Market Harborough Station Upgrade

Flying Phil · 5 Mar 2019

Levels built up on Southbound platform and foundation re bars going in on Northbound around the footbridge. The stairs are going in over the next two weekends and tarmac for platforms to the North of the footbridge over the next two weeks. They are busy putting the platform edging slabs in today. So good progress with the fine weather helping.

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59CosG95 · 6 Mar 2019

So, the big question in light of yesterday's wiring announcement - has there been any sign of OLE foundation piling behind the new alignment?

hwl · 6 Mar 2019

59CosG95 said:
So, the big question in light of yesterday's wiring announcement - has there been any sign of OLE foundation piling behind the new alignment?

If I were doing it (I'm not) I'd wait till the station was finished on the new alignment and then when the existing track and platform have been lifted/ demolished and the car park works expansion works are to start then pile on that side for TTCs.
Much simpler and cheaper to sort electrification work after the rail part of the station works are done.

Hence I wouldn't expect to see anything soon.

PS thanks as always for the electrification updates.

59CosG95 · 6 Mar 2019

hwl said:
If I were doing it (I'm not) I'd wait till the station was finished on the new alignment and then when the existing track and platform have been lifted/ demolished and the car park works expansion works are to start then pile on that side for TTCs.
Much simpler and cheaper to sort electrification work after the rail part of the station works are done.

Hence I wouldn't expect to see anything soon.

PS thanks as always for the electrification updates.

Indeed - though the foundations may well be concrete cast in-situ behind the platforms, which may well be done during the blockade. We'll just have to wait and see!

PS Not a problem with the updates - I'll get the next MML one up very soon!

edwin_m · 6 Mar 2019

59CosG95 said:
Indeed - though the foundations may well be concrete cast in-situ behind the platforms, which may well be done during the blockade. We'll just have to wait and see!

They aren't affecting the operational railway and doing them during the blockade probably risks the respective contractors getting in each other's way as well as increasing the amount of work to be done in a fixed length of time. Even if authorisation is in place to spend money by then (highly unlikely) it would be better to do them at leisure once the platforms are complete.

hwl · 6 Mar 2019

edwin_m said:
They aren't affecting the operational railway and doing them during the blockade probably risks the respective contractors getting in each other's way as well as increasing the amount of work to be done in a fixed length of time. Even if authorisation is in place to spend money by then (highly unlikely) it would be better to do them at leisure once the platforms are complete.

Completely agree. The piling or bases can easily be done later in normal construction hours while the railway is operating.

Flying Phil · 6 Mar 2019

I did ask at the site a while ago if there was any provision for electrification in the new platforms and was told "No - but it was future proofed, so easy to add later".

Bald Rick · 6 Mar 2019

59CosG95 said:
So, the big question in light of yesterday's wiring announcement - has there been any sign of OLE foundation piling behind the new alignment?

No chance, as the final final decision has yet to be made (although it is very likely to happen). The announcement yesterday wasn’t an announcement. It was an answer to a question - a very different thing in politics!

swt_passenger · 6 Mar 2019

I’d have thought adding portals later with the verticals behind the platforms was a better solution than planting them in the platforms. The less obstructions on the platform the better, they are likely to be the minimum width allowed over at least some of the length...

Flying Phil · 7 Mar 2019

swt_passenger said:
I’d have thought adding portals later with the verticals behind the platforms was a better solution than planting them in the platforms. The less obstructions on the platform the better, they are likely to be the minimum width allowed over at least some of the length...

Agreed - but perhaps I should have written "with the new platforms" rather than "in the new platforms"..... :oops:

Flying Phil · 7 Mar 2019

On the local news today they are reporting problems with the refurb of the Great Bowden road over-bridge, which is to the North of the station. The road is going to be affected for much longer - another few weeks it seems.

Flying Phil · 18 Mar 2019

We now have one set of steps! Work continues on the platform infilling, and there is the base tarmac laid on the North half of the platforms. The second photograph is taken where the rails will be going Northbound.

edwin_m · 18 Mar 2019

And before anyone asks, those concrete stepped things aren't OLE bases...

Flying Phil · 20 Mar 2019

They have restarted work on the Little Bowden foot bridge and on the Great Bowden road over-bridge, they are building new, higher, blue brick parapets, with the North side being built first.

edwin_m · 20 Mar 2019

Flying Phil said:
They have restarted work on the Little Bowden foot bridge and on the Great Bowden road over-bridge, they are building new, higher, blue brick parapets, with the North side being built first.

