£140 million plan to address Paddington - Reading shambles

[whole diary]

[nickswift99]

The up-facing bay on the relief is long gone and wouldn't have been big enough. I remember the 165 failing to stop at the buffers.

[infoman]

I think I am correct that the down main and up and down relief lines are bi-directional at Slough?

I would prefer to be 15 miles from my destination that 30 miles

number 5 bus to heathrow then piccadily line to central london?

[IndustryInsider]

I think I am correct that the down main and up and down relief lines are bi-directional at Slough?

I would prefer to be 15 miles from my destination that 30 miles

number 5 bus to heathrow then piccadily line to central london?

Yes, that's right.

You can turn back at many station on the route. Twyford, Maidenhead, Slough, West Drayton, Hayes and Ealing Broadway all have some form of turnback options, either in the platform or by shunting - but none of them is particularly ideal and can't cope with anywhere near as many trains as Reading can if the line is blocked somewhere ahead.

Trouble is the number 5 bus would soon get swamped with even one train load of people trying to get on it.  During planned engineering then rail replacement buses can be arranged, but that is difficult/impossible at short notice.

Reading has the option of Waterloo which can soak up a lot more passengers, as well as other advantages, which is why it's usually used.

[a-driver]

What ideas do members think could solve some of the problems in the short and long term.

Sort the conflicting timetable out. There’s several passenger trains constantly delayed by freight because the pathing doesn’t work

Prevent freight running on the route at the busiest times of days

Understand your assets better. Identify problem areas and rectify them before they become more serious.

[a-driver]

I would hope the money is spent on addressing causes rather than symptoms.

Good on Mayor Khan for sticking his head above the parapet like this and pointing out that NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s performance is unacceptable.

Certain TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) MDs could learn a bit from that.

All well and good Khan doing this in public but it achieves very little if nothing unless you aren’t prepared to meet Network Rail and give both barrels to their face. Piping up in the media now and again is merely a PR^▸ (Public Relations) exercise.

[infoman]

Prevent freight running on the route at the busiest times of days

I don't know what the busiest times of the day/times are,but I was caught up in two  separate Sunday disruption incidents in the last two months.

In my opinion Sundays have been become very busy and if anything has exceeded pre-covid levels.

Travellers who use weekend services,

may travel only once or twice a year and will not have the experience of how to get away from Paddington like most members on this sight
 

[Electric train]

I would hope the money is spent on addressing causes rather than symptoms.

Good on Mayor Khan for sticking his head above the parapet like this and pointing out that NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s performance is unacceptable.

Certain TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) MDs could learn a bit from that.

All well and good Khan doing this in public but it achieves very little if nothing unless you aren’t prepared to meet Network Rail and give both barrels to their face. Piping up in the media now and again is merely a PR^▸ (Public Relations) exercise.

The Mayor for London has regular meetings with Network Rail CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer), my understanding they are very robust meetings.  Politicians have the "freedom" to make critical statements to the press and media about public companies such as NR and TOC's but these companies cannot be critical of political bodies (Government, Local Authorities etc)

I agree I do hope the WW Region spend the money and the extra disruptive access wisely and fix the underlying problems and not just put a sticky plaster over them

 

[a-driver]

Prevent freight running on the route at the busiest times of days

I don't know what the busiest times of the day/times are,but I was caught up in two  separate Sunday disruption incidents in the last two months.

In my opinion Sundays have been become very busy and if anything has exceeded pre-covid levels.

Travellers who use weekend services,

may travel only once or twice a year and will not have the experience of how to get away from Paddington like most members on this sight
 

True. Sundays are extremely busy now but it is also much quieter in terms of freight.

The traditional weekday peak periods still exist, they’ll never return to pre-Covid levels, but they’re still there.

The Mayor for London has regular meetings with Network Rail CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer), my understanding they are very robust meetings.  Politicians have the "freedom" to make critical statements to the press and media about public companies such as NR^» (Network Rail - home page) and TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s but these companies cannot be critical of political bodies (Government, Local Authorities etc)

I agree I do hope the WW Region spend the money and the extra disruptive access wisely and fix the underlying problems and not just put a sticky plaster over them

That’s good to hear.

Personally, it needs a lot more spent than what is being proposed. A better understanding of its assets and preventative maintenance is what’s ultimately required. Getting ETCS^▸ (European Train Control System) to Reading must also be a priority.

