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Great Western Electrification Progress

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R

R G NOW.

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I note on the GWR site that there will be some disruption to services from London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa in July, Again in August and September. It looks as if Network Rail are about to get ready to Resignal the
(which I believe is long overdue) route which would help with new hourly service to London. Gloucester struggles to cope with capacity because two lines are not properly signalled for passenger movements, probably because platform 4 was a parcels platform before 1984.
 
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59CosG95

59CosG95

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GWML Electrification: State of Play, as of week commencing 8/4/19.
All mileages given from Paddington, except where noted.
Paddington to Wootton Bassett Jct - LIVE
  • All main line tracks wired as far as Wootton Bassett Jct, and are to be considered "live" as such. The envelope of "live" wires continues along the South Wales Main Line to Filton Jct (inc. Bristol Parkway), and to the Limits of Wiring on the Berks & Hants line and Reading-Basingstoke Line; details are given below.
  • TTCs have replaced/been replacing headspans at various locations within London - locations include Westway (beneath the A40), Acton Main Line, Ealing Broadway, and between Southall & H&H. These are part of the works for the Elizabeth Line.
  • Everything wired at Reading (bar P4-6 which were never in the plan). Includes the TCD & the curves, down to Reading West (see B&H section).
  • West of Didcot Parkway, all lines are wired & live heading towards Swindon.
  • Everything wired at Swindon (bar the goods lines north of P1, where provision is provided).

Small Points
  • ATF wires in operation from Maidenhead to Wootton Bassett; Kensal Green to Maidenhead currently only using return conductors but will be AT-ready in the near future. Some AT wires up along this stretch now; whether they are live remains to be seen.
  • Parapet Work extended upwards at Southbury Lane Bridge, Ruscombe; the wing walls remain unfinished. Original Coping stones have now been replaced.
  • Platforms are being extended at Cholsey (country end), Goring & Streatley (London end), Pangbourne (country end), & Tilehurst (1 & 4 country end; 2 & 3 London end).
  • Few masts and cantilevers now up on the Didcot Avoiding Line, which finish at Appleford; Appleford LC being the limit of structures for the time being.
  • Oxford Lines west of Didcot Pkwy wired as far as the loco fuelling sdg; Down Oxford as far as 53m 31ch, Up Oxford as far as 53m 42ch. Didcot avoiding lines have sprouted masts (4 portals, 2 TTCs), with a wire pair over the Down Didcot Avoider.
  • A note on Steventon: Wires up under the High St Bridge (aka the "Brunel Bridge"); however, the bridge may well be demolished in CP6. "Temporary" parapet work to protect passers-by from stray currents now complete. Wires west of Causeway Crossing are only authorised for passenger service on 80x trains in both directions, however, 387s are allowed to run empty to/from Cocklebury sidings under AC. The discussion continues.
  • Overruns through Swindon Jct (77m 36ch) onto the Golden Valley Line have also been wired.
  • Swindon Cocklebury Sidings in operation for Class 387 stabling as of 2/1/19.

The "Main Line"; Wootton Bassett Jct - Chippenham (Cocklebury Lane Bridge)
Until further notice, the 25kV transmission wires will run in a trough from Cocklebury Lane Bridge (just east of Chippenham) to Thingley Jct. Large steelwork is expected to remain in situ until wiring is authorised west of Thingley, but some specific items may be poached if required elsewhere (and duplicates aren't stored at RAF Wroughton). Details given in the "Postponements" section.
  • Both lines are due to be considered LIVE (but not signed off for passenger use) from Wootton Bassett Jct to Christian Malford (93m 31ch) as of 0800 on 07/04/2019 - the switch-on should now have occurred.
  • Catenary, contact & Earth wires are up over/adj. to both lines from Cocklebury Lane to Wootton Bassett Jct.
  • Limit of AT Feeding: the Auto-Transformer at Christian Malford.

