Well, it is an additional station on the Merseyrail side, as the existing Kirkby station will remain as an intermediate stop but you'll need to change at Headbolt Lane to access it from Wigan -> Rainford.
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Headbolt Lane progress updates
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Well, it is an additional station on the Merseyrail side, as the existing Kirkby station will remain as an intermediate stop but you'll need to change at Headbolt Lane to access it from Wigan -> Rainford.
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mcnw35282
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Small progress report...but the white concrete pier on the right in the photo above has now been completely demolished. The deck and piers of the 'original' County Road bridge on the left are still standing.
Landscaping is ongoing on the Southcroft Drive land where the former underpass was. The new footpaths at road level have been tarmaced and metal railings installed.
Can't really see much else from the road...will have to wait until the railway reopens in 5 weeks time!
Landscaping is ongoing on the Southcroft Drive land where the former underpass was. The new footpaths at road level have been tarmaced and metal railings installed.
Can't really see much else from the road...will have to wait until the railway reopens in 5 weeks time!
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Another advantage of using the Kirkby line to trial the technology is that any failures will only ever be a few miles from Kirkdale and presumably the battery units will be diagrammed to keep a spare on hand.
mcnw35282
Member
The twin track bridge deck is now in place and trains are scheduled to recommence between Rainford and Kirkby from tomorrow morning (30th August). County Road is due to reopen on Thursday morning (1st September)...much to the delight of local residents (my mum included! ). The new brick substation is under construction. Work on the platforms should be well underway by now...but can't see much from the road. Landscaping is progressing on the land adjacent to southcroft drive after the footpaths to the former underpass were filled in.
Hoping to take the train to Rainford and back tomorrow, so will add any more details then.
Hoping to take the train to Rainford and back tomorrow, so will add any more details then.
Does the bridge now actually carry a double track formation or has the previous single track been reinstated over the new bridge purely in anticipation of further redoubling works associated with the station construction? Also is the new span a concrete or a metal bridge deck?
mcnw35282
Member
Difficult to tell from a car stopped at traffic lights...but I'm guessing they'll have laid one track and left space for the other so as not to cause any further disruption to the railway...I'll be taking a trip from Kirkby to Rainford and back later today so will add an update. The bridge deck is metal. It was green, but I think they've since painted it black.
The brick walls for the platforms are taking shape. The 2nd Liverpool bound platform (opposite where the station building will be) looks pretty much done, the longer Liverpool & Wigan bound platform (the side the station building will be on) needs a bit more work.
The new bridge only carries a single track at the moment...but it is in its final position on the left hand side of the bridge if you were looking towards Kirkby station. There is a gap where the 2nd track will fit...so I doubt they'll need to close the railway again. (Trains don't run on this line on Sundays, so it'll more than likely be laid then.) The embankment has been widened fully now, so I doubt it'll be long before the 2nd track is laid.
The brick walls for the platforms are taking shape. The 2nd Liverpool bound platform (opposite where the station building will be) looks pretty much done, the longer Liverpool & Wigan bound platform (the side the station building will be on) needs a bit more work.
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Phillipimo
Member
pdeaves
Established Member
Is that looking generally north, please?
Phillipimo
Member
Taken from the North side of a train heading towards Kirkby, the first two photos are looking west, the second two east (ie looking back from my train). Hope that makes sense, the site is much larger and more complex than I expected.
Here's a video I took on the way to Manchester last week.
The track has been realigned to the one side now in preparation for the second line to be laid. Interestingly the old Old County Road bridge is now seeing trains running over the previously disused side of the span.
The track has been realigned to the one side now in preparation for the second line to be laid. Interestingly the old Old County Road bridge is now seeing trains running over the previously disused side of the span.
mcnw35282
Member
Not had a chance to check from a train yet...but I think the 2nd track is now being laid between Kirkby and headbolt lane.
