Swindon to Kemble re-doubling - ongoing discussion and updates

[whole diary]

[Railfriend]

Ellendune, apparently Network Rail or one of its contractors is setting up a temporary control system at Swindon that will run alongside the Swindon Control Panel so that the Swindon-Kemble double track will come into full operation at the end of August, i.e. no need to wait for regional control to be moved from Swindon to Didcot.  The contractors need to have all of the double track in place by 13 July to avoid heavy overrun penalties.  By that date all of the new track should be in place apart from the connections to be made at both ends when the existing pair of switches are removed.  Their removal and connection of the double track will take place in the same closure period (end of August) as double-track control starts. 

[ellendune]

Excellent news I went up there yesterday morning at a time when it is normally dark, but it is June so I can report that apart from the section at Kemble, there is only one short section where the track is not complete and that looks as if it is all there to ballast level and mostly sleepered. 

[eightf48544]

Interesting they've manged to come up with a solution to the siganaling on the new line coupling it to the existing Swindon panel.

One wonders if that could have been at Wolvercote and Norton Junction to allow a short length of double track at either end of the Cotswold line to allow trains to get on the branch and clear the mainlines.

[bobm]

According to the latest update issued by the Swindon Panel Preservation Society, the signalling control of the re-doubled line will be installed at the Thames Valley Signalling Centre in Didcot rather than from a temporary unit at Swindon.

[Railfriend]

According to the latest update issued by the Swindon Panel Preservation Society, the signalling control of the re-doubled line will be installed at the Thames Valley Signalling Centre in Didcot rather than from a temporary unit at Swindon.

bob, does this mean that Swindon will still be in control of the other lines into Swindon but Didcot will be in control of the Kemble segment?  If so, how would control be co-ordinated?  Doesn't it require the same person(s) in one location being in control of all traffic in/out of Swindon?  Just wondering.

[grahame]

http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Doubling-Kemble-Swindon-railway-line-live/story-21465816-detail/story.html?

Commuters rejoice: The doubling of the Kemble to Swindon line will go live this September promising fewer delays and more trains.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for the Cotswolds, said: ^I have campaigned for the redoubling of the Swindon-Kemble line for many years and I am naturally incredibly pleased that this work should be completed soon.

^I was pleased to have successfully convinced the Chancellor of the Exchequer to invest ^40 million in this line and since then I have been pressing hard to ensure that when the line is completed First Great Western operate an enhanced number of trains to increase the regularity of trains.^

Where do the aspirations / plans for an increased service sit?   I've seen / heard certain ideas, but would love a fill in from our 'line experts' as to the options, possibilities, etc.

[patch38]

"New signal equipment has also been installed."

It hasn't yet, has it? Or at least it's still in progress. There was, however, a minorly momentous occasion last week where I saw two trains pass each other on the line for the first time (a NR^» (Network Rail - home page) test train on the down and a scheduled service on the up).

[ChrisB]

As part of the locally-consulted timetable changes for May15, I do believe some were for the South Cotswolds.

[Sapperton Tunnel]

"New signal equipment has also been installed."

It hasn't yet, has it? Or at least it's still in progress. There was, however, a minorly momentous occasion last week where I saw two trains pass each other on the line for the first time (a NR^» (Network Rail - home page) test train on the down and a scheduled service on the up).

Some signals have been repositioned and are in use, otherwise they would foul the line where the new track has been laid. There are two new signal sections in each direction already in use between Kemble and Stroud as it is no good doubling the Swindon to Kemble bit if you don't increase the capacity between Kemble and Standish Junction.

There has never been a case, other than resilience, for doubling Swindon to Kemble in hard economic terms on its own. With an 11 minute scheduled journey time from Swindon Loco Yard, where the single line begins, to Kemble, a 1/2 hourly interval service has in times past reckoned to be feasible. I think in the days of the route studies (or whatever they were called) Wales & West / Wessex / GWT / FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had 'aspirations' for a '1 or 2 trains an hour' service from Gloucester to Swindon, '1 of which will continue to London Paddington'.

A year or so ago, the provisional train plan for IEPs^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) was published on WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) and referenced somewhere on here. Looking at it I noticed that Up and Down IEPs were due to pass each other between Swindon and Kemble.

With the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) requirement for a certain level of national train punctuality (92.6% is it?) resilience and timekeeping therefore has a value to it and that, along with providing a diversionary route to South Wales, plus lots political pressure and the government trying to spend as much as it can reasonably justify on infrastructure, the re-doubling happened.   

