Blackpool - Manchester Electrification

[Joseph_Locke]

But was never used. I understood it was to accommodate the longer EMUs.

Nope, they were temporarily extended because the services were going to be strengthened to six-car throughout the Farnworth Blockade.

I never saw a six-car train ... and now the Blockade is over the need for the extensions is over (if indeed there ever was one).

The Route strategy is for extensions to eight-car at some point (197m) at most stations on the route* but this currently only catered for by not building the OLE in the way (e.g. passive provision).

* so not at Clifton, Kearsley, Moses Gate or Bolton, all for different reasons.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Are they over-promising then? This from the Great North Western Railway web page:

They're definitely planned for 2018, must be that their website is out of date. Alstom were offering delivery times, if I remember correctly, of between 18 and 24 months for Pendolino orders, so we've got 35 months to the December 18 TT change, if that's when they're going to start, 29 months to the May 18 TT change.

It's on their home page that services will start in 2018, don't know why they've not updated their GNWR sub-page. I guess Arriva are probably too busy ordering up millions of vinyl stickers for the new Northern franchise.

 

[snowball]

New dates for North-west projects are on page 12 of the CP5 Enhancements Plan update (see my post in the Hendy Report thread).

Rochdale and Calder Valley West is Dec 2016.

Huyton & Roby phase 2, Ordsall Chord, Manchester to Preston, and Victoria to Stalybridge are all Dec 2017.

Calder Valley East and Liverpool Lime St are Dec 2018.

Preston to Blackpool is CP5 (i.e. March 2019).

Oxford Road and Piccadilly, and Hope Valley capacity, are just said to be subject to Transport and Works Act orders.

Guide Bridge to Stalybridge is Dec 2022, i.e. fits in with Trans-Pennine.

However most of these have footnotes saying under review, so it's not clear whether they mean much.

Manchester to Preston, Preston to Blackpool and Victoria to Stalybridge still haven't completed GRIP 3.

Windermere electrification, and and Lostock to Wigan, are to complete GRIP 3 by March 2017.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Manchester to Preston... still haven't completed GRIP 3.

Oh yes it has; most of it is well into GRIP4/5 now.

 

[Viscount702]

New dates for North-west projects are on page 12 of the CP5 Enhancements Plan update (see my post in the Hendy Report thread).

Rochdale and Calder Valley West is Dec 2016.

Huyton & Roby phase 2, Ordsall Chord, Manchester to Preston, and Victoria to Stalybridge are all Dec 2017.

Calder Valley East and Liverpool Lime St are Dec 2018.

Preston to Blackpool is CP5 (i.e. March 2019).

Oxford Road and Piccadilly, and Hope Valley capacity, are just said to be subject to Transport and Works Act orders.

Guide Bridge to Stalybridge is Dec 2022, i.e. fits in with Trans-Pennine.

However most of these have footnotes saying under review, so it's not clear whether they mean much.

Manchester to Preston, Preston to Blackpool and Victoria to Stalybridge still haven't completed GRIP 3.

Windermere electrification, and and Lostock to Wigan, are to complete GRIP 3 by March 2017.

There is a note against Preston- Blackpool which says not later than May 2018
but subject to review which I take to mean they will try and bring it forward if possible.

It is also good to note that Stalybridge is still December 2017 and this seems to include Ashburys- Philips Park

 

[Philip Phlopp]

There is a note against Preston- Blackpool which says not later than May 2018.

It's likely a typo - CP5 runs to May 2019, not 2018 and May 2019 has been the date being worked to so far.

Yes, it will also want to be done earlier, because Alliance want to run their new London to Blackpool services from 2018 (though they don't say which month, or which TT period they will introduce services from). May TT change 2018 wouldn't be a bad target to aim for, actually, with infrastructure available March to April-ish for testing and driver training.

Re: Alliance Trains - they do have the option of doing training London to Preston using their new Pendolino sets, if they have them in time, and doing route familiarisation with Northern Rail (which is also an Arriva company) with a few days of full training runs using their Pendolino sets as soon as the electrification is signed off.

I still think the bigger question will be if they've got their stock in before we've got our wires out.

 

[Viscount702]

I thought CP5 ran to March 2019 not May. Also when Blackpool was to be included within the wires no thought was being given to Blackpool- London and it was primarily a north west scheme. The fact London is now to be served seems to have given rise to many of the delays due to the need to carry out work other than pure electrification.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

I thought CP5 ran to March 2019 not May. Also when Blackpool was to be included within the wires no thought was being given to Blackpool- London and it was primarily a north west scheme. The fact London is now to be served seems to have given rise to many of the delays due to the need to carry out work other than pure electrification.

CP5 runs to 31st March, but May 2019 is the last TT change for CP5, if that makes sense, even though it's outwith CP5 by a month and a bit.

It's just a quirk of the way the improvements can be delivered within CP5 but not used until the first TT change period inside CP6, so the previous provisional date was for electric services between Preston and Blackpool North to be introduced no later than May TT change 2019, though as you suggest, there was work ongoing to try and get that date moved forward.

Also, the electrification to Blackpool North was always contingent on life expired signalling being replaced - it's semaphore signalling in the area, and as Joseph Locke has explained, there are issues with the way it works together. I don't know if there's a massive amount of work being done to support additional London services in particular, just additional services and longer trains in general.

 

[snowball]

However most of these have footnotes saying under review, so it's not clear whether they mean much.

Looking more closely, footnote numbers 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 are defined as meaning "Currently under review".

2 is Huyton and Roby phase 2, and 3 is Calder Valley East, but the others, 4, 6 and 7, do not seem to actually occur anywhere.

