Preston Station

[swanhill41]

Although live on the Fylde, I have not been to Preston station untill yesterday for quite a while...

I see that there is construction taking place on short stay car park, no not the bike shop, but what looks like an attempt to build some form of entrance to station, or is it a 1st class lounge?

Also got me wondering where the replacement buses will go from on weekend blocks to Blackpool starting at the end of the month for nearly 3 months...

Going to be fun there as will be loaded and unloaded, I presume on the top of the bridge.

Also another thought, Preston closed station as building work has shut off side exit from subway etc.

 

[yorkie]

Preston closed station as building work has shut off side exit from subway etc.

Sorry, I may be missing something obvious, but I can't figure out what this means. Are you able to clarify please?

 

[Elecman]

The exit/enterance to the subway has been relocated further south down the platform to adjacent the disabled lift.

 

[swanhill41]

Closed = Is a term used for a station where you have to go through barriers where your ticket is checked ...Open = Preston where you can walk onto all platforms without ticket being checked ...

If you know Preston you will know I am not suggesting station being closed down!!!

Thanks for clarification that there will be entrance on that side of station...So what is new building for?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I believe it's just a (small!) new concourse of sorts, probably not too dissimilar to the one built at Crewe a few years ago.

 

[Bletchleyite]

To barrier Preston you would have to make some major changes, including closing the Fishergate Centre entrance/exit (or providing say 2 barriers and a TVM) which may not be sufficient as to most it is the main entrance/exit.

 

[Lankyline]

This might help, couple of links about the work

http://www.blogpreston.co.uk/2016/0...p-how-car-parking-and-entrances-are-affected/

...There will be six months of change at Preston Station during a major revamp.

Virgin Trains has announced the £1.5m plan for the station and called for patience from passengers while the work takes place....

http://www.blogpreston.co.uk/2016/04/preston-station-facelift-to-begin-from-monday-in-1-5m-revamp/

...New ticket machines, information screens, car park payment machines and a new retail unit are all planned.

Lancashire County Council said the work is needed to ensure the station is fit for purpose for when HS2 eventually reaches Preston....

 

[kevconnor]

For when HS2 arrives? I hope they meant the trains that can also run on HS2 rather than the tracks otherwise they are a bit early with the prep work.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Providing a (profitable) coffee place for those entering from the car park is certainly a laudable thing to do, but it does seem to be overblowing the scale of the work somewhat (and I hate to think why it's costing £1.5m to build something that is basically a small house - shouldn't really be more than about £300K at most, surely?).

I don't know if the long term plan is barriers and closing the footbridge entrance, but that would make a lot of people very unhappy, as that has long been effectively the main entrance - if anything it needs expanding with a wider bridge, a lift down to 3/4 and barriers/TVM if desired.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

To my knowledge none of this is to do with HS2, it's a Virgin-led scheme.

As far as I am aware there is no live scheme looking at the capacity of existing stations north of Crewe following the arrival of HS2 Scotland services in 2026.

 

[Bertie the bus]

Also got me wondering where the replacement buses will go from on weekend blocks to Blackpool starting at the end of the month for nearly 3 months...

Going to be fun there as will be loaded and unloaded, I presume on the top of the bridge.

RRBs will pick up/set down in the short stay car park as they always do. It's only weekend line closures and when RRBs are in operation at weekends, which isn't an unusual occurrence at all, the short stay car park is closed to cars and they're directed to the main car park.

 

[Ships]

To my knowledge none of this is to do with HS2, it's a Virgin-led scheme.

As far as I am aware there is no live scheme looking at the capacity of existing stations north of Crewe following the arrival of HS2 Scotland services in 2026.

I would have thought the Preston and Carlisle remodelling in CP8 might fall under that? I had heard talk of the RES platform being put into passenger use and the old parcel bay being extended into a through platform as part of the HS2 work.

 

[Elecman]

Bringing the old RES (PCD) platform back into use has been discussed as a Northern trains scheme for 4 years and is still not on the radar as far as I know, the idea to join the 2 halves of the sidings bay back is probably a non starter as that would involve major signalling work

 

[Bletchleyite]

Bringing the old RES (PCD) platform back into use has been discussed as a Northern trains scheme for 4 years and is still not on the radar as far as I know, the idea to join the 2 halves of the sidings bay back is probably a non starter as that would involve major signalling work

I've used a train that stopped there when the roof came down in high winds ages ago.

Wouldn't it be easier to reinstate use of platform 7, though? Why *is* that disused?

 

[Bertie the bus]

Wouldn't it be easier to reinstate use of platform 7, though? Why *is* that disused?

It’s not really needed, it’s far too short for Pendolinos, although it is perfectly safe to walk on it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if regulations would require it to be resurfaced in order to bring it back into use as a regular platform, and it serves a very useful role as it is, i.e. a goods loop for southbound trains.

 

[Elecman]

Platform 7 didn't have any protection from anything running away out of the connected sidings at the North end at one time hence its non approval then for passenger trains. That may have changed subsequently though.

