Extension to Ebbw Vale Town station

[D6975]

I don't know about you, but I would rather have no excitement in a lift journey.

Oh, I don't know...
Have you seen Stuck?

 

[RP]

Plenty of evidence earlier today of tracklaying on the Ebbw Vale extension. It's not continuous yet as there seem to be more than one location where drainage is being excavated. One of these is just north of Ebbw Vale Parkway, where the buffer stop has been moved nearer the station for the present.

The Ebbw Vale Town station site is also being worked on and there appeared to be excavation for the track and platform as well as what appeared to be foundations for platform walls.

The good thing about this project is that so much of it is visible from public roads, paths and footbridge.

The Mechanical Lift appears to be almost complete.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Plenty of evidence earlier today of tracklaying on the Ebbw Vale extension. It's not continuous yet as there seem to be more than one location where drainage is being excavated. One of these is just north of Ebbw Vale Parkway, where the buffer stop has been moved nearer the station for the present.

The Ebbw Vale Town station site is also being worked on and there appeared to be excavation for the track and platform as well as what appeared to be foundations for platform walls.

The good thing about this project is that so much of it is visible from public roads, paths and footbridge.

The Mechanical Lift appears to be almost complete.




View attachment 21311

View attachment 21312

View attachment 21313

Cheers, Ebbw Vale must have a new of everything know except a viable sustainable economy!

 

[PHILIPE]

Lift resembles a Cliff Railway !!!

 

[snowball]

Is there a reasonably large-scale map anywhere showing the exact location of the proposed station?

 

[trawscymru27]

Is there a reasonably large-scale map anywhere showing the exact location of the proposed station?

The map here gives some idea of the location of the two Ebbw Vale stations in relation to the town centre and the rest of the development. Parkway is 9 on the map and Town is 8.

 

[rf_ioliver]

The map here gives some idea of the location of the two Ebbw Vale stations in relation to the town centre and the rest of the development. Parkway is 9 on the map and Town is 8.

Maybe this helps too

https://www.here.com/?map=51.77383,-3.19963,17,satellite

t.

Ian

 

[snowball]

Thanks, traws and rf!

 

[cadoxton]

Is there any provision for stabling a unit overnight, as is done at one or two heads of the valley stations?

I'm guessing this is no, then

I was interested as a thread made me look up Rhymney on YT and was surprised to learn that units stable there overnight. I think up to 3, when i checked RTT.

Was a train junkie back in the day and thought I knew everything in the South wales region, but You Tube, RTT & Google maps ensure nothing is hidden anymore.

At present the last train up Ebbw Vale, returns empty I believe, rather than stopping,
And the first has to run up the valley, before starting downwards.

Trade off between stabling, security and running staff up to EV, or the fuel to run back and forth to Canton Sidings?


cdxtn

 

[krus_aragon]

I'm guessing this is no, then

I was interested as a thread made me look up Rhymney on YT and was surprised to learn that units stable there overnight. I think up to 3, when i checked RTT.

Treherbert also has units stabled overnight.

At present the last train up Ebbw Vale, returns empty I believe, rather than stopping,
And the first has to run up the valley, before starting downwards.

Trade off between stabling, security and running staff up to EV, or the fuel to run back and forth to Canton Sidings?

There's also the logistics of arranging a separate roster of staff and signing on/off facilities for a (theoretical) stabling point.

 

[jw95]

I'm guessing this is no, then

I was interested as a thread made me look up Rhymney on YT and was surprised to learn that units stable there overnight. I think up to 3, when i checked RTT.

Was a train junkie back in the day and thought I knew everything in the South wales region, but You Tube, RTT & Google maps ensure nothing is hidden anymore.

At present the last train up Ebbw Vale, returns empty I believe, rather than stopping,
And the first has to run up the valley, before starting downwards.

Trade off between stabling, security and running staff up to EV, or the fuel to run back and forth to Canton Sidings?


cdxtn

Both Rhymney and Treherbert have units stabled overnight, and in addition, both have traincrew depots (although not large by my understading).

Regarding stabling at Ebbw Vale - aside from security concerns with keeping a unit there overnight, Rhymney depot is only 6 miles from Ebbw Vale, so it would make sense to prevent dead-heading if two sets of crew were taxied there from Rhymney before and after the last serices. Except, there's a major problem. Rhymney (or Treherbert and Cardiff Valleys, who would also have to sign it in the event of providing cover) don't sign the Ebbw Vale line (or Maesteg on Valleys routes whilst I'm at it). That work is Cardiff Mainline work, so the traincrew and stock have to do the 30 miles out and back before and after the last services respectively.

