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IoW light rail conversion proposed


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On 10/05/2021 at 22:23, Christopher125 said:

Interesting video this showing a steam-hauled clearance run through Platform 2 at Brading, might be worth trying again at this rate...

 

 

I was there on that day, standing near the footbridge when the test train came in. the tube car sounded its whistle to signal to the drivers, and the doors open and closed as well! I'd run out of cine film and ordinary film by then and couldn't afford any more.

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3 hours ago, roythebus1 said:

Wheelchair accessibility is probably the answer.

 

I'm not sure I follow? Neither footbridge will be PRM-compliant, anyone using a wheelchair will need to use the foot crossing at the other end which is being rebuilt with suitable ramps down to track level.

 

3 hours ago, Zomboid said:

I think that if you proposed replacing a bridge with a level crossing you'd get laughed out of the safety review panel committee, or whatever body makes those decisions. You wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on at the hindsight reviews if something did go wrong and someone got hurt.

 

Nothing's being replaced - there was, and still will be, a footpath crossing at the other end of the station which will also give access to the other platform.

 

The footbridge is additional, and won't be needed until passenger trains start serving Platform 2... eventually. The bi-directional signalling could even delay that, if services start off hourly.

 

Edited by Christopher125
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5 hours ago, Christopher125 said:

Nothing's being replaced - there was, and still will be, a footpath crossing at the other end of the station which will also give access to the other platform.

 

The footbridge is additional, and won't be needed until passenger trains start serving Platform 2... eventually. The bi-directional

Even temporarily the notion of replacing a bridge with a level crossing wouldn't fly.

 

The old bridge is part of a public footpath isn't it?

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5 hours ago, Zomboid said:

Even temporarily the notion of replacing a bridge with a level crossing wouldn't fly.

 

Perhaps, but it's all semantics - the foot crossing will be open and available regardless.

 

Besides, with the stairs of this temp bridge located at the far Ryde end of the platform the foot crossing won't be much further to walk anyway.

 

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The old bridge is part of a public footpath isn't it?

 

Nope, the footpaths use foot crossings either side of the station.

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7 hours ago, Christopher125 said:

 

Perhaps, but it's all semantics - the foot crossing will be open and available regardless.

 

Besides, with the stairs of this temp bridge located at the far Ryde end of the platform the foot crossing won't be much further to walk anyway.

 

 

Nope, the footpaths use foot crossings either side of the station.

 

Officially, (according to info on another site) the foot crossing is controlled by permission given from the signaller at St Johns to the member of staff at Brading, on request, to use it, who then has to supervise its use. So, unless you turn up somewhat early for your train (which wheelchair and other such users tend to do) you won't be using the foot crossing, unless willing to pick up a fine.

 

Of course, it is irrelevant in the off-peak season, when all trains will use P 1.

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31 minutes ago, Mike Storey said:

Officially, (according to info on another site) the foot crossing is controlled by permission given from the signaller at St Johns to the member of staff at Brading, on request, to use it, who then has to supervise its use. So, unless you turn up somewhat early for your train (which wheelchair and other such users tend to do) you won't be using the foot crossing, unless willing to pick up a fine.

 

I've seen the suggestion that permission would be gained from the signalman but it's not clear how this would work - the station is unstaffed and the foot crossing carries a reasonably well used footpath. They could re-route it but I've seen nothing mentioned so far.

 

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Of course, it is irrelevant in the off-peak season, when all trains will use P 1.

 

Are you sure? I was expecting trains to pass at Brading all year round.

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15 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

 

Officially, (according to info on another site) the foot crossing is controlled by permission given from the signaller at St Johns to the member of staff at Brading, on request, to use it, who then has to supervise its use. So, unless you turn up somewhat early for your train (which wheelchair and other such users tend to do) you won't be using the foot crossing, unless willing to pick up a fine.

 

Of course, it is irrelevant in the off-peak season, when all trains will use P 1.