Chippenham (Cocklebury Lane Bridge) - Thingley Jct
  • No piles in Chippenham station, nor any masts affixed to the viaduct.
  • All piles in and majority of masts (and cantilevers) up from the western end of the viaduct to Thingley Junction (where the feeder station will be). Most TTCs have booms from beyond the viaduct to Thingley East Junction. About 14 masts are up in the vicinity of Thingley Feeder Stn, 2 of which have TTC booms affixed. Another has an STC boom.
  • Piles continue westwards to the next bridge.

Thingley Jct - Keynsham
  • No wiring for the foreseeable future, but overbridges between Thingley Jct & Box Tunnel have all been rebuilt. Corsham Main Road Bridge needs its parapets raising. New aqueduct & footbridge at Corsham complete.
  • Both Box & Middle Hill Tunnels have had track lowered.
  • A new footbridge has been built at Ashley Box.
  • Piles also in (and have been for over a year) at Ashley (beyond Box Tunnel) - these might well be trial piles.
  • Bathampton Jct to beyond Sydney Gardens has had track lowered. A new signal gantry at Bathampton Jct was installed over Xmas 2017 but is not yet in use.
  • Bath Spa platforms realigned & raised, with track also slewed.
  • Track through Oldfield Park & Keynsham now lowered.
  • A lot of piles are in along the embankment around Saltford and Keynsham in readiness for future wiring.

South Wales Main Line (Wootton Bassett Jct-Bristol Parkway-Severn Tunnel-Newport-Cardiff)

Wootton Bassett Jct to Filton Jct (inc. Bristol Parkway) - LIVE
  • Wires from Wootton Bassett Jct to Bristol Parkway in passenger service since 30/12/18.
  • All 6 through Lines at Bristol Parkway have been wired and are live.
  • Live wires continue to Filton Jct & Stoke Gifford IEP Depot; Chipping Sodbury Goods Loop and the Cheltenham Curve overrun (as far as the limit of wiring) are also fully wired and live.
    • Limit of Live Wires on the Filton Lines (+ Down Bristol Parkway Relief): 112m 23ch.
    • Limit of Live Wires on the Charfield Lines (from Westerleigh Jct): 120m 59ch.
  • Filton Bank bridge works (mileages all from Temple Meads):
    • Easton Rd Overbridge (1m 18ch) completely rebuilt.
    • Narroways FB (2m 12ch) & Ashley Hill FB (3m 11ch) replaced.
    • Bonnington Walk Overbridge (3m 62ch) - parapets raised.
    • FB south of Filton Abbey Wood (4m 18ch) will need work if wiring is to occur.
Filton Jct - Severn Tunnel
  • Stoke Gifford IET Depot all wired - only the arrival road & sidings are energised. Some roads may also be energised, however the wheel lathe road is dead from the lathe shed to the buffer stops.
  • Patchway Tunnels conductor rail installed.
  • Wires extend westwards from Filton Jct through Patchway and Pilning (across all lines) to the Severn Tunnel (at least on the Down Line); Ableton Lane Tunnel (10m 51ch to 10m 55ch; from Bristol Temple Meads), which carries the A403 over the line and is the last tunnel before the Severn Tunnel is still assumed to be the limit of wires on the Up Line.
  • Cattybrook Brickworks Bridge closed since 18/3/18.

