Why would an extra platform cost 6 million pounds?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I'm trying to get some figures to add up ... I'm seeing 45 million for the redoubling from Swindon to Kemble, and 6 million for re-instating a track against the bare platform face in Westbury.

Passenger trains can already use the extra line that's away from the platform edge in Westbury, as happened when a 150 split the points and close platforms 1 and 2 and cut off access to the Salisbury line from platform 3, so all that's really needed is a slewing of the tracks as far as I can make out. The platform face has every appearance of being in good nick. So how does that come to 6 million pounds?   For seven times that amount they're slewing 15 miles of track and adding a second track to the north of the county,  and there's lots of impressive engineering works involved with that too as we've seen from some of the excellent pictures on here. 



P.S.  For 6 million you could build 30 to 40 rather nice houses ... I looked that up to help put it in context!

[Rhydgaled]

Didn't the entire reconstruction of Fishguard & Goodwick station (complete with new building just for looks which doesn't have any of the character of the original and doesn't do the original justice at all) cost less than ^1m? That included resurfacing of the platform AND slewing the track, though at Westbury an additional track might be planned rather than slewing the one that is there. Since it isn't next to the platform at the moment, there must be a reason for it not to be a platform line.

Could be worth challanging that cost, even if they have to put in an extra line I can't see why it would cost much more than a 15th of the cost of redoubling 15 miles of track. Unless they have to close Westbury station to do it and the ^6m covers compensation for not being able to run trains.

[chuffed]

If one uses the Portishead line saga as an example, by far the greatest cost will be all the 'consultants' lawyers, appeals counter appeals, judicial reviews etc etc etc, not to mention all the over engineering and elfn safety... a bottomless pit or so it appears. The Chinese would just get on and do it all in a fortnight.

[eightf48544]

They regauged the whole of the West in one weekend so the Westbury slew should be about 12 hours!

[John R]

Couldn't you extend the platform face out to the track?

Some of the cost could be if the line needs to be resignalled to be bidirectional if it's currently not, but it still sounds pricey.

[paul7575]

They may want to keep the existing freight loop capability outside of the new platform line though? 

Unless there's some exact details forthcoming of exactly what they want to achieve, it'll be difficult to work out, but suppose they want a few signals, a few sets of points, and potentially existing signalling altered from freight to passenger standards etc.  It all starts adding up.  Then maybe a relatively fast new route across the existing east end layout to allow trains into the new platform road having come from the Trowbridge direction - a couple of new crossovers or more?

I can't remember the exact figure given in one of the railway magazines for what was called a 'signalling equivalent unit' (SEU), where any random SEU was given an average deemed cost, be it a set of points, or a signal, or anything to do with signalling.   The SEU cost would include all the alterations to interlocking, the signaller's displays, controls, communications changes TPWS^▸ (Train Protection and Warning System), ATP^▸ (Automatic Train Protection), AWS^▸ (Automatic Warning System) etc etc, and was hundreds of thousands per SEU.

Paul

[Nibat]

I don't know how much of what I'm going to say is true, but it's what I've always been told when mentioning platdorm lengthening and the costs implied...

Apparently, when NR^» (Network Rail - home page) does any work on a platform, then it is consider a station modernization and all the disability access regulations must be followed for the resulting 'new' station.  So to put that platform back in service will mean that the whole station loses the old bulding excemptions and the whole station must be made disable accessible.

So that's why NR almost never does any work on any old station platform without lifts or ramps already fitted...

But, as I said, it could all be a lie that somehow makes some sense to me!   

[JayMac]

Well, Westbury already has lifts installed. One of which will give access to this platform face.

[thetrout]

A member of station staff said there were several issues with the 4th platform at Westbury.

Apparently there are alot of cables between the platform and track which means that the platform can't just be extended out.

But when they move the track they are presented with the same problem so have to move the cables anyway.

I don't know if WSB^» (Westbury - next trains) has listed building status as altering the platform may cause this to be an issue so both track and cables must be moved.

Of course I am only quoting what a staff member said to me a few months ago so I cannot say for definite if that's true or not...?!

[ellendune]

Th station does not appear to be listed.