Should East-West Rail (EWR) signalling be fully bi-directional?

[zwk500]

IIRC (which I might not!) as the service to Oxford Parkway and then to Oxford started up there were trains departed from both platforms at Bicester Village towards Marylebone, (some?) travelling 'wrong line' up to the junction with the 'main line'. I don't recall the signalling arrangements.

I don't know, it was before my time really that opening up. However much of the chiltern lines do have bi-di facility anyway, and Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway are sensible places to provide turnback options. The Oxford Parkway bi-di is particularly helpful for Steam railtours that have come up the Chiltern route and need to top up, as Chiltern trains can work around them in the other platform.

Anyway, we're getting off-topic as this is the construction thread.

 

[12LDA28C]

IIRC (which I might not!) as the service to Oxford Parkway and then to Oxford started up there were trains departed from both platforms at Bicester Village towards Marylebone, (some?) travelling 'wrong line' up to the junction with the 'main line'. I don't recall the signalling arrangements.

Bi-directional signalling is installed all the way from Bicester South Junction on the main line through to Oxford and also on the main line between Princes Risborough and Aynho Junction.

 

[DavidGrain]

I have been on a train that has run wrong road through High Wycombe to overtake another train as has a friend of mine on another journey so this is bii-directional.

 

[12LDA28C]

I have been on a train that has run wrong road through High Wycombe to overtake another train as has a friend of mine on another journey so this is bii-directional.

Only through Platform 2 as signalled.

 

[12LDA28C]

Of course it'd be made easier if there was direct access to Aylesbury depot!

There will be once the line north of Quainton is reinstated, whenever that may be, although there are no plans to maintain the fleet at Aylesbury anyway, that'll be done at Tyseley.

 

[zwk500]

I don't think SIMBIDS can be installed from new anymore it has to be proper Bi-Directional signalling.

Yes, proper SIMBIDS can't be done, but a form of Bi-Di I think still can be done where instead of providing the full nominal headway value, the signals are only provided at each set of crossovers (the tradeoff being the much reduced capacity).