And before anyone asks, while they may be OLE-compatible parapets they don't mean OLE is coming this far north. It's probable that moving the tracks around under the bridge has triggered a need to bring it up to current standards.

Flying Phil · 23 Mar 2019

We now have steps on both sides of our new footbridge....and the Northbound platform has edging all along so vehicular access to the new trackbed and Southbound platform is only from the ends now.

class26 · 23 Mar 2019

edwin_m said:
And before anyone asks, while they may be OLE-compatible parapets they don't mean OLE is coming this far north. It's probable that moving the tracks around under the bridge has triggered a need to bring it up to current standards.

But according to Aprils Modern Railways electrification WILL come as far north as MH

edwin_m · 23 Mar 2019

class26 said:
But according to Aprils Modern Railways electrification WILL come as far north as MH

According to the headline and front cover splash. The actual article quotes NR "As part of our next funding cycle (Control Period 6) we are looking at the viability of options which would enable eletric trains to run from Market Harborough to London." It states DfT has announced the electrification but a search of DfT press releases shows nothing.

So it's not at all clear whether this is genuinely agreed or just a piece of spin, and I'm concerned that what ought to be an authoritative trade publication may be reporting it as something it isn't.

Chris125 · 23 Mar 2019

edwin_m said:
According to the headline and front cover splash. The actual article quotes NR "As part of our next funding cycle (Control Period 6) we are looking at the viability of options which would enable eletric trains to run from Market Harborough to London." It states DfT has announced the electrification but a search of DfT press releases shows nothing.

So it's not at all clear whether this is genuinely agreed or just a piece of spin, and I'm concerned that what ought to be an authoritative trade publication may be reporting it as something it isn't.

https://www.railjournal.com/passeng...ain-line-electrification-extension-confirmed/

NR have determined that it's the best way to provide the power supply and has been instructed to design it, but AIUI final confirmation has to wait for that to be completed - presumably in case they've misjudged the cost and it's no longer value for money.

deltic08 · 24 Mar 2019

Those new platforms do seem unnecessarily close together.

Flying Phil · 24 Mar 2019

deltic08 said:
Those new platforms do seem unnecessarily close together.

I think that is a perspective illusion - the camera is actually in the centre, of what will be, the straight Northbound track.

InTheEastMids · 29 Mar 2019

Little Bowden footbridge is now open... Finally.

https://twitter.com/hfmnews/status/1111590954631380992?s=19

richieb1971 · 29 Mar 2019

Just went past on a HST. Double tracks are down north of the station. Looking good.

DanDaDriver · 29 Mar 2019

Had to laugh when I found out the previous 40mph crossover is being replaced by a 25mph one. And the south end signals are also not viewable from the platform. Cracking job by NR as always....

InTheEastMids · 29 Mar 2019

DanDaDriver said:
Had to laugh when I found out the previous 40mph crossover is being replaced by a 25mph one. And the south end signals are also not viewable from the platform. Cracking job by NR as always....

Given the engineering siding is gone, no trains are turned back at MH and they normally shut the railway for engineering works rather than use bi directional running, I'm a bit surpised that there will be a crossover at all?

Re signals... Are they obscured by the new bridge or just that they need to be realigned during the shut down at the end of may?

DanDaDriver · 29 Mar 2019

InTheEastMids said:
Given the engineering siding is gone, no trains are turned back at MH and they normally shut the railway for engineering works rather than use bi directional running, I'm a bit surpised that there will be a crossover at all?

Re signals... Are they obscured by the new bridge or just that they need to be realigned during the shut down at the end of may?

The signals are moving. I believe theres maybe going to be a banner repeater, but no AWS, which obviously brings its own risks.

Flying Phil · 30 Mar 2019

I would have thought that the signals will be much more visible when the new platforms are in use, as it will be a straight track then - not the "S Bend".

DanDaDriver · 30 Mar 2019

Not where they’re moving them to.

Flying Phil · 1 Apr 2019

Work is continuing on cladding the new footbridge and getting ready to install the lifts, preparing the platforms for top surfacing and preparing the trackbed for initial ballasting.

Apologies for the composition on the last picture, the camera has to be held over a 7 foot tall fence!

swt_passenger · 1 Apr 2019

There’s track near the platform ends in the second picture, if you zoom in...

Market Harborough Station Upgrade

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