Market Harborough Station Upgrade

edwin_m · 17 Dec 2019

Flying Phil said:
View attachment 71686 Thanks Edwin_m, in fact there is a new path that crosses from the South end of the new platform next to the Subway, that does already go to the new car park...... and there is an exit at the North end of the new platform, plus the entrance at the middle by the new footbridge.....

Thanks for that. If there was a new path there back in June then that puts the kybosh on my theory that the subway is necessary for evacuation purposes, and also on my idea that when the subway turned out to be a problem they added an alternative path!

RailUK Forums

Raul_Duke · 17 Dec 2019

swt_passenger said:
The emergency escape facilities are probably “top of the range” compared to many other simple two platform stations, and yet still don’t allow the platform end to be used without the subway? Seems incredible on the face of it...

I’m intrigued at the thought of the platform catching fire

Bald Rick · 17 Dec 2019

Raul_Duke said:
I’m intrigued at the thought of the platform catching fire

Platforms rarely do. Trains on the other hand...

Raul_Duke · 17 Dec 2019

Bald Rick said:
Platforms rarely do. Trains on the other hand...

If the train is on the platform and on fire then the subway is the least of your problems :lol:

swt_passenger · 17 Dec 2019

Raul_Duke said:
If the train is on the platform and on fire then the subway is the least of your problems

That’s the point being made earlier though. There’s a brand new escape route from the end of the platform immediately adjacent to the subway, making the subway something of an irrelevance.

seconinline · 19 Dec 2019

swt_passenger said:
That’s the point being made earlier though. There’s a brand new escape route from the end of the platform immediately adjacent to the subway, making the subway something of an irrelevance.

The Subway is there for access from station building to platform 2, i believe NR are waiting for "I" dotting and "T" crossing before they can open remainder of platform 2

swt_passenger · 20 Dec 2019

seconinline said:
The Subway is there for access from station building to platform 2, i believe NR are waiting for "I" dotting and "T" crossing before they can open remainder of platform 2

But even then, lack of the subway wouldn’t affect access from the car park side, or via the footbridge, which will be the long term method for those needing the lifts anyway...

Flying Phil · 23 Dec 2019

Well, as everybody says ask NR "Why it is not open?" and "When will it open?" I have e mailed NR and they have sent my request to the relevant section.....No further information yet, but it is Christmas, so a delay is to be expected.
PS....Have a good Christmas followers of MH Station thread.

Flying Phil · 3 Jan 2020

Still no news as to when our subway and platform will be fully open....but at least we can see into the subway now.....

edwin_m · 3 Jan 2020

"Access to Platform 2 via Platform 1 and footbridge" would be better than "There is no access to platform 2"!

DannyMich2018 · 10 Jan 2020

My Kettering service called at Market Harborough yesterday at 1739. Still can't believe after more than half a year the southbound platform is not fully open!! Pathetic! Was on HST and tannoy announced not all coaches you could alight out of. I'm sure they were quicker in Victorian days building the station!!

Flying Phil · 10 Jan 2020

Flying Phil said:
Well, as everybody says ask NR "Why it is not open?" and "When will it open?" I have e mailed NR and they have sent my request to the relevant section.....No further information yet, but it is Christmas, so a delay is to be expected.
PS....Have a good Christmas followers of MH Station thread.

.....Still no reply :rolleyes:

swt_passenger · 10 Jan 2020

There’s a Sept 2019 EDP update (originally linked in the Leeds Platform zero thread) in which it shows this project as “complete”. o_O

https://cdn.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Enhancements-Delivery-Plan-October-2019.pdf

Unusually the document includes email addresses for the project sponsors...

seconinline · 13 Jan 2020

swt_passenger said:
There’s a Sept 2019 EDP update (originally linked in the Leeds Platform zero thread) in which it shows this project as “complete”.

https://cdn.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Enhancements-Delivery-Plan-October-2019.pdf

Unusually the document includes email addresses for the project sponsors...

DannyMich2018 said:
My Kettering service called at Market Harborough yesterday at 1739. Still can't believe after more than half a year the southbound platform is not fully open!! Pathetic! Was on HST and tannoy announced not all coaches you could alight out of. I'm sure they were quicker in Victorian days building the station!!

This is not an issue with construction as the platform is complete and ready to open. it's all about non-jobbers wanting all paperwork absolutely correct before platform is open. expect this a lot more!!

sharpley · 14 Jan 2020

A Network Rail reply to someone on Twitter (dated Jan 8th 2020). They don't say what year :smile:

Network Rail‏Verified account @networkrail
Replying to @solarpilchard
Hi there, work at Market Harborough is set to be completed on February 9th. ^MS

DannyMich2018 · 15 Jan 2020

seconinline said:
This is not an issue with construction as the platform is complete and ready to open. it's all about non-jobbers wanting all paperwork absolutely correct before platform is open. expect this a lot more!!

Yes it did look pretty complete, it's not surprise really costs are so high these days then!! Worlds away from the 90s-early noughies when things didn't seen to take an age and infrastructure projects, new stations and trains etc seemed to be done quicker.

Flying Phil · 20 Jan 2020

Just to confirm....our station is still operating with half a Southbound platform.
Despite a FoI request before Christmas, no explanation has yet arrived from NR. :frown:

sharpley · 20 Jan 2020

I know Network Rail have said work will be completed on February 9th (although only seen this via their Twitter account), but I guess that doesn't necessarily mean the southbound platform will be fully open then. Construction work has been completed for a while. All very mysterious considering the platform has been completed for months and the rest of the station has been signed off and open for business on time.

