Scottish Electrification updates & discussion

[59CosG95]

Down line is also fully wired with the exception of Carfin Cutting and the wire run just East of Cleland station.

Thanks for the update @Fougasse - I've amended the update above (now known as 5.2).

 

[59CosG95]

Platform 10 at Stirling (the old Motorail bay) is now wired. Worryingly, however, both catenary and contact wire appear to be connected directly to the end portal with no sign of insulators...

Thanks for the update again @matchmaker; the original post is now amended (as 5.2).

 

[benbristow]

I live nearby . The 201 now starts from the station i think but probably does not tie in with train times nor i hear of many using it to and from the station . How long does iit take you to get to your office from Hairmyres ? There was a short lived Arriva bus from EK to the Airport and Paisley around 9 years ago , didnt last long .

You must have missed my first sentence. It’s a 5-10 minute walk. Just past the Lidl and Tony Macaroni etc.

 

[takno]

You must have missed my first sentence. It’s a 5-10 minute walk. Just past the Lidl and Tony Macaroni etc.

That's a beautifully Scottish-sounding route. I can't seem to explain Tony Macaroni to anyone in England...

 

[FS-2-11]

My only fear is they've done so much that it's going to come to a sudden and crashing halt if they're not going to continue the programme.

One possibility is renewal of existing electrification infrastructure in the Glasgow area, much of which is approaching 60 years old.

 

[59CosG95]

One possibility is renewal of existing electrification infrastructure in the Glasgow area, much of which is approaching 60 years old.

Agreed - there's a lot of OLE (particularly on the Argyle/North Clyde Lines) that has gone green with age (copper oxide) there. While that may not be a structural problem with regards the steelwork and SPS, the wires themselves will almost certainly need renewal.

 

[dalmahoyhill]

My only fear is they've done so much that it's going to come to a sudden and crashing halt if they're not going to continue the programme.

Obviously there are plenty of places in Scotland which should be wired up but it all depends on if these decisions are taken.

My understanding with contacts in the Scottish Government and Network Rail that pragmatism reigns up here unlike South of the Border. They understand that Electrification should be delivered on a rolling in programme rather than trying to do it in a 5 year programme and throwing in the towel and going for bi-modes. Understand its going to carry on. Looking at extending Dunblane up to Perth.

I agree E Kilbride is a obvious easy win and could be delivered like Paisley canal. Also i would be considering the fife circle.

 

[59CosG95]

My understanding with contacts in the Scottish Government and Network Rail that pragmatism reigns up here unlike South of the Border. They understand that Electrification should be delivered on a rolling in programme rather than trying to do it in a 5 year programme and throwing in the towel and going for bi-modes. Understand its going to carry on. Looking at extending Dunblane up to Perth.

I agree E Kilbride is a obvious easy win and could be delivered like Paisley canal. Also i would be considering the fife circle.

A couple of problems with Perth/the Fife Circle.
Not much point doing Perth until after the station has been remodelled; it could be done simultaneously, but AIUI the pot of funding only covers the remodelling at present.

While the Fife Circle is relatively simple to wire up, the problem arises with that great enigma - the Forth Bridge.
Speeds over the bridge need not be too great, so any catenary wire installed could be of a simple kind. Alternatively, solid overhead conductor rail (as used in the Severn Tunnel) could be used instead.
However, both points are moot given that the structure is largely metallic, and in order to prevent any stray currents, there would need to be an element of bonding the structure to an earthing point - difficult to do with a metal bridge over the Forth Estuary! The whole bridge would need to be insulated to an incredible extent, again at vast cost.

 

[Southsider]

I agree E Kilbride is a obvious easy win and could be delivered like Paisley canal. Also i would be considering the fife circle.

