Carstairs Overhead Line Equipment renewals and upgrade

[Huntergreed]

No, this old line is not being reinstated in any way.

I see - in that case, will the new alignment be simply a larger radius curve in the current place?

 

[jfollows]

I see - in that case, will the new alignment be simply a larger radius curve in the current place?

I edited my earlier post to say essentially that, yes, although it's probably more to do with replacement pointwork than the radius of the curve.
EDIT It’s 15mph today because when the route was resignalled and electrified in 1974 the curve was very little used; all passenger services changed to diesel traction in Carstairs station for the leg to Edinburgh and used the other side of the curve, for which 15mph is less of an issue for trains starting from zero.
FURTHER EDIT (I may be repeating information already in this thread, but see #49 ):

Carstairs South Jn goes from 30mph to 50mph crossing between the mains and 40mph towards Edinburgh but still a single lead. Main lines go up 100/120EPS. Up Passenger loop is 60at the north end and 40 through the station and round the chord to Carstairs East.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Even when HS2 was proposed to go to Leeds with a link to Church Fenton, the main London-Edinburgh route was proposed to be via the WCML between Wigan and Carstairs.

Fair enough. I thought at one point the fastest London-Scotland route was proposed to be up the ECML via Leeds.

The issue today is that without the Golborne branch, but with a proposed ECML upgrade to improve Leeds/Newcastle times, the advantages of the WCML route to Edinburgh are less obvious.
The HS2 budget-loppers would also remove 400m capability at Preston and Carlisle (where Glasgow/Edinburgh trains were to be split into 200m portions), also the Scottish HS2 rolling stock site near Quintinshill.
It all seems in the melting pot while alternatives to the Golborne link are developed, along with ECML upgrade options and how HS2 trains will reach Leeds.

 

[jadmor]

As far as I have been able to tell from plans and photos posted up-thread, trains from Edinburgh will use the present southbound platform in both directions, avoiding that nasty reverse curve. Trains from the south will use 2 new fast up and down lines bypassing the platform lines.

thisxis only my best guess!

 

[zwk500]

EDIT: Been confirmed this is NOT the final option. kept for reference.

Spoiler

This is a slideshow with a very early version of the plans - what @The Planner has described is subtly different, but the basics are the same:

Carstairs S&C Sustainability Renewals & Enhancement Sean Malone Network Rail. - ppt download

3 2.0 Carstairs – Need for Change Currently a 1970s installation by British Rail. High level of operational redundancy built into the layout. This redundancy, with a number of surplus crossovers, has lead to high supplementary maintenance costs. Shift in focus from aspired flexibility to “fit...

slideplayer.com

Found through a google images search, so presume it's public domain. Green is being removed, Red being put in. Apologies to Screen reader users, but I can't sum it up in a way to make it clearer very well.

[TLDR]
CARSTAIRS SOUTH JN (Carlisle end): Crossover uplift from 30 to 50mph, main linespeed from 90 to 105mph, removal of Facing & Trailing crossovers between Up & Down Main.
CARSTAIRS EAST JN (Edinburgh end): Uplift of linespeeds from 30 to 50mph.
CARSTAIRS Station area: Edinburgh access to northern platform ONLY, Down Main is non-platform Line, Up main runs through South Platform, pointwork at Glasgow end simplified, linespeed 105mph on the mains.
CARSTAIRS NORTH JN (Glasgow end): Linespeed and crossover speed uplifts, Down loop lengthened.

There is a suggestion of the South <> East chord being singled, but it's not consistently presented and may have not been taken forward.
[/TLDR]

 

[mcmad]

that slide show doesn't represent what will be install. Not aware of any publicically available diagrams, no idea why not as the changes have been communicated to TOCs and FOCs via the yellow perils as usual.

 

[Railsigns]

that slide show doesn't represent what will be install. Not aware of any publicically available diagrams, no idea why not as the changes have been communicated to TOCs and FOCs via the yellow perils as usual.

The yellow perils I got were issued without diagrams - both the PDF and paper copies.

 

[mcmad]

Posts on the facebook group "Scotlands Railways (past and present)" have extracts from some sort of route learning leaflet. No idea how to copy it over to here though.

 

[jadmor]

Can you screen shot it?

 

[MadMac]

The excellent Scot-Rail.co.uk site (free registration needed) has it available in its Files section.

 

[snowball]

Press release from last Friday, not yet posted:

West Coast main line to close for major overhaul

Carstairs Junction will be modernised as part of a £164m Scottish Government investment in the railway.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Carstairs Junction will be modernised as part of a £164m Scottish Government investment in the railway.

