Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[eightf48544]

Re routing of trains are the going via Greenford to OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot)) direct on the single line or round via West Ealing? The Greenford signalman is going to be busy either way.

[IndustryInsider]

A bit of both I would imagine.

[Adelante_CCT]

Outbound via Ealing, inbound via Park royal

[Jason]

Exactly - and two years ago there were clear plans for rebuilding the A60 bridge.

Looking carefully through the three different GCR^» (Gloucester - next trains) articles on this, I can find words that say:"We have to raise one million pounds, to put two previously recovered bridge decks in place by the end of 2015." and " On the northern section of the GCR, the bridge across the A60 also needs upgrading."

So why not explain - for the benefit of anyone who saw the earlier news - that the reused spans were going to be used on the A60 bridge, but that is now going to be upgraded a different way? If it's because the A60 bridge is on the GCR(N)'s side of the gap, it does make you wonder how well the two groups will co-operate, or even merge, after the link-up.

I think the reason why the bridge over the MML^» (Midland Main Line. - about) is happening and the A60 is not is due to NR^» (Network Rail - home page) having a project team in place this makes it easier for GCR to bridge that part of the gap to do the A60 I suspect means engaging with a County Council highways and the Highways Agency who are unlikely to have a project team in place

Apologies if this was covered elsewhere, but this thread on the Reading Forum has a recent update on these bridges:
https://www.reading-forum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=105&t=7720

[Adelante_CCT]

Well they've opened Cow Lane a few hours early, (much to my annoyance as I'd already walked the long way round) though I did have a peek and a walkthrough and the old brick bridge has gone, along with the little pedestrian ramps either side of the road. They have tarmacked those areas and temporarily corderned off the east side (right hand side in photo 1) making it much safer for pedestrians already.

Sadly no pics as it's a tad dark at the moment so have shamefully borrowed bobm's ones from earlier in the thread for reference

I did notice on Thursday they had put up a camera (from just behind where bobm was stood for picture 1), I'm assuming that will form some sort of time lapse video which will no doubt be in the media later on today.

[Adelante_CCT]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-berkshire-41884023/cow-lane-railway-bridge-in-reading-demolished

[paul7575]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-berkshire-41884023/cow-lane-railway-bridge-in-reading-demolished

Remarkably, the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report that it should be finished in August 2018.  Isn't the bulk of the work (ie the bit under the widened railway formation) already complete behind hoardings?

Allowing 9 months for a straightforward bit of road widening and realignment into a different underpass seems extreme.

Paul

[Adelante_CCT]

Sadly the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report is correct, Network Rail/Radio Block Centre (RBC^‡(resolve)) have been saying August 18 for the completion date for some time.

I don't think they have dug down enough on the new section yet, but still 9 months is extreme


Edit:VickiS - Clarifying Acronyms

[CyclingSid]

Is it an old wives tale, when they first built the Big Yellow Bridge by Reading Station (Vastern Road), the first double-decker bus got stuck under the bridge?

[TonyK]

Is it an old wives tale, when they first built the Big Yellow Bridge by Reading Station (Vastern Road), the first double-decker bus got stuck under the bridge?

I'll ask her.

[stuving]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Reading train depot noise order against GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and Network Rail
    16 November 2017    From the section Berkshire

Residents complain noise from Reading Train Care Depot has "blighted" their lives Image copyright Geograph/N Chadwick

Rail bosses have been issued with a noise abatement notice after claims people living near a train depot are enduring "sleepless nights".

Great Western Railway (GWR) and Network Rail directors face prosecution if they fail to comply with Reading council's legal notice within six months.

"Prolonged negotiations" had not resolved the problem at the site near Cardiff Road, the council said.

GWR said new electric trains being introduced will reduce noise levels.

However, deputy council leader Tony Page said his authority was left with "little option but to proceed to serve the legal notices" after "years of inactivity" by rail operators.

He said acoustics and others experts had established there was "a statutory nuisance" which was "prejudicial to health".

"Residents in Cardiff Road continue to suffer from noise disturbance and sleepless nights as a result of the noisy diesel trains," he said.

"If electrification had been delivered on time, it would have meant by the end of 2017 far fewer diesel trains would have been serviced in Reading.

"The recent collapse of the electrification programme however, and the lack of any clarity of timescales, means there is no end in sight to the misery for local residents."

Jonathan Dart, chairman of the Bell Tower Community Association, said the noise was at its worst in the early hours of the morning and late at night.

"They have to operate the depot in a way that doesn't blight the lives of the people living next to it," he said.

A GWR spokesman said the company was "disappointed" the notice had been served less than six weeks before quieter electric trains are set to be introduced.

"We expect this change will significantly alter the noise characteristics of the site," the spokesman said.

The spokesman added that four independent reports had shown the depot was operating "within safe and agreed limits".

