Chiltern Evergreen 3 project - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Finally, the inevitable decision has been reached.

Do we know when the line will close to be constructed.  2015 is slightly disappointing as an opening date, hopefully early in the year and not December 2015!

[autotank]

This is excellent news - I'm really pleased the correct decision has finally been reached. The delays has been very frustrating that a relatively small number of moaners can use the system to delay and increase the cost of a well thought out project that was always likely to proceed.

Looking forward to using the new (and hopefully cheaper) route from Oxford to London in 2015!

[JayMac]

Moderator note:

This topic has been retitled to reflect earlier discussion and recent news.

Carry on as you were.   

bignosemac.   

[TonyK]

What happened to the title? Has it been AXED?

Good outcome, though, and another step in the right direction. As for the people with stables / B&B / meditation centre built close by, I have learned by your mistake. I will not open such a business close to a dormant rail line.

[paul7575]

Finally, the inevitable decision has been reached.

Do we know when the line will close to be constructed.  2015 is slightly disappointing as an opening date, hopefully early in the year and not December 2015!

In the original FAQs^▸ (Frequently Asked Questions), construction was reckoned to take about 12 to 15 months.  I suppose a lot depends on whether they still have a contractor on the starting blocks, and I think possibly more importantly, whether it now makes more sense to do the EWR aspects concurrently.

"If you get permission for the scheme, when will construction commence and how long will it last?
If Chiltern Railways is granted the necessary permissions to go ahead with the scheme, construction is likely to commence in the summer of 2011 (although the exact timing will depend when permissions are granted). The construction programme for the Phase 1 works along the whole of the proposed route is planned to take around 12 to 15 months."

http://www.chiltern-evergreen3.co.uk/index.php/faqs#construction-permission

Paul

[John R]

What happened to the title? Has it been AXED?

Good outcome, though, and another step in the right direction. As for the people with stables / B&B / meditation centre built close by, I have learned by your mistake. I will not open such a business close to a dormant rail line.

Except, in this case the line isn't dormant, and has both a passenger service and the occasional freight train. Which makes me wonder if the existing line had been upgraded first, and then permission put in for the new chord, would there have been less grounds to oppose it?

[IndustryInsider]

In the original FAQs^▸ (Frequently Asked Questions), construction was reckoned to take about 12 to 15 months.  I suppose a lot depends on whether they still have a contractor on the starting blocks, and I think possibly more importantly, whether it now makes more sense to do the EWR aspects concurrently.

My Chiltern 'spies' tell me there's been an awful lot of activity on the route in the last couple of months.  Surveying and the like.  Appreciating that won't be the same gang who do all the hard graft, but it hopefully means that work can start sooner than later, and yes, the only sensible decision would be to do both phases concurrently - though sensible decisions are often not what actually happens!

[IndustryInsider]

No press releases on either the DfT site or the Evergreen 3 site yet.

[paul7575]

It's made it into today's FT and the Independent, and assorted regional papers, and Construction Index etc, according to Google news...

Seems a pretty safe bet now, I reckon.

Paul

[anthony215]

Glad to see this finally going ahead and I would like to hope that we will see a direct link between Milton Keynes/Bedford to Bristol via Oxford.

I think we can safely say we are in for a very interesting time over the next few years

[IndustryInsider]

Still nothing on the DfT's website, the Evergreen 3 site or indeed Chiltern Railways' website.  Seems a bit odd to me!

[chuffed]

Couldn't agree more II ! I emailed the DaFT^» (Department for Transport - critical sounding abbreviation I discourage - about) on Friday asking where it was, and was forewarned it could take 20 working days for me to get a reply. Now I wonder what else they could be worrying their pretty little heads about..hope they haven't founds newts hibernating underneath the bats in Wolvercote tunnel ! I cannot help wondering that if greater crested nets are so blinkin rare, why are they found to be holding up every infrastructure scheme...here in Portishead they are holding up the building of a much needed Sainsburys while they hibernate for 6 months !

[paul7575]

Still nothing on the DfT's website, the Evergreen 3 site or indeed Chiltern Railways' website.  Seems a bit odd to me!

It's on Chiltern's site under 'press releases' (but not 'news'); dated 18th October, and quoted elsewhere on the 19th:

http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/news/chiltern-railways-given-green-light-build-new-rail-line-between-oxford-and-london

Seems to be the source text that most news media have copied verbatim.

Paul

[mjones]

Hopefully any delay on DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) making a formal announcement is because they are preoccupied with other matters... Nonetheless, I'd have thought the Minister would see this as a positive piece of news on rail franchises so would be keen to get it out there?  But the current low profile, combined with the apparent significant increase in the construction timescale, is a bit disconcerting. I wonder if some irksome conditions have been imposed to prevent disturbance to the bats and horses, e.g. work only permitted at particular times of year, etc,  maybe it all has to be done by hand with picks and shovels...!

[paul7575]

But the current low profile, combined with the apparent significant increase in the construction timescale, is a bit disconcerting.

I don't think there's any indication that construction timescales have significantly increased though? 

Back when they suggested construction would start in summer 2011, that had anticipated a summer 2010 TWA inquiry - but that didn't actually start until November 2010 - and even then lasted significantly longer than expected. So I'd suggest that even if the first inquiry had resulted in the OK, the start of work would have been delayed already by about a year to summer 2012, and with an assumed 12 - 15 months construction time, (and erring towards the latter), would have meant the earliest possible timetable change to introduce the service would have theoretically been that of Dec 2013, yet they planned that services would only start at the end of 2014.

If their claim to be running trains in 2015 is accurate, then it seems to me that although there's been almost two years delay in the inquiry process, the project is not actually running two years to the right...

Paul