Great Western Electrification Progress

[3973EXL]

There are five bridges, from E to W:

Duffield Road - Replaced.
Butts Hill Road - Parapet work starts this month to Feb 18.
Warren Road - I'm not aware of any work planned.
A4 London Road - Old brick span drilling completed for parapet work.
Newer concrete span parapet raised.

 

[jimm]

After some weeks of inactivity at Reading, noticed today that the catenary wire has been installed on the Reading-bound track of the curve that takes trains from Reading West towards platforms 12 to 15 at Reading station - someone may know the right name for this curve.

 

[FGW_DID]

After some weeks of inactivity at Reading, noticed today that the catenary wire has been installed on the Reading-bound track of the curve that takes trains from Reading West towards platforms 12 to 15 at Reading station - someone may know the right name for this curve.

Reading Feeder Relief

 

[smiffy9373]

APC magnets now in place for the neutral section west of Maidenhead.

Sent from my Moto G (5) using Tapatalk

 

[59CosG95]

In a more positive light, more progress with contracts for BPW-Cardiff: https://www.globalrailnews.com/2017...to-electrify-bath-to-cardiff-section-of-gwml/

 

[HowardGWR]

In a more positive light, more progress with contracts for BPW-Cardiff: https://www.globalrailnews.com/2017...to-electrify-bath-to-cardiff-section-of-gwml/

Bath Parkway ? Raised my temperature for a nano second!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

In a more positive light, more progress with contracts for BPW-Cardiff: https://www.globalrailnews.com/2017...to-electrify-bath-to-cardiff-section-of-gwml/

So I know they are in theory different schemes but starting from Paddington and going towards Cardiff, how many different contractors/firms have been involved?

Balfour Beatty Bristol Parkway to Cardiff - who are the others? I will Google etc and research myself but if someone has the answer at their fingertips it would be appreciated.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It's baffling.
Amey had the original GW electrification contract, which I thought covered Maidenhead to Bristol/Cardiff, and utilised the HOPS gear.
Balfour Beatty had the Crossrail contract Paddington-Maidenhead, and also the North West project (Liverpool-Manchester-Blackpool), using "traditional methods".
They walked off the NW project amid some acrimony after Phase 2, causing a 1-year delay to the Manchester-Blackpool project.
Now we find they have apparently usurped Amey on the Bristol-Cardiff contract (although much of the piling has already been done, plus the Severn Tunnel work).
Will they be using the HOPS equipment for the job?
What are Amey going to do?

 

[DidcotDickie]

My understanding agrees with LNW-GW Joint.

Amey (now Amey Inabensa) were awarded the contract from Maidenhead to Bristol & Cardiff and have completed (almost) the Maidenhead to Didcot section. They are still working on the wiring west of Didcot.

Balfour Beatty had the Crossrail West contract from Airport Junction to Maidenhead which is also complete.

However I believe that a consortium called ABC were working on the electrification in Wales. I don't know if these were subcontractors to Amey or were awarded a separate contract by Network Rail. As previously mentioned, ABC seems to have left the work earlier this year and it appears that it has been re-awarded to BB, including between the Severn Tunnel and Bristol Parkway (the tunnel itself has already had conductor bar fitted).

If anyone knows more/better and is able to do so then please share!

 

[HowardGWR]

I suppose I wasn't the only reader to spot the howlers?

 

[Hellzapoppin]

ABC had a separate contract but had it terminated early in Wales and in the areas they started on the MLN.

 

[Highland37]

My apologies for asking but I am confused by the amount of information.

What is the furthest point from London that is confirmed for electrification on the current programme. Bristol?

 

[kdoganorak]

My apologies for asking but I am confused by the amount of information.

What is the furthest point from London that is confirmed for electrification on the current programme. Bristol?

The latest is that electrification will go to cardiff via bristol parkway but on the route between swindon and temple meads will only get to just south of chippenham..

Presumably you have not been to overwhelmed with information to notice that this project is not going particularly well?!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

ABC had a separate contract but had it terminated early in Wales and in the areas they started on the MLN.

And yet ABC (Alstom Babcock Costain JV) is doing Bromsgrove and the Chase line, and I think EGIP (main line).
Carillion Powerlines briefly started work on MML and are now doing the Shotts line.

This article from 2014 makes embarrassing reading 3 years on, in terms of how the electrification expectations have crumbled away.
http://www.railengineer.uk/2014/03/07/national-electrification-programme

 

[veryoldbear]

Here is the latest submission by NR for the rebuilding of Steventon bridge. Enjoy!

http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/java/planning/ApplicationDetails.jsp?REF=P17/V1161/P18

 

[59CosG95]

The latest is that electrification will go to cardiff via bristol parkway but on the route between swindon and temple meads will only get to just south of chippenham..

Presumably you have not been to overwhelmed with information to notice that this project is not going particularly well?!

I presume you mean Thingley Jct for "just south of Chippenham"...
I could have sworn it was going into Bath Spa and then being put on hold, but to be honest the plans are now so opaque I don't know WHAT to think!

