Hitchin Flyover

[swt_passenger]

Yet another announcement - presumably because Hammond has fully approved the TWA order. Back in October he was 'minded to approve' while they sorted out construction access and future drainage maintenance.

So that points to a start on the ground fairly soon, ie 'later this year'.

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...GETS-GREEN-LIGHT-1702/SearchCategoryID-8.aspx

 

[shinkansen1966]

Yet another announcement - presumably because Hammond has fully approved the TWA order. Back in October he was 'minded to approve' while they sorted out construction access and future drainage maintenance.

So that points to a start on the ground fairly soon, ie 'later this year'.

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...GETS-GREEN-LIGHT-1702/SearchCategoryID-8.aspx

So the Hitchin Flyover will be ready in early 2014. Great stuff and not a moment too soon.

Wonder if FCC or successor franchise will use this opportunity to rewrite the timetable for this route or add more service as the press release indicates.

Welywn bottleneck to sort out next. One cheaper solution is to reposition Welywn North station on the south side of Digwell/Welywn viaduct just before four track merges into two track for the crossing.

 

[cle]

I understand this is great for resilience, less pathing delays etc... but will this actually lead to any increases in service, or decreased in journey times? Especially with Welwyn a few miles south!

 

[shinkansen1966]

I understand this is great for resilience, less pathing delays etc... but will this actually lead to any increases in service, or decreased in journey times? Especially with Welwyn a few miles south!

My guess is improved reliability. Nothing more. Mind you, that would be a welcome improvement.

Plus the novelty of travelling at speed off the ECML, over the viaduct and onto Cambridge line instead of the crawl through Hitchin. Or just as likely wait for an EC train to pass.

 

[swt_passenger]

It will be Thameslink and also IEP to Kings Lynn that will really make changes to the service pattern possible.

I expect that although the flyover provides the actual reliability improvements necessary to run with closer headways (as there'll be no up/down crossing conflicts) - without the additional rolling stock provided by the other projects not much can happen?

 

[Aictos]

It would just mean a increase in service capacity, will be worth it's weight in gold in maintaining a service when for example there's any problems preventing services to use the Cambridge Junction pointwork to access the Cambridge branchline.

 

[philjo]

It will allow the evening peak Hertford services to go through to Letchworth & turnback from the sidings there (they do this off-peak at the moment anyway). This would ease congestion from platform 4 at Stevenage. The Cambridge stoppers in evening peak are currently timetabled to wait outside Stevenage for 2-3 minutes as they are waiting for the Hertford service in platform 4 to leave again towards hertford before the line is clear. The Cambridge service waits again 2-3 minutes at Hitchin for various EC services to go through - on some days the wait is up to 6-7 minutes. so a 20 minute WGC-Letchworth journey off-peak takes about 30 minutes in the evening peak.

It means they can fine tune the timetable around Welwyn without having to factor in conflicts at Hitchin as well. Though the linespeed for the slow lines Woolmer Green-Hitchin needs increasing so the Cambridge fasts can use this without a time penalty.

 

[LE Greys]

It will allow the evening peak Hertford services to go through to Letchworth & turnback from the sidings there (they do this off-peak at the moment anyway). This would ease congestion from platform 4 at Stevenage. The Cambridge stoppers in evening peak are currently timetabled to wait outside Stevenage for 2-3 minutes as they are waiting for the Hertford service in platform 4 to leave again towards hertford before the line is clear. The Cambridge service waits again 2-3 minutes at Hitchin for various EC services to go through - on some days the wait is up to 6-7 minutes. so a 20 minute WGC-Letchworth journey off-peak takes about 30 minutes in the evening peak.

Oh, so that's it! I've often wondered what that wait was for.

 

[GingerSte]

This is good news. A few more like this and we'll be alright.

Do we know who's designing/building it yet?
(Declaring interest as bridge engineer.)

 

[Fred26]

This is good news. A few more like this and we'll be alright.

Does Network Rail have plans for a flyover at Newark?

 

[philjo]

Whilst talking of this section of line, NHDC have issued planning notices saying a planning application has been received for extending the platforms at Letchworth.

http://www.north-herts.gov.uk/dcdataonline/Pages/AcolNetCGI.gov?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=151975


Regarding the flyover construction, I assume the the section over the ECML will be installed either during Christmas 2012 or 2013 when the railway is closed? Otherwise, there could be a couple of weekend diversions via Cambridge!

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Regarding the flyover construction, I assume the the section over the ECML will be installed either during Christmas 2012 or 2013 when the railway is closed? Otherwise, there could be a couple of weekend diversions via Cambridge!

Maybe. But I assume that you weren't watching the development of the new motorway (linking the M8 and M74) over the WCML and all suburan lines radiating from Glasgow Central last February, then?
If you google for it, you might even find time-lapse images of the bridge being progressively 'rolled-out' by a novel technique over the railway very slowly during night-times.

 

[OxtedL]

Something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucbkfjGKR_w&feature=related
?

 

[yorkie]

It means they can fine tune the timetable around Welwyn without having to factor in conflicts at Hitchin as well. Though the linespeed for the slow lines Woolmer Green-Hitchin needs increasing so the Cambridge fasts can use this without a time penalty.

But they don't need to; the turnout from the Down Fast to Down Slow just south of (ie, before) Hitchin is 70mph, isn't it? So they can do 100mph all the way to just before Hitchin anyway.

 

[philjo]

True, but the southbound services (which won't be affected by the flyover as they will obviously use the existing route) often use the slow lines from Hitchin to Woolmer Green as an EC service tends to pass them in the Stevenage area. The slow line south from Hitchin I think is 75mph. Hitchin to Letchworth section on the branch is 90mph.

 

[FLHH East Anglia]

i think that the speeds will go up for MU's on the slows in the not too distant future.