Great Western Electrification Progress

[edwin_m]

But then I don't think anyone (and I certainly wasn't) was suggesting electrifying the whole GWML in the 90s but rather the commuter services, which would have displaced Turbos which could have been used elsewhere. Effectively it would have replicated the Bedpan scheme where commuter trains were EMUs and the Inter City services HSTs.

Get the timing right and diesel Networkers (165/166) are built as electric in the first place.

I think the commuter market was a bit different on the GWML, as witnessed by the provision of two and three car units compared with four cars (often running in multiple) on all other London suburban routes except Chiltern. Historically the GWML had relatively few commuters, possibly because Paddington was so far from the main employment areas so people working in central London would probably choose to live near some other route. The Thames Valley has been fairly affluent for some time and resistant to change, so there was little prospect of cheap housing. Closer to London this didn't apply, but commuters had the option of various Tube lines going somewhere more useful than Paddington.

This has changed in recent years due to the growth of the Thames Valley and the Paddington surroundings as employment areas in their own right, but I would expect the GWML to have much more reverse and intermediate commuting than other routes.

As to the fleet renewal, the Thames and Chiltern fleets were almost identical and procured together. If Thames had been electrified a diesel fleet would still have been needed for Chiltern, probably in small enough quantities that the unit cost would have gone up.

 

[59CosG95]

Jeremy Segrott on Flickr has taken some pictures of the first catenary & contact wires going up in Cardiff Central...
https://flic.kr/p/2huumBx (overview looking west)
https://flic.kr/p/2huqGoA (including warning signs in Welsh!)
https://flic.kr/p/2huqGSb (looking west on P0; wires now up on P1)
https://flic.kr/p/2huunTv (looking east, showing wires going up on P1 & P2)

 

[superkev]

Would it be true to say that all piles and masts are now done and the piling teams and plant are layed off.
K

 

[Optom1]

Platforms one and two at Cardiff Central wired up,still plenty to do,but from observation from Barry line train piling is complete.

 

[reddragon]

Platform lengthening between Reading & Didcot is not yet open, but there is a lot or cabling work going on at the stations and stopping places are changing.

 

[ATW158Xpress]

Reminder that there’s a all weekend blockade 19/20 October between Bristol Parkway/Filton Abbey Wood and Cardiff Central for testing most likely in Newport area.

 

[HowardGWR]

Would it be true to say that all piles and masts are now done and the piling teams and plant are layed off.
K

Pity if they can't be rehired over to Filton Bank or Oxford.

 

[Optom1]

Just East of Chippenham (Cocklebury Lane)to Thingly Junction partly completed,with some masts already in place,surely next.Not a word seems to have crept out

 

[Linda smith]

Reminder that there’s a all weekend blockade 19/20 October between Bristol Parkway/Filton Abbey Wood and Cardiff Central for testing most likely in Newport area.

. They are wiring more of Cardiff central this weekend, with a view to St Brides to cardiff being energised at Christmas. Between severn tunnel station & newport, they are continuing the what I believe to be around 800 hrs of testing before being signed off for traffic. Naturally if anyone can confirm the length of testing time needed - that would be fab

 

[Envoy]

I take it that some form of ceremony will take place to mark the arrival of the first all electric service from Cardiff at Paddington and vice versa?

 

[Linda smith]

I take it that some form of ceremony will take place to mark the arrival of the first all electric service from Cardiff at Paddington and vice versa?

Who knows? But the line from Newport to london is already live and undergoing testing this weekend, and should be cleared for traffic long before Cardiff to Newport & london early next year

 

[Dai Corner]

Network Rail Tweet confirming that the lines are now live as far as St Brides

https://twitter.com/networkrailwal/status/1186281677238214656?s=21

⚠️⚡️The electricity running through the overhead line above the South Wales Main Line, between Bristol and St Brides, Newport, IS NOW LIVE!!! Please remember to take extra care at all times ⚠️⚡️ ***Please retweet**

 

[ATW158Xpress]

Network Rail Tweet confirming that the lines are now live as far as St Brides

https://twitter.com/networkrailwal/status/1186281677238214656?s=21

By the the looks of things testing has been mostly successful. Someone also commented to Network Rail whether that the Severn Tunnel is also live or not following testing over the weekend aswell.

