GWML Electification

[Ron Ron Ron]

Isn't that necessary to free up the land at Old Oak Common for HS2?

 

 

Yes, but will there still be a Heathrow Express by then?

 

 

.

[Zomboid]

Run-off plus taking the wires well clear of the junction should work northwards ever materialise.

 

I noticed is evening that there are quite a lot of masts in position south of Appleford Crossing although they don't extend to Didcot North Jcn (although I expect that bases probably do as there are definitely some in place on the Avoiding Line). If the mast layout is any guide I presume there will be a remote controlled section switching boundary (or whatever they are called) just south of Appleford Crossing similar to those at Pangbourne and opposite the site of the original Cholsey/Wallingford Road station

Those things at Cholsey and Pangbourne are Autotransformers and the associated 25kV switchgear, the same as the one on the top of the bank at Twyford. Didcot North Jn is too close to the feeder station (which is just West of Didcot station) for one to be needed there, but there is one at Radley which looked complete long before Oxford was deferred.

There's probably a load of OLE switches in the design at Didcot N Jn, though, which leads to complex OLE - that's probably what you're seeing.

[Keith George]

Will the four track layout between Filton Abbey Wood through Lawrence Hill be opened before electrification. ?

 

Keith

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Historians will look back in 100 years time and wonder why the WCML and ECML electrification schemes never received so much online social media interest. as this GWML one has..........

[Edwin_m]

Will the four track layout between Filton Abbey Wood through Lawrence Hill be opened before electrification. ?

 

Keith

 

Yes.  Work is under way on the ground but electrification of this section has been postponed indefinitely. 

[royaloak]

During my journey back from Warley today I noticed that there were masts on the Gloucester line going north round the curve from Westerleigh junction on the line from Bristol Parkway to Swindon for about 500m - what's the reason for that? ( "cock up"..does not count as an explanation..)

 

I should add that there was little evidence of electrification between there and Parkway...

It acts as a run off in case a train is wrong routed, it is a standard fitment at practically all junctions but 

[Keith George]

Any idea when the new tracks will be in use.?

 

Yes.  Work is under way on the ground but electrification of this section has been postponed indefinitely. 

 

 

Will the four track layout between Filton Abbey Wood through Lawrence Hill be opened before electrification. ?

 

Keith

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

I noticed during a trip to / from Swindon today that there are now a lot of legs for masts and gantries up in the areas either side of the station, which is good news considering it will go live in 12 months time.

 

Simon

[Great Western]

Will the four track layout between Filton Abbey Wood through Lawrence Hill be opened before electrification. ?

 

Keith

Current thinking is Parkway to Temple Meads via Filton won't be electrified until Temple Meads is remodelled, that itself is kicked way into the next CP. Temple Meads is due to transfer control (very few actual alternations to signalling or track) next April to TVSC, so actail remodelling won't happen for a long time.

[Great Western]

Any idea when the new tracks will be in use.?

2019, all being well.

[The Stationmaster]

The ultimate admission of failure of planning on this scheme?  I noticed yesterday that a workbase for materials and road-rail vehicles (and no doubt rail access for the latter to come as well) is currently being prepared just over 4 miles east of the main Swindon base for high output trains etc.

[Coryton]

The ultimate admission of failure of planning on this scheme?  I noticed yesterday that a workbase for materials and road-rail vehicles (and no doubt rail access for the latter to come as well) is currently being prepared just over 4 miles east of the main Swindon base for high output trains etc.

 

It would be interesting to compare this with electrification schemes when they were genuinely something new and nobody had experience in the best way to do them...

[HillsideDepot]

I notice that there is a work base at the former Langley Crossing; I need to go an get some photos for the record. It appears that masts at and to the east of Wootton Bassett Junction now have their spans attached. At least, that seems to be the position, but photo I was looking at was taken from the 'driver's cab' of a passing RAF Airbus A400M at about 4,000 feet!

 

As is probably fairly well known works over the holiday period should see electrification operationally live (I think its been live for testing for some time) to Didcot for the January 2nd timetable. I understand from sources within GWR that there is still doubt about NR achieving that. The pre-works have to be to a certain stage to enable the main works to go ahead, we're told, and the decision date on that is any day now. If all goes to plan the great rolling stock cascade can begin, if not, DMU operated services further west will really suffer as the cascade out will happen regardless... All of us on the CRP which I am part of have our fingers firmly crossed!

[The Stationmaster]

Another interesting thing I saw yesterday was the way some double line bracket structures are being dealt with somewhere further east of Swindon.  

 

Everywhere else the approach has been to use  a vertical square tube to which the register arm is subsequently fixed - this requires the square tube to be fixed to the horizontal structure in two places using metal angle to make what amount to large brackets with, I presume, a total of at least 8 bolts/U bracket 'legs' to align and then tighten.  The latest idea seems to be that only for the running line furthest from the main mast is done that way  while one of the long, extendable, single line assemblies is fixed to the upright itself - giving a considerable saving in fitting time as it appears to come complete with the register arm as well (saving another 4 bolts).

[Northroader]

Got in a trip Swindon to Bristol Parkway today. It’s already been stated that pretty well all the masts are now up in the areas each side of the station at Swindon.There’s a row of masts running behind platform 1, but I can’t spot any works involving mast bases around the platform areas. The masts are in down through to Wootton Bassett, with a good proportion of arms, brackets up, and the bits involving insulators to lesser extent. Once round the curve and coming up to the motorway bridge west of Bassett, the surprise is that wiring starts, the whole lot, catenary and earth is done on both lines all the way to Hullavington., and even one short span on the down just west of the loops. Most of the masts and so on up to Alderton Tunnel, then there’s a few missing here and there to Badminton, and not much in the deep cutting to Sodbury Tunnel. Then it’s dot and carry one on through Chipping Sodbury, guesstimate over half in. From Westerleigh things look good, back round the curve halfway down to Yate, but I’d say the masts are nearly all up from here to BPW, which looks promising as a lot of this stretch is on high embankments and viaducts. There are some missing in the Winterbourne area.

