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Journey by Journey / London to Didcot, Oxford and Banbury / Re: Black Bridge, Nuneham: southern abutment failure
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on: April 17, 2023, 16:00:57
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Whereabouts are you travelling from? Given your username I would suggest Marlborough (nr. Swindon) in which case GWR▸ advise - https://www.gwr.com/oxford-update - that Service S6 (Swindon - Oxford, via. Farringdon) has an acceptance in place for rail tickets. Nice trip tbh which takes about 1½ - 1¾hrs depending on the time of day and I prefer it to a train trip if time allows. Also the S6 between Swindon and Oxford runs more frequently than the Didcot - Oxford service. The S6 is currently not going into Oxford City Centre though due to the work on the rail bridge by Oxford station. Dave I see they still explain on the GWR site that it’s closed for “detailed safety inspections”. Why can’t they admit in writing that it’s completely failed and they’re now awaiting repair? |
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96
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: Two thirds of ticket sales now advance purchase?
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on: April 09, 2023, 15:42:12
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I firmly believe that the original purpose of Advance fares has been lost. Selling them online 10 mins before the service leaves, for short distance local journeys where people are used to just getting on any train, is almost like setting a trap for the unwary.
There seem to be recent cases in the disputes section of railuk forums where people have tried to buy on the platform for their local journey, but the trainline App has allegedly only offered Advance fares for the next but one train. They’ve then been accused of travelling too early.
Is it a way of TOCs▸ such as Northern getting 100% of the revenue by limiting Advances to their own branded services?
I remember 10 years ago SWT▸ didn’t even offer advance fares for most of their possible journeys, only longer distances, (such as west of Brockenhurst to Waterloo on the mainline), had them available.
Paul
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Journey by Journey / London to Didcot, Oxford and Banbury / Re: Black Bridge, Nuneham: southern abutment failure
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on: April 08, 2023, 18:22:42
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There’s an Environment Agency closure notice for the southern span, lasts for a month, it mentions a pontoon will be present under the bridge, navigation limited to the northern span: This restriction is for initial works to be taken under the south railway arch prior to further bridge repairs, during the overall repair of the bridge abutment.
During this time there will be a restricted river under the southern arch of the railway bridge. Caution is to be taken by boat masters when travelling via northern arch route, as this will be two-way traffic, and masters must take note of any instructions given by staff as to navigation past this point.
A pontoon will be moved into position to enable works to be taken from beneath the railway bridge in the channel. This will completely obstruct the southern arch during works. Subsequently the pontoon will be removed to a safe mooring when work is finished.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuneham-railway-viaduct-repairs-2023-river-restriction-notice/nuneham-railway-viaduct-repairs-2023-river-restriction-notice |
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98
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Journey by Journey / London to Didcot, Oxford and Banbury / Re: Black Bridge, Nuneham: southern abutment failure
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on: April 07, 2023, 11:32:55
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[…]
If new piles are required for a conventional abutment at Nuneham then the bridge deck will need to be removed to give clear vertical space for the drilling rig. But maybe clever NR» bridge engineers have another way of installing a new abutment, eg drilling piles either side of the bridge deck and then casting a beam between them, as Ellendune suggests.
There’s an example of rebuilt abutments at Ludlow, details in the linked article below, where they apparently piled outside and around the plan of the existing piers, the river span was also made slightly smaller: https://www.apbgroup.co.uk/project/rail-bridge-replacement-river-teme-ludlow-1417/For some reason though, I’d assume that for this sort of location, (Nuneham), local planners will be screaming about the replacement having to be identical to the existing… Paul |
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100
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Journey by Journey / Cross Country services / Re: Cross Country Bristol trains to stop at Worcestershire Parkway?
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on: April 04, 2023, 10:28:48
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At the moment, only one train daily from BRI» stops at WOP, that being the 0624 to Stansted Airport. The Manchester service from BRI goes from twice daily to hourly as of 22 May, which would seem an optimum date for the introduction of a stop at WOP. I don't know if the services are worked by a single driver, but the trip MAN-BRI-MAN with a 40 minute layover in Bristol takes 7 hours. But Manchester trains don't show WOP as a pass in RTT» . Does anyone know the reason for that?
I think it might be because WOP is not a compulsory timing point for through trains. RTT adds the passing times using its own calculations, but it’s only done on the day, and they will show for the past week. AFAICT▸ for future days, (ie tomorrow onwards), the only XC▸ services that show are stopping trains on the Cardiff services. |
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Journey by Journey / London to Didcot, Oxford and Banbury / Re: Black Bridge, Nuneham: southern abutment failure
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on: April 03, 2023, 17:23:58
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From the 'Oxford Clarion' on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OxfordClarion/status/1642904141495169024The Oxford–Didcot railway line is likely to be closed for up to three weeks due to the failure of Nuneham Viaduct over the Thames. The speed limit was reduced to 20mph in January, 5mph last week, then closed entirely today, with the line said to be “sinking” into the ground.
One of the brick arches is understood to have undergone severe subsidence, causing a dip in the track. Monitoring equipment, installed recently, showed today that the line is no longer safe. All GWR▸ and CrossCountry services between Oxford and Didcot/Reading have been cancelled.
Tickets are valid on Chiltern services from Oxford to London Marylebone, on Thames Travel X2/X32 buses, and on the Stagecoach S6 to Swindon. A reopening date has not been announced but mid/late April is being suggested informally. Full repairs are expected to take months.
I’m assuming “one of the brick arches” either means one of the land abutments or the river pier, I think there are only 3 in total? The river pier is an arch structure along the line of the river, but I haven’t seen a view of anywhere else. So presumably if it’s the river pier timescales will be more significant? Paul |
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