Arun valley block (14-22 August)

[Bikeman78]

There is a nine day block from August 14th to 22nd from Crawley/Dorking (exclusive) to Arundel Junction. Does anyone know what is happening? Possibly transfer of signalling to Three Bridges ROC?

Anyone travelling from south of Horsham through to London, especially Victoria will have a challenging journey. Buses run from Littlehampton to Horsham and from Horsham to Crawley, or Three Bridges at the weekends. So a passenger from Billingshurst to Victoria will need to change at Horsham, Crawley and Three Bridges. I think that through buses from Littlehampton to Three Bridges would be more useful.

 

[The exile]

There is a nine day block from August 14th to 22nd from Crawley/Dorking (exclusive) to Arundel Junction. Does anyone know what is happening? Possibly transfer of signalling to Three Bridges ROC?

Anyone travelling from south of Horsham through to London, especially Victoria will have a challenging journey. Buses run from Littlehampton to Horsham and from Horsham to Crawley, or Three Bridges at the weekends. So a passenger from Billingshurst to Victoria will need to change at Horsham, Crawley and Three Bridges. I think that through buses from Littlehampton to Three Bridges would be more useful.

Why would said passenger have to change at Crawley and Three Bridges?

 

[Javelin_55]

I believe the only services running between Crawley and Three Bridges are Thameslinks to Peterborough. Thus a passenger for Victoria would need to change again at Three Bridges or Gatwick. Unless they'd prefer a slow ride up to East Croydon.

 

[hwl]

There is a nine day block from August 14th to 22nd from Crawley/Dorking (exclusive) to Arundel Junction. Does anyone know what is happening? Possibly transfer of signalling to Three Bridges ROC?

Anyone travelling from south of Horsham through to London, especially Victoria will have a challenging journey. Buses run from Littlehampton to Horsham and from Horsham to Crawley, or Three Bridges at the weekends. So a passenger from Billingshurst to Victoria will need to change at Horsham, Crawley and Three Bridges. I think that through buses from Littlehampton to Three Bridges would be more useful.

Arun Valley Line improvement project - Network Rail

We've invested £22m to improve track and signalling, stabilise earthworks and refurbish stations and structures along the Arun Valley Line to give passengers better, more reliable journeys. As part of a £22m investment on the Arun Valley Line, we worked on more than 40 miles of railway for nine...

www.networkrail.co.uk

• A section of rail, sleepers, ballast and drainage will be renewed at Horsham station including nine sets of switches and crossings.
• Track improvement work at Pulborough, Warnham and Barnes Green (Barnes Green Level Crossing will be closed from Thursday 19 August to Sunday 22 August).
• In depth inspection and maintenance work will be carried out across 43 miles of closed track during the 9-day line closure
• Replacing track circuits (the part of the signalling system that detects trains) along the Arun Valley line, and replacing signal heads between Horsham and Crawley.
• Deep cleaning, refurbishing, decorating and essential maintenance of all closed stations – Crawley, Ifield, Faygate, Littlehaven, Holmwood, Ockley, Horsham, Christs Hospital, Billingshurst, Pullborough, Amberley, Arundel and Warnham.
• Work at Ockley to stabilise the cutting by installing a sheet piled wall which will help to prevent landslips
• Enabling work for the upgrade of Parsonage Road level crossing to a full barrier CCTV crossing to improve safety, and recontrol of Littlehaven signal box to the Three Bridges Rail Operating Centre (ROC) in June 2022
• Extension of platform 2 at Littlehaven station

 

[Bald Rick]

@hwl has posted the detail; in summary it is the Pointwork at Horsham that needed renewal, which is the prime reason for the block being 9 days, the rest of the work is being put in the same block to make use of the opportunity. Much better for passengers (less disruption) and much cheaper for the taxpayer too.

 

[Sunset route]

There is a nine day block from August 14th to 22nd from Crawley/Dorking (exclusive) to Arundel Junction. Does anyone know what is happening? Possibly transfer of signalling to Three Bridges ROC?

There is absolutely no chance of anything from TBASC transferring to TBROC anytime soon, especially with the new ARS on its way, not unless someone finds a big pot of gold to give to NR.

