Crossrail/Elizabeth Line. From construction to operation - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[grahame]

On question where do passengers put there luggage as it has no luggage racks?

I've been on a number of trains (7) today and can answer that with sufficient sample size for it to be statistically significant.  On the seat beside them. On the seat opposite them.  In the footwell of the seat beside them. Blocking the jumpy seats on a nice full 153. In the entrance doorway. Similar places used for storage of toddlers under the age of 5 who haven't had a fare paid for them, even when the train is full and standing and passengers are being redirected to a backup coach.

Also seen my first example of a (full size, racing) bicycle that couldn't be stored in coach A (presumably because of lack of reservation) being kept in the lobby of coach C, restricting access at stations.

Been an interesting day!

[Bmblbzzz]

Are the yellow cab ends no longer mandatory? I'm surprised the unions let that one slip past if that is the case...

Should also add that modern light technology (presume most use either LED or HID units these days?) is hugely more reliable than 'old fashioned' incandescent filament bulbs, so the risk of lights failing is very much diminished.

There was stuff online on RSSBs^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board) website while back, and the process of amending the Rail Group Standard went on for about 2 years.   If the trade unions missed it at the time they mustn't have read the memo, I can't believe they aren't part of such a decision making process.

Of course if someone is determined to cause problems...

Paul

The Trade Unions sit on various RSSB committees in an advisory roll, they would have been consulted as part of the discussions. 

Give me the bright headlights over grubby yellow paint, as S&T^▸ (Signalling and Telegraph) Engineer said you can see the head lamps well before the yellow paint

In which case the question becomes why other new trains, such as the IEPs^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.), do have yellow ends? (But maybe that doesn't really belong in this thread...)

[IndustryInsider]

More excellent pictures showing progress under the tunnels.  Starting to look like a real railway now!

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2016/08/31/fresh-photos-from-the-crossrail-tunnels-released/

[patch38]

Drone flight through tunnels and along Paddington platform:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/37558715

[IndustryInsider]

Another large raft of signalling and infrastructure improvements going in over this Christmas/New Year period as Crossrail comes ever closer to being a reality.  Here's a summary for those that are interested:

Paddington:
Platforms 11/12/13 are being altered (as we have already discussed), so that short Platforms 12 and 13 are combined into one Platform 12 which will eventually 294m long.  Initially it will remain a short platform whilst the new platform is built after the holiday period, but Platform 13 closes.  The track layout is therefore altered so that Platform 11 (at 291m) can always be used along its full length without blocking the entrance to Platform 12 as it currently does.  When complete, and with some moved signals on other platforms, it means that all platforms except 6/7 (Heathrow Express) 10 and 14 will be long enough to accommodate a 10-car 26m long train.

Ladbroke Grove/Kensal Green:
The new lines that replace the former Carriage Reception Lines 1 and 2, known as Crossrail Depot Lines 1 and 2 partially come into use.  When finished and the Crossrail depot opens it will make access to and from the depot much better than it would have been had the existing layout been kept.

Acton:
The new dive-under opens and trains can be signalled on the Up Relief from Ealing on the new Acton Relief Line under the Up and Down Poplar freight lines, so anything coming off of Acton Yard or down from Acton Wells Junction can access the Down Relief line without hindering trains on the Up Relief.

West Ealing:
The new stabling sidings for Class 387s open, with three loop lines enabling trains to depart/arrive from either the West Ealing or Hanwell directions.  Stabling at North Pole Depot for these units should then cease.

Hayes & Harlington:
An additional crossover will provide access to the extended 8-car bay platform at Hayes, improving the current arrangement where trains have to run 'wrong road' on the Up Relief in the down direction from Southall West Junction.

Airport Junction:
The expansion of Airport Junction is completed with the commissioning of track and signals on the new flyover which bridges the Up and Down Relief lines.  Basically means that there are very few conflicting moves and maximum flexibility for trains heading to and from the Airport and those on the main lines.

Maidenhead:
Both track and signalling alterations will apply at Maidenhead:

• The current platform 5 which leads to and from the Bourne End branch will have a new connection at the west end and become the bi-directional 'Maidenhead Loop' line.
• The link with the Bourne End branch and Platform 4 on the Up Relief will be removed.
• The Down Relief line will be slewed west of the station and a 254m turnback siding, the 'Maidenhead Turnback Line', will be commissioned between the both relief lines.
• Connections to the Crossrail 6-road stabling sidings at Maidenhead will be provided for future access to/from Platforms 4 and 5, when the stabling sidings have been built.
• A Ground Position Signal will be installed on the Down Relief at the western end to provide an additional turnback from Down Relief to Up Relief as well as Down Relief to the Maidenhead Relief Line.
• New routes and fixed red signals will mean it becomes possible to turnback trains in Platform 2 (Up Main) from the Down Main. Also turnback trains in Platform 3 from the Down Relief or Down Main to go back to the Up Main.
• Finally trains arriving from the west in the Up Direction will be able to turnback at Maidenhead by shunting onto the Down Main to a new fixed red signal before returning into any platform.