Severn Tunnel - Newport
Due to have IETs in AC service by next year - hopefully sooner!
  • Severn Tunnel Conductor rail in place. A number of masts on both sides of the Tunnel line (perhaps all of them?) are now up at Caldicot, just before the Western tunnel mouth; these now extend westwards towards the eastern end of the platforms at STJ.
  • The Up Tunnel Loop between STJ & the Tunnel is fully wired; OLE runs over the crossovers but terminates shy of the portal.
  • All large steelwork now appears to be in position at Severn Tunnel Junction; roughly 85-90% of the cantilevers/SPS/Tensorex is also up. (NB: This includes the overruns towards Caldicot on the lines to Chepstow.)
  • Ground trunking currently being installed at STJ in preparation for the electrical feed.
  • Feeder cables now hang from both the eastern set and western set of Switchgear Masts.
  • Masts going up between the M4 Bridge & Bishton Flyover. These include:
    • Between Undy (Church Rd Bridge) and the M4 viaduct; these are mainly TTCs but also include an MPA Portal. Looks pretty much wire-ready.
    • Two opposing pairs of TTC masts have gone up between Church Rd Bridge & the Playing Fields Footbridge.
    • Two large uprights have gone up between Undy Playing Fields footbridge & "the ramp" bridge at Magor on opposite sides of the line; these may well take a portal boom.
    • Another 3 masts (two for a portal boom, one a TTC with boom up) have appeared east of "the ramp" bridge at Magor; these join the sole TTC on the Up side by the bridge.
    • 4 TTCs are up west of "the ramp" bridge; at least 3 bear SPS. West of these, a Portal (due to take mid-point anchor terminations) has gone up.
    • The signal gantry at Magor (west of the West End Footbridge) has been replaced by 4 signals on posts; this should mean its removal prior to electrification is imminent. A TTC with SPS is up over the Mains there too.
    • Around the aforementioned doomed signal gantry, another MPA Portal and a 3-track portal have gone up, as well as more 4-track Portals & TTCs - the gap is closing!
    • 1 mast is up to the west of Redwick Rd Bridge (by the Down Relief), and a mast due to bear a portal is up to the east of Whitewall Footbridge (by the Up Main). A "Slim" TTC is up over the centre pair of lines just east of Redwick Rd bridge. OTP is in place for a masting operation by Redwick Rd compound.
    • This area of Magor (the site of the old station) still has a few gaps.
    • Plenty of TTCs (all of them, perhaps?) and a 4-track portal are up between the A4810 and the bridge over the eastern end of Bishton Flyover. Steelwork (mainly TTCs) continues to a large Tensorex Anchor Portal at the eastern end of Bishton Flyover.
    • Masts (with SPS fitted) up between Bishton Flyover (including over it) and Llanwern West Jct (156m 20ch). 5 masts are currently up on the curve down from the flyover at its eastern end.
    • Over Bishton LC, ALL wires (2 Earths, 2 ATFs, and 4 C&C pairs) are now up.[/COLOR] This continues past LLanwern Steelworks on all lines, with the Up Main (and perhaps Down Main) now wired as far as Somerton Rd Bridge.
  • A run of Earth Wires & ATF wires have been strung up on the Relief side (adjacent to the DR) between Llanwern Works East Connection & Llanwern West Jct. The AEW on the Up side now continues to past Lliswerry Pond, where Bird Flight Deflectors have been installed.
  • 6-track portals, probably 'Vierendeels', going up around East Usk Yard (approx. MP157 1/2).
  • Between the Maindee Jcts (157m 74ch to 158m 16ch), a cluster of piles is in beside the Down Relief; these are complemented by masted piles on the Main side (adjacent to the Up Main).
  • Caerleon Rd Overbridge to be refurbished in 2 phases - 20/7/18 to 30/11/18 (done), and then January ‘19 to March ‘19 (done?).
  • Some SPS has now gone up between Maindee West & Maindee East; between Maindee West & Maindee North Jct (41m 03ch from the former Rotherwas Jct, just south of Hereford; the ELR for the southern part of the Marches Line), masts with TTCs on are also going up (as overruns) over the Marches Line; the termination mast & associated TTC are just north of signal "NT 1559".
  • A gap is still present between the Maindee Triangle & East Usk Yard - the largest in the Newport area.
  • Fixings for masts have now been installed on the Usk Bridge; the first masts and booms for 4 track portals are now going in as of 17/2/19. A Tensorex portal is up immediately east of the bridge. Two booms and 1 mast remain to be installed at the western end.

Newport
  • All canopies now cut back.
  • Bar 1 mast and at least 1 boom, all steelwork in Newport is complete.
  • At least 90% of the SPS is up too.

