why are there engineering works every year affecting Southwest Trains?

[hawaii2468]

I am not sure for other lines, but there are engineering works for Southwest Train lines every year in the winter months which often make train journey longer and less frequent. I wonder is it because of the falls from the Autumns or some other reasons.

 

[N Levers]

Enginering works take place all the time on all lines. Every night there are some sort of balast cleaning/track patrolling/minor repare works.

Major enginering works like signalling renewals and track replacement take place mainly during winter months to allow quieter summer months for extra passenger traffic. Last year (2012) there were next to no work in the summer (because of the olympics) so all that work had to be done last/this winter.

 

[NSEFAN]

The South Western Mainline is an extremely intensely used section of line. This means rails need to be replaced more often.

I imagine it's more efficient for Network Rail to have an all-day blockade on a larger section of track, rather than having lots of small overnight possessions during the week.

 

[RobShipway]

You will have a few effects such as the 10 day engineering works at Reading taking place this Easter which will effect the SWT services.

But as NSEFAN it is extremely busy section of line with Waterloo being the busiest of all the mainline stations. Hopefully, improvements will come when the old Eurostar platforms start to be opened up, but you will still have path issues for trains into Waterloo as there is no space to expand for trains entering into or out of the station.

 

[swt_passenger]

You will have a few effects such as the 10 day engineering works at Reading taking place this Easter which will effect the SWT services.

In fact, that's an incorrect assumption. The Reading work at Easter this year doesn't really affect SWT other than P6 being closed because of the adjacent worksite. They are running normally throughout but with an enhanced 4 tph service to Reading on certain days, ie the first Friday/Sat/Sun. This reduces the Weybridge service to provide the extra stock.

But as NSEFAN it is extremely busy section of line with Waterloo being the busiest of all the mainline stations. Hopefully, improvements will come when the old Eurostar platforms start to be opened up, but you will still have path issues for trains into Waterloo as there is no space to expand for trains entering into or out of the station.

Re-opening the Eurostar platforms eventually will alter the maintenance opportunities in the station area, but will do little to change the maintenance philosophy further out and specifically beyond Woking, where certain major diversions will always occur on an annual cycle. The sort of thing I mean being diversion of mainline services via Havant and Fareham on Sundays, but this still allows a service to operate. Closures west of Southampton will always cause problems as there is no diversionary route available.

However they eventually hope to shorten most maintenance closures to allow normal mainline routes to operate from Sunday afternoon, the so-called 7 day railway policy. The future proposals for maintenance access are discussed in the recently published route plan here:

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse...iture plans/route plans/wessex route plan.pdf

See under 'Route Network Availability Strategy'.

The original poster's question is specific to SWT, but the same problems of engineering access occur nearly everywhere AFAICS.

 

[Class377/5]

While the work itself won't affect SWT, I'm sure the HST's into Waterloo will.

 

[swt_passenger]

While the work itself won't affect SWT, I'm sure the HST's into Waterloo will.

I very much doubt it. It's only one train an hour extra between Salisbury and Waterloo up the main line, and then only over the Easter Weekend, which is reduced to a Saturday service on Friday and Monday, and then again on the second Sunday. So the diverts are never running at the same time as the SWT peak service.

(By the way, if anyone saw the article in the current Modern Railways mag, it wrongly suggests an HST service from Reading to Waterloo, and that the HST diverts happen all week. Neither point is correct, it is SWT that are running the extras from Reading to Waterloo, and the west of England services are running via Reading as normal on Tuesday to Saturday of the week following Easter weekend - although there are timetable alterations to reflect a service on the reliefs only.)

 

[RobShipway]

Isn't the tunnel under the GWML at Reading going to be open by then, so that the HSTS's going in the North side of Reading, would be able to come under the GWML so that they then head to Waterloo from that point?

 

[455driver]

There is a tunnel that will take you from the slow line side to the Wokingham lines but that is the London side of reading station but you would still need to go through Reading station to get to it and as the station is effectively shut it is useless as a diversionary route this time round.

 

[swt_passenger]

Isn't the tunnel under the GWML at Reading going to be open by then, so that the HSTS's going in the North side of Reading, would be able to come under the GWML so that they then head to Waterloo from that point?

Any train (whether HST or not) that makes it through Reading station would be able to go to Paddington anyway - so your logic seems all wrong...

However, although HSTs can use the route from Reading to Waterloo, I've heard nothing to suggest that the massive speed restrictions, (eg 5 mph through certain stations) are still not in place. Seems to me it's an emergency route only for HSTs. Has anyone access to the up to date clearance info for the route, as NR's online 'snapshot' of 2009 is getting a bit old now...

But in any case, there is no evidence whatsoever in FGW's published timetable for the period, that HSTs are running from Reading to Waterloo. I suggest MR have made an error.

 

[joeykins82]

Over the Easter break FGW are running Bristol & Cardiff services from Paddington via the Chiltern route, reversing at Banbury. The Devon and Cornwall services are running from Waterloo calling at Basingstoke instead of Reading and then fast to Westbury (presumably via Salisbury) where they'll reverse.

http://nationalrail.co.uk/service_d...e&action=true&txtTravelDate=30/03/2013&toc=xc

 

[swt_passenger]

Over the Easter break FGW are running Bristol & Cardiff services from Paddington via the Chiltern route, reversing at Banbury. The Devon and Cornwall services are running from Waterloo calling at Basingstoke instead of Reading and then fast to Westbury (presumably via Salisbury) where they'll reverse.

http://nationalrail.co.uk/service_d...e&action=true&txtTravelDate=30/03/2013&toc=xc

I think that's generally already known, and is basically the same as what happened last time - the change is that the Waterloo services are running via Wimbledon this time. We've had an earlier thread or two about it, so I didn't want to repeat it all over again.

 

[DarloRich]

I am not sure for other lines, but there are engineering works for Southwest Train lines every year in the winter months which often make train journey longer and less frequent. I wonder is it because of the falls from the Autumns or some other reasons.

It is to make sure the train can :

a) run at something over 5mph
and
b) not fall off the track
and
c) Hopefully avoid everyone dying in an horrific accident.

Why do you think they fix the track? Just to upset the "long suffering" commuters of SWT land
:roll:

 

[09065]

Regretfully so DarloRich

The disgraceful conduct of South West Trains having to cancel services so that Network Rail can practice replacing rails should really stop. As we all know the rails are actually made of supermetal which is impossible to break, rust, or otherwise go bad.

The delightful and patient members of the travelling South West Trains public who stand silently in queues awaiting a train to arrive in the mornings are quietly despondent when things go wrong and the trains go slowly or fail to arrive as hawaii2468 suggests.

As for the remarks of our honourable friend joeykins82; he is correct and for a change the delightful South West Trains passengers of Suribton and Wimbledon will be able to patiently await a train and see a HST sweep by with vigor.