Scottish Electrification updates & discussion

[47271]

He he, nice try everyone, and indeed I know how bleak Perth Platforms 1 and 2 are. They're the busiest on a giant rambling Victorian station yet have no facilities beyond large bus shelters, it is rubbish. Helensburgh Upper I've never used but I believe you. Waverley's Market Street side and Stirling are luxurious by comparison.

No, it's the deep chill of the damp tunnel combined with the funnelled movement of cold air from the east that makes Queen Street LL unique. You don't even have to feel a draft, it's just so COLD. I've never felt it so badly at High Street or Charing Cross, so it must be just where the station sits.

Anyway, sorry to go off topic, please continue as you were.

 

[jopsuk]

An interesting shot in so many ways, but relevant to this thread

 

[route:oxford]

An interesting shot in so many ways, but relevant to this thread

For all the years I've sat on the train and seen this track, I'd always thought it was just an exchange siding for the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway - I had no idea there was a little platform down there and they ran services to it.

 

[Philip Phlopp]

For all the years I've sat on the train and seen this track, I'd always thought it was just an exchange siding for the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway - I had no idea there was a little platform down there and they ran services to it.

It's a relatively recent addition - past three or four years.

 

[gsnedders]

It's a relatively recent addition - past three or four years.

The platform started seeing use in 2013. They started running up to the junction with the run-round in 2010, however!

 

[matchmaker]

The junction used to be facing to Polmont.

 

[jopsuk]

The platform started seeing use in 2013. They started running up to the junction with the run-round in 2010, however!

I can remember as a lad when they only ran as far as the Kinneil halt, before the mining museum opened at Birkhill (since closed)

 

[Altnabreac]

Looks like the A706 at Breich should reopen next week as planned.

https://twitter.com/shottslineelec

 

[och aye]

http://www.scotsman.com/news/further-rail-disruption-during-edinburgh-glasgow-rail-upgrade-1-4213392

PASSENGERS face five more months of disruption during the upgrading of the main Edinburgh-Glasgow rail line. Trains will be replaced by buses after around 8.30pm between Sundays and Thursdays from 4 September to 8 December, and 8 January to 31 March.

Services on some lines which use part of the route will also start later on Sundays - around 11am.

 

[snowball]

That's probably based on this press release:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.c...ignals-timetable-changes-for-central-scotland

Work to electrify the railway across Central Scotland will mean timetable changes on some routes from Sunday, September 4, as we complete the electrification of the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line.

Engineers will be working to install stanchions and run power cables on the Edinburgh-Glasgow, via Falkirk High, line as part of the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

Electrification will help to transform journeys on Scotland’s railway delivering more seats on new faster, longer, greener trains on the Edinburgh Waverley-Glasgow Queen Street high level line from summer 2017.

To deliver this work by next summer, weekday evening and weekend service alterations will be in place between September 4, 2016, and March 31, 2017 on some routes.

The routes affected by timetable changes are:

Edinburgh – Glasgow via Falkirk High

Perth / Dunblane / Stirling – Edinburgh

Inverness/Aberdeen/Dundee/Alloa – Glasgow

Trains on some routes will start later on Sunday mornings, and will only operate on part of the route between Sunday and Thursday evenings, after approx. 8.30pm. Buses will replace trains on portions of each route at these times.

Direct travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow will be maintained via the Airdrie-Bathgate line and no work is planned on the main line on Friday or Saturday nights.

These service alterations will also be suspended over the Christmas period – from December 8 to January 7.

 

[QueensCurve]

http://www.scotsman.com/news/further-rail-disruption-during-edinburgh-glasgow-rail-upgrade-1-4213392

Are they lengthening night time possessions to recover the programme?

 

[68000]

Yes, enhanced rules of the route... it is the most cost effective and timely way of delivering this enhancement

 

[Class 170101]

Interestingly they advise Edinburgh to Glasgow (and reverse) passengers to use the A2B but last departures are around 23:00. Seems a bit shortsighted not to have a departure to / from both stations around 23:30 as per E&G route.

 

[snowball]

Another bridge to be rebuilt for the Shotts line:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/station-road-shotts-to-close-for-bridge-works

Network Rail engineers will shortly start work to demolish and rebuild the bridge over the railway at Station Road in Shotts.

The work is part of a programme to increase the height between the railway track and bridges on the route ahead of the electrification of the Shotts line by March 2019.

Part of the Scottish Government’s programme of electrification happening all across central Scotland, the work is being delivered by Network Rail.

Network Rail will hold a community drop-in between 4pm and 7pm on Wednesday 7th September in the Station Hotel where local people can come along and find out more about the project; what is happening when and where and can ask any questions direct to the project team.

