Stalybridge p4 canopy

[BurtonM]

What's going on here? The long edge of the canopy/roof on the platform's been removed again and all that's there at the moment is two lines of long, very wobbly cladding. I know the wood was dirty in places from exhausts etc, is it just gone for cleaning, being replaced or what?

 

[edwin_m]

Some modification for future electrification perhaps? Or is that supposed to have been done already?

 

[BurtonM]

An OHLE friendly signal gantry was put in when the refurb was done a while ago, but there's nothing doing on electrification out here at the moment to my knowledge, it's all a bit west of Stalybridge - increasing the linespeed for IC trains at the moment. No Sunday service for a while...

Don't think I'll be seeing wires here for a while.

 

[edwin_m]

As I understand it electrification Manchester to Stalybridge (and probably slightly beyond) is part of the NW scheme (but don't ask me which phase!) and will happen well before Transpennine. This is partly to provide somewhere for EMU services from west of Manchester to terminate, but also to connect to the new feeder being installed on the old power station site, where I've seen photos of equipment being brought in so that is obviously under construction.

 

[snowball]

As I understand it electrification Manchester to Stalybridge (and probably slightly beyond) is part of the NW scheme (but don't ask me which phase!) and will happen well before Transpennine.

It is phase 5, and according to the Hendy dates* is due for completion by December 2017, simultaneously with phase 4 (Manchester-Euxton) and before phase 3 (Preston-Blackpool). But the Hendy dates are already beginning to look optimistic.

Whether electrification is the the reason for the canopy works, I can't say.

*After a day of watching and listening to coverage of the Chilcot report I nearly wrote "Chilcot dates".