Nuneham Viaduct shut - Didcot- Oxford

[SouthEastBuses]

I'm hearing horror stories about the RRB queues, and with the roadworks at Oxford station about to commence the journey time is going to get even longer. If this is going to go on for 2+ months then a better temporary solution is going to be needed for Hereford & Worcester-bound passengers.

Why are GWR not extending the Paddington - Cheltenham trains to Worcester/Hereford? The odd Paddington-Hereford train is pathed that away anyway (which I will be using tomorrow afternoon from Worcester to Paddington to avoid the RRB). The regular GWR service from Cheltenham to Worcester city centre is pretty poor and makes the alternative route that way pretty un-attractive.

This is why I will prefer to get the X2/X32* from Oxford to Didcot Parkway or the S6 from Oxford to Swindon. Cheaper too especially because of the £2 single bus fare cap.

(p.s. for those of you who don't know these are local bus services).

*X32 is particularly attractive as it stops outside my uni accommodation and after Oxford, goes direct via the A34 to Didcot Parkway, omitting Abingdon (which the X2 serves).

 

[Deepgreen]

NRE now states 9 June as the earliest completion date. Grim.

 

[QueensCurve]

New tweet from @networkrailwest:

 

[Alan Glaum]

Just to say went Paddington to Oxford mid-afternoon today and the journey was better than expected. I was lucky but train was not full and then got a half-empty RRB which left within 2 minutes of me getting on and traffic into Oxford was reasonable. So more comfortable and almost as quick as I would do on a normal Sunday.
But glad it was before the Botley Road bridge closure.

 

[Deepgreen]

New tweet from @networkrailwest:

Pedantry perhaps but surely this is clearly a bridge rather than a viaduct?

 

[Benjwri]

Pedantry perhaps but surely this is clearly a bridge rather than a viaduct?

It’s a viaduct. The trees obscure it but there are further spans on the North side of the river.

 

[zwk500]

Pedantry perhaps but surely this is clearly a bridge rather than a viaduct?

It’s a viaduct. The trees obscure it but there are further spans on the North side of the river.

All Viaducts are bridges. Somebody is sure to quibble, but as a working definition, Bridges are structures built to span obstacles without obstructing them. Viaducts are multiple-span bridges built to preserve the standard of the road or railway it carries. A strict definition is impossible as naming conventions have ont been strictly followed - the Royal Border Bridge and Forth Bridge being two that would, by my definition, properly be 'viaducts'.

 

[Starmill]

There are so many structures which are rated poor at inspection. They all get some mitigation plan in place, or should be doing, up to and including temporary speed restriction if they're likely to get worse and have to be closed otherwise. The obvious solution is to get all structures on major routes back up to adequate, but the reality is that this simply cannot be done effectively without reorganising resources so that secondary lines would suffer from lower permissible speed or mass restrictions. An alternative would be to convince funders to do fewer enhancements and more renewals, but this idea is just as toxic politically. As a result we're likely to be seeing more of this as the years go by. Network Rail have the money they have for the current control period, and the upcoming one is looking no better.

 

[7ftBroad]

Might be answered already, is there enough coach/bus drivers in local area to provide RRB service. I know Oxford and Swindon buses have been running recruitment campaigns for a long while.

 

[birchesgreen]

Might be answered already, is there enough coach/bus drivers in local area to provide RRB service. I know Oxford and Swindon buses have been running recruitment campaigns for a long while.

It could prove problematical. I was on the RRB on friday and the driver said the railway was lucky this happened during the Easter break when the schools were off.

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Might be answered already, is there enough coach/bus drivers in local area to provide RRB service. I know Oxford and Swindon buses have been running recruitment campaigns for a long while.

Companies will be called in from wherever has availability. Already companies from Birmingham are involved. With the return of schools next week and the busier summer season approaching it will undoubtedly be tight.

Fully expect that drivers will be put up in local hotels if they are from out of area.

 

[fgwrich]

Companies will be called in from wherever has availability. Already companies from Birmingham are involved. With the return of schools next week and the busier summer season approaching it will undoubtedly be tight.

Fully expect that drivers will be put up in local hotels if they are from out of area.

Understandable, First Groups Rail Replacement companies must be rather stretched at the moment what with this blockade, others in the Reading area, Reading - Basingstoke and Basingstoke area this weekend. We've had a few companies from afar including Truronian and Diamond bus.

 

[Horizon22]

New tweet from @networkrailwest:

GWR have gone on to tweet similar.

https://twitter.com/GWRHelp/status/1645453258838646797

Travel Update 10/04⚠️ Due to urgent repairs to a bridge between Didcot Parkway and Oxford the line is closed. Train services between Didcot Parkway and Oxford have been cancelled.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day on 09/06/23.

All information on ticket acceptance, bus replacement and alternative routes can be seen at http://GWR.com/oxford-update

Please check your journey before travelling at http://GWR.com/Check

Companies will be called in from wherever has availability. Already companies from Birmingham are involved. With the return of schools next week and the busier summer season approaching it will undoubtedly be tight.

Fully expect that drivers will be put up in local hotels if they are from out of area.

