The Steventon Bridge Problem On The Great Western Railway Electrification
Roger Ford in an article in the April 2016 Edition of Modern Railways, which is entitled GWEP Target Dates And Costs, discusses some of the problems of the electrification.
In one section he talks about the problems caused by the Grade II Listed Steventon Bridge.
This is a picture I took of the bridge from an InterCity 125
Steventon Bridge
Not the best, but it shows the design of the bridge.
This Google Map shows the Great Western Main Line, as it passes just to the south of the village of Steventon in Oxfordshire.
GWML Through Steventon
The bridge is on the Easternmost crossing of the railway, with the other two crossings being level crossings.
Roger explains the problem, which is about putting the overhead electric wires under the bridge.
The overhead wires have to be at maximum height over the level crossings and this means to get the wires under the bridge, they have to dip sharply. This means that excessive wear is caused to the contact wire.
It would appear from the article, that Network Rail are still searching for an acceptable solution.
At least it would appear that one of the level crossings is going to be closed, which could ease matters a shade.
But will the locals put up a fight as Mark Whitby has at the Ordsall Curve?
This article in the Oxford Mail is entitled Demolition of Steventon rail bridge on hold after MP intervention.
Some of the comments are priceless!
My view has a touch of the Philistine about it!
We have thousands of bridges like this and we don’t need to keep them all!
So perhaps we should save the best, but some that would cost too much to keep, should be replaced with modern bridges.
In the case of the Steventon Bridge, if the level crossings didn’t exist, it would appear that the tracks could be lowered under the bridge to give the required headroom.
As level crossings are one of the major causes of death on the railways, we shouldn’t stop until all are eliminated.
It would appear from this document, that one of the level crossings is going to be closed and a height limit of five metres placed on the other.
I think that the ultimate solution for this sort of problem will be technical.
In one of their documents about the use of batteries on trains, Network Rail or Bombardier talk about batteries being used to assist trains over deliberate gaps in overhead wires or third rail.
Third rail generally is not a problem and in the UK, it regularly changes sides and allows the momentum of the train to bridge any gap.
What is needed is a pantograph system, that can be raised to and lowered from the overhead wire with the train at full speed. I don’t know whether this is possible, but I suspect that every other country in the world would just demolish the bridge. I did find some research on the subject on the RSSB web site, which states that SNCF raise pantographs at 225 mph, Deutsche Bahn at 185 mph and Eurostar at 170 mph.
So it is possible!
As a trained Control Engineer, who spent a lot of time in the 1960s simulating dynamic systems, I believe that a system could be designed to lower and raise the pantograph before and after the difficult section.
I suspect that one of the problems here, is that the Class 800 trains that will work this line, were designed in Japan. But this section in Wikipedia about level crossings in Japan, would seem to indicate that the Japanese have a serious problem with level crossings.
Are The TOCs Arguing Over The Class 387 Trains?
The April 2015 Edition of Modern Railways has an article entitled Operators Vying For Class 387s.
Before discussing the article, I’ll describe the trains involved.
Class 387 Trains
At present there are twenty-nine new four-car Class 387 trains running Thameslink services for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR).
- These are dual-voltage 175 kph (110 mph) versions of Electrostars.
- They can run on probably most of the electrified routes in the UK.
- They are about to be replaced by brand-new Siemens Class 700 trains, as these are delivered.
- They are closely related to the Class 379 trains, which were used for the IPEMU prototype in early 2015.
As they become available, they are supposed to go to the Great Western Railway (GWR).
But GWR only have the working electrification from Paddington to Hayes and Harlington station on which to run the trains. As I showed in Hayes and Harlington Station – 28th February 2016, work is progressing at the station and an extended bay platform is being created.
The finish of platform works at the station, will mean a service can be started between Paddington and Hayes and Harlington.
- It will replace the main-line portion of the service between Paddington and Greenford, which is soon to be discontinued.
- It can be used by GWR for driver training.
- Class 387 trains working in GWR livery will be good publicity.
But I can’t see this service needing more than a couple of Class 387 trains.
This picture shows the colour scheme of a Class 387 train, currently working on Thameslink.
