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Aberdeen - Inverness £170m Upgrade

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Altnabreac

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Previous thread locked so starting a new one.
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=98519

Contractor appointed to carry out phase 1 works which are listed below.

BAM to deliver £170m Aberdeen-Inverness rail upgrade

BAM has today been appointed principal contractor for the £170m upgrade of the Aberdeen-Inverness line.

The Scottish Government-funded enhancement will transform journeys on the route introducing a half-hourly commuter service between Aberdeen and Inverurie and additional peak services between Inverness and Elgin.

BAM, which recently completed the on-time, on-budget £294m Borders Railway, will now oversee the delivery of the Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project – the first phase of which is due for completion in 2019.

Over the next four years engineers will:
  • Double-track 16 miles of line between Aberdeen and Inverurie
  • Build a new station at Forres and straighten the railway alignment
  • Extend platforms at Insch and Elgin to accommodate longer trains
  • Upgrade signalling systems along the route
  • Install infrastructure to allow new stations to be built at Dalcross and Kintore.

Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, said: “I am pleased to witness the award of the contract to BAM for the first phase of the Aberdeen to Inverness Improvement Project.

“Today marks the Scottish Government’s landmark investment package of £170m to improve a key route connecting both northern cities, which will make journeys shorter, more frequent and more comfortable for those who use this important line regularly.

“This project is especially valuable for the region for, as well as the clear benefits to passengers and freight users, it will also support jobs and growth, providing an economic boost to the cities and communities along the entire length of the route.”

Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said:

BAM’s appointment is the first step on a journey that will deliver significant benefits for the North and North East of Scotland.

“Reduced journey times and the ability to run bigger trains with more seats will transform customers’ experience of rail travel.

“This is what the ScotRail Alliance is all about; connecting people with jobs, businesses with customers, and giving communities across Scotland the opportunity to grow and prosper.

Jerry Dickson, Operations Director for BAM, said: “Together with our partners AECOM, CH2M, Stobart Rail and Siemens, we are looking forward to commencing work on the Aberdeen to Inverness Enhancement Programme. This essential programme of works will improve connectivity between the major cities of Aberdeen and Inverness, with wider enhancements for the local communities in the north of Scotland.

We are particularly proud to have been awarded this contract in our 150th anniversary year, which has also seen BAM and Network Rail successfully re-open the Borders Railway, which is now providing an essential rail link between Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders”.

Engineers are currently carrying out ground investigation, site survey and vegetation clearance works on the line as part of the project and main construction works will begin in spring 2016.

Plans for new stations at Dalcross and Kintore are being developed separately by HITRANS and NESTRANS respectively, while a further phase of the Aberdeen-Inverness Improvements Project is to be developed

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/news/bam-deliver-£170m-aberdeen-inverness-rail-upgrade

Also worth following the Network Rail A2I twitter which has good updates on the project:
https://twitter.com/networkraila2i

In terms of what it doesn't include the new stations at Kintore and Dalcross are being progressed by NESTRANS and HITRANS.

Dalcross
http://www.hitrans.org.uk/News/Story/159
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/inverness/722422/inverness-airport-soon-get-train-station/

Kintore
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/f...-station-after-50-year-absence-gain-traction/
http://www.nestrans.org.uk/db_docs/...ne_2015/6b_Publications_and_Consultations.pdf

Also unclear is how much Level Crossing elimination work will be done in Phase 1.

Phase 2 in CP6 will look at redoubling between Nairn and Inverness to give more flexibility for the hourly train service and to provide capacity for a half hourly Elgin - Inverness service. Some doubling may be needed in advance of Phase 2 at Dalcross when the station reopens.

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/project/aberdeen-inverness-rail-improvements

One scheme which interacts with Phase 2 is the Inverness - Nairn A96 Dualling. It proposes replacing the existing Gollanfield Rail Bridge with a new structure which could eliminate one of the main obstacles to redoubling.

