Great Western Electrification Progress

JN114 · 22 Jan 2020

Southsider said:
Sorry if it’s been covered earlier - has a train, in passenger service or otherwise, run the full distance from Paddington to Cardiff or the other direction entirely on electric yet?

No, still Diesel through Severn Tunnel until March(ish)

RailUK Forums

linuxlad7 · 22 Jan 2020

JN114 said:
No, still Diesel through Severn Tunnel until March(ish)

Whats the holdup? - are they still testing

I thought that ORR had signed things off??

JN114 · 22 Jan 2020

I don’t believe they have tested yet? As far as I’m aware (although been away for a few days) the current operating instructions are that drivers pan down/up at Pilning and West of Severn Tunnel Jcn

oglord · 22 Jan 2020

linuxlad7 said:
Whats the holdup? - are they still testing

I thought that ORR had signed things off??

They have: https://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pd...tol-to-cardiff-electrification-2020-01-03.pdf

WAO · 22 Jan 2020

There were four electrically hauled return workings through the Severn tunnel on the night of 9/10 November, 3Z33/40, running between Patchway and Long Dyke - presumably pan down at Newport.

There have only been test runs so far, it seems.

WAO

Bald Rick · 22 Jan 2020

oglord said:
They have: https://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pd...tol-to-cardiff-electrification-2020-01-03.pdf

There’s a difference between approving infrastructure for use on a safety basis (what the ORR has done), and deciding that it is reliable enough to use it.

oglord · 22 Jan 2020

Bald Rick said:
There’s a difference between approving infrastructure for use on a safety basis (what the ORR has done), and deciding that it is reliable enough to use it.

Indeed. And the latter we have no way of knowing.

linuxlad7 · 22 Jan 2020

oglord said:
Indeed. And the latter we have no way of knowing.

OK chaps and chapesses - thanks for spelling it out for me

but are there no modellings for the wear/attrition rates??...

HowardGWR · 23 Jan 2020

linuxlad7 said:
OK chaps and chapesses - thanks for spelling it out for me

but are there no modellings for the wear/attrition rates??...

Yes , it's called 'using it'.

Optom1 · 24 Jan 2020

Regular passengers between Newport and Bristol don’t notice if its diesel or electric through the tunnel,but start to look at their watches if stopped outside a station,or are noticeably late.The present timetable,with all it’s extra trains is not particularly robust,as with the exception of Bristol Parkway/Swindon/Taunton having new or reopened platforms,the pinch points are unaltered.Lets hope the £640 recently announced for design work addresses the Didcot-Oxford and perhaps Hanborough redoubling to give an electric service.Another pinch point is the single track frome Worle -Weston,which was scheduled for redoubling years ago.Does anyone have any info on these two redoubling proposals?

Brissle Girl · 24 Jan 2020

Worle - Weston was kicked into touch many years ago, and I haven't seen anything to suggest it is to be resurrected. Shame as any minor perturbation during the rush hour quickly impacts several services, as watching the signalling map on such an occasion will clearly show.

Optom1 · 25 Jan 2020

The full branch need not be doubled,just enough for Weston trains to clear the main line.This would spare the cost of a second platform at Weston Milton

Brissle Girl · 25 Jan 2020

Was waiting for someone coming up from Exeter at 8pm last night and there was a classic example. Southbound train from London delayed awaiting an ECS coming off the branch (also thus delaying a XC service), and the northbound from Penzance had to wait at WSM until the London train had cleared the single line.

Optom1 · 31 Jan 2020

Today was a rare day on the Great Western with no cancellations.Most main line trains into Paddington were 5-6 minutes late between 8.30 and 10.00,due to the volume of trains in and out of Paddington.I cannot see why any other operator is applying for paths running loco hauled electric main line trains.There is no space unless GWR parks some of its main line trains in a siding!

Linda smith · 1 Feb 2020

And yet I believe grand central want to run peak trains fro. Cardiff to london next year. And whilst the competition is badly needed, you have to ask if there is the capacity to run an additional high speed service from wales to london. Aparently this will be done using Mlk4 coaching stock & refurbished class 91 electric power cars.

Optom1 said:
Today was a rare day on the Great Western with no cancellations.Most main line trains into Paddington were 5-6 minutes late between 8.30 and 10.00,due to the volume of trains in and out of Paddington.I cannot see why any other operator is applying for paths running loco hauled electric main line trains.There is no space unless GWR parks some of its main line trains in a siding!

swt_passenger · 1 Feb 2020

Linda smith said:
And yet I believe grand central want to run peak trains fro. Cardiff to london next year. And whilst the competition is badly needed, you have to ask if there is the capacity to run an additional high speed service from wales to london. Aparently this will be done using Mlk4 coaching stock & refurbished class 91 electric power cars.

It’s “Grand Union”, the latest open access vehicle for Ian Yeowart, who formerly ran Grand Central, the Arriva subsidiary.

The use of “Grand” seems an obvious tactic to generate confusion or comparison, but it is nothing to do with Grand Central. Also seems highly unlikely to be approved as it’s blatant revenue abstraction.

Dai Corner · 1 Feb 2020

Linda smith said:
And yet I believe grand central want to run peak trains fro. Cardiff to london next year. And whilst the competition is badly needed, you have to ask if there is the capacity to run an additional high speed service from wales to london. Aparently this will be done using Mlk4 coaching stock & refurbished class 91 electric power cars.

The latest proposal I heard was for Cl802s which would be able to work to/from Llanelli on diesel and keep up with GWR's on the juice, making finding paths easier.

swt_passenger · 1 Feb 2020

Dai Corner said:
The latest proposal I heard was for Cl802s which would be able to work to/from Llanelli on diesel and keep up with GWR's on the juice, making finding paths easier.

