Moor Street Station - Bay Platforms

[route:oxford]

Birmingham New Street has the advantage that (many) services can leave the station from either direction and still be routed to the right place.

Happened to be pondering a fictional open-access operator and wondered if a service from "The North" eg Glasgow/Manchester could now or (at one time in the past) perhaps could have been routed into the bay platforms at Moor Street without following an exceptionally time wasting or path fouling route.

I started by looking at google maps but got a little lost following existing and mothballed routes...

 

[Bastiaan]

Why would you route trains from the North into the bay platforms at Moor Street? Those platforms have a totally different purpose.

 

[Geezertronic]

Capacity around Birmingham is constrained at the best of times, you'd probably have better luck seeing if there is any space to terminate/start a service at Birmingham International rather than trying to route that sort of traffic into the bays at Moor Street (which will be used for Evergreen 3 anyway).

LM & ATW start/terminate services at International

 

[the sniper]

You are aware that the Moor Street bay platforms are only accessible from the south? Trains from the north would have to turn back in sidings between Small Heath and Tyseley or in Tyseley carriage sidings. Virtually impossible path availability wise.

There's been talk about a cord being built from the Camp Hill line which would make your vision possible, but you'll be waiting a long, long time for that.

 

[sprinterguy]

The Sniper has summed it up there: There are plans to put in a chord from the Camp Hill line heading south leading towards Moor Street, but that's a long way off if it even ever happens, and other than that any route would require a reversal somewhere inconvenient.

Even in the past I don't think it was possible: When the GWR Wolverhampton Low Level to Snow Hill line was open, which is now the trackbed of Midland Metro, it would be possible to reach Moor Street, but still facing the wrong way to reach the bay platforms.

 

[Invincibles]

Are there not more bays than will receive track? So presumably the others could have track if it was really needed.

WSMR have managed to find paths through New Street so maybe one or two still exist.

 

[The Planner]

You are aware that the Moor Street bay platforms are only accessible from the south? Trains from the north would have to turn back in sidings between Small Heath and Tyseley or in Tyseley carriage sidings. Virtually impossible path availability wise.

You can do it on the up main, there is a signal that allows that sort of move but it will be used to get out of the sidings and into P1. You wouldnt want to do it unless you had to.