 

[Class 170101]

Or leave the unit at Ebbw Vale and taxi to / from Cardiff.

But very expensive.

 

[NX]

And have the unit broken into and trashed every night.......

NX

 

[HowardGWR]

And have the unit broken into and trashed every night.......

NX

I wondered whether that would be the fate of this lift funicular thing.

 

[cadoxton]

Both Rhymney and Treherbert have units stabled overnight, and in addition, both have traincrew depots (although not large by my understading).

Regarding stabling at Ebbw Vale - aside from security concerns with keeping a unit there overnight, Rhymney depot is only 6 miles from Ebbw Vale, so it would make sense to prevent dead-heading if two sets of crew were taxied there from Rhymney before and after the last serices. ....

Interesting to read the responses to my query.

Sidings do make life more interesting....you never know what you might find in them.
Well, that was my thought process back when I was riding the rails for fun.

Does it not give TOCs more scope to recover when things go wrong, especially on a single track line (north of Crosskeys)?

Can you elaborate on 'dead-heading' for the uninitiated?

cdxtn

 

[PHILIPE]

Why go rambling on about stabling or a traincrew Depot at EbbwVale ? The present arrangement is ECS up for first and return ECS off last from and to Canton. This is hardly a new train service but just an extension of the line about a mile or little more up the road and with the existing train service with slight timing adjustment
There are 8 units stabled at Rhymney overnight. 2 Pairs of Pacers, a pair of 150s and 2 Single 150s to work down in the morning.

 

[craigybagel]

16 guards at Rhymney and 18 at Treherbert, or possibly the other way around, plus similar numbers of drivers. For comparison purposes there are 110 guards at Cardiff Valleys and 90 at Mainline.

 

[MarkyT]

I wondered whether that would be the fate of this lift funicular thing.

Hope not! I would expect it to be welll designed to resist most likely damage and allow graffitti to be removed easily much like modern lifts in car parks etc, and there should be CCTV monitoring and recording so there's at least a hope of identifying perps doing anything antisocial in there. It'd be nice to see one of these at Tavistock one day if the through route and high level town centre station is ever revived!

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Hope not! I would expect it to be welll designed to resist most likely damage and allow graffitti to be removed easily much like modern lifts in car parks etc, and there should be CCTV monitoring and recording so there's at least a hope of identifying perps doing anything antisocial in there. It'd be nice to see one of these at Tavistock one day if the through route and high level town centre station is ever revived!

Perhaps local homeless people could move in. £2.3m seems a lot to spend for a fairly small difference in levels. Put it another way - 23 council / housing association houses could have been had for the same money.

 

[RP]

Tracklaying continues and here are some photographs taken in the last week or so.


Looking north, the railway closely follows the road line (also of relatively new construction). I would guess that this is close to the former Tyllwyn Halt.


Looking south towards the road bridge close to Ebbw Vale Parkway, the ballasting now looks as if it is complete as far as Ebbw Vale Parkway station, although the track is incomplete, but has advanced in the last week. This location, I believe, was the former Dyffryn Sidings, latterly used by EWS until closure of the steel works and the branch in its former use :
,

Looking north, the buffer stop is currently fixed at the end of the platform at Ebbw Vale Parkway, and just short of milepost (18m 40ch). The line goes through a bridge just below the road direction sign.

 

[fgwrich]

Tracklaying continues and here are some photographs taken in the last week or so.


Looking north, the railway closely follows the road line (also of relatively new construction). I would guess that this is close to the former Tyllwyn Halt.
View attachment 21462

Looking south towards the road bridge close to Ebbw Vale Parkway, the ballasting now looks as if it is complete as far as Ebbw Vale Parkway station, although the track is incomplete, but has advanced in the last week. This location, I believe, was the former Dyffryn Sidings, latterly used by EWS until closure of the steel works and the branch in its former use :
View attachment 21461,

Looking north, the buffer stop is currently fixed at the end of the platform at Ebbw Vale Parkway, and just short of milepost (18m 40ch). The line goes through a bridge just below the road direction sign.

View attachment 21463

Interesting pictures, thanks RP. I wonder why the positioning of the track seems to follow the original layout of the sidings than a more streamlined approach running almost through the centre of the picture / former sidings.