 

If it is a Public Footpath as suggested in some of the above posts obstructing it (except perhaps during the actual passage of a train level crossing style, with appropriate legal status) is a criminal offence under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980. Offenders can face a fine and criminal record. So any staff tasked with say locking a gate across the path between uses would be legally obliged to refuse to do it as an unlawful instruction, or obey and risk ending up in court. Members of the public also have a legal right to take the shortest reasonable route around an obstruction on a public right of way, which then opens up another can of worms.

 

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9 minutes ago, Trog said:

 

If it is a Public Footpath as suggested in some of the above posts obstructing it (except perhaps during the actual passage of a train level crossing style, with appropriate legal status) is a criminal offence under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980. Offenders can face a fine and criminal record. So any staff tasked with say locking a gate across the path between uses would be legally obliged to refuse to do it as an unlawful instruction, or obey and risk ending up in court. Members of the public also have a legal right to take the shortest reasonable route around an obstruction on a public right of way, which then opens up another can of worms.

 

However a lot of rights of way aren't actually rights of way at the point they cross railway land, they're just permissive. It depends on all sorts of complex factors often going right back to the original act of parliament authorizing the railway in the first place.

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1 minute ago, Nick C said:

However a lot of rights of way aren't actually rights of way at the point they cross railway land, they're just permissive. It depends on all sorts of complex factors often going right back to the original act of parliament authorizing the railway in the first place.

 

I think that is a bit doubtful as there are cases where the railway had to put up with bridges over stations etc. where they could not put up ticket barriers because of a right of way.  Which as it was actively costing them money every day for ticket staff etc they would have been keen to change if they could.

 

I also suspect that most of the public rights of way would already have been in existence before the railways were built, and changing a short section legally from Public right of way to Permissive right of way seems a bit pointless. As unless you are actively planning to close the right of way at the time there is no real gain, for the railway. Also the MP's scrutinising the bill would presumably ask why do you want to change the status of all the paths if you have no intention of closing them.

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10 minutes ago, Trog said:

 

I think that is a bit doubtful as there are cases where the railway had to put up with bridges over stations etc. where they could not put up ticket barriers because of a right of way.  Which as it was actively costing them money every day for ticket staff etc they would have been keen to change if they could.

 

I also suspect that most of the public rights of way would already have been in existence before the railways were built, and changing a short section legally from Public right of way to Permissive right of way seems a bit pointless. As unless you are actively planning to close the right of way at the time there is no real gain, for the railway. Also the MP's scrutinising the bill would presumably ask why do you want to change the status of all the paths if you have no intention of closing them.

As I say, it depends on a lot of factors. I'm no expert, I just know that I've seen signs specifically pointing out that the crossings aren't a right of way and so can be closed at any time - there's one at Medsteand and Four Marks station on the MHR where the bridleway crosses - and the official rights of way map clearly shows the bridleway stopping before the railway.

 

The IOW RoW map isn't clear enough to tell the status of the crossing in question unfortunately...

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And the presence of a right of way on an OS map is no longer definitive. There is a path across a field near here which the Council intended to make a right of way, even put up the posts for the signs, but no gates or stiles were ever installed and it never actually became a right of way - but it is on the map. There is another nearby which locals say has never been a right of way, but again is on the map.

Jonathan

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22 hours ago, Christopher125 said:

 

I've seen the suggestion that permission would be gained from the signalman but it's not clear how this would work - the station is unstaffed and the foot crossing carries a reasonably well used footpath. They could re-route it but I've seen nothing mentioned so far.

 

 

Are you sure? I was expecting trains to pass at Brading all year round.

 

It depends on the service being offered, If the frequency drops to hourly (or increases to every 20 mins) then the passing loop won't be needed.

 

However its important to remember that the railway is not a tourist attraction - it has an important public transport function to full fill and as such I imagine the weekday winter timetable will remain half hourly, the reduction in frequency being in the evenings / weekends.

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16 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

It depends on the service being offered, If the frequency drops to hourly (or increases to every 20 mins) then the passing loop won't be needed.

