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Journey by Journey => South Western services => Topic started by: Chris from Nailsea on October 24, 2012, 21:52:42



Title: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on October 24, 2012, 21:52:42
From the Wokingham Times (http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2122877_work_on_new_wokingham_station_to_start_next_month):

Quote
(http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/sbres/440.$plit/C_67_article_2122877_body_articleblock_0_bodyimage.jpg?24%2F10%2F2012%2015%3A56%3A15%3A278)

Work on a new multi-million pound train station in Wokingham will start next month.

The new station promises passengers improved retail facilities, better waiting areas and new information screens.

A new footbridge linking both platforms will also be built, along with a new access road and interchange to improve links with other forms of public transport.

The ^6 million project, funded by Wokingham Borough Council, the National Station Improvement Programme and Access for All money, will be carried out by Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance.

A public open event will take place at Wokingham Town Hall, in Market Place, between 2pm and 8pm on Wednesday, November 7, for people to ask questions.

The scheme is due to be completed in August next year, but trains will run as normal while work is taking place.

Call Network Rail^s national helpline on 08457 114141 for more information.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Thatcham Crossing on October 26, 2012, 08:28:34
This was being discussed in detail on local radio (BBC Berks) a few mornings ago and mention was made that there will also be extensive alterations to the road system around the station as part of this.

The bit I recall is that the mini roundabout immediately adjacent to the level crossing will be going and that there were be traffic lights, co-ordinated with the crossing, that will control flows instead. I think the idea is to give priority to traffic coming towards the town up Barkham Ride when the barriers are open, which makes sense.

The best thing of all of course would be to get rid of the crossing altogether and put a bridge in, but I suspect space and cost would be the main issues, just like they are in Thatcham!


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on November 16, 2012, 19:48:26
From  Get Wokingham (http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2124075_wokingham_station_work_on_track_for_next_summer)

Quote
Wokingham station work on track for next summer
 By Jon Nurse
 November 15, 2012

 

Rail bosses say the town will be able to take pride in the ^6 million train station when it opens next summer.
 
Work starts two weeks today on Wokingham station which will include a new footbridge to the platforms and an access road with a public transport interchange.
 
More than 40 people saw plans at an exhibition at Wokingham Town Hall on Wednesday.
 
Julie Worman, communications officer for contractor Spencer Group, said: ^People recognise they need a new station and 99.9 per cent have been really positive about it.
 
^There have been concerns from Alderman Willey Close over noise levels but their fears have been allayed by the team.
 
^We are working very hard to inform interested people in the community and if we need to come back and hold a similar event again in six months we will.^
 
Preparatory works start on November 28 before substantive works begin in January.
 
Michael Bunker, 69, of Alderman Willey Close, said: ^I think Wokingham needed a station years ago ^ it^s disgusting at the moment.
 
^The design is nothing like the old Victorian one they pulled down years ago but it serves a purpose.
 
^We overlook the back of the station car park and there^s always work going on there at night.
 
^My main concern is how much work will be going on at night and how disruptive it^s going to be. They say there will only be a small proportion of night work. I^m sceptical.^
 
The station promises passengers shops, improved waiting areas and new information screens.
 
Ian Moorhouse, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: ^It has the potential to bring more people to Wokingham and it will certainly encourage more people to travel by rail.
 
^By summer next year we will have a facility Wokingham can be proud of.
 
^A lot of thought has gone into the design and we want to use materials that compliment the existing buildings rather than going against them. There^s also going to be a lot of trees and greenery.^
 
Wokingham MP John Redwood said: ^m encouraged by what I^m hearing but there have been so many false starts I^ll believe it when I see the bulldozers moving in.
 
^I look forward to a new station and it looks a lot better than what^s there now.^
 
Piermario Bonomi, 31, of Bracknell, who was at the exhibition, said: ^It looks modern and I don^t know how much it will fit with Wokingham and its historic heritage but much better than what^s there today. With the link road added I think it^s a good overall project.^
 
He was particularly pleased to see the footbridge will include a lift.
 
^My parents come to this station from Gatwick when they arrive from Italy,^ he said. ^The current bridge is very slippy and has no elevator for their heavy luggage so it^s always been a pain for them to cross platforms.^

There is an artist's impression of the proposed front of the station in the article.  I'm sure when Chris from Nailsea has finished his dinner he'll work out how to post it!  ;D


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on November 16, 2012, 20:17:30
Cheeky git!  ;D

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(http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/sbres/749.$plit/C_67_article_2124075_body_articleblock_0_bodyimage.jpg?14%2F11%2F2012%2016%3A38%3A18%3A119)
Rail bosses say Wokingham will be able to take pride in the ^6 million train station when it opens next summer

That's a pint you owe me.  :-X


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: JayMac on November 16, 2012, 21:51:50
Is the clock tower with the mahoosive 'double arrow' logo really necessary?

Yes, it looks good, but what of the cost for this cosmetic embellishment.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on November 16, 2012, 21:54:34
A pint for each of us, from bobm.  ;)


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on November 16, 2012, 22:17:06
If they rebuild the Molly Millars pub opposite the station (or whatever it is called these days) I'd stand you one there!  Otherwise there is a trusty Wetherspoons a ten minute walk away.  Not that I particularly want to go to Wokingham in the near future!!

Where's the Coffee Shop Christmas party this year? ;D ;D

As to the matter in hand I think that tower will look out of place and not really necessary.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on November 16, 2012, 22:27:24
On a rather more serious note: is that tower in fact to be part of the new lift / footbridge structure (allowing for the inevitable artistic licence, obviously)?


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: ellendune on November 16, 2012, 22:32:47
The clock is an absolute necesity for any 19th century so that people arriving for their train can find out the correct "railway time" and can find that they have (a) plenty of time and can amble the last few yards; (b) have missed it already (ditto); or (c) are just about to miss it so run and get knocked down by a horse and carriage crossing the road.  


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on November 16, 2012, 23:51:10
On a rather more serious note: is that tower in fact to be part of the new lift / footbridge structure (allowing for the inevitable artistic licence, obviously)?
I did wonder that but from that angle it seems a lot higher that what appears to be a footbridge in the foreground.   Also if it is a lift tower it would need a footbridge to get passengers over the line once it had elevated them above track level and would they really build two footbridges at a station of Wokingham's size?


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on November 17, 2012, 00:37:20
Fair comment.

However, after doing a bit of digging on the internet, I've found another image from the Wokingham Times (http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2095656_first_glimpse_of_new_station):

(http://m.gmgrd.co.uk/sbres/152.$plit/C_67_article_2095656_body_articleblock_2_bodyimage.jpg?06%2F07%2F2011%2009%3A05%3A39%3A969)

That's another pint you owe me.  ;)


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: JayMac on November 17, 2012, 00:42:01
K. The tower is only a few bricks thick. Not too expensive then. I could knock that up in less than three months, even with my limited bricklaying skills.  :-\

Only took me two and a bit weeks to build the wall in the back garden. Four foot high, ten feet long and two bricks thick. 

:P ;) ;D


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on November 17, 2012, 09:32:53
Looks very impressive compared to what is there now.  Meanwhile it looks like there has been some sort of aerial dog fight in the skies above it!   ;D ;D

CfN - I have added the pint to your tab.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: paul7575 on November 17, 2012, 11:44:15
The original 2011 NR press release here:

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/6105/PLANS-REVEALED-FOR-NEW-STATION-AT-WOKINGHAM

...includes four drawings, and it looks as though the recent news is just re-using old images. 

Can't see any sign of lifts though, so is the 'step free access' simply level access from either of two entrances?

Paul



Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on February 01, 2013, 22:37:15
From the Wokingham Times (http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2128202_train_station_cafe_owner_fears_end_of_the_line_with_new_station):

Quote
Train station cafe owner fears end of the line with new station

A retailer fears his business could reach the end of the line as Wokingham^s new railway station approaches. Jas Sohal, owner of Steamers internet caf^ at Wokingham station, is accusing rail bosses of bullying him out of business.

The caf^ was served an eviction notice in November, nine months before the new station is due to open, and will be forced to tender for new retail space, which could see it out muscled by a chain.

Mr Sohal said: ^South West Trains are getting rid of the smaller operators and bringing in chain brands. You see the same ones in every station. Wokingham has a tradition of independent quality retailers and this could be a nail in its coffin. The station doesn^t warrant a tender process. There^s absolutely no need for it. We^ve been very reliable tenants. Could they not give us first refusal? I don^t understand why they want to get rid of us.^

The Winnersh father-of-three added: ^The business is finished if we don^t secure the lease. We are asking them to communicate and negotiate with us.^

Mr Sohal has vowed to start a petition to show the community^s desire to save the company.

