Question: Upgrade or large renewal schemes successfully completed by RailTrack

[jyte]

It's widely said that the combination of fines paid to operators and costs that arose after the Hatfield Rail Crash, as well as the spiralling costs of the West Coast Railway Modernisation Programme, were what forced Railtrack into administration in 2001, 7 years after it was created.

I was wondering (based partly on the difficulties with the WCRM) if Railtrack managed to take any upgrades or large scale renewal schemes from conception to completion in those 7 years. It seems to have inherited a fair few things that BR started or had done a lot of the ground work on already (TPWS and the Manchester Airport Branch) and finished those, and conversely started a few things which were later finished off by Network Rail (the WCRM being the 'big' one I can think of).

But after about 20-30 minutes of looking I can't find anything that it took from conception to completion. I know railway timescales move pretty glacially and 7 years is not a long time period especially when it comes to infrastructure projects, but I was wondering if anyone could point out any upgrade or large scale renewal projects Railtrack managed whilst it existed?

 

[Bald Rick]

Midland Main Line capacity increase - to double the frequency of Inter City services out of St Pancras. Not a ‘big’ scheme, but for the time, still pretty substantial, certainly in terms of benefits. It included the new platform at Bedford, doubling of Wigston Jn, some signalling changes, and a few other things. Luton Airport Parkway was done at the same time.

The Leeds first scheme was another big one - not sure when development started but it was certainly delivered by RT in 99/2000, I suspect that development was entirely RT too.

Last stage of the Robin Hood Line was entirely RT (although it was conceived beforehand, all the development and delivery was RT)

In terms of renewals, the later stages of the GEML resignalling were RT, as was Manchester Vic resignalling, Woking / Guildford resignalling and I’m sure many others.

Incidentally although TPWS was initiated (just) in BR days, full development started in Railtrack days, and most of delivery was by NR.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Manchester Piccadilly upgrade for the Commonwealth Games (2002) was largely on RT's watch.

 

[Bald Rick]

Manchester Piccadilly upgrade for the Commonwealth Games (2002) was largely on RT's watch.

Entirely! NR didn’t exist until after the games.

 

[matacaster]

Midland Main Line capacity increase - to double the frequency of Inter City services out of St Pancras. Not a ‘big’ scheme, but for the time, still pretty substantial, certainly in terms of benefits. It included the new platform at Bedford, doubling of Wigston Jn, some signalling changes, and a few other things. Luton Airport Parkway was done at the same time.

The Leeds first scheme was another big one - not sure when development started but it was certainly delivered by RT in 99/2000, I suspect that development was entirely RT too.

Last stage of the Robin Hood Line was entirely RT (although it was conceived beforehand, all the development and delivery was RT)

In terms of renewals, the later stages of the GEML resignalling were RT, as was Manchester Vic resignalling, Woking / Guildford resignalling and I’m sure many others.

Incidentally although TPWS was initiated (just) in BR days, full development started in Railtrack days, and most of delivery was by NR.

Leeds first was really late (over a year) and caused massive disruption over that year.

 

[Bald Rick]

Leeds first was really late (over a year) and caused massive disruption over that year.

Well that’s depends when you define as the planned finish date (programme integration was not the strong point on that project) but nevertheless, it was all done in RT days.

 

[jyte]

Midland Main Line capacity increase - to double the frequency of Inter City services out of St Pancras. Not a ‘big’ scheme, but for the time, still pretty substantial, certainly in terms of benefits. It included the new platform at Bedford, doubling of Wigston Jn, some signalling changes, and a few other things. Luton Airport Parkway was done at the same time.

The Leeds first scheme was another big one - not sure when development started but it was certainly delivered by RT in 99/2000, I suspect that development was entirely RT too.

Last stage of the Robin Hood Line was entirely RT (although it was conceived beforehand, all the development and delivery was RT)

In terms of renewals, the later stages of the GEML resignalling were RT, as was Manchester Vic resignalling, Woking / Guildford resignalling and I’m sure many others.

