Great Western Electrification Progress

[Envoy]

Wonder if any allowance has been made for insertion of a new station at St.Mellons / Cardiff East on the relief lines. It would be crazy to insert the catenary only to have to rip it up again and move track for a platform.

 

[PHILIPE]

Wonder if any allowance has been made for insertion of a new station at St.Mellons / Cardiff East on the relief lines. It would be crazy to insert the catenary only to have to rip it up again and move track for a platform.

That might mean 2 bodies/sections Network Rail working separately with no joined up thinking

 

[swt_passenger]

Surely the aforementioned "Corsham" feeder is sited at Thingley Junction, but is normally referred to as "Melksham", because it is supplied by buried cables running from the existing National Grid site just north of Melksham.

 

[snowball]

Surely the aforementioned "Corsham" feeder is sited at Thingley Junction, but is normally referred to as "Melksham", because it is supplied by buried cables running from the existing National Grid site just north of Melksham.

And as far as I know Thingley rather than Corsham will also be the western limit of the wires towards Bath unless/until further wiring is authorised?

 

[swt_passenger]

And as far as I know Thingley rather than Corsham will also be the western limit of the wires towards Bath unless/until further wiring is authorised?

That seems to be the general view of earlier posts here and in other forums.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Thingley Jn-North Somerset Jcn is deferred rather than cancelled, so I imagine it will still happen at some point, similar to Didcot-Oxford.

 

[jimm]

That seems to be the general view of earlier posts here and in other forums.

It is stated in black and white on page 84 of the Network Rail Enhancements Delivery Plan that Thingley is where the wires will run to for the time being. WB is Wootton Bassett

EiS Infrastructure Authorised (WB Jn to Thingley)
Infrastructure authorised for passenger use
March 2019

https://cdn.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Enhancements-Delivery-Plan.pdf

 

[Chris125]

Corsham will be a feed point yes, but there are more further West to feed traction supply into the system. If, as has been mooted, Steventon is to remain a gap in the short term at least - then Didcot isn’t going to have to feed much West of it.

I thought they were now wiring Steventon, but with a speed limit for anything using them until the bridge is rebuilt?

 

[HowardGWR]

It is stated in black and white on page 84 of the Network Rail Enhancements Delivery Plan that Thingley is where the wires will run to for the time being. WB is Wootton Bassett



https://cdn.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Enhancements-Delivery-Plan.pdf

Thingley Jcn used to be quite extensive in MOD sidings for, I believe, the RN at Corsham caves and RAF at nearby airfields. If one looks using Street View from the west bridge (photos are from May 2009) one sees the the National Grid crosses right over the sidings there.

 

[FGW_DID]

Saturday night, the last little bits of work were done in Reading TCD so that the East Yard which was a PEZ (Permanently Earthed Zone) could be energised during Sunday. This was successfully completed and all testing went well.

387151 was the first EMU to run, under its own power, into the East Yard this morning.

Reading TCD is now 99.9% live. (The Underframe Clean facility still awaits OLE as a result of alterations due to the Wheel Lathe build.)

 

[JN114]

Saturday night, the last little bits of work were done in Reading TCD so that the East Yard which was a PEZ (Permanently Earthed Zone) could be energised during Sunday. This was successfully completed and all testing went well.

387151 was the first EMU to run, under its own power, into the East Yard this morning.

Reading TCD is now 99.9% live. (The Underframe Clean facility still awaits OLE as a result of alterations due to the Wheel Lathe build.)

Does that mean you can dump 387s on the East as well now?

 

[FGW_DID]

Does that mean you can dump 387s on the East as well now?

Yes but only somewhere that makes it really inconvenient for any other train movements!

 

[InOban]

Do I assume that the remaining 0.1% has to be completed before the ORR will sign off this section?

 

[CardiffKid]

A quick question to forum members after 200+ pages of posts (in this thread alone) about this project:

Does anyone think that the wires will reach and be switched on in Cardiff by December 2018 - which is Network Rail’s latest estimate?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

A quick question to forum members after 200+ pages of posts (in this thread alone) about this project:

Does anyone think that the wires will reach and be switched on in Cardiff by December 2018 - which is Network Rail’s latest estimate?

Yes the ramifications of not doing so are just too great.

 

[deltic08]

A quick question to forum members after 200+ pages of posts (in this thread alone) about this project:

Does anyone think that the wires will reach and be switched on in Cardiff by December 2018 - which is Network Rail’s latest estimate?

Yes, but not continuously from Paddington.

 

[snowball]

Yes the ramifications of not doing so are just too great.

Yet I saw two items or three suggesting the government had accepted slippage to spring 2019 before I saw one saying NR was reasserting Dec 2018.