 

I was just remarking on the 'off peak season' - aside from Winter Sundays, evenings etc it's half-hourly all year round.

 

Even when they aren't, without passenger information screens it would seem unwise to confuse people by putting Down trains in the Up platform.

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13 hours ago, Christopher125 said:

without passenger information screens it would seem unwise to confuse people by putting Down trains in the Up platform.

 

Is it not going to have them installed? Even the St. Albans Abbey branch stations have information screens now, as well as (perhaps even more surprisingly) Sugar Loaf on the Heart of Wales line: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Loaf_railway_station

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3 hours ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

Is it not going to have them installed? Even the St. Albans Abbey branch stations have information screens now, as well as (perhaps even more surprisingly) Sugar Loaf on the Heart of Wales line: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Loaf_railway_station

 

AIUI only Shanklin is gaining any screens (Pier Head and Esplanade already have them) - one appeared late last year under the canopy next to the taxi rank.

 

002+003 did another return trip to Fareham last night, that surely bodes well?

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On 14/05/2021 at 11:57, corneliuslundie said:

And the presence of a right of way on an OS map is no longer definitive. There is a path across a field near here which the Council intended to make a right of way, even put up the posts for the signs, but no gates or stiles were ever installed and it never actually became a right of way - but it is on the map. There is another nearby which locals say has never been a right of way, but again is on the map.

Jonathan

Which is why you should always use the council's official rights of way map if you need to know for sure... The Hampshire one is pretty good, interactive and showing information about each RoW. The island one doesn't seem to be...

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26 minutes ago, Christopher125 said:

It seems most stations are now more-or-less complete, Brading being the exception unfortunately.

 

51211849154_51be4e7766_z.jpg
Lake by Chris, on Flickr

51212154475_4fdfc03fc4_z.jpg
Shanklin by Chris, on Flickr

 

My prediction of mid- June for completion of all works does not look so shabby.

 

So, even if the trains had worked perfectly from the off, there would have had to be some significant temporary works, or workarounds, to allow them into service. In a way, Vivarail have let SWR off the hook slightly. But, no matter, the trains seem to be working better now, so we should not be far away from Island testing and driver training...... he says hopefully.

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On 29/05/2021 at 22:17, Mike Storey said:

 

My prediction of mid- June for completion of all works does not look so shabby.

 

So, even if the trains had worked perfectly from the off, there would have had to be some significant temporary works, or workarounds, to allow them into service. In a way, Vivarail have let SWR off the hook slightly. But, no matter, the trains seem to be working better now, so we should not be far away from Island testing and driver training...... he says hopefully.

 

They are pretty much there now, still finishing off Brading but the ramps are nearly done and just needs lighting, fencing and surfacing to complete AFAICT. 

 

Anyway, big news today - 484001 has been towed through the tunnel by a unimog, both Up and Down lines apparently. Didn't venture onto the pier though.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/355569249197459/permalink/509569960464053/

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/355569249197459/permalink/509546340466415/

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/355569249197459/permalink/509570217130694/

 

 

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It's been quite the palaver, but in the next few days the pedestrian structure at Skew Bridge near lake will be lifted back into place - the post below details the night it was removed.

 

Safe to say the access point for the road-rail crane is not one you'd expect... anyone know why it couldn't just trundle along the railway from Sandown (or Shanklin)?

 

https://www.facebook.com/beaverbridges/posts/10151383295919986

 

Quote

This weeks task for the team trackside Isle Of Wight:


- Enable access trackside 
- Remove existing pedestrian crossing 
- Supply and lay track mats
- Construct temporary stone RRAP
- Create crane pad trackside 
- Break out and free ends of the bridge structure 
- Lift out whole the bridge and transfer to staging point 
- Secure ends of bridge and RRAP to prevent unauthorised access
- Split bridge into 3 sections
- Load out for full off site  refurbishment 
‘It’s not the load you carry that weighs you down, it’s the way you carry it’

 

 

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