Extending Platforms

[miikey]

Platforms will be Extended on the C2C route.
From Network Rail.

A multimillion-pound scheme to lengthen the platforms at nine railway stations in Essex gets under way this week.

The scheme will mean all stations on the Thameside route between London Fenchurch Street and Southend Central and Shoeburyness are capable of handling 12-car trains.

With passengers numbers in London and the south east expected to rise by a third over the next twenty years, longer platforms and longer trains will play a crucial role in dealing with overcrowding. On the Thameside route in particular, planned new housing projects are forecast to lead to considerable increases in the numbers of people travelling by rail.

Stations having their platforms extended are Dagenham Dock, Rainham, Purfleet, Grays, Tilbury Town, East Tilbury, Stanford-le-Hope, Pitsea (which is also undergoing work to install new footbridges and lifts) and Ockendon.

Andrew Munden, route director, said: “ Britain relies on rail to get millions of people to and from work, the shops or school each day. As the numbers of people travelling by rail continues to grow, schemes like this which will provide the bigger, better railway that's needed to meet that growth.”

The main construction phase will take place in the summer and autumn, with all longer platforms due to be complete by the end of the year. Work will be carried out in a way which minimises disruption to train services and local residents.

 

[Fred26]

Have c2c got the stock to run 12-car trains via the loop?

 

[miikey]

I assume so. Otherwise they wouldn't be extending the platforms :P

 

[jopsuk]

I'm not so sure- there has been talk of them getting 321s, but I'm not sure if that's just "talk"- after all, one of c2c's strengths that helps their reliability is the single stock type, but there are (obviously) no more 357s.

 

[swt_passenger]

I'm not so sure- there has been talk of them getting 321s, but I'm not sure if that's just "talk"- after all, one of c2c's strengths that helps their reliability is the single stock type, but there are (obviously) no more 357s.

They were down for 10 x 321s in the rolling stock plan, but they have all been reallocated, the 7 staying with LM, and 3 additional for FCC(GN).

I suspect the only way they'll get more stock now is a follow on to someone else's order - unless maybe LM get approval for even more 350s, which was an earlier plan IIRC.

Getting back to the subject heading, the Cambridge island platform and associated platform lengthening on the WA route were also confrimed yesterday, to be completed for Dec 2011 as well:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/Press-Releases/GREEN-LIGHT-FOR-NEW-PLATFORMS-AND-FOOTBRIDGE-AT-CAMBRIDGE-STATION-1683/SearchCategoryID-8.aspx

 

[jopsuk]

are there any details of how on earth they're achieving the platform lengthening at Chesunt?

I'm glad cycle "gutters" will be going in on the stairs (need them elsewhere on the line too) but the bridge planned is till calamitously narrow. Should have taken the opportunity to install something far wider.

 

[DjU]

I suspect the only way they'll get more stock now is a follow on to someone else's order - unless maybe LM get approval for even more 350s, which was an earlier plan IIRC.

Surely the most obvious follow on order would of been the 379s. Missed opportunity.

 

[Fred26]

I assume so. Otherwise they wouldn't be extending the platforms :P

It was a slight rhetorical question; I'm sure they run with only a couple of units spare most days.

They were down for 10 x 321s in the rolling stock plan, but they have all been reallocated, the 7 staying with LM, and 3 additional for FCC(GN).

I suspect the only way they'll get more stock now is a follow on to someone else's order - unless maybe LM get approval for even more 350s, which was an earlier plan IIRC.

Any chance they'd be able to order more 357s?

 

[swt_passenger]

It was a slight rhetorical question; I'm sure they run with only a couple of units spare most days.



Any chance they'd be able to order more 357s?

No fundamental reason why they couldn't have had a 379 without an end gangway - it would have been close enough to a 357 to make little difference operationally. I think I read that the 379 is expected to be the last of the Electrostar family, but I'd be surprised if there were no more 378 carriages built - lengthening of them is almost certain, I think.