Plenty happening at Parkway, the down platform having another face added to make it an island matching the up, and the east ends of both sets of platforms being lengthened. At present the goods sidings are o/o/o, as the lead from west end is being relaid. Down the hill to BTM is more activity, roadbeds made up and widened, earthwork stabilisation for cuttings and embankments, and a lot lot going on where the motorway is crossed.

[Froxfield2012]

Well, here's a question.  My daughter commutes to Oxford from Cholsey.  I am told that from the New Year (as a result of the electrification!!??) her regular train will no longer be a through train but involve a change of trains in Didcot.  Can this be true?  Whatever the reason, that's another rail passenger lost to car commuting!!

[jamie92208]

Well, here's a question.  My daughter commutes to Oxford from Cholsey.  I am told that from the New Year (as a result of the electrification!!??) her regular train will no longer be a through train but involve a change of trains in Didcot.  Can this be true?  Whatever the reason, that's another rail passenger lost to car commuting!!

 

As far as I know this is the result of the electrification to Oxford from Didcot being paused.   The plan is for electric services on the main line as far as Didcot from Paddington with a change at Didcot for a DMU to Oxford.  All being well this will start in the new year.

 

Jamie

[Froxfield2012]

As far as I know this is the result of the electrification to Oxford from Didcot being paused.   The plan is for electric services on the main line as far as Didcot from Paddington with a change at Didcot for a DMU to Oxford.  All being well this will start in the new year.

 

Jamie

 

"All being well" is not exactly the phrase I would have used, given the obvious degradation in service to Oxford that seems to result.  Anyway, using car and park and ride is cheaper than rail!  I wonder how much revenue will go elsewhere?

[jamie92208]

"All being well" is not exactly the phrase I would have used, given the obvious degradation in service to Oxford that seems to result.  Anyway, using car and park and ride is cheaper than rail!  I wonder how much revenue will go elsewhere?

 

I wish your daughter well.   The 'all being well' was directed at progress with testing and commissioning of the electrification equipment on the main line. I do appreciate how much changes and connections can cause havoc on a regular journey.

 

Jamie

Edited December 8, 2017 by jamie92208

[St. Simon]

"All being well" is not exactly the phrase I would have used, given the obvious degradation in service to Oxford that seems to result. Anyway, using car and park and ride is cheaper than rail! I wonder how much revenue will go elsewhere?

There will still be direct IEP / HST / Turbo services between Oxford and London, and local services between Didcot and Oxford. It's only local stopping services through to London which are being 'cut', although actually they're not, it's just you'll have to change at Didcot.

 

Of course, there will be Chiltern and Cross Country services as well!

 

Simon

Edited December 8, 2017 by St. Simon

[The Stationmaster]

"All being well" is not exactly the phrase I would have used, given the obvious degradation in service to Oxford that seems to result.  Anyway, using car and park and ride is cheaper than rail!  I wonder how much revenue will go elsewhere?

 

I understand that Class 800s will be used on some 'fast' services between Paddington and Oxford but what Jamie has said about the stoppers is correct although I do wonder if there might still be some through dmu working Oxford - Reading in the peaks?

[SouthernMafia]

With many of the Oxford - Pad and return stoppers having dwell time at Didcot to either lock out a set or for pathing reasons, I doubt a Cholsey etc to Oxford journey will actually take much longer, it might even be quicker in some scenarios, and if some sensible platforming happens it will be a cross platform interchange from 4 to 5 at Didcot. Hardly the end of the world.

 

Try changing at Reading on a daily basis where 7 minutes is far from adequate especially when you regularly lose a couple of minutes enroute and arrive on Platform 3 for a high end connection !

Edited December 9, 2017 by SouthernMafia

[caradoc]

With many of the Oxford - Pad and return stoppers having dwell time at Didcot to either lock out a set or for pathing reasons, I doubt a Cholsey etc to Oxford journey will actually take much longer, it might even be quicker in some scenarios, and if some sensible platforming happens it will be a cross platform interchange from 4 to 5 at Didcot. Hardly the end of the world.

 

Try changing at Reading on a daily basis where 7 minutes is far from adequate especially when you regularly lose a couple of minutes enroute and arrive on Platform 3 for a high end connection !

 

Indeed, the Up stoppers stand at Didcot for several minutes while the following XC service from Oxford overtakes via the Avoiding Line. Hopefully cross-platform interchange using Platforms 4 and 5 will have been planned. IIRC the traffic to and from the Swindon direction via the Relief Lines is not that heavy; Down trains could still run via Platform 3 of course, but I am not sure whether there is a signalled route for Up trains through 3.

[St. Simon]

Down trains could still run via Platform 3 of course, but I am not sure whether there is a signalled route for Up trains through 3.

 

Hi,

 

There is a signalled route in the Up Direction through 3, but I think it is only from the Swindon direction. not from Oxford, but Platform 3 can be used for Turnback moves.

 

Simon

[caradoc]

Hi,

 

There is a signalled route in the Up Direction through 3, but I think it is only from the Swindon direction. not from Oxford, but Platform 3 can be used for Turnback moves.

 

Simon

 

That's what I was thinking it would be used for, if say a terminating train was standing in Platform 4 and a train off the Up Relief from the Swindon direction appeared. Thanks St.Simon.