Newport - Cardiff
  • Plenty masts up around Gaer Jct (159m 32ch) north of Cardiff Rd Bridge (the B4237):
    • one by the Down Relief;
    • two by the Up Main (one of which is a boomed TTC with SPS);
    • three by the Gaer Jct - Park Jct Chord.
  • Around 6 piles are in adjacent to the Up Main between Gaer Jct and Ebbw Jct (160m 07ch); these will probably take masts for portal booms. One such boom appears to have gone in! Currently unknown if Alexandra Dock Jct Yard will be electrified.
  • Lots of steelwork up immediately behind the signal gantry adjacent to the Up Main at Ebbw Jct; this includes a full portal boom and a TTC acting as an overrun mast on the Ebbw Vale branch.
  • Almost all steelwork up from Ebbw Jct to Long Dyke Jct (169m 35ch) east of Cardiff Central; most SPS is now up too.
  • ATF wire installed on the Up Main between Lighthouse Rd & New Dairy Farm bridges. In the Up direction, the Earth Wire is in place until just before the bridge over the Ebbw River.
  • Wires up across all 4 tracks between Pengam Jct (168m 40ch) & Wentloog FLT (in the Rumney area) - lengths of these are all unknown.
  • About 4 or 5 portals have been erected just west of Pengam Jct; 5 masts are up on the Up side east of Rover Lane bridge, complemented by 2 on the Down side.
  • 1 run of C&C has gone up between Moorland Road Jct (168m 65ch) and Long Dyke Jct (169m 35ch) over the Reliefs; this is assumed to be a crossover as it crosses from one Relief line to the other.
  • At Long Dyke Jct, all masts are up, and the ATF wire is now up over the Relief Lines.
  • In the Pellet St area, a Mid Point Anchor Portal Boom has now gone up.
  • Just east of St. Mary's St Bridge, 2 hexagonal Tensorex Portals have been erected over all tracks.
  • Over the bridge over St. Mary's Street in Cardiff (just east of Central), and immediately to the west of the bridge, 5 portal booms spanning all tracks have gone up.
  • Similar bespoke mast foundations are going in just east of Bute St Bridge, near the junction with the line from Queen Street.
  • Splott Rd Bridge upgrade work now complete.
Cardiff Central - Platforms 0-4 to be wired
  • Re-signalling completed. Platform 0 now open. 3 masts now up over P0/1 with TTC booms.
  • Piling underway at the extreme ends of P1/2 & P3/4 for future masts.
  • An Anchor Portal (of the hexagonal "TGBU" variety) has gone up over P2/3, just east of the canopies. This is the first portal over the Through Lines.
  • Adjacent to the London End Anchor Portal, a TTC for the P4 line has also been erected. Another TTC mast for P4 appears to have gone up at the country end.
  • Another TTC mast for P2 & the Up Through Line has gone up at the Country End of the station.
  • Brackets appear to be in place on the coping stones on the Taff Viaduct (at the western end of the station).
  • Plenty piles up adjacent to Cardiff Canton. A number of these now appear to have masts on them, as seen from a westward-facing shot from Central. Portals next?
  • Brickwork Sidings to be increased in length (and electrified) to accommodate GWR Class 387s; the first masts and cantilevers have now gone up, with around 2 boomed TTCs and 2 STCs in position.
  • Proposed Limit of Wiring: Leckwith Loop North Jct (171m 55ch) at a guess.
Swansea IEP Depot
  • New IEP Depot at Maliphant Sidings, Swansea now complete; all steelwork up. SPS, such as Insulators, Switchgear and Cantilevers have all been taken down, leaving only bare masts/booms in situ.

