Twickenham station, disused platform

[pethadine82]

As one faces the London bound direction, there is a platform and some tracks that are partly disconnected on the left hand side.
What were these used for and why have they been abandoned.
Will they every be brought back into service especially when TFL want to control the London part of the SWT franchise.

 

[John Webb]

This photograph (click on it to go to the larger original):
Twickenham Station

© Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
says in the accompanying text: "....the station being as rebuilt in 3/54 with Excursion platforms (used for Rugby Football matches) over to the left....." which may be the answer to your question about previous use.

 

[Bald Rick]

Will they every be brought back into service especially when TFL want to control the London part of the SWT franchise.

Very unlikely.

 

[swt_passenger]

Will they every be brought back into service especially when TFL want to control the London part of the SWT franchise.

Why would TfL suddenly feel the need to terminate trains at Twickenham from the east even if they were running the service? We already know they hope to run well beyond, as far as Windsor and Weybridge for instance. It's not as if Twickenham would form a natural border between the zonal area and the wider non-TfL railway beyond anyway, it is only just in zone 5.

They have already abandoned plans to terminate Crossrail 2 at Twickenham from the west as well...

 

[MarkyT]

See the attached screenshot from sectional Appendix and Bing Birdseye photo.

I think it would be possible to make platform 2 into an additional through platform on the up side if neccessary. There are vacant openings through the station footbridge and London Road bridge, so that suggests #2 may once have been a through platform. As others have said there is no purpose for an east facing bay today and former platform 1 is out of use (C&P), abandoned and very overgrown last time I saw it. I think the bays here have been used in the past to start Rugby specials, but its easier to just stable any extra trains in Strawberry Hill sidings or bring them from further afield empty to load in the through platforms when required, as there's no route in to the bay platforms from the east so it requires a shunt to position the stock in the bays. Researching old maps it's interesting to note that, until the (post-WW2?) rebuilding, the station was to the west of London Road Bridge rather than in it's position east thereof today. I expect that was primarily to make room for the up flyover.

 

[30907]

2 was never a through platform, though as you say it could have been made such.

 

[Busaholic]

Why would TfL suddenly feel the need to terminate trains at Twickenham from the east even if they were running the service? We already know they hope to run well beyond, as far as Windsor and Weybridge for instance. It's not as if Twickenham would form a natural border between the zonal area and the wider non-TfL railway beyond anyway, it is only just in zone 5.

They have already abandoned plans to terminate Crossrail 2 at Twickenham from the west as well...

Why were there ever plans to terminate Crossrail 2 at Twickenham from the west?

 

[Taunton]

Strawberry Hill depot used to use them to store stock. I recall in the 1980s when the 4-CEP were being rebuilt that a newly overhauled and painted one would sometimes be in the bays.

 

[swt_passenger]

Why were there ever plans to terminate Crossrail 2 at Twickenham from the west?

It was on the last but one consultation's route map, in 2014, trains would have run via Kingston to terminate at Twickenham:

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/crossrail/june-2014/user_uploads/crossrail-2-regional-option.pdf-2

The most recent consultation, in Oct 2015, stated they would no longer do that, and that leg would either run to Shepperton or terminate short somewhere around Teddington instead.

IIRC it was mentioned in the last Crossrail 2 thread.

 

[Phil.]

They used to be used in the happy halcyon days when B.R. ran rugby specials. Invariably 8X415 then 8X455.

 

[JonathanH]

They used to be used in the happy halcyon days when B.R. ran rugby specials. Invariably 8X415 then 8X455.

South West Trains still run rugby specials on Twickenham match days
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced/TWI/2016/03/12/0200-0159?stp=S&show=all&order=wtt

Using one platform for all trains to London helps with queuing and the Hounslow loop provides a convenient way of getting the trains to and from Clapham Yard or anywhere else they need to be stabled.

That said, a complete rebuild of Twickenham station might be useful for general capacity on the line (ie a dynamic loop of some sort) but not until someone sorts out the level crossing issue between there and London (ie never).

 

[NSEFAN]

My understanding is that on match days, stock would be parked up in platforms 1 and 2 at Twickenham to prevent fans from running across the track...

 

[Matt Taylor]

Some years ago there was talk of extending of district line through Twickenham and onwards around the Kingston loop and rejoing the current District line at Wimbledon.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Platform 1 at Twickenham has been derelict for as long as I can remember, and that's a long time. The track has now been dismantled, but for years it was still connected to the up slow and the signal on the platform still showed a red, although various sleepers had been removed and anything attempting to run along it would have spread the track and become derailed.

When Twickenham station was rebuilt after the last war, platform 2 was clearly built for through running, but I think it was always a terminal platform. The GPO had a pathway at platform level from platforms 2/3 behind the buffer on platform 2 to the depot under the road bridge. Platform 2 was used on event days at the stadium for specials from Waterloo, and I suspect that it will be used for this purpose again once the work on it has been completed.

Now that there is no longer any mail delivery by rail at Twickenham and considering the increased traffic through the station, it would make sense to open up platform 2 at the western end and make it a through platform.

 

[SWT_USER]

When will the work at Twickenham be finished? Seems to have been going on forever. I notice that they did relay the track on platform 2 so assume it will be used again on event days at some point

 

[Dr_Paul]

Yes, it does seem to have taken an inordinate length of time. In the time that it's taken, platform 2 could have been turned into a through platform and the necessary track alterations made to make the station reversible on all platforms.

 

[CatfordCat]

There seemed to be a lot of activity last year prior to the rugby world cup - including what seems to be re-connection of platform 2 - but not a lot since...

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Yes, I remember the GPO use of those platforms and you did used to be able to see the walkway too.

I have always thought that it would have been sensible to open up Platform 2 as a through line, and paltform one as a Rugger platform? suppose it would have been too expensive, shame though.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I don't think a terminal platform would be the best way of increasing capacity for events at Twickenham. Given that there are two different routes to return sets to Waterloo without reversing (via Kingston and Hounslow) and that reversals aren't very efficient, it makes more sense to either run extras around the loops and/or to ensure that regular loop services are as long as they can be.

 

[gazr]

I can possibly see platform 2 being recommissioned in the coming years depending on what affect CR2 has on New Malden to Wimbledon. Kingston/Shepperton services stop to Twickenham, then C.J. and Waterloo. Change at Twickenham for all station stopper.

On a separate note, can someone tell me the purpose of signal F78 at Kingston platform 2 London end? There are no crossovers in that direction and trains would have to run wrong line to New Malden to reverse or go back to Kingston... advanced planning for future engineering?

 

[MarkyT]

can someone tell me the purpose of signal F78 at Kingston platform 2 London end?

A fixed red presumably to allow a reversal back towards Twickenham to take place from that platform, access being gained originally via the crossover that also gives access to the bay (platfrom #1)

Simsig numbering plan here:
http://www.simsig.co.uk/dokuwiki/li...ations:feltham:feltham_signal_number_plan.pdf