The demolition of the bridge on Station Road and its reconstruction is one of the largest and most complicated projects in the route clearance programme - which is why the road needs to close for an extended period from 11 September 2016 until August 2017.

Although the physical work to demolish and reconstruct the bridge does not take 11 months, there is a prolonged period required to initially divert and then reinstate the various utilities which run over the structure. This work is essential to maintain supply of water, electricity, gas, broadband etc to the village and time has to be factored into the programme to ensure this can happen.

Pedestrian access (and for cyclists who dismount) will be maintained throughout via a temporary footbridge which will be installed early in the project.

 

[Mordac]

Interestingly they advise Edinburgh to Glasgow (and reverse) passengers to use the A2B but last departures are around 23:00. Seems a bit shortsighted not to have a departure to / from both stations around 23:30 as per E&G route.

I think there's a later departure for the Shotts route.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Looks like the A706 at Breich should reopen next week as planned.

https://twitter.com/shottslineelec

A little birdie (in an orange vest ) suggests some slight doubt about the last expansion joint being ready in time for 8 pm tonight so it may be tomorrow morning instead. Otherwise ready.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Another bridge to be rebuilt for the Shotts line:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/station-road-shotts-to-close-for-bridge-works

Quite a chunk of mansonry and concrete to remove, but the most fun will be finding the services which run all over the place. They were trying to trace pipes and cables in the small station car park this morning, and the road is down to one lane to make a start on finding pipes and cables on the bridge itself. The massive access ramps will not make the job any easier - the one on the south side is almost as big as the other, but it runs parallel to the bridge approach and can't really be seen in the photo below.

 

[snowball]

Breich bridge open:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/breich-bridge-back-after-build

The bridge over the railway at Station Road, Breich re-opened overnight (Wed 31st August) following Network Rail works to upgrade the structure in preparation for the future electrification of the railway.

 

[EdinburghTrain]

Does anyone know anything else about this? Can't find any detailed info, but it would seem like quite the mess.

Rail watchdogs have confirmed the delay on the scheme to run electric trains between Glasgow and Edinburgh is due to some of the route’s overhead wires and railway bridge walls being too low to meet vital safety standards.

The blunder, which has meant ripping up and starting again in some sections of the 42-mile link, comes as passengers today face a fresh round of timetable chaos.

https://www.sundaypost.com/news/sco...es-upgrade-behind-schedule-32-million-budget/

 

[snowball]

Sounds as though it may be related to the matters discussed in the Blackpool-Manchester Electrification thread from page 189 onward.

When it was announced earlier in the summer that completion of Edinburgh-Glasgow electrification would be delayed by seven months, the remarks made by the Scottish transport minister included a reference to "a failure to properly incorporate well-established regulations into their [NR's] project plans".

 

[mbreckers]

Anyone in the industry know if this Scotsman article is accurate? Although I'm an outsider, I doubt that the OHLE was just installed too low?

ELECTRIC cables installed as part of an ongoing £742 million upgrade to the main Glasgow to Edinburgh rail line are too low – and must be replaced, it has emerged.

Passengers face fresh rail misery after workers installed the overhead wires at the wrong height.

Work on the 42-mile link is at least £32m over budget and seven months late because of the wire bungle.

Rail watchdogs have confirmed the delay on the scheme to run electric trains between Glasgow and Edinburgh is due to some of the route’s overhead wires and railway bridge walls being too low to meet vital safety standards.

The blunder, which has meant ripping up and starting again in some sections, comes as passengers today face a fresh round of time-table chaos.

Critics last night warned the revelations, which follow a summer of delays on Scotland’s railways, would push passengers’ patience to “the absolute limit” and demanded action from SNP ministers.

Other rail improvement projects across the country are also in trouble, including:

• An extra £32m was spent on the Edinburgh to Glasgow route last year alone with the overall cost of the £742m scheme set to soar.

• Construction on a £175m project to improve the Aberdeen to Inverness rail line was meant to begin in the spring but has no current start date and latest cost estimates are “significantly” over a £191m cap ordered by regulators.

• Watchdogs doubt journey time improvements between the Central Belt and the Highlands will be completed by the target date of 2019.

Labour’s transport spokesman Neil Bibby MSP said: “The travelling public in Scotland have had to endure a summer of delays and disruption. That pattern of disruption is set to continue due to some fundamental errors.

“There are serious questions to be asked about how investment in our rail infrastructure is being delivered in this country.

“Just a few weeks ago, the transport minister thanked people for their patience but that patience has been pushed to the absolute limit.”

Transport minister Humza Yousaf admitted in July that electric train services between Edinburgh and Glasgow were unlikely to be completed by December this year – seven months behind schedule.

Mr Yousaf said at the time the news would “increase the cost of the project beyond the previous £742m estimate” but stopped short of giving an updated price tag.

Source: http://www.scotsman.com/news/transp...w-on-glasgow-to-edinburgh-rail-line-1-4220723

 

[Altnabreac]

Does anyone know anything else about this? Can't find any detailed info, but it would seem like quite the mess.


https://www.sundaypost.com/news/sco...es-upgrade-behind-schedule-32-million-budget/

My bet would be the truth is somewhat more complicated than set out by the Sunday Post or Scotsman.

I don't know the details of the clearance / wire height issue but suspect it may be similar to the parapets, which I had heard about.

In 2015 the parapet height guidance for electrified routes increased. For existing structures on electrified lines this is not enforced except where work takes place. However for lines due to be electrified but where clearance and parapet work had been completed but lines hadn't been energised this has meant returning to carry out further parapet work.

I suspect the clearance issue is similar. It's rather daft enforcing these changes on new routes but not existing ones but there we are. At most the mix up seems to have been a failure of those developing the new standards not to give advance notice of the changes to those in charge of delivering electrification.

I'm fairly sure the Scotsman implication of wires having been put up wrong is incorrect. They will have been put up to existing standards but not energised before the standards were changed and so are now being redone.

 

[Harbornite]

A relatively similar incident occured with the Livkey incline electrification program when it was declared that the new footrisge at the new Bromsgrove station didn't have sufficient clearance.

 

[snowball]

As discussed in the Blackpool-Manchester thread, and briefly mentioned in the GWR thread, there's an issue with new(ish?) clearance rules that require a greater height for wires at platforms, in order to increase the distance from people on platforms (who may be holding large umbrellas, helium-filled metallic balloons etc) to the nearest live object - the end of a pantograph on a train.

As there's often an overbridge at the end of a platform, higher wires on platforms can mean the need to raise an overbridge which you previously thought you could avoid raising. It also means that you probably don't have the alternative of lowering the track instead.

 

[Lurpi]

This is the (one month old) ORR report that seems to be the main source for the Sunday Post story, which in turn was the source for the Scotsman story. See pages 55-56.

2.52 The main reason for the higher costs on these projects is that on both projects there was a
late identification of additional electrification scope required to be compliant with safety
legislation; in particular increases to the height of bridge parapets and wire heights through
stations relative to the specification Network Rail used, as well as additional screening for
lineside infrastructure. In some cases, this has required both re-design and re-work to
completed structures. In addition for EGIP the underperformance has been impacted by a
reassessment of contractor costs and higher than expected tenders from suppliers.

If they're having to be redone, which they are, I think that's a pretty good definition of being put up at the incorrect height.

 

[najaB]

If they're having to be redone, which they are, I think that's a pretty good definition of being put up at the incorrect height.

It depends on your definition of 'incorrect'. The contractors installed the OHLE in accordance with the design spec, and when the design work was done it met all the appropriate standards.

 

[edwin_m]

Introduction of new standards, and the precise application of "grandfather rights" is something of a minefield. The best practice, used for the diesel emissions standards I believe, would be to publish the new standard well in advance of the effective date and apply it only to contracts signed after that date.

Introduction of the RVAR regulations in 1997 created a similar problem to the current one, in that all trains not in service before the end of that year had to comply. Thus Midland Mainline sneaked a few of their Turbostars into service for a couple of days just before the deadline. Other fleets were not ready to go into service but had various non-compliant features already built or at least already designed.

 

[YorkshireBear]

It depends on your definition of 'incorrect'. The contractors installed the OHLE in accordance with the design spec, and when the design work was done it met all the appropriate standards.

It didn't though. It met what people thought were the appropriate standards because someone hadn't been paying attention.

 

[najaB]

It didn't though. It met what people thought were the appropriate standards because someone hadn't been paying attention.

As I understand it, the standards were changed between when the design work was done and the actual installation of equipment. So the design did meet the applicable standards at the time, the mistake was not understanding how 'grandfather' rights would (or would not) apply.

It's tempting to say this was a failure of project management, but it goes higher than that - it's definitely not a failure at the design or project delivery level.

 

[YorkshireBear]

As I understand it, the standards were changed between when the design work was done and the actual installation of equipment. So the design did meet the applicable standards at the time, the mistake was not understanding how 'grandfather' rights would (or would not) apply.

It's tempting to say this was a failure of project management, but it goes higher than that - it's definitely not a failure at the design or project delivery level.

Agreed with bold.

I wasn't pointing any blame at the actual project staff at all. In Scotland in particular they have done a good job.

What i mean is that this change did not just come out of the blue. It had been coming for ages and someone wasn't paying attention in Europe and/or forget to tell the rest of Network Rail about it coming. So like you say, much higher than the individual project teams.