I still expect there to be issues regardless as the problems securing reliable RR has been well documented here.

First Group do have an in house group (First Travel Solutions) to at least make it a tad easier to arrange.

 

[swt_passenger]

It’s a viaduct. The trees obscure it but there are further spans on the North side of the river.

If not noticed at the time, the photo in post #243 is a long distance view looking north, and you can see the railings extending beyond the furthest span where the 3 brick arches of the northern approach are.

However, there’s a far better photo of the northern approach arches on the Geograph website here:

The Oxford end of Nuneham Viaduct © Steve Daniels

SU5297 :: The Oxford end of Nuneham Viaduct, near to Radley, Oxfordshire, Great Britain by Steve Daniels

www.geograph.org.uk

 

[Mcr Warrior]

That's a 2010 photo on Geograph (post #494), but never good to see foliage growing profusely out of trackside masonry / brickwork, even if it's not the primary cause of the current problems affecting this particular location.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

but never good to see foliage growing profusely out of trackside masonry / brickwork

Quite so. Nature will never let any man made structure get in its way. One only has to think of how many people are constantly trying to kill the 'weeds' (as some call them, not me) coming up through their block paved driveways! Thankfully such things are no way as serious as they are when it comes to railway structures.

 

[Stargull]

This is why I will prefer to get the X2/X32* from Oxford to Didcot Parkway or the S6 from Oxford to Swindon. Cheaper too especially because of the £2 single bus fare cap.

(p.s. for those of you who don't know these are local bus services).

*X32 is particularly attractive as it stops outside my uni accommodation and after Oxford, goes direct via the A34 to Didcot Parkway, omitting Abingdon (which the X2 serves).

Just a note to add that these services can be used for no additional cost if you have a rail ticket (as per GWR: https://www.gwr.com/oxford-update). I've used the X32 twice without ever being asked to show my ticket.

 

[snowball]

Press release

Network Rail engineers work around the clock to repair Nuneham viaduct with the line expected to be closed until early June

The railway between Didcot Parkway and Oxford will not reopen until early June following the closure of Nuneham viaduct in Oxfordshire for safety reasons on Monday 3 April, as Network Rail engineers work around the clock to repair the structure.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

“We can now confirm that we’re working towards a reopening date of Saturday 10 June and will be replacing the old southern support structure in order to start running trains safely again."

The railway between Didcot Parkway and Oxford will not reopen until early June following the closure of Nuneham viaduct in Oxfordshire for safety reasons on Monday 3 April, as Network Rail engineers work around the clock to repair the structure.

The line was shut after Network Rail installed monitoring equipment detected increasingly significant movements of the viaduct, which crosses the River Thames between Culham and Radley, despite Network Rail carrying out stabilising works in recent weeks. Monitoring equipment is routinely installed across the rail network to provide data on the infrastructure and detect when any issues may arise. The structure had been monitored with such equipment since 2018, with extra equipment installed earlier this year. Prior to the recent rapid deterioration of the viaduct, its condition posed no risk to trains or passengers.

The viaduct, like other rail infrastructure, undergoes regular inspections, including with divers below the water every three years. Manual inspections have been carried out at the viaduct every three months since 2021, with full inspections of the stability of the southern bridge support structure in 2019 and 2022. These inspections led to a planned low intrusive ground stabilisation scheme in March 2023.

Unfortunately, these interventions in March 2023 were not successful, resulting in the closure of the line once the condition of the viaduct rapidly and unexpectedly deteriorated. The cause of the rapid decline in the condition of the southern support structure is currently unknown, however engineers will be in a better position to assess this once the old support has been removed.

Engineers have been working around the clock since the line was closed and are now working to replace the southern support structure with a new one, which will provide a long-term fix and allow for both passenger and freight trains to run again between Didcot Parkway and Oxford by Saturday 10 June. The work to replace the support structure will be complex and challenging owing to ground conditions at the site, including the proximity to the River Thames and the heavy clay soil in which the new support will need to be secured.

Network Rail has been working closely with its rail industry partners to help keep passengers moving while the line is closed. As part of this partnership, GWR, CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways and Network Rail have implemented a revised timetable for the duration of the line closure, with a rail replacement service and local shuttle services running.

Those travelling between London Paddington and Oxford/North Cotswolds will need to change at Didcot Parkway for replacement bus services, adding about 45 mins to journey times.

A non-stop bus shuttle will run between Didcot and Oxford, with another calling at intermediate stations. Trains will continue to operate largely as planned between Hereford/Worcestershire and Oxford.

 

[Dazza12]

That sounds like a single pass solution rather than a temporary fix and then a rebuild.

I'm guess it will be along the lines of:
- Temporarily lift and prop the displaced span(s).
- Remove the sinking abutment.
- Stabilise the ground.
- Rebuild the abutment.
- Lower the displaced span onto the new abutment.

I wonder what they will be supporting the spans on whilst they rebuild the abutment...

 

[DelW]

That sounds like a single pass solution rather than a temporary fix and then a rebuild.

I'm guess it will be along the lines of:
- Temporarily lift and prop the displaced span(s).
- Remove the sinking abutment.
- Stabilise the ground.
- Rebuild the abutment.
- Lower the displaced span onto the new abutment.

