Chiltern Evergreen 3 project - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Lee]

From Network Rail:

New collaboration signals next step toward extra rail destinations for Bicester and Oxford

A new collaboration has been announced today which will oversee the project to allow fast train services to operate between Oxford and London Marylebone. The first services are expected to start in two years time.

The collaboration between Network Rail and Chiltern Railways will manage upgrading of the line between Oxford and Bicester and connection of the railway at Bicester to the Chiltern Main Line by construction of 1km of new railway.

The upgrade of the Oxford to Bicester line not only facilitates the new Chiltern Railways service between Oxford and London, but also the first phase of works on the western section of the East West Rail scheme that will reinstate the railway for passenger and freight services through to Milton Keynes and Bedford. Combining the two projects means a more efficient delivery and less disruption for rail users.

Karl Budge, route delivery director from Network Rail said: ^These are exciting times for rail users and the investment being made between Oxford, Bicester and Bedford will make a huge difference to local people and the local economy.

^It makes sense to deliver what were originally separate schemes in a collaborative way. This collaboration will allow fast train services to operate between Oxford and London Marylebone and will move Network Rail closer to reinstating the railway line through to Bedford and Milton Keynes via Bletchley.^

Graham Cross, business development director for Chiltern Railways said: ^This collaboration underpins delivery of our new train route between Oxford and London, the launch of which will support economic growth in the region and benefit thousands of commuters and businesses in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

^The Oxford to London link is the latest in a long line of innovative Chiltern-specified projects to upgrade the rail infrastructure, fuelled by our understanding of rail^s potential to make a significant contribution to UK^▸ (United Kingdom) plc and prosperity. Working with Network Rail ensures we utilise the best expertise to deliver this groundbreaking project.^

Cllr Janet Blake of Buckinghamshire County Council and Chair of the East West Rail Joint Delivery Board for the Western Section said: "This is excellent news. This scheme will deliver the first section of infrastructure for East West Rail services that will run between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Aylesbury and Bedford.

^Enhanced rail services, improved connections and significantly reduced journey times compared to other means of travel will bring enormous benefits to individuals, businesses, communities and the local economy in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and beyond."


Notes to editors

Oxford to London Marylebone services operated by Chiltern Railways are scheduled to begin two years from now from a new Parkway station north of Oxford and from Oxford city centre in spring 2016 once upgrades in and around Oxford station have been completed. Journey times from the parkway station to London will be under an hour.

The Western Section of the East West Rail scheme will see the railway line reinstated between Bedford and Oxford, with spurs to Milton Keynes and Aylesbury. New train services (franchise operator to be announced) are due to begin operations from the end of 2017. More information can be found at www.EastWestRail.org.uk

[IndustryInsider]

The first lot of ballast has been dropped to create the curve.  Apparently 80000 tons of the stuff will be needed (and a fair amount of earth as well I should imagine) as it will be quite a big and long structure to link upwards five or so metres to the main Chiltern line:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-24107419

[ChrisB]

First 'confirmation'(assuming this was ok'd by Chiltern) of the line closure month too.

[paul7575]

All of the material has been delivered by rail in a bid to minimise road congestion.

So it's nearly finished then?

Does no-one at the BBC know basic English anymore?

Paul

[paul7575]

The first lot of ballast has been dropped to create the curve.  Apparently 80000 tons of the stuff will be needed (and a fair amount of earth as well I should imagine) as it will be quite a big and long structure to link upwards five or so metres to the main Chiltern line...

The inquiry 'statement of case' reported that the distance along the Chiltern main line from the new Bicester South Jn to the intersection bridge where the existing lines cross is 750m, and the height difference is 8m - which gives an idea of the scale of the job.  I expect once the curve round to meet the existing line at the new Gavray Jn is included the overall length of the chord lines will be getting towards 1000m or so?

Paul

[ChrisB]

A lot further than that, if you include the distance needed once it reaches the level Mainline. There is, I understand, a 6car length before the flat junction in which joining trains can wait for mainline access, should there be late running on the Mainline.