A96 Gollanfield Rail Bridge

This structure currently carries the existing A96 Aberdeen – Inverness Trunk Road over the single track railway on a clear span of 6.79m between abutment walls.

6.10.51 The options in relation to providing a proposed dual carriageway A96 over the railway at this location are as follows:

• (1) construct a completely new structure with a clear span to accommodate future doubling of the existing single track and to carry the full width of the proposed dual carriageway with the existing structure demolished;

For the purposes of this Stage 2 study, it has been assumed that option (1) above, i.e. providing a structure which will accommodate the doubling of the existing track and the full width of the proposed A96 dual carriageway, is preferred.
http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/project/a96-inverness-nairn-including-nairn-bypass
 
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jw

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Is there any indication of the journey time savings made possible by this work? Will the introduction of HSTs contribute to further reductions?
 

cb a1

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I believe that a 20 minute journey time reduction is expected. I don't know if that's the upgrade and / or the change to HST.
 

Altnabreac

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Is there any indication of the journey time savings made possible by this work? Will the introduction of HSTs contribute to further reductions?

The whole project is meant to reduce journey times from 2 hours 25 to under 2 hours so a 25 minute journey time reduction.

What is unclear is how much of the time savings will come from
  • A2I Phase 1 - this £170m investment by 2019.
  • The HST introduction from 2018 onwards.
  • A2I Phase 2 - The CP6 investment with more Nairn - Inverness redoubling, more level crossing eliminations and possibly other investments.

Of course to actually deliver a 2 hour journey time will need more than 25 minutes worth of speed improvements because of the 2 new stations and aspiration for another new station at Bucksburn in CP6.

The scheme was paused after the franchise award so that Abellio and Network Rail as an alliance could work together to see exactly what elements were needed to deliver the franchise required speed uplift.

This has presumably been agreed now but not seen anything in public domain about 2019 journey times. Would be worth someone tweeting Network Rail A2I to ask them.
 

clc

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The franchise ITT stated that Network Rail was designing the scheme on the assumption it would be operated by class 170s so you'd assume HST's would bring additional time savings.
 

clc

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This time-lapse video of a new road bridge over the Aberdeen-Inverness railway at Inveramsay has just been released. It's of interest because the new bridge is clearly designed to allow future doubling of the line:

http://whsclients.co.uk/fLKs/XHGyQPZo
 
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Altnabreac

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This time-lapse video of a new road bridge over the Aberdeen-Inverness railway at Inveramsay has just been released. It's of interest because the new bridge is clearly designed to allow future doubling of the line:

http://whsclients.co.uk/fLKs/XHGyQPZo

But not dualling of the A96!

(My understanding is they will probably go for a split carriageway solution here.)
 

Altnabreac

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NotATrainspott

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It's disappointing but wholly understandable. NR get funding from the Scottish Government to improve the rail network for passengers and for the economy, and in this case they've worked out that the best way to go about things is to redouble everything but the tunnels. If they did spend money on the tunnels, then they wouldn't have as much to spend elsewhere, so they may well not be able to fund the improvements that will actually make a difference. The benefit of redoubling this section will only come about when there are significantly more trains per hour.
 

najaB

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Network Rail has confirmed that the tunnels aren't being double tracked in phase 1
A short section of single track does eliminate flexibility a little bit, but it isn't the end of the world. As others have said, if there's only a fixed pot of money it's best to spend it where it will have the biggest impact.
 

A0wen

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The franchise ITT stated that Network Rail was designing the scheme on the assumption it would be operated by class 170s so you'd assume HST's would bring additional time savings.

But are HSTs actually quicker - up to 90 / 100 mph - than 170s?

I seem to recall when both operated on the Midland Mainline out of St Pancras, the 170s were noticeably quicker at getting up to speed - admittedly not as good as the Meridians, but more than capable of outrunning an HST.

So unless the route is being upgraded to >100mph running, and bearing in mind the longer dwell times for an HST than a 170 - I'm struggling to see where they're going to find further time savings.
 

edwin_m

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But are HSTs actually quicker - up to 90 / 100 mph - than 170s?

