Midland Metro New Street Extension – 28th July 2015
I took these pictures as I walked the route of the Midland Metro extension between New Street and Snow Hill stations.
Unfortunately, the battery on my camera gave out, and I had to cut my walk short.
From Oxford To Birmingham
As there wasn’t much of interest to photograph in Oxford, I grabbed myself some gluten-free sandwiches and a drink in Marks and Spencer at the station and took a train to my next destination, Birmingham New Street.
I’ve never done that trip before on the Cross Country Route via Banbury and it was an easy journey of about an hour.
I missed photographing all of the work near Harbury, which is reported here on the BBC. It was a major landslip that closed the railway for some weeks.
As we approached Birmingham, the train seemed to take a circuitous route into Birmingham and at one point, the train passed behind Birmingham City’s football ground.
We were on the Camp Hill Line, which is being proposed for passenger services, according to Wikipedia.
At least such a project would probably be appreciated in Birmingham.
Not Much Going On At Oxford Station
Oxford station is being upgraded in two ways.
A New Southern Platform
According to this section on Further Expansion in Wikipedia, a new Southern platform is to be created on the Long Stay car park to the South of the station. This is said.
The new platform was to have been brought into use during 2011.
When I last looked this morning, we are now in 2015.
Project Evergreen 3
Chiltern Railways are implementing Project Evergreen 3 to bring services from Marylebone to Oxford. Wikipedia says that this is being done at Oxford station.
The scheme also includes two new platforms at Oxford station, to be built on the site of the disused parcels depot. The new platforms would initially be five carriages in length, but provision will be made for them to be extended southwards to eight carriages.
All this should be done by 2016. This article on Modern Railways gives more details about the proposed Chiltern service.
So when I arrived at Oxford station, I expected it to be a hive of activity. These are the pictures I took.
There isn’t even a man in an orange suit trying to look busy! Although the platforms were!
Perhaps this is how Oxford would like to welcome visitors? Hoping perhaps they might stay away!
I think one of the toughest jobs in the world must be a Project Manager in Network Rail. Passengers are rightly complaining that stations are cramped and need building or rebuilding and sometimes it’s impossible to get anything done for whatever reason. Then you have politicians on all sides complaining and saying it’s a total disgrace!
Hopefully Sir Peter Hendy and his new broom will go in to projects like Oxford station with all guns blazing and tell a few home truths.
I’m sure, if Oxford doesn’t want an updated station, then there are some nice projects in Birmingham, where the money would be appreciated.
Over the Reading Viaduct
One of the major new features of the modernisation is the viaduct that eases the bottleneck West of Reading. This article on the BBC web site describes the start of the construction.
I recorded this video as the train I was on went over the Viaduct.
In some ways this probably shows why the upgrading of the Great Western Main Line is such a big project.area to the West of Reading station.
There’s certainly quite a bit of steelwork and overhead wire in the immediate
Where Are The Wires?
I took this video between Twyford and Reading stations.
There is no sign of the overhead wires that will be needed for Crossrail and the electrification of the Great Western Main Line.
To be fair to the comntractors, there was a lot of activity past Reading, so perhaps for various reasons the stretch near London has been left to last. Perhaps they want to get all the trackwork like the Action Dive-Under and the Stockley Flyover completed first!
There may have been lots of steelwork and a few wires between Reading and Didcot, but there wasn’t anything on the Cherwell Valley Line to Oxford.
A Benefit Of The Hackney Downs/Central Link
I don’t pay for my public transport in London, as I have a Freedom Pass, but most people get charged. The cost is very often an important factor for passengers.
This article in The Wharf explains how for some passengers the new walkway at Hackney will save them money, by helping them to easily avoid Zone 1. The article says this.
Funded by Transport for London (TfL), it means passengers at Hackney Central can now easily access trains to north London or Liverpool Street from Hackney Downs, while those at Hackney Downs have fresh options to travel eastbound to Stratford.
Previously passengers had to travel into Zone 1, incurring a higher cost for their journey, or walk 600m.
The article also uses the phrase Hackney Overground interchange. I wonder how long it is before, TfL investigate a new name for the whole complex.
Perhaps it should be one station, as after all the walk between Hackney Downs and Hackney Central is probably about the same length, as some of the longer walks inside the Underground at stations like Bank, Green Park and Kings Cross St. Pancras.
It’s now step free, which can’t be said for some of the Underground treks.
The Anonymous Widower 