Flying Phil · 23 Jan 2020

Well I did get the FoI reply from NR and I quote "
Further to your email dated 10th Jan concerning the opening of the platform and underpass at Market Harborough Station, I can advise you that we are in the process of completing the works with our contractors and awaiting the completion of the mandatory safety review process by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for the additional platform extension. The underpass cannot be opened at this time as it is at the end of platform 2 extension and in order to use it, access would be needed over the area covered by the required safety review. It would therefore not be safe for passengers if we were to allow access until the safety review has been completed.

Whilst we don’t yet have a completion date for this safety process, please rest assured that once we receive sign off from the ORR the opening date will be published on our website and we will remove the fencing and make these areas available to access as quickly as possible. In the meantime, you may have seen that the new fully accessible footbridge including lifts is now open at the station to extend travelling opportunities for all. "
So it is all down to the ORR.......

themiller · 23 Jan 2020

Do civil servants at the ORR have targets for this kind of thing and if so how long are they allowed? If not, why not?

Grumpy · 23 Jan 2020

Flying Phil said:
. It would therefore not be safe for passengers if we were to allow access until the safety review has been completed.

Surely this is incorrect. It is probably perfectly safe now, the delay is ORR . I seem to recall a similar issue with the new station at Apperley Bridge-the works were completed but it remained unopened for weeks awaiting sign off.
I thought the aim of the Construction Design Management regulations was to give safety during construction and subsequent usage the highest priority, with the role of the Planning Supervisor being to ensure this was reflected from the earliest stages of the design. That seems to work ok away from the railway -you don't hear of new Supermarkets or office blocks standing idle pending a visit from a representative of the Office of Supermarket regulation or whatever.

Roast Veg · 23 Jan 2020

A supermarket is not adjacent to a live railway.

Flying Phil · 24 Jan 2020

Roast Veg said:
A supermarket is not adjacent to a live railway.

Very true Roast Veg....but for the past few weeks we have had three carriages stopped off the platform when there is a new longer platform in place with no more work being done on it. Surely it is safer for everyone to actually stop, full length, by the platform...there are four exit routes, it is safer now than it was before.

sharpley · 24 Jan 2020

Theres a meeting between Harborough council and Abellio regarding EMR next Monday according to the tweet below. May get some answers then. The guy who tweeted is a local councillor and is also wanting to know why the full platform isn't open yet.

https://twitter.com/SimonWhelband/status/1220073434325094401

InTheEastMids · 25 Jan 2020

Roast Veg said:
A supermarket is not adjacent to a live railway.

Yes... However I'd like to think that the project team, NR, ORR and whoever will have at some point made the same incisive observation and therefore done things differently to Tesco.

What we shouldn't tolerate is 'industry exceptionalism' as an excuse for poor performance and a failure to deliver on time... "Oh it's so much harder than other industries because it's *the railway*" is not an excuse.

Although to be fair, every industry I've worked in/with is stuffed with people that think their unique context make it somehow a lot more complex than other sectors. I think it's a variation on the Dunning-Kruger effect

Sorry, rant over

Raul_Duke · 28 Jan 2020

Platform 2 will be in full length commission from 17/02/20

Roast Veg · 29 Jan 2020

InTheEastMids said:
Yes... However I'd like to think that the project team, NR, ORR and whoever will have at some point made the same incisive observation and therefore done things differently to Tesco.

What we shouldn't tolerate is 'industry exceptionalism' as an excuse for poor performance and a failure to deliver on time... "Oh it's so much harder than other industries because it's *the railway*" is not an excuse.

Although to be fair, every industry I've worked in/with is stuffed with people that think their unique context make it somehow a lot more complex than other sectors. I think it's a variation on the Dunning-Kruger effect

Sorry, rant over

There are certainly instances where specific industries face more challenge from existing infrastructure than typical civil engineering. Rail, aerospace, and the national grid make my shortlist - and I don't work in any of them.

I don't disagree that many engineers just assume their field is the most complex, but I think there are real tangible hazards to safety in some jobs.

edwin_m · 29 Jan 2020

There's also the fact that the type of hazards that exist on railways tend to be very remote, but very severe if they arise. The human brain is really wired for hunter-gathering where there's a fairly high chance of being stomped by a mammoth but that would be a single casualty - and there's not much they could do to mitigate it anyway. Related is the perception of hazard, where the rare but big crashes of trains and planes are seen by the general public as a much greater danger than the smaller but much more frequent crashes on the roads.

Flying Phil · 6 Feb 2020

Well I did get a reply from the ORR and here is the relevant section.....
"
We are advised by our Enhancements team that the station platform was not brought into service as the independent safety assessment body had rejected the Network Rail submission, and the none compliant construction tolerances had also not been accepted by the standards owner, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). A positive assessment from a UKAS accredited assessment organisation is required by law. Therefore, for these reasons, ORR were unable to process the authorisation to take into service. We are still waiting for a complete and compliant submission from Network Rail.

....so basically NR say it is the ORR and the ORR say it is NR....meanwhile the long suffering customers still have the inconvenience of a short southbound platform three months after it was, to all intents, finished!

Raul_Duke · 6 Feb 2020

Flying Phil said:
Well I did get a reply from the ORR and here is the relevant section.....
"
We are advised by our Enhancements team that the station platform was not brought into service as the independent safety assessment body had rejected the Network Rail submission, and the none compliant construction tolerances had also not been accepted by the standards owner, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). A positive assessment from a UKAS accredited assessment organisation is required by law. Therefore, for these reasons, ORR were unable to process the authorisation to take into service. We are still waiting for a complete and compliant submission from Network Rail.

....so basically NR say it is the ORR and the ORR say it is NR....meanwhile the long suffering customers still have the inconvenience of a short southbound platform three months after it was, to all intents, finished!

Well they’ve built the bloody thing now. Surely this kind of thing would be picked up during planning?

Market Harborough Station Upgrade

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