 

[Chris125]

Just East of Chippenham (Cocklebury Lane)to Thingly Junction partly completed,with some masts already in place,surely next.Not a word seems to have crept out

AFAIK electrification through Chippenham, despite some initial progress, was abandoned some time back.

 

[Nick Ashwell]

It has been postponed indefinitely along with the rest of the GWML route to Temple Meads, only the SWML has been electrified west of Bassett

 

[Brissle Girl]

It has been postponed indefinitely along with the rest of the GWML route to Temple Meads, only the SWML has been electrified west of Bassett

That’s not correct. The line via Chippenham has been electrified to a point around a mile east of Chippenham and this has been in use for several months now.

 

[ArchieWoodbine]

It has been postponed indefinitely along with the rest of the GWML route to Temple Meads, only the SWML has been electrified west of Bassett

Just to clarify a couple of points:

The SWML splits off at Swindon, not Wootton Bassett Jnc. A few chains worth of has been wired as overturn protection.

West of Wootton Bassett Jnc., the SWB is wired all the way through to Bristol Parkway and onwards to Wales; the wiring on the main lines continues to about half a mile short of Chippenham.

 

[Brissle Girl]

Deleted

 

[Nick Ashwell]

Just to clarify a couple of points:

The SWML splits off at Swindon, not Wootton Bassett Jnc. A few chains worth of has been wired as overturn protection.

How does it split off at Swindon? The only junction in Swindon heading West is for the Golden Valley Line

 

[oglord]

How does it split off at Swindon? The only junction in Swindon heading West is for the Golden Valley Line

That is the SWM that splits off from MLN. What splits off at Wootton Bassett is SWB, which (via a stretch of BSW from Patchway Junction No 2) rejoins the SWM route via Gloucester at Severn Tunnel Junction.

(SWM - South Wales Main Line, MLN - Main Line (Paddington - Penzance), SWB - South Wales and Bristol Direct Line, BSW - Bristol and South Wales Union Line)

 

[Brissle Girl]

I nearly corrected ArchieWoodbine until I realised what he meant after checking Quail. I suspect most readers would expect SWML to mean the South Wales main line as is used today, and I expect the original use of the acronym in the thread was so intended.

 

[59CosG95]

That is the SWM that splits off from MLN. What splits off at Wootton Bassett is SWB, which (via a stretch of BSW from Patchway Junction No 2) rejoins the SWM route via Gloucester at Severn Tunnel Junction.

Indeed; I was slightly confused at first, but now realise that @ArchieWoodbine was talking in terms of Engineers' Line References. SWM makes sense, bearing in mind that the Golden Valley route via Gloucester was indeed the main route to South Wales prior to the opening of the Severn Tunnel.
As such, the relevant ELRs are as follows:

• MLN - Main Line (Paddington to Penzance via Bath);
• SWB - South Wales and Bristol Direct Line;
• BSW - Bristol and South Wales Union Line;
• SWM - South Wales Main Line, of which SWM1 is Swindon to Gloucester Yard Junction, and SWM2 is Gloucester Yard Junction to Johnston.

Data taken from http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/elrs/elrs.shtm

 

[edwin_m]

Indeed; I was slightly confused at first, but now realise that @ArchieWoodbine was talking in terms of Engineers' Line References. SWM makes sense, bearing in mind that the Golden Valley route via Gloucester was indeed the main route to South Wales prior to the opening of the Severn Tunnel.
As such, I'm assuming the ELRs are as follows:

• MLN - Main Line;
• SWB - South Wales via Bristol
• BSW - Bristol to South Wales
• SWM - South Wales Main

Willing to be corrected on the above!