GWML/SWML Blockade Works (2018):
  • 6/7 to 3/12: Reduced capacity (2 lines only) for wiring work between Newport & Cardiff Ctl.
  • 15/9 to 6/10, and 13/10 to 14/10: Bristol Parkway electrified.
  • 27/10 to 18/11, 24-25/11, 1-2/12: Filton Bank 4-tracked.
  • 11/11: Bristol TM to Bath Spa resignalled.
  • December blockades at Bristol Parkway & Didcot Parkway done.
  • Christmas-New Year Blockade at Severn Tunnel Jct done.

GWML/SWML Blockade Works (2019):
  • 20/1/19, and 10/2/19: Newport to Bridgend blockaded (inc. Cardiff Central) for electrification work AT Cardiff Central; both done.
  • 17/2/19: Bristol Parkway to Newport blockaded for electrification work over the Usk Bridge at Newport; done.
  • 31/3/19: Newport to Bridgend blockaded (inc. Cardiff Central) for electrification work AT Cardiff Central; done.
  • 19/4/19 to 22/4/19: Bristol Parkway to Newport blockaded for electrification work in the Severn Tunnel.
  • 27/4/19 to 28/4/19: Bristol Parkway to Newport blockaded for electrification work in the Severn Tunnel.
  • 9/6/19: Details to follow
  • 16/6/19: Details to follow
  • 27/7/19 to 28/7/19: Details to follow
  • 25/8/19: Details to follow
  • 8/9/19: Details to follow
  • 14/9/19 to 15/9/19: Details to follow
  • 22/9/19: Details to follow
  • 29/9/19: Details to follow
  • 6/10/19: Details to follow
  • 13/10/19: Details to follow
  • 20/10/19: Details to follow
  • More Blockades will follow; details as they become available.

Berks & Hants Line (Reading-Newbury) - LIVE
Electric trains in squadron service.
  • Wires from Oxford Rd Jct are LIVE to the limits of electrification (53m 42ch on the Newbury Lines, 38m 07ch on the Basingstoke Lines) since 0650 on 21/10/18.
  • Class 387s are now in service on Reading-Newbury services as of 31/12/18.
  • Within Reading West, piles for the new footbridge (under Murphy's remit) are in, but have been "decapitated" (i.e. shortened) and capped until a new footbridge solution is found.
  • New stairs from Reading West's Down platform to Oxford Rd have been installed - work is ongoing for a permanent footbridge replacement.
  • Murphy's have installed/are installing a cable duct beneath the London end of Reading West's platforms, potentially meaning the temporary cable bridge is on the way out.
  • The "OFF" Theatre Indicator on the Down platform is now on its dedicated mast, rather than being attached to the old footbridge.
  • Parapet work on Tilehurst Rd Overbridge has been completed, on the southern side. Completion of the northern side continues; last advertised closure came the weekend of 30th/31st of March, but the northern parapet has yet to be finished. Mountings look complete, however.
  • Platforms extended at Reading West, Theale, Aldermaston and Thatcham.
  • Newbury's new footbridge is now open.
  • Immunised signalling continues to about MP55 1/2. Bedwyn Turnback Siding now extended to accommodate 5-car IETs.

Project Postponements
  • Thames Valley Branches: Windsor & Henley deferred to CP6. Marlow removed from scope of current programme. The first few yards of each branch (bar the Henley Branch) have been wired as an overrun.
  • Southcote Jct to Basingstoke has also been deferred to CP6.
  • Appleford LC to Oxford paused; if CP6 accounts allow for wiring to be extended to Oxford, it would be very likely to happen now that Oxford has been remodelled.
  • Catenary & Contact wires between Chippenham (Cocklebury Lane Overbridge) & Thingley Jct have been deferred until (presumably) CP6. All Large steelwork to remain, unless required elsewhere.
  • Bristol Temple Meads to Bath & Bristol Parkway paused, dependent on Bristol resignalling (Taunton-Parkway over Easter 2018, Temple Meads to Bath in November 2018 - both done; the WSM stretch from Flax Bourton Tunnel to Cogload Jct remains outstanding), track remodelling and Filton Bank 4-tracking (done).
  • Bristol Temple Meads' "Midland Shed" to be reopened in CP6, after Bristol resignalling is complete and the PSB is demolished.
As always, do let me know if I've missed anything!
(apologies to anyone who saw it in a state of source code chaos too).
 
oglord

oglord

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Wiring is now complete from the western portal of the Severn Tunnel through Severn Tunnel Junction platforms 3 & 4, and thus from Paddington to a point just west of them.
 
