's sake. Why? If it's not broke then why mend it? Site 02 is particulary bad for slow update. Anyone else experiencing these problems. It gives the option of using the old version, but there were no new or current pictures available when i tried it yesterday.

[paul7575]

Anyone else reckon the picture quality when zoomed in is worse than last week?

Or is that just the light getting worse at this time of year ...

Paul

[ellendune]

Anyone else reckon the picture quality when zoomed in is worse than last week?

Or is that just the light getting worse at this time of year ...

Paul

I think that is just the light

[ironstone11]

Anyone else reckon the picture quality when zoomed in is worse than last week?

Or is that just the light getting worse at this time of year ...
Paul

I think it's due to the light getting worse. Pictures in the evening and early morning from 06/01 suggest it's lens or cover glass is badly scratched.

[onthecushions]

Using modern building materials and methods it should be possible to devise standard designs for platform canopies and even overall roofs that are cost-effective to build and maintain at busy stations. Much of the old Southern Region and the Great Western nearer Paddington has kept the Victorian originals.

Perhaps the straw sucking, smock wearing country folk who insist on catching trains outside of Zone 6 are considered to be content to wait in the wind and the rain, like the cattle in the fields.

It is a disgrace that the new Reading General, after a spend of ^850M will still have most of its platforms wind- and rain-swept, when its trains  will largely be electrically driven.

Go to Leeds City and see how a Yorkshireman builds a new station!

OTC
OTC