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Thanks. By 'last gantry', do you mean that other large steelwork such as cantilevers may still be left to put up, or did you mean the last piece of large steelwork?

There's a certain amount of uninformed speculation on this thread suggesting that the Hull electrification project had no business case, so let's put the record straight. The DfT looked at this and found that the scheme would have a benefit:cost ratio on the local economy of between 4:1 and 5:1...

That's beside the point. Short term, diesels are also cheaper than electrifying. It's not about the short term. How many places where "the ohle isn't 25k[v]" on the national rail network are there, beyond a tiny bit used by the Tyne and Wear Metro? (I'll save you the trouble: zero.)

Sounds like FirstGroup made a mistake last year when they decided to replace the original plan, which would have seen their project company borrow the money to finance the wiring and pay it back over the long term, with a plan to have the loan bought out by Network Rail, leading to this...

No, the Welsh govt cannot compulsorily purchase bits of the rail network. There is no getting around the fact that they are not, in law, the nominated undertaker of works on the network. That is Network Rail, unless and until the Westminster government decides otherwise.

I wonder what specifications, if any, the Welsh Government has made about infrastructure works in the tender documents and how it expects to be able to contract with the successful bidder for on-network works when it has no authority to carry out any works on the national rail network. Never...

Not unless NR weren't telling the truth. See quote above: they stated that "all overhead line equipment installed so far as part of EGIP is at the correct height"... that includes supporting structures.

Fair point. Hopefully that means that no bridge deck will have to be ripped out and re-installed?

If I may get back to Scottish electrification, there was an update from Network Rail on 7 September. I know I'm a few days late with it, but it's not been mentioned here yet and it moves the discussion on the allegedly wrongly installed wires on somewhat. Here is the announcement, which...

This is the (one month old) ORR report that seems to be the main source for the Sunday Post story, which in turn was the source for the Scotsman story. See pages 55-56. If they're having to be redone, which they are, I think that's a pretty good definition of being put up at the incorrect height.

Network Rail have published a press release about resignalling work in the Bristol area, which they describe as preparing the way for electrification and the Filton bank four tracking. I am deeply intrigued by the main photo they use (I know the second one is not the great western at all)...

There's a rather fundamental point which seems to have been overlooked or at least sidestepped so far. Unlike Phase 2 of the western section, central government authority for the central section of EWR (Bedford-Cambridge) has not yet been given and government is not in a position to give it...

Network Rail are reporting the first earth wire going up between Challow and Wantage in south-east Oxfordshire. Pictures here. Judging by Google Maps, that's a distance of roughly 4.6km. If it's only one wire run, and wire runs are 1.6km eah as I read somewhere, then I guess it's around a...

I just checked - there are eight brand new gleaming bridges over the railway built to single track width. I see from that Annandale Observer article that I'm looking forward to the Scottish Government realising, when the feasibility study comes in, that the more they want to extend the...

One small problem with this idea is of course that electrification is contracted out on a per project/programme basis. Until NR decides to take electrification or indeed enhancements in general in-house, I don't see how anyone can ensure that any kind of standing army is maintained. That's...

Can I thank contributors to this thread (particularly the aforementioned 3rd rail huggers) for providing what is unquestionably the comic relief to what is otherwise a depressingly serious and reality-based forum. I look forward to further threads advocating the reinstatement of steam traction...

It is not, no. And to my non-expert knowledge, no substantial proposal exists to build any new line in this country to that kind of loading gauge besides HS2. It would be a complete waste of time with EWR, given the amount of existing track and stations that are to be incorporated into the...

Jacobs has been awarded a contract to carry out engineering and other technical support services for the planning process for the rail link. Their press release from 27 July (link above) says the work will take place over 'the next 27 months', so up to the end of October 2018. That tallies...

According to Twitter, Network Rail held a 'West of Leeds Procurement and Delivery Update' for the Transpennine upgrade, in Leeds on Wednesday. It seems to have been aimed at prospective suppliers and/or contractors. Was anyone there? Anyone have any info? I suppose it's asking too much to...

I already said that a few posts ago :roll: My reading of the Wales Bill is that when passed, it will still NOT grant the Welsh Government the powers to carry out Metro by itself. Railways remain a reserved area under Schedule 7A to the bill, and the exception to the reservation (financial...