Incidentally although TPWS was initiated (just) in BR days, full development started in Railtrack days, and most of delivery was by NR.

MML Upgrade and Leeds rebuilding were definitely the 'scale' I was thinking of, but the rest definitely count too.

For some reason I had always thought TPWS was designed only a few years after ATP (realistically at about the same time) rather than much after. Thank you for your excellent knowledge as ever.

 

[Bald Rick]

For some reason I had always thought TPWS was designed only a few years after ATP (realistically at about the same time) rather than much after. Thank you for your excellent knowledge as ever.

The concept was BRs, just, but development up to installation level was done by RT (rather slowly, it must be said). Ladbroke Grove gave it a big kick. Nationwide roll out started around then, and was still going well into 2004. NR was ‘born’ in October 2002.

 

[MarkyT]

The concept was BRs, just, but development up to installation level was done by RT (rather slowly, it must be said). Ladbroke Grove gave it a big kick. Nationwide roll out started around then, and was still going well into 2004. NR was ‘born’ in October 2002.

It was already pretty obvious expensive proprietary full supervision ATP systems like the GWML and Chiltern pilot schemes were dead in the water by the end of BR, and ETCS would eventually be the only show in town, but wasn't available off the shelf yet, especially as any kind of cost-effective overlay that could be rolled out quickly. The UK found itself in technical paralysis just at the time many other European nations were engaged in vigourously expanding their pre-existing legacy train protection systems. Railways everywhere were getting busier, while much management attention in the UK was focussed on the newly privatised structures and contracts. TPWS had been conceived already as the stop-gap technology, but it took the unfortunate series of junction collisions including Ladbroke Grove to force the government into legislating to require its urgent widescale fitment. Once given the go-ahead and a budget, the network rollout was achieved in a quite remarkable timescale.

 

[moggie]

After a LOT of prevarication by Railtrack and DfT over what WCRM would comprise following the failure of the TCS signalling system development to get past the drawing board stage and the consequential wholesale redefinition of the WCML scope of work, Railtrack and it's chosen programme management and delivery contractors can be credited with Euston and Birmingham Proof House Jcn remodelling / resignalling projects.

TPWS role out was indeed a very successful execution. It might have been even more so if the design application standards of the system had been nailed down before the initial works commenced with only a very raw / basic application of the technology being implemented in the 'first pass' works under Railtrack's watch. Enough to address the principal risks mind. Enhancement works (TPWS+ etc) continued within and out with various signalling projects subsequently though much of this work came under NR's remit.

 

[Strathclyder]

Wasn't Glasgow Central High Level refurbished during the RT era? Or was it conceptualized/proposed in the autumn years of BR and finished under NR?

 

[Bald Rick]

After a LOT of prevarication by Railtrack and DfT over what WCRM would comprise following the failure of the TCS signalling system development to get past the drawing board stage and the consequential wholesale redefinition of the WCML scope of work, Railtrack and it's chosen programme management and delivery contractors can be credited with Euston and Birmingham Proof House Jcn remodelling / resignalling projects.

Euston, Proof House, and much else on WCRM were decided on, and in some cases delivered, well before the scope of the whole programme were redefined. Euston, for example, was given the go ahead in mid 1998, and works started later that year.

 

[edwin_m]

The concept was BRs, just, but development up to installation level was done by RT (rather slowly, it must be said). Ladbroke Grove gave it a big kick. Nationwide roll out started around then, and was still going well into 2004. NR was ‘born’ in October 2002.

The early SPAD reduction and mitigation exercise, looking at measures short of full ATP, was collaborative between BR and the proto-Railtrack in about 1994. This defined the essential functionality of both TPWS and the Driver Reminder Appliance, which were developed into deliverable systems over the next couple of years. The TPWS funding authorisation was sitting on John Prescott's desk at the time of Ladbroke Grove.