     

[grahame]

A year or so ago, the provisional train plan for IEPs^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) was published on WNXX^▸ (Stored Unserviceable, Mainline Locos HQ All Classes) and referenced somewhere on here. Looking at it I noticed that Up and Down IEPs were due to pass each other between Swindon and Kemble.

That is logical ... it's going to be just under an hour's run from Minety to Cheltenham Spa, and just under an hour back.  The fact that a train takes slightly over an hour to get from Swindon to Cheltenham has lead to the need to have 2 units for the 2-hourly 15x service that runs at present, with a unit sitting at Swindon for painfully long periods.

Should the IEP run hourly to that pattern, with a fill in train meeting the "more trains" aspiration stated in the Gloucestershire echo, then those fill in train would logically pass each other at around Minety too, leading again to a 45 minute turn around at Swindon in every hour  ... except  ... if the fill in train carried on west and south, it would pass the next one just before Chippenham, and the one after that at around Dilton Marsh ...

[SandTEngineer]

I thought the main driver for this project was it will be used as a prime diversionary route for South Wales trains when electrification work gets well underway.

[patch38]

http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/11350983.Kemble_upgrades_on_track_for_September

Rail improvements to redouble the line between Kemble and Swindon are on track to finish in late August. 
The ^45million project to upgrade the railway started in January 2013, planning put an old double line back into service.
Work for the upgrades has involved improving earthworks to accommodate new track and adding signalling equipment along the stretch of railway.
 
The confirmation of the works^ progress was confirmed by network rail during a recent sitting of the Environment and Communities Committee and will be officially announced in the coming weeks.

When works are finished the new redoubled line will allow four trains an hour in each direction.
 
Cllr. John Cordwell, who was involved for a long-time with the redoubling of the line through his regional work, said: ^m very pleased that it is going ahead at last and hope that it will lead to faster and increased services to and from London.^
 

[Railfriend]

"New signal equipment has also been installed."

It hasn't yet, has it? Or at least it's still in progress. There was, however, a minorly momentous occasion last week where I saw two trains pass each other on the line for the first time (a NR^» (Network Rail - home page) test train on the down and a scheduled service on the up).

Two trains passing each other.  Does this mean that the ends of the new track have now been connected to the existing track at both ends, with the switches at both ends (including the one at the north end of Kemble Tunnel) no longer being in use?

[grahame]

I thought the main driver for this project was it will be used as a prime diversionary route for South Wales trains when electrification work gets well underway.

Agreed.

But.

Once something has been done with a "main driver", though, the question should be asked "what else does this give us?"  The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about), for example, sees that it give the ability to be more efficient with daily use trains on the London to Cheltenham Spa route, with services passing one another for efficient stock use where that hasn't been possible for many years ...

[paul7575]

I thought the main driver for this project was it will be used as a prime diversionary route for South Wales trains when electrification work gets well underway.

When the work entered the CP4^▸ (Control Period 4 - the five year period between 2009 and 2014) enhancement plans (and it was a late edition during 2011/12) it was described primarily as a capacity increase:

Scope of Works
The scope of works will include:
 re-doubling the railway between Swindon Loco Junction (78m 20ch) and Kemble (90m 74ch),
based on predominately slewing works to the existing single line and the relaying of a new second
track, associated signalling and other discipline works; and
 additional intermediate infill signalling is to be provided between Kemble and St Mary^s crossing,
and between this crossing and Standish junction. This new signalling to include associated cable
routes, telecoms and signalling power supplies. Consideration shall be given to possible
implementation of modular signalling elements. This line of the route is controlled from Gloucester
Signal Control so the works can be developed in two parts.
Output
This enhancement will provide capacity for 4 train paths an hour (in each direction) between Cheltenham
Spa and Swindon. The linespeed remains unchanged.
Significant interfaces
 Swindon A resignalling and re-control to Thames Valley Signalling Centre. The commissioning of
this project has to coincide with this renewal as the Swindon to Kemble line will be controlled from
the new location. Coinciding of the commissioning works is essential and a strategy to achieve
this has been agreed ^ albeit with the detail being finalised.
 GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) electrification (this line of route will not be part of the electrified route, however it will be a
diversion route when core works are undertaken in the Bristol area). The programme is to
complete this project in advance of the core works in the Bristol area so the benefits of the
diversionary route can be realised; and
 this capacity is being delivered in support of the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) proposed timetable. This timetable has been
developed on the premise that the infrastructure delivered by the project has been commissioned
in advance of the new timetable.

Paul