Network Rail trialling Sunday, Monday Engineering

[Snow1964]

Network Rail has announced that a bridge replacement on Neilston line will be trialling Sunday and Monday closures, because Saturdays are now busier.

Work begins to renew bridges over the Neilston railway line

A Sunday and Monday line closure will be trialled for the first time on Scotland’s Railway as preparatory bridge works get underway on the Neilston branch line.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

This seems to be another variation of moving the traditional weekend and Bank holiday works. Currently works on Severn Tunnel - Gloucester line over 3 weeks have seen Mon-Fri closures with line open on intermediate Saturdays, and 1 of 2 Sundays.

So appears they are trying out different combinations of when to close lines

 

[zwk500]

Yep, there was a general move towards 9-Day blockades pre-Covid but with the traffic pattern changing drastically on a number of lines NR has responded by trying to shift works around to enable better use of time and assets while minimising disruption to passengers.

The ECML trialled some midweek blocks earlier in the year, IIRC, and they look to be coming back.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Sounds sensible to me.

 

[The Planner]

Depends greatly on the route and what you are factoring in, if its revenue then its still going to be weekends where the blocks are.

 

[lincolnshire]

Yep, there was a general move towards 9-Day blockades pre-Covid but with the traffic pattern changing drastically on a number of lines NR has responded by trying to shift works around to enable better use of time and assets while minimising disruption to passengers.

The ECML trialled some midweek blocks earlier in the year, IIRC, and they look to be coming back.

As long as freight trains don,t breakdown and stop the job as what happened last time I travelled while doing midweek engineering blocks on the ECML mail line.

 

[The Planner]

As long as freight trains don,t breakdown and stop the job as what happened last time I travelled while doing midweek engineering blocks on the ECML mail line.

That can happen regardless and will balls up any single or two track line though.

 

[Bald Rick]

Scotland has really suffered with reduced commuting traffic, but Saturdays are doing well. Hence Sunday / Monday works there, but won’t work so well in other locations.

 

[stuving]

We had an example at Wokingham in February, for the resignalling work. After a few Sunday or Saturday+Sunday possessions, there was one full Monday-Friday one. Whether that really did minimise disruption to passengers I rather doubt - it depends on the value of five days in one block.

 

[zwk500]

We had an example at Wokingham in February, for the resignalling work. After a few Sunday or Saturday+Sunday possessions, there was one full Monday-Friday one. Whether that really did minimise disruption to passengers I rather doubt - it depends on the value of five days in one block.

Five days in one is massively more beneficial. I was told that for a tunnel renewal job it was a choice between a 9-day blockade with some prep and follow up weekend or a year of continuous Fri eve-Mon morning possessions. Obviously that's an extreme example because of the difficulties setting up and taking down a possession in a tunnel, but it gives an idea of the scale of the difference.
For a resignalling job have 1 full Mon-Friday block probably helped get all the testing and supervision staff in place in one go rather than having different signalling engineers each weekend.

 

[Bald Rick]

Five days in one is massively more beneficial. I was told that for a tunnel renewal job it was a choice between a 9-day blockade with some prep and follow up weekend or a year of continuous Fri eve-Mon morning possessions.

Depends on the job in hand. I must say that example sounds dubious.


However there is evidence that passengers quickly forget a 9 day block, and come back fairly quickly; conversely a year of no weekend service can take ages to build back the weekend leisure traffic.

 

[zwk500]

Depends on the job in hand. I must say that example sounds dubious.

I forget the details - but it was in the region of 40-50 weekend possessions. The blockade has happened now, we were doing some work on the timetable for diverting trains around the block.

However there is evidence that passengers quickly forget a 9 day block, and come back fairly quickly; conversely a year of no weekend service can take ages to build back the weekend leisure traffic.

This is useful to know.

 

[brad465]

How popular is Friday for travel, I presume commuting is lower but at the same time part-timers might do leisure travel, then there's the Friday night partygoers who can't exactly drive there and back if they want to get p****d.

 

[Bald Rick]

How popular is Friday for travel, I presume commuting is lower but at the same time part-timers might do leisure travel, then there's the Friday night partygoers who can't exactly drive there and back if they want to get p****d.

Usually as busy as Tuesday - Thursday, just with a different timing profile (quieter in the morning as much less commuting, but busier from midday onwards with leisure travel, typically of longer distance than commuters)

 

[stuving]

Five days in one is massively more beneficial. I was told that for a tunnel renewal job it was a choice between a 9-day blockade with some prep and follow up weekend or a year of continuous Fri eve-Mon morning possessions. Obviously that's an extreme example because of the difficulties setting up and taking down a possession in a tunnel, but it gives an idea of the scale of the difference.
For a resignalling job have 1 full Mon-Friday block probably helped get all the testing and supervision staff in place in one go rather than having different signalling engineers each weekend.

