Network Rail release animation of Reading Improvements

[allticketspls]

Looks pretty good and the animation is superb:

http://www.youtube.com/user/NetworkRailMedia#p/u/0/yN2OEXQr4RI

 

[animationmilo]

Anyone know when the next major works that close the lines at Reading is? Like Christmas 2010 works.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Don't know. But according to the BBC they state that the work will be completed one year earlier than planned.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-13437508

There will be a three day exhibition starting from tomorrow with network rail on hand to answer any questions about the plans. I am based at Reading station myself and although they have got a time-line up of what is to happen and roughly when I am not aware of any more significant closures taking place as of yet. I am fairly certain there will be more though. It's going to be difficult to use a railway station that is being pulled down and rebuilt and having the track re-arranged.

 

[Rugd1022]

It's a shame we're going to lose the old GWR platform canopies.... I know it's all about progress and modernisation but everything is starting to look the same these days.

Ah well!

 

[LexyBoy]

Looks nice, but I'm a bit concerned at the apparently non-stop nature of trains through the new station

It's a shame we're going to lose the old GWR platform canopies.... I know it's all about progress and modernisation but everything is starting to look the same these days.

Ah well!

Yes, it is a shame - but Reading station is not a shining example of a GWR station as it's already been mucked about with, and is in a pretty poor state of repair.

I'd rather more of an effort was made to keep others in good nick - indeed many more rural stations are much better kept now than ten years ago - than preserving bits and bobs of Reading's heritage (though most of the original buildings will be kept).

Work certainly seems to be progressing at a goodly rate - in the last weeks an old warehouse on the north side of the station has been demolished and where the old bypass tracks were has been cleared up, as well as a lot of work on the Caversham Road side. Out front there's a new temporary station office and most of the roadworks around the station are complete (fortunately the redistributed bus stops aren't as disastrous as I'd feared). The Vastern Road bridge is also coming along with much of the approach ramp looking nearly finished and final painting of the bearers done.

I must dig out some info about the plans for the station - I'd be interested to know how everything will work in terms of the order of the work, and what passenger flow models they've done (try getting from the bridge to P4 in the morning when a Waterloo train has just arrived hock

 

[swt_passenger]

Don't know. But according to the BBC they state that the work will be completed one year earlier than planned.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-13437508

There will be a three day exhibition starting from tomorrow with network rail on hand to answer any questions about the plans. I am based at Reading station myself and although they have got a time-line up of what is to happen and roughly when I am not aware of any more significant closures taking place as of yet. I am fairly certain there will be more though. It's going to be difficult to use a railway station that is being pulled down and rebuilt and having the track re-arranged.

At the last exhibition the NR people mentioned that full closures like Christmas/New Year 2010/11 would be very unusual, they intend to always have either mains or relief open except for the odd occasions. Don't forget that last Christmas was exceptional, because the full closure was needed to transfer all the signalling to TVSC at Didcot. Had the Caversham Rd bridge been the only work the main lines would have stayed open for most of the period.

To expand on the above, the rules of the route had no full closures listed between now and the end of 2012, when I searched through a week or so back. That could still change in view of the latest announcement though.

Once the new 'Southern' platforms 4,5 and 6 are open (this Christmas coming up), they won't need to close again.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I must dig out some info about the plans for the station - I'd be interested to know how everything will work in terms of the order of the work, and what passenger flow models they've done (try getting from the bridge to P4 in the morning when a Waterloo train has just arrived hock

That problem in particular should disappear completely - the existing bridge will be gone and the new one (the 'transfer deck') is the other side of the Three Guineas...

 

[Yew]

Is anyone else thinking those trains look rather german?.

 

[The Planner]

Loving the artistic licence with the freight train, the video would be 10 minutes long if it was realistic.

 

[LE Greys]

Do they never learn? Having everything shiny and bare metal on a diesel-worked line is just asking for it to go all sooty and black within six months, even with the virtually clag-free MTUs. Then there's pigeon droppings and all the general much that you get everywhere. The result looks as though it will be as ugly as Newport when finished, maybe even as ugly as Stevenage. It needs a good coat of chocolate-brown paint and a tiled roof before it can stand up to a diesel-worked environment.

 

[John Webb]

Remarkable 'Signal' at 8 to 9 seconds into the video - Red at the top - shows the red and yellow simultaneously changing to a green.

I don't think their video creator has travelled by train recently to see how colour light signals actually work?

 

[Hydro]

Do they never learn? Having everything shiny and bare metal on a diesel-worked line is just asking for it to go all sooty and black within six months, even with the virtually clag-free MTUs. Then there's pigeon droppings and all the general much that you get everywhere. The result looks as though it will be as ugly as Newport when finished, maybe even as ugly as Stevenage. It needs a good coat of chocolate-brown paint and a tiled roof before it can stand up to a diesel-worked environment.

They can jet wash it down and break out the Turtle Wax once the wires go up.

 

[OxtedL]

Remarkable 'Signal' at 8 to 9 seconds into the video - Red at the top - shows the red and yellow simultaneously changing to a green.

I don't think their video creator has travelled by train recently to see how colour light signals actually work?

First thing I noticed.

Network Rail seem to have done lots of these recently. Are they outsourcing it or do they have a CGI department?

 

[Skimble19]

The graphics are indeed pretty good, but there is one slightly annoying thing.. why are the canopies on some of the platforms so short?!

 

[TEW]

There is apparently going to be a big blockade in Easter 2013 now. Previously there wasn't going to be but scheduling a lot of work at one points allows the project to be completed quicker.

 

[swt_passenger]

The station work will complete at about the same time as always planned, it's the western grade separation work that has been seriously retimetabled, to complete during 2015 rather than 2016.

The big blockade Easter 2013 is for the track moves to bring the two new relief line islands into use, they'll have been built in green zone conditions outside the railway boundary.

(From the NR staff attending the display outside Reading Station yesterday.)