His wife Simmi added: ^Customers say they want us to be there ^ they are so happy with the service. Staff at the ticket office have even written to them to ask if we could stay. We are scared. This is our livelihood and they^re behaving like big bullies.^

Steamers has been open since 2005 and the Sohals feel it has become an integral part of the station. ^We open the station every morning,^ Mr Sohal explained. ^We open at 4.30am in time for the first train to Gatwick at 4.40am. Rain or shine we are always there.^

The cafe secured an extension to its lease until Monday after MP John Redwood intervened but the couple fear for the future as they attempt to negotiate an extension to May.

Mr Sohal said: ^I don^t understand why they would want nine months with no retail unit before the new station opens, but they said it was short term pain for long term gain.^

Mark Walton, Wokingham Chamber of Commerce chairman, added: ^m sure the people of Wokingham and the rail passengers will have their say if they can^t get a coffee or a newspaper before the new station is open.^

He added he understands why South West Trains is choosing to go to tender, but reaffirmed his support for local traders.

Mr Redwood added: ^I want the best for Wokingham in that space. I can understand why they [South West Trains] want an open process and it^s sensible to look at what^s on offer.^

A South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance spokeswoman said: ^We are working on a major redevelopment of Wokingham station which will deliver improved passenger facilities. As part of this, we are taking the opportunity to review the services available at the station and will be introducing a enhanced new tenancy unit. We have been in close discussion with the existing tenant over these plans for some months and remain in discussions over future opportunities.^


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on April 29, 2013, 10:47:17
Can't see any sign of lifts though, so is the 'step free access' simply level access from either of two entrances?

The "Access for all" footbridge and the new station were planned separately, and I think run as separate contracts (managed by SWT and NR respectively). Even the plans they submitted to planning for both showed the other its "before" state, until I prodded them to do better.

The pretty pictures of the station (posted previously) also show the old footbridge. The new one is much taller, because of the lift headgear - that was the main comment during the planning consultation. Of course this is permitted development so neither the public's comments not the planning department can alter any of that. The "totem" is shown as 9.2 m high, and is not a square tower but a flat "plank" 2.4 x 0.67m. The bridge is, from the same ground level, 10 m high so, from the front, the bridge will be more prominent than the edge-on totem.

The work you can see now is for the link road rather than the station. The announcements said the station would be done first, and it may still be finished first, but of course the groundwork takes most of the time.  I suspect a lot has been done preparing for the station and footbridge build, but it has mostly been moving wires so not very visible. While a foundation still has to be laid, I guess that erecting an Ikea station kit on it will be pretty quick.



Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 01, 2013, 00:43:06
The bit I recall is that the mini roundabout immediately adjacent to the level crossing will be going and that there were be traffic lights, co-ordinated with the crossing, that will control flows instead. I think the idea is to give priority to traffic coming towards the town up Barkham Ride when the barriers are open, which makes sense.

The best thing of all of course would be to get rid of the crossing altogether and put a bridge in, but I suspect space and cost would be the main issues, just like they are in Thatcham!
The station link road plan (rather than the new station itself) does indeed put the level crossing inside a traffic-light controlled junction. When I was preparing my submission to the consultation on this plan, I tried (with Google's help) to find any other examples of this. We only found one: at Basford in Nottingham. Does anyone know of any more?

I also wanted to find out ORR's attitude to giving level crossing orders (LCOs) for such a case, and despite getting to talk to an infrastructure inspector I did not really find out. One aspect of this is that the council have always said changing these junctions to reduce congestion at the crossing depends on the new road, but I think you just need to give priority to traffic off the crossing (remember there's now a roundabout only a short car's length away on one side). The new scheme bans loads of turns by the crossing, and that could be done now too.

The ORR's guidance on LCOs emphasises queuing traffic on level crossings as a bad thing for safety, so removing obstructions to flows off the crossing meets both objectives.  So one thing I wondered was whether the ORR, asked about a new LCO, might insist on these changes to the current arrangement and resist the traffic lights.

Oh, and as I live very close to the crossing, I'd rather you didn't suggest putting a replacement bridge at the same site - i.e. right outside my front door. It's the wrong place, anyway, as we really need to shift through traffic out of town.

PS: one of the banned turns means that if you go down Station Road you won't be able to turn into the station - which has caused some amusement to the locals, but would only confuse visitors.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on May 01, 2013, 21:30:59
Many thanks for posting your well-considered thoughts here, stuving.

The only vaguely similar comparison I can offer, on the spur of the moment, is on the vexed question of the possible location of the necessary new station at Portishead - see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=231.msg131357#msg131357 and subsequent posts.



Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on May 02, 2013, 09:27:16
From  Getwokingham. (http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2133433_negotiations_for_crucial_new_railway_bridge_continue)

Quote
Negotiations for "crucial" new railway bridge continue
Negotiations to build a ^crucial^ bridge over the railway line to link thousands of new homes to the town centre are continuing behind the scenes.
 
Wokingham MP John Redwood and borough council leader Councillor David Lee have regularly been meeting Network Rail and Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin to thrash out the plans and funding.
 
The bridge taking traffic over the railway line will be on the Southern Distributor Road (SDR), which will be part-built during the first phase of work for 650 homes at Buckhurst Farm. But discussions are ongoing with Network Rail about payments to allow the road to cross the railway.

Cllr Lee said: ^The bridge is crucial as it allows the second part of the site to be developed.

^We have had regular meetings with ministers and hopefully we will come to a final agreement with the developer and Network Rail on how much it will cost. They tried to seek benefit from the development of the site by allowing us to cross the railway. Not everyone would agree with that argument.
 
^John Redwood and [transport minister] Patrick McLoughlin have been doing their best to oil the wheels towards an agreement.^
 
The SDR will branch from London Road, turning through Buckhurst Farm before crossing the railway line and heading west to join the Tesco roundabout in Finchampstead Road.
 
Council officers estimate 1,400 cars will use the SDR during peak hours in the morning and 1,100 cars during peak evening times in 2026.
 
John Redwood MP has stressed to ministers that Network Rail must be ^sensible^ in negotiating the bridge that shouldn^t be used ^as a ransom opportunity against the local community^.
 
Mr Redwood said: ^Network Rail think they have a right to payment from us for a bridge over the line but it^s a public asset.
 
^The Government were very happy to back it so the remaining obstacle is Network Rail.
 
^I would expect Network Rail will do their best to make it extremely difficult as they did for many years over a new station.
 
^m doing my best to change their method of approach.^
 
He added if Network Rail wanted money for the scheme bosses should make their demands soon so the project can continue to progress.
 
Cllr Lee added funding for the bridge would come from the developer. He also confirmed work would need to be done on the railway bridge in Finchampstead Road to allow for lorries as part of the wider project.
 
A spokesman for Network Rail said: ^We fully support new bridges which make crossing the railway safer for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists and discussions continue with all parties associated with a proposed nearby housing scheme regarding the development and a potential new bridge in the area.^


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 02, 2013, 10:51:34
From  Getwokingham. (http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2133433_negotiations_for_crucial_new_railway_bridge_continue)
^We have had regular meetings with ministers and hopefully we will come to a final agreement with the developer and Network Rail on how much it will cost. They tried to seek benefit from the development of the site by allowing us to cross the railway. Not everyone would agree with that argument.

That's more than odd - we were told that this new bridge would result in the closure of one if not both of the other (i.e. not station) level crossings, and I imagine that any LC closure has a cash value to NR. Of course they do have significant costs in what they have to do so that a bridge can be built over their railway, but even so...


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 08, 2013, 10:25:12
The "Access for all" footbridge and the new station were planned separately, and I think run as separate contracts (managed by SWT and NR respectively).
I had a letter from SWT to the neighbours through my door this morning, promising to keep us awake replacing the footbridge. It says "...some of the works will be carried out during pre-planned midweek and weekend nights...".

The use of "pre-planned" is unhelpful. For one thing, isn't all planning by definition done in advance? What could "post-planning" possibly be (except another of those vexatious little oxymorons)? Since all the expected work has to be planned, I think we can infer that some unplanned work may be necessary and in some cases that would be at night.

I would be more interested to know whether we will be notified of these nights in advance, though that may be of little practical help to us. They do give us the dates of three all-day possessions: Sundays 19th May, 7th July, and 28th July.



Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on May 08, 2013, 10:50:18
Perhaps "post-planning" is "in hindsight"?  ;D


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 08, 2013, 11:16:47
Perhaps "post-planning" is "in hindsight"?  ;D
I don't think so - planning involves more than just foreseeing. It's more a case of deciding what needs to be done, and when, to achieve a desired result. It will usually involve some conditionality - such as "if we find that needs doing then we will have to get one of those in place earlier".

Obviously this has nothing to do with whatever it is planning departments do. It may relate to what they should do, though, in the sense of deciding how to implement their objectives (adopted policy items) even if there is no immediate prospect of their being affordable.

I have been very critical of Wokingham's planners for not having prepared a route for a new railway crossing in case the level crossing is to be closed. Currently this is an "unfunded aspiration" of both the borough and NR, but it might become funded for a number of reasons: e.g. increased rail traffic, increased road traffic, or political pressure after an accident at a similar crossing. The timescale for such a closure would be perhaps a year or two - far quicker that planning a new bridge from scratch!


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Red Squirrel on May 08, 2013, 12:15:32
There's only one phrase more annoyingly redundant than 'pre-planned', and that's 'pre-prepared'... there seems to be some sort of inflation process going on with these terms; I'm keeping my ears pricked to hear someone say 'pre-preprepared'...


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 08, 2013, 12:40:16
I know - I did spot a "pre-prepared" in my draft for the previous post. I suspect that it may be that just "being prepared" does not necessarily involve doing much or doing it well in advance, hence a need is felt to show when it does.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 11, 2013, 19:46:35
There are posters in Wokingham station saying that next Sunday (19th May) they will be removing the old footbridge. Not only will there be no trains, but the crane will block the car park so the buses will be at the back of the station in Oxford Road (which is not really suitable for buses). I can't see any sign of a temporary footbridge, so maybe they think we do not really need one. That is not entirely unreasonable given the level crossing and public footbridge, and the absence of any ticket gates.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 17, 2013, 23:26:06
At last! This vital piece of the new infrastructure has now been installed. (And another one across the road, so drivers can see it, whichever road they approach on.)


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 19, 2013, 14:58:40
Well, the old footbridge has gone. A very slick operation, and quiet! So much so that I missed it. I looked out of my bedroom window at 9 am and could see a digger dangling from a crane, and assumed they were setting up as I had heard nothing. It turns out they were clearing up, and by 11 am the crane was all packed and ready to go. From then on the slickness wore off, as the crane had to wait for a new tyre before leaving.

Not only that, but someone decided it was a good time to cut a trench across the main road, just where the buses were stopping. They were meant to be at the back of the station, in Oxford road, but that's not suitable for anything worthy of the name "bus", and has a 7.5 T limit; they were using 16 T buses.

Presumably there will now be a lot of work preparing the site (digging holes in the platform, mainly) before the next full possession on 7th July. And if they are going to finish the new station this summer, they ought to start on that soon.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Chris from Nailsea on May 19, 2013, 21:05:41
Not only that, but someone decided it was a good time to cut a trench across the main road, just where the buses were stopping. They were meant to be at the back of the station, in Oxford road, but that's not suitable for anything worthy of the name "bus", and has a 7.5 T limit; they were using 16 T buses.

So much for their "pre-planning" (or indeed "pre-preparation") then, eh?  ::) ;D


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 20, 2013, 10:20:01
I can't see any sign of a temporary footbridge, so maybe they think we do not really need one. That is not entirely unreasonable given the level crossing and public footbridge, and the absence of any ticket gates.
As expected, here is ... I guess we should call it a footbridge replacement poster service?


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on May 23, 2013, 10:59:38
From  Getwokingham (http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2134441_commuters_frustration_at_station_footbridge_removal)

Quote
Commuters' frustration at station footbridge removal By Jon Nurse
 May 22, 2013

It was removed over the weekend as work starts on a ^6 million revamp. Now to cross the platforms passengers will need to use an external footbridge further down the line closer to the level crossing.
 
Jas Sohal, owner of Steamers internet caf^ at the station, said: ^Customers are disappointed to have lost the bridge, but what can you do? It would have to have been done at some point.^
 
A new station and footbridge linking the platforms will be built, along with a new access road and interchange to improve links with buses and taxis.
 
The borough^s planning boss says work on the scheme is ^on track^, but some passengers have also complained about disruption in the station car park.
 
Car drivers say there is a lack of spaces at the site now.
 
And Mr Sohal feels extra marshalls should be on hand to help drivers. He said: ^People pay a lot of money to use the railway, they don^t want to put up with poor service.
 
^There is a lot of work going on now and there needs to be more people on the ground.
 
^Some customers have complained they are being forced to walk into the station to buy a ticket and then go all the way back to display it.
 
^It^s a bit of a farce really.^
 
Mr Sohal hopes his business will move into the new station and has noticed a 20 per cent drop in footfall since works started in November.
 
He said: ^I think people have had to find other places to park and as a result we^ve seen a decline.^
 
Lucinda Corse posted on getwokingham^s Facebook page: ^It has been absolute carnage. I dropped my husband off on Monday morning and had to drive the entire length of the car park to turn round and come back again.
 
^The surface when wet is muddy and puddly. I feel sorry for anyone who has to park their car to get the train. The lack of spaces is mad.^
 
Christopher James posted: ^It^s been a total and utter waste of tax payers^ money. The car park is now decimated, with people unable to drive their cars to park to allow them to commute to London. Why these works were allowed to proceed is beyond me.^
 
A spokeswoman for South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance said: ^A significant accessibility improvement scheme is currently under way at Wokingham station to deliver a new footbridge with lifts.
 
^We expect to have the new bridge and lifts open during the autumn and in the meantime, passengers using the station will be able to use the alternative footbridge or level crossing for access through the station.^
 
The new station, which is being built by Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance, is scheduled to open in August and will connect to a public transport interchange and Station Link Road.
 
Councillor Keith Baker, executive member for highways and planning, said: ^m extremely pleased progress is being made and everything appears to be on track for completion as they were expecting. The end result is going to be a much better facility for rail travellers, a much more modern station fit for the 21st Century and ready for service changes.^


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stationstop on May 23, 2013, 15:43:14
My goodness- do the people of Wokingham not have anything better to bitch and moan about?


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 23, 2013, 15:59:44
To be fair, it looks as much like amateurish reporting. If you offer yourself for people to whinge to, they will - wouldn't you? To then just copy it all down unselectively does give that impression. Not that I'd deny it might still be true, of course.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: paul7575 on May 23, 2013, 17:32:33
^It has been absolute carnage. I dropped my husband off on Monday morning and had to drive the entire length of the car park to turn round and come back again...

Yeah right... 

Paul


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: ellendune on May 23, 2013, 21:01:32
^It has been absolute carnage. I dropped my husband off on Monday morning and had to drive the entire length of the car park to turn round and come back again...

Yeah right... 

Paul

Pedant alert

Presumably the person who dropped her husband off was driving a chariot with knives on the axles or at least driving very badly. Otherwise how would carnage result?


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Red Squirrel on May 23, 2013, 22:12:48

Pedant alert


Talking of Roman times, that word 'decimate' reared its ugly head again... Quinion gives a very good case for avoiding it altogether here (http://www.worldwidewords.org/topicalwords/tw-dec1.htm).


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on June 04, 2013, 10:36:05
Here's a quick update on the new Wokingham station:
  •   Groundwork has now started on the site of the station itself.
  •   The loss of the internal footbridge has some side effects you might not have predicted: for one there is usually a guy in high-vis.  whose job appears to be to stop anyone trying to reach the public footbridge or level crossing off the end of the platform.
  •   There is also a hired diesel generator supplying the North side of the station. Presumably this was easier/cheaper than replacing the feed over the bridge with one under the track for a few weeks.
  •   The car park is still much reduced by the work on the new road, though new parts are being opened as soon as they are ready.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on June 12, 2013, 10:06:53
You can now see the steel reinforcement for the floor slab of the station. There are no foundations to speak of, but I think there are some piles in there (I only saw one).

The new footbridge is going - down, rather than up - into two big holes for the below-ground lift shafts.

Since the footbridge has gone, there's no vantage point to take a decent picture now.

The car park still has lots of fenced-off spaces, as they take ages to put together the fences around the edges of the terracing.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on July 05, 2013, 20:51:25
 Get Wokingham (http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/delay-to-station-improvement-works-4866824) is reporting the completion date of the new station has been put back.

Quote
(http://i3.getreading.co.uk/incoming/article4867169.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/TM591386Jon-Nurse-4867169.jpg)

Work on Wokingham^s new ^6 million station is progressing slower than expected.

Commuters are coping as work bustles around the station car park and the shell of the new building and clock tower is complete.