The project team who delivered Paisley Canal deemed a similar methodology to be unsuitable for East Kilbride.

https://nearyou.imeche.org/docs/def...-electrification---brian-sweeney.ppt?sfvrsn=5

Having said that there is nothing complex about East Kilbride line electrification. It's short (about 12 miles to Muirhouse junction) and there aren't many structures to deal with. Something may have to be done about the single track section and a power feed but nothing that hasn't been done many times before. From a rolling stock perspective there is a contract option for more 385s, alternatively surplus EMUs such as 365s and 321s are becoming readily available. Either option would free up a good number of 156s for use down south.

 

[edwin_m]

While the Fife Circle is relatively simple to wire up, the problem arises with that great enigma - the Forth Bridge.
Speeds over the bridge need not be too great, so any catenary wire installed could be of a simple kind. Alternatively, solid overhead conductor rail (as used in the Severn Tunnel) could be used instead.
However, both points are moot given that the structure is largely metallic, and in order to prevent any stray currents, there would need to be an element of bonding the structure to an earthing point - difficult to do with a metal bridge over the Forth Estuary! The whole bridge would need to be insulated to an incredible extent, again at vast cost.

I think this particular worry is needless. On a DC system the rails indeed need to be largely electrically isolated from earth, because otherwise some of the return current will get into the earth, and then pass through any metal objects. Stray current causes electrolytic corrosion when it passes in one direction through an interface between different materials. Where metal items are close enough to the DC railway for someone to touch both then a device may be fitted to connect them electrically when the voltage exceeds a safe value - which should only happen in the event of major faults so is occasional enough not to cause significant corrosion.

AC systems don't suffer from stray current corrosion as the current reverses 50 times per second. So structures close to the rails are bonded to them on an AC route but there's no particular concern about earthing. The concern on the Bridge is more the distance between the OLE (and in particular the outer ends of the pantograph) and the diagonal members that pass quite near (but we don't know how near) the top corners of a train. This has been discussed at length on another thread.

 

[route101]

That's a beautifully Scottish-sounding route. I can't seem to explain Tony Macaroni to anyone in England...

Chain of restaurants around Glasgow , kinda similar to Frankie and Bennies or Bella Italia , not tried .

 

[route101]

You must have missed my first sentence. It’s a 5-10 minute walk. Just past the Lidl and Tony Macaroni etc.

I see , changes round there , the Byre is not Tonys . I can picture is St James Retail park but not any offices beyond .

 

[Fougasse]

Shotts Line Update

As of last night, all wire runs (except Carfin Cutting) have been completed.

 

[alangla]

Chain of restaurants around Glasgow , kinda similar to Frankie and Bennies or Bella Italia , not tried .

Go at lunchtime on a weekday, most of the menu including the pizzas is around a fiver.

Anyway, on topic, given the current works are nearly finished, does anyone know how the grid feeding of the current wiring is set up? I know that when Cumbernauld was electrified, the switch cabin at Bellgrove was replaced with an extension cable from Parkhead feeder station. Does Parkhead feed the E&G? How are places like Carmyle, Shotts or Alloa fed? TIA!

 

[InOban]

There's a feed at Greenhill.

 

[DuncanS]

That's a beautifully Scottish-sounding route. I can't seem to explain Tony Macaroni to anyone in England...

When I were a lad The Krankies had a character called Tony Macaroni and everytime I see one of their places, TM not the Krankies, or hear the name of the Livingston FC stadium I earworm default to his theme tune that they played when he came on,

"Tony Macaroni runs a Glasgae café,
even though he thinks its good, its really rather naff"

 

[59CosG95]

Scottish Wiring Progressometer - Post 6.0 (dated 1st October 2018)
Shotts (due March 2019)
All mileages taken from Holytown Jct (1m 24ch) to Midcalder Jct (23m 11ch).
New signalling system for the route tested & commissioned. Route due to go live in mid-November.

Holytown Jct (1m 24ch) to Midcalder Jct (23m 11ch)
Fully wired west and east of the Carfin-Cleland Cutting on both lines.