Except that this work was not THE resignalling changeover, just a lot of small items like those done in the weekends. The most visible one was running out all the cables for the new cabinets, in the new ducting (or near it where the ducting wasn't finished yet). And some of those cables are still not plugged in.

 

[brad465]

Usually as busy as Tuesday - Thursday, just with a different timing profile (quieter in the morning as much less commuting, but busier from midday onwards with leisure travel, typically of longer distance than commuters)

Yes makes sense, I forgot about the travelling for a weekend break group.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

However there is evidence that passengers quickly forget a 9 day block, and come back fairly quickly; conversely a year of no weekend service can take ages to build back the weekend leisure traffic.

yes that makes total sense.

 

[The Planner]

You can only overrun once in a blockade as well.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

However there is evidence that passengers quickly forget a 9 day block, and come back fairly quickly; conversely a year of no weekend service can take ages to build back the weekend leisure traffic.

I remember commercial from the local TOC saying a family that trys to use a train at weekend and ends up on a bus wont come back for years and they will also tell all their family and friends about how poor the experience was. Commuters of course really had limited choice in the past but now with WFH so much more acceptable it would seem far more beneficial to exploit week long closures on routes and reduce the number of weekend blocks.

 

[Class 170101]

Five days in one is massively more beneficial. I was told that for a tunnel renewal job it was a choice between a 9-day blockade with some prep and follow up weekend or a year of continuous Fri eve-Mon morning possessions

Depends on the job in hand. I must say that example sounds dubious.

Didn't NR / LUL quote similar for their block that has been happening / happened recently? Also in respect of the extended block just before Christmas?

 

[800001]

That can happen regardless and will balls up any single or two track line though.

And equally could be a passenger train that balls up the track.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 Aug 2023 ==

How popular is Friday for travel, I presume commuting is lower but at the same time part-timers might do leisure travel, then there's the Friday night partygoers who can't exactly drive there and back if they want to get p****d.

I’ve certainly noticed a lot more groups and family’s travelling from about 10-11am on Friday morning and travelling back Monday, very busy trains now Fri- Mon with leisure travellers.

 

[D365]

However there is evidence that passengers quickly forget a 9 day block, and come back fairly quickly; conversely a year of no weekend service can take ages to build back the weekend leisure traffic.

Strikes me as a similar approach to those European countries with planned weekday engineering works.

 

[bramling]

I’ve certainly noticed a lot more groups and family’s travelling from about 10-11am on Friday morning and travelling back Monday, very busy trains now Fri- Mon with leisure travellers.

That’s one thing in the school holidays, but there’s something amiss is a normal Monday or Friday is seeing large numbers of family groups, as obviously the kids should be at school.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Aug 2023 ==

I remember commercial from the local TOC saying a family that trys to use a train at weekend and ends up on a bus wont come back for years and they will also tell all their family and friends about how poor the experience was. Commuters of course really had limited choice in the past but now with WFH so much more acceptable it would seem far more beneficial to exploit week long closures on routes and reduce the number of weekend blocks.

Not everyone has the ability to WFH. Those that work shifts in particular, a group who are often completely overlooked in all this. Though with the service having been so dire since Covid one wonders how many still actually use rail.

 

[Snow1964]

Not everyone has the ability to WFH. Those that work shifts in particular, a group who are often completely overlooked in all this. Though with the service having been so dire since Covid one wonders how many still actually use rail.

Generally those working shifts either live close to their work, or have their car. Public transport is often very thin (if any) at night, especially away from any city centre.

One good thing about week long blocks is they tend not to move, so can be advertised months in advance, thus letting people plan holidays around them etc.

Everyone I know finds it infuriating when can't plan trips or events and buy tickets 2-3 months ahead in case of subsequent changes. So much better when it is X-Y date then full normal service.

 

[edwin_m]

I’ve certainly noticed a lot more groups and family’s travelling from about 10-11am on Friday morning and travelling back Monday, very busy trains now Fri- Mon with leisure travellers.

That's in part a consequence of WFH too. The family members with jobs can work extra hours on other days or take their work with them to get a longer weekend away.

 

[Snow1964]

We had an example at Wokingham in February, for the resignalling work. After a few Sunday or Saturday+Sunday possessions, there was one full Monday-Friday one. Whether that really did minimise disruption to passengers I rather doubt - it depends on the value of five days in one block.

More blocks in the area for resignalling and improving level crossings, over 14 days, but different bits for various numbers of days

From Saturday 19 August to Friday 1 September, buses will replace South Western Railway (SWR) trains during a three-part closure of the railway between Barnes and Virginia Water, Windsor & Eton Riverside and Hounslow, to allow the newly installed signals to be switched on.

August engineering work gets green light: Network Rail set to reach major milestone of £116m reliability-boosting resignalling scheme later this month

From Saturday 19 August to Friday 1 September, buses will replace South Western Railway (SWR) trains during a three-part closure of the railway between Barnes and Virginia Water, Windsor & Eton Riverside and Hounslow, to allow the newly installed signals to be switched on.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk