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Worcestershire Parkway Station - Now Open


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Not Worcester Parkway but it will connect Foregate Street station and does feature the viaduct.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-31715853

 

Looks like they've worked out the least direct route from A to B.  Interesting idea though.  If only it had funding.

 

Should be just a few metres above the water when the Severn floods!

At least they have found a new use for the old viaduct that formerly went down to the quay.

 

A picture on BBC WM news showed some open wagons on it filled with plants!

 

Keith

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  • 5 months later...

Just been catching up with this thread and was interested in the comments about Bromsgrove and making it part of Cross City.

 

I hadn't realised the extent of the works being carried out.

 

I live in Redditch and at the moment getting to Worcester by train is a real pain. The Worcester trains from New St and the Redditch trains from New St share the same line as far as Barnt Green before the Redditch line branches off. However the Worcester and Bromsgrove trains don't stop at Barnt Green (except a rare few) and so this means travelling all the way to University before changing to the Worcester train and travelling back along the line. Effectively adding 40 minutes to the journey.

 

If the new Bromsgrove cross city line trains stop at all stations I can at least change at Barnt Green for Bromsgrove and then catch the fast train to worcester from there - result. (alright changing train twice is not the best, but probably still faster.

 

In fact when I travel to Kidderminster from Redditch, I change trains at Barnt Green and Droitwich Spa and this is still faster then getting the train to New St and then walking to Snow Hill and getting the train from there.

 

The Network Rail site does indeed say four trains an hour, but I assume that this is three cross city trains (terminating at Bromsgrove) and one through train from Worcester (or beyond).

 

Finally does anyone know how the Cross City will operate. I assume the six trains an hour is the maximum capacity, so will the trains that currently terminate at Longbridge be extended to Bromsgrove?

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  • 1 year later...
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Hmm! Don't think we will be incorporating this development on the Abbotswood rebuild - but sounds like time to get out there and take photos of remaining infrastructure....

 

Phil

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Theres a footpath from the A44 between the Norton turn and the Oxford line over bridge which takes you across to the rail over/under bridge which should be handy....

 

524c on this map if you zoom to the appropriate area

 

http://gis.worcestershire.gov.uk/website/Countryside/

 

Phil

 

Edit...that used to be the A44 its now a yellow minor road according to the map!

Edited by Phil Bullock
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  • 2 weeks later...

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/15072869.Neighbour_s_fury_at__noisy__overnight_railway_work/?commentSort=score

 

Some related works, reinstating the Up siding (formerly Up loop) to enable terminating services to lie by at Henwick before returning to Brum or London. Causing some dissent.

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 Causing some dissent.

The usual: One neighbour approached by local rag says "it's a bit noisy" and the article is "Neighbour's Fury at rail works" headline!

 

Read the 22 comments - amusing. Mr Plant doesn't get a lot of sympathy over his "complaint"

 

Keith

Edited by melmerby
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  • 8 months later...

Hi good to read , just need to work out how to stop already over crowded trains, I wonder if council will pay for an extension lead from Bromsgrove..

 

Robert   

 

 

Be hopes they don't stop the odd four car Voyager there, then you can watch thirty people spill onto the platform, when the doors open, who don't even want to be there.

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Hi good to read , just need to work out how to stop already over crowded trains, I wonder if council will pay for an extension lead from Bromsgrove..

 

Robert   

I think a longer "power cord" is a long term aim so Worcester to Birmingham trains can get there with elecktrickery now that Bromsgrove has (almost) got it. :declare:

 

Keith

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  • 6 months later...

Up date on this thread. I travelled past the site of Worcester Parkway station today, coming in on a HST from Oxford. The embankment has been cleared where the station platform will be on the Oxford line, ready for platform building. There is the start of the footbridge linking all the platforms that currently crosses the Worcester avoiding line. I didn't get any photos as it came as a surprise, but further back early on in the thread, mention was made of the turnback siding at Henwick. This has been completed, but not yet operational, and has as its exit signal, a full size semaphore, with a home and distant arm, the distant looks to be fixed, and a theater box route indicator. I did manage to catch a shot of that from a passing Hereford train, as shown below. A big engineering job on between Worcester Foregate St and Shrub Hill over this bank holiday weekend, relaying the track between Foregate St and Shrub Hill, and possibly Tunnel Jcn as well, but not sure on that one.

