Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[lordgoata]

What we need now is one of the engineers to walk along the top with a GoPro so we can see whats going on up there Mighty impressive just how quick some of that has gone up recently, and how the hell they know what they are doing with all that rebar and criss-crossing concrete is mind boggling!

Those square panels they are installing, which I assume is the side of the eathworks for the ramp onto the viaduct, seem very piddly (yes, that is a technical description ) compared to the rest of the concrete structures, but from what I could see they are attached to long horizontal legs which are being embedded and compacted into the earthworks itself (like an L rotated 90deg anti-clockwise) - so I guess its self strengthening as it goes up, by virtue of the weight on it.

[stuving]

Does anyone know when the viaduct is due to open ?

I seem to remember that the remodelling was due to be complete by Easter 2015 ?

So it suggests that the viaduct needs to be open by August or Christmas this year ?

Christmas 2014 is the date on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website:

And Christmas 2014 is also when the old Cow Lane bridge is to be taken out. The new bridge has been in use for the Relief Lines for some time, but the main lines stay on the old bridge until they can be shifted onto the viaduct. Then the space they occupied gets remodelled for the feeder lines, festival line, etc.

[paul7575]

Another thing I just remembered from somewhere, (now confirmed by the link below),  is that they have apparently left themselves about 6 months to install the track work and signalling etc.  So the viaduct ought to look reasonably complete by this summer even though trains won't use it until after Christmas or so...

PS - there's a recent article about the viaduct here:  http://www.therailengineer.com/2014/03/28/last-piece-jigsaw/

Paul

[John R]

Also, at the London end of the station, a formerly-redundant tunnel has been totally refurbished and new tracks installed ^ thus enabling trains to pass from the north to the south side of the station, without crossing any lines, to link up with the route to Gatwick and beyond. This is dramatically improving the travel experience for passengers travelling from the west to the southeast.

I may be wrong but I didn't think the underpass was in general use yet, other than a couple of positioning movements, (and maybe the daily XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service?). If so, it feels a bit of an overstatement to describe the travel experience improvement as dramatic.

[stuving]

Also, at the London end of the station, a formerly-redundant tunnel has been totally refurbished and new tracks installed ^ thus enabling trains to pass from the north to the south side of the station, without crossing any lines, to link up with the route to Gatwick and beyond. This is dramatically improving the travel experience for passengers travelling from the west to the southeast.

I may be wrong but I didn't think the underpass was in general use yet, other than a couple of positioning movements, (and maybe the daily XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service?). If so, it feels a bit of an overstatement to describe the travel experience improvement as dramatic.

Quite so. There are a few other non-civil-engineering statements in that piece that are wide of the mark too.

[paul7575]

I may be wrong but I didn't think the underpass was in general use yet, other than a couple of positioning movements, (and maybe the daily XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service?). If so, it feels a bit of an overstatement to describe the travel experience improvement as dramatic.

It's a non stop service from Oxford to Gatwick, which is why no-one has seen it yet.   

Journalism based on the oft repeated presumption that the underpass would allow for through services, although as we've discussed before in this forum, electrification actually makes it even less likelier than it ever was...

Paul

[tom m]

Some months back I was on a Gatwick to Reading service that used the tunnel, we ended up on plat 15 I think. Not sure for the reason and the driver seemed to be quite supprised too, so don't think it's in regular use, but it is available for use.

[paul7575]

Some months back I was on a Gatwick to Reading service that used the tunnel, we ended up on plat 15 I think. Not sure for the reason and the driver seemed to be quite supprised too, so don't think it's in regular use, but it is available for use.

It's definitely planned to be used for the trains coming from the depot at the start of service, but I think most people can avoid them unless they are around at about 0600...

(and vice versa late at night of course...)

Paul

[stuving]

What was less obvious (OK - could not been seen at all to tell the truth) was any works on the east side of of Cow Lane. And in fact from the train I was left wondering how this tricky piece of line was going to be constructed.

