Update: East West Rail (Western Section)

At a Public Presentation last Monday it was announced that the "Local
Rail" option has been chosen to go forward to final design costing/
submission for approval stage. This is the 1 tph Oxford- Milton Keynes
Central plus 1 tph Oxford- Bedford and 1 tph Aylesbury- Milton Keynes
Central all via Bletchley flyover (with new island platform (inc. bay)
option which local authorities and developers will largely fund.
Bletchley Bedford all stations (School kids!) downgraded to 1 per
approx. each 2 hours. If proposed Eco town west of town goes ahead
then new station Bicester Parkway will be built and Islip closed.
Network Rail have suggested that signalling and level crossings are
configured or replaced to allow for 100mph line speed over majority of
route and 6 tph capacity to cater for the planned freight and
Southampton - Manchester cross country. Additional costs over original
plan should be picked up by them. An attempt to bring forward major
resignalling in Oxford could result in running into main station
rather than proposed platform 100m away (by Turbo sidings). If not
possible, then the entire route to be signalled from Marston Vale line
signalling centre which was built recently with that eventuality in
mind.
Things are moving!
JohnG

"JohnG" <jpgreen90@> wrote in message
news:0e0ad752-26c2-4df4-a5a8-1d93e93a19c8@8g2000hse..com...

> Network Rail have suggested that signalling and level crossings are
> configured or replaced to allow for 100mph line speed over majority of
> route and 6 tph capacity to cater for the planned freight and
> Southampton - Manchester cross country.

I've seen this latter point mentioned a few times in the past, but surely
the whole rationale behind 'cross country' is the Birmingham based hub and
spoke network? Are the pros and cons of this diversion explained anywhere?

Didn't one of the recent E/W rail reports suggest problems with the junction
onto the WCML slow lines north of Bletchley - have these been overcome?

Paul

On 21 Jun, 20:40, Tony Polson <docnews2...@> wrote:

> I cannot see much demand for an Oxford-Bletchley service, and
> there may not be the capacity at MK Central for 3 trains per hour.

Even after the new platforms are finished? The signs on Platform 5 at
MKC say that part of the reason for the work is to accommodate trains
from Oxford.

Ian

The Real Doctor wrote:
> On 21 Jun, 20:40, Tony Polson <docnews2...@> wrote:
>
>> I cannot see much demand for an Oxford-Bletchley service, and
>> there may not be the capacity at MK Central for 3 trains per hour.
>
> Even after the new platforms are finished? The signs on Platform 5 at
> MKC say that part of the reason for the work is to accommodate trains
> from Oxford.
>

How are they getting on with the works at MK - the signs I saw a few weeks
ago suggested a 'new platform' was opening in June - is that presumably the
north end of current platform 5 (to become the southbound slow platform 7
IIRC)?

Paul

Neil Williams wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:49:08 +0100, "Paul Scott"
> <notvalidpmscott@> wrote:
>
>> How are they getting on with the works at MK - the signs I saw a few
>> weeks ago suggested a 'new platform' was opening in June - is that
>> presumably the north end of current platform 5 (to become the
>> southbound slow platform 7 IIRC)?
>
> Eh?
>
> It's Platform 6, which is on the A5 side of the station, which will be
> a second northbound fast platform to allow non-stop VTs to overtake
> stopped VTs in the new West Coast Taktfahrplan. It was being fitted
> up with signage and roofing today - nearly done!

I was aware of that - I simply read the previous poster's reference to
platform 5 as in context of the Oxford services, and supposed therefore that
platform 5 must have been the existing terminating platform.

Paul

On Jun 21, 10:11�pm, wensleyd...@pacersplace.org.uk (Neil Williams)
wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:49:08 +0100, "Paul Scott"
>
> <notvalidpmsc...@> wrote:
> >How are they getting on with the works at MK - the signs I saw a few weeks
> >ago suggested a 'new platform' was opening in June - is that presumably the
> >north end of current platform 5 (to become the southbound slow platform 7
> >IIRC)?
>
> Eh?
>
> It's Platform 6, which is on the A5 side of the station, which will be
> a second northbound fast platform to allow non-stop VTs to overtake
> stopped VTs in the new West Coast Taktfahrplan. �It was being fitted
> up with signage and roofing today - nearly done!
>
> Next will be the extension north of platform 1 and the through line
> (which will be the second southbound slow platform, currently a bay).
> Once that is open, the Oxford bay can be started, which will be cut
> into the south end of either 1 or 2 (I'm not sure which).
>
> Not sure of the final numbering scheme or if the bay will be 1a with
> the rest as 1-6 or if it'll just be 1-7 in the end.
>
> Neil
>
> --
> Neil Williams
> Put my first name before the at to reply.