Apologising for the delay, a Network Rail spokesman said: ^Owing to unforeseen challenges with the ground works, the project has been slightly delayed and the station building, footbridge and lifts are due to open in September, with the waiting rooms opening in November.^

The station, which will have improved waiting facilities, a transport interchange providing better links with other public transport and secure cycle parking, was scheduled to be completed in August.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on July 13, 2013, 21:00:35
Now that I am back home (having been bagged by another Tour de France) I find the lads in hi-vis have busy bolting steel bits together. Here's a picture from the platform side of the station building, and one that shows the steel frames of the lift shafts are also complete and being brick clad.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on July 30, 2013, 14:19:45
Three weeks on, it is clear that the current phase is one of rapid progress - mainly cladding the roof and brick and block laying. Not only are the lift shafts done, but internal and external walls of the station are shooting up. And they are assembling a multi-storey bike shed too.

The main objection to the planning application for the footbridge was that the lift shafts were a lot higher than the old bridge and would be rather overbearing. In reality I think they are pretty narrow and far enough from the houses that no-one will notice.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on August 05, 2013, 09:56:31
More rapid progress. I woke up at 5:00 on Sunday morning and heard some kind of building activity - though I was not tempted to go and look! So I was not surprised to see yesterday that the footbridge fairy had visited. As the crane (which isn't actually an Iron Fairy - too big) was still there I expected more last night, so I went to look after the last train (1:15 ECS to Staines). I was just in time to see a complete stairway being lifted off the ground - followed by a very loud crack and a rapid lowering. It's now in place and the crane's continued presence means I expect the final piece tonight.

When we got advance notice from "South Western Railway", they indicated there would be three extended possessions: one in May and two in July. The first one happened, and was for the removal of the old bridge. There were none in July, and it seems they have concluded the installation work can be done during ordinary overnight possessions. I suspect there may still be some more for the lifts - don't the cabins and shaft-head machinery need to be lifted in?


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: paul7575 on August 05, 2013, 11:37:46
I suspect there may still be some more for the lifts - don't the cabins and shaft-head machinery need to be lifted in?

If they use the same lift technology as Fareham, Fratton and Southampton Parkway, (each of which I noted being built over a few months), the lift cabs themselves were delivered in sections and built up onto a framework installed through the platform doors.  The machinery is hydraulic, and again is installed through the doors and is mostly set against the side of the shaft, there is no traditional motor and winding gear room at the top of the shaft.  The hydraulic power packs have typically been installed separate from the lift shafts, under the 'half landings' of the staircases - (the grey blockwork structures shown in your photo above being the typical position of the power rooms).

Paul


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on August 05, 2013, 12:14:19
In fact, this came up during the planning process. The towers are about 3 m higher than the top landing roof, and this was questioned as undesirable. It also does look too much for the above-roof height of the cabin. As I said last time, I don't think that concern really stands up when you look at the real thing.

The reply from SWR was in part:
Quote
The height of the lift shafts is guided by railway standards that need to be adhered to. The lift shafts could potentially be higher to accommodate the lift houses, but at Wokingham the lift houses are located under the mid landing area of the stairs of the bridge which in fact reduces the height of the lift shafts.

Now that doesn't make too much sense, if taken literally. I imagine the standards relate to the ventilation equipment (and anything else?) on top of the cabin, rather than the height per se. And the motor room is actually under the upper flight of stairs, but either way it its separation from the shaft means it can only be hydraulic.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on August 06, 2013, 20:37:29
I was just in time to see a complete stairway being lifted off the ground - followed by a very loud crack and a rapid lowering. It's now in place and the crane's continued presence means I expect the final piece tonight.
Indeed, last night after the last train I craned my head out of the bedroom window to see the second staircase dangling above the station. If I'd realised how brightly it would be floodlit I'd have had my camera ready - the lights were cut as soon as it was lowered, and not even down at both ends.

What did surprise me was to see another crane there as well. It was lifting something onto the roof of the new station, which I saw later was two long wrapped packages ... ducting maybe? There's nothing in the plans, but now it's been unpacked and it looks (though the profile makes it hard to see) as if it's sheet cladding. The plans did say the roof finish was zinc, so I guess that's added now to run full length down the slope rather than factory-fitted to the smaller roof modules.

But why two cranes? Even if there are two separate contractors, it seems a bit over the top (groan).


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: ianatwokers on August 07, 2013, 17:28:36
Hi all

Having just moved into the area and deciding my walk to the station is just a bit to far I have decided to cycle instead.
The old cycle racks get full and people are locking up their bikes against trees and road signs.

I thought I'll wait until the new racks go in as they should massively increase the capacity. However from the rack that has just been installed there seems to little or no increase in the amount of spaces?

Are they going install some more racks (Or leave the old ones in)  ???  If not this seems like a bad bit of planning, especially as the council are supposed to be encouraging people to use their cycles more.



Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on August 07, 2013, 20:15:38
The submitted plans showed racks for 76 cycles in the "cage", and none anywhere else. I've had a quick look and there are indeed 76 new "high-rise" racks, and 25 steel hoops currently in use. I assume that should hold 50 bikes? So you are right - not much of an increase.

There will be a long steel railing beyond the new racks - some of it is already there - so I guess any overflow will use that, unless extreme measures are taken to prevent it. If "they" (SWT, I guess) complain that's untidy, you can reply that it just shows there isn't enough space provided.

And of course I must offer a warm welcome to this forum - and to Wokingham, for that matter.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on August 18, 2013, 14:22:35
While I didn't wait up for the footbridge to be lifted into position, the Wokingham Times photographer did - if you are interested see http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/new-footbridge-gives-wokingham-train-5678375 (http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/new-footbridge-gives-wokingham-train-5678375).

There was a letter to the paper (14th August - I can't find it on line) headed "New bridge looks utterly monstrous". This includes the line "we have lost so many historic and lovely buildings..." - surely she is not referring to the old footbridge (see reminder attached)?

She ends with "I look at the front page of The Wokingham Times and see Bracknell. Just terrible".  Note how this is the worst possible put-down, for a true Wokingham resident.

Personally I think the new bridge does look cheap, but it is not finished yet and whether it looks out of place will depend on how the new station looks as well.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: argg on August 19, 2013, 13:32:52
I agree with Stuving the old footbridge (and current ticket office) are hardly historic or lovely buildings

As a Wokingham resident I am amused by the comments made in the local press from the Wokingham Society wanting something that reflects the character of the market town (what do they want, something made of oak?) and the Society's Chairman who "had not been down to the station, but knew what to expect" (I wonder which newspaper he reads?)

If the artist impression of the new building is correct then I think it will be a massive improvement (currently much more "Bracknell" than "Wokingham") and given most views of the station will be from Station Road/car park side, the station and the new footbridge is totally in keeping with the light industrial units in Oxford Road (which can be seen in some of the photos in this thread).

If Wokingham were still a picture postcard market town with twee tea rooms and "ye olde gifte shoppes" then they might have a point.

I may have my own views on whether we really need a Premier Inn (and associated chain Pub/Restaurant) and ANOTHER supermarket, but the town certainly needs regenerating and if market forces mean that's what it takes to pay for it...so be it.  It is a market town after all!

Now if SWT could also see their way to laying on fast or semi fast trains to Waterloo I would be inclined to use my bicycle and travel from WOK rather than drive to TWY each morning.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: paul7575 on August 19, 2013, 14:54:36
The footbridge and steps are NR 'modular structures' and minor variations on the standard design are being fitted all over the network AFAICS, under the DfT's Access for All budget, not just in SWT's area or the wider south, but nationally.

So the fundamental question is why do the 'Wokingham Society' seriously believe they should get something specifically different/better designed for this station, out of the dozens all over the country that the 'Access for All' scheme is paying for?  Sorry but I just don't get this criticism at all...

At least they've taken the brickwork all the way up the lift towers, there's many places have got far worse finishes. 

Fratton:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/backfrompari/6133648884/

Fareham:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnoram/5332695085/

IIRC Twyford has similar metal-clad boxes?

Paul

 


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on August 19, 2013, 16:19:37
The Wokingham Society commented on the plans submitted for planning approval. As railways can do much as they like, the council are only required to approve the overall character as suitable for the site, and the WS commented on that question. I have no real idea what they, or the council, would find suitable - but the council only quibbled about some of the finishes and in most cases that was due to a misleading drawing.