 

[Geeves]

Just wondering if anyone knows what is going on at the west end of Victoria station on the platform 6 side. A whole long abandoned area is now cleared and full of plant, plus stairs built up from street level on the Salford side.

Also any ideas what is going on work wise during these Sunday closures for the next few months?

 

[WatcherZero]

Is that where the white staircase is? I heard it was in poor condition and needed replacing. There is supposed to be a fire escape to the road as well which would need some mechanism to prevent fare dodgers.

 

[LDECRexile]

Bill from Adlington has attended a Network Rail presentation on forthcoming work and kindly sent this note and attachment.

I visited the event in Aggy.

I asked one of the Network Rail bods about proposals for Bradshaw Fields
Crossing and Gillets Crossing but got the usual flim flam and rhubarb.

Perhaps the most interesting info was the handout of which I attach a
copy.

Thank you Bill

 

[42626]

Nope, they were temporarily extended because the services were going to be strengthened to six-car throughout the Farnworth Blockade.

I never saw a six-car train ... and now the Blockade is over the need for the extensions is over (if indeed there ever was one).

ah, fair enough

 

[RAPC]

Nope, they were temporarily extended because the services were going to be strengthened to six-car throughout the Farnworth Blockade.

I never saw a six-car train ... and now the Blockade is over the need for the extensions is over (if indeed there ever was one)

There were scheduled and operated 6 car services, mainly for the peaks. Travelling on these, they were pretty busy as 6 cars with standing room only. Now we are back to 4 car services on the same peaks, they are pretty rammed, especially in the morning in to Manchester.

 

[wrinkley]

What's the programme from Salford to Lostock?

 

[Joseph_Locke]

What's the programme from Salford to Lostock?

It's a few posts up.

 

[snowball]

I imagine wrinkley was hoping for a similar level of detail to that given for Lostock to Euxton in #2442.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

I imagine wrinkley was hoping for a similar level of detail to that given for Lostock to Euxton in #2442.

But that's just the footbridges ...

 

[snowball]

But that's just the footbridges ...

Have you clicked on the "attached thumbnail"? That's not about footbridges.

 

[wrinkley]

I went to a meeting organised by Network Rail on Wednesday, I got the impression that the only thing to be happening soon between Bolton and Lostock is overnight de-vegetation. I was told that the OLE design is not ready yet and saw nothing as detailed as Bill's information on the attachment.

 

[John Boy]

With the delays in the electrification, does anybody know how this might impact to rollout of the half hourly service on the Blackburn line which I thought was due to start Dec 2016?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Have you clicked on the "attached thumbnail"? That's not about footbridges.

I tried - it took 20 minutes and still could not see it - is there anyway the text can be cut and pasted so I can see it please?

 

[snowball]

I tried - it took 20 minutes and still could not see it - is there anyway the text can be cut and pasted so I can see it please?

That's very weird. It works instantly whenever I try it.

It's an image, so the text can't be cut and pasted, but I can retype it:

Key Milestone Dates- Phase 4 Electrification:

* Euxton to Chorley (Pack 6E)
  + Trial Holes           April 2016
  + Foundations           June 2016
  + Steel Installation    September 2016

* Chorley to Heath Charnock (Pack 6D)
  + Trial Holes           April 2016/May 2016
  + Foundations           September 2016
  + Steel                 February 2017

* Heath Charnock to Adlington (Pack 6C)
  + Trial Holes           April 2016/May 2016
  + Foundations           July 2016/August 2016
  + Steel                 January 2017

* Adlington to Blackrod (Pack 6B)
  + Trial Holes           February 2016
  + Foundations           March 2016/April 2016
  + Steel                 November 2016

* Blackrod to Lostock (Pack 6A)
  + Trial Holes           February 2016
  + Foundations           February 2016/March 2016
  + Steel                 May 2016

 

[GRALISTAIR]

That's very weird. It works instantly whenever I try it.

It's an image, so the text can't be cut and pasted, but I can retype it:

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

It is also good news to me.

 

[ALX400]

Has anyone been up to Farnworth to see whats going on over this weekend closure ?

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Have you clicked on the "attached thumbnail"? That's not about footbridges.

That'll learn me skim read.

IIRC Bolton remodelling is summer 2017 with a lot of the wiring Crescent - Bolton taking place around then too.

Chorley station reconstruction is summer this year, I understand, but there are S&C recoveries plus S&C installations and signalling works at Euxton to do first.

 

[175001]

Has anyone been up to Farnworth to see whats going on over this weekend closure ?

Farnworth North Junction, by Moses Gate will have been recovered.

South Junction by Kearsley to be recovered next weekend.

Line Speed will be reintroduced following next weekends possession.

 

[ALX400]

Farnworth North Junction, by Moses Gate will have been recovered.

South Junction by Kearsley to be recovered next weekend.

Line Speed will be reintroduced following next weekends possession.

Cheers, i was going to go to see if i could get any decent pictures at the station itself, should have gone to moses gate :roll:

 

[Norb]

That'll learn me skim read.

IIRC Bolton remodelling is summer 2017 with a lot of the wiring Crescent - Bolton taking place around then too.

Chorley station reconstruction is summer this year, I understand, but there are S&C recoveries plus S&C installations and signalling works at Euxton to do first.

Are there any publicly available plans for the Chorley station reconstruction?

 

[SodTheDrummer]

Farnworth North Junction, by Moses Gate will have been recovered.

South Junction by Kearsley to be recovered next weekend.

Forgive my ignorance, but what does that mean? What has actually happened?