FGW_DID

FGW_DID

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JN114 said:
Passenger use of OHLE to Chippenham east should be signed off for late April. If I get a firmer date I’ll let you know.
Click to expand...


From Sunday 21st April 2019, electric operation will be authorised to just short of Chippenham station. (Cocklebury Lane area)
 
J

jyte

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FGW_DID said:
From Sunday 21st April 2019, electric operation will be authorised to just short of Chippenham station. (Cocklebury Lane area)
Click to expand...
Slowly but surely it creeps west...

Anyway, a good majority of the 125mph running to Chippenham is now covered by OHLE, as it should be.
 
FGW_DID

FGW_DID

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59CosG95 said:
Stoke Gifford IET Depot all wired - only the arrival road & sidings are energised. Some roads may also be energised, however the wheel lathe road is dead from the lathe shed to the buffer stops.
Click to expand...

Stoke Gifford IET Depot - all the bits that are supposed to be energised are now energised!
 
td97

td97

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FGW_DID said:
Stoke Gifford IET Depot - all the bits that are supposed to be energised are now energised!
Click to expand...
Fantastic, I queried this in the GWR800 thread last week so that's great news. Hopefully instances of diesel-only restrictions will reduce.
 
59CosG95

59CosG95

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oglord said:
There are some new four-track cantilevers in East Usk Yard. They don’t appear to be Series 1 equipment though. Does anyone know anything about these?

View attachment 61376
Click to expand...
That looks like the more long-standing TTC seen on most of the network after Mk1.

I suspect that the design team might have gone for this (from the UKMS, Series 2, UK1 or even Mk3 catalogues) as a cost-saving/value-engineering measure - they have some up in Reading too. Seeing TTC booms back-to-back on the same mast is a new one on me though!

Perhaps the WG have clamoured for some form of electric freight provision, and the proposed structural layout meant that S1 equipment couldn't be used - no back-to-back TTCs in their catalogue AFAIK.
 
S

swt_passenger

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MarkLong said:
In NR's CP6 plan, any hint about the Thingley Jct- Bristol Temple Mead electrification?
Click to expand...
No, because the enhancement details haven’t been included in any published plans yet. The CP6 plans available online are predominantly to do with maintenance, but do mention in passing a cash sum set aside for enhancements - but that’s all. My post #8485 on April 1st has the link...
 
oglord

oglord

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59CosG95 said:
the proposed structural layout meant that S1 equipment couldn't be used - no back-to-back TTCs in their catalogue AFAIK.
Click to expand...
The clearances are very tight in the area: there are some eight-track portals at the eastern end of the yard, but in the vicinity of these new structures there are ten tracks, with the only gaps between the pairs of main and relief lines.
 
M

MarkLong

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swt_passenger said:
No, because the enhancement details haven’t been included in any published plans yet. The CP6 plans available online are predominantly to do with maintenance, but do mention in passing a cash sum set aside for enhancements - but that’s all. My post #8485 on April 1st has the link...
Click to expand...
Thanks! When it will be published the details of enhancement works?
 
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deltic08

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Had a little run out to Bristol TM today from Cardiff whilst my wife was at a conference. First visit to both lines since 1967 so not familiar with routes but it looks like the wiring teams are working towards Newport. STJ is wired on London lines but not Chepstow lines and there are long sections on all four lines onwards to Newport but stops at East Usk yard.

Once out of Central station, there is a big chunk of C+C wiring over all four lines for about five miles towards Newport except over the minor river bridge on the eastern edge of Cardiff. SPS appeared complete to Newport but I did notice one or two piles without a stanchion and one support is missing on Usk Bridge at Newport.