Platforms are being extended at Carfin.
At Cleland, CCTV cameras & CIS are being installed.
At Hartwood Station (6m 62ch), an entirely new DDA-compliant access route is being built, to allow removal of the old footbridge without the need for a replacement. CCTV/CIS improvements are also underway at the station.
The accommodation bridge at Hartwoodhill looks finished.
At Shotts station, Station Rd Bridge is being rebuilt, and platforms are being extended.
At Fauldhouse Station, CCTV and CIS screens are being installed/improved.
Breich Station reopened after a 12-week closure. Platforms have been reprofiled, with access to the eastbound platform now coming from the north, avoiding the need for a new footbridge.
Addiewell Station's old footbridge has gone, and the New Footbridge almost complete. CIS screens and CCTV cameras are also being installed.

Edinburgh-Falkirk-Glasgow
All mileages taken from Queen Street High Level (0m 00ch) towards Haymarket (46m 02ch).
Electric services (Class 380s) running between Glasgow Queen Street High Level & Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk High (21m 63ch) in regular service; due to switch to Class 385 operation in December '18.

Via Falkirk Grahamston - LIVE as of 1/5/18. This includes

• Greenhill Upper Jct to Greenhill Lower Jct;
• Greenhill Lower Jct to Polmont Jct via Falkirk Grahamston;
• Grangemouth Jct;
• The "Larbert Triangle" (Larbert Jct, Carmuirs West Jct, and Carmuirs East Jct).

Now signed off for passenger service; Class 365s in operation as of 23/6/18.
Wires up and live as far north as Larbert Jct (but no further); SPS-bearing portals extend a short way north from Larbert Jct., along with a short run of catenary wire.
Steelwork is also up in the Grangemouth Terminal area, however the extent of SPS & wiring there is not yet known. Wires are now largely up in the vicinity of Fouldubs Jct, but work has yet to be completed with snagging etc.

Larbert - Stirling - Dunblane/Alloa
Line due to be blockaded from 14/10 to 22/10 for electrification, between Dunblane/Alloa and Larbert.
Alloa station now has contact & catenary wires installed; only the earth wire is up at Craigmill (nr Stirling). Wires currently end short of the River Forth on the Kincardine Lines, just behind Stirling County RFC's grounds; a gap is present at Cambus Loop.
At Larbert, both main lines and the Down Passenger Loop are fully wired.
Earth wires now up around Plean; masts are fully bedanglied around the M9.
TTCs up to the north of Hope's Crossing (between Cowie & Bannockburn).
A gap of around 4 TTCs can be found around Cowie, awaiting works from Scottish Power to alter pylons.
Lots of masts (mostly single masts, but a few TTCs too plus a pair to bear a portal boom) now up to the south of Millhall Rd Footbridge, between Kerse Rd & the A91.
Kerse Rd bridge undergoing reconstruction; due to be completed in October 2018.
Within Stirling, many masts/TTCs/portals are now up.

• SPS up over bay platforms 7 & 8, affixed to a multi-track portal.
• From Stirling Middle SB to the platforms, a large number of TTCs and portal booms (all with SPS) have gone up.
• SPS (on TTCs) up over through platforms 6 & 9 (on the east side).
• C&C wires now up through P10 (the former Motorail bay) - insulators have yet to be spliced in on the termination SSA.

Large number of masts (single masts, TTCs and a two-track portal) are up in the area around Stirling North Signal Box; a few piles remain unmasted at present.
Many masts up on both sides of the track around Cornton, just north of the diversion with the Kincardine Lines.
Through Bridge of Allan, all SPS is up, along with earth wires on both sides; the EW extends south to Stirling, again on both sides.
First pile in at the SW end of Dunblane. Concrete base with a cable embedded now in at the northern end of the station; possibly for a replacement signal?

