Didcot Parkway - station, facilities, services, improvements, events and incidents (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

I didn't say it was the wrong choice of picture: I merely suggested it was an interesting one ... 

[JayMac]

Hmm. Well, assuming it is a picture of the bridge in question (don't know the area well enough to be sure), a lot of charter trains using stock like that still run through Oxford so it could well be relatively recent.

I'll concede the point. On clicking on the picture to save it, the default filename is ".....sandsroadtornado", so it could indeed be a picture of a charter.

Journos 1 Bignose 0.

Some more pics of the bridge and underpass can be found here.

[IndustryInsider]

Hmm. Well, assuming it is a picture of the bridge in question (don't know the area well enough to be sure), a lot of charter trains using stock like that still run through Oxford so it could well be relatively recent.

It is a recent one - within the last 5 years as the shiny new brickwork on the top was only added around 2005. The bridge next to it is also getting similar treatment. It sounds like South Moreton parish council weren't as quick on the mark as Pangbourne's for getting it needlessly listed!

[willc]

Or it could just be that there's precious little left of the original structure, which is usually a key factor in assessing whether something is worth listing.

And does anyone know if NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are appealing over Pangbourne, because when it comes to historic interest and architectural merit there are dozens of Brunel structures around that are not listed - and were 100 per cent designed under his supervision, as opposed to something where just one arch is actually original, with the other being added later when the line was quadrupled.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From The Herald Series:

Restoration of South Moreton bridge means end of four-month ordeal for villagers

A four-month ordeal has ended for villagers in South and North Moreton with the reopening of the bridge connecting the villages.
The railway bridge in South Moreton had been closed since December, as Network Rail raised its height for freight trains to travel from Southampton to Nuneaton.
Pedestrians and cyclists were forced to take long detours across muddy fields.
Parish council clerk Roger Templeman said: ^There is still no appreciation that it is not just South Moreton that has been inconvenienced ^ public transport to all the neighbouring parishes was made unreliable for commuters, and local businesses were affected. Cyclists and pedestrians trying to get to the supermarket, school or work have experienced a nightmare, especially during the bad weather, and the way inconvenience payments were made to residents neighbouring the site seemed arbitrary and caused a lot of resentment.^
Caroline and Melvin Vaughan, of North Moreton, who do not drive, said they had been getting up at 5.30am every day to escort their daughter to work along dark, isolated tracks.
Mrs Vaughan, 48, said: ^My son is on his third bike since the work started. When it was snowing, it was really bad. When I went up to the bridge this morning, I realised something was missing ^ my wellies. I have been living in them.^
Local residents had to fight for more than two months before Network Rail laid on a shuttle bus service between the two villages.
Dr Templeman said: ^The whole matter has made me so cross ^ so much time wasted only to achieve a few concessions, and I feel nobody will actually have learned anything from their failings.^
The new bridge has far higher sides than its predecessor, with a wider road surface and footpaths for pedestrians.
The closest neighbour, 88-year-old Eileen Hutchings, said despite her annoyance about levels of compensation paid for putting up with demolition work over Christmas, the workmen had been very good. She said: ^They had a very good attitude, were always polite, and I never heard any swearing. They were always as quiet as possible.^
County councillor Rodney Rose said: ^I am very pleased this bridge is being reopened after several months of great inconvenience to local people and businesses, but I welcome the fact the bridge is now wider and safer, with a new footpath.^
Network Rail spokesman Russell Spink said: ^We thank the residents of both South and North Moreton for their patience while this vital upgrade was carried out. It is part of a much larger project to upgrade the railway between Southamp-ton and the West Midlands which will help take up to 50,000 lorries a year from the region^s roads, making a valuable contribution to the economy and helping Britain compete better in the global marketplace.^

[Oxman]

I dont understand the bit about pedestrians and bikers being inconvenienced. Temporary footbridges were erected next to both of the bridges, and I can't believe they were there solely for the convenience of the workforce. Both footbridges came down a few weeks ago, presumeably when the new bridges were fit for purpose.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmm.

