Shrewsbury platform 1 and 2

[robert2000]

these should be reopened to allow for terminating trains from aberysywyth when the hourly starts, also heart of wales line trains when london midland clog up platform 5 and 6 with empty stock.

 

[TDK]

these should be reopened to allow for terminating trains from aberysywyth when the hourly starts, also heart of wales line trains when london midland clog up platform 5 and 6 with empty stock.

It took 5 years to get the signal at the end ofplatform 3, you got no chance lol. It was going to be reopened at one point and a steam enging stored there for people tolook at

 

[Proud Salopian]

They're also rather short... especially 2.

 

[The Planner]

these should be reopened to allow for terminating trains from aberysywyth when the hourly starts, also heart of wales line trains when london midland clog up platform 5 and 6 with empty stock.

Assuming they will terminate at Shrewsbury and whether LM can clog up 5 and 6, which they couldnt if a train is booked in there. Also the fact anyone changing has to go downstairs and back up when they could conveniently just cross the platform...

 

[merlodlliw]

these should be reopened to allow for terminating trains from aberysywyth when the hourly starts, also heart of wales line trains when london midland clog up platform 5 and 6 with empty stock.

Robert if and when the hourly starts, its only one train every two hours, no more than 6 between say 0900 & 1900, the others will presumably carry on to Brum.

 

[Gareth Marston]

The problem is that passenger facility's have been concentrated on the island and a lot of work would be needed to properly integrate 1/2/3 back into something thats not a bit of a pigs ear.
However with Wrexham and Shropshire aka DB UK no doubt wanting to ramp up services especially after Evergreen 3 and the end of Virgins moderation of competition platforming could be an issue in the future. My understanding of ATW's thinking was that the "extra trains" from Aber would detach off the back of a Holyhead bound train at 3 and arrive into 4 to attach to the portion coming from Holyhead.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

They'll probably considerer reopening them, but will have to do a 600-page report and 100 H & S docs before they can even make them safe for passenger use again . JUST GET ON WITH IT!!!

 

[Tomnick]

It's not as simple as it sounds - there'd be a fair bit of signalling design work at least, especially if both platforms were to be brought back into use.

 

[The Planner]

Robert if and when the hourly starts, its only one train every two hours, no more than 6 between say 0900 & 1900, the others will presumably carry on to Brum.

No they wont, there are no paths.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

It's not as simple as it sounds - there'd be a fair bit of signalling design work at least, especially if both platforms were to be brought back into use.

Was that meant as a reply to me or as a general comment - I know those thing need to be taken into considerations and plans for closure be drawn up... but why do they sometimes project straightforward projects like these to take 3-4 years ?

 

[The Planner]

My understanding of ATW's thinking was that the "extra trains" from Aber would detach off the back of a Holyhead bound train at 3 and arrive into 4 to attach to the portion coming from Holyhead.

Thats not decided either !!

 

[Tomnick]

Was that meant as a reply to me or as a general comment - I know those thing need to be taken into considerations and plans for closure be drawn up... but why do they sometimes project straightforward projects like these to take 3-4 years ?

Sorry, yes, was in reply to you! I agree, these things do take rather a long time. It's not all down to 'unnecessary' H&S paperwork though - that was my point!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Sorry, yes, was in reply to you! I agree, these things do take rather a long time. It's not all down to 'unnecessary' H&S paperwork though - that was my point!

I know , companies just like those cost-benefit ratio things, consultants and paperwork a bit too much though. They mess about with it for 5 years, and when they find (suprise, suprise) that indeed it is viable, it costs 10 times more to do it, and so don't do it!!!

 

[Tomnick]

Cost/benefit ratios are useful things, paperwork is a necessary evil - so should the consultants get the chop?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Cost/benefit ratios are useful things, paperwork is a necessary evil - so should the consultants get the chop?

I dunno - they all just seem to take their time, and unbelieveable amounts of money, to do so

 

[Tomnick]

Agreed, there's a lot of money (and time) going somewhere. I'm not sure that the consultants bring much to projects like this - nothing that the industry couldn't provide (assuming it still has the skills!). I'd be happy for someone to put forward a convincing argument to the contrary though...

 

[The Planner]

The excuse for not doing all this stuff in-house is that "we can't guarentee the work will always be there if we employ x people to do it in house". So outsourcing will always be the way...farcical...

 

[AlexS]

Extensions to Brum wouldn't happen - you can tell from the pathetic service pathings that you have now - chocolate teapot territory. Excluding the few W&S services per day, 50 minute gaps between trains from Telford to Shrewsbury and 45 minute gaps between trains from Telford to Wolverhampton.

Then the Sunday service where ATW replace up to 8 carriages an hour each way on a weekday with as few as 2 carriages an hour, week in, week out and people get left behind. Was on a train not long ago where the guard had given up and was carrying 8 or 9 people in the back cab with the door shut across the drivers desk with him propped against his door panel for lack of space to get anyone else on - you just can't leave people stood at stations with no other alternatives when there is at least a 2 hour gap in between services and say 'wait for the next one'.

Absolute rubbish. Same as the 1 hour 15 minute gap from the local stations on the line to Birmingham during the morning peak because what would be the normal 07xx path LM stopper runs as an express.

