Southport line to be renewed

[WatcherZero]

NR have just announced the Southport line will have 11 miles of track renewals between August and December to improve punctuality and reduce delays.


http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...nvestment-for-Southport-Wigan-route-1e05.aspx

Passengers travelling between Southport and Wigan will soon benefit from more reliable journeys after Network Rail confirmed details of a £13m investment to improve the track along the route.


Martin Frobisher, Network Rail area director commented: “The investment we are making will provide a smoother ride and a more reliable service for passengers travelling between Southport and Wigan. The track here along this route is extremely old and was beginning to have an adverse affect on train punctuality. We’ll be replacing over 11 miles of track which will allow more trains to run on time along this important route.”

Work starts on site in week commencing 12 August with the majority due to be completed by December. Most of the work will take place overnight when trains are not running but there will be some impact on late evening services between Southport and Wigan, Monday to Thursday.

Lee Wasnidge, Area Director for Northern Rail: “Further investment in rail in the region is again turning the spotlight on the growing economy in the North of England. Although there will be some short-term disruption for our customers, we’d like to reassure them that this improvement package between Southport and Wigan will help us provide a comfortable and more reliable service for them on one of our busiest lines of route. We’re delighted to be able to bring the benefits of a resolute working partnership to our customers.”



Councillor Doreen Dickinson is Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Metrolink and Rail Networks Sub Committee, which monitors rail services across Greater Manchester. She welcomed the news, saying: “This major investment is great news for local rail passengers using services on this line. I’m pleased to see that sustained pressure from members of this committee to improve the performance of train services on this route is reaping rewards for passengers.

“Network Rail and Northern Rail have raised their game and we’ve seen some real improvements to punctuality and reliability recently. I look forward to a step-change in train service performance when these works are completed later this year.”

Reduced services

(12th August - 20th September) inclusive: Last passenger services will be 1903 Manchester Airport - Southport (1959 from Wigan Wallgate) and 2023 Southport - Manchester Airport. Later services will be replaced by buses between Wigan Wallgate and Southport.

(23rd September - 4th October) inclusive: Last passenger services will be 1903 Manchester Airport - Southport (1959 from Wigan Wallgate) and 2023 Southport - Manchester Airport. Later services will be replaced by buses between Parbold and Southport.

(7th October - 6th December) inclusive: Last passenger services will be 1903 Manchester Airport - Southport (1959 from Wigan Wallgate) and 2023 Southport - Manchester Airport. Later services will be replaced by buses between Wigan Wallgate and Southport.

More details on Northern Rail website by the end of the week

The performance on this lines has been poor the last few years, its consistently the least punctual service in Greater Manchester.

 

[AntoniC]

Thats good news all they need to do now is replace the Pacers.

 

[Ploughman]

Is that going to be 11 miles on one track or on both?
I assume roughly Parbold - Meols Cop as the limits.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

This is really good news for this line and its regular passengers.

 

[WatcherZero]

Is that going to be 11 miles on one track or on both?
I assume roughly Parbold - Meols Cop as the limits.

When they mention track renewal distance they are generally refering to route length.

 

[Brian1947]

What chance of NR making provision for a junction at Burscough Bridge to enable (eventual) reinstatement of the curve onto the Ormskirk to Preston line?

 

[Ships]

Currently that's not on the cards, it's not like a bridge where you design it to fit ole or a station where you keep a platform for future use. It's 11 track miles, there's a fairly major realignment round one of the old island platforms being done too so line speed can be raised. This campaign is some thing that's been implemented very recently so it's keeping the office very busy!!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

What chance of NR making provision for a junction at Burscough Bridge to enable (eventual) reinstatement of the curve onto the Ormskirk to Preston line?

If this had been part of the project in hand, would it not have been stated in the report ?

 

[Cliveblackpool]

From Blackpool you can see Southport across the Ribble estuary. Getting there by rail is a different matter. Via - short walk between Wigan North western and Wigan Wallgate, or a longer walk Burscough Bridge and Burscough Junct.
Probably more chance of them building a bridge across the estuary than the curve reinstated!

 

[The Planner]

It's 11 track miles, there's a fairly major realignment round one of the old island platforms being done too so line speed can be raised.

Where? Meols Cop? Didn't think that had been agreed yet.

 

[Darren R]

It's 11 track miles, there's a fairly major realignment round one of the old island platforms being done too so line speed can be raised. This campaign is some thing that's been implemented very recently so it's keeping the office very busy!!

Where is the realignment to take place? The only station with an island platform is Meols Cop, apart from the site of the closed station at St Lukes. At the former I don't think there's any scope for realignment, and at both locations the curvature is so tight that I wouldn't have thought realignment would result in any significant improvement to line speeds. (Open to correction though - been a while since I went to Southport!)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Beaten to it by The Planner while I was typing!

 

[Ships]

Meols cop I think it is. Well as far as I know it's very much on the cards, we shall see after the walk out with the higher ups.