Glossary of Terms
SPS - Small Part Steelwork; the "dangly bits" that hang off the masts e.g. registration arms.
TTC - Twin Track Cantilever; the "gallows" style masts with 2 sets of small part steelwork on it.
CIS - Customer Information Screen; the "dot matrix" displays shown on most modern stations.

 

[matchmaker]

Kerse Road bridge to reopen ahead of schedule on 19th October.

 

[matchmaker]

Stirling Station wiring appears almost complete. Catenary and droppers in place over Forth Viaduct (Perth lines).

 

[mcmad]

Stirling station is largely complete on the Alloa lines and bays but nothing on the main lines as far as I could see earlier today.

 

[matchmaker]

Just glancing as I am driving past, but some of the main platform lines appear wired.

 

[alangla]

Heard an ad on Radio Clyde last night, presumably also running on the other local stations for the closure. It's voiced by one of the Network Rail project team rather than an actor, but doesn't give any clues about alternative options other than to check with your TOC. It finishes with some sort of political crap along the lines of "this is part of the Scottish Government's investment in Scotland's infrastructure" or similar.

 

[kilonewton]

It finishes with some sort of political crap along the lines of "this is part of the Scottish Government's investment in Scotland's infrastructure" or similar.

What, no “...building the best railway Scotland’s had” or some such? Scotrail and the Scottish government keeping banging that line but not Network Rail? Maybe the usual line is too political.

Edit:
I’ve now heard the ad, and the last few seconds are just the noise of a train. I suspect that the standard “political” line was recorded but edited out.

 

[DuncanS]

The start of the week of works around Stirling has been an abject disaster this morning. RRB to Falkirk if you are looking for a trip to Glasgow today but owing to "crew shortage" there is actually only one train running to Glasgow between 9am and 12:30pm.

Hopefully Scotrail will bus everyone to High instead.

 

[takno]

The start of the week of works around Stirling has been an abject disaster this morning. RRB to Falkirk if you are looking for a trip to Glasgow today but owing to "crew shortage" there is actually only one train running to Glasgow between 9am and 12:30pm.

Hopefully Scotrail will bus everyone to High instead.

There's only one service from north of Stirling in the period, although there were only two scheduled anyway. If you're travelling from Stirling there are still plenty of trains from Falkirk to Glasgow to meet the RRBs.

 

[DuncanS]

The RRB is scheduled to run to Grahamston, the trains have been cancelled at Grahamston - unless they are transporting people to High there is one train in over three hours to Glasgow that is connectable via the RRB from Stirling.

 

[takno]

The RRB is scheduled to run to Grahamston, the trains have been cancelled at Grahamston - unless they are transporting people to High there is one train in over three hours to Glasgow that is connectable via the RRB from Stirling.

Ah, I see what you mean. It does seem slightly ridiculous to run the RRB to Grahamston if they've cancelled all the onward trains from there

 

[InOban]

The guards are demanding more money to work on rest days, Inc Sundays.

 

[jopsuk]

The guards are demanding more money to work on rest days, Inc Sundays.

Specifically, the RMT request is that all train staff should get the same additional payment for Rest Day Working as Drivers

 

[59CosG95]

Scottish Wiring Progressometer - Post 7.0 (dated 15th October 2018)
Shotts (due March 2019)
All mileages taken from Holytown Jct (1m 24ch) to Midcalder Jct (23m 11ch).
New signalling system for the route tested & commissioned. Route due to go live in mid-November.

Holytown Jct (1m 24ch) to Midcalder Jct (23m 11ch)
Fully wired west and east of the Carfin-Cleland Cutting on both lines. Bespoke masts are being/have been installed in the Carfin-Cleland Cutting.

