Would a curve face the Winslow direction, and another face the Bicester direction?
Aylesbury VP - is a second platform being built? Might this be useful for future extensions to the current service regardless?
Definitely no curve towards Bicester. Apart from the fact that no service is proposed, HS2 would be in the way.Would a curve face the Winslow direction, and another face the Bicester direction?
I doubt if anyone has ever seriously looked at it.Definitely no curve towards Bicester. Apart from the fact that no service is proposed, HS2 would be in the way.
Yes, although it's an interesting thought experiment to guess if that's because the service wouldn't have been worth looking from a commercial/social benefits point of view at or simply because there wasn't an old curve to think about putting back.I doubt if anyone has ever seriously looked at it.
I was thinking about freight too actually - I’m not sure what passenger use it would be.
If you think about freight you need to look at likely freight flows and the existing track layouts. If you think about the connecting lines they would all run to or from the south. Traffic from the south would come in from Princes Risborough through Aylesbury. Your suggested curve would then take the freight to Oxford again heading south. The only possible use of that curve that I can think of would be waste trains to the new facility to be built at Calvert which would require new sources of waste for processing.
What freight use do you see for it? The only terminal to serve is Calvert, you'd need a lot of trains using the curve to justify the cost over simply routing a freight from Hinksey to Calvert via Birmingham and Bletchley.I was thinking about freight too actually - I’m not sure what passenger use it would be.
It would presumably be somewhat more cost effective to stop a train that is going to run through the station anyway than it would be to run a train especially for the event though?
simply routing a freight from Hinksey to Calvert via Birmingham and Bletchley.
The link to HS2 IMD isn’t permanent? I assumed that was how HS2 would get its materials for ongoing maintenance in, or is there not much of that for slabbed track?The stub to the HS2 IMD will go, the Claydon Loops themselves are permanent.
It might well be permanent now, but originally it was going to be treated as a construction siding. Much like the proposed 2A one at Stone, and a temporary one at Washwood Heath to bring track and OLE in. There is no reason why you cannot bring engineering trains at night and park them up either at Washwood Heath or Calvert from Handsacre. Its not as though NR engineering trains don't do the same thing from Hinksey, Bescot, Kingmoor, Crewe, Westbury etc to wherever the job is.The link to HS2 IMD isn’t permanent? I assumed that was how HS2 would get its materials for ongoing maintenance in, or is there not much of that for slabbed track?
The speed difference will be a bit more on HS2!It might well be permanent now, but originally it was going to be treated as a construction siding. Much like the proposed 2A one at Stone, and a temporary one at Washwood Heath to bring track and OLE in. There is no reason why you cannot bring engineering trains at night and park them up either at Washwood Heath or Calvert from Handsacre. Its not as though NR engineering trains don't do the same thing from Hinksey, Bescot, Kingmoor, Crewe, Westbury etc to wherever the job is.
It would but it would still run as a Class 6 and would be a lot of extra time and distance to get to where they need to be if it’s anywhere south.The speed difference will be a bit more on HS2!
You don't run it in HS2 service times.The speed difference will be a bit more on HS2!
Sure but doesn’t it mean you lose valuable time between service ending and actual work taking place if you have to wait for engineering trains pass to Calvert before starting work?You don't run it in HS2 service times.
Chiltern is mirror based DOO and if it was on the other side it'd curve slightly the wrong way and might make dispatch of a long train difficult.
Its how it works now during normal engineering works on NR lines. The trains still have to get to the possession.Sure but doesn’t it mean you lose valuable time between service ending and actual work taking place if you have to wait for engineering trains pass to Calvert before starting work?
There is a permanent link from the OXD loop into the HS2 IMD, for delivery/removal purposes. There is also a permanent link from the HS2 mainline into the IMD, for infrastructure maintenance.The link to HS2 IMD isn’t permanent? I assumed that was how HS2 would get its materials for ongoing maintenance in, or is there not much of that for slabbed track?
A Bicester facing loop had multiple options developed - all expensive, space consumptive and disruptive to the HS2 proposals/timeline.I doubt if anyone has ever seriously looked at it.
What do you mean by OXD Loop? If you mean EWR, track laying was completed only a few weeks ago and the line is not yet operational. If you mean the line from Aylesbury, that is currently severed at Quainton and will need to be re-instated to access HS2 Depot.There is a permanent link from the OXD loop into the HS2 IMD, for delivery/removal purposes.
Claydon loops on the main E-W line.What do you mean by OXD Loop? If you mean EWR, track laying was completed only a few weeks ago and the line is not yet operational. If you mean the line from Aylesbury, that is currently severed at Quainton and will need to be re-instated to access HS2 Depot.
WHAT: An event to mark the coming together of the tracks on Connection Stage One (CS1) of the East West Rail project. The final section of track connecting Bicester and Bletchley will be laid Thursday (7 March) as part of the East West Rail (EWR) project to improve rail connectivity between Cambridge and Oxford. The project began by rebuilding Bletchley flyover, the first phase of the track work started in 2021. Since then 66 kilometres of new track has been laid. Passenger services are expected to start next year.