 

[Bikeman78]

Arun Valley Line improvement project - Network Rail

We've invested £22m to improve track and signalling, stabilise earthworks and refurbish stations and structures along the Arun Valley Line to give passengers better, more reliable journeys. As part of a £22m investment on the Arun Valley Line, we worked on more than 40 miles of railway for nine...

www.networkrail.co.uk

• A section of rail, sleepers, ballast and drainage will be renewed at Horsham station including nine sets of switches and crossings.
• Track improvement work at Pulborough, Warnham and Barnes Green (Barnes Green Level Crossing will be closed from Thursday 19 August to Sunday 22 August).
• In depth inspection and maintenance work will be carried out across 43 miles of closed track during the 9-day line closure
• Replacing track circuits (the part of the signalling system that detects trains) along the Arun Valley line, and replacing signal heads between Horsham and Crawley.
• Deep cleaning, refurbishing, decorating and essential maintenance of all closed stations – Crawley, Ifield, Faygate, Littlehaven, Holmwood, Ockley, Horsham, Christs Hospital, Billingshurst, Pullborough, Amberley, Arundel and Warnham.
• Work at Ockley to stabilise the cutting by installing a sheet piled wall which will help to prevent landslips
• Enabling work for the upgrade of Parsonage Road level crossing to a full barrier CCTV crossing to improve safety, and recontrol of Littlehaven signal box to the Three Bridges Rail Operating Centre (ROC) in June 2022
• Extension of platform 2 at Littlehaven station

Thanks. I take it the down platform at Littlehaven will be extended to 12 cars to avoid the 700s stopping over the level crossing every half hour?

 

[Sunset route]

Just a correction to this bullet point.

• Enabling work for the upgrade of Parsonage Road level crossing to a full barrier CCTV crossing to improve safety, and recontrol of Littlehaven signal box to the Three Bridges Rail Operating Centre (ROC) in June 2022

In that Parsonage Road when it becomes CCTV will be controlled from TBASC Panel 7A and not from TBROC.

 

[Bikeman78]

Just a correction to this bullet point.

• Enabling work for the upgrade of Parsonage Road level crossing to a full barrier CCTV crossing to improve safety, and recontrol of Littlehaven signal box to the Three Bridges Rail Operating Centre (ROC) in June 2022

In that Parsonage Road when it becomes CCTV will be controlled from TBASC Panel 7A and not from TBROC.

What's the reason for the change? Has the road become too busy? Ironically closing the road for longer will make the congestion worse.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

The signs at littlehaven imply the level crossing is closed for the 9 days, but based on past experience the sign are often wrong. Its is not clear if the crossing is closed to pedestrians, which is particularly important if you live one side and RR-buses go from the other side, since the alternative foot route are a significant detour.

 

[Sunset route]

What's the reason for the change? Has the road become too busy? Ironically closing the road for longer will make the congestion worse.

I’m not too sure, but there used to be something to do with the amount of pedestrians using a set of AHBs that once it passed a certain threshold then they had to be converted to full barriers, that my or may not be the case!

 

[Horizon22]

From my experience, level crossings on that patch used to have an awful safety record with drivers jumping lights, drivers weaving around AHBs, passengers going over barriers etc. Then there was of course this crash in Barns Green in 2019.

 

[Bald Rick]

What's the reason for the change? Has the road become too busy? Ironically closing the road for longer will make the congestion worse.

When AHBs need full renewal, the default is to renew with full barriers to reduce risk.

 

[LAX54]

The signs at littlehaven imply the level crossing is closed for the 9 days, but based on past experience the sign are often wrong. Its is not clear if the crossing is closed to pedestrians, which is particularly important if you live one side and RR-buses go from the other side, since the alternative foot route are a significant detour.

When they converted Westerfield AHB's to CCTV, the road / crossing was shut to everything, a temp footbridge was put it for pedestrians, and taxi/mini bus for disabled passengers,

 

[Bikeman78]

When AHBs need full renewal, the default is to renew with full barriers to reduce risk.

So the end game is to replace all AHBs?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Aug 2021 ==

The signs at littlehaven imply the level crossing is closed for the 9 days, but based on past experience the sign are often wrong. Its is not clear if the crossing is closed to pedestrians, which is particularly important if you live one side and RR-buses go from the other side, since the alternative foot route are a significant detour.