Passengers are being reminded that the West Coast main line will close for 16 days from Saturday (March 4) as engineers deliver a vital programme of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction.

The closure of the line, between March 4 and March 19, is the first phase of a three-month programme of work which will also see trains diverted and journey-times extended all services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and Carlisle until June.

The work is part of a £164m Scottish Government investment to modernise the key junction for passenger and freight services.

Engineers will simplify and upgrade the track-layout to clear an existing bottleneck on the network, making it more reliable and able to better cope with passenger and freight demands.

Work on this strategically important route will be complex and Network Rail will complete it in three phases designed to manage the effect on services in the least disruptive way.

During the first phase of the project there will be no direct services to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh on the West Coast main line through Carstairs.

The closure of the junction will affect cross-border operators including Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry Trains, London North Eastern Railway and TransPennine Express, who will be operating via diversionary routes or offering alternative journey options during this time.

Liam Sumpter, Route Director, Network Rail Scotland, said: “Carstairs Junction is coming to the end of its life cycle and with the volume of freight and passenger trains passing through each week it’s important that we modernise this part of the network.

“By completing this crucial upgrade work we will improve the capabilities and reliability of this strategically important junction, providing better future journeys for passengers and more capacity for freight.

“There’s never a good time to close such an important line but this is a huge and extremely complex piece of work that will safeguard the future of the route for years to come.

“We appreciate that this will cause some inconvenience and would like to thank customers for their patience during this time.”
Notes to Editors

Notes to editors

During the first phase of the project – between Saturday March 4 and Sunday March 19 - there will be no direct services to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh on the West Coast main line through Carstairs.

Phase two of the work, taking place between Monday March 20 and Friday April 21, will see part of the junction re-opening, allowing some trains to run directly to Edinburgh – and via diversion routes to Glasgow – on weekdays, however, journey times will be longer than normal.

The final phase, between Saturday April 22 and Sunday June 4, will see most services return to normal during weekdays with the junction fully closed each weekend.

During the later phases of the project, there will be no direct services between Glasgow Central or Edinburgh and Carlisle on the West Coast main line each weekend.

The closure of the junction will affect cross-border operators including, Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry Trains, London North Eastern Railway and TransPennine Express, who will be operating via diversionary routes or offering alternative journey options during this time.

Services operating on the East Coast main line during this time are also likely to be busier than normal.

There will be no ScotRail services to or from Carstairs for the full three-month period. ScotRail will run a range of alternative journey options throughout with Carstairs station re-opening on Tuesday May 30.

Carstairs junction sits 26 miles to the south-east of Glasgow on the West Coast main line. Currently the junction requires regular maintenance work as much of the infrastructure through the area is reaching the end of its operational lifespan. Speed restrictions are often imposed which can affect performance.

The layout of the junction is no longer suited to today’s pattern and volumes of service with 200+ services passing through the junction on an average midweek day.

Enabling works for the project have been underway since 2020 and the work delivered during the line closure will see over 200 engineers working 24/7 to upgrade the junction.

The new power supply being installed will allow engineers to switch off the overhead lines remotely to carry out maintenance, reducing the amount of time the railway is closed in future. The improvements will also bring reduced overall journey times through the removal of a 50mph speed restriction.

Passengers are advised to check with National Enquiries www.nationalrailenquiries.co.uk or with their train operator for the alternative travel plans for their route.

 

[Wynd]

Single lead junction...really? Is that how it was before?

https://twitter.com/NetworkRailSCOT/status/1635367373648826371?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

 

[Watershed]

Single lead junction...really? Is that how it was before?

https://twitter.com/NetworkRailSCOT/status/1635367373648826371?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Yes. But it's nevertheless a capacity improvement as the linespeed will be significantly higher.

 

[Wynd]

For all the work going in, whole new section, why not just make it double and increase the resilience?

 

[najaB]

For all the work going in, whole new section, why not just make it double and increase the resilience?

It's a flat junction across a major route - any substantial increase in resilience would need grade separation.

 

[The Planner]

For all the work going in, whole new section, why not just make it double and increase the resilience?

Chances are you wouldnt have got the speed increase as you wouldnt have had the space.

 

[jadmor]

Chances are you wouldnt have got the speed increase as you wouldnt have had the space.

The curve is still there from Edinburgh, but that horrific negative cant will no llonger be needed.

I have a screenshot of the new layout from another forum. Will it cause any problems tif I post it here?