All these alterations assist the flexibility of operations during engineering work as well as service disruption.

Quite a lot to be done - let's hope it all gets completed in time!

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

Thanks II, very interesting.  Was initially surprised by the extent of works at Maidenhead, but as you say Crossrail needs to be able to work even if they’re arriving and/or departing on the ML’s during disruption etc.

[hertzsprung]

Another large raft of signalling and infrastructure improvements going in over this Christmas/New Year period as Crossrail comes ever closer to being a reality.  Here's a summary for those that are interested:

Both track and signalling alterations will apply at Maidenhead:

• The current platform 5 which leads to and from the Bourne End branch will have a new connection at the west end and become the bi-directional 'Maidenhead Loop' line.
• The link with the Bourne End branch and Platform 4 on the Up Relief will be removed.

Does this mean that trains approaching from Reading will be able to run into Platform 5?  How will this new arrangement work for trains coming off the branch running through to Paddington?

[IndustryInsider]

Does this mean that trains approaching from Reading will be able to run into Platform 5?  How will this new arrangement work for trains coming off the branch running through to Paddington?

Yes, that's right - as long as they're on the relief line.

It'll mean it won't be possible to have a Bourne End train waiting to depart Maidenhead whilst one arrives off of the branch as sometimes happens in the peaks now, so there will need to be a couple of tweaks to the timetable for a few months.  Then from May, the through trains cease to be anyway with the arrival of peak time 8-Car Class 387 services between Maidenhead and Paddington, with the branch just operating as a shuttle service to/from Platform 5 as it does now during the off-peak hours.

I'm sure they'll be some negative press about that nearer the time... 

[hertzsprung]

Does this mean that trains approaching from Reading will be able to run into Platform 5?  How will this new arrangement work for trains coming off the branch running through to Paddington?

Yes, that's right - as long as they're on the relief line.

It'll mean it won't be possible to have a Bourne End train waiting to depart Maidenhead whilst one arrives off of the branch as sometimes happens in the peaks now, so there will need to be a couple of tweaks to the timetable for a few months.  Then from May, the through trains cease to be anyway with the arrival of peak time 8-Car Class 387 services between Maidenhead and Paddington, with the branch just operating as a shuttle service to/from Platform 5 as it does now during the off-peak hours.

I hadn't realised timetable changes were occurring so soon.  Will the half-hourly peak service still continue, but use just two shuttles rather than through trains?

[Adelante_CCT]

It'll mean it won't be possible to have a Bourne End train waiting to depart Maidenhead whilst one arrives off of the branch as sometimes happens in the peaks now, so there will need to be a couple of tweaks to the timetable for a few months.

Yup, the 17:42 from Paddington will from January terminate at Maidenhead and run back empty as 3H62, whilst the 18:10 arrival from Bourne End will head back up the branch at 18:15, simply swapping roles with each other. Likewise the 18:42 from Paddington will continue ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) to Reading TD instead of going up the branch

PS, thank you II for that detailed update posted earlier.

[Adelante_CCT]

I hadn't realised timetable changes were occurring so soon.  Will the half-hourly peak service still continue, but use just two shuttles rather than through trains?

Yes, the half-hourly shuttle remains, with some minor timetable adjustments with just the one direct service 08:28 from Bourne End and 16:42 from Paddington continuing until May when all direct services will stop.

[John R]

So given recent experience on the Greenford branch, can commuters expect missed connections and a half hourly wait on a regular basis I wonder?

[IndustryInsider]

I would imagine the staffing situation at Maidenhead, and the affluence/influence of some of the Cookham and Marlow passengers, will mean it's far more likely the train will wait a little longer...

[stuving]

So given recent experience on the Greenford branch, can commuters expect missed connections and a half hourly wait on a regular basis I wonder?

Why? Apart from the odd couple of peak trains, it (the Marlow branch) is already run by shuttles. Each stops for nine minutes to connect onto an up train and off a down train on the main line. All that stays the same, provided there is a regular half-hourly Paddington train each way within a minute or two of each other.

Greenford currently has a mixture of through and shuttle trains, and the right timings for these relative to the main-line services are different. The branch round-trip time doesn't allow that mixture, so for the time being (until the through trains stop) they don't mesh properly.

[Sixty3Closure]

Any update on what sort of non-Crossrail service we might get at Twyford?