Oxford Station - improvements, incidents and events (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[stuving]

I was fairly sure that would be the case;  I also thought you’d posted a track layout including P5 somewhere, but I’m not having much success finding it…

I’ll try and repost it later.

There was this earlier post, and an NR^» (Network Rail - home page) presentation that's hard to interpret now (not just because it's fuzzy). But I vaguely recall some diagrams showing the phasing more clearly. Maybe that was in another thread, not one of the three I've found?

[paul7575]

Thanks stuving, I didn’t go back searching anything like as far as 2013, to find the “earlier post”, doesn’t time fly... 

I did see that link to an NR^» (Network Rail - home page) presentation but haven’t tried to open it, they seem to want some sort of log-in.

[stuving]

Thanks stuving, I didn’t go back searching anything like as far as 2013, to find the “earlier post”, doesn’t time fly... 

I did see that link to an NR^» (Network Rail - home page) presentation but haven’t tried to open it, they seem to want some sort of log-in.

I think an account is required only for download, and there is an in-page viewer. As it's Scribd, you may prefer not to create an account.

[paul7575]

It’s now opening the in-page viewer on my iPad,  it wasn’t an hour ago. 

[IndustryInsider]

I have a copy of the Signal Plans for this phase of the project.  Can’t share here or distribute them, but happy to answer any questions about the revisions to the track and signalling as a result.

[stuving]

The Transport for Works Order is expected to be signed off before the summer & application to the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) for funding soon after..

... but in reality, the TWAO^▸ (Transport and Works Act Order ) for OSP2 was granted yesterday, published by DfT. This is "Land Only", as most of the actual work is permitted development. Some things require a sort of approval (can't be refused) by the planning authority, and wasn't there one for the Botley Road Bridge? Or was that just a plan ... it's easy to get lost following this project!

We did miss Oxford City's approval of the design aspects of the station entrance last November. 

[stuving]

There was an item last week in the Oxford Mail about a long closure of Oxford station next summer. When looked at more closely, the message is that the real news will be announced at the end of August - which I guess means "don't believe what I've said here".

This is the bit that sounds a bit scary:

The Botley Road rail bridge will need to be replaced as part of Network Rail’s plans to increase capacity at the station, with this leading to the closure of the road.

While timings on how long the closure will last are unconfirmed, it is believed that it could be approximately three months.

A spokesperson for Network Rail told the Oxford Mail that both Botley Road and the station will be closed next summer, either at the end of July or start of August.

Network Rail says plans are set to be finalised towards the end of this month.

Lines in and out the station are already set to be closed over four weekends in September and October, to allow the second phase of works to increase capacity.

This is currently set for the weekends of September 10-11, 17-18, and 24-25, plus October 1-2.

Now, I'm not sure whether a station being completely closed means no trains through it, or just no passengers. In any case, it does sound  rather extreme. Closing Botley Road for that long perhaps - particularly if, for example, it makes it possible to prop up the railway while a new bridge is built.

At the moment, the 2023 EAS includes a couple of weekend closures in the spring, plus more than a month of Sundays, and a 9-day blockade at the end of July. That presumably is what is being nailed down within NR^» (Network Rail - home page) and the Oxford councils at the moment.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Reported elsewhere that the Oxford Mail's claim is nonsense: https://twitter.com/OxfordClarion/status/1555468535450816512

[ellendune]

Usually in these cases the road closure is significantly longer than the rail closure