 

[HowardGWR]

Here is the latest submission by NR for the rebuilding of Steventon bridge. Enjoy!

http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/java/planning/ApplicationDetails.jsp?REF=P17/V1161/P18

Thanks very much. Surely, if the new bridge is not made wide enough for 4 tracks, that's disastrous? Perhaps I have read the new elevations wrongly but that's how I read them (see 'amended plans').

 

[HowardGWR]

I presume you mean Thingley Jct for "just south of Chippenham"...
I could have sworn it was going into Bath Spa and then being put on hold, but to be honest the plans are now so opaque I don't know WHAT to think!

I think the confusion arises because much preparatory work has been done at Box Tunnel, Bath, through to Keynsham, already (see our colleague Hellzapoppin's postings). This work was done before Grayling was told that they could manage to Bristol TM and Swansea with bi-modes and they altered the order for electric only units to bi-modes. In addition, the work for 4 tracking and (AIUI) resignalling, from TM to Filton, is going ahead.

What is in uncertain at the moment is the completion of electrification of Thingley to Bristol and Bristol TM to Parkway and Patchway in CP6, although what else they would to with the SOFA for CP6 is not clear to me, given they have cancelled just about everything else already.

 

[DidcotDickie]

Thanks very much. Surely, if the new bridge is not made wide enough for 4 tracks, that's disastrous? Perhaps I have read the new elevations wrongly but that's how I read them (see 'amended plans').

It's definitely just double track - look at the elevations drawing carefully. There is no provision being made for widening the line between the Steventon loops and Wantage Road.

Some while ago a Network Rail engineer at one of the local public consultations told me that the bridges were being replaced on a like-for-like basis (i.e. no allowance for widening the road or trackbed) to keep costs down.

While I guess it's technically possible to widen the line through Steventon to four tracks, it would be quite difficult and very expensive as the cutting either side of the bridge would need widening, probably requiring some demolition, and there's not much room westwards through to Stocks Lane and Causeway crossings. Which is a pity as widening the rest through to the existing four-track section at Wantage Road would be relatively straightforward.

 

[jimm]

Thanks very much. Surely, if the new bridge is not made wide enough for 4 tracks, that's disastrous? Perhaps I have read the new elevations wrongly but that's how I read them (see 'amended plans').

In what way is it "disastrous"? There are rather more pressing priorities in Oxfordshire when it comes to adding capacity than more quadruple track in the Vale of White Horse.

Notably between Didcot and Oxford, where new quad track may well be needed for some or all of the way, and providing grade-separated connections in the Didcot/Moreton area for trains to and from the Oxford route, to remove the current conflicts on the flat junctions with services to and from Swindon.

 

[DidcotDickie]

In what way is it "disastrous"? There are rather more pressing priorities in Oxfordshire when it comes to adding capacity than more quadruple track in the Vale of White Horse.

Notably between Didcot and Oxford, where new quad track may well be needed for some or all of the way, and providing grade-separated connections in the Didcot/Moreton area for trains to and from the Oxford route, to remove the current conflicts on the flat junctions with services to and from Swindon.

I'll agree with that. While the Didcot-Swindon section is a bit of a bottleneck it's nothing compared to Didcot North Junction - Oxford. Whilst Didcot-Oxford is further you at least have the long loops between Wantage Road and Challow to shunt freights out of the way.

Even with the enhanced timetable proposed on the mainline from Dec 2018, it's likely that the Oxford section will still be busier. My understanding is that on the main line there will be (in each direction) per hour:

2 x IETs to Bristol TM via Bath
2 x IETs to Bristol TM via Bristol Parkway
2 x IETs to S Wales
1 x IET to Cheltenham

.. giving 7 tph compared to the 4/5 off peak today

Compared to the Oxford line which will have:

2 x IETs fast to Oxford (via the avoider) with 1 per hour extended to Worcester on the Cotswold line
2 x XC per hour - via the avoider as today
2 x Didcot to Oxford stoppers.

.. giving 6 tph the same as today

The difference is in the freight traffic. I don't have the numbers to hand but freight on the mainline is relatively sparse but, as anyone who has stood at the east end of Didcot will have observed, there's a helluva lot of freight on the Oxford line. This, if anything else should prioritise capacity enhancement over the Didcot-Swindon section.

I know that NR are investing in signalling enhancements between Didcot and Oxford but this seems like a Band-Aid solution - it really does need additional tracks for much if not all of the way.

Also agree with your comment about grade separation at Didcot East Junction/Moreton Cutting. You just have to look at the relevant live map on OTT to see how tight the headways are there. Anything running late has a knock-on effect and a lot of the pathing in the peaks is heroic to say the least. The Reading modernisation has been an absolute transformation but an unfortunate side-effect has been to shunt the capacity problem down the line to Didcot.

 

[kdoganorak]

I think the confusion arises because much preparatory work has been done at Box Tunnel, Bath, through to Keynsham, already (see our colleague Hellzapoppin's postings). This work was done before Grayling was told that they could manage to Bristol TM and Swansea with bi-modes and they altered the order for electric only units to bi-modes. In addition, the work for 4 tracking and (AIUI) resignalling, from TM to Filton, is going ahead.