 

New semaphore at Henwick.

post-7146-0-63050000-1527012216_thumb.jpg

 

Just for once and addition to the ranks of semaphore distant signals, and LQ as well. Shame it's fixed.

 

Paul J.

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 A big engineering job on between Worcester Foregate St and Shrub Hill over this bank holiday weekend, relaying the track between Foregate St and Shrub Hill, and possibly Tunnel Jcn as well, but not sure on that one.

 

 

 

Paul J.

Hi. it's not just the relaying around Shrub Hill and Foregate Street. They are slewing a new bridge in between Norton Jct and Shrub Hill over the A4440, M5 jct.7 to Malvern and Bromyard/Hereford road. As a warning to anyone planning on travelling that route by road, the A4440 closes Thursday evening May 24th and the diversion is via Worcester city centre!! Friday being one of the busiest days of the year traffic wise. It is not planned to reopen the A4440 until the following weekend. HTH cheers Andy.

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 A big engineering job on between Worcester Foregate St and Shrub Hill over this bank holiday weekend, relaying the track between Foregate St and Shrub Hill, and possibly Tunnel Jcn as well, but not sure on that one.

 

 

 

Paul J.

Hi. it's not just the relaying around Shrub Hill and Foregate Street. They are slewing a new bridge in between Norton Jct and Shrub Hill over the A4440, M5 jct.7 to Malvern and Bromyard/Hereford road. As a warning to anyone planning on travelling that route by road, the A4440 closes Thursday evening May 24th and the diversion is via Worcester city centre!! Friday being one of the busiest days of the year traffic wise. It is not planned to reopen the A4440 until the following weekend. HTH cheers Andy.

 

Thanks for the reminder Andy. I had forgotten about the road closure for that bridge, despite driving over that route last Thursday. Certainly done a nice job on it. It looks like a carbon copy of the original one, only newer looking.

 

Paul J.

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Up date on this thread. I travelled past the site of Worcester Parkway station today, coming in on a HST from Oxford. The embankment has been cleared where the station platform will be on the Oxford line, ready for platform building. There is the start of the footbridge linking all the platforms that currently crosses the Worcester avoiding line. I didn't get any photos as it came as a surprise, but further back early on in the thread, mention was made of the turnback siding at Henwick. This has been completed, but not yet operational, and has as its exit signal, a full size semaphore, with a home and distant arm, the distant looks to be fixed, and a theater box route indicator. I did manage to catch a shot of that from a passing Hereford train, as shown below. A big engineering job on between Worcester Foregate St and Shrub Hill over this bank holiday weekend, relaying the track between Foregate St and Shrub Hill, and possibly Tunnel Jcn as well, but not sure on that one.

 

New semaphore at Henwick.

attachicon.gifHenwicks new semaphore..jpg

 

Just for once and addition to the ranks of semaphore distant signals, and LQ as well. Shame it's fixed.

 

Paul J.

 

Thanks for update Paul

 

When I drove past Parkway on Thursday last the car park looked well advanced and steel work for the station structure was springing up.

 

Is it to be hoped that the engineering work might help improve things west of Worcester I wonder? The train service has been appalling since the 800s arrived and other rolling stock cascades have contributed to long lists of trains being caped and not crossing the river to Malvern and Hereford due to late running. Shades of the early 70s when the Brush type 2s arrived in the area.

 

Phil

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  • 1 month later...
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There was an update to this on Midlands Today last night.

The building work is well underway.

There was a comment about the fact that GWR will be stopping services to Paddington at the new platform, but Cross Country aren't doing much (anything?) with North - South services and passengers will need to go elsewhere for connexions to those services.

They hoped the new franchisee would be required to provide services that stop there.

 

Just need the Bromsgrove electrification extended to the station and it could become part of the Cross-City Line!

It's about 12 miles as the crow flies and the line is fairly straight.

 

Keith

Edited by melmerby
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It would probably need a new feeder station to get any further than Bromsgrove (and probably enhancements to the existing wiring between New Street and Bromsgrove), which would add considerably to the cost of such a scheme, at least using the normal transformers.

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It was a bit tongue in cheek, hence the exclamation mark.

 

Thinking more widely. How about a chord from the Midland line curving around from just south of the Costwold line to join the line coming up from Abbotswood Junction?

This would allow WM trains services from New St to enter Worcester from the south.

 

As it stands, the new station is a great P&R site for the Cotswold line but serves little purpose for the Midland line, without some useful connexions.

 

Keith

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