 

[Silv1983]

I find this very interesting. I drive this route regularly and the speed limit of 70mph doesn't change from Parbold to Wyke Cop Crossing (not far off Meols Cop) regardless of the state of the line. The concrete sleeper'ed / long welded sections are the same speed as the jointed rotten wooded sleeper'ed sections. Unless they re-vamp each crossing to react quicker to train detection and up the PSR's I can't see how this route will be faster or more reliable. Any improvement would be welcome however!

 

[Ships]

I think the renewals will remove the speed restrictions. As for the crossings I have no idea!

 

[The Planner]

The only thing I have heard about is upping the 20mph at Meols Cop and into Southport, that gets you nearly a minute apparently.

 

[pablo]

11 miles is almost exactly the distance of the straight stretch from the Southport boundary to Appley Bridge, according to Google Earth.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

That section covers the more rural parts of the line

 

[175001]

The section from Wigan to Appley Bridge and some parts of the down between Burcough and Meols Cop has been already done. Its the Up that needs badly doing between the last 2 stations!

 

[Brian1947]

Many of the roads “across the moss” suffer from ever increasing amounts of subsidence so perhaps no surprise that the Burscough to Meols Cop section is most in need of renewal. Not helped, of course, by the number of services scheduled for class 142’s!

 

[mullin]

The section from Wigan to Appley Bridge and some parts of the down between Burscough and Meols Cop has been already done. Its the Up that needs badly doing between the last 2 stations!

Is down towards Southport or Wigan?



From a curiosity / local point of view, the parts already done? Where was done last time trains were being turned at Parbold?

 

[Darren R]

The Down direction is towards Southport.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The West Lancashire areas traversed by the route of the railway are on a low-lying fluvial plain which once was moss in its ground-base, that led to certain geographical areas contained therein to have a long historical history of flooding. Obviously the methods used in land improvements by drainage systems to effect the change of land-type to that of agricultural usage, similar to those used in the Chat Moss area, will have made the stability of the land a more suitable base for the railway.

My question is to ask which areas of the railway are still classified as being prone to flooding and what infrastructural works are currently in place to help to mitigate the effects of flooding on the line ?

 

[Ships]

Untill last year the state of drainage in manchester the Manchester area wasn't properly understood. Despite it being known that good drainage solves a lot of formation and train quality issues it still doesn't seem to be a priority.

So the short answer would be areas liable to flood are probably known about but don't count on anything being done!

 

[mrpsb]

Would make more sense if the realignment was for the section through what used to be St Lukes station which still clearly diverges for an island platform that's long gone. Location here: http://goo.gl/maps/8Ij4A

What's the rumoured change at Meols Cop?

 

[Ships]

Im 99% sure it's st Luke's that's being realigned

 

[Bevan Price]

Is down towards Southport or Wigan?



From a curiosity / local point of view, the parts already done? Where was done last time trains were being turned at Parbold?

Can't recall the exact dates without finding my old notebooks, but in the last few years, I have photographed track renewal trains need Parbold, and in the area near New Lane / Bescar Lane stations.

 

[mrpsb]

There have been a couple of week long blockades in last couple of years, but they've been the whole line Southport to Wigan rather than just to Parbold. Certainly sections of the line are noticeably quieter and less bouncy than others now, it used to be like a wooden rollercoaster throughout before those closures.

 

[mrpsb]

My question is to ask which areas of the railway are still classified as being prone to flooding and what infrastructural works are currently in place to help to mitigate the effects of flooding on the line ?

I have only ever heard of flooding "in the Parbold area" on announcements when there has been flood disruption. The line across the moss doesn't seem to suffer from it (or hasn't in the last 4 years I've been paying attention to it). I thought this http://www.osadvertiser.co.uk/news/...duce-flodding-risk-in-parbold-80904-30147839/ was meant to help combat it but it seems to be a different issue as there was more flooding in September last year.

 

[The Planner]

Im 99% sure it's st Luke's that's being realigned

Makes sense as I have been told they want rid of the old S&C there.

 

[mullin]

I have only ever heard of flooding "in the Parbold area" on announcements when there has been flood disruption. The line across the moss doesn't seem to suffer from it (or hasn't in the last 4 years I've been paying attention to it). I thought this http://www.osadvertiser.co.uk/news/...duce-flodding-risk-in-parbold-80904-30147839/ was meant to help combat it but it seems to be a different issue as there was more flooding in September last year.

That article is just before the brook crosses under Station Road.
If you have a look on Google Maps... https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ll=53.589862,-2.76805&spn=0.003967,0.008272&t=m&z=17
For some reason, it appears incorrectly on Google... the brook doesn't flow into the bottom of the canal or up a 5m high wall to get into the canal either.


The brook flows down Parbold Hill (alongside Alder Lane), crosses under the railway, where it always /used to flood (Network Rail have made the river channel wider and IIRC have put in some form of defence to try and contain the water, to stop it spilling onto the track). It then runs 90 degrees right, alongside the railway, another 90 degrees left, alongside the field.
Where it veers left to join the canal, it actually flows to the right, in the general direction of Radiant Living, then between Burnside and West View and into the River Douglas.


Just need some real rain now to test it and see if the water will once more flow towards the level crossing and flood the subway :roll:

I have some photos of it flooded, somewhere. I'll post them if I can find them...