East Kilbride/Barrhead electrification updates

[clc]

So that would be roughly 800-900 metres of doubling, between the existing loop and the relocated station. Thanks.

 

[OB23Gone]

Scan from old photo that I took away back when only knows of said bridge. The picture is of a DUFF on a Carlisle stopper taken from The Moray Place Bridge and an up to date new one taken from where the second bridge on Darnley Road entrance can still be found looking back to the Newly Installed one. The enlarging of the bridge loosed a lot of quality unfortunately


The Wires are so much higher at this point from road level because of the incline that here would be a requirement for far more steps and if ramps were to be included they would have to run parallel with the Railway, on the Moray Place side. in fact the old steps did indeed do just that. Just not very clear on the enlargement

An update to bridge works. A good amount of the glazing is actually in but does not show up very well in the photograph. Work has commenced installing the Stone Cladding on the Moray Place side at least Date should be 27th June

 

[alf]

Thanks for picture of footbridge.
It certainly is very unusual & oddly appealing. Far better than a big standard footbridge.
I expect Putin & 6 military escorts to stride down the bridge & the great leader to make a speech on the top step with his escorts ranged down the steps on each side.

 

[OB23Gone]

Post #1383 by @InOban mentioned, but didn't link, an item in the Daily Record, which I then looked up online, but didn't bother to post about. The link is here. It was probably trying to say the same thing about the loop that you have just said, though when I first read it I misunderstood it, and thought it meant that the existing loop east of Hairmyres would be extended eastward to reach to the (presumably still intended) two-platform layout at EK.

Having linked the Record I'll now have to quote it.

Dropped in on this. Council & NR In attendance. There still seems to be a lot of issues to be resolved. As it says on the second page this is an indicative plan and is still asking for comments. So once the comments from this drop in and the next one are processed, put into design, application, approval rubber stamping etc I just wonder how long it will take. There is then the tendering process and acceptance for work. I don't see that all taking a couple of weeks. NR were saying there there will be a statement to be issued but they couldn't say when. Piling work will be resuming again I presume after the Barrhead Blockade. I have put up page 1 & 2 from the council hand out page 3 of which is another comments page. Pics 3 & 4 are taken from a larger scale drawing on display. This allows better resolution and I have added a couple of notations. Single Line Only From Busby To new Station and between the existing Loop & EK Station

 

[d9009alycidon]

"Route of old Railway", nonsense, it was the old route of Barbana Road before it was realigned.

As an Eaglesham resident I would love for a feeder bus to be set up from the village to this new station, unlikely to happen though

 

[MadMac]

"Route of old Railway", nonsense, it was the old route of Barbana Road before it was realigned.

As an Eaglesham resident I would love for a feeder bus to be set up from the village to this new station, unlikely to happen though

I wondered about the “Old Railway” note. I suspect they’ve gotten mixed up with the connection to Waterlow’s printers many years ago.

 

[OB23Gone]

I wondered about the “Old Railway” note. I suspect they’ve gotten mixed up with the connection to Waterlow’s printers many years ago.

Not being from that area it was a completely wrong assumption on my part. I won't be going to the next drop-in but if either of you do attend would appreciate some feedback back. TIA.

 

[MadMac]

Not being from that area it was a completely wrong assumption on my part. I won't be going to the next drop-in but if either of you do attend would appreciate some feedback back. TIA.

It’s a bit far for me these days! I’m interested as a Hairmyres commuter from 82-99.

 

[clc]

Interesting to see the extent of the new loop. Looks to be around 1.4km in length.

 

[OB23Gone]

Interesting to see the extent of the new loop. Looks to be around 1.4km in length.