What is in uncertain at the moment is the completion of electrification of Thingley to Bristol and Bristol TM to Parkway and Patchway in CP6, although what else they would to with the SOFA for CP6 is not clear to me, given they have cancelled just about everything else already.

Knew it was the junction for Melksham but couldn't remember what it was called.

Glad to hear there is hope for the rest of it being done in CP6.

 

[HowardGWR]

I don't disagree with any of the points made about Didcot to Oxford or a GSJ at Moreton or their claimed priority. I was referring just to the replacement bridge - alright -'potential disaster' if you like. Future proofing principles, with the great likelihood that stations between Swindon and Didcot will be reinstated, and thus an intermediate local service will be required, would point to this p.a. being very short term thinking, not to make that bridge wide enough for 4 tracks. IMHO.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

The capacity issue between Didcot and Swindon is real and becoming problematic. At the busiest times of day the freights can barely make it between the loops without checking the next HST. That's with 4/5tph GWR. The move to 7tph in 2019 has not yet been fully proved on paper (astonishing it may seem) and there are already mutterings that Network Rail will not be able to offer the full timetable in all hours. Presumably one of the Bristol-via-Parkway paths will be sacrificed if necessary to accommodate the freight.

The problem isn't so much the frequency, it's the difference between the fastest and slowest services and the distance between recess loops.

Didcot-Swindon = 125 / 60mph over a longer distance
Didcot-Oxford = 90 / 60mph over a shorter distance

I predict this will become a headline issue within the next 6-12 months, beside all the electrification woes.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The problem isn't so much the frequency, it's the difference between the fastest and slowest services and the distance between recess loops.

And yet we have specced the route for 140mph running, which will only make the capacity issue worse.

 

[absolutelymilk]

The capacity issue between Didcot and Swindon is real and becoming problematic. At the busiest times of day the freights can barely make it between the loops without checking the next HST. That's with 4/5tph GWR. The move to 7tph in 2019 has not yet been fully proved on paper (astonishing it may seem) and there are already mutterings that Network Rail will not be able to offer the full timetable in all hours. Presumably one of the Bristol-via-Parkway paths will be sacrificed if necessary to accommodate the freight.

Will any of the freight be able to use electric locos by 2019?

 

[jimm]

The capacity issue between Didcot and Swindon is real and becoming problematic. At the busiest times of day the freights can barely make it between the loops without checking the next HST. That's with 4/5tph GWR. The move to 7tph in 2019 has not yet been fully proved on paper (astonishing it may seem) and there are already mutterings that Network Rail will not be able to offer the full timetable in all hours. Presumably one of the Bristol-via-Parkway paths will be sacrificed if necessary to accommodate the freight.

The problem isn't so much the frequency, it's the difference between the fastest and slowest services and the distance between recess loops.

Didcot-Swindon = 125 / 60mph over a longer distance
Didcot-Oxford = 90 / 60mph over a shorter distance

I predict this will become a headline issue within the next 6-12 months, beside all the electrification woes.

If getting freight from Didcot to Wantage Road and Swindon to Challow is the issue, then a fairly obvious thing to do would be to extend the existing quadruple track section to the east and west - which would be happening in areas of open countryside, as opposed to through a village in the case of Stevenson - as noted above by DidcotDickie. If you think the village has kicked up a fuss over the bridge, what would happen if Network Rail said it wanted quad track?

Even if quad track was provided all the way from Didcot to Challow, that would still leave rather a long section to Swindon, so extending west of Challow, or creating another pair of dynamic loops closer to Swindon, would seem sensible. The only intermediate station there is any realistic prospect of reopening is Wantage Road, and anything stopping there would be on quadruple track anyway.

That said, I suspect grade separation at Didcot would still be regarded as a far more urgent priority - if pathing through Didcot is improved, then that will allow adjustments on the adjacent routes as well, including Didcot-Swindon.

And yet we have specced the route for 140mph running, which will only make the capacity issue worse.

There is the potential for 140mph operation but the DfT will still have to decide, when all the required elements are in place, notably once ETCS cab signalling is operational, whether it wants to foot the bills that 140mph will bring, in terms of extra energy use and train maintenance bills, for example, but also extra infrastructure that may be required to clear the way for IETs to belt along at 140mph.

140mph for Southeastern services is straightforward on a segregated racetrack in the shape of HS1 - the mix of services using the GWML is just about as far away from that as it is possible to get.

 

[Mintona]

4 tracking may be somewhat difficult between Uffington and Bourton, judging by the positioning of a lot of the electrification masts. They appear to mostly be in the ground where the track would go.

 

[jimm]

4 tracking may be somewhat difficult between Uffington and Biurton, judging by the positioning of a lot of the electrification masts. They appear to mostly be in the ground where the track would go.

Perhaps suggesting that four-tracking isn't seen as happening any time soon.

 

[Mintona]

Was the stretch from Didcot to Swindon ever 4 tracked in its entirety? I can see in places that it would have been, but Steventon and Uffington both have bridges that look like they would have only ever spanned two tracks.