We had another example of this - the pub next door but one to me, which has just been demolished (I remind you I live very close to the station - within earshot of the crossing bell, if a window's open). The developers applied to build a pair of semis very like the pub in outline, and one or two little bungalows behind it, as the gardens are pretty long. The council refused permission on the grounds the bungalows were out of character - largely by being single-storey! The planning officer said the character of the houses round the periphery of the block is 2-storey, as if that is relevant to something in the middle.

There was another detached house next door to the pub, which was replaced by a pair of semis 40 years ago, and it had (and they have) a pair of 2-storey cottages in its back garden. The planner did not cite that as relevant, as he evidently thinks (as do I, and said so in my comments) that they are out of character, and have been for 150 years.

The final irony is that when their revised plans were refused, they appealed and were successful, and one of the inspector's arguments was that the cottages on the next plot were also single storey. Sometimes I wonder what the point of this planning system is.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on September 01, 2013, 22:47:29
The last month has seen a lot of detailed fitting out of the station, but no big milestones. All of the walls are finished, internal and external, the glazing frames in place, and glazing has started. The roof cladding has been completed too, so the guard rail around it has gone.

The footbridge looks more complete, with all the glazing in, and most of the visible fiddly bits - rainwater pipes, cable trunking, ground surface - now done. Wiring and fitting the lifts may take a bit longer.The diesel generator at the North side was sent back to Speedy within a week of the bridge arriving, but the cable that allows that is a temporary one looped through the bridge.

The other footbridge - the public one - is of course a listed structure, which I presume places a responsibility on NR (or possibly SWT) to maintain it. I think they need to do more about this - it's getting past just needing a lick of paint.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on September 09, 2013, 23:03:27
We can now see real progress, with the footbridge carrying passengers and two big black cables (now inside the plastic pipes provided for the purpose). The station building appears to be fully glazed as well, and from the footbridge you can see what they have been doing to the roof. Still lots of details to finish, no doubt, but it looks promising.

The footbridge was much used on Saturday - as you may known there was a fatality at Earley and the line from Reading was closed for two and a half hours. I was initially not very impressed by the response to this, but having looked at it a bit more I think that's unfair. Yes, the information coming by announcements and on the screens was confused and confusing, but when there was a train to board (or not, depending on where it was going) that did improve.

A new signal was installed a few years ago so that Wokingam can be operated as a terminus - albeit only with one platform - and the timetable fits very well with turning trains round quickly. SWT's interim service was actually pretty good - no worse than one 70 minute interval in a 30 minute service. FGW's was a bit less so, which I am sure was because they need to send a new crew from Reading to take a train back out.

The trains to Gatwick are really only hourly, with two arriving almost at once, and of course people use them to catch planes. I think their target should be to limit the interval between trains (or connections) into Gatwick to two hours - which was missed by 20 minutes. The train in question left Wokingham 100 minutes after the incident that closed the line, and it should be possible to do that a bit quicker. But still, the basic emergency plan seemed to work.

I can't really comment on how well replacement transport performed, as I didn't use it. As usual, the buses arrived too late to do much, so before that people were herded onto the (apparently plentiful) taxis.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on September 22, 2013, 15:19:52
As you can see, we now have something that really does look like a railway station. No sign of that "totem plank" yet, not even a foundation. What looks like the steel for its armature has been around for ages, and several times has been moved out of the way as work advances across the site.

According to the head councillor for transport, the link road past the station was being held up by the station build being late. The last we heard it was still due to open this month, but I can't believe that will be met now - not quite. He also said it wasn't easy to find an engineering company to take on a contract for the traffic lights, to be linked with the level crossing, but that "Network rail were happy".

It rained last weekend, and I'll give you one guess whether the footbridge roof leaked. Of course it did! And where? The flat sections, where they meet something a bit higher: on the half-landings, and from the main span to the lifts.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on October 01, 2013, 22:26:43
Quote from: BBC Berkshire
Wokingham new railway station to open in mid-October

Passengers will be able to start using the new Wokingham railway station "in the next few weeks" following a ^6m rebuild.


The official opening is on 14 November but South Western Railway said it wanted to open the Berkshire station to the public "as soon as possible".

The project was due to be completed in August, but issues with ground works caused delays.

The station will be officially opened by Transport minister Norman Baker.

The upgrade includes a new main building with retail units, lifts and a footbridge.

The former station building will be demolished once the new adjacent facility is ready for use.

Robin Ashton, from the Wokingham Chamber of Commerce, said: "We are delighted and it is very good news for the town.

"But we will be more pleased on the 14th (of November) when the site is properly delivered".

A South Western Railway spokesperson said more than two million journeys were made through Wokingham station each year.

She added the upgrade would "encourage more passengers to travel by rail to work and for pleasure".

I thought as I walked past today that it looked as if the name had been put up.

Photo caption: The new station building was constructed alongside the existing building, which will now be demolished


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Southern Stag on October 02, 2013, 21:50:04
The interior of the new building looked pretty much fitted out today, and lots of work being done on the lifts too.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on October 12, 2013, 23:37:13
Today, with no fuss or notice, the station was open. It looks very empty, though it was meant to have some retail provision. I guess that'll be the bring-your-own-booth kind.

It also sounds very empty - given all the hard surfaces of the glass, floor, and plastered walls, together with the high ceiling, it really needed acoustic treatment on the ceiling, and seems to have none at all.

I was looking at the lift, which I had thought was not ready as it has a visible "out of order" sign and no call button. But I wonder if you have to use the "press to speak" button and ask to use it. There is nothing to tell you that, and I doubt anyone would guess unless they are literally unable to attempt the stairs (like in a wheelchair).



Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on October 27, 2013, 19:19:12
As soon as the new station building was in use, the old one was fenced off and work started stripping out pipes, wires etc. Then last week the shelter on platform 2 was fenced off and similarly stripped out. And yesterday it had been knocked flat and by this afternoon carted away, leaving a bare concrete raft. The old station will be gone soon, and as the roads outside (apart from the new link road) are well advanced, it's not far from being finished.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: paul7575 on October 27, 2013, 19:25:39
Do you know if they putting any shelters on the up or down platforms at all?  I'm not really sure if the new building includes a canopy at all, but IIRC the only shelter on the Reading bound platform was the old building wasn't it?

Paul


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on October 27, 2013, 19:35:28
The plans showed two short canopies on platform 2, but one of them was to go where the new footbridge now is. So we end up with even less than the old shelter.

On platform 1 there is also a bit of canopy from the station to the footbridge, but again not much - though in this case we end up with more shelter than there used to be.

Incidentally, the station is built without barriers. The plans show where they would go, if fitted in the station building. There's no indication of what barrier there might be on platform 2, nor even if there will be a TVM (as there is now).


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on November 08, 2013, 18:14:56
Last night the station was a mere ghost - you could see right through it, between the few bits of wall holding the roof up. This morning, it was just a heap of wreckage being gobbled up by a digger. That's not really a big step in the construction process, but does register as an important change when you see it.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on November 30, 2013, 12:35:15
There's an article in the Wokingham Times this week (I can't find it on getwokingham) in which someone complains that the times on all the various displays do not match. She could have added that the display on platform 2 was blank a lot of the time, which I also noticed a couple of weeks ago. There were other comments about the half-built state of the station that show the "news" is that old - not unusual, for the Times.

Quite what that clock issue was about I have no idea - if you can talk to a display to put train data on it, how come you can't give it the right time as well? And don't these displays also provide feedback of what they are showing?

Anyway, things have moved on a bit since then, though not all steps are forward ones. Most urgency has been directed towards laying the new road surface (not the new link road - that comes later). Access for several weeks has been very awkward via a long one-way stretch, controlled by contractor's men with radios. The first width of tarmac has already gone down.

We also have a coffee shop - but no newspapers. And the canopies are being roofed. Not at all modular, just a steel frame and corrugated sheets with insulation in between. The frame's very solid - maybe it's now normal (if not an elfan rule) to build anything kids could climb on solid enough to withstand several of them doing that.

Finally, the bicycle racks have been taken out of their cage again. Not sure why - there's paving still to go down, but the racks are not likely to bolt down on top - maybe they just get in the way.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on January 09, 2014, 21:57:39
The fiddly bits of the station are now almost finished, such as the P2 canopy. I checked with the planning drawings, and this is it - no back, let alone sides, to come. I do wonder what the point is of going to all this trouble to put up protection against only the most vertical of rain. And it does look a bit - well, crude, frankly. Its very limited usefulness as a shelter is really rather obvious - most people say exactly that on first seeing it.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on February 11, 2014, 15:34:48
Official opening by Baroness Kramer now delayed due to the weather - the second time it has been put off.