Nicholas Lewis
Established Member
highly likely it will be complete before any 777's are in use
Unless it’s only just started being laid this week, I visited Kirkby last week as part of a bike ride on the Leeds - Liverpool canal, which I ditched at Melling, so I will be going back and while there is now a new signalling cable under the bridge and some electrical equipment opposite the bottom of the ramp, as well as the new double track bridge and platform foundations, there isn’t much point in laying the 2nd track until the track through the Wigan platform can be relaid and the points put in where the concrete block is.
mcnw35282
Member
I think they'll do what they did when quadrupling the chat moss route through Roby and Huyton and lay the middle bits and then just connect it all up once everything else is done. Like I said, I was viewing from a car going under the county road bridge...but there was some seriously heavy-duty machinery and what looked like ballast wagons on the "Kirkby bound" track and what looked to me like new rails on the "headbolt lane" bound side.
mcnw35282
Member
Drove past earlier and it looks as though the steelwork for the ticket office building is going up
mcnw35282
Member
Minor update - the "Wigan" platform has some of its edging stones in place
mcnw35282
Member
Took a trip to Rainford and back earlier today, so here's a quick progress report.
The "Wigan" platform now has all edge stones in place. "Liverpool" platform doesn't have any yet, but the space behind the retaining wall is fully filled in now up to platform level...so I doubt it'll be long before the finishing touches are added.
Ballast is in place ready for sleeper and track laying up to a point just beyond where the Wigan platform ends at Kirkby station.
There are 2 new pieces of equipment attached to the Liverpool side of the bridge at Kirkby station. I'm guessing these are a signal and route indicator...but they have bags over them so difficult to tell.
The permanent concrete bridge over Kirkby Brook is now in place, but not much else seems to have changed on the actual site itself (except the steelwork for the station building which looks more or less complete).
The "Wigan" platform now has all edge stones in place. "Liverpool" platform doesn't have any yet, but the space behind the retaining wall is fully filled in now up to platform level...so I doubt it'll be long before the finishing touches are added.
Ballast is in place ready for sleeper and track laying up to a point just beyond where the Wigan platform ends at Kirkby station.
There are 2 new pieces of equipment attached to the Liverpool side of the bridge at Kirkby station. I'm guessing these are a signal and route indicator...but they have bags over them so difficult to tell.
The permanent concrete bridge over Kirkby Brook is now in place, but not much else seems to have changed on the actual site itself (except the steelwork for the station building which looks more or less complete).
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Nicholas Lewis
Established Member
Glad to see some parts of the railway can still just get on with it let hope ASLEF result is positive so we can have some trains to use it
Railsigns
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That's the new signal ML311.
Elecman
Established Member
DNO Power supply for all NR equipment at Headbolt Lane installed and now Live
Do you mean there is now a short section of double track on the Liverpool bound side? The track on the Wigan bound side has never been removed and has remained in use by Northern services through out the works, with only short blockades as far as Rainford.
mcnw35282
Member
There is now a short section of double track between Kirkby and Headbolt Lane. The new track starts about 100 yards beyond the end of the current Wigan platform at Kirkby station, and ends just before where the line crosses the new bridge over County Road. Sleepers extend from there right through to the new station.
Sorry about the blurry images, taken from a moving train.
1st photo is the platform on headbolt lane side taking shape with station building under construction and sleepers ready for rails.
2nd photo is the newly laid 2nd track, which starts about 100 yards beyond the end of the Wigan platform at Kirkby Station.
Sorry about the blurry images, taken from a moving train.
1st photo is the platform on headbolt lane side taking shape with station building under construction and sleepers ready for rails.
2nd photo is the newly laid 2nd track, which starts about 100 yards beyond the end of the Wigan platform at Kirkby Station.
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pokemonsuper9
Established Member
As far as I am aware yes
I expect they'll use the current Merseyrail one, it's more convenient to reach from the entrance, and I think the corridor between the current two will become too thin when the track is connected.
[image source]It’s evident already at Kirkby that the current Liverpool platform will remain, the Wigan platform will be closed and the line will redouble immediately under the bridge. Redoubling from Fazakerley would necessitate closing the M57 so it likely won’t be done until the single track proves an insurmountable bottleneck.
The whole point of the new purpose built terminus at Headbolt Lane is the removal of the concrete block from the middle of the trackbed, since the recent crash revealed how dangerous it is for passengers to be stood in the path of an oncoming train that fails to stop at the buffers. It certainly will not be permissible in future to walk under the bridge.
mcnw35282
Member
I remember seeing somewhere that the current single-track section between Fazakerley and Kirkby will remain as it would've been prohibitively expensive to demolish and rebuild the bridge over the M57.
A good guess would be to assume it'll be the current Liverpool platform, as it is already capable of holding a 6 car train (the current Wigan platform would need some work), and there is a new starter signal and route indicator attached to the Liverpool side of the bridge in the photo above.
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