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East-West Rail (EWR): Oxford-Bletchley construction progress

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Neen Sollars

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Super You Tube drone footage of Winslow Station from Wandering Northerner. No sign of upper deck car park construction yet. It looks as if the housing expansion of Winslow town has started over the road from the station.


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More from Wandering Northerner. Verney to Winslow Station drone track view.

 
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BlueLeanie

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I appreciate it's a route to a second exit/emergency exit on the car park side, but every time I see it I think it's space for a terminating platform.
 
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masekwm

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Neen Sollars said:
Rapid progress at Winslow station car park. Upper deck going in.


Thanks Wandering Northerner.
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Thanks, had hoped to get more videos this weekend as was off yesterday but the wind stopped play. Had issues with the HS2 security too so not a great morning of drone flying.

Still think it's odd that the station entrance is on the opposite side to the actual town.
 
jammmmmsssssss

jammmmmsssssss

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masekwm said:
Thanks, had hoped to get more videos this weekend as was off yesterday but the wind stopped play. Had issues with the HS2 security too so not a great morning of drone flying.

Still think it's odd that the station entrance is on the opposite side to the actual town.
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I don't think there's much space on the other side
 
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Mark24

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Neen Sollars said:
Rapid progress at Winslow station car park. Upper deck going in.


Thanks Wandering Northerner.
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Great video. Thanks for sharing.

Does anyone know if there is a set date for the first passenger service on this line? Or are we still a little way off that yet?
 
12LDA28C

12LDA28C

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BlueLeanie said:
I appreciate it's a route to a second exit/emergency exit on the car park side, but every time I see it I think it's space for a terminating platform.
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It would be fairly pointless having a bay platform at Winslow. Especially if it's signalled bi-di.

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Mark24 said:
Great video. Thanks for sharing.

Does anyone know if there is a set date for the first passenger service on this line? Or are we still a little way off that yet?
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May 2025 is the latest quote. The route is due to be handed over for train testing / route learning in late October / early November 2024.

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Nicholas43 said:
Cor! As in, May 2025 timetable tweaks?
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Yes.

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The Planner said:
No, they will likely start in between Dec 24 and May 25. They will get offered in the Dec 24 timetable but probably not uploaded.
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I don't believe the operator is planning / will be able to commence timetabled services before May 2025.
 
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swt_passenger

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There’s a completed track access application on the NR website for the Chiltern Oxford to Milton Keynes service:


It runs from PCD 2024, which I believe is December. Almost all services do run through to Milton Keynes, IIRC the WCML segment was the difficult area to timetable?
 
12LDA28C

12LDA28C

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swt_passenger said:
There’s a completed track access application on the NR website for the Chiltern Oxford to Milton Keynes service:


It runs from PCD 2024, which I believe is December. Almost all services do run through to Milton Keynes, IIRC the WCML segment was the difficult area to timetable?
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Late night possessions frequently close 2 lines of the WCML so this may have had a bearing, also potentially a couple of early morning / late night services may start and finish at Bletchley due to the stock needing to stable there overnight. Passenger trains won't be starting in December 2024.
 
12LDA28C

12LDA28C

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Fermiboson said:
Of when passenger services will start.
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Official line is services expected to start in May 2025. It's very unlikely driver training will be completed to be able to start services before then, even if it was desired.
 
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cle

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swt_passenger said:
There’s a completed track access application on the NR website for the Chiltern Oxford to Milton Keynes service:


It runs from PCD 2024, which I believe is December. Almost all services do run through to Milton Keynes, IIRC the WCML segment was the difficult area to timetable?
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This is very encouraging, for the MKC piece especially and lack of conflicts (and final use of 2A!)

I'm glad it'll be like this from the start, definitely will add appeal. I expect this means Southern will never return to MKC.
 
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The Planner

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Freight will be using it before Chiltern do.The passenger timetable was sorted a good while ago now.
 
a good off

a good off

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Useful from Daventry, Northampton Gateway and the midlands when the Cherwell Valley is closed or disrupted.

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The Claydon signalling workstation (which will control the Bicester to Bletchley section) is being installed this week on the control and signalling floor at Rugby ROC.
 
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swt_passenger

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12LDA28C said:
Depends where from. I'm not sure it's easier to find a path up the WCML north of Milton Keynes than it is via the Cherwell Valley.
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One of the very early discussions about possible EWR freight, (in some NR publication I can’t recall), suggested the route might be used in only one direction. For example Daventry to Southampton wouldn’t cause crossing conflicts at either Bletchley or Oxford. Are there any other freight flows that take significantly different routes in the two directions?
 
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mike57

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One slightly off topic point that this thread raises:

Route learning.

Normally the learner would be accompanied by an instructor/driver passed for the route I assume. But someone must be the first to learn it with a new railway, how does that work.
 
Nottingham59

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swt_passenger said:
One of the very early discussions about possible EWR freight, (in some NR publication I can’t recall), suggested the route might be used in only one direction. For example Daventry to Southampton wouldn’t cause crossing conflicts at either Bletchley or Oxford. Are there any other freight flows that take significantly different routes in the two directions?
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I've often wondered if there was scope for a reversing crossover between Crewe and Sandbach to allow freights from Basford Hall to access the Trent Valley lines via Stoke, to avoid crossing moves at Colwich.

EDIT: I think that quite a lot of stone trains have different routings for loaded and empty wagons, to avoid gradients.
 
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D6130

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Nottingham59 said:
EDIT: I think that quite a lot of stone trains have different routings for loaded and empty wagons, to avoid gradients.
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Correct.....as do the Liverpool-Drax biomass trains for the same reason - mainly to avoid the loaded trains causing disruption by stalling on the steep gradient between Manchester Victoria and Miles Platting. However this routing via Northwich, Stockport and Denton actually causes a number of conflicting moves.
 
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DavidGrain

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mike57 said:
One slightly off topic point that this thread raises:

Route learning.

Normally the learner would be accompanied by an instructor/driver passed for the route I assume. But someone must be the first to learn it with a new railway, how does that work.
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Chiltern drivers will also have to do the traction learning on the class 196s which I presume WMR driver trainers will assist in the early days. With route learning it will be the the freight drivers who will learn first so I would assume that the Chiltern driver trainers will join them. The very first trainers will have gone out during the construction stage and where necessary walked the parts of the line checking sightings, turnouts etc.
 
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