I wonder what they will be supporting the spans on whilst they rebuild the abutment...

There was mention in post 209 of engineers from Mabey Bridge being on site. It's possible that they were actually from Mabey Hire, which supplies a variety of heavy duty propping and trestle equipment, that can also include jacking systems. I would expect something of that sort to be used to support and lift the decks. In the thread on bridge replacement at Bradford on Avon, there's a photo of what looks like one of their systems forming part of the crash deck.

 

[swt_passenger]

That sounds like a single pass solution rather than a temporary fix and then a rebuild.

I'm guess it will be along the lines of:
- Temporarily lift and prop the displaced span(s).
- Remove the sinking abutment.
- Stabilise the ground.
- Rebuild the abutment.
- Lower the displaced span onto the new abutment.

I wonder what they will be supporting the spans on whilst they rebuild the abutment...

I’m thinking build very large ground pads outside the footprint of the existing abutment, but still on the river bank, and fit a massive girder between them, ie perpendicular to the tracks, and hang the span off the girder. I’d also expect the river bank edge to be strengthened by use of backfilling behind temporary piling in the river channel.

Either that or fit a girder under the span and jack it up, but that would possibly get in the way of access to the new abutment work.

I suppose it will become fairly obvious what temporary work is necessary over the next week or so.

 

[webweasel]

I’m thinking build very large ground pads outside the footprint of the existing abutment, but still on the river bank, and fit a massive girder between them, ie perpendicular to the tracks, and hang the span off the girder. I’d also expect the river bank edge to be strengthened by use of backfilling behind temporary piling in the river channel.

Either that or fit a girder under the span and jack it up, but that would possibly get in the way of access to the new abutment work.

I suppose it will become fairly obvious what temporary work is necessary over the next week or so.

My thinking too, although given the ground conditions my guess is piles either side for the steel goal post under the spans and jack up the bridge.

Once the bridge span is supported, tear down the abutment, more piles and pile-cap foundations and then possibly a pre-cast abutment that can be dropped in (and possibly faced up in brick later).

 

[fandroid]

It's a water pipe. I don't have a photo but there is an ID tag attached to it stating that it belongs to "Oxford Water".

Not new then. "Oxford Water" hasn't existed as a separate entity since around 1975.

 

[Gloster]

Paul Clifton has a couple of new pieces on his Twitter feed ( @PaullCliftonBBC ) on the closure. The Network Rail engineer largely dodges the question as to why it has come to being forced to close the line.

 

[Brissle Girl]

Reading the statement from Network Rail about the work on the interventions that started in March, I do speculate whether those accelerated the problem, given things deteriorated rapidly a couple of weeks later.

 

[MarkyT]

Reading the statement from Network Rail about the work on the interventions that started in March, I do speculate whether those accelerated the problem, given things deteriorated rapidly a couple of weeks later.

I wonder if building the access road right next to the embankment and using it to bring in vehicles and plant had a role.

 

[Benjwri]

Reading the statement from Network Rail about the work on the interventions that started in March, I do speculate whether those accelerated the problem, given things deteriorated rapidly a couple of weeks later.

I highly doubt it, they'll have been well aware of it. I would say it is far more likely the unseasonal flooding caused it. For reference the flooding has been far worse than anything experienced in recent times nearby. The local test was inaccessible for a week because of flooding, something which hasn't happened at least the previous 10 years I lived nearby.

 

[Dr_Paul]

This may be a miles-travelled per crow-flies miles record: Didcot to Morris Cowley - via Bicester. 8.5 miles as straight line, but must be 100 now..

Realtime Trains | 4V39 1330 Didcot T.C. to Morris Cowley M.A.T. | 12/04/2023

Real-time train running information for 4V39 1330 departure from Didcot T.C. to Morris Cowley M.A.T. on 12/04/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Southampton from Cowley plant is also now routed via Bicester.

They are very lucky that Chiltern had the curve built to Oxford!

This one ran today: an empty aggregates service from Oxford Banbury Road Yard to East Usk Yard, via Bicester, High Wycombe, Greenford, Southall and rejoining what would have been its usual route at Didcot, adding quite a few miles to its route.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Reading the statement from Network Rail about the work on the interventions that started in March, I do speculate whether those accelerated the problem, given things deteriorated rapidly a couple of weeks later.

That is the way it reads to me.

 

[fgwrich]

Reading the statement from Network Rail about the work on the interventions that started in March, I do speculate whether those accelerated the problem, given things deteriorated rapidly a couple of weeks later.

I highly doubt it, they'll have been well aware of it. I would say it is far more likely the unseasonal flooding caused it. For reference the flooding has been far worse than anything experienced in recent times nearby. The local test was inaccessible for a week because of flooding, something which hasn't happened at least the previous 10 years I lived nearby.

It's certainly had issues for a while, as Network Rail were recently working on the embankment and filling it with some kind of Polymer / Grout in an attempt to stabilise it along with several attempts at Jacking and Packing the track. In addition to the wettest March on record, we've just come from the driest February (and an unseasonably dry winter), so the combination of those two months, along with last summer, won't have helped it either.