[TaplowGreen]

I would hope the money is spent on addressing causes rather than symptoms.

Good on Mayor Khan for sticking his head above the parapet like this and pointing out that NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s performance is unacceptable.

Certain TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) MDs could learn a bit from that.

All well and good Khan doing this in public but it achieves very little if nothing unless you aren’t prepared to meet Network Rail and give both barrels to their face. Piping up in the media now and again is merely a PR^▸ (Public Relations) exercise.

The Mayor for London has regular meetings with Network Rail CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer), my understanding they are very robust meetings.  Politicians have the "freedom" to make critical statements to the press and media about public companies such as NR and TOC's but these companies cannot be critical of political bodies (Government, Local Authorities etc)


 

Any company or individual is free to criticise "political bodies, Government, Local Authorities etc" - the failure to do so, even when they or their customers are particularly affected by individual policies/strategies generally comes down to weakness and/or self interest at senior levels -  and as we've seen more recently the meek acceptance/silence is often rewarded after a few years with ermine, knighthoods or lesser gongs.

[a-driver]

I would hope the money is spent on addressing causes rather than symptoms.

Good on Mayor Khan for sticking his head above the parapet like this and pointing out that NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s performance is unacceptable.

Certain TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) MDs could learn a bit from that.

All well and good Khan doing this in public but it achieves very little if nothing unless you aren’t prepared to meet Network Rail and give both barrels to their face. Piping up in the media now and again is merely a PR^▸ (Public Relations) exercise.

The Mayor for London has regular meetings with Network Rail CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer), my understanding they are very robust meetings.  Politicians have the "freedom" to make critical statements to the press and media about public companies such as NR and TOC's but these companies cannot be critical of political bodies (Government, Local Authorities etc)


 

Any company or individual is free to criticise "political bodies, Government, Local Authorities etc" - the failure to do so, even when they or their customers are particularly affected by individual policies/strategies generally comes down to weakness and/or self interest at senior levels -  and as we've seen more recently the meek acceptance/silence is often rewarded after a few years with ermine, knighthoods or lesser gongs.

Any company or individual is free to criticise "political bodies, Government, Local Authorities etc"   Unless it’s a contract stipulation. Which it is.

Criticisms don’t have to be publicly made in order to achieve progress or results.

[TaplowGreen]

I would hope the money is spent on addressing causes rather than symptoms.

Good on Mayor Khan for sticking his head above the parapet like this and pointing out that NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s performance is unacceptable.

Certain TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) MDs could learn a bit from that.

All well and good Khan doing this in public but it achieves very little if nothing unless you aren’t prepared to meet Network Rail and give both barrels to their face. Piping up in the media now and again is merely a PR^▸ (Public Relations) exercise.

The Mayor for London has regular meetings with Network Rail CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer), my understanding they are very robust meetings.  Politicians have the "freedom" to make critical statements to the press and media about public companies such as NR and TOC's but these companies cannot be critical of political bodies (Government, Local Authorities etc)


 

Any company or individual is free to criticise "political bodies, Government, Local Authorities etc" - the failure to do so, even when they or their customers are particularly affected by individual policies/strategies generally comes down to weakness and/or self interest at senior levels -  and as we've seen more recently the meek acceptance/silence is often rewarded after a few years with ermine, knighthoods or lesser gongs.

Any company or individual is free to criticise "political bodies, Government, Local Authorities etc"   Unless it’s a contract stipulation. Which it is.

Criticisms don’t have to be publicly made in order to achieve progress or results.

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

[a-driver]

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right includes freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

Unfortunately, these days the reality is that’s slowly being eroded away. For example, many TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) will monitor their employees social media profiles.  I’ve known people to even be suspended as a result of what they’ve posted.

[REVUpminster]

Isn't the signalling between Paddington and Reading computer controlled that selects the optimum path taking into account where all the trains are?

No good if the overhead wiring keeps falling down.

[infoman]

just curious, are the UR/DR lines on a  separate circuit than the UM/DM lines?

[nickswift99]

Isn't the signalling between Paddington and Reading computer controlled that selects the optimum path taking into account where all the trains are?

No good if the overhead wiring keeps falling down.

ARS^▸ (Automatic Route Setting) was installed in the 90s as part of the Paddington remodelling. If it’s still in used it can be selectively enabled/disabled in zones allowing it to support a signaller rather than replacing them. This allows a signaller to focus on a problem area rather than the more routine routing.