The colour of those doors looks suspiciously like GWR green to me! So perhaps the transfer of operator would not require anything more than downloading new software for the passenger information screens and changing the adverts and notices.
In addition to the current twenty-nine trains on Thameslink, Bombardier have three further orders for Class 387 trains.
- Twenty-seven four-car Class 387/2 trains are being delivered for Gatwick Express.
- Eight four-car trains for GWR.
- Twenty four-car trains have been ordered by Porterbrook.
Bombardier are reported to be on the verge of finishing the Gatwick Express order and starting manufacture of more Class 387/1 trains.
Class 442 Trains
The Class 442 trains, which are being replaced on Gatwick Express by Class 387/2 trains are not the most loved trains in the UK’s train fleet.
It is very likely that despite being the fastest third-rail trains in the world, that they will go to the scrapyard as they are replaced.
The only reason some might be retained on Gatwick Express, is so that some Class 387/2 trains could work Thameslink to release a few of the Class 387 trains for other operators.
Class 700 Trains
The Class 700 trains, being built in Germany by Siemens, are replacing the last Class 319 trains and the new Class 387 trains on Thameslink.
So introduction of these trains is important to release Class 387 trains for other operators.
But these trains are only due to be introduced on the 16th April 2016 and there are inevitable questions.
- What is the introduction into service schedule?
- As with all new trains or car, bus or truck for that matter, will there be any teething problems?
- Will they replace the Class 319 or 387 trains first?
- Will the passengers like them?
The last question is the most important and expect lots of moaning about the lack of free wi-fi!
Class 360 Trains
The Class 360 trains, used on Heathrow Connect, have a peripheral role in the argument, as c2c were trying to sublease two of these trains to sort out their capacity problems.
But the well-documented problems of Heathrow Express, have probably meant that these trains are no longer available.
Summarising The Article
The first paragraph of the Modern Railways article entitled Operators Vying For Class 387s, says that several operators are vying for the Class 387/1 trains currently working on Thameslink.
To summarise.
- c2c, who are big Electrostar operators, are still looking for trains after failing to procure Class 360 trains.
- GWR is anxious to get 387s to start driver training.
- GTR wants to retain them, as there is problems with the new Class 700 trains.
- GWR have apparently suggested that GTR retain the Class 442 trains and use the new Class 387/2 Gatwick Expresses on Thameslink.
- GWR wants to start services to Maindenhead earlier than thought.
It looks like there’s a serious argument going on.
The final paragraph offers a solution.
It could be that the quest to find additional short term capacity at c2c may be solved by early delivery of the next batch of 387s, construction of which is to begin shortly at Bombardier’s Derby factory.
Perhaps, building some of Porterbrook’s trains before those destined for GWR, where they have nowhere to run, could happen!
Bombardier are probably being a bit bullish, as after all one of the reasons for the problems would appear to be the new Class 700 trains from Siemens.
Adding An IPEMU Capabilty To Class 387 Trains
Could it also be, that until this argument is settled, we will not be seeing any Class 387 trains converted into IPEMUs?
I believe that a proportion of trains with on-board energy storage could help some of our electrification problems.
Bombardier have stated that all their new Aventra trains will be wired to accept on-board energy storage if the operator desires it be added. This article in Global Rail News gives full details.
In the meantime, the only train that is available that can be given an IPEMU capability is the Class 387 train.
Electric Services To Maidenhead And Reading
The article says this about electrification to Maidenhead.
Whilst the completion date for wiring to Maidenhead is shown in the re-plan of Network Rail’s Enhancements Programme by Sir Peter Hendy as being June 2017, Modern Railways understands that work is ahead of the new schedule and this section may be completed by the end of 2016.
As electrification to Reading is Crossrail’s problem, this might help too, as different structures are being used.
In Rumours Of Battery Trains, I discussed an article in the September 2015 Edition of Modern Railways entitled Class 387s Could Be Battery Powered, which said that GWR’s eight additional Class 387 trains could be battery powered. This was said in Modern Railways.
