Gunnersbury 9-day Blockade

Richard J. wrote:
> Why does it take 9 days to replace a double-track junction? Have there
> been any recent replacements of similar junctions that have been done
> over a weekend, for example?

The junction is in rather poor shape at the moment - while it is laid
with flatbottom rail, the sleepers are all wood and fishplates abound.
The chord to Acton Lane Junction used by the District is in exceedingly
bad shape (it's all bullhead rail!) and the chord to Bollo Lane
Junction suffers from a down line laid with wooden sleepers.

Drainage in the area of the junction is also rather bad - a short panel
between the trailing points of the junction and the trailing points of
the crossover was removed and relaid because of wet beds. The lack of
space under the overbridge probably also complicates matters.

TheOneKEA wrote:
> Richard J. wrote:
>> Why does it take 9 days to replace a double-track junction? Have
>> there been any recent replacements of similar junctions that have
>> been done over a weekend, for example?
>
> The junction is in rather poor shape at the moment - while it is
> laid with flatbottom rail, the sleepers are all wood and fishplates
> abound. The chord to Acton Lane Junction used by the District is in
> exceedingly bad shape (it's all bullhead rail!) and the chord to
> Bollo Lane Junction suffers from a down line laid with wooden
> sleepers.

I've no doubt the junction itself is in rather poor shape, which is why
it's to be relaid. The plain line stretches to Bollo Lane and Acton
Lane Junction could easily be relaid in weekend possessions.

> Drainage in the area of the junction is also rather bad - a short
> panel between the trailing points of the junction and the trailing
> points of the crossover was removed and relaid because of wet beds.
> The lack of space under the overbridge probably also complicates
> matters.

Excuses, excuses. There were drainage problems at Victoria at the start
of the District Line relaying works, which necessitated an extra weekend
closure. And the lack of space under the overbridge is not exactly a
rare occurrence (e.g. District Line tunnels). What I'm struggling to
understand is why it's really necessary to suspend the heavily-loaded
peak Richmond line services for a whole week. Or is it just Network
Rail deciding it's more convenient for them to mount a blockade, and sod
the passengers?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Richard J. wrote:
> I've no doubt the junction itself is in rather poor shape, which is why
> it's to be relaid. The plain line stretches to Bollo Lane and Acton
> Lane Junction could easily be relaid in weekend possessions.

Indeed. I'm not suggesting that the reason for the blockade is to
permit this to be done - I'm merely pointing out what the conditions
are at the site.

> There were drainage problems at Victoria at the start
> of the District Line relaying works, which necessitated an extra weekend
> closure. And the lack of space under the overbridge is not exactly a
> rare occurrence (e.g. District Line tunnels). What I'm struggling to
> understand is why it's really necessary to suspend the heavily-loaded
> peak Richmond line services for a whole week. Or is it just Network
> Rail deciding it's more convenient for them to mount a blockade, and sod
> the passengers?

That may very well be the case. Personally I don't quite understand why
they need nine contiguous days to do it - four I could understand,
seven would be a stretch, but nine?