 

[Falcon1200]

For all the work going in, whole new section, why not just make it double and increase the resilience?

The booked passenger service over Carstairs South Junction, to and from the East Junction (ie Edinburgh) is one train an hour each way, and minimal if any freight, so difficult to justify more than what is being done.

 

[jadmor]

Mods, please delete if sharing from another site is a problem.
screenshot of the new junction layout.

 

[Scotrail88]

Mods, please delete if sharing from another site is a problem.
screenshot of the new junction layout.

I presume that the chord will be used for through services like Crosscountry heading to/from EDB - GLC as will have the overall higher speeds?

 

[snowball]

Press release

First phase of Carstairs Junction remodel nearing completion

Passengers are being advised of changes to their journeys as the first phase of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction nears completion.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Passengers are being advised of changes to their journeys as the first phase of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction nears completion.

Following a 16-day closure of the West Coast main line, phase two of the programme, will see part of the junction re-opening to allow some trains to run directly to Edinburgh – and via diversion routes to Glasgow – on weekdays.

The work is part of a £164m Scottish Government investment to modernise this key junction for passenger and freight services on one of Scotland’s two cross-border routes.

The three-month programme will see trains diverted and journey-times extended on services between Glasgow/Edinburgh and Carlisle until June.

Engineers are working around the clock to simplify and upgrade the track-layout to clear an existing bottleneck on the network, making it more reliable and better able to cope with increasing passenger and freight demands.

During the first 16 days of the work, the focus was primarily on completing the south junction -installing and upgrading the track, signalling and overhead line equipment to enable passenger and freight services to connect to Edinburgh and to add an additional diversionary route for services to Glasgow.

Work on this strategically important junction is complex and challenging and Network Rail, alongside contractor partners, developed the staged programme to manage the effect on services in the least disruptive way.

The closure of Carstairs junction impacts on cross-border operators including Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry Trains and TransPennine Express, who are operating via diversionary routes or offering alternative journey options during this time.

 

[OB23Gone]

Press release

First phase of Carstairs Junction remodel nearing completion

Passengers are being advised of changes to their journeys as the first phase of work to upgrade Carstairs Junction nears completion.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Open and trains Running

 

[Huntergreed]

I'll be travelling over this later this afternoon and will send in some photos of the Junction/station.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Open and trains Running

Glasgow-Euston trains running (via Midcalder), but still very few direct Edinburgh services running.
Several cancellations because of "points failure" but not clear where that was.
And the usual raft of TPE cancellations.
An early Voyager went via Kilmarnock.

 

[Scotrail88]

I'll be travelling over this later this afternoon and will send in some photos of the Junction/station.

Be good to see if any notable speed benefits or probably too early given route knowledge and TSRs if work still ongoing

 

[The Planner]

Be good to see if any notable speed benefits or probably too early given route knowledge and TSRs if work still ongoing

You would only see them on the day as it stands, they aren't reflected in the timetable.

 

[Huntergreed]

I’ve uploaded a video of passing over the south junction here:

https://twitter.com/dmtravel3/status/1637844462649974784?s=46&t=gux8jV-239P7vFWJRyru_A

The 40mph certainly makes a huge difference, feels much quicker already!

 

[Scotrail88]

I’ve uploaded a video of passing over the south junction here:

https://twitter.com/dmtravel3/status/1637844462649974784?s=46&t=gux8jV-239P7vFWJRyru_A

The 40mph certainly makes a huge difference, feels much quicker already!

Certainly looks a lot faster and will help make up for any delays across the route.

 

[Chris Hamilton]

An interesting move I witnessed this morning at Midcalder was 1M09 0740 GLC - EUS being looped in the Up Shotts at EJ720 and 1V56 0748 GLC - BRI passing it, signalled wrong direction, on the Down Shotts and on to the Down Midcalder as normal. After 1V56 had passed, 1M09 proceeded forward to EJ703 on the Down Midcalder before changing ends and setting off from EJ982 as usual.

It’s very rare these days to see the bi-direction part of the Down Shotts at Midcalder being used (though this move will occur every day during the works), and even rarer to see EJ718 lit as it’s normally unlit.

It’s been a good stroke of foresight that maintained the ability to use that last little section of the Up Shotts as a loop when the junction was reconfigured to double lead a few years ago.

 

[Bald Rick]

It’s been a good stroke of foresight that maintained the ability to use that last little section of the Up Shotts as a loop when the junction was reconfigured to double lead a few years ago.

Either that, or those who plan these things knew what they were doing