Mid-week engineering work.

[greyman42]

What has happened to the idea of doing weekend engineering work during the mid-week on lines such as the ECML which is particularly busy on weekends?

 

[JonathanH]

What has happened to the idea of doing weekend engineering work during the mid-week on lines such as the ECML which is particularly busy on weekends?

When was it ever confirmed that engineering work on the ECML would move to mid-week?

There are a number of examples of engineering work being scheduled during the week around the network, but it isn't necessarily true that mid-week affects less people than weekends for engineering work.

 

[greyman42]

When was it ever confirmed that engineering work on the ECML would move to mid-week?

There are a number of examples of engineering work being scheduled during the week around the network, but it isn't necessarily true that mid-week affects less people than weekends for engineering work.

No it was never confirmed, just an idea that was being mooted.

 

[IrishDave]

What has happened to the idea of doing weekend engineering work during the mid-week on lines such as the ECML which is particularly busy on weekends?

I think the short answer is, the industry remembered there's a lot more freight traffic on weekdays.

Freight is still much, much less on weekends (especially on Sundays). And while passengers at least can be put on rail replacement buses, there are some freight flows that couldn't be conveyed by lorry even if they wanted to (e.g. long sections of rail).

So doing weekday engineering works on any main line with more than a nominal amount of freight is going to require a timetable study to identify paths to divert those freight trains via alternative routes (assuming they exist and are gauge-cleared and so on). If not enough paths can be identified, the FOCs would block the idea (or at least try).

On lighter branch lines or even secondary lines that have no freight, weekday engineering works are definitely more common - to pick one example, Hastings to Rye is blockaded from Saturday 19th October to Sunday 3rd November:

https://www.southernrailway.com/service-updates/service-updates/hastings-to-rye-ashford-international-closures

 

[3RDGEN]

Leeds - Dewsbury - Ravensthorpe is closed weekdays for the next five weeks but reopens at the weekends so it's still on the agenda.

"https://thetrupgrade.co.uk/upcomingclosures/" - TRU Upcoming Closures.

 

[Roger1973]

The other issue around this may be supply of replacement buses / coaches midweek.

Most bus / coach operators have spare vehicles at weekends and in school holidays, but getting more than a handful of vehicles out in school term is not going to be easy.

It can be done if the price is right (as in events like the Olympic / Commonwealth Games, which involved buses and drivers from all round the country, with the resulting accommodation costs) or if it's long term enough for it to be worth leasing vehicles, but there's still not quite enough bus / coach drivers to go round in many parts of the country.

 

[JonathanH]

I think the short answer is, the industry remembered there's a lot more freight traffic on weekdays.

Not just that, but the freight locomotives used on commercial flows during the week are needed to provide the engineering trains at the weekend.

 

[High Dyke]

One of the reasons to put more freight along the GN/GE Joint line through Lincoln. During the day it frees up paths for more passenger services on the ECML. Overnight the theory being that engineering work could take place, as mentioned by the OP. However, this hasn't fully materialised.

 

[Snow1964]

Midweek engineering is becoming common in GWR area

eg Bath-Bristol 27-31 Oct
Swansea-Port Talbot 4-7 Nov
Newbury area 11-14 Nov
Plymouth area 2-6 Dec

And lots of 2-4 week blockades
eg North Cornwall 18 Nov - 1 Dec
Westbury 27 Dec - 23 Jan
Par-Newquay 24 Feb - 23 Mar

 

[InOban]

And yet the line from Crianlarich to Oban is closed today (they're working on the viaduct across the Awe) although Sunday is the busiest day on the line and last week the schools were on holiday.