Delivery as IPEMUs would allow EMUs to make use of as much wiring as is available (and batteries beyond) while electrification pushes ahead under the delayed scheme, and in the longer term would allow units to run on sections not yet authorised for electrification, such as Newbury to Bedwyn. The use of IPEMUs might also hasten the cascade of Class 16x units to the west of the franchise.
But thinking about electrification to Maidenhead in a practical manner, would a train operator want Maidenhead as the terminus of a new electric service.
Remember that the Class 387 trains are required to increase capacity and bring a whole new level of electric traction and modern comfort to services from Paddington to Bedwyn, Newbury, Oxford, Reading and other places in the Thames Valley, so having to change from your old diesel train to a new electric one at Maidenhead is something that will bring out the worst out of passengers.
If you look at train times between Maidenhead and Paddington, some services take up to thirty-six minutes, but the fastest scheduled journey I can find is probably by an InterCity 125 in nineteen. So you can understand, why GWR would like 110 mph Class 387 trains on the route. They could probably do the journey in a few minutes over twenty.
With Chiltern starting an Oxford to Marylebone in December 2016, GWR are probably preparing to lose a lot of their Oxford business. I know which service I’d choose.
But the Class 387 IPEMU would offer a viable alternative.
- Hayes and Harlington station is fully electrified to Paddington and is just under eleven miles from Paddington.
- Reading station is not electrified and is thirty-six miles from Paddington.
- A Class 387 IPEMU has a range of upwards of fifty miles on batteries.
The Class 387 IPEMU would seem to have been designed to handle Paddington to Reading. But I suspect that electric services will not be offered until the wires reach Maidenhead.
So when will GWR be offering an electric local service between Paddington and Reading?
- Trains would use overhead power to the end of the wires and batteries beyond.
- Enough Class 387 trains will have to be converted to IPEMUs
- Enough platforms at Paddington would have be able to accept electric trains.
Could this be why GWR appear to be so keen to take deliveries of Class 387 trains?
From Reading diesel shuttles would work the lines to Bedwyn and Oxford.
So how does this fit in with Modern Railways assertion, that electrification to Maidenhead will be complete before the end of the year?
If GWR take the IPEMU route to provide services between Paddington and Reading, it just means that the train will be less reliant on the batteries, as Maidenhead to Reading is only twelve miles.
To go to anywhere past Reading is probably difficult, as suitable places like Bedwyn, Didcot and Newbury are more than twenty-five miles from Maidenhead, which probably means the range is too much for an IPEMU, as it has to go both ways on battery power.
On the other hand, every extra mile of usable electrification would extend the reach from Paddington.
But there are three places, where Class 387 IPEMUs could operate without major additional electrification; the three branch lines.
- Henley is 11.5 miles from Maidenhead.
- Marlow is 5 miles from Maidenhead.
- Windsor is 2.5 miles from Slough.
There would probably need to be some short lengths of electrification where the branches join the main line, signalling upgrades and platform lengthening. But not electrifying the branches and using IPEMUs would probably be welcomed by Network Rail, as it would sidestep any legal challenges to the electrification on aesthetic and heritage grounds.
In the peaks there are direct services between Bourne End station on the Marlow Branch and London, which seem to take fifty-four minutes. I suspect that a Class 387 IPEMU could do the journey about twenty minutes faster, with electrification between Paddington and Maindenhead.
Onward To Oxford
Electrification to Maidenhead would not give advantages in providing electric services from Reading to Bedwyn, Newbury and Oxford. It’s just too far for a train powered by batteries.
Commercial common sense, would indicate that with Chiltern scheduled to serve Oxford station in December 2016, if there was one destination, where new electric trains must go, it is Oxford.
And by the end of 2016!
It sounds like an impossible dream!
Roger Ford in an article in the April 2016 Edition of Modern Railways, which is entitled GWEP Target Dates And Costs, says this about testing the Class 800 trains.
GWEP’s 16-mile ‘test track’is between Reading and Didcot; It was originally due to have been energised in September last year.
Energisation for test running is now scheduled for September this year.
He also indicated, and I can confirm it, that substantial amounts of the overhead structures have been installed. So I think we can assume that by September, the test track will probably be working.
