Minstral25
Established Member
I think all what TSR said is correct. There were only 3 foot crossings that needed upgrade (or at least that was what GWR said at Stakeholder meetings) and all three have now been fixed.
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3tph on North Downs Line
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I think all what TSR said is correct. There were only 3 foot crossings that needed upgrade (or at least that was what GWR said at Stakeholder meetings) and all three have now been fixed.
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R
RailUK Forums
Thanks for that. How fascinating. I don't know which one of the foot crossings I used but I do know there was a walk to reach it, as in it wasn't right by a road if I remember correctly.
I can't remember if I ever used the Gomshall barrow crossing. I use to go walking from there but would mostly if not always exit on the side with the car parking.
That Gomshall footbridge. How much did that cost (local website suggests 2m or so). It’s enormous. With full disabled access (worthy and laudable). But lord almighty, it’s massive. For a small unstaffed station where they don’t run a proper service. Surely that money could have been a lot better spent on going towards track improvements to better the service (trying to sort out the long evening gap in the timetable would be useful). Or is this a case of different ring fenced pots of money and if you don’t spend them, you lose them ?
Meanwhile, there's been no progress (that I'm aware of) in erecting a footbridge at the rather busier Farnborough North, so the barrow crossing continues to be manned throughout the day.
Which goes up and over a road bridge just before hand, so as long as it's possible to cycle it most people probably wouldn't be put off. Especially given that the road road it quite a long way around.
The road bridge adds trivial distance as it’s broadly in line, the railway bridge would have to be a major zigzag on both sides (unless the eastern side was to have two ramps, making it even more expensive and obtrusive). Not sure where you fit in the western ramps and steps either
But is it cheaper than staff meaning it?
I have regularly cycled to Farnborough North, using the foot crossing. There’s also the crossing, unmanned, of the other (Frimley Ash Vale) line, the other end of the lakes (off The Hatches). I have passed cyclists and lycra clad yummy mummies pushing/jogging with prams. But never a disabled person using any sort of mobility device (I know not all disabilities are visible).
The bridge over the A331 is also in pretty bad shape (and is necessary to get , and a fair slope for anyone propelling themselves without assistance. I struggle to see how any infirm person will be able to do that one either...
The bridge over the A331 is also in pretty bad shape (and is necessary to get , and a fair slope for anyone propelling themselves without assistance. I struggle to see how any infirm person will be able to do that one either...
When two fast trains an hour run to Gatwick Airport, will they run on Saturdays?
Would it be possible to run two trains an hour when there is engineering works between Reading and Wokingham or is there not enough platform space or the right infrastructure to allow it?
I ask because today there is just one train an hour due to engineering works. This is a combined stopper that also runs to Gatwick Airport.
Well that's the theory. The train I'm on has had its Gatwick Airport stop removed due to a train fault. Interestingly I can find no perticular station where the train was seriously delayed due to this fault. It seems to have been gradual throughout it's journey, and potentially previous journey. Maybe it's a fault that allows it to continue in service. (it's the 13:08 from Guildford if anyone is interested and the fault relates to coach 3).
Alas we shall arrive into Redhill after the 13:55 has left and then we shall wait until the 14:25 turns up. The service provision from Redhill southwards isn't great but maybe there isn't enough demand.
Surprisingly though, the other week a delayed train to Gatwick Airport was allowed to run all the way to Gatwick Airport. It was above the threshold as I saw it. It was the 10:09 from Guildford and it arrived into Gatwick Airport 20 minutes late. It then had a load of stops removed on its return journey. No idea why it was allowed to go to Gatwick Airport though as trains usually get cut short at Redhill. No such luck today alas but with just one train an hour, maybe they don't wish to remove stops. Dammed if they do and dammed if they don't.
I am actually going to Eastbourne and I already had to wiat 29 minutes at Gatwick Airport for my connecting train and despite that I'll still be getting a train from Gatwick Airport 30 minutes later than the one I should have been on. This assumes every other train is on time. Well I guess at least delay repay is due.
Edit: They have now apologised for the slow running due to track conditions. This is what it fault like to me and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the delay was track conditions and not the train fault. However they are the experts so I didn't wish to blame the track conditions when they said it was a train fault. We are in leaf fall season so one should expect disruption.
Would it be possible to run two trains an hour when there is engineering works between Reading and Wokingham or is there not enough platform space or the right infrastructure to allow it?
I ask because today there is just one train an hour due to engineering works. This is a combined stopper that also runs to Gatwick Airport.
Well that's the theory. The train I'm on has had its Gatwick Airport stop removed due to a train fault. Interestingly I can find no perticular station where the train was seriously delayed due to this fault. It seems to have been gradual throughout it's journey, and potentially previous journey. Maybe it's a fault that allows it to continue in service. (it's the 13:08 from Guildford if anyone is interested and the fault relates to coach 3).
Alas we shall arrive into Redhill after the 13:55 has left and then we shall wait until the 14:25 turns up. The service provision from Redhill southwards isn't great but maybe there isn't enough demand.
Surprisingly though, the other week a delayed train to Gatwick Airport was allowed to run all the way to Gatwick Airport. It was above the threshold as I saw it. It was the 10:09 from Guildford and it arrived into Gatwick Airport 20 minutes late. It then had a load of stops removed on its return journey. No idea why it was allowed to go to Gatwick Airport though as trains usually get cut short at Redhill. No such luck today alas but with just one train an hour, maybe they don't wish to remove stops. Dammed if they do and dammed if they don't.
