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Great Western Electrification Progress

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TwistedMentat

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If you're ever unfortunate enough to have to deal with doctors and nurses in an hospital/call out setting then they leave the IT sector in the shade when it comes to TLAs and acronyms. :(

My fav was dealing with an NZ government client and finding a TLA that was not Three Letter Acronym. Territorial Local Authority if you're wondering. ;) :p
 

QueensCurve

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I was the Signaller on duty, there was a wheelchair bound passenger on the XC who needed the GWR so it was for a quick transfer across, saved delaying the paddington for a Plaform 2 to platform 3/4 lift transfer.

Many thanks. Delighted the railway can be so responsive.
 

HowardGWR

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My fav was dealing with an NZ government client and finding a TLA that was not Three Letter Acronym. Territorial Local Authority if you're wondering. ;) :p
Sorry I started this. Strictly speaking an acronym should be able to be said, such as 'TSSA' which is usually said as 'Tessa'. Otherwise the TLAs, about which I queried, are Three Letter Abbreviations.

I don't suppose anyone on NR pronounces OLE as the Spanish do?
 

snowball

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TCD: Train Care Depot
I was wondering how it was going to get to Trinity College, Dublin.

In aviation circles you'll often see IATA and IACO codes to refer to airports and plane models.
If only it was just airport codes! When there's an air crash I usually look on PPRUNE for discussion of what happened and why, but it's full of TLAs and FLAs for the equipment and systems, which do far more to obscure the meaning than mere airport codes.
 
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RP

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First signs of OLE masts and cantilevers, etc. at Newport station. Also, a revised signal gantry at the west end, where it appears that they have used the existing uprights with new vertical extensions and a new horizontals and signal heads. A similar structure has appeared at the east end of the station adjacent to the Newport Castle remains.

The Usk viaduct looks strange with the protective sheeting in conjunction with the works going on there.

IMG_0310.JPG IMG_0311.JPG IMG_0313.JPG IMG_0314.JPG
 

snowball

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Press release

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds...-trains-with-more-seats-to-come-into-service/

Passengers in Berkshire and Oxfordshire will benefit from more seats and better journeys as Network Rail delivered electrification to Didcot on December 27 as part of their Railway Upgrade Plan.

Energisation of the Great Western mainline between Maidenhead and Didcot, which has been delivered early, means Great Western Railway will be able to run their new Electrostar trains from Didcot on 2 January. Along with the new Intercity Express Trains, they will provide an extra 4,800 seats into and out of London Paddington during the morning peak (between 0700 and 0959), a 10% increase compared to January 2017.

Electrification to Didcot was delivered earlier than the target date set of January 2018 as per the Hendy review in January 2016.

Network Rail had already delivered electrification from Paddington to Maidenhead in May 2017, increasing capacity in the Thames Valley.

Electrification of the mainline forms part of Network Rail’s £6 billion route modernisation programme which combines electrification, re-signalling and track and infrastructure improvements that together will ease congestion, reduce delays, improve reliability of the network, and increase the number of trains on the route.

It has already allowed GWR to run new and more modern trains through Bristol, Bath, Berkshire, Wiltshire and London in 2017 with further new trains arriving in Devon, Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire in 2018 as they continue to deliver the biggest fleet upgrade in a generation.

Mark Langman, Western route managing director for Network Rail, said: “Electrification to Didcot is another major step forward in the biggest ever transformation on the Great Western Mainline as we deliver more trains, more seats and better journeys for communities across the route.

“This will boost local communities and provide a better service for passengers travelling in Didcot, Reading, across the Thames Valley and west London.

“It has been a real team effort as Network Rail and GWR staff worked tirelessly to get to this stage. It is an example of track and train working together for the benefit of the passenger and really does herald an exciting time on the railway.”

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said “The 2 January marks a massive step towards delivering the capacity improvements we have promised, and the most significant series of improvements for rail passengers in a generation.

“Electric trains will run under the wires between Didcot and London for the first time, delivering real improvements for our passengers in London and the Thames Valley and enabling us to make further improvements throughout our network, supporting the communities we serve.

“Let me also take this opportunity to thank our passengers in advance for their patience during the Christmas period, as Network Rail continues Crossrail works, and its programme to modernise the Great Western.”
 

LNW-GW Joint

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A bit of rewriting of history here I think, considering the wires should have reached Bristol, Newbury and Oxford 12 months ago...
Energisation of the Great Western mainline between Maidenhead and Didcot, which has been delivered early,
But at least they are sticking to the Hendy dates.
It also starts the long-awaited cascades of stock from GWR which sends DMUs west and north.
 

jyte

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Definitely Newbury and I think Bristol Parkway by December '18. Newbury looks very likely at the current rate (new footbridge at Newbury is in, first contact wire run went in about a week ago) but I think Parkway (or even further) by 2018 is going to be a challenge.
 