I seem to recall when both operated on the Midland Mainline out of St Pancras, the 170s were noticeably quicker at getting up to speed - admittedly not as good as the Meridians, but more than capable of outrunning an HST.

So unless the route is being upgraded to >100mph running, and bearing in mind the longer dwell times for an HST than a 170 - I'm struggling to see where they're going to find further time savings.

A 170 is a bit underpowered so acceleration is pretty poor at the top end of its speed range (they struggle to achieve 100mph at all unless downhill). At the lower end of the range the dominant factor is proportion of weight on powered axles, which is 50% for a 170 and probably a bit less for a 2+5 HST.
 

D6975

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Realigning and a new station at Forres is mentioned, but will this be 2 platforms, moving the loop to the station?
This would remove the 'dead' time that westbound trains sometimes spend in the loop.
 

JohnR

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Class 170 is about 9.5hp/ton, while a 2+5 HST would be just under 15hp/ton. So i'd expect much better acceleration.

Plus ScotRail intend to have a number of 2+4 HST sets, presumably for this route and Inverness-Central Belt.
 

najaB

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Plus ScotRail intend to have a number of 2+4 HST sets, presumably for this route and Inverness-Central Belt.
I hope they've ordered the prerequisite number of 'Turbo' decals to apply to the sides!
 

Bill EWS

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The tunnels at Aberdeen were double tracked when I started at Kittybrewster Depot in 1963. I am not aware that there is anything to stop re-doubling. They are just cut & Cover tunnels so shouldn't have any difficulties, that I know of. It was all double track between Aberdeen and Inch. Kintore was still open and the junction to Alford still operational for freight as was the Oldmeldrum branch and the MacDuff branch, albeit cut back to Turrif that had a daily goods, that I worked over a couple of times.
 
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najaB

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The tunnels at Aberdeen were double tracked when I started at Kittybrewster Depot in 1963. I am not aware that there is anything to stop re-doubling.
Two things come to mind: has the lifted track bed been used for running cabling, and would there be enough room for electrification clearances if the double track was reinstated?
 

Dr Hoo

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It is also sensible to allow for full container clearance through the tunnels at Aberdeen.
 

Railsigns

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Network Rail has confirmed that the tunnels aren't being double tracked in phase 1:

That was decided about a year ago. The design has been progressed on that basis.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Realigning and a new station at Forres is mentioned, but will this be 2 platforms, moving the loop to the station?

Yes, two platforms, at the middle of loop which will be over a mile in length.
 

snakeeyes

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Hi, does anyone know what's the latest development with the Aberdeen -Inverness improvements?

is there going to be a station for Inverness airport?

New station at Forres?

Cheers.
 

Highland37

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Hi, does anyone know what's the latest development with the Aberdeen -Inverness improvements?

is there going to be a station for Inverness airport?

New station at Forres?

Cheers.

Yes and yes as far as I know. The City deal confirms that.
 

Altnabreac

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Hi, does anyone know what's the latest development with the Aberdeen -Inverness improvements?

is there going to be a station for Inverness airport?

New station at Forres?

Cheers.

Worth following the project on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/networkraila2i

Or you can sign up for email updates here:
http://www.aberdeeninverness.co.uk/index.html

Dalcross (Inverness Airport) is technically not part of the project itself (beyond the enabling infrastructure) but is being progressed as a Scottish Stations Fund application by Hitrans. You can see the latest information on it here:
http://www.hitrans.org.uk/userfiles/file/INVERNESS AIRPORT DALCROSS STATION 10 12 2015.pdf

Kintore Station is also technically not part of the project and is being promoted by NESTrans. AECOM are currently developing a Business Case on their behalf. Latest info is here:
http://www.nestrans.org.uk/db_docs/..._February_2016/5a_Rail_Action_Plan_Update.pdf
 
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GRALISTAIR

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