Understandably, the idea is that hill starts aren't sensible

[paul7575]

A lot further than that, if you include the distance needed once it reaches the level Mainline. There is, I understand, a 6car length before the flat junction in which joining trains can wait for mainline access, should there be late running on the Mainline.

There may well be a flat section near the junction, however the overall length is actually shown as 1000m as I anticipated, (now that I've blown it up and can read the 100m marks all the way along the drawing...)

Shown on sheets 1,2 and 3 of CRCL/P/6/B2 - one of the inquiry documents on the TWA site, but please be aware it's pretty massive file (105 Mb) for those on slow connections:

http://www.chiltern-evergreen3.co.uk/uploads/04Oct2010/CRCL-P-6-B2%20-%20Appendix%202%20-%20Stephen%20Barker.pdf

Paul

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

Pauk - I read the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report that all had been delivered by rail as all of the first lot and not that all the ballast needed for the job has been delivered.

[paul7575]

Paul - I read the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report that all had been delivered by rail as all of the first lot and not that all the ballast needed for the job has been delivered.

Well yes, that's what I thought they probably meant as well, but they still needn't report it in such an obviously ambiguous way.

Paul

[IndustryInsider]

Provisional replacement bus timings have been released for consultation for the closure early next year between Oxford and Bicester Town.  Although not a public consulation, OBRAG (Oxford to Bicester Rail Action Group) are being consulted, so regular passengers can have their say via them (but you'll have to be quick!).

Details and a downloadable timetable are available at:  http://www.obrag.org.uk/

From an initial look it seems to be quite a reasonable replacement service, though rather confusingly their appears to be two different options, one of which has a (very) optimistic 30-minute journey time from Oxford to Bicester non-stop which might just be possible off-peak, but no chance in the peaks!  The other is more realistic with a 45-minute timing in the peaks, but that has a noticeable gap Oxford to Bicester in the evening peak when there should be a fast bus, but there's only a 17:45 via Islip, timed at an unrealistic 45-minutes with that stop.  If both timetables will be running then the gaps are plugged, but the contradiction in timings is confusing!

[Btline]

They should make one lane of the A34 from the M40 junction to Oxford a bus lane.

 

[IndustryInsider]

Water Eaton Parkway is to be known as Oxford Parkway, Chiltern have decided:

http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/news/chiltern-railways-names-new-oxfordshire-station-oxford-parkway

Rather pleasing given they've almost adopted my suggestion from back in mid-2010.   

Just a thought on the subject of Water Eaton Parkway, which I think everyone recognises will become quite a successful and important new station when it opens.  But, why call it Water Eaton Parkway (assuming that name is not just a working title)?  Water Eaton itself is loosely described at a Hamlet, but it hardly even justifies a title of that importance!  Wouldn't calling it Kidlington Parkway (or even North Oxford Parkway) give this new station much more of an identity?  After all, it's only half a mile away from Kidlington and its 14000 residents and only slightly further away from what you'd call North Oxford.

Though not everyone agreed at the time as can be seen in the following discussion at the bottom of this page of the thread:  http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=3323.90

[IndustryInsider]

Work continues on the new chord and junction at Bicester.  Still lots do do, but you can now see the route the new train will take.





Also, demolition of the old (and grafitti ridden) grain silo on the location of the new Oxford Parkway station has commenced.  An eyesore, but a bit of a local icon!

[ellendune]

Is that a canal on the right or does the track drainage need some attention.

[4064ReadingAbbey]

Thank you for the photographs, it's good to see that progress is being made at last.

I notice that some changes to the arrangement of the connection at the other end of the Bicester to Oxford line have been announced. Essentially the idea of re-using the LNWR^▸ (London North Western Railway) route to Oxford has been dropped in favour of keeping the connection off the GW^▸ (Great Western) line near Wolvercote and making the easternmost line on the GW formation (the 'Jericho' line) reversible for the Chiltern trains.

I have seen no mention of it, but this change will make it easier and quicker to divert GW trains via Oxford when engineering work closes the line between Didcot and Paddington. As it will no longer be necessary to divert trains as far as Banbury and then reverse them, there should be a considerable time saving.