From GetWokingham (http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/opening-wokingham-station-delayed-extreme-6691887)

Quote
(http://i1.getreading.co.uk/incoming/article6197251.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/TM681027jon-nurse-6197251.jpg)
The official opening of Wokingham's ^6 million station has been postponed again.

Transport Minister Baroness Susan Kramer was due to open the new station tomorrow, but officials have decided to delay the ceremony in light of pressure on the network from recent adverse weather.

The station was scheduled for a formal opening with former Transport Minister Norman Baker in November, however the date was delayed because of a Government reshuffle.

The new building was expected to be completed in August but work was stalled due to "unforeseen challenges with the ground works".

Passengers have been using the station since October, with the increased space and modern design drawing praise but commuters criticised a new charge to use the toilets.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on February 18, 2014, 18:27:34
One of the side effects of Baroness Kramer's scheduled opening of the station last week was that it set a deadline for all the frantic final fettling to finish. So here is what it looks like - and with a bit of sunshine, too.

It certainly is prettier than the old one, though given what a slum that was you could call that faint praise. You can see how tall and narrow the canopies are - and I'm still not convinced Wokingham only has the vertical kind of rain. The canopy on P2 (picture 3) is down the level crossing end, in the wider bit where the seats were put. Unfortunately the trains don't stop there any more - even 8-cars only reach back to the entrance gate.

Since our footbridge is glazed, a lot of people wait inside - kids sitting at the foot of the stairs, the rest of us on the overbridge. From there you can see not only the CIS by the entrance, but arriving trains too, so apart from no seats it's far better than under the canopy. I'm sure that it will offend tidy-minded station designers, and that may explain why so many footbridges are not glazed.

If you saw the plans, you may remember there was going to be a "totem" (not a pole, maybe a totem plank?). It would go on the pavement, beside where the lift tower is (picture 4). It was to be 9 m high by 2.5 wide - almost exactly the same as size as the tower - and also of brick, so I imagine that's why it has been left out. It was to have a BR logo captioned "Wokingham" and a clock - the clock might not fit with the lift inside, but I wonder if the logo is still going to appear.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: wabbit on February 19, 2014, 07:55:40
Having waited for a train there the other day, I can safely say that the word "canopy" does not = "shelter". Nice improvement overall, pity about some of the finer detail (or lack of).


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on March 12, 2014, 23:24:44
According to the local Tories' newsletter/election leaflet that's just come through he door, her baronessship is due to have another go at opening the station on Friday. No time - and no other announcement, so I rather suspect it was information for councillors that wasn't for publication ...


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on March 14, 2014, 09:30:29
According to the local Tories' newsletter/election leaflet that's just come through he door, her baronessship is due to have another go at opening the station on Friday. No time - and no other announcement, so I rather suspect it was information for councillors that wasn't for publication ...

... and if you look at this (http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/Wokingham.aspx) on SWT news, it has already happened! I just went to look, and the velvet curtain remains resolutely undrawn, but you can't prevent a press officer or journalist reporting something just because it has not happened yet ...


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on March 14, 2014, 11:31:14
... and so it came to pass. The sun came out, a horde of onlookers foregathered and with due ceremony - for this is  the 400th NSIP project - the words were revealed.

Most of the crowd were councillors, DfT and council transport department, or SWT (badged as alliance) I haven't seen so many SWT badges on the station since Tornado came to visit! There were quite a few cameras, both still and video for interviews afterwards (mainly with the Baroness, Tim Shoveller, and John Redwood MP).

In his pre-reported speech, Cllr David Lee (billed as "Leader of Wokingham Borough Council^s leader") said:
Quote
Improvements to the station have been a long term aspiration of the borough council. I am delighted residents, and those who work in the town and use the station, now have a better travel experience thanks to this investment

On the day, he also said that he hoped passengers would soon have faster trains, and more shelter on platform 2 (apparently the council are working on this), while the level crossing would be closed less of the time. Given that Tim Shoveller repeated the claim about extra services to Waterloo (all of two per day, AFAIK) as a result of the 458/5 programme, if anything it will go the other way.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on March 14, 2014, 15:41:03
There were quite a few cameras, both still and video for interviews afterwards (mainly with the Baroness, Tim Shoveller, and John Redwood MP).

And you may see it on telly tonight - on South Today, at least,  together with a piece about reopening the line at Botley after the second-hugest current emergency trackbed rebuilding job.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on March 14, 2014, 21:57:27
From the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-26578467):

Quote
Wokingham's ^6m train station revamp opened by transport minister
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/73580000/jpg/_73580036_wokingham_2014_02_01_0145.jpg)
The station is at the junction of the Waterloo to Reading line and the North Downs line

A ^6m revamp of a train station in Berkshire has been officially unveiled by transport minister Baroness Kramer.

The Wokingham terminal, which has remained open during the refurbishment, features a new glazed station building with a larger waiting area.

It is the 400th station to benefit from the government-funded National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP).

South West Trains managing director Tim Shoveller said the station was "now fit for the 21st Century".

The station features a larger booking hall, modern information screens and a cafe, as well as better access for cars, taxis and buses.

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Kramer said Wokingham was "a great example" of the success of the ^220m worth of improvements to 400 stations in England and Wales.

The official opening was due in November but was postponed because of storms that disrupted the rail route.

Improvements to the station link road will start in the autumn.

Oh dear.

What "terminal"? The station was open throughout, not the building.

The road access is not yet improved, being work in progress. Whether it will be "better" once the new road layout is finished is moot.

One of those new screens has rarely worked, and is still dark.

The November date was cancelled because that minister (Norman Baker) was reshuffled out of the job. And by 10th February, when Baroness Kramer cancelled (for the following day), any storm damage on this route was fixed.

And the work on the link road started last autumn.

But apart from that ...






Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: bobm on March 14, 2014, 22:01:45
As a journalist I just want to cry when I see stories written like that.  If you can't get basic facts right there is no hope for the rest of the article....


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on March 14, 2014, 22:46:06
The local rag did rather better - this from getwokingham (http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/rail-minister-hails-220-million-6834163) (the Wokingham Times).

I'm not sure whether the ^6 million included the footbridge and roads or whether it's just the NSIP funds for the station - the footbridge was Access for All money.  But that's minor, and none of the parties is making it very clear. And the tendentious content in Cllr Lee's words are all his own work, for which the reporter is blameless.

There also a DfT report here (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/passengers-to-benefit-from-over-220-million-station-improvements?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=news-story-passengers-to-benefit-from-over-220-million-station-improvements). That says NSIP was set up with ^150 M of funds, and has delivered ^150 M of improvements - so maybe be they are grossing up these project costs with everyone else's contribution.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 11, 2014, 22:48:42
Last night there were some ominous-looking vehicles gathering by the station, and as soon as the last train passes the pneumatic drills started. They were cutting a trench across the road at each side of the level crossing, and I assumed this was the start of work to put in the traffic lights that will surround the crossing (and be linked to it).

This morning I saw that they had actually been renewing the tarmac on the crossing (around the plastic bits next to the tracks). They had also renewed the white lining, but only where it had been removed. Since the white paint outside that part has mostly worn off, you can see that it's quite a blatant example of jobsworthiness. And all for a few months at most.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: Ollie on May 11, 2014, 23:33:43
That's not good, they could have quite easily done the rest of the Keep Clear message..


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: argg on June 06, 2014, 13:47:43
Is anyone aware if the road layout plans have altered significantly from the plans available on the Wokingham Council website

http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/transport/roads/stationlinkroad/documents/

Having recently started to use Wokingham station regularly to commute to London I am amazed at, what appears to me, to be the counter-intuitive plans for traffic.  I appreciate I may be late to the party however is anyone able to explain the planners thinking?

Considering the morning peak
  • All traffic from the south (Finchampstead and Barkham) will need to use the link road to get to the Reading Road therefore this will be permanently busy as it will not just be station traffic
  • All station traffic from the town centre and the north will use the link road and (other than buses or taxis) will need to turn right into the car park, across the flow of traffic mentioned above (unsignalled) and across any buses or taxis exiting.  This will include drop off traffic as there appears to be no other facility for drop off from the north
  • How exactly do car park season ticket holders (using the car park opposite the station) coming from the north get to that car park (presumably down Station Road, left into Wellington Road to the Carnival Pool roundabout then back along Wellington Road?)
Interested in others' observations


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on June 06, 2014, 19:09:20
Is anyone aware if the road layout plans have altered significantly from the plans available on the Wokingham Council website

No, that is still the plan - give or take a minor change to the bus and taxi provision.