As an aside here, I wonder if the test track will electrify and use one of the west-facing bay platforms at Reading station.
If we assume that the test track provides a fully-functioning electrified route between Reading and Didcot, it could surely be used by Class 387 IPEMUs to get to Didcot.
- They would use overhead electrification from Paddington to Maidenhead or the end of the wires.
- They would go to Reading on battery power.
- Reading to Didcot would be using the overhead wires put up for the test track.
- Batteries would be charged on both electrified sections.
Oxford is less than twenty miles from Didcot, so reaching Oxford with an electric service is possible before December 2016.
Onward To Bedwyn
Bedwyn is forty-two miles from Maidenhead and thirty from Reading, so it would appear to be another impossible dream, even if there was electrification all the way to Maidenhead from Paddington.
I do think that unless the Great Western Main Line is electrified to Maidenhead, that getting Class 387 IPEMUs to Bedwyn is impossible.
But there are three possibilities to get to Bedwyn from Paddington, if Maidenhead is electrified.
- A bigger battery to give a longer range.
- As the train stops at Reading, it could stop in an electrified platform and charge the battery.
- Electrifying the junction and a short length of the Reading to Taunton Line, perhaps as far as Reading West station.
I’m sure Bombardier, Network Rail and GWR are working on a solution.
It should also be noted that there are two west facing bay platforms used for services to Basingstoke, Bedwyn and Newbury. These could be electrified and Bedwyn could be served by a shuttle.
Onward To Basingstoke
Another possibility would be to use the Class 387 IPEMUs to provide a service along the Reading to Basingstoke Line, which is currently run using diesel multiple units.
It could be charged at Reading by electrifying the two west-facing bay platforms or even at Basingstoke using third-rail electrification in the bay platform.
Conclusion
I believe that all the Thames Valley services out of Paddington could be run by a fleet of Class 387 trains, some or all of which would be IPEMUs, It would be necessary to do the following.
- Electrify between Airport Junction and Maidenhead.
- Allow the use of the test track between Reading and Didcot by Class 387 services travelling past Didcot.
- Electrify selected platforms at Reading station.
The new trains would provide an increase in capacity, faster services and possibly extra routes.
I also believe that it would be possible to serve Oxford using Class 387 IPEMUs by the end of the year. This might persuade passengers not to desert to Chiltern.
Does this all explain GWR’s reluctance to lose the Class 387 trains, that have been earmarked for transfer from Thameslink?
But with other train companies looking jealously at the GWR’s Class 387 trains, it’s no wonder there’s an argument.
Changing Trains At Slough
Yesterday I changed trains at Slough station and took these pictures.
Two pictures were taken a few weeks ago and are added to make the gallery more complete.
The new pictures were taken from Platform 2, which when the electrification is complete and Crossrail has opened, will be the platform serving fast trains to the West.
This Google Map shows the layout of the station.
Slough Station
If you look at the left (West) end of the station, you’ll see the extended platform that in addition being Platform 2, also serves the bay platform 1 for Windsor Branch Line services. I took the pictures from this platform.
Platforms 3 and 4 form a long island platform in the middle of the station, with Platform 5 on the far side.
When Crossrail opens, platforms 4 and 5 will be for that service and platforms 2 ans 3 will serve the main lines.
I am puzzling about how the wires will be passed through the station.
Note the following from my pictures and the Google Map.
- The station is Grade II Listed, with lots of period details.
- A lot of the canopies over the platform are good Victorian examples.
- The station has two footbridges; a restored old one and a new modern one.
- The modern one has probably been built to double as a gantry for the overhead wires, but has the old one been strengthened.
- There is a solitary electrification mast on the island platform and this is paired with one on the far side of Platform 1.
- There is evidence that double foundations are being built for a very large gantry at the far western end of the platforms.
I think that over the next couple of months or so, a lot of clues to Network Rail’s electrification design, will become visible at Slough.
Electrifying Didcot Parkway
I took these pictures as I went through Didcot Parkway station this morning.
They seem to be using T-shaped central masts as they did at West Ham and I wrote about in Central Masts At West Ham.
