Yes, it was fairly tame down south.  The biggest problem with strong winds is the risk of large trees being brought down, and as such there's an element of luck involved as to just how many fall, what time and where.  This time the railway network was fairly 'lucky'.  Mind you, another problem in Autumn is strong winds bringing down a lot of leaves and rain then making them incredibly slippery, so the skills of a driver are often truly tested at such times.

You could say that... 

It could certainly enable CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) screens/announcements/apps to advise passengers where to wait on the platform - probably most useful for commuter routes, but then again I've seen plenty of trains out in the sticks with people standing completely unnecessarily.  I will also be of great assistance in optimising the use of stock as although manual passenger counts get done now, a much more accurate average load data for each train will be provided.

Yes, that little bit of Reading should be so much nicer and busier after the redevelopment is finished.  Good to see some tangible progress over the last few weeks on a scheme that seems to have take forever!

As with other projects that need the station to remain fully operational whilst major surgery is done on the structure of it, there will no doubt be a little inconvenience to users of the station, especially when the weather isn't great.  Sometimes it doesn't matter how well thought through it is, without spending megabucks it is just necessary to just put up with it for a while.  The same situation occurred at Reading in the early days of the remodelling (particularly on the old Platform 9) and is currently also happening at Burnham whilst the platform canopy is modified there.

Hopefully the level of inconvenience won't be too major, but with a new platform, extended platforms, revised track layout, turnback sidings, modified canopies, and new ticket hall and lifts to construct it's going to resemble a building site for a couple of years I would have thought!

More details about the specific alterations at Maidenhead for Crossrail can be found here:
http://74f85f59f39b887b696f-ab656259048fb93837ecc0ecbcf0c557.r23.cf3.rackcdn.com/assets/library/document/0/original/0002_r_w25maidenheadstnr1.pdf

Yes, it is a pretty neat plan and one that was pretty much the only option at [cough] West Drayton 

The land between the current formation and canal is ideal for smoothing out the curves to reinstate an extra platform for passenger use, and the platform 'extension' will, in reality, be almost a completely new platform.  The new footbridge will make providing lifts much easier than using the current subway, and presumably a much more inviting concourse/ticket hall will be provided.

It looks as if work has already started on getting the land ready for the new platform to be built, which will presumably have to happen before the old platform can be fully demolished.  I'm guessing that freight trains will cross onto the existing up relief line before the station (using the new crossover marked on the map), so that the new platform can be built without disrupting the station workings too much.

Yes, the 15:21 would be the return working of the 14:20 I mentioned in the previous post.  How busy is it?

There's going to be a transitional period between as SET^▸ (Super Express Train (now IET))'s come on-stream and gradually replacing HST's and I wouldn't be at all surprised that if there are any obvious capacity problems with the timetable and diagrams that eventually transpire (and I share concerns over the Cotswold Line peak workings) during that transition, the idea keeping a couple of sets for use on the Hereford trains (as well as those already being kept for Cornwall) might well be considered the best option.

They'll use the existing crossovers north of the station, so any route north is possible.  Speeds are quite slow though, 10mph departing the station then 15mph up to rejoining the 'Up Main' line via the existing crossover around half-a-mile away.

The Class 222s were remarshalled into different length units which gives more flexibility, for example something like the 7-car formations in use now might be a perfect length to have on some of the Cotswold Line trains as they become busier over the years.  That could potentially be achieved through reducing some of the 5-car trains to 4-car and lengthening others, or or course by building additional intermediate vehicles.  All of this is allowed for in the specification, and I guess my point is that we're not necessarily stuck with 5-car and 9-car trains forever, just because that is what's being initially built.



I don't know what the interior layout it, so I wouldn't want to assume anything.  I wouldn't be surprised if interior fittings are minimal (perhaps even little seating yet) and banks of computers are installed in some areas to help with the testing programme, though that sort of thing is being done more and more by remote monitoring these days.  The layout of the train is very modular meaning that items can be fairly easily slotted into place.  I don't mean that you could just lift out a kitchen unit from one end and plonk it in the middle of the train ready for use the next day, but if that's what is specified for the GWML trains then that would be easily done when the trains are being manufactured and might differ from any layout in one of the prototype trains.  I do admit though that I'm getting less and less hopeful about there being a buffet facility available to all passengers in the form we currently enjoy on HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train).  The wording in the spec is:

TS1634
Catering facilities must minimise the use of Furnishable Space, without compromising safety or functionality, and will be compatible with the building block principle for the selection of interior layouts appropriate to each franchise operation.

12:44 and 14:20 departures to London are 3-car, but practically everything else is either 5 or 6 cars.

There's a semaphore shunting signal, which could have been used to signal that move, but it should happen only during times of disruption (i.e. something preventing the normal shunt from taking place) and if all the points were hand-secured and locked in position.

Here's a good one.  I doubt Amersham-Watford trains would be in the hands of a Class 200 Voyager, and that picture certainly isn't taken at Amersham or Watford - but where is it taken...?

http://www.getbucks.co.uk/news/local-news/direct-trains-amersham-watford-introduced-7941389

This new turnback facility at Hereford is to be introduced following the commissioning of two signals early next month.  The two signals are located at the northern end of Platforms 1 and 2 and will mean trains arriving from the northern end will be able to depart back the other way without having to do the cumbersome shunt to Platform 3 via the south of the station.  This could remove some conflicting moves and should result in much quicker turnrounds should a London train arrive late.

Good news, and a prime example of a fairly cheap, quick win scheme.

Meanwhile, Princess Anne, a frequent user of the railways (though when she's due to catch a Turbo operated service, it's amazing how a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) can be rustled out of nowhere instead  ), has officially 'opened' the new section of track:

http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/11542616._/