I reckon the way it came about is roughly like this:

The objectives were:
  • to make the new station a traffic interchange (intermodal is still in fashion, obviously)
  • to make the level crossing safer, while reducing its traffic-strangling effect
  • to improve traffic flow in general (though of course that does not mean removing it from the town centre).

The theory for the crossing is that, when the barrier is down, traffic should still be able to turn left into Wellington Road. Traffic coming up Barkham Road can't turn left then as Oxford Road is not allowed to be a "route avoiding". At the moment the length available in Station Road for the crossing queue is too short, so Station Road has to be one way. When the barrier goes up traffic going straight across (or left into the station) gets an extra-long green, and obstructing turns (such as right into Wellington Road) are banned. This not only improves flow, it is essential if the standard Highway Code rules for level crossings are to apply.

The link road is the only surviving bit of the old IDR proposal, kept as it allows Station Road to be one way (and only incidentally serving the station). However, there is no room for a lane to allow a right turn into it, so it cannot be entered from Station Road. Also, WSP (WBC's consultants) reckon the turn would leave too little pavement space. That is going to confuse a lot of people. Coming from the north you can go down Denmark Street, which is not a lot further than now. Coming in along Reading Road it is much further, if you need that entrance.

The raised car park and the drop-off bay are only accessible from the level crossing end. For the car park that probably does not matter - there will be enough users to fill it coming that way (and it is smaller than the other part).  If that means moving some designated season ticket spaces, I see no problem in doing that. The kiss'n'ride bay is so narrow it will be interesting to see what it does to the traffic. Given that there are traffic lights at the Reading Road end of the Link Road, I expect that crossing through that flow of traffic ought not to be too difficult. Whether there will enough capacity for all the car park users is another matter - but I'm sure WSP have modelled it.

You will have spotted that the level crossing will be inside a junction with traffic lights, though there will still be wig-wags and barriers. WSP and NR are confident they know how to do this, though there are very few precedents (only Basford that I know of). How drivers will react is unknown - at Basford there have been quite a lot ignoring the banned turns (which are similar to those coming here). I even suspect that traffic will still queue back along the Link Road to and across the crossing, which will potentially confuse drivers even more - and may fall foul of NR's ALCRM risk assessment.




Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: argg on June 10, 2014, 13:55:06
Thanks - just what I thought.  Worrying.  Very glad I live on the Reading side of town

And I expect "opening summer 2014" will mean the first week of September



Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on September 30, 2014, 18:35:15
At last! The new station link road has opened, and as the old access road has closed to be rebuilt it is the only way in and out. Which means the work now moves closer to (my) home, at the level crossing and the roads leading to it.

As reported by the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-29423374) (though this adds little to its headline).


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on December 24, 2014, 19:40:46
Work to finish the roads around the new station is still not finished. WBC have usually blamed Network Rail for delays, though I rather doubt they would have got on much faster left to themselves. The old entrance (Station Approach) is closed for essential road narrowing until after Christmas, and then the junction on the north (town) side (now a mini-roundabout) has to be rebuilt too. And finally the traffic lights get plugged into the sockets being set into the pavement. That's the bit that depends on NR doing their bit.

The road alignment on the south side was done in November, including changing the signs. That leaves the one that's shown rather misleading. In fact, the only thing on it that's correct is the temporary blanking out of the second left turn, which is Station Approach. Everything else is wrong.

The two roads shown as "no entry" are still open, with the roundabout still there at that junction. The railway crossed just before that, though that wasn't on the old sign either (showing level crossings on road signs went out of fashion a while ago). The destinations shown as accessible via the station are in fact still accessible by going straight on (as is the station). And the first left turn - Oxford Road - is currently "no entry", and WBC say it will remain so until Station Approach finally opens.

Do you think this sign deserves some kind of prize for having the most erroneous pieces of information on it?


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on December 24, 2014, 19:51:55
Here's another case of oops! for our road-builders. Most of the white (and all the yellow) lines were applied as hot gloop. The last bits of white line weren't, presumably as the hot gloop lorry had gone by then. They were applied as sticky tape - rolled out and down onto the road surface which had been pre-heated with a gas torch.

That never looked like it was firmly stuck down. And guess what - where cars start and stop, and especially where they turn as well, the scrubbing of tyre on road has ripped the lines off. And all the bits have stuck themselves down wherever they feel like it. As you can see.

I wonder if that was meant to only be temporary, until the hot gloop lorry can come back? Maybe, but most of the lines are not really needed now anyway, as the side road here (Oxford Road) is coned down to one lane and marked as "no entry". Mind you, I've seen lots of people ignoring that.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 04, 2015, 19:30:20
Mummy, mummy, what are all those lights for? Yes, it's the long-promised traffic light junction around the level crossing. It was all turned on and the closed roads reopened very early on Sunday, and does seem to work. Several yellow-jacketed observers have keeping an eye on it since. Of course the real test will be on Tuesday, when a full load of rush hour traffic turns up.

The controller for the new lights uses Siemens modules, with a railway signals interface provided by PEEK (now part of Imtech). There are at least two interface boxes on the railway side, put in by S&T Cover for Network rail. The whole road layout was designed by WSP for the  local traffic authority. That sounds like a lot of cooks (and observers turning out over the holiday).

The level crossing is still manually controlled from the signal box. When the signaller presses the button, if the lights are already red against crossing traffic it starts the barrier closure cycle as it did before. If the lights are green, it tells their controller to change to red - even if it's only been at green for a few seconds. Once a signal confirming the lights have changed is received, the barrier closure cycle can be started. So in that case it takes a few seconds longer than usual.

I've been told there is a 25-second limit on waiting for the lights to change. What happens after that, if the light get stuck, or fail? I'm not sure, but ultimately I imagine the signaller can close the barriers come what may.

In 2017 this signal box is to close, with recontrol to the Basingstoke ROC. I had assumed the crossing would get object detection, but apparently it is seen as having too high a risk so that CCTV is preferred.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on May 04, 2015, 19:54:41
You will see our level crossing now has a yellow box marking. Those were used at all AHBs, but have now been removed where the traffic flow is low, and are exceptional on other crossing types. After all, the box only enforces what is already the rule for level crossings - don't go on unless you can get off. I raised the point in the consultation that some drivers with a green light may think "I got told to go" and assume they can ignore that rule. In addition, visibility round the corner to where a queue would form in Station Approach (its new name) is poor. Maybe whoever decided on a box (LTA, NR, ORR?) thought the same. I have no idea why box markings at level crossings (to diagram 1045 in TSM section 4) are different from junction ones, using two densities of hatching.

The original plans didn't show the box markings. Neither did they show that odd-looking little area of soil (presumably to be grass) - it was meant to be footpath up to the joint foot/cycle path on Wellington Road. Perhaps it was found late on to be too steep for a footpath ... and hastily modified.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on January 30, 2016, 23:13:44
I guess it's time for a progress report on our "new" level crossing - though really the crossing has hardly changed, it just now has traffic lights around it for the roads each side.

In terms of the reasons for this change, it's working pretty well. The original objective of WBC's transport department was to increase the traffic flow over the crossing, which was also going to be helped by the new road layout: with Station Approach (the Station Link Road) and Station Road now one way.  The old layout suffered from having a mini-roundabout immediately to its north-east and another side road immediately to its south-west. That meant that, for much of the barriers-up time, traffic couldn't get off the crossing, so huge queues built up. A second reason that emerged later was that this road layout is obviously not one the ORR would allow, in that it is not compatible with the Highway Code rules for crossing crossings. Once NR's inspectors had spotted this, something had to be done - though you do wonder why they took over 25 years to notice.

Now, when the barriers are up, traffic from Barkham Road over the crossing gets a clear run most of the time. Consequently it does not need very much green time to clear the queues.  When the barriers come down, queues still build up in Barkham Road, but Wellington Road (and pedestrians) share all the "go" time. Then, once they go up, the lights give crossing traffic a longer green to clear the queue.  I can't say how this copes with the morning peak, since I no longer dash out into it every day, but the neighbours say it does work. I have seen the crossing exit briefly blocked by a tailback, but only from the pedestrian crossing, not the full length of Station Approach (but morning rush hour may be worse).

The other main question was how drivers would cope with the new one-way roads and banned turns. Well, I've seen plenty of cases of drivers ignoring both - some quite scary - but the incidence is decreasing. That suggests it's mainly the unobservant using internal autopilot, or wilful contravention by those who didn't know about the changes before they got there. As a pedestrian crossing the road, it certainly is unnerving to be almost flattened by a car you knew couldn't be there, driven too fast by a driver who realises it was wrong.

