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Author Topic: Engineering work to close St Ives branch Jan to Feb 2021  (Read 18934 times)
bobm
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« on: November 12, 2020, 11:36:54 »

https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/planned-engineering/st-ives

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From Monday 4 January to Sunday 7 February 2021:

buses will replace trains between St Erth and St Ives

buses will run every 30 minutes with all services calling at Carbis Bay. Services will also call hourly at Lelant

replacement buses will depart at different times to normal trains in order to connect with trains at St Erth
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Thatcham Crossing
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« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2020, 13:10:47 »

The linked article above talks about 5 weeks of track renewal work. Does anyone know how much of the branch is being re-layed?
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« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2020, 15:54:45 »

In four week I would have thought they could relay a great deal. Although I have to say when I went down a few weeks ago there was very little sign of rough riding. But there are a lot of rather ancient looking wood sleepers in places
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« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2020, 13:18:28 »

The linked article above talks about 5 weeks of track renewal work. Does anyone know how much of the branch is being re-layed?

One and a half miles, I believe.  A third of the branch.
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« Reply #4 on: November 16, 2020, 23:07:27 »

from the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) -

Where is the work taking place?
Network Rail will be working between Carbis Bay and St Ives to renew the track along that section of line.
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Thatcham Crossing
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« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2020, 07:46:44 »

Quote
Where is the work taking place?
Network Rail will be working between Carbis Bay and St Ives to renew the track along that section of line.
Quote

I walked the coastal path that follows the line back in August and I would say a lot of that stretch is made up of very old-looking wooden sleepers and non-continuous rails. Good to see the investment. I assume linespeeds will stay the same? (not above 30mph on the branch IIRC (if I recall/remember/read correctly))
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TonyK
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« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2020, 19:24:10 »

A little more detail from Rail Advent

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Cornwall set to have ?3m track upgrade on the St Ives Bay Line
Buses will replace trains while the work is carried out
 By Alan Holden


Credit: Network Rail
Work will start in the new year on upgrading the track between Carbis Bay and St Ives in a ?3m project by Network Rail.

In what has been described as the biggest track investment in Cornwall since the 1950s, Network Rail will be carrying out work over a 5 week period between Sunday the 3rd of January and Monday the 8th of February 2021

Around 1.5 miles of new track will be laid along with 3,600 new railway sleepers and over 400 tonnes of ballast.

While the work is being carried out, train operator Great Western Railway will be operating a half-hourly replacement bus service.

The bus will run between St Ives and St Erth and passengers are asked to plan ahead and check times before travelling.

Trains between Plymouth and Penzance will still run on the mainline while this improvement work takes place.

Lee Hildreth, Network Rail?s project manager, said: ?This is a huge piece of work, but it will make a real difference as it will reduce delays and improve reliability for passengers in Cornwall.?

?It is the biggest track upgrade for generations, and it has been planned so it can be done as safely and as quickly as possible.?

?However, buses will replace trains while the work is ongoing, so we urge passengers to check before they travel and thanks them in advance for their patience.?

Mark Chorley, GWR (Great Western Railway) Regional Station Manager, West, said: ?We have been working hard to make sure that people can be confident to travel safely, and that includes running as many replacement buses as we can to make extra room, as well as enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures.?

?This work is important to ensure we can continue to maintain and improve reliability on this very popular and scenic branch line, and we thank customers for their patience in advance.?

Councillor Andrea Davis, chair of Peninsula Rail Task Force, said: ?At this time of uncertainty with the ongoing pandemic it is heartening that Network Rail is investing in the Cornish network, this substantial upgrade is very welcome and will give a much-needed boost to the far South West economy as we move to the recovery phase.?
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« Reply #7 on: December 30, 2020, 22:48:06 »

The Logistics of this operation must be frightful. I presume almost all of the Car Park at the Station is being used at St Ives. Transporting heavy machinery to all sites of the work will be quite a task. 
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« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2020, 07:06:40 »

The Logistics of this operation must be frightful. I presume almost all of the Car Park at the Station is being used at St Ives. Transporting heavy machinery to all sites of the work will be quite a task. 

You will be surprised how little equipment is used that requires the use of car park type space.  The biggest demand will be the parking for the workforce and welfare facilities, I expect the project team will have planned for this.

Rail, sleepers, ballast is delivered and recovered by rail
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bobm
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« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2020, 11:12:30 »

You can see the first couple of sleepers have been delivered in the photo above.   Grin
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TonyK
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« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2020, 11:41:39 »

Rail, sleepers, ballast is delivered and recovered by rail

1.5 miles is 20 x 250m lengths of rail. 400 tonnes of ballast is presumably about 20 wagon loads? Concrete sleepers are about 200 - 220 Kg, so about 800 to 900 tonnes, a lot less if wood is used. So in total, five or six trains, at a rough guess. Perhaps a real expert could fill in the details, but what would be a massive logistical exercise for road vehicles is all in a day's work on a railway. Still impressive, though.
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« Reply #11 on: December 31, 2020, 13:09:52 »

Rail, sleepers, ballast is delivered and recovered by rail

1.5 miles is 20 x 250m lengths of rail. 400 tonnes of ballast is presumably about 20 wagon loads? Concrete sleepers are about 200 - 220 Kg, so about 800 to 900 tonnes, a lot less if wood is used. So in total, five or six trains, at a rough guess. Perhaps a real expert could fill in the details, but what would be a massive logistical exercise for road vehicles is all in a day's work on a railway. Still impressive, though.

Expect the majority of the sleepers top be steel
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« Reply #12 on: January 01, 2021, 08:35:02 »

The CRS website news today has images that confirm steel sleepers. No doubt there will be updates on there as work proceeds.
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« Reply #13 on: January 01, 2021, 20:50:46 »

The CRS website news today has images that confirm steel sleepers. No doubt there will be updates on there as work proceeds.

So that's 12 standard container loads, max, if British Steel aren't exaggerating.

Quote
Steel ties are lighter than concrete sleepers and have the added benefit of being stackable. Container shipping is an economical option with 300-400 standard gauge sleepers or 450-600 metric gauge sleepers being contained within one standard 20ft shipping container. Sleepers are typically stacked in bundles of 10 which can be lifted with a standard forklift truck. Individual sleepers are light enough to be manually handled on site if required. Fewer vehicle movements on site improves safety and reduces the environmental impact of the project too.
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« Reply #14 on: January 01, 2021, 21:04:20 »

The CRS website news today has images that confirm steel sleepers. No doubt there will be updates on there as work proceeds.

So that's 12 standard container loads, max, if British Steel aren't exaggerating.

Quote
Steel ties are lighter than concrete sleepers and have the added benefit of being stackable. Container shipping is an economical option with 300-400 standard gauge sleepers or 450-600 metric gauge sleepers being contained within one standard 20ft shipping container. Sleepers are typically stacked in bundles of 10 which can be lifted with a standard forklift truck. Individual sleepers are light enough to be manually handled on site if required. Fewer vehicle movements on site improves safety and reduces the environmental impact of the project too.

They will arrive by rail and one of these track laying consists used https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/stafford-rail-development-sets-track-laying-record-as-it-enters-final-stages-1
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