If there is work going on at Parsonage Road then I hope they aren't going to close Rusper road too. The traffic on North Road past the station would be horrendous.

 

[Watershed]

So the end game is to replace all AHBs?

The end game is to eliminate all level crossings. But clearly that is a long, long way away because the risk of the remaining level crossings broadly remains low enough not to justify the required investment.

AHB crossings are inherently riskier in some ways, as there is obviously no protection on half of the road stopping someone from walking/driving onto the tracks whilst a train is passing. But this will all be put into the assessment of level crossing risk.

 

[Bikeman78]

The end game is to eliminate all level crossings.

Give it another 500 years! For the two crossings in Horsham they'd have to dig a tunnel under the track, or build a bridge. That would leave many properties either side of the crossing with no vehicle access. This scenario applies to hundreds of other level crossings.

 

[Watershed]

Give it another 500 years! For the two crossings in Horsham they'd have to dig a tunnel under the track, or build a bridge. That would leave many properties either side of the crossing with no vehicle access. This scenario applies to hundreds of other level crossings.

In a lot of circumstances the 'easiest' outcome would be stopping-up the road either side of the railway, providing a bypass for through traffic and a footbridge (with lifts/ramps) for pedestrians and cyclists. Obviously that will still inconvenience people who live near the level crossing, and in some cases it will be totally impracticable. But it's what's happened in places like Ely.

 

[Bikeman78]

In a lot of circumstances the 'easiest' outcome would be stopping-up the road either side of the railway, providing a bypass for through traffic and a footbridge (with lifts/ramps) for pedestrians and cyclists. Obviously that will still inconvenience people who live near the level crossing, and in some cases it will be totally impracticable. But it's what's happened in places like Ely.

Have a look at Horsham on a map. If they close Parsonage Road and Rusper Road to vehicles that leaves nothing between the bypass and North Road bridge next to the station. I think the latter would grind to a halt. Closing the crossings might encourage walking or cycling for short journeys but I think vehicle mileage would go up.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Give it another 500 years! For the two crossings in Horsham they'd have to dig a tunnel under the track, or build a bridge. That would leave many properties either side of the crossing with no vehicle access. This scenario applies to hundreds of other level crossings.

They could build a decently high rail overbridge at the Parsonage Rd LC, however they might have to decommission/move the junction for those sidings adjacent to the crossings.
The Rusper Rd crossing will be difficult to bypass through, with the proximity of Littlehaven station and residential property accesses.

 

[Bikeman78]

They could build a decently high rail overbridge at the Parsonage Rd LC, however they might have to decommission/move the junction for those sidings adjacent to the crossings.
The Rusper Rd crossing will be difficult to bypass through, with the proximity of Littlehaven station and residential property accesses.

Yes good point. I hadn't considered the idea of moving the railway up or down. Having the railway go under Parsonage Road could be an option. You'd need more than a nine day block and a lot of money to do it though!

 

[AlastairFraser]

Yes good point. I hadn't considered the idea of moving the railway up or down. Having the railway go under Parsonage Road could be an option. You'd need more than a nine day block and a lot of money to do it though!

It would be over, the curvature would prevent a short tunnel/underpass and an underpass would almost certainly sever the junction with the sidings. It would take a long time and a lot of money, but certainly possible.

 

[davetheguard]

When AHBs need full renewal, the default is to renew with full barriers to reduce risk.

That's the sort of really interesting information that you learn on this forum, that you never seem to come across anywhere else. Thanks Bald Rick!

I've long had the suspicion that half barriers were more about not holding up road vehicles for too long (because they're driven by a trackside treadle rather than being linked to the signalling) rather than safety. Example: between Shalford & Chilworth stations on the Guildford to Redhill line through the North Downs there are two level crossings - the first has AHB on a busy A road (A25?); and the second one has full barriers for a lightly-used minor road by Chilworth station.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

They could build a decently high rail overbridge at the Parsonage Rd LC, however they might have to decommission/move the junction for those sidings adjacent to the crossings.
The Rusper Rd crossing will be difficult to bypass through, with the proximity of Littlehaven station and residential property accesses.

