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  • Westbury Station Closure: December 25, 2024
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Author Topic: Westbury - engineering works from 24th December 2024 for 30 days  (Read 18826 times)
grahame
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« on: March 15, 2024, 09:25:44 »

From the evening of 24th December for 30 days, "Westbury" will be closed for engineering works including track renewals.  Early notice of this was broken to attendees at the community briefing by GWR (Great Western Railway) on 14th March 2024, and it generated great interest and questions from the audience.   As it's early notice, plans are liable to amendemnt but ...

1. Warminster, Frome and Trowbridge will be used as railheads with buses between and service starting onwards from there.  In particular, I asked about Trowbridge where the sigalling does not allow for train reversal at the station.  I was reassured that both services to Bath and Bristol, and to Swindon, will operate from Trowbridge though their times may vary from the normal timetable.

2. I am unclear whether the Westbury avoiding line is also closed; I would imagine not, so that trains to the South West are not diverted via Bristol and so that freight from the quarries is not stopped for the month

3. I understand the opportunity is NOT being taken to make passive provision (let alone re-instate) the fourth platform at Westbury.  The fourth platform is something, GWR told us, they would like but would be a separate project at a later date.

4. Ticket acceptance for journeys from Bath and north west thereof to south east of Romsey via Reading was request and "yes in principle" but that was a hesitatent yes and so we should wait and see.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2024, 10:31:45 by grahame » Logged

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« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2024, 13:14:34 »

A month?!?! That’s ridiculous, why? They’ve only recently replaced track and switches at Westbury.

I’m not surprised it generated great interest and questions. To me, that seems a long time to have Westbury closed with all the implications for both those who travel from/connect at Westbury as well as those who are on trains that travel through Westbury from the south and Frome/Weymouth.

What benefit are passengers going to see from this major inconvenience? Not much I’d say without this massive opportunity being taken to reinstate a fourth platform.

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I was reassured that both services to Bath and Bristol, and to Swindon, will operate from Trowbridge though their times may vary from the normal timetable
Too right they ‘may vary’. There’s no way you could operate the current 3 trains an hour to Bath and services to Swindon at the same frequency without trains continuing towards Westbury and reversing there.

I’m not impressed, this seems to have come from nowhere. I understand closing a line for a week or two maximum, but a month? This isn’t going to be very popular.
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bobm
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« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2024, 13:53:15 »

Given the regular problems at Westbury North, Heywood Road and Hawkeridge - many of them reported on here - something needs to be done.  Apparently 30 point "ends" will be worked on during the month.  It was a little unclear if the station will be closed in all directions all the time during the works or whether there will be disruption on different routes at different times.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2024, 07:15:52 »

A month?!?! That’s ridiculous, why? They’ve only recently replaced track and switches at Westbury.

I’m not surprised it generated great interest and questions. To me, that seems a long time to have Westbury closed with all the implications for both those who travel from/connect at Westbury as well as those who are on trains that travel through Westbury from the south and Frome/Weymouth.

What benefit are passengers going to see from this major inconvenience? Not much I’d say without this massive opportunity being taken to reinstate a fourth platform.

Quote
I was reassured that both services to Bath and Bristol, and to Swindon, will operate from Trowbridge though their times may vary from the normal timetable
Too right they ‘may vary’. There’s no way you could operate the current 3 trains an hour to Bath and services to Swindon at the same frequency without trains continuing towards Westbury and reversing there.

I’m not impressed, this seems to have come from nowhere. I understand closing a line for a week or two maximum, but a month? This isn’t going to be very popular.

The first week of that month is Christmas so hardly anyone would be travelling anyway, and as we are always being told that time of year presents unique opportunities for large scale work.

What impact is this closure likely to have on long distance London - Devon/Cornwall services?
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grahame
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« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2024, 08:03:53 »

The first week of that month is Christmas so hardly anyone would be travelling anyway, and as we are always being told that time of year presents unique opportunities for large scale work.

What impact is this closure likely to have on long distance London - Devon/Cornwall services?

Yep, you could characterise that as 10 days over the holiday season and then 20 days when the people and daily flows are back.