I cannot comment on the accuracy of that article, Oxman: I merely quoted what a 'Herald Reporter' wrote, attributing it to Dr Roger Templeman, clerk of South Moreton Parish Council.

Actually, I thought this bit was rather amusing:

The closest neighbour, 88-year-old Eileen Hutchings, said despite her annoyance about levels of compensation paid for putting up with demolition work over Christmas, the workmen had been very good. She said: ^They had a very good attitude, were always polite, and I never heard any swearing. They were always as quiet as possible.^

Bless her! 

[Oxman]

I'm always a bit wary of exagerated claims when compensation is involved. Sounds as though at least one lady was taking a balanced view!

[willc]

temporary footbridges were erected next to both of the bridges, and I can't believe they were there solely for the convenience of the workforce.

They most certainly were. But there was an admission from the county council at the end of last year that they should have done better. From the Oxford Mail/Herald series:

The county council^s transport officer, Brian Fell, told South Moreton Parish Council that nobody at county hall had taken a ^holistic view^ of the road closure. He said: ^There is a lesson to be learned from this and I am sorry that we have to learn it at the expense of local residents.^

And the compensation was paid per person, so Mrs Hutchings, who is right next to the bridge, got ^210 while families living elsewhere in the village got multiples of that figure, depending on how many people there were in the household.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Just for the record, I'm posting a couple of comments here.  These are taken from an e-mail I have received, on this particular topic:

The photo used in the article does indeed show the stock behind Tornado (an ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) working just before the Brunel bridge was demolished) so it was up to date.

Re: Comment that the arrangements for pedestrian/cyclist diversion being pathetically arranged by Oxfordshire County Council were unfounded because Network Rail had constructed a temporary bridge alongside the demolished bridge. Unfortunately your correspondent's assumption that Network Rail (Carillion) would behave logically and allow pedestrians to use it was wrong. Only NR^» (Network Rail - home page) contractors were allowed on it. OCC should have insisted that a diversion was supplied before issuing the temporary (4 months) closure notice. And the next bridge along which carries a bridleway has been closed for 7 months with no diversionary route.

I'm sorry for any misunderstanding / offence that may have been caused.  Chris.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

New ticket barriers at Didcot Parkway could deter visitors from calling in at Didcot Railway Centre, it is feared.

Rail operator First Great Western is planning to introduce ticket barriers at the station by November next year.

If the barriers are brought in at the ticket office at the front of the station it would block off the entrance to the railway centre, which is entered from the subway beneath the platforms.

Staff at the popular steam railway attraction are talking to station managers at First Great Western to find a solution.

First Great Western spokesman John Ratchford said: ^As with any major station improvement, we will work closely with our customers and stakeholders to minimise disruption ^ which in this case also means ensuring any changes to the station won^t adversely affect access to the excellent Didcot Railway Centre.^

Railway Centre manager Roger Orchard said: ^The ticket barriers have been on the cards for a long time and we want to make sure they are set up in such a way that they are not a deterrent for our customers.

^The barriers will come in during the latter part of 2012 so we want to make sure that a system is in place that is acceptable to us.^

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Times:

Police are cracking down on drivers using the long-stay car park at Didcot Parkway railway station to race their cars.

A new CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) system has been installed at the Foxhall car park, which may end what police say is a longstanding problem.

They have also increased their patrols at the car park.

Pc Bob Burrowes, of British Transport Police^s Oxford unit, said: ^It appears to be young people and we are aware that there are few places for young drivers to go. But the car park is for rail users only. It has been a historic issue and you hear reports periodically of people using the car park in an inappropriate manner. Hopefully the new CCTV system will allow us to solve this.^

The system, which was paid for by rail firm First Great Western, allows the police to view images quickly, instead of having to wait 28 days as they would with the old equipment.

Officers are investigating a report of vehicles being driven ^erratically^ around the car park last Saturday evening, at about 6.30pm.

The three vehicles involved were a black Toyota Corolla, a green Renault Clio and a blue Renault Clio.

Anyone with any information about this incident should call BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) on 0800 405040.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

The main building at Oxford railway station could be knocked down to make way for new platforms under plans being considered by transport bosses.