WHEN: Thursday 7 March 13:30-15:40 (16:30 if station visit included)
WHERE: B1 compound by level crossing, Queen Catherine Road, Steeple Claydon, MK18 2ER
CONTACT ON THE DAY: Lucy Greggs (Network Rail senior communications manager) 07395385582
INTERVIEWEES:
Huw Merriman, Rail Minister (please contact Jake Alexander, Press Officer - Department for Transport 07977695958)
Eoin O’Neil, Director for Capital Delivery at Network Rail
Beth West, CEO, East West Railway Company
Mark Cuzner, EWR Alliance Director
WHAT THERE IS TO FILM ON THE DAY:
Ceremony to commemorate the completion of track laying between Bicester and Bletchley for Connection Stage One (CS1) of East West Rail, Rail minister to ‘clip’ track together
Access to site where the final section of track has been laid
An option for a visit to Winslow station
PROJECT STATS AND FACTS:
Use of a New Track Construction train (NTC) to install up to 85 per cent of track
63 shifts completed with the NTC, one shift achieving 1.4km of new track in ten hours
Delivering all track materials via rail rather than lorries, reducing traffic and carbon emissions
66,353 metres of track laid
99,320 railway sleepers laid
267,266 tonnes of ballast (railway stones) used
18 units switches and crossings (that help trains to switch tracks)
427 rails delivered by Long Welded Rail Train (LWRT) totalling 216 metres in length
SAFETY INFORMATION/EQUIPMENT: This is a working site, so reporters and camera crews will always need to be accompanied and must follow the safety instructions from those on site.
On arrival detailed safety briefing will be given before accessing the site. Full personal protective equipment (PPE) of hi visibility jacket, trousers, hard hat will be provided. As steel toecap boots are in limited supply please bring your own if you have them.
HOW TO CONFIRM ATTENDANCE: Please confirm attendance by emailing [email protected] or calling 07395385582 no later than 2pm on Wednesday 6 March with PPE, shoe sizes and car registrations.
Is it normal for an event like this to have it's contact/registration details published so publicly?Press release
MEDIA INVITE: ‘East meets West’: rail project connects Oxford with Bletchley for first time in 50 years
Information for journalists, press, bloggers and the media about Network Rail. Contact the press office to receive news, updates, press releases, videos, pictures, and factsheets, and to arrange interviews, filming and photographywww.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk
Region & Route:
North West & Central: West Coast Mainline South
Major track milestone completed on Connection Stage One (CS1) of East West Rail project
Rail minister connects final section of rail at Steeple Claydon
Engineering landmark paves way for passenger services to start from 2025
The final section of track connecting Bicester and Bletchley has been laid today (Thursday 7 March) as part of the East West Rail (EWR) project to improve rail connectivity between Cambridge and Oxford. The project began by rebuilding Bletchley flyover, the first phase of the track work started in 2021. Since then 66 kilometres of new track has been laid. Passenger services are expected to start next year.
Once up and running, the new service will provide a fast sustainable transport option for local communities improving connectivity between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge, reducing travel times and providing better access to jobs, healthcare and education.
The fully Government-funded programme is being delivered by the East West Rail Alliance (EWRA) which is a collaboration of four organisations including Network Rail, AtkinsRéalis, Laing O'Rourke and VolkerRail. Close collaboration with Network Rail’s Supply Chain Operations (SCO) team and supply chain partners has allowed EWRA to overcome challenges such as industrial action and national material shortages.
Key features of the first phase of the project have included:
Use of a New Track Construction train (NTC) to install up to 85 per cent of track
63 shifts completed with the NTC, one shift achieving 1.4km of new track in ten hours
Delivering all track materials via rail rather than lorries, reducing traffic and carbon emissions
66,353 metres of track laid
99,320 railway sleepers laid
267,266 tonnes of ballast (railway stones) used
18 switches and crossings (that help trains to switch tracks)
427 rails delivered by Long Welded Rail Train (LWRT) totalling 216 metres in length
East West Rail Alliance is on track to hand over the project to Network Rail later in 2024, with remaining work this year including the installation of signalling, testing and the construction of Winslow station. Passenger services are due to start from 2025.
Some pretty inaccurate English, (or maths), in the facts and figures as is so often the case. Presumably nobody sense checks anything before publication.
”427 rails delivered by Long Welded Rail Train (LWRT) totalling 216 metres in length”.
That is every rail being 216mSome pretty inaccurate English, (or maths), in the facts and figures as is so often the case. Presumably nobody sense checks anything before publication.
”427 rails delivered by Long Welded Rail Train (LWRT) totalling 216 metres in length”.
I know. The correct statement should therefore have been 427 x 216m rails totalling about 92 km or 57 miles. Their wording is equivalent to someone saying they’ve just replaced 20 fence panels with a total length of 6 feet.That is every rail being 216m
That is the length it is when it leaves the factory. So 16 rails gives you just over a mile of track (both rails) or 32 if you include both the Up and Down.