I was unclear at the meeting as to whether the main line via the Westbury Avoider will be closed or not, and that would make a huge difference.  I suspect the people at the meeting are just learning into this too; the question WAS asked in passing but I don't think there was an answer.  If I was GWR (Great Western Railway), I would characterise the comments on Westbury as an early information piece to help prepare friends in the community and to pick up what were going to be the element GWR have to "sell" rather than any detail as yet.  The big thing they have to sell (in my mind) is that they are not taking the opportunity to do any "platform 4" work - even passive provision.  That's sad because when they do that work it will be another significant possession and further penalty payments / compensation paid within the industry; it make no sense to me NOT to be thinking about the 4th platform.
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« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2024, 17:57:10 »

And this is really going to help the situation!
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=28899.0

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The A36 Warminster Road will be fully closed between Limpley Stoke and Monkton Coombe from Monday 12 August 2024 til spring 2025.

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Mark A
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« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2024, 20:57:17 »

If, given the lead time, even passive provision for Westbury's platform 4 would fit with Labour's Louise Haigh's 'Move fast and fix things' mantra, it would be worth someone getting it on the table for consideration.

Mark
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grahame
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« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2024, 21:06:50 »

If, given the lead time, even passive provision for Westbury's platform 4 would fit with Labour's Louise Haigh's 'Move fast and fix things' mantra, it would be worth someone getting it on the table for consideration.

Mark

Indeed ... and as a reminder to Louise, all too often (and again today) when I was arriving in Westbury, we left B-o-A on time and got there five minutes late.

When I left Westbury, and empty train came in from the south on platform 2 even when the indicator said it was the Portsmouth and then went out to the siding. Judging by how  soon the Pompey then came in, it had been waifing outside too.

The Bristol train (not sure from where, but a good crowd already)  came in and left a few minutes late; might have only been a few minutes, but that was late enough for me to not risk changing to the bus which is "ever half hour" except when it isn't, like mid afternoon.
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« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2024, 04:27:18 »

Is Trowbridge station not bi-directional on the route to Westbury?
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grahame
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« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2024, 08:29:31 »

Is Trowbridge station not bi-directional on the route to Westbury?

No.  Sadly not. Can't even reverse a train at Trowbridge at either platform in either direction.
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« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2024, 12:15:41 »

Thanks Grahame for the info,

can I just clarify that you can come off the Melksham branch and do a cross over to the Bath Spa bound platform at Trowbridge?
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grahame
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« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2024, 13:14:30 »

Thanks Grahame for the info,

can I just clarify that you can come off the Melksham branch and do a cross over to the Bath Spa bound platform at Trowbridge?

Yes, via the footbridge onto a different train.   

Operationally, any train arriving the eastern platform in Trowbridge has to continue on towards Westbury whether it has arrived via Melksham or via Bradford-on-Avon.  The first place it can divert is at the junction just north of Westbury where it can turn left and head off round the corner onto the line to Pewsey.   And trains can NOT arrive at the western platform at Trowbridge from the north.  The same setup applies equal and opposite for trains coming up from the south.

What trains CAN do is go approach Bradford Junction from either Bradford-on-Avon or Melksham, pass the junction and pull up a train length or so beyond, and reverse ... heading back north either way.
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« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2024, 19:58:05 »

Thanks again Grahame for the info.

In this day and safety age,the railway don't want to train crew walking the rail lines.

Also it can be difficult for the driver to walk back through the train if its packed OR its two separate units.
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grahame
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« Reply #13 on: July 12, 2024, 20:10:22 »

Thanks again Grahame for the info.

In this day and safety age,the railway don't want to train crew walking the rail lines.

Also it can be difficult for the driver to walk back through the train if its packed OR its two separate units.

There is a separate footpath beside the railway line - put in at the time that trains were reversing there every hour while Box tunnel was - err - being prepared for electrification.    And I can't recall it ever actually being used for any non-corridored 2 unit trains.   Before we had IETs (Intercity Express Train) or turbos in these parts, and after the Adelantes had moved away.
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Mark A
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« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2024, 08:27:41 »

So... the work involved in making passive provision to return that Westbury platform to use... what might that involve and are there varying degrees of what might be done? At the least, if the winter 2024-25 work will be making it more difficult, it may be possible at this stage to at least avoid *that* outcome.

Mark
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