One of the makers' men from Imtech told me they had put in six of these linked light systems before this one, and mentioned Sleaford and Lymington. In addition, Basford (David Lane) and West Worthing are older linked systems, which rather deflates the claims made for this being a new idea that had to be developed for Wokingham. (Incidentally, the original Imtech company in the Netherlands has gone into receivership - but all the UK operations seem to already have been sold off.)

Sleaford would be Southgate East, which looks like a sensible candidate as there is a main road right next to the railway there. However, if the dates on Street View are to be believed, it has had junction traffic lights from before 2011. I wonder whether these were previously unlinked. This crossing was due to be closed, but the bridge and link road to replace it were to be paid for by s.106 money from Tesco - who have just dropped their new store plan.

Lymington hardly looks a prime candidate, though once again Street View shows the lights now in place. The side road they control is not that close to the railway, and is a cul-de-sac leading to new housing. If Lymingtonian drivers can't cope with that layout unaided, are they unusually dozy down there?

And then there are all the new road signs ... don't get me started on them.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on July 21, 2016, 10:58:45
And now our not very big local station and link road have been given a not very big local prize:
The ICE South East England Engineering Excellence Awards 2016 Urbanisation Award in association with Bechtel (https://www.ice.org.uk/near-you/uk/south-east-england/awards/engineering-excellence-awards#profile-wokingstation)

The citation is:
Quote
Wokingham Rail Station and Link Road Re-Development
    Winner
    Wokingham Borough Council

    The Wokingham Rail Station and Link Road redevelopment has been a transformational project for this busy Thames Valley interchange.

Between 2011 and 2015 a collaborative working approach between Wokingham Borough Council, Network Rail and South West Trains has delivered a significant transport interchange in the Town fit for the 21st Century.

The combined scheme cost of circa £12.68m provided three main elements to the redevelopment; a new station building and associated platform works, a new Access for All footbridge and lifts and a new link road with major junction alterations and changes to traffic flow patterns.

Some of the key constructional issues the project had to overcome included; maintaining access for the public to the rail station during all construction works, co-ordination of three main contractors, especially the railway building and footbridge and technical design and delivery of the new "linked" road traffic signal and level crossing barrier control systems.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on April 14, 2017, 20:34:42
While the completion of the project to bring 10-car trains to the Reading line was announced two weeks ago, there was also a clue - the unwrapping of the new stop boards at Wokingham. Platform 2 was extended ages ago, as the "Wokingham turnback" project, and P1 was finished in February.

You might think the signs would be decided by the platform length, provided the lengths of trains being operated are all covered. But, being the railway, it's a bit more complicated than that. You can see that there are now stop boards for down trains on both platforms. That's new - P1 had none before, and P2 had boards for 2-4, 5 (a recent addition), 8, and 10.

In the Up direction there is an S board on P1 and nothing on P2. For down trains on P2, we now have 2-3, 4-5, and 8-10. For P1, though (and there isn't a 2-3) they are 4, 5, 8, and 10. Bidirectional signalling in P1 is new - and if you look clsely you can see the malevolent red glare of the new limit of shunt indicator (ground signal) just next to the arriving 707.

Trains will mostly be 3 or 10 cars, occasionally 5, and 4 and 8 are in use now. Longer trains on the GWR service have been talked about, but only by one carriage (however that might be achieved in a 166). But why are the boards chosen as different on both sides? You might expect only the minimum possible on P1 - after all, it's not often used that way. But at the moment it's P2, where an 8-car train uses the same stop board as a 10-car one, that is a surprise, as it is 40 m further up the platform (away from the footbridge and entrance) than it needs to be (as pictured).

As to why the platforms are different lengths - the October 2016 EAS says this under "Principal Change Timetable 2018":

Wokingham 1 - Up 169
Wokingham 2 - Down 169 *

* To be extended to 294 metres from March 2009. To accommodate 12 cars

Maybe that will now be updated! It looks as if P1 has only been built for 10 cars, though the  limit of shunt indicator allows room for a 12-car one. Maybe in 2009, when P2 was done, longer trains were planned but the decision to only go to 10 cars had not been finalised.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on April 14, 2017, 20:52:20
And what is this about? Some mysterious steel posts with weighted bases appeared a few weeks ago, and now I see they carry TV monitors. There are three sets, next to the (reverse direction) 5-car and 4-car stop boards, and where the 3-car one would be. The one shown is by the 4-car board (visible at the right).

I can only imagine they are to show the far end(s) of the platform to the guard who is despatching the train. But why just those ones - and not on the other platform? Is it an experiment? Two of them are on these movable posts, though the other is on the station building.

As to why this one is "not for use with 10-car trains", it is roughly at the middle of an 8-car as it usually stops. The others are at the midpoint of a 10-car, and close to the back of a 3-car. But I'm sure I've seen despatch done from the back of an 8-car, and that must be worse for seeing to the far end. No doubt this all forms part of someone's cunning plan.

PS:- I can think of one explanation: the curvature of the platform. A quick burst of geometry (and based on the radius being 1800 m) suggests that you would need to stand back 2.7 m from the centre of a 10-car train to see to the ends, but only 1.7 m from an 8-car one. But there are lots of other curved platforms, some more curved so this would be a problem with 8-car trains.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on April 14, 2017, 20:54:59
And, while I'm here ... this was today's novelty explanation for disruption:

South West Trains have identified a problem with the information system which matches train crew rosters to the train timetables. This means that some journeys across the South West Trains network may be cancelled, revised or delayed by up to 20 minutes.

This disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: paul7575 on April 14, 2017, 23:43:47
Fratton is another station with poor visibility due to curved platforms that has had despatch monitors for a few years now.  I think they may have coincided with the ASDO system being introduced, prior to that only a single 444 or 8.450 had all the doors open,

Perhaps a new risk assessment has been done for the longer 10 car trains to be used at Wokingham.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on February 23, 2018, 21:35:39
From  Getwokingham. (http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/2133433_negotiations_for_crucial_new_railway_bridge_continue)
^We have had regular meetings with ministers and hopefully we will come to a final agreement with the developer and Network Rail on how much it will cost. They tried to seek benefit from the development of the site by allowing us to cross the railway. Not everyone would agree with that argument.

That's more than odd - we were told that this new bridge would result in the closure of one if not both of the other (i.e. not station) level crossings, and I imagine that any LC closure has a cash value to NR. Of course they do have significant costs in what they have to do so that a bridge can be built over their railway, but even so...

Note the date ... so it's nearly five years on, and the local papers (as well as the borough) announce that the road and bridge have been granted planning approval (no. 172934).

In the Wokingham Paper's report, it said that Network Rail designed the bridge, but in the application all the drawings are WSP's. I found just a couple of mentions of NR - in something called the "Planning Supporting Statement". Here it says that the design meets NR's requirements, that closing the nearest level crossing meets one of their objectives, and names an NR drawing of the bridge, though that's not in the application documents. There's nothing about NR having to do with the construction phase.

Of course Network Rail are statutory consultees, and there is an e-mail exchange with NR Property (http://planning.wokingham.gov.uk/FastWebPL/Documents/GetDoc.asp?REF=172934&Folder=Response%20from%20Consultees&File=172934rc%202017%2011%2017%20Network%20Rail.pdf). This is truly bizarre. It starts after the application, and ends with a standard set of NR requirements for works near the railway, including not encroaching or oversailing NR land. The only way I can make sense of it is that NR are actually building the bridge themselves, and this relates to the roads each side. In which case they will have been talking to the developers and WSP for ages, won't they? There's no sign of any planning application for the bridge itself, and as we know bridges - even if permitted development - always need planning approval of their design.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: stuving on February 03, 2022, 20:02:08
Note the date ... so it's nearly five years on, and the local papers (as well as the borough) announce that the road and bridge have been granted planning approval (no. 172934).

Since approval, work on this bridge and a little bit of linking road has proceeded with very little reporting. Apart from none of us going out much, it's probably relevant that it was hard to get there - no road access. But it did open on 24th January, as unreported in the local paper.

As built, it replaces the level crossing in Waterloo Road, which was already closed for the new junction (roundabout) to be built but that will now be permanent. However, that's not a route of any use to me going to or from home, so it'd need a special visit to get there. Another bit of de facto ring road is planned that would make it more useful, but that has not even got to the full planning application stage.


Title: Re: Wokingham Station improvements
Post by: CyclingSid on May 05, 2022, 06:52:07
Went up over the new Waterloo Road bridge which is open, didn't go further (having just done a circuit of Bracknell). The Easthampstead Road crossing had a massive tail back, so I assume that the Waterloo Road project isn't finished.



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