Mintona

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Cardiff by December 2018 currently looks somewhat optimistic. I know they’re apparently still on course but there’s much piling still to do.
 

jimm

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Definitely Newbury and I think Bristol Parkway by December '18. Newbury looks very likely at the current rate (new footbridge at Newbury is in, first contact wire run went in about a week ago) but I think Parkway (or even further) by 2018 is going to be a challenge.

Newbury, Bristol Parkway and Cardiff are all due at the end of 2018, with Wootton Bassett to Thingley to follow by March 2019.

Don't know why you think Parkway will be a stretch, given the considerable amount of work going on all the way from Didcot, with plenty of sections fully wired up already through the Vale of White Horse. As can be seen in the pictures above from Newport, they are starting to fit some small part steelwork in South Wales as well and the conductor rail through the Severn Tunnel is already in place.

Thus far they are sticking to the Hendy review target dates. Let's wait and see how far things have got by the middle of next year.
 

hassaanhc

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I would like to thank all the staff who have worked day and night to finally get this project completed. Definitely not been easy and the timescale had to be changed, but finally us passengers in the Thames Valley get a standard of railway that other "less important" railway lines managed over 50 years ago! I'm also someone who doesn't mind the look of the OHLE installed here, and it definitely shows it is built to last. Yes it is a complete difference to how things looked before electrification (loads of photos available online compared to other lines due to various reasons), and some bits of work could be improved (I really don't like the new canopies at Maidenhead :'(), the big improvement that electric trains bring will be felt for years to come :smile:
 

hwl

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Autotransformer systems are AC OLE systems with an extra live wire, carrying a voltage of -25kV (opposed to the +25kV on the catenary/contact wires); this reduces the need to have booster transformers every few miles.
You effectively have a difference of 50kV available which can be used to provide an excellent 25kV supply over very large distances...
 

J-2739

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Autotransformer systems are AC OLE systems with an extra live wire, carrying a voltage of -25kV (opposed to the +25kV on the catenary/contact wires); this reduces the need to have booster transformers every few miles.

Cheers!

Last question, where's the extra wire located?
 

deltic08

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I would like to thank all the staff who have worked day and night to finally get this project completed. Definitely not been easy and the timescale had to be changed, but finally us passengers in the Thames Valley get a standard of railway that other "less important" railway lines managed over 50 years ago! I'm also someone who doesn't mind the look of the OHLE installed here, and it definitely shows it is built to last. Yes it is a complete difference to how things looked before electrification (loads of photos available online compared to other lines due to various reasons), and some bits of work could be improved (I really don't like the new canopies at Maidenhead :'(), the big improvement that electric trains bring will be felt for years to come :smile:
Is there anyone out there who has ridden Didcot or Reading to Paddington on a 387 and can tell us what it is like compared to a turbo?
 

LNW-GW Joint

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Cheers!
Last question, where's the extra wire located?

Usually top of the mast/gantry, on a big fat insulator.
It's why many of the masts/gantries have a higher projection at one end.
On the WCML they installed an extension on the existing masts.
 

deltic08

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Newbury, Bristol Parkway and Cardiff are all due at the end of 2018, with Wootton Bassett to Thingley to follow by March 2019.

Don't know why you think Parkway will be a stretch, given the considerable amount of work going on all the way from Didcot, with plenty of sections fully wired up already through the Vale of White Horse. As can be seen in the pictures above from Newport, they are starting to fit some small part steelwork in South Wales as well and the conductor rail through the Severn Tunnel is already in place.

Thus far they are sticking to the Hendy review target dates. Let's wait and see how far things have got by the middle of next year.
I thought Thingley-Wootten Bassett had to be wired before Didcot-Bristol Parkway could be energised.
 

edwin_m

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I thought Thingley-Wootten Bassett had to be wired before Didcot-Bristol Parkway could be energised.
If I recall correctly they are providing a trackside 25kV cable along this section as well as OLE, but I would guess they have to have one or the other working otherwise Parkway is a long way from a feeder. Once wiring is complete to Cardiff they will be able to feed from there too.
 

Non Multi

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Cheers!

Last question, where's the extra wire located?
The Series 1 OHLE diagram below is from the Network Rail - A Guide to Overhead Electrification by Alan Baxter. It can be found online as a PDF. The extra wire is labeled as the 'Auto transformer feeder', suspended below an insulator.NR-series-one-catenary.gif
 
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