This Google Map shows the station.
Didcot Parkway Station
If you read the Wikipedia entry for the station, you may come to a similar conclusion to myself – In a decade or so’s time, the pattern of services at the station will be very different.
Wikipedia says this about use of the West Curve that allows trains to go between Oxford and Swindon.
There are at present no scheduled passenger services which use the West Curve to avoid the station on direct services from Oxford to Swindon.
But once the East West Rail Link is built, will we see services from Swindon, Bristol and the West using the West Curve to go to Oxford, Milton Keynes and the East?
Aesthetic Problems With Overhead Wires On The Great Western
The April 2016 Edition of Modern Railways has an article entitled Thames Valley Wires Retrofit Planned. This is said.
A retrofit of overhead electrification on the section of the Great Western main line between Reading and Didcot is on the cards following complaints about the visual impact of the current design.
This are some pictures of the overhead gantries.
In my view, the design of the overhead gantries may well be better from a structural and reliability point of view, but it isn’t going to win plaudits for looking good.
Network Rail will have to do better!
A Trip To Cardiff
Yesterday, I went to Cardiff to see Ipswich lose to Cardiff City.
These are some pictures I took on the way.
I think it is true to say that the electrification is being put up by snails and there seems to be little progress since I wrote Passing Didcot Power Station twelve months ago.
Note the following.
- Very little seems to be happening around Reading station, except the erection of a few masts.
- The cause of a lot of the trouble – the HOPS train at Swindon.
- The depot for the Class 800/801 trains at Filton Triangle.
- The extra platforms at Cardiff Central station.
- The work at Cardiff to create a new Central Square.
A lot of the work, that is this side of Bristol, is a total disaster.
What Will Oxford Think Of This
Over the last couple of years, certain interest groups in Oxford have not been very pleased with the plans of Network Rail, Chiltern Rail and Great Western Railway to give the city an improved rail connection.
I wrote about this opposition in Network Rail’s Problem In Oxford.
So I was surprised to see this article on the BBC web site, which is entitled Oxford station design competition winners revealed. This is said.
Three competition ideas have been picked to help secure funding for a £125m revamp of Oxford railway station.
Six architects submitted designs to a contest launched in December by the city and county councils.
A proposal featuring a rooftop restaurant by firm AHR was chosen by a panel of judges and scored 70% in a public vote.
This is an image from the article of the winning design.
New Oxford Station Design
I agree with the panel and the general public.
But is it too good to be wasted on Oxford?
Electrification Delays On The Great Western Railway Must Be Serious
This article in Rail Magazine is entitled GWR and DfT discuss ‘revised plan’ after electrification delays and it talks about what is to be done to get a decent passenger service running on the Great Western Railway, despite all of the delays to the electrification program.
If you want to know more of the problem this article on the BBC web site from July 2015 is an excellent summary.
- The under-performance of the High Output Plant System, a factory train made up of 23 vehicles, has, according to rail observers, made a big contribution to Network Rail falling at least a year behind schedule.
- The whole electrification project for the Great Western line was really based on the High Output train because of the amount of work it could do so much more quickly,
- Engineering insiders told the BBC that a newly designed wiring system did not match the specification of the holes the Hops train was designed to dig and that a new design of pile-tubes hammered into the ground to house the thousands of electrification masts – went in too deep after ground surveys were missed.
- Even where the Hops train has managed to dig holes, it has damaged existing signalling cables.
- Network Rail is short on experienced engineers and experienced operators – people who know how to run a railway.
- It was decided by the Department for Transport that the new trains will be 26m long per vehicle and our railways are built for 23m long,
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a badly-designed and executed project in my long years on the dark fringes of project management.
So now it is sucking engineers and resources out of every other electrification project in the UK!
For instance, on my local electrification of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line, nothing much seems to have happened for the last few weeks.
I had to have a quiet chuckle, when I read this last paragraph in the Rail Magazine article.
GWR has tested short-formation High Speed Trains, and these could potentially be used on longer-distance services currently operated by multiple units, such as Cardiff-Portsmouth and Exeter-Penzance. They could also be used on some of the longer branch lines in the South West, such as Par-Newquay and Exeter-Barnstaple, although neither GWR nor the DfT would confirm this. A potential additional order for bi-mode AT300 hybrid trains could also be under consideration.