Its has to go under the new viaduct and immediately start rising to clear the new freight and cross country lines to the new northern platforms. I think I recall that these lines were going to dive under the viaduct - but as the viaduct is still at peak height at this point - the dive under is more for clearing the festival line, I think.

One way to think of the levels involved is to start from the bridge outside the station. The headroom on Caversham Road is less than a double-deck bus, i.e. about 4 m, which is only half what a railway needs. The embankment then runs west falling only very slowly, while the ground level rises even slower (it's flood plain, and the slope down the Thames is tiny).

So the viaduct (including the Festival Line) needs to rise to twice the old line's height, while the Feeder Lines fall the same amount to ground level to pass underneath. Only then can the Festival Line viaduct drop down to ground level to pass underneath the main viaduct. Cow Lane itself will be dropped by about 1.5 m - enough to fit a double-deck bus under the Relief Lines at their existing height. The Festival Line is a bit higher at this point, and its box is well to the west of Cow Lane - close to the West Curve box. And if when Cow Lane floods, we will be able to say "I see the pumps have failed" - it's roughly at river level.

There is of course a drawing of the whole viaduct, as you should eventually see it from the north side, which you could try to load as a 1 Mb PDF from http://documents.reading.gov.uk/AniteIM.WebSearch/(S(g5upsk55ewcpb3i41djfulmv))/Download.aspx?ID=263638.
Warning - it's very wide, and may not display on a pocket-sized screen, nor be printable on portable paper.

If it does, you can edit the final two digits to:
36  Perspective view of Cow Lane
37  Full-width drawing from south side
39  Similar drawing of the Feeder Lines crossing the triangle
40  Plan of viaduct and triangle, with cross-section sketches
41  Plan of triangle (new revised version)

[Jason]

There was a crane and a long loader transferring track in the triangle this morning but I wasn't able to see if it was being loaded or unloaded.
There was plenty of groundwork activity there too.

Elsewhere P7 now has it's bubble roof so hopefully will be a bit more watertight

[a-driver]

I think there is significant work, or even a total closure of Reading, over the Christmas 2014 and Easter 2015 period.
I've heard Easter 2015 there is due to be a blockade on to allow commissioning of all the new signalling equipment.  Wether that has changed since we were told several months ago I don't know.  It may be a case it's just a weekend.

[paul7575]

I think there is significant work, or even a total closure of Reading, over the Christmas 2014 and Easter 2015 period.
I've heard Easter 2015 there is due to be a blockade on to allow commissioning of all the new signalling equipment.  Wether that has changed since we were told several months ago I don't know.  It may be a case it's just a weekend.

Just had a look at the Dec 2014 Engineering Access Statement (i.e. for 2015 timetable year) there's a full closure from the evening of Wed 24th until 0330 Sat 27th.  After that the reliefs become available, but with only P13/14/15 in use.   So P1/2,7-12 all blocked mostly until 4th Jan, with P12 available from 29th December.   Suggest that period will cover the slew of the mains to the flyover and various Westbury Line Jn alterations.   

No sign of anything affecting P4/5/6 at that stage as you'd expect.

Closures at Easter and the following weekend then mainly affect work on the reliefs through Reading, but I haven't looked at that in detail, however there are some periods with diversions via Banbury and into Waterloo for the relevant routes.

Also of course both periods include major blocks elsewhere, especially towards London for Crossrail, resignalling etc etc...

Paul

[ChrisB]

If you've got full PPE, you might be interested in this

I know I wish I had!

[lbraine]

Just passed through Reading and for the first time on the east side of Cow Lane you can see the first pier for the festival line being formed.

Base of the pier and part of the column in place. Form work for the 'head' is built but not cast.

The contrast in heights between the two viaducts was marked.

[Steevp]

Excuse my ignorance, but I've always wondered - which is the festival line at Reading?