Platforms are being extended at Carfin.
At Cleland, CCTV cameras & CIS are being installed.
At Hartwood Station (6m 62ch), an entirely new DDA-compliant access route is being built, to allow removal of the old footbridge without the need for a replacement. CCTV/CIS improvements are also underway at the station.
The accommodation bridge at Hartwoodhill looks finished.
At Shotts station, Station Rd Bridge is being rebuilt, and platforms are being extended.
At Fauldhouse Station, CCTV and CIS screens are being installed/improved.
Breich Station reopened after a 12-week closure. Platforms have been reprofiled, with access to the eastbound platform now coming from the north, avoiding the need for a new footbridge.
Addiewell Station's old footbridge has gone, and the New Footbridge almost complete. CIS screens and CCTV cameras are also being installed.

Edinburgh-Falkirk-Glasgow
All mileages taken from Queen Street High Level (0m 00ch) towards Haymarket (46m 02ch).
Electric services (Class 380s) running between Glasgow Queen Street High Level & Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk High (21m 63ch) in regular service; due to switch to Class 385 operation in December '18.

Via Falkirk Grahamston - LIVE as of 1/5/18. This includes

• Greenhill Upper Jct to Greenhill Lower Jct;
• Greenhill Lower Jct to Polmont Jct via Falkirk Grahamston;
• Grangemouth Jct;
• The "Larbert Triangle" (Larbert Jct, Carmuirs West Jct, and Carmuirs East Jct).

Now signed off for passenger service; Class 365s in operation as of 23/6/18.
Wires up and live as far north as Larbert Jct (but no further); SPS-bearing portals extend a short way north from Larbert Jct., along with a short run of catenary wire.
Steelwork is also up in the Grangemouth Terminal area, however the extent of SPS & wiring there is not yet known. Wires are now largely up in the vicinity of Fouldubs Jct, but work has yet to be completed with snagging etc.

Larbert - Stirling - Dunblane/Alloa
Line blockaded from 14/10 to 21/10 (inclusive) for wiring between Dunblane/Alloa and Larbert. Any updates during and after the works would be greatly appreciated.
Alloa station now has contact & catenary wires installed; only the earth wire is up at Craigmill (nr Stirling). Wires currently end short of the River Forth on the Kincardine Lines, just behind Stirling County RFC's grounds; a gap is present at Cambus Loop.
At Larbert, both main lines and the Down Passenger Loop are fully wired.
Earth wires now up around Plean; masts are fully bedanglied around the M9.
TTCs up to the north of Hope's Crossing (between Cowie & Bannockburn).
A gap of around 4 TTCs can be found around Cowie, awaiting works from Scottish Power to alter pylons.
Lots of masts (mostly single masts, but a few TTCs too plus a pair to bear a portal boom) now up to the south of Millhall Rd Footbridge, between Kerse Rd & the A91.
Kerse Rd bridge nearly finished - due to be reopened on 19th October 2018.
Within Stirling, many masts/TTCs/portals are now up.

• Wires up over bay platforms 7 & 8, affixed to a multi-track portal.
• From Stirling Middle SB to the platforms, a large number of TTCs and portal booms (all with SPS) have gone up.
• SPS (on TTCs) up over through platforms 6 & 9 (on the east side).
• C&C wires now up through P10 (the former Motorail bay) - insulators have yet to be spliced in on the termination SSA.

Large number of masts (single masts, TTCs and a two-track portal) are up in the area around Stirling North Signal Box; a few piles remain unmasted at present.
On the viaduct over the Forth (on the Perth Lines), catenary wire & droppers are now up.
Many masts up on both sides of the track around Cornton, just north of the diversion with the Kincardine Lines.
Through Bridge of Allan, all SPS is up, along with earth wires on both sides; the EW extends south to Stirling, again on both sides.
First pile in at the SW end of Dunblane. Concrete base with a cable embedded now in at the northern end of the station; possibly for a replacement signal?

Glossary of Terms
SPS - Small Part Steelwork; the "dangly bits" that hang off the masts e.g. registration arms.
TTC - Twin Track Cantilever; the "gallows" style masts with 2 sets of small part steelwork on it.
CIS - Customer Information Screen; the "dot matrix" displays shown on most modern stations.