Nuneham Viaduct: what alternative provision could be provided?

[fishwomp]

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.

How about.. temporary halt north of bridge, and south of as Appleford is too far and too short a platform, with a footbridge over the river (pointwork also required) NR managed a temporary halt in Cumbria due to a road bridge being out some time ago.

 

[Jimini]

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.

Don’t forget us poor sods who use the XC services over it on a regular basis as well!

 

[The Planner]

How about.. temporary halt north of bridge, and south of as Appleford is too far and too short a platform, with a footbridge over the river (pointwork also required) NR managed a temporary halt in Cumbria due to a road bridge being out some time ago.

Oxford Didcot isnt the Cumbrian coast line. The amount of trains that would allow would just cause crush loading anyway as people would just head for whatever a journey planner tells them.

 

[fishwomp]

Oxford Didcot isnt the Cumbrian coast line. The amount of trains that would allow would just cause crush loading anyway as people would just head for whatever a journey planner tells them.

I was going to suggest wheelbarrows for the aggregates freight, but not sure about how to sort out the containers.. may need to think about this for a bit more..

 

[Birmingham]

The odd Paddington-Hereford train is pathed that away anyway

The trains you’re seeing booked via Swindon are ones that have been specially amended as such.

 

[Class 170101]

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.

The trains you’re seeing booked via Swindon are ones that have been specially amended as such.

To be fair to jhy44 above some are routed this way for normal operation rather than via Oxford but its normally only a couple a day

Realtime Trains | 1L66 0724 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington | 24/04/2023

Real-time train running information for 1L66 0724 departure from Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington on 24/04/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

and

Realtime Trains | 1G29 1928 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill | 24/04/2023

Real-time train running information for 1G29 1928 departure from London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill on 24/04/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[ChiefPlanner]

I was going to suggest wheelbarrows for the aggregates freight, but not sure about how to sort out the containers.. may need to think about this for a bit more..

A friend has suggested stepping stones over the river for "urgent" passenger needs. Again , needs some thought. (and of course a risk assesment)

 

[Doctor Fegg]

To be fair to jhy44 above some are routed this way for normal operation rather than via Oxford but its normally only a couple a day

Not normally to Hereford though, only Worcester.

 

[Nottingham59]

I was going to suggest wheelbarrows for the aggregates freight, but not sure about how to sort out the containers.. may need to think about this for a bit more..

Seal them up with gaffer tape along the door joints, and float 'em across

 

[zwk500]

Seal them up with gaffer tape along the door joints, and float 'em across

No need for anything so dramatic, just hire a crane, fit it with a container attachment and swing 'em across from one rake to another .

 

[sammyg901]

Chiltern have added the following message on their website

Services to and from Oxford will be extremely busy until 9th June - GWR services are unable to run between Oxford and London Paddington, whilst the line between Didcot and Oxford is closed for urgent repairs to a bridge​

We’ve worked hard to increase capacity on our services between Oxford and London Marylebone as much as possible from Monday 17 April.
Our services will still be extremely busy and your journey may take significantly longer than usual, so please allow yourself extra time and check your journey before you travel.
Customers are advised to consider alternative travel plans if possible, such as starting your journey from:

• Didcot Parkway station, where services are running to and from London Paddington
• Bicester North or Haddenham & Thame Parkway and Oxford Parkway stations where services are running to and from London Marylebone

I wonder if they've "borrowed" from Met line services like they do at the weekend for a Wembley event. School holidays this week admittedly but I took the 06:20 from Aylesbury Vale Parkway today and there were ~50% of the seats available in my carriage after the last call at Amersham

Edit: Looking at RTT there are are a lot of Altered WTT schedule for next week with no obvious changes to calling points (though I didn't go through in detail) - this includes the met line services, so I suspect that relates to diagram changes to shuffle around to get more carriages onto the Oxfords

There is one interesting change, the 0634 ex-Oxford has been replaced with an STP that has it fast from Haddenham and Thame Parkway and an extra 0716 ex-Princes Risborough (PRR) has been added pathed as a cl68 hauled set to pick up the missed calls. Not sure if that would mean two hauled morning services starting at PRR or that'll run and the 0740 will be units.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

And you're going to end up at Marylebone, so still have to get to Paddington.

Surely it would be easier and guarantee you a seat to use the RRB to Didcot (30 mins) then a guaranteed connection from Didcot to Paddington with almost certainty of a seat on an 8 car 387 compared to an, at best 4 car 165 ?

And you're going to end up at Marylebone, so still have to get to Paddington.

Surely it would be easier and guarantee you a seat to use the RRB to Didcot (30 mins) then a guaranteed connection from Didcot to Paddington with almost certainty of a seat on an 8 car 387 compared to an, at best 4 car 165 ?

What if the persons 92-year-old mother can't climb the steps of a 12+m coach?

Best to seek assistance at Oxford to ensure a seat.

 

[A0wen]

What if the persons 92-year-old mother can't climb the steps of a 12+m coach?

Best to seek assistance at Oxford to ensure a seat.

If a 92 year old can't cope with climbing aboard a modern coach which will be accessible, might I venture to suggest the 150+ metres of a 6 car DMU (which will have to be done at one end of the journey, whatever happens) plus extra distance to reach onward transport at London is probably not realistic either ?

 

[centraluser]

Chiltern have added the following message on their website

Services to and from Oxford will be extremely busy until 9th June - GWR services are unable to run between Oxford and London Paddington, whilst the line between Didcot and Oxford is closed for urgent repairs to a bridge​

We’ve worked hard to increase capacity on our services between Oxford and London Marylebone as much as possible from Monday 17 April.
Our services will still be extremely busy and your journey may take significantly longer than usual, so please allow yourself extra time and check your journey before you travel.
Customers are advised to consider alternative travel plans if possible, such as starting your journey from:

• Didcot Parkway station, where services are running to and from London Paddington
• Bicester North or Haddenham & Thame Parkway and Oxford Parkway stations where services are running to and from London Marylebone

I wonder if they've "borrowed" from Met line services like they do at the weekend for a Wembley event. School holidays this week admittedly but I took the 06:20 from Aylesbury Vale Parkway today and there were ~50% of the seats available in my carriage after the last call at Amersham

Edit: Looking at RTT there are are a lot of Altered WTT schedule for next week with no obvious changes to calling points (though I didn't go through in detail) - this includes the met line services, so I suspect that relates to diagram changes to shuffle around to get more carriages onto the Oxfords

There is one interesting change, the 0634 ex-Oxford has been replaced with an STP that has it fast from Haddenham and Thame Parkway and an extra 0716 ex-Princes Risborough (PRR) has been added pathed as a cl68 hauled set to pick up the missed calls. Not sure if that would mean two hauled morning services starting at PRR or that'll run and the 0740 will be units.

Confirmation of weekday timetable changes here:

Oxford services extremely busy until June 9th | Chiltern Railways

Services to and from Oxford will be extremely busy until 9th June as GWR services are unable to run between Oxford and London Paddington, whilst the line between Didcot and Oxford is closed for urgent repairs to a bridge. We’ve worked hard to increase capacity on our services between Oxford and...

chilternrailways.co.uk