There’s a separate thread about this:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/grand-union-trains-plans-to-run-from-london-to-cardiff.180669/
I don’t really think we should be discussing it under this electrification thread; but the TAA is still 91/Mk4 to Cardiff initially, with 802s coming later. Seems pretty certain the latter trains will never be ordered unless the initial service gets to start.

Optom1 · 1 Feb 2020

Thanks for informing us of other thread.Relevant to any application is a GWR objection that alternative diversion routes are not yet electrified.Full objections can be found on ORR’s”current track access applications”

Optom1 · 5 Feb 2020

Went through Alderton tunnel at 123 mph today.Does anyone know when the speed limit was raised from 110.I know Sean,a long standing member had some timings last year that might give us some insight.

Mintona · 5 Feb 2020

Optom1 said:
Went through Alderton tunnel at 123 mph today.Does anyone know when the speed limit was raised from 110.I know Sean,a long standing member had some timings last year that might give us some insight.

December

Optom1 · 6 Feb 2020

Thanks

387star · 6 Feb 2020

Are 387s going to Swindon yet?

Chonner · 7 Feb 2020

Rail Engineer has posted a quite detailed update on GWEP - https://www.railengineer.co.uk/2020...rrive-in-wales-though-not-for-the-first-time/
It over 3000 words so won't copy it here in it's entirety, but there is some new (to me atleast) info about the Severn tunnel, although some parts are not current - says they are still diesel running under Steventon bridge for instance.

Optom1 · 7 Feb 2020

Class387s stabled overnight at Swindon Cocklebury and run empty stock to Didcot early morning

Sean Emmett · 9 Feb 2020

Mintona said:
December

8 Dec 2019. My fastest Parkway - Swindon run remains the 21m 19s I recorded on the first day of electric services. This braked smartly for the then 110 limit thro Alderton Tunnel and accelerated quickly afterwards, costing only 5 sec compared with a recent run which passed thro at 123.

But that was an exceptionally well driven run. A loss of say 10 sec would be more usual.

davetheguard · 9 Feb 2020

Chonner said:
Rail Engineer has posted a quite detailed update on GWEP - https://www.railengineer.co.uk/2020...rrive-in-wales-though-not-for-the-first-time/
It over 3000 words so won't copy it here in it's entirety, but there is some new (to me atleast) info about the Severn tunnel, although some parts are not current - says they are still diesel running under Steventon bridge for instance.

Thanks for this, some interesting stuff in there.

I hadn't realised that there is a planned electric feed at Bramley on the Reading to Basingstoke line; in the article it is described as "still to be commisioned". Anyone know if there is a date for this? Presumably it will be connected by a long trackside cable like that from Stalybridge on the Liverpool to Manchester electification?

It also described the scheme to electrify from Reading to Basingstoke as "cancelled" I wonder: has that ever been officially announced?

swt_passenger · 9 Feb 2020

davetheguard said:
Thanks for this, some interesting stuff in there.

I hadn't realised that there is a planned electric feed at Bramley on the Reading to Basingstoke line; in the article it is described as "still to be commisioned". Anyone know if there is a date for this? Presumably it will be connected by a long trackside cable like that from Stalybridge on the Liverpool to Manchester electification?

It also described the scheme to electrify from Reading to Basingstoke as "cancelled" I wonder: has that ever been officially announced?

It appeared in the CP5 enhancement plan as the “Reading independent feeder (Bramley)”, but always seemed a bit of a tentative “resilience” plan. Obviously they’re operating OK without it so far? In Sep 17 it was reported that they’d achieved the aim of Grip 3, with a decision yet to be made. That was still the case in Mar 19.
I’ve copied the description from a saved PDF, I’m having difficulty providing a live link as the NR website seems to have hidden CP5 stuff...

CP5 output driver
This project contributes to the electrification of the Great Western Main Line (GWML) which facilitates the introduction of electric train operation delivering significant journey time improvements on key intercity routes and high seating capacity trains on suburban services contributing to the delivery of the HLOS capacity metric for London Paddington.
Network Rail’s obligation
Network Rail’s obligation is to complete a GRIP Stage 3 option study for traction power resilience, and to implement the preferred option from that study (implementation assumed to start CP5, complete CP6). The current working assumption is that the feed could be taken from either an existing grid supply at Didcot or a new supply point at Bramley.
Scope of works
With the introduction of electrification to the GWML, a level of redundancy is required to ensure that the network has the resilience to withstand a power failure to adjacent equipment and facilitate an efficient maintenance regime.
This proposal will develop options for an independent power feed to Reading depot and OLE system that:
 Provides resilience to the GWML in the event of an isolation of the Didcot – Reading section of the route;
 Provides redundancy, such that maintenance can be carried out on the main line without isolating Reading depot;
 Provide additional capacity for future electrification schemes, e.g. Southcote Junction to Basingstoke.

There’s also the positive news in the DfT’s recent report on the enhancements pipeline:
https://assets.publishing.service.g...840709/rail-network-enhancements-pipeline.pdf
that it has passed the “decision to design” stage...

AIUI the only GW branch that was ever shown officially as “cancelled” was Marlow/Bourne End; various docs used terms such as assumed CP6 or deferred CP6, but I can’t find “cancelled” anywhere...

MikePJ · 10 Feb 2020

There's a Parliamentary Question here that suggests that Reading-Basingstoke electrification was canned. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2018-11-15.191962.h

nickswift99 · 10 Feb 2020

MikePJ said:
There's a Parliamentary Question here that suggests that Reading-Basingstoke electrification was canned. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2018-11-15.191962.h

I'm sure I remember that one of the reasons that Green Park station was delayed was because the timetable didn't permit 165/166 services to stop due to their performance.

Has this been addressed in the new timetable, is the station going to be a white elephant or is my memory failing?

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