Odds-on favourite is bay to be numbered 1a. It probably saves the cost
of six men and a ladder, line possession and electrical isolation, six
lawyers and a partridge in a pear tree! Say �50,000.
JohnG

On Jun 21, 6:32 pm, JohnG <jpgree...@> wrote:
> At a Public Presentation last Monday it was announced that the "Local
> Rail" option has been chosen to go forward to final design costing/
> submission for approval stage. This is the 1 tph Oxford- Milton Keynes
> Central plus 1 tph Oxford- Bedford and 1 tph Aylesbury- Milton Keynes
> Central all via Bletchley flyover (with new island platform (inc. bay)
> option which local authorities and developers will largely fund.
> Bletchley Bedford all stations (School kids!) downgraded to 1 per
> approx. each 2 hours. If proposed Eco town west of town goes ahead
> then new station Bicester Parkway will be built and Islip closed.

Do you have a reference for this news? I'm surprised there is nothing
on the eastwestrail site.

To all the naysayers confidently predicting a lack of demand, I would
point out that the X5 'Beeching bus' frequency has doubled in recent
years due to patronage growth. This is medium-distance traffic rather
than end-to-end - the full journey to Cambridge is rather painful. My
view is that public transport demand at the western end is
significantly suppressed, and this is before considering the 400,000
new homes destined for the MK Growth Area.

On Jun 22, 11:01�am, EE507 <ee....uk> wrote:
> On Jun 21, 6:32�pm, JohnG <jpgree...@> wrote:
>
> > At a Public Presentation last Monday it was announced that the "Local
> > Rail" option has been chosen to go forward to final design costing/
> > submission for approval stage. This is the 1 tph Oxford- Milton Keynes
> > Central plus 1 tph Oxford- Bedford and 1 tph Aylesbury- Milton Keynes
> > Central all via Bletchley flyover (with new island platform (inc. bay)
> > option which local authorities and developers will largely fund.
> > Bletchley Bedford all stations (School kids!) downgraded to 1 per
> > approx. each 2 hours. If proposed Eco town west of town goes ahead
> > then new station Bicester Parkway will be built and Islip closed.
>
> Do you have a reference for this news? �I'm surprised there is nothing
> on the eastwestrail site.
>
>
Not yet. That site has always been way behind with updating. Perhaps a
bit of apathy from the eastern counties authorities as east of Bedford
is over the horizon in terms of timescale! It was a public meeting of
the Bletchley Forum linked to Bletchley Development Board/Bletchley
Regeneration Board/local councillors and about three general public
with updated Powerpoint presentation originally given to South East
England Regional Assembly Regional Transport Board dated 24 January
2008. The presenter was heavily involved in Bathgate reopening. To
answer previous posters query abot Winslow & Newton Longville - Yes
new stations will be provided. On a local note I have seen the
optioneering/planning that goes into exactly where to locate the
stations in relation to proposed housing/employment etc.
JohnG

On 21 Jun, 20:40, Tony Polson <docnews2...@> wrote:
> The only way I can see it happening is if East-West Rail in some way
> facilitates the building of the Eco-Towns near Islip and in Marston
> Vale, and some branch of Government stumps up some free cash that it
> doesn't expect any return on.  The Treasury doesn't often allow that.

Freight runs from Southampton-Didcot through to the WCML isthedriver
behind this, improving the businesscase above the required base.
There otherwise isn't the capacity for all the freight wanting to run
up from the South Coast onto the WCML - even if Leamington - Coventry
were dualled.

Any previous reference to a station a Calvert has now been removed.

EE507 wrote:
> On Jun 21, 6:32 pm, JohnG <jpgree...@> wrote:
>> At a Public Presentation last Monday it was announced that the "Local
>> Rail" option has been chosen to go forward to final design costing/
>> submission for approval stage. This is the 1 tph Oxford- Milton Keynes
>> Central plus 1 tph Oxford- Bedford and 1 tph Aylesbury- Milton Keynes
>> Central all via Bletchley flyover (with new island platform (inc. bay)
>> option which local authorities and developers will largely fund.
>> Bletchley Bedford all stations (School kids!) downgraded to 1 per
>> approx. each 2 hours. If proposed Eco town west of town goes ahead
>> then new station Bicester Parkway will be built and Islip closed.
>
> Do you have a reference for this news? I'm surprised there is nothing
> on the eastwestrail site.
>
> To all the naysayers confidently predicting a lack of demand, I would
> point out that the X5 'Beeching bus' frequency has doubled in recent
> years due to patronage growth. This is medium-distance traffic rather
> than end-to-end - the full journey to Cambridge is rather painful. My
> view is that public transport demand at the western end is
> significantly suppressed, and this is before considering the 400,000
> new homes destined for the MK Growth Area.

Yes but the "MK Growth Area" is actually the MK/South Midlands Growth
area which includes MK/North Bucks, all of Bedfordshire and all of
Northamptonshire. This means stretches from the Northern end of
Northamptonshire at the top (up near Stamford!) to the southern end of
Bedfordshire in the south, and from Daventry & just outside Banbury in
the West to almost as far as St Neots in the East.