SWB is Wootton Bassett to Patchway No2 Junction. It's captioned South Wales and Bristol Direct Line on the Quail but could equally be South Wales via Badminton (traditionally known as the Badminton line). It's probably not South Wales via Bristol though. BSW is claimed by Quail to be the Bristol and South Wales Junction Railway, which originally left the surviving line at Pilning to terminate at New Passage Pier, with a short connection on the other side of the Severn. But the ELR goes through the Tunnel to meet SWM at Severn Tunnel Junction.

I believe the GWR originated the ELR system so they got the pick of the most memorable abbreviations, and whoever allocated them obviously knew their company history! But I don't know if there is an official list of what the letters stand for as compared to what they denote (if the distinction makes sense!).

 

[deltic08]

How does it split off at Swindon? The only junction in Swindon heading West is for the Golden Valley Line

The original route to Cardiff via Gloucester and Lydney, before there was a Junction at Wootton Bassett and tunnel under the Severn.

 

[59CosG95]

GWML Electrification: State of Play, as of week commencing 21/10/19.
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. From Wootton Bassett Jct, 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 MPATS to Royal Wootton Bassett ATFS; Kensal Green ATFS to Maidenhead MPATS currently operating as boosterless classic but will be AT-ready in the near future. 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 all extended from Reading (exc.) to Didcot Parkway.
• 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.
• The AT Site just north of Radley is structurally complete, but no electrical connections have been made.
• The vast majority of piles have been installed between Didcot & Oxford; no piles were installed in the Oxford area (pending resignalling & remodelling works, and EWR Phase 1 junction works).
• 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 authorised for passenger service on all trains (only 80x thus far) in both directions, however, 387s are allowed to run empty to/from Cocklebury sidings under AC. Modelling data suggested that electric trains can run safely beneath the bridge at 110mph; as such, the previous speed differential of EMU 60/HST 125 has been replaced with a universal 110mph PSR since 15th September 2019. IETs no longer have to undertake traction changeover at Denchworth to the west, and Moreton Cutting to the east.
• 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) - LIVE
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 LIVE, signed off for passenger use, and in service from Wootton Bassett Jct to Christian Malford (93m 31ch) as of 0700 on 21/04/2019 (Easter Sunday).
• 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 Site 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 ATFS. Most TTCs have booms from beyond the viaduct to Thingley East Junction. About 14 masts are up in the vicinity of the ATFS, 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 and is now in use after the removal of the old gantry in May 2019.
• 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 Patchway 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 Patchway Jct (112m 68ch) & 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 - Newport - St. Brides: LIVE

• Stoke Gifford IET Depot all wired and energised.
• Patchway Tunnels conductor rail installed.
• Wires extend westwards from Filton Jct through Patchway and Pilning (across all lines) to the Severn Tunnel (on BOTH lines).
• Severn Tunnel Conductor rail in place.
• All wires are now LIVE from Up & Down Tunnel Line structure "BSW 181/747" and Up & Down Bristol Line structure "BSW 181/200" to Relief Lines & Main Lines structure "SWM 220/160" (162m 01ch) at St. Brides (west of Newport). This also includes:
  • Both Pilning Loops;
  • the Up Tunnel Loop;
  • all lines at Severn Tunnel Junction;
  • the Up Branch Down Loop in East Usk Yard;
  • all 4 platforms/6 lines at Newport; and
  • the Up/Down Goods Loop adjacent to ADJ Yard.

The overruns at the following locations are also LIVE:

• Main Lines + Down Relief from STJ to Caldicot structure "SWM 198/313" at 148m 33ch;
• Up Service Line at structure "SWM 210/422" at 155m 78ch;
• Up and Down Hereford Line at structure "HNL 213/668" at 41m 50ch (from the former Rotherwas Jn), just north of signal "NT 1559";
• Gaer Branch Line at structure "SWM 216/293" at 159m 49ch; and
• the Up/Dn Cardiff Curve at structure "SWM 216/844" at 0m 11ch.