Cross Country speed upgrades between Birmingham and Sheffield were delivered by Railtrack in time for the Operation Princess timetable in 2002. Although the timetable was a mess, I believe the upgrades were done effectively.

 

[Taunton]

Notable that both Southall and Ladbroke Grove, two major accidents meant to have driven the widespread use of TPWS, both happened on one of the few lines equipped with the more sophisticated ATP - but for management apathy/cheeseparing reasons it was not in use on the trains in question.

but it took the unfortunate series of junction collisions including Ladbroke Grove to force the government into legislating to require its urgent widescale fitment.

One looks at these and wonders whether it was the signalling, or the money-saving installation of Single Lead junctions and similar layout redesigns, and completely ignoring flank protection in any risk assessment (I include both Southall and Ladbroke Grove in these, as well as the others) that actually lay behind them.

 

[Ploughman]

Leeds North West Electrification and resignalling between Leeds and Hellifield was started under Regional Rail in 1992 and completed under RT in 1995 by basically the same staff throughout.

 

[edwin_m]

Notable that both Southall and Ladbroke Grove, two major accidents meant to have driven the widespread use of TPWS, both happened on one of the few lines equipped with the more sophisticated ATP - but for management apathy/cheeseparing reasons it was not in use on the trains in question.

One looks at these and wonders whether it was the signalling, or the money-saving installation of Single Lead junctions and similar layout redesigns, and completely ignoring flank protection in any risk assessment (I include both Southall and Ladbroke Grove in these, as well as the others) that actually lay behind them.

Single lead junctions weren't a Railtrack thing particularly - just perpetuating BR practice back to the 70s or maybe earlier and the Paddington scheme was designed by BR and mostly or totally finished before privatisation. In fact the pendulum had started to swing back in the Railtrack era - Wigston was mentioned above.

 

[WesternLancer]

Presumably there was a fairly successful project team that worked on ways to find significant increases in costs over BR days after RT took over? I seem to recall the schemes they took on / started were reported as costing far higher than had been the cost before privatization, and some such cost increases helped kill projects off - eg Ivanhoe re-opening.

 

[jyte]

Euston, Proof House, and much else on WCRM were decided on, and in some cases delivered, well before the scope of the whole programme were redefined. Euston, for example, was given the go ahead in mid 1998, and works started later that year.

I might be wrong but I remember reading that the Norton Bridge Flyover/Grade Separation was in the original WCRM 'plan', removed, and then built as a separate enhancement in 2016 after NR realised that it would be really useful, but I'm not entirely sure.

 

[Ianno87]

I might be wrong but I remember reading that the Norton Bridge Flyover/Grade Separation was in the original WCRM 'plan', removed, and then built as a separate enhancement in 2016 after NR realised that it would be really useful, but I'm not entirely sure.

Started life as the "Stafford bypass". The alignment of which bears, I believe, a passing resemblance to the route of HS2 Phase 2a.

 

[swt_passenger]

I might be wrong but I remember reading that the Norton Bridge Flyover/Grade Separation was in the original WCRM 'plan', removed, and then built as a separate enhancement in 2016 after NR realised that it would be really useful, but I'm not entirely sure.

Yes, I have a 2006 DfT West Coast route modernisation “progress report” which spends a couple of pages describing the Stafford problems before kicking it into the long grass. They’d also investigated a dive-under in the Stafford station area, but reckoned it exceeded the budget and would delay the 2009 deadline...

 

[Bald Rick]

I might be wrong but I remember reading that the Norton Bridge Flyover/Grade Separation was in the original WCRM 'plan', removed, and then built as a separate enhancement in 2016 after NR realised that it would be really useful, but I'm not entirely sure.

Not really.

Started life as the "Stafford bypass". The alignment of which bears, I believe, a passing resemblance to the route of HS2 Phase 2a.

Shhhh.