East West rail, Bletchley to oxford line

[TheSignalEngineer]

4 hours ago, Northmoor said:

I think all new bridges built over railways are built with adequate 25kV electrification clearance and have been for some decades.  This takes no account of the likelihood of electrification ever taking place.

The structure diagram in the 1928 Requirements showed a bridge clearance for electrification abeit not 25kV. At that time the desirable height was 15 feet above rail level (ARL) for new or rebuilt bridges. IIRC when I was doing signalling structures I think the specified height had become 4.640 metres clear ARL.

I remember some boffin consultant came up with a stupidly high figure which was probably enough for a six foot six man to be able to swing from the bridge without touching the OHLE. 

Then there was the EU Interoperability Requiements, although did we ever properly sign up to those? I thought originally only for HS1.

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by TheSignalEngineer
EU comment added

[Nearholmer]

If you really want to get into the clearances discussion, which is a labyrinth within a maze, this is a pretty fair summary of how things became controversial https://www.railengineer.co.uk/egip-electrification-clearance-woes/?amp

 

And this is, I think, but do check because I may be out of date, still the ORR’s official word on the most difficult aspect of it, which isn’t clearance below bridges, but clearance from where people can stand on stations.

 

https://www.orr.gov.uk/media/10703

 

 

[rodent279]

So are clearances under existing bridges being engineered for future electrification of EWR?

[Nearholmer]

That’s the question that I don’t think we know the answer to.

 

As I said before, I’m aware of some occupation bridges being raised, and many of the existing road bridges actually had quite generous clearances already, but I’m not certain that all of the existing bridges are going to be suitable for 25kV …….. I think and hope they are, but I’m not totally certain.

[jamie92208]

Could it be that the raising of bridges was a long lead item that got sorted before the project was descoped.

 

Jamie

[simon b]

9 hours ago, rodent279 said:

Are any of the bridges being raised, or is the trackbed being lowered, to accommodate future electrification?

 

The bridges that have been rebuilt or newly installed can take OHLE. Most have enough clearance so it shouldn't be a problem.

[TheSignalEngineer]

13 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

If you really want to get into the clearances discussion, which is a labyrinth within a maze, this is a pretty fair summary of how things became controversial https://www.railengineer.co.uk/egip-electrification-clearance-woes/?amp

 

And this is, I think, but do check because I may be out of date, still the ORR’s official word on the most difficult aspect of it, which isn’t clearance below bridges, but clearance from where people can stand on stations.

 

https://www.orr.gov.uk/media/10703

 

 

Thanks. I thought that there had been a change but it came long after I had retired from on-track projects and was doing a bit of part time consultancy on pure signalling and operational matters.

I can only remember one fatal incident due to OHLE at a station, when a shopfitter working at Euston station touched the overhead equipment with a long metal pole.

Two other incidents due to actions outside the station sing to mind. In one at Adderley Park a gentleman climbed onto a bridge abutment near to the track and relieved himself onto the equipment. He died from a rather nasty injury a few days later. 

The other was at New Street just before one Christmas where some people on the way out of an office party were throwing lengths of tinsle around on Navigation Street bridge. One blew over the parapet and wrapped itself round the wire. Fortunately no-one was holding on the the tinsle at the time, and as the end dropped down it didn't go near the platform. It did however dangle down by No.3 siding and came into contact with a position light ground signal causing a flashover. It caused a lot of damage to relays and cables in the PSB and even melted some indication lamps on the panel. I don't know how you mitigate against an incident like that.

Not a good photo but the only one I can find at the moment shows two contact springs on one side have vapourised.

In the relay room the side of the indication relay had a hole blown in one side of the case.

Edited February 2, 2023 by TheSignalEngineer

[Ron Ron Ron]

On 31/01/2023 at 15:22, jamie92208 said:

According  to the Modern Railways HS2 supplement  the EWR bridge deck over HS2 at Calvert was installed in December.   There is a small picture.

 

Jamie

It was mentioned in the HS2 thread on the 14th December ( page 216)

There are some more photos there……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Ron Ron Ron

[Davexoc]

Photo over on Railway Herald showing track through Winslow now....

 

https://www.railwayherald.com/imagingcentre/view/640968/TW

[Ron Ron Ron]

.

 

As they were laying track  (I'm not sure if this is Winslow? ).........

 

 

 

 

....and a YouTube video from back in January.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

[Tony Teague]

5 hours ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

.

As they were laying track  (I'm not sure if this is Winslow? ).........