 

[Railperf]

Am I right in hearing electrification will almost reach Didcot from January? Traction changeover signs are being installed at Didcot East!! If so, how will the 387's reach Didcot Parkway? According to Network Rail this is the situation... Dicot Parkway station is situated at 53 miles and 10 chains!!

BETWEEN CHOLSEY AND DIDCOT EAST
In association with the future extension of electrified train services to Didcot, new signage has been installed in an un-bagged state on the Down lines, but bagged over on the Up lines and must be disregarded until further notice.

FROM 08:00 SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER
50m 34ch Down Main: Warning of traction change-over **50m 17ch Up Main: (Modified with red cross) Do Not Raise Pantograph ***50m 17ch Up Relief: (Modified with red cross) Do Not Raise Pantograph ** signs bagged over

FROM 02:50 FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER
**50m 64ch Up Main: Warning of traction change-over 50m 64ch Down Relief: Warning of traction change-over **sign bagged over

FROM 05:30 FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER
50m 64ch Down Main: Train class specific instruction for class 80X “DIESEL”

FROM 08:40 SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER
51m 19ch Down Relief: Train class specific instruction for class 80X “DIESEL” 51m 78ch Down Main: Traction change-over to diesel – Class 80X 52m 25ch Down Relief: Traction change-over to diesel – Class 80X.

 

[Mag_seven]

Am I right in hearing electrification will almost reach Didcot from January? Traction changeover signs are being installed at Didcot East!! If so, how will the 387's reach Didcot Parkway?

Suspect the traction changover signs may be for the Class 800's, not the class 387's. The traction changeover signs at Maidenhead (where class 387's go) are to the east of there as well.

 

[Railperf]

If so, will that mean that Class 800's starting from Didcot eastbound are going to be starting in Diesel mode and switching to electric by Cholsey, and then in return the Didcot stoppers westbound having to switch from electric to diesel while braking for the Didcot stop?

 

[snowball]

Where was the original western limit of the "test track" that was the first bit to go live (but not for service trains)? Is that to become the new western limit of electric operation for service trains?

 

[Melancholia]

If so, will that mean that Class 800's starting from Didcot eastbound are going to be starting in Diesel mode and switching to electric by Cholsey, and then in return the Didcot stoppers westbound having to switch from electric to diesel while braking for the Didcot stop?

I highly doubt they would be, because firstly all Didcot Parkway starters/terminators will be 387s, and also the switch-over will happen once the trains are at a stand at Didcot (if they call there, otherwise follow the traction changeover signage).

 

[Tw99]

I know it's been mentioned before, but what is the actual start date for electric services to Didcot?

 

[Mag_seven]

I know it's been mentioned before, but what is the actual start date for electric services to Didcot?

2nd January (2018).

 

[Mag_seven]

If so, will that mean that Class 800's starting from Didcot eastbound are going to be starting in Diesel mode and switching to electric by Cholsey, and then in return the Didcot stoppers westbound having to switch from electric to diesel while braking for the Didcot stop?

There could be separate arrangements for stoppers - maybe the switchover signs are only for non-stoppers?

 

[DidcotDickie]

The switchover signs, like those at Maidenhead, will apply to the 800s not the 387s.

To answer the other question above, the western limit of the live overhead is Milton Junction, west of the National Grid feeder station at Foxhall Junction. There are wires in place further west towards Steventon, where there is a gap from the A34 bridge to Causeway Crossing, but I believe that these are not yet live.

 

[swt_passenger]

Am I right in hearing electrification will almost reach Didcot from January?

While you've possibly been focussing on IET operations, there has been a parallel process towards operating 387s between Didcot and Paddington from January 2nd, and this has also been under discussion for many months. It is a key requirement to allow Turbos to be cascaded away from Thames Valley services. Route timetables have now been published and there is nothing to suggest Paddington to Didcot OHLE will not be operational by then.

 

[QueensCurve]

Returning from the far South West last Saturday in daylight, I could see some progress with the wiring in the Bristol Porkway area. Here are some snaps taken from the train of Westerleigh Junction.

 

[HowardGWR]

Returning from the far South West last Saturday in daylight, I could see some progress with the wiring in the Bristol Porkway area. Here are some snaps taken from the train of Westerleigh Junction.

Trotting along well with it then.

 

[50031]

View attachment 40498 View attachment 40499 View attachment 40500 Returning from the far South West last Saturday in daylight, I could see some progress with the wiring in the Bristol Porkway area. Here are some snaps taken from the train of Westerleigh Junction.

This section was done during the September blockade which included the start of the Bristol Parkway Platform 1 works. Haven't seen anything much happen here the last few weeks, apart from installing the gantrys on the M4 bridge. Hopefully more progress over the holiday period