Terry Miller’s wonderful stop-gap design of the 1970s; the High Speed Train, is coming to the rescue again.
But then very serious problems, need the most serious of solutions!
I’m not running Network Rail and I’m not the Transport Minister, but in my view, it is now time to think extremely radically.
- Electrify as far as possible from London and run Class 387 trains or dependable-but-ugly Class 319 trains where you can.
- Run services to Bedwyn, Newbury, Oxford and the various branches East of Didcot using IPEMU variants of Class 387 trains.
- Replace as many HSTs on the East Coast Main Line as possible with new Class 800/801 trains and deploy Miller’s Masterpieces to the Great Western.
- Build new Class 800 electro diesel trains, instead of Class 801 electric trains and use them on the routes of TransPennine and Hull Trains.
We have been lucky with our train purchases and development.
- Class 800 and Class 801 are identical except for the diesel engines.
- Class 700 trains are being delivered to release Thameslink’s Class 387 and Class 319 trains.
- There are fifty or so Class 387 trains, that could be converted into IPEMUs, which would have a sixty mile range on batteries.
- Bombardier could probably build a few more Class 387 trains, alongside the Aventras.
I think that many places will get different and probably better and bigger trains, but not everyone will get the expected new electric trains.
Towards A Thames Valley Metro!
After my visit yesterday to Twyford Station and the Henley Branch and today to The Marlow Branch, I think something bigger could be emerging.
On the Great Western Main Line, between Paddington and Didcot, there are several branch lines and other more major routes that run local services into Reading and/or Paddington.
Taken in order from Paddington, they are.
- Acton to Northolt Line – 11 miles – Rather a leftover line that gets used for all sorts of traffic, including freight, diversions and driver training.
- Greenford Branch from West Ealing – 2.7 miles – Another leftover line, that is being rerouted to a bay platform at West Ealing – Could be transferred to the London Overground.
- Brentford Branch Line – 4 miles – Freight only
- Staines and West Drayton Line – 5.5 miles – Freight only.
- Windsor and Eton Branch from Slough – 2.5 miles
- Marlow Branch from Maidenhead – 7.15 miles – I wrote about it in The Marlow Branch.
- Henley Branch from Twyford – 4.5 miles – I wrote about it in Twyford Station and the Henley Branch
- Waterloo to Reading Line – Electrified, but links to the North Downs Line for Gatwick Airport, which isn’t!
- Reading to Basingstoke Line – To be electrified, with possibly some extra stations.
- Cherwell Valley Line from Didcot Parkway – To be electrified.
What follows are my observations.
Class 387 IPEMU Trains
Great Western Railway is to receive twenty-nine Class 387 trains from Thameslink and eight new ones from the factory.
These could easily be upgraded to IPEMU variants by the addition of batteries.
Once the power is switched on as far as Didcot Parkway station, I suspect that all these mainly short branches could be run using IPEMU trains, if passenger services were required or required to be run by electric trains.
Some like Greenford, Windsor and Eton, Marlow and Henley, would be as now, one train per branch. But elderly two car diesels would be replaced by new four car electric trains with a superior performance.
In Rumours of Battery Powered Trains, I reported on an article in Modern Railways magazine, which speculated that the extra Class 387 trains were to be IPEMUs and that they could be used on routes like Bedwyn and Oxford.
So it’s not my speculation!
Electrification Of The Branches
Some of the branches like Marlow Branch with its unusual layout and the Bourne End bridge and Windsor and Eton Branch with the historic nature of where it goes, will not be straightforward, as I suspect the heritage lobby will have a field day. As I wrote in Why We Should Use Independently Powered Electric Trains, the opposition to electrification in sensitive areas is stirring.
Electrification of the Greenford Branch might be more straightforward, but with five stations and a terminus in a bay platform at Greenford, I would suspect that a dedicated Class 387 IPEMU would cost less and only require the bay platform at West Ealing station to be electrified.