East of Severn Tunnel to Bristol Parkway appeared to be complete.

I did notice three lineside electric cabins. One definitely a feeder point and other two must have been section isolation points. None appeared connected yet. Sorry but can't be more detailed than this.

I can't imagine that it will be 2020 before it is energised to Cardiff.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
C

coppercapped

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MarkLong said:
Thanks! When it will be published the details of enhancement works?
Click to expand...
No list will be published.
It has been clearly stated by the DfT, Network Rail and the ORR that in Control Period 6 (CP6) there will be no published shopping list of proposed enhancements to the network. This is to avoid the problems which were apparent in CP4 and especially so in CP5 that projects were listed in the DfT's High Level Output Specification (HLOS) before sufficient design work had been completed to permit accurate costings and timescales to be prepared.

In this control period enhancements will be announced when all the plans and costings for a particular project have been agreed and the cash flows are acceptable within the DfT's budgets. Don't forget that Network Rail is now nationalised and cannot borrow money on the open market - it now has to live within its means.
 
Peter C

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May I ask, and apologies if this has already been discussed, but is there any talk of wires reaching Oxford any time soon?


(when the wires do reach Oxford, I wonder if GWR will advertise it as "the city of dreaming wires"....?)

-Peter
 
C

coppercapped

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Peter C said:
May I ask, and apologies if this has already been discussed, but is there any talk of wires reaching Oxford any time soon?


(when the wires do reach Oxford, I wonder if GWR will advertise it as "the city of dreaming wires"....?)

-Peter
Click to expand...
There is plenty of talk... :'(

...but as this is an enhancement to the infrastructure it will be announced when the DfT is satisfied that all the conditions I mentioned upthread in post #8515 have been met.
I would like to think this will be as soon as the electrification to Cardiff is completed. At that point the electrification team can then smoothly move on to the next stretch - but that assumes that all the design work has been completed by then. I would also hope that the design work includes a re-examination of the very expensive wiring design used west of Airport Junction to reduce costs and, it is to be hoped, improve its appearance.

And, finally, (to complicate matters!) Didcot East Junction badly needs grade separation now, let alone in a couple of years with a still more intensive service and there are proposals to add another down platform line at Oxford for which the signalling design work has already been done. I think it is possible that all these projects might be interlinked - not necessarily being done at the same time but staged for most effective construction.
 
Peter C

Peter C

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coppercapped said:
There is plenty of talk... :'(

...but as this is an enhancement to the infrastructure it will be announced when the DfT is satisfied that all the conditions I mentioned upthread in post #8515 have been met.
I would like to think this will be as soon as the electrification to Cardiff is completed. At that point the electrification team can then smoothly move on to the next stretch - but that assumes that all the design work has been completed by then. I would also hope that the design work includes a re-examination of the very expensive wiring design used west of Airport Junction to reduce costs and, it is to be hoped, improve its appearance.

And, finally, (to complicate matters!) Didcot East Junction badly needs grade separation now, let alone in a couple of years with a still more intensive service and there are proposals to add another down platform line at Oxford for which the signalling design work has already been done. I think it is possible that all these projects might be interlinked - not necessarily being done at the same time but staged for most effective construction.
Click to expand...
OK. Thanks for the response.
You say that there are proposals to add another down platform line at Oxford. Having been to Oxford many, many times, I can say that there is just no room to add another line in the station area. Do you mean that they will be adding another line on the approach to the down platform? In that case, yes, there should be room.

-Peter
 
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Peter C said:
OK. Thanks for the response.
You say that there are proposals to add another down platform line at Oxford. Having been to Oxford many, many times, I can say that there is just no room to add another line in the station area. Do you mean that they will be adding another line on the approach to the down platform? In that case, yes, there should be room.

-Peter
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If they do that?. Will it mean having to have mid-platform signals, like at Bristol.

Or to be able to put another platform behind platform 4, they would probably have to demolish the old panel box building.
 
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