I am actually going to Eastbourne and I already had to wiat 29 minutes at Gatwick Airport for my connecting train and despite that I'll still be getting a train from Gatwick Airport 30 minutes later than the one I should have been on. This assumes every other train is on time. Well I guess at least delay repay is due.
Edit: They have now apologised for the slow running due to track conditions. This is what it fault like to me and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the delay was track conditions and not the train fault. However they are the experts so I didn't wish to blame the track conditions when they said it was a train fault. We are in leaf fall season so one should expect disruption.
I suspect the point is that they can't outstable sufficient units to run more trains and need to conserve the fuel. It looks like they stabled three units in the platforms at Guildford overnight and a fourth at Redhill that is spare today. With the ongoing closure of the sidings at Redhill since the derailment earlier this year, there are not a lot of options to stable units when they cant get back to Reading.
They only had one train an hour to Gatwick in the aborted May 2018 Saturday timetable.
More a case of GTR being able to run a more robust timetable if trains via Redhill don't interact with trains on the Quarry line.
Means there is more room for Redhill line passengers on the trains heading towards London than if they started further afield.
Oddly enough I'm on the 14:12 Redhill-Wokingham which will be the same unit. We left 4 late and we're gradually losing time. There's not been any mention of what the problem might be so thanks for the info.
As a case in point the next train to Gatwick Airport, the 14:06, was terminated at Redhill after running 20 minutes late. It was a late decision. So it shows they do cancel trains that are running 20 minutes late but sometimes they don't. It's the times they don't that surprise me (excluding Sundays when there is a greater gap at Gatwick Airport between services).
Will the forthcoming trains to the North Downs Line handle the slippery rails any better or is it just something that has to be lived with because it's not something that can be easily dealt with, due to the terrain?
Will the forthcoming trains to the North Downs Line handle the slippery rails any better or is it just something that has to be lived with because it's not something that can be easily dealt with, due to the terrain?
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I hadn't realised the sidings at Redhill were closed. That would be an issue for them. I see the spare unit at Redhill. I can see why they might want a spare, in case one unit fails. I mean the train I was on had a fault and on another day, that might have been terminal and needing to be swooped out with the spare unit.
Yet during the morning and evening peaks, trains join and devide at Redhill, with a por ion coming from and going to Gatwick Airport. That is surely when most people are travelling and trains will be busy.
To be fair there are four trains an hour but they aren't eventually spread out. So it's:
x25, x33, x41, x55.
Im not saying it would be possible to spread them out more evenly but an if the x33 or x41 were at x03 or x11, it might provide a better spread. As I said, I'm not saying it's possible. I'm just wishing it could be like that.
It was the guard I believe that informed us so hopefully they will eventually inform you too, before you alight the train.
If the patch of rain continues for a while today, I'd be surprised if any or many trains go to Gatwick Airport. As its usually on a case by case basis, as the weather can change, one won't k ow what to expect in advance.
I don't know if these issues can be predicted and disruption warnings put out in advance. Could it be done as the issue starts to occur or would it still be to unpredictable as to which trains would be affected and have to terminate short?
There is an xx03 as well - the Horsham train is half hourly.
tsr
Established Member
Pedantic note - the closure of the sidings is down to a realisation that the sighting time at the foot crossing between the access gate and the sidings isn't sufficient, and there is a wait for crossing phones to be installed.
Not sure how I missed the other one. Just unfortunately we were 31 minutes late. In the end only three trains terminated short and two of them would have enabled passengers to get to that train, so long as they got a move on. (both trains arrived x59). There was a later train from Guildford, 20:06, that got to Gatwick Airport 23 minutes late. Maybe there is less trains at Gatwick Airport by that time. The 21:00 then left 15 minutes late as a result.
Having been on turbos that were struggling to climb up from Sandhurst to Crowthorne during leaf fall season, I was wondering the same thing. I was reading a thread on the GWR Coffee Shop forum earlier, that includes some estimates for performance of the class 769. Reply #10 of that thread suggests their adhesion will be worse than the Turbos:
Deepgreen
Established Member
Not pedantic at all - very useful information. I have to say it's a sad state of affairs where a facility like this has to close for this reason, rather than issuing a staff notice to be extra vigilant. Has anyone been injured? I'm not dismissing the safety aspect of course, but has it really suddenly been necessary to withdraw a part of the railway which provides much needed flexibility here? I probably don't have the facts, so I await correction.
Regarding the adhesion of the 769s, I can only imagine they'll be much worse. I dread to think how performance will suffer from an already low level if they are ever actually introduced. 3tph seems as far off as ever owing to the intractable level crossing problems at Reigate and Betchworth.
Presumably electronic traction control has improved from the 1990s? So you can have less power but it can get used better..
Any problems with 3tph aren't associated with those crossings - they represent highway issues, not safety issues for the railway. As noted in this thread, 3tph is apparently close.
Reading between the lines, it looks like the additional Reading - Gatwicks won't be calling at Blackwater or North Camp. Passengers from these stations would still effectively have 2tph to Gatwick by changing at Guildford.
Kite159
Veteran Member
No, completely independent and unrelated signalling faults from the track renewals work done over the weekend.
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