Someone told me they had been previous discussions about having rusper road go in a tunnel under the crossing. I guess only practical if you buy several houses.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Someone told me they had been previous discussions about having rusper road go in a tunnel under the crossing. I guess only practical if you buy several houses.

That would cost a lot, given the location and region it is in, better to close the crossing, provide a footbridge and build a rail overbridge at Parsonage Road. Rusper Road ends at the same roundabout at Parsonage Road I believe, so it wouldn't be much of a detour.
If you wanted a bridge nearish to the station without too much compulsory purchase, Treadcroft Dr to Bluebell Cl would possibly work as a Road overbridge.

 

[zwk500]

That would cost a lot, given the location and region it is in, better to close the crossing, provide a footbridge and build a rail overbridge at Parsonage Road. Rusper Road ends at the same roundabout at Parsonage Road I believe, so it wouldn't be much of a detour.

I don't know Horsham, but given there's already the North Street bridge, I'd personally be looking to stop up Parsonage Road and bridge Rusper Road, if it were one or the other. Parsonage road is tight to the industrial estate with what looks like chemical/oil storage tanks and the sidings so would cost a fortune to move, not to mention taking out a brand new development. Mind you, Rusper Road isn't easy either

If you wanted a bridge nearish to the station without too much compulsory purchase, Treadcroft Dr to Bluebell Cl would possibly work as a Road overbridge.

The only sensible alignment for the bridge takes out Bluebell Park and would cut off the cul-de-sac off Treadcroft Dr. You'd be looking at demolishing more than a dozen homes to get the required width, gradient, and access.

 

[Bikeman78]

I don't know Horsham, but given there's already the North Street bridge, I'd personally be looking to stop up Parsonage Road and bridge Rusper Road, if it were one or the other. Parsonage road is tight to the industrial estate with what looks like chemical/oil storage tanks and the sidings so would cost a fortune to move, not to mention taking out a brand new development. Mind you, Rusper Road isn't easy either

The only sensible alignment for the bridge takes out Bluebell Park and would cut off the cul-de-sac off Treadcroft Dr. You'd be looking at demolishing more than a dozen homes to get the required width, gradient, and access.

All that to remove a tiny risk from a level crossing. Hardly seems worth it. The money would be far better spent on other projects.

 

[zwk500]

All that to remove a tiny risk from a level crossing. Hardly seems worth it. The money would be far better spent on other projects.

Hmmm, removing the level crossing from the Overlap is worth spending a fair bit of money on, although I'd agree there's probably other projects more desperate for the money.

 

[Bikeman78]

That's the sort of really interesting information that you learn on this forum, that you never seem to come across anywhere else. Thanks Bald Rick!

I've long had the suspicion that half barriers were more about not holding up road vehicles for too long (because they're driven by a trackside treadle rather than being linked to the signalling) rather than safety. Example: between Shalford & Chilworth stations on the Guildford to Redhill line through the North Downs there are two level crossings - the first has AHB on a busy A road (A25?); and the second one has full barriers for a lightly-used minor road by Chilworth station.

They also reduce the workload for the signaller and reduce train delays. The crossing shuts automatically and the train doesn't have to wait for the signal to clear.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Arun Valley Line improvement project - Network Rail

We've invested £22m to improve track and signalling, stabilise earthworks and refurbish stations and structures along the Arun Valley Line to give passengers better, more reliable journeys. As part of a £22m investment on the Arun Valley Line, we worked on more than 40 miles of railway for nine...

www.networkrail.co.uk

• Replacing track circuits (the part of the signalling system that detects trains) along the Arun Valley line, and replacing signal heads between Horsham and Crawley.

Arun valley was resignalled with axle counters 6-7 years ago as was Horsham even earlier (the electronic interlocking was renewed twice due to the first one being Railtracks stupid foray with European companies because they didn't like anything that BR had a hand in) so be surprised these actually need replacing. Its more likely the track circuits between Crawley and Horsham that were installed when Three Bridges ASC.

Main driver is Horsham S&C renewal which makes sense to do in one go as it would take 6-7 52hr weekends otherwise so adding other work is a bonus. However, NR has a habit of selling these blockades to deliver loads of work and then you will find that mtce with still have there cyclic possessions every quarter rather than getting a route fettled up so it can't run without any disruptive possessions for a few years at least.