Just a quick question, can anyone pin point me as to where the new Town Station will be built, and the current progress in redoubling up from Crosskeys?

 

[PHILIPE]

The new station will be roughly opposite the retail park and there has been a lot of building development over the former track. Work has started re Cross Keys as new rails have been unloaded trackside.

 

[RP]

Interesting pictures, thanks RP. I wonder why the positioning of the track seems to follow the original layout of the sidings than a more streamlined approach running almost through the centre of the picture / former sidings.

Just a quick question, can anyone pin point me as to where the new Town Station will be built, and the current progress in redoubling up from Crosskeys?

The most prominent landmark in the area, the Works Offices, are adjacent to the forthcoming Town station - a substantial red brick building with clock tower which links to the Gwent Archive building. Unfortunately, I can't give you a road number of the parallel road but it is a new A road and is called Steelworks Road at its northern end.

From a return trip up the line this morning, I observed vegetation clearance had started mainly in the Cwmcarn/Abercarn area and there appeared to have been some recovery of redundant sleepers from the currently unused trackbed. Quite a lot of sleepers remain however and some short rail lengths are present, and I imagine these will be removed. The current single line was slewed for the 2008 reopening in at least two locations to enable the platforms at Newbridge and Llanhilleth to be served and also at Crumlin. The same was done at Pye Corner in 2014. Some signals and radio masts will need to be moved as they occupy the trackbed.

It was obviously not possible to see the extent of the delivered new rail from the train apart from that left on the double line at Crosskeys, but I do know that rail has been lying in the four foot at Llanhilleth station for some time.

I hope that this is of some assistance.

 

[CapitalStar378]

Does anyone know when trains are supposed to start running? The WG originally said May 2015 but that looks unlikely judging by the current stage of the works.

Has construction of the station started yet?

 

[Class 170101]

Looks like they are in the timetable for May. However I imagine as its one train working they will just sit at Ebbw Vale Parkway for a bit longer until the Town Station opens.

 

[trawscymru27]

Newsletter with a few pics and an update from Network Rail here.

Work on the station is progressing with the platforms mostly in place and track laid. The station is shown in ATW's timetable 5 available on their website with the note 'Ebbw Vale’s new station is planned to open during this timetable. Services start/end at Ebbw Vale Parkway until then.'. So no firm date but can't be too long now.

 

[RP]

Further to last posting, some pictures from a visit today (25.4.15)

Travelling northwards to end of line -

Just north of Ebbw Vale Parkway:



Looking south at former Dyffryn sidings:



Near site of former Tyllwyn Halt and end of original double track section:



At Ebbw Vale Town station:





Work is underway with capacity enhancement project (double tracking from Aberbeeg Junction to Crosskeys) - here at Glandwr, between Aberbeeg and Llanhilleth:



The track relaid for the 2008 opening was slewed in a few places, which will make most interesting when the new track is commissioned and new platforms at Newbridge and Llanhilleth built next year!

 

[CapitalStar378]

Thanks for the pics RP.

The NR spring newsletter says that the capacity works are due to be completed by 2018, is this is mistake? Thought it was 2016.

Also is Ebbw Vale Town getting a second platform? This was in the original capacity enhancement plans I think.

 

[RP]

Thanks for the pics RP.

The NR spring newsletter says that the capacity works are due to be completed by 2018, is this is mistake? Thought it was 2016.

Also is Ebbw Vale Town getting a second platform? This was in the original capacity enhancement plans I think.

I'm not sure. There would be sufficient space for another track and platform, though none of the plans I've seen showed this and only one is being built at present. Happy to be corrected on this.

At the NR drop in session in Ebbw Vale last November, I was advised that tracklaying was for 2015, civil engineering works in 2016 and signalling in 2017. As other posts on this thread and elsewhere have suggested, extra dmus may not be available until 2018.

An interesting question - assuming Valley Lines electrification goes ahead - will Ebbw Vale Town and Rhymney be the highest points above sea level for an electrified branch/commuter line in the UK? They wouldn't beat the WCML as a main line, but I believe that both exceed 900 feet above sea level.

 

[Class 170101]

An interesting question - assuming Valley Lines electrification goes ahead - will Ebbw Vale Town and Rhymney be the highest points above sea level for an electrified branch/commuter line in the UK? They wouldn't beat the WCML as a main line, but I believe that both exceed 900 feet above sea level.

Would have thought that award would go to North Transpennine once wired for the time being.