Depot at Banbury

[didcot]

Network Rail & Chiltern Railways have now submitted a formal planning application for a light maintenance depot at Banbury on the site of the former steam sheds

http://www.publicaccess.cherwell.go...ils.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=NCCYF4EM0KR00

 

[Cherry_Picker]

It's been openly discussed on here for about a year now, but it is interesting to see something formal being put in place.

 

[didcot]

Yes - living in Banbury theres been rumours for ages along with a "scoping option" (dont really know what that is!)application to the council about 6 months ago for the depot. Along with the surveyors being at the station a couple of weeks ago with a view to widening the existing up platform to form a new platform using the existing goods line looks like there going to be a lot of activity in the area.

And of course theres the resignaling but theyve being saying that for the last 40 years!

 

[swt_passenger]

Yes - living in Banbury theres been rumours for ages along with a "scoping option" (dont really know what that is!) application to the council about 6 months ago for the depot.

A 'scoping opinion application' is used to give the council the general idea of the proposals and avoid the applicant wasting time on features of an application that are certain to fail.

In this case, it was used to get the council to decide if an environmental impact statement (EIS) was required, and also to define the limits of the area required to be addressed by the EIS.

The scoping application was available on the same website, it was there for the public to see all along. 6 months before that there was also a 'screening opinion' application, another initial application giving the general features. All three reports come up together after a search for 'maintenance depot' on the planning site's advance search option.

----------

One significant point I hadn't fully noticed in the previous applications was that the new LMD actually replaces the existing 30 vehicle stabling sidings on the up side of the station, because they are lost when the layout changes with Banbury area re-signalling. That suggests quite a major change to the whole area if those sidings are to be replaced - it's only a few years since they were newly upgraded?

In general, that must mean that overnight stabling and cleaning activities will be further away from the local residential areas, in which case it must be good news for the people who objected to the noise last time...

 

[The Planner]

New platform on the up side and the existing bays go.

 

[swt_passenger]

New platform on the up side and the existing bays go.

But would that on its own prevent use of all of the present up side stabling sidings? Is there much more to the overall layout changes - for example if that new full length platform becomes the up main, perhaps they'll also ease the curvature north and south of the station? Might there still be an up freight loop to add as well, I suppose that would also move the whole layout further over towards the east, on top of the stabling?

Another of these projects where a track plan would be handy...

 

[The Planner]

Up side stabling goes. Still an up loop but nothing with the curvature as the linespeed isnt poor as it is. Turnouts get higher speeds at the south and north ends with a new crossover at Banbury North to make the stone train move easier. Depot gets north and south end access. Flashing yellows etc etc...

 

[swt_passenger]

Up side stabling goes. Still an up loop but nothing with the curvature as the linespeed isnt poor as it is. Turnouts get higher speeds at the south and north ends with a new crossover at Banbury North to make the stone train move easier. Depot gets north and south end access. Flashing yellows etc etc...

Thanks for the extra detail.

 

[Class 170101]

How many units spend the night at Banbury?

Also how do Chiltern do their maintenance? Some depots do it on a pit-stop basis between the peaks yet some would do it overnight?

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Off the top of my head it's seven or eight at overnight at the moment. Others are stabled in London, Aylesbury, Birmingham & Stourbridge.

Maintenance diagrams are done how they are done at most places I'd imagine, exams are given different categories, some are minor and can be done in the sidings and some are major and will need to be done on the pit. It's just a case of diagramming the units so they rotate in a way which meets the maintenance requirements.

 

[Aictos]

New platform on the up side and the existing bays go.

Does this mean that bay platform on the Up being rebuilt as a though platform? Just trying to understand where/how it's going to be delivered.

Any idea also if the semaphore signalling is going?

 

[didcot]

My understanding is the existing Platform 3 to be widened where the old old Platform 5 was (could be wrong though!!) so it meets the existing up goods.

Units stabled overnight include the 67 & commuter set Mon - Thurs

 

[swt_passenger]

My understanding is the existing Platform 3 to be widened where the old old Platform 5 was (could be wrong though!!) so it meets the existing up goods.

Looking at an aerial view on Google Earth, I think the fact that the stairs down onto P3 are right on the edge of the existing island is significant.

To provide a through platform all the way along past the stairs they'll have to build right out so that there's at least 3m clear of the stairs. If they widen the island to match the dimensions on the down island they'll have to build over the whole width of the goods loop and possibly more - which starts to explain the loss of the existing sidings.

 

[The Planner]

Does this mean that bay platform on the Up being rebuilt as a though platform? Just trying to understand where/how it's going to be delivered.

Any idea also if the semaphore signalling is going?

No, it is removed as the platform will be widened to put the new 4 in. As for the semaphores, considering it is a resignalling scheme that closes Banbury South and North as well as recontrolling Leamington it is pretty much answered for you, they will be ripped out.

 

[didcot]

Planning permission granted for the depot last Thursday (19 Feb)

 

[Ploughman]

News item from BBC Local news. Oxford

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-31565320

A former train depot in Oxfordshire that has been derelict for 50 years is set to be brought back into use.

Cherwell District Council's planning committee approved an application by Network Rail and Chiltern Railways for a light maintenance depot for train vehicles near Banbury Station.

The site was selected from 20 proposed nationwide locations.

It will be used for maintenance work by Chiltern Railways and will include an administration building and fuel tank.

The site north of the River Cherwell was the location of a locomotive depot from 1908 until it was decommissioned in 1966.

Four sidings will be built to house up to 18 trains overnight with an additional siding for track engineering vehicles.

 

[The Planner]

Seems to be some spin there, not heard of the 20 locations, Chiltern were expecting it as part of the resignalling anyway.

 

[swt_passenger]

Seems to be some spin there, not heard of the 20 locations, Chiltern were expecting it as part of the resignalling anyway.

The planning application (environmental statement) definitely states that they initially looked at 20 locations on the Chiltern route, and then reduced the list to 16, then 4:

CRCL initially undertook a review of the stabling capacity along the CRCL regular route, this identified 20 possible stabling locations (i.e. ‘long list’) along the CRCL regular route (Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill route) (Figure 3.2 in ES Volume 2A). The 20 locations on the ‘long list’ were assessed for its feasibility and suitability as the new LMD. A feasibility sifting exercise was carried out and 16 of the sites on the ‘long list’ were discounted; these discounted sites did not have the capacity to accommodate the required 18 additional vehicles to meet with service increase/demand growth.
and...
Four of the 20 sites were then ‘shortlisted’, including: Banbury, Wembley LMD, Tyseley (Birmingham) and Leamington Spa. With the exception of Wembley, the other three shortlisted sites could each accommodate at least the 18 extra vehicles required for the increase in service demands. Wembley LMD was included in the ‘short list’ as this facility is already owned and operated by CRCL.

Still not quite 'nationwide' though, as explained by the BBC. They just don't get it do they?