Network Rail has not responded to an invitation to comment.

That picture is borderline irrelevant. The depot proper has only businesses for neighbours, even over the road; it must be the carriage sidings that are the problem. And some of those comments really don't make a lot of sense.

Given that this facility was designed before electrification was announced, how did they (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)/FGW^▸ (First Great Western)?)  think it was going to operate with houses just over the fence? There will now be fewer Turbos to fire up of a morning, but with 387s (and what else?) as well how much scope is there for shuffling things around to keep the engines and ears further apart?

I'm not sure about the "recent collapse of the electrification programme", at least as it affects Reading. Though if this order is the result of complaints dating from the opening of the depot, how impressive is it that even with the not-so-recent delay/deferment/deprogramming of some electrification, the council haven't reached this point until now.

[Adelante_CCT]

I was going to post the good news that the Cow Lane bridge won't be completely finished by August as signs have gone up stating full weekend closures of the road, 2 in July and another in September, however even better news for local road users:

Cow Lane One Way

Oh what fun!

[devonexpress]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Reading train depot noise order against GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and Network Rail
    16 November 2017    From the section Berkshire

Residents complain noise from Reading Train Care Depot has "blighted" their lives Image copyright Geograph/N Chadwick

Rail bosses have been issued with a noise abatement notice after claims people living near a train depot are enduring "sleepless nights".

Great Western Railway (GWR) and Network Rail directors face prosecution if they fail to comply with Reading council's legal notice within six months.

"Prolonged negotiations" had not resolved the problem at the site near Cardiff Road, the council said.

GWR said new electric trains being introduced will reduce noise levels.

However, deputy council leader Tony Page said his authority was left with "little option but to proceed to serve the legal notices" after "years of inactivity" by rail operators.

He said acoustics and others experts had established there was "a statutory nuisance" which was "prejudicial to health".

"Residents in Cardiff Road continue to suffer from noise disturbance and sleepless nights as a result of the noisy diesel trains," he said.

"If electrification had been delivered on time, it would have meant by the end of 2017 far fewer diesel trains would have been serviced in Reading.

"The recent collapse of the electrification programme however, and the lack of any clarity of timescales, means there is no end in sight to the misery for local residents."

Jonathan Dart, chairman of the Bell Tower Community Association, said the noise was at its worst in the early hours of the morning and late at night.

"They have to operate the depot in a way that doesn't blight the lives of the people living next to it," he said.

A GWR spokesman said the company was "disappointed" the notice had been served less than six weeks before quieter electric trains are set to be introduced.

"We expect this change will significantly alter the noise characteristics of the site," the spokesman said.

The spokesman added that four independent reports had shown the depot was operating "within safe and agreed limits".

Network Rail has not responded to an invitation to comment.

That picture is borderline irrelevant. The depot proper has only businesses for neighbours, even over the road; it must be the carriage sidings that are the problem. And some of those comments really don't make a lot of sense.

Given that this facility was designed before electrification was announced, how did they (NR^» (Network Rail - home page)/FGW^▸ (First Great Western)?)  think it was going to operate with houses just over the fence? There will now be fewer Turbos to fire up of a morning, but with 387s (and what else?) as well how much scope is there for shuffling things around to keep the engines and ears further apart?

I'm not sure about the "recent collapse of the electrification programme", at least as it affects Reading. Though if this order is the result of complaints dating from the opening of the depot, how impressive is it that even with the not-so-recent delay/deferment/deprogramming of some electrification, the council haven't reached this point until now.

Didn't the old depot used to be in the triangle, I'm guessing there is not much space now. Either way its a stupid place to build a busy, loud 24 hour train depot. I'm guessing it will end up with massive compensation payments from Network Rail to the residents to shut them up, and move them away.

[ellendune]

Either way its a stupid place to build a busy, loud 24 hour train depot.

I must disagree. But the depot buildings are well away from any houses and most of the site is surrounded by industrial estates on both sides of the line. I estimate that over 95% of the boundary (including the other side of the main line) is either industrial estates or the Reading Festival Site. There are just a few houses backing onto a small part of the sidings at the Station end.

I couldn't see where else you could build a Depot in the Reading area that would be anything like as good from the point of view of being away from houses.  If you can't build a depot there then you would either have to build it out in the countryside - but that is in the AONB^▸ (Areas Of Natural Beauty) and so I am almost certain it would not get planning permission - or not at all. 

There were more houses near to the high level part of the old depot. 

[paul7575]

It wasn't exactly a greenfield site beforehand, wasn't it some sort of freight depot originally, and then saw use as an infrastructure depot.  How close did the old freight bypass lines go.   When were the houses built, in terms of the railway timeline?

I think the history of the railway use of the site should set some sort of a precedent.  Haven't there been similar noise objections to existing DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) depots in the north Oxford area, from recent new build properties?

Paul