St. Brides - Cardiff

• Wires up across all 4 tracks between Pengam Jct (168m 40ch) & Marshfield; these are assumed to continue eastwards to St. Brides.
• 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.
• Wires are now at Cardiff Intersection Bridge, and stop at the Tensorex overlap around Bute St.

Cardiff Central - Platforms 0-4 to be wired

• Re-signalling completed. Platform 0 now open.
• All steelwork appears to be up through Platforms 0-4 (and the Through Roads), extending down to the tracks adjacent to Canton.
• Wires are now up through Platforms 0-3 (not 4 yet) - it is not known how far they extend, but they are assumed to go as far as the Limit of Wiring.
• 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, and 27/4/19 to 28/4/19: Bristol Parkway to Newport blockaded for electrification work in the Severn Tunnel Junction area; done.
• 9/6/19, and 16/6/19: Newport to Bridgend blockaded (inc. Cardiff Central) for electrification work; done.
• 27/7/19 to 28/7/19: Bristol Parkway to Cardiff Central blockaded for electrification work; done.
• 25/8/19 until 14:00: Bristol Parkway to Cardiff Central blockaded for electrification work; done.
• 8/9/19 until 14:00: Bristol Parkway to Cardiff Central blockaded for electrification work; done.
• 14/9/19 to 15/9/19: Newport to Bridgend blockaded (inc. Cardiff Central) for "the big switch-on"; done.
• 22/9/19 until 14:00: Newport to Bridgend blockaded (inc. Cardiff Central) for electrification work; done.
• 29/9/19 until 14:00: Newport to Bridgend blockaded (inc. Cardiff Central) for electrification work; done.
• 13/10/19 until 14:00: Newport to Bridgend blockaded (inc. Cardiff Central) for electrification work; done.
• 20/10/19 until 14:00: Newport to Bridgend blockaded (inc. Cardiff Central) for electrification work; done.
• Details of any further OLE-related blockades will be added as they are made 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.
• Immunised signalling continues to about MP55 1/2.

Project Postponements

• Thames Valley Branches:
  • Windsor & Henley deferred to at least CP6. The first few yards of the Windsor branch (Not the Henley Branch) have been wired as an overrun.
  • Marlow removed from scope of current programme. The first few yards of the branch have been wired as an overrun.
  • Southcote Jct to Basingstoke deferred to at least CP6. The first few yards of the Basingstoke Lines have been wired as an overrun.
• 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 at least some point in CP6. All Large steelwork to remain, unless required elsewhere.
  
• Bristol Temple Meads to Bath & Bristol Parkway paused, dependent on Bristol resignalling:
  • Taunton-Bristol Parkway completed over Easter 2018;
  • Bristol Temple Meads to Bath Spa completed in November 2018;
  • The WSM stretch from Flax Bourton Tunnel to Cogload Jct remains outstanding;
  • Track remodelling of Bristol East Jct remains outstanding;
  • Filton Bank 4-tracking completed Autumn 2018.
  • Further Signalling works due in 2019: Bath Spa due to be resignalled over the 11th/12th of May, and the 23rd of June (both done).
• Bristol Temple Meads' "Midland Shed" to be reopened in CP6 at the earliest, 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).

 

[Optom1]

Platforms0/1/2,up and down through lines and platform 3 wired ,but today platform4 has not been wired yet

 

[Dren Ahmeti]

Just a heads up @59CosG95, lives are now “to be considered as live” all the way through to St Brides, to the south-west of Newport (near Ebbw Jct).

 

[linuxlad7]

Just a heads up @59CosG95, wires are now “to be considered as live” all the way through to St Brides, to the south-west of Newport.

what is the official state of the wires in the severn tunnel???

 

[59CosG95]

what is the official state of the wires in the severn tunnel???

Live now, as far as Network Rail are concerned.

 

[linuxlad7]

Live now, as far as Network Rail are concerned.

but still tripping??