North Downs Line
In some ways, the North Downs Line is the most interesting, as I think that a dual-voltage IPEMU could easily supply a high quality service between Reading and Gatwick.
At present the direct service is hourly and takes around eighty minutes, using a two car Class 156 train.
Reading to Gatwick by Crossrail and Thameslink could on current figures and predictions for Crossrail times, take a few minutes over a hundred.
So the current direct route is quicker now with Class 165 diesel trains!
What difference would a faster four-car electric train make?
Crossrail’s Effect On The Great Western Main Line
The biggest effect will be when Crossrail arrives at all stations on the Great Western Main Line from Paddington to Reading.
Stations like Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford, where branches connect, will see a positive effect, as I suspect that more connections to and from the branches will be easier and involve less waiting.
Improving Services On The Branches
I think we could see some reorganisation of the services on the branch lines to give increased frequencies?
I think if Great Western Railway take the IPEMU route instead of electrifying the branches, there is scope for providing improved services from Slough to Reading and on the branches in the area. Diagrams could be arranged that after trundling down a few branches, the IPEMU did a section on the electrified lines to charge the batteries.
On thing I noticed on my trip to Marlow, was that Network Rail seem to be installing a lot of bay platforms at Crossrail stations. Some are London-facing for flexibility in the Crossrail schedules, but some are facing the other way. Could Network Rail be thinking out of the box and making sure, they don’t compromise any possible future services?
Reading As An Important Hub
As the routes develop, it would almost be like a Thames Valley Metro centred on the extremely well-connected Reading.
- Great Western Railway to Wales, the West Country and London
- Crossrail to London and beyond.
- Cross-Country Trains to the South, Midlands and North
- In a few years time the East West Rail Link could join Reading to Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and the East.
The Class 387 IPEMU trains could serve the following stations from Reading, with very little extra electrification and perhaps the odd curve or two.
- Basingstoke
- Bedwyn
- Gatwick Airport
- Heathrow Airport
- Henley-on-Thames
- London Paddington
- Marlow
- Newbury
- Oxford
- Windsor and Eton Central
- Wokingham
If the Marlow Branch were to be extended, the trains could even reach High Wycombe.
Reading is going to have a very interesting time!
The Marlow Branch
After my exploration yesterday of Twyford Station And The Henley Branch, I felt I had to explore one of the other branches today.
So I took the Great Western Railway to Maidenhead station and went up and down the Marlow Branch Line.
Unlike at Twyford, where you have several minutes to make the connection, at Maidenhead, I only had a couple, so pictures of Maidenhead station are a bit sparse in the gallery. However, I did take some others in Before Crossrail Maidenhead Station.
Much of what was said about the Henley Branch applies to the Maidenhead Branch.
- It is a short branch of just over seven miles with a change of direction in the middle at Bourne End station.
- An IPEMU would appear to be more than capable of providing a service on the line.
- At a quick look, it would appear that the platforms at Bourne End, Cookham, Furze Platt and Marlow stations could easily be made long enough for a four car train.
- The line has several level crossings and a couple of low bridges, that could cause problems with traditional electrification.
- Bourne End Railway Bridge is an historic bridge and I doubt that the heritage lobby would allow it to be electrified using overhead wires.
Operation
One almost unique quirk of the line is that the reversal of direction at Bourne End, where the driver has to walk to the other end of the train.
The Class 165 train is over twenty years old and was built before trains had modern control and wi-fi systems. Surely, a modern train could be driven from the rear, using CCTV for forward vision between Bourne End and Marlow.
Extending From Bourne End To High Wycombe
I think that it is true to say, that a lot of people would be very pleased if the branch line still continued past Bourne End and on to High Wycombe station.
This Google Map shows Bourne End station.
Bourne End Station
Note how the line from Maidenhead comes in from the South West and the line continues to Marlow along the river after the change of direction. The former line to High Wycombe is visible as a green scar going off to the North East.
I certainly think that the ambitious natures of Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway and Crossrail/Transport for London will mean that this extension to effectively make High Wycombe one change away from Crossrail will be seriously looked at by the train companies.
The Anonymous Widower 