Looked up these this morning. This is from South Lanarkshire Council and covers the 1st drop in including detail about length of the Loop and says it is to be extended by 1.4 km. From TRACKmaps the existing loop is .515 km in length. Assuming that the 1.4 is additional we will be just short of 2 km
Hairmyres Transport Interchange

Roads, lighting and pavements

Roads, lighting and pavements

www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk

A Bit about the Project. Nothing about completion date

East Kilbride Enhancements

East Kilbride Enhancements

scotlandsrailway.com

 

[MadMac]

Looked up these this morning. This is from South Lanarkshire Council and covers the 1st drop in including detail about length of the Loop and says it is to be extended by 1.4 km. From TRACKmaps the existing loop is .515 km in length. Assuming that the 1.4 is additional we will be just short of 2 km
Hairmyres Transport Interchange

Roads, lighting and pavements

Roads, lighting and pavements

www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk

A Bit about the Project. Nothing about completion date

East Kilbride Enhancements

East Kilbride Enhancements

scotlandsrailway.com

Extending the existing loop west to just past the new Hairmyres is just under the 2km mark. I’m not seeing how it would facilitate a more frequent service.

 

[clc]

Looked up these this morning. This is from South Lanarkshire Council and covers the 1st drop in including detail about length of the Loop and says it is to be extended by 1.4 km. From TRACKmaps the existing loop is .515 km in length. Assuming that the 1.4 is additional we will be just short of 2 km
Hairmyres Transport Interchange

Roads, lighting and pavements

Roads, lighting and pavements

www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk

A Bit about the Project. Nothing about completion date

East Kilbride Enhancements

East Kilbride Enhancements

scotlandsrailway.com

I read the project info you linked to and it confirms that East Kilbride will get a new station building but it doesn’t mention if an additional platform is still planned. Perhaps it’s not needed now that an increase in frequency to 4tph is no longer happening.

 

[snowball]

I read the project info you linked to and it confirms that East Kilbride will get a new station building but it doesn’t mention if an additional platform is still planned. Perhaps it’s not needed now that an increase in frequency to 4tph is no longer happening.

My guess is that the additional platform is still planned. Information about it has not been removed from that page, it has never been present. (The page has existed for ages with some variation in content.)

The last we heard, the second platform was supposed to be still needed to enable spare time in trains' diagrams to be spent at EK, rather than at Glasgow Central where platform space is precious.

It's frustrating that as the focus is about to switch to the EK line with the imminent completion of the Barrhead line, so little information is in the public domain. How many bridges will have to be altered and in what ways?

 

[hexagon789]

With the work being done during the Busby Jcn-Kilmarnock closure - is there any more piling for masts as part of that, if so what sections?

Also, does anyone know where roughly they have progressed to?

I saw a Network Rail team (about eight or so) working at Busby Jcn about three Sundays ago with a sort of rail-mounted cherry picker for want of a better description doing what looked like checking clearances, but that was before the closure.

 

[Southsider]

With the work being done during the Busby Jcn-Kilmarnock closure - is there any more piling for masts as part of that, if so what sections?

Also, does anyone know where roughly they have progressed to?

I saw a Network Rail team (about eight or so) working at Busby Jcn about three Sundays ago with a sort of rail-mounted cherry picker for want of a better description doing what looked like checking clearances, but that was before the closure.

I don’t know about piles but the portals at Salterland viaduct weren’t in place when I passed last week.

 

[Huntergreed]

This has probably been answered before, but I don’t want to have to scroll through 49 pages to find an answer.

Is the plan to run electrics to Barrhead immediately upon reopening, or will this be held until the December TT change?

 

[najaB]

This has probably been answered before, but I don’t want to have to scroll through 49 pages to find an answer.

Is the plan to run electrics to Barrhead immediately upon reopening, or will this be held until the December TT change?

It has indeed. Several posters have said no changes until the December timetable change.

I guess both to give drivers a chance to do their familiarisation running, and additionally so that units aren't running to diesel timings and having slightly longer dwell times.

 

[hexagon789]

It has indeed. Several posters have said no changes until the December timetable change.

I guess both to give drivers a chance to do their familiarisation running, and additionally so that units aren't running to diesel timings and having slightly longer dwell times.