Shrewsbury to Birmingham line is rubbish and not liable to get much better any time soon I don't think.

 

[The Planner]

Extensions to Brum wouldn't happen - you can tell from the pathetic service pathings that you have now - chocolate teapot territory. Excluding the few W&S services per day, 50 minute gaps between trains from Telford to Shrewsbury and 45 minute gaps between trains from Telford to Wolverhampton.

If LM or ATW could find extra paths in the West Mids to get to New St/International they would, there simply arent the paths to do it. If you can find a way to slot them in do let me know.

Shrewsbury to Birmingham line is rubbish and not liable to get much better any time soon I don't think.

Apart from the line speed raising to 90mph for DMUs and WSMR stock between Shrewsbury and Wolves from around February March next year, no.

 

[merlodlliw]

No they wont, there are no paths.

What I meant planner was, the existing Aber to Brum would continue as now
and the new bi hourly would turn round at Shrewsbury,

 

[AlexS]

If LM or ATW could find extra paths in the West Mids to get to New St/International they would, there simply arent the paths to do it. If you can find a way to slot them in do let me know.



Apart from the line speed raising to 90mph for DMUs and WSMR stock between Shrewsbury and Wolves from around February March next year, no.

The lineside speed raising is great to some extent but as the local trains rarely hit 60 let alone the current speed limit it won't do much good for 50% of the trains. And while they can go faster, I would imagine there wouldn't be a huge change in the pathing of services to give a more balanced service due to as you say, the aforementioned pathing problems into New Street.

And the 0655 off Shrewsbury being a fast is still not hugely convenient - it saves a total of 6 minutes Shrewsbury to Birmingham over a stopper and runs in the same path from Wolverhampton!

It's always been somewhat of a Cinderella line and it's hard to see how it will ever improve. Curse the day the idiots upstairs short sightedly shut the Western lines and then built a half useless tram on it.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Theirs an unused bay at Wolves and plenty of scope for more trans between Wolves and Salop without the need to go through to New St. Though the good Doctor and his pretend invention the "duplicate route theory" once more shafts the economy of the early 21st Century!

 

[150219]

Theirs an unused bay at Wolves and plenty of scope for more trans between Wolves and Salop without the need to go through to New St. Though the good Doctor and his pretend invention the "duplicate route theory" once more shafts the economy of the early 21st Century!

Are you referring to Platform 6? If that's the case, one of the problems with this platform (similarly with Platform 1 at Leamington) is that you can not access it directly from the north end of the station. Trains from the Shrewsbury direction would have to terminate in another platform and then shunt as required.

The difficulty with shunting such as this, is that it's very difficult to timetable.

 

[The Planner]

The lineside speed raising is great to some extent but as the local trains rarely hit 60 let alone the current speed limit it won't do much good for 50% of the trains. And while they can go faster, I would imagine there wouldn't be a huge change in the pathing of services to give a more balanced service due to as you say, the aforementioned pathing problems into New Street.

Depends, getting to Wolves North 2 minutes earlier could sneak you out infront of something whereas currently you can't. As for the locals, of course they aren't going to get to a high speed, the stations are too close together. Bilbrook, Codsall, Albrighton and Cosford are all within 5 miles. Shifnal, Telford, Oakengates and Wellington is around 7. Short of doing some skip stop arrangement a la Cov corridor or getting some 172s on it there is sod all you can do about that.

 

[TDK]

If LM or ATW could find extra paths in the West Mids to get to New St/International they would, there simply arent the paths to do it. If you can find a way to slot them in do let me know.



Apart from the line speed raising to 90mph for DMUs and WSMR stock between Shrewsbury and Wolves from around February March next year, no.

And the resignaling of the Oxley area
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The lineside speed raising is great to some extent but as the local trains rarely hit 60 let alone the current speed limit it won't do much good for 50% of the trains. And while they can go faster, I would imagine there wouldn't be a huge change in the pathing of services to give a more balanced service due to as you say, the aforementioned pathing problems into New Street.

And the 0655 off Shrewsbury being a fast is still not hugely convenient - it saves a total of 6 minutes Shrewsbury to Birmingham over a stopper and runs in the same path from Wolverhampton!

It's always been somewhat of a Cinderella line and it's hard to see how it will ever improve. Curse the day the idiots upstairs short sightedly shut the Western lines and then built a half useless tram on it.

You do not know what you are talking about, there are many locations where local services get over 60mph, I would say at least 50% of the route,

 

[SignalEngineer]

Are you referring to Platform 6? If that's the case, one of the problems with this platform (similarly with Platform 1 at Leamington) is that you can not access it directly from the north end of the station. Trains from the Shrewsbury direction would have to terminate in another platform and then shunt as required.

The difficulty with shunting such as this, is that it's very difficult to timetable.

What a waste of a bay... They should have put in an extra cross-over when they did the work to put in platform 4. This bay could then be used to terminate a local service from Shrewsbury.

 

[The Planner]

No one is interested in going to Wolves though, the flow and money is in New St so its only useful in perturbation. It would be a right pain to timetable as well with the conflicting moves.