The major redevelopment would see four through platforms ^ with no dead ends ^ built to solve what officials see as a major regional bottleneck.

County councillor Rodney Rose, responsible for Oxfordshire^s transport infrastructure, said the project was the only long-term solution to create enough capacity on Oxfordshire^s Rail network.

The proposal is put forward in a new county council rail strategy covering the next 22 years, which lists a station revamp by 2018 as the ^top priority^.

Under the proposal, the existing station would be demolished with trains pulling up either side of two island platforms, boosting the flow of trains.

The council^s draft Rail Strategy and Delivery Plan, to be discussed by Cabinet today, calls for a new project board to oversee the station^s re-design and link it with scheduled work to electrify the track and update signalling.

The strategy says: ^Oxford station has been identified by Network Rail as being a significant constraint on the network and is our top priority for improvement.

^Once the ^850m redevelopment of Reading station is complete, this will become the biggest single capacity bottleneck in the Thames Valley and a major barrier to rail and economic growth.^

It goes on: ^It is predicted that the number of peak services using the station is close to the maximum that can be accommodated, before any additional passenger or freight growth.^

In 2010, less ambitious plans to add an extra platform on the long stay car park were axed when County Hall lost millions of pounds of Government funding.

Network Rail is still committed to the project, and has asked for funding between 2014 and 2019.

But Mr Rose said in the longer term, the complete redesign of the station was needed.

He said: ^I still think this is something we should push for.

^Oxford is going to be the major bottleneck, and if East-West Rail goes through it will make it even worse.^

Network Rail spokesman Sam Kelly said a complete rebuild was not part of its current plans, but it would ^gladly discuss it^ with the council.

She added: ^In terms of the station itself, we will be working with First Great Western, Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council to review passenger flow through the station to provide better facilities in the future.

^With regards to the railway itself, our plans over the coming years will provide the capacity need for the future.^

First Great Western would not comment on the plans, but said stakeholders and rail users should ^make their aspirations known^ ahead of its attempt to regain the franchise to run trains to London from April 2013.

Chiltern Railways has its own separate plans to build two new platforms on the old parcels platform and part of the short stay car park to serve its new Evergreen 3 link to London via Bicester.

The council^s new rail strategy includes other ambitious projects.

It says ^the time is right to look at again at the potential of a Grove & Wantage station^ and that a train service could be offered by firms competing to win the Great Western franchise in 2013.

And it commits the council to investigate reinstatement of the rail link between Oxford, Witney and Carterton, to improve connections with the west Oxfordshire towns and RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Brize Norton.

The public will be able to have their say on the proposals in a consultation process due to start next month.

RAIL STRATEGY PRIORITIES

- Major projects already set to go ahead include electrification, the creation of the Evergreen 3 link from Oxford to Bicester, the East-West rail link, and ^5.6m redevelopment of Didcot Parkway forecourt

- A new masterplan for Oxford railway station, the re-development of Frideswide Square and integration of the station into the West End redevelopment

- More parking and bus facilities proposed for Bicester Town station, with a link to Bicester North. There is potential for rail freight facility at Graven Hill, using the Bicester Military Railway network.

- Opening a railway station near Grove and Wantage to serve Science Vale UK^▸ (United Kingdom)

- Redesign of Banbury station forecourt

- Improve buses from Witney to Hanborough station, and investigate long-term reinstatement of a rail link from Oxford to Witney and Carterton

- Improve parking and public transport links to stations in the Cotswolds

[bigdaz]

I haven't got my Quail Track Diagram book to hand - after Hinksey Yard are there any crossovers before the Didcot avoiding line / Didcot Parkway??  If not, would there not still be quite a bottleneck between Didcot and Hinksey yard if there was a broken down train.... or is bidirectionally signalled throughout?? 

[FremlinsMan]

From the Oxford Mail:
....

- Opening a railway station near Grove and Wantage to serve Science Vale UK^▸ (United Kingdom)

Interesting. Would that imply Wantage Road being re-opened? I work at Harwell, but I think I would only benefit from a stop at Steventon - a short cycle ride away from HSIC.


Moderator note: Edited to fix quote marks. bignosemac.