I don't believe the timings will change anyway after it all goes electric.

Especially on the EK branch, seems little scope to make up full half mins in any places.

 

[Southsider]

It has indeed. Several posters have said no changes until the December timetable change.

I guess both to give drivers a chance to do their familiarisation running, and additionally so that units aren't running to diesel timings and having slightly longer dwell times.

Is it fair to assume the rolling stock will be 380s made available by the cutting back of the Ayr timetable?

 

[clc]

I don't believe the timings will change anyway after it all goes electric.

Especially on the EK branch, seems little scope to make up full half mins in any places.

Not even on the climb up to Busby?

 

[Southsider]

Not even on the climb up to Busby?

Surely the station dwell times will make a difference? The 156s stand still for an eternity.

 

[hexagon789]

Not even on the climb up to Busby?

I know the electrics accelerate faster, I understand the ability to achieve/hold a higher speed - but look at the timings, the permitted maxima, the proximity of stations to each other - I'm not convinced the timings will change just it'll be easier to achieve them and coast more.

 

[clc]

Surely the station dwell times will make a difference? The 156s stand still for an eternity.

I know, as a layman who uses the EK service I’ve never understood the whole waiting for the guard to open the doors procedure, it’s so inefficient on a busy commuter service. I’d have thought class 380s would shave several minutes off the journey from reduced dwell times alone.

 

[najaB]

I don't believe the timings will change anyway after it all goes electric.

Especially on the EK branch, seems little scope to make up full half mins in any places.

Fair enough, I don't know the area well enough to comment either way - I just knew that EMUs are normally timetabled tighter than DMUs.

 

[hexagon789]

Fair enough, I don't know the area well enough to comment either way - I just knew that EMUs are normally timetabled tighter than DMUs.

The current DMU workings have no or minimal allowances. If there are any, it's typically 0.5-3 mins towards Glasgow between Crossmyloof and Glasgow Central usually in the morning peak.

The EK branch is 50mph max; the mainline is 70 throughout from Muirhouse (with a 65 for curves at Nitshill).

 

[clc]

I know the electrics accelerate faster, I understand the ability to achieve/hold a higher speed - but look at the timings, the permitted maxima, the proximity of stations to each other - I'm not convinced the timings will change just it'll be easier to achieve them and coast more.

The 156s acceleration going up the hill between Giffnock and Clarkston is so slow I’d be surprised if a class 380 didn’t beat it by at least 30 seconds.

 

[InOban]

I'm surprised that there haven't been any regular reports either from NR or from members.

 

[380101]

The 156s acceleration going up the hill between Giffnock and Clarkston is so slow I’d be surprised if a class 380 didn’t beat it by at least 30 seconds.

A Class 380 would beat a 156 by at least 2 minutes, if not more going up to Clarkson from Giffnock. The EK route could easily be retimed once it is electrified and probably cut between 5-7min off the total journey time from Central to EK. No hills for an electric unit!

 

[Frankton Junct]

Early this morning, the contractor installed the catenary and contact wires on the Down Barrhead line from Crossmyloof Gardens to the Pollokshaws Bowling Club.

 

[MadMac]

The 156s acceleration going up the hill between Giffnock and Clarkston is so slow I’d be surprised if a class 380 didn’t beat it by at least 30 seconds.

I don’t know if you ever experienced it in a 1st generation DMU: it was worse…..

It's frustrating that as the focus is about to switch to the EK line with the imminent completion of the Barrhead line, so little information is in the public domain. How many bridges will have to be altered and in what ways?

Biggest problems I see from my non-civil engineering perspective are Clarkston Toll (major road) and Thorntonhall (right next to the station). Everything else should be relatively straightforward including getting rid of redundant bridges (I think a couple near Hairmyres were removed recently). Beyond Hairmyres, the bridges are modern and shouldn’t present any clearance issues.