Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption elsewhere - ongoing, since Oct 2014

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

Looks like trains are now getting through yet GWhelp are still advising people use Waterloo services.

[broadgage]

Yes, another very poor performance.

With this sort of thing likely to be a regular feature, there really needs to be some better contingency plans for when the wires come down.
1) require that ALL new AC electric trains have a standby energy source, either batteries or a small diesel engine.
2) provide a better walkway in the cess on busier routes to facilitate walking with luggage when this happens.
3) When GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) services are SNAFU^▸ (Situation Normal: All Fouled Up (I have toned down the F word)), run extra trains from Reading to Waterloo.

Look at ways to speed up giving the authority to pass signals at danger.
For example wires down or other c0ck up, train stuck in platform.
Let passengers off, then get authority to pass signal at danger at WALKING SPEED so as to just clear the platform.
The following train that would otherwise be held at the preceding signal, can then be given permission to pull forward, unload passengers in the platform.

This would only be readily applicable on plain line, but could allow up to 3 trains to be unloaded at each platform instead of just one.

 

[SandTEngineer]

It doesn't help on a Sunday having a two track railway due to engineering work (for both maintenance and renewals).  Don't know how you could easily solve that one.

Lets hope that the work to upgrade the existing headspan areas gets more priority (and funding).

[bradshaw]

Copied from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Journey Check just now

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires earlier today between Cheltenham Spa and Swindon fewer trains are able to run.

[PhilWakely]

Copied from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Journey Check just now

Due to damage to the overhead electric wires earlier today between Cheltenham Spa and Swindon fewer trains are able to run.

Didn't realise that there were overhead electric wires between Cheltenham Spa and Swindon 

[Puffing Billy]

The information desk at Reading was conspicuously empty around 1300 today. In addition, the display boards are quite unhelpful when  it comes to anything other than a specific delay or cancellation. Could not the "Delayed" indication be followed by an optional line to say e.g. "Delayed between XXXX and XXXX"? Seeing the 1335 to Taunton "delayed", I assumed it had been stuck in the affected location and therefore might not arrive for hours, so I made the snap decision to make a beeline for the 1309 Swansea service and got reasonable connections at Swindon and Bristol TM^‡(resolve). But they must have known sometime in advance that the train was not coming from London in the first place and instead would be started from Reading, so it would be helpful if they could say so.

[YouKnowNothing]

Is the head span system due to be replaced? The 2 track issue goes back to my previous post about when will PAX be expecting to see a weekend without renewal or maintenance work going on?

It doesn't help on a Sunday having a two track railway due to engineering work (for both maintenance and renewals).  Don't know how you could easily solve that one.

Lets hope that the work to upgrade the existing headspan areas gets more priority (and funding).

[eightonedee]

They are wide in comparison to the old Platforms 4a and 4b (especially at the far ends), with a reduction of clutter on the platform, such as vending machinges, which is what I was getting at.  They also have a much larger waiting area at the concourse end - the Twitter photo shows that being used to good effect.  Much better.

As someone who uses these platforms almost daily during the week to commute, and have done so since 2001, I am not impressed. "Less clutter" means fewer seats -actually now benches - and an inadequate roof that's too high to provide shelter.

The former adequate platform signage was replaced by new smaller dot-matrix signs that are so far apart that even my quite good distance vision struggles to read when on much of the platform, compounded by the ones at the inner ends being half hidden behind a transverse beam, with the added problem that the curve on platform 5 means you cannot even see all the width of the half-hidden screen.

Yes, there is a little more room at the inner end of the platforms, but this doesn't seem to done much to alleviate the crush shown in the pictures of today's problems.

When the reconstruction was underway, a member of staff told me not to worry, once the project was complete Gatwick trains would depart from the main platforms, which bearing in mind that we the taxpayers kindly spent (I guess) £100,000s on reopening the underpass seemed credible. However, we end up with those the industry is (presumably) trying to encourage to use this service having to struggle all the way down the length of platform 7 with their luggage, and if they have the misfortune to have a platform 4 departure experiencing the problem referred to in my last post. Even if they have a platform 5 or 6 departure, until recently early evening departures were often on a Turbo parked behind another adding further to the distance the poor traveler had to haul their luggage.

Sadly, these are just some of the poorly thought out (from the passenger's point of view) ergonomic details that spoil the experience of using the new station, taking the edge off a project that was completed on time and within budget in a very challenging location. Perhaps there's a new thread looming here - Improving the Reading experience? - where issues such as the dreadful signage and inconvenient platform allocation and use, could be aired!

 

 

[onthecushions]

All through the 90's and 00's I travelled daily under the HEx wires and can't recall them ever coming down. Headspans seemed to work fine when competently maintained within their performance envelope.

What are they poking up into the Over-Head Line Equipment (OHLE) these days?

OTC


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying acronyms

[Incider]

All through the 90's and 00's I travelled daily under the HEx wires and can't recall them ever coming down. Headspans seemed to work fine when competently maintained within their performance envelope.

What are they poking up into the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") these days?

OTC

A 387 today.......   
 For years the wires only had light use, now the 387’s and 800’s are causing a significant increase in wear and tear.

[sikejsudjek3]

Not surprised the staff disappear when anything goes wrong, their managing director is leading from the front in this respect...

[IndustryInsider]

As someone who uses these platforms almost daily during the week to commute, and have done so since 2001, I am not impressed. "Less clutter" means fewer seats -actually now benches - and an inadequate roof that's too high to provide shelter.

Yes, there is a little more room at the inner end of the platforms, but this doesn't seem to done much to alleviate the crush shown in the pictures of today's problems.

I take your points about signage and so on, but the following two photos show the much better passenger flow that is now achieved - as you say a few benches have since been added, but nothing like the clutter that was there before with vending machines, trolley stacks and awkwardly placed seating (as well as, not in the picture, the old ticket check booth which got right in the way with everyone having to funnel into almost single file).  And the canopy was doubled in length, even if maybe not the perfect design.  I dread to think how 4a and 4b as was would have managed with today's number of passengers.

[TaplowGreen]

Not surprised the staff disappear when anything goes wrong, their managing director is leading from the front in this respect...

…….but surely in order to disappear, firstly you have to appear? 

[SandTEngineer]

As someone who uses these platforms almost daily during the week to commute, and have done so since 2001, I am not impressed. "Less clutter" means fewer seats -actually now benches - and an inadequate roof that's too high to provide shelter.

Yes, there is a little more room at the inner end of the platforms, but this doesn't seem to done much to alleviate the crush shown in the pictures of today's problems.

I take your points about signage and so on, but the following two photos show the much better passenger flow that is now achieved - as you say a few benches have since been added, but nothing like the clutter that was there before with vending machines, trolley stacks and awkwardly placed seating (as well as, not in the picture, the old ticket check booth which got right in the way with everyone having to funnel into almost single file).  And the canopy was doubled in length, even if maybe not the perfect design.  I dread to think how 4a and 4b as was would have managed with today's number of passengers.

Yes.  And before that the single, very exposed and narrow Platform 4A.

[broadgage]

All through the 90's and 00's I travelled daily under the HEx wires and can't recall them ever coming down. Headspans seemed to work fine when competently maintained within their performance envelope.
What are they poking up into the OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") these days?
OTC

Exploding pigeons ?