 

 

Interesting images, and yes, that is the new Winslow Station.

 

Tony

[Northmoor]

It took me a moment to work out what was wrong with that footbridge.  It looks like they'd employed M.C.Escher as design engineer.

[2750Papyrus]

12 hours ago, Northmoor said:

It took me a moment to work out what was wrong with that footbridge.  It looks like they'd employed M.C.Escher as design engineer.

Mind the gap!

[ess1uk]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-64978597

[Davexoc]

Unplanned trip past Swanbourne Station this evening as Google wasn't showing the Mursley road closed by 'The Betsy' tonight when it was, but showed it closed yesterday when it wasn't.....

Anyway, lots of lineside trunking now in place together with some cabinets. There was a Freightliner 66 parked up just beyond the road bridge towards Bletchley, which looks like the 6Y56 according to RTT, one of three in today, but only two out. Two more in tomorrow and three out are currently showing scheduled.

[Davexoc]

Found another train parked up this morning, orange 66 on the rear of the NTCT sat just outside Winslow with the front just over the Little Horwood road bridge. That'll be the third of the two in three out again on Thursday RTT plan.....

[Rugd1022]

1 hour ago, Davexoc said:

Found another train parked up this morning, orange 66 on the rear of the NTCT sat just outside Winslow with the front just over the Little Horwood road bridge. That'll be the third of the two in three out again on Thursday RTT plan.....

 

That'll be one of our lads from Rugby on it, we've been back down there a fair bit in recent weeks, along with some of the Crewe lads. Every time I go down there it's clear good progress is being made.

[Mike_Walker]

Apparently Chiltern have been awarded the contract to operate Phase 1 (Oxford - Bletchley - Milton Keynes) using new Class 196s originally intended for West Midlands Trains but no longer required as their Snow Hill services remain at 2tph not 3.  E-WR services are expected to start in December 2024.

[Nearholmer]

Something of a “First the good news …..” announcement that, but thankyou for conveying it.

[surfsup]

2 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

Apparently Chiltern have been awarded the contract to operate Phase 1 (Oxford - Bletchley - Milton Keynes) using new Class 196s originally intended for West Midlands Trains but no longer required as their Snow Hill services remain at 2tph not 3.  E-WR services are expected to start in December 2024.

Only subleased from WMR - Passenger numbers still considered low enough by the DfT to share the 196 fleet between the two operators. Of course this only covers Oxford to Bletchley / Milton Keynes, so Bedford to Bletchley still to be worked by WMR Class 150 hire-ins from Northern.

 

It's all good fun in the merry - go - round of the modern railways!  

[Tony Teague]

14 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

E-WR services are expected to start in December 2024.

 

What on earth is going to take them another 18 months to complete?

[BrushVeteran]

1 hour ago, Tony Teague said:

 

What on earth is going to take them another 18 months to complete?

Probably something to do with HS2!

They seem to be getting on very well with the tracklaying etc and apart from signalling there doesn't seem anything else that has arisen apart from the HS2 intersection that is causing delays. 

 

[phil-b259]

14 hours ago, surfsup said:

Only subleased from WMR - Passenger numbers still considered low enough by the DfT to share the 196 fleet between the two operators.

Yes but as many real railway people and indeed regular rail users will attest what the DfT think is happening with regards to passenger numbers and what is ACTUALLY the case on the ground is huge….

 

I bet WMR users won’t be celebrating this ‘cunning plan’ from the desk drivers in Whitehall…..

[ess1uk]

2 hours ago, Tony Teague said:

 

What on earth is going to take them another 18 months to complete?

Telecom infrastructure 

signalling

 

[The Stationmaster]

15 hours ago, surfsup said:

Only subleased from WMR - Passenger numbers still considered low enough by the DfT to share the 196 fleet between the two operators. Of course this only covers Oxford to Bletchley / Milton Keynes, so Bedford to Bletchley still to be worked by WMR Class 150 hire-ins from Northern.

 

It's all good fun in the merry - go - round of the modern railways!  

Having witnessed passengers joining/trying to join a 196 unit at Wolverhampton not that many weeks back it was obvious to me - if not to DafT - that a 2 car set was totally inadequate for the level of traffic on offer.

 

If such a short train is considered adequate for the level of passenger usage between Oxford and Bletchley/Milton Keynes I can but wonder what universe DafT inhabits after so much money has been spent relinking Oxford with Bletchley along what Govt considers to be a growing corridor of population and travel.  How many people will try to use rail until overcrowding drives them back into their cars?