 

[swanhill41]

Bertie..There is no chance of RRB's on the scale of Blackpool Norths and Souths plus I think through's to Blackburn for York,being able to operate in the area left...I was involved in RRB's at Preston in the period 2004 to 2010 and can tell you no way !...Turning in would be impossible,not enough room to load or unload....Need to load by kerb,no room etc...Safety reasons would stymie any form of loading/unloading...Lot easier at Blackpool as easier access etc ...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Oh and by the way,according to newspaper article this edifice they are building was to be finished by Oct 2016 ?

 

[QueensCurve]

I would have thought the Preston and Carlisle remodelling in CP8 might fall under that?

We have that long to wait? :cry::cry:

 

[PR1Berske]

We have that long to wait? :cry::cry:

We are a country with very little money. Much of what could be done to our infrastructure will have to be postponed to 2018 and beyond just out of financial common sense.

 

[Bertie the bus]

Bertie..There is no chance of RRB's on the scale of Blackpool Norths and Souths plus I think through's to Blackburn for York,being able to operate in the area left...I was involved in RRB's at Preston in the period 2004 to 2010 and can tell you no way !...Turning in would be impossible,not enough room to load or unload....Need to load by kerb,no room etc...Safety reasons would stymie any form of loading/unloading...Lot easier at Blackpool as easier access etc ...

They'll use the short stay car park. Those hoardings have been there for months and they've continued to use the short stay car park for RRBs. I don't know how you have managed to convince yourself there is more space for buses on Fishergate than the car park but there isn't.

 

[Ships]

Bringing the old RES (PCD) platform back into use has been discussed as a Northern trains scheme for 4 years and is still not on the radar as far as I know, the idea to join the 2 halves of the sidings bay back is probably a non starter as that would involve major signalling work

Preston would be resignalled as part of any remodelling work so that's a moot point.

 

[randyrippley]

my understanding was that part of the whole rationale for the Preston station remodeling was to move buses and taxis away from the resurfaced forecourt and onto the side entrance to give better / safer access for pedestrians (and also to tie in with the council prettification / pedestrianisation of most of Fishergate)
I'm fairly certain this was well publicised in local press releases a couple of years ago before the work started. The side entrance was to be upgraded and resited to provide direct access to the subway to the platforms. Memory suggests they even considered resiting the ticket office to the side entrance as well. Think there was some talk about realigning the car park underpass (was this the old canal tramway underpass???) to give better bus access

 

[Foggycorner]

To bring the old platform 1 (later the PCD) back into use would require the Network Rail Portacabin offices that were built on the old trackbed to be moved
As both bay platforms are allready signalled no extra signalling would be required just some adjustments to the controls
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
The exit from the north end sidings onto the platform 7 line were always protected by a set of traps

 

[Elecman]

The NR offices are not on the old Platform -1 they are between the sidings and north bay. The PCD ( old platform 1) is signalled, it's the bay's that arent. Also the 2 ends of the bay platform faces are not in alignment but are about 2 foot different so there would have to be quite a bit of chopping back of the existing faces to get a continuous platform face. If may be better to keep the southbound bay end as a bay and use it for Ormskirks as that way you don't have to cross the fasts to get to the slows. Also the Thunderbird is often stored on the bay platform and the outer siding is used for listing engineer trains and as a RRP access through the NR depot.

 

[The Planner]

There are already layout drawings of a remodelled Preston doing the rounds.

 

[Foggycorner]

my post seems to have been misunderstood by elecman
I meant that to bring the old platform 1 TRACK back into use the portacabin offices that are on the trackbed would need moving and yes you would have to get rid of the van end loading dock built across the same tracbed
the signalling is already in place as ground position light signals but would need to be changed to main aspect signals
the signaling packs already exist in the interlocking at preston as do the buttons on the panel so would only need a small alteration

 

[Elecman]

The old platform 2 is signalled as a through route that can and has been used for passenger trains on occasions, the old platform 1 is in effect now 2 bays and the platform faces between the 2 bays do not now align and there is a wall between the 2 tracks, so some hefty demolition works would be required to rejoin them as a through platform.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Also where would you suggest relocating not only the NR Modular building but the NR staff that occupy the present old platform 1/2 buildings?

 

[Foggycorner]

I love it when an answer goes off into lala land

 

[Ianno87]

It’s not really needed, it’s far too short for Pendolinos, although it is perfectly safe to walk on it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if regulations would require it to be resurfaced in order to bring it back into use as a regular platform, and it serves a very useful role as it is, i.e. a goods loop for southbound trains.

Platforms 3-6 provide heaps of Fast Line platform capacity as it is (3 and 4 effectively form the Down and Up Fast through the station)

If anything the capacity constraint in on the Slow Lines through Platforms 1/2, which are pretty highly utilised - hence a platform on this side is more useful.

 

[PR1Berske]

Platforms 1 and 2 are notoriously narrow but I'm not sure what could be done to solve that. I recall there was an official review about doing something about them.