Cambridge Platform 4 to be extended to accommodate 240m trains

[camflyer]

Its £100,000 per metre.

Presumably the £4m is the fully loaded cost of the project which included design, contracts, legal work, project management, safety etc not just the cost of 45m of concrete.

 

[swissrailpassion]

Yes but the entire industry is structured in a way that escalates costs exponentially.
We have to devise a way of making the railway processes simpler and the costs will fall.

 

[PG]

Yes but the entire industry is structured in a way that escalates costs exponentially.
We have to devise a way of making the railway processes simpler and the costs will fall.

Reminds me of the GWML electrification saga...

Out of interest how much did the construction of Platforms 7&8 cost compared to extending Platform 4?

 

[rower40]

Does this mean that the combined platforms 1 + 4 will overtake Gloucester to be the longest in the country?

No, Gloucester is over 600m. Cambridge's extension will make it just over 500m by my maths.

From the dawn of recorded history, Cambridge was the longest "Single-platform" station (i.e. with no bridges or underpasses or death-defying flat crossings to reach other platforms) - that accolade was lost when platforms 7 & 8 were built.

 

[Ianno87]

Reminds me of the GWML electrification saga...

Out of interest how much did the construction of Platforms 7&8 cost compared to extending Platform 4?

Don't know the cost, but 7/8 will have had the advantage of being built largely offline away from the operational main line, almost immediately next to a construction access. I recall them springing up very rapidly once construction started.

 

[bspahh]

Don't know the cost, but 7/8 will have had the advantage of being built largely offline away from the operational main line, almost immediately next to a construction access. I recall them springing up very rapidly once construction started.

The island platform was built in 2011. In 2010, Julian Huppert said in parliament

I am pleased to note that Network Rail is expected to commence work shortly at Cambridge station to construct the new island platform. However, the estimated cost of £15 million is obviously high. I shall add in passing that the ministerial team in the Department are quite keen to get better value from Network Rail for some of these projects. That cost does seem to me rather expensive for a platform.

Strategic Transport (Cambridge) - Hansard - UK Parliament

Hansard record of the item : 'Strategic Transport (Cambridge)' on Tuesday 27 July 2010.

hansard.parliament.uk

This has some discussion of the cycle access http://www.rtaylor.co.uk/island-platform-cambridge-station.html with the comment " Network Rail apologised and accepted that the degree of cycling in Cambridge had not been properly considered in the design of the bridge." !

One of the comments points to this chapter from a 1968 book

Cambridgeshire, EnglandGenWeb Project - Railways

I didn't know that there had been a subway for luggage to an island platform until 1863.

 

[jopsuk]

From the dawn of recorded history, Cambridge was the longest "Single-platform" station (i.e. with no bridges or underpasses or death-defying flat crossings to reach other platforms) - that accolade was lost when platforms 7 & 8 were built.

apart from the period when it had an island platform before. The book on the station is downstairs, else I'd look up the dates

 

[Ianno87]

The island platform was built in 2011. In 2010, Julian Huppert said in parliament

Strategic Transport (Cambridge) - Hansard - UK Parliament

Hansard record of the item : 'Strategic Transport (Cambridge)' on Tuesday 27 July 2010.

hansard.parliament.uk

This has some discussion of the cycle access http://www.rtaylor.co.uk/island-platform-cambridge-station.html with the comment " Network Rail apologised and accepted that the degree of cycling in Cambridge had not been properly considered in the design of the bridge." !

One of the comments points to this chapter from a 1968 book

Cambridgeshire, EnglandGenWeb Project - Railways

I didn't know that there had been a subway for luggage to an island platform until 1863.

"Rather expensive for a platform".

It also involved:
-New footbridge (no doubt with posessions)
-Two new lifts and towers
-Modification to OLE
-Modification to / replacement of buffer stops and OLE on Platform 5 to accommodate footbridge
-Signalling changes
-Recovery of the track that used to sit on the platform.
-Etc.

But it's easy to sound clever in a soundbite, I guess.

Re:Cycling. I think you really have to live in Cambridge / visit regularly to grasp how big a deal it is. I didn't really until I lived here.

 

[dk1]

Platform 4 extension all complete but still fenced off last Thursday.

 

[bspahh]

The Branch Line News https://www.branchline.uk/ report 1390 says that on November 22nd, the extension platform 4 at Cambridge was completed.

The 10 car stop has moved 38m closer to signal CA175. It says that Greater Anglia have to run proving 10-car trains before they can use the full length of the platform.

 

[dk1]

The new CD/RA indicator at 10/12 car stop is so bright that it’s clearer to read than than the one at the 3/4/5 car stop.

 

[Shwam3]

The Branch Line News https://www.branchline.uk/ report 1390 says that on November 22nd, the extension platform 4 at Cambridge was completed.

The 10 car stop has moved 38m closer to signal CA175. It says that Greater Anglia have to run proving 10-car trains before they can use the full length of the platform.

The proving train ran a few weeks ago, just waiting for everyone in NR/GA/GTR to be happy.

 

[MikeWM]

I had assumed this was the reason for the rather odd all-weekend closure next weekend between Cambridge and Cambridge North. (I don't recall ever seeing a closure of such a small bit of line before, not around here at least).

As it apparently isn't related to the platform extension, what *is* this closure for?

 

[dk1]

I had assumed this was the reason for the rather odd all-weekend closure next weekend between Cambridge and Cambridge North. (I don't recall ever seeing a closure of such a small bit of line before, not around here at least).

As it apparently isn't related to the platform extension, what *is* this closure for?

Unusually there are posters all over Cambridge station explaining it but I didn't pay much attention.

 

[MikeWM]

Unusually there are posters all over Cambridge station explaining it but I didn't pay much attention.

Indeed, they've been there for a while, which is good (though there were no similar posters explaining that both lines to London were closed the Sunday before last, which was equally inconvenient).

They don't actually explain what work is being done, however, just 'engineering work'...

 

[bspahh]

Indeed, they've been there for a while, which is good (though there were no similar posters explaining that both lines to London were closed the Sunday before last, which was equally inconvenient).

They don't actually explain what work is being done, however, just 'engineering work'...

There was a poster at Ely station that said it was something for the depot at Cambridge.

Check before you travel ahead of major upgrade, commuters warned

Rail passengers in Cambridgeshire are being urged to check before they travel as major engineering works are due to take place ahead of Christmas.

www.cambstimes.co.uk

says

The alternative service is due to come into place as a major upgrade to the Cambridge train depot is being completed, which is affecting all trains using Cambridge rail station.

 

[MikeWM]

There was a poster at Ely station that said it was something for the depot at Cambridge.

Ah, thanks. I don't tend to read the posters at Ely as I'm usually getting there just in time to catch a train or leaving to go home I didn't see anything similarly useful on the posters at Cambridge, but I may have missed it.

 

[dk1]

Ahh yes I remember the connecting to the new sidings being part of it now. Also some internal email came through about it a few weeks ago. The works involved have been going on for a few years & quite elaborate.

 

[plugwash]

Did any track have to be moved to accommodate the extension? or was there already enough room between the lines to squeeze a platform in?

 

[dk1]

Did any track have to be moved to accommodate the extension? or was there already enough room between the lines to squeeze a platform in?

Plenty of room.

 

[Class 170101]

Did any track have to be moved to accommodate the extension? or was there already enough room between the lines to squeeze a platform in?

Plenty of room.

and distance from the end of the 'old' platform to the 'new' end of platform 4 is plenty to the signal at the Country end too.

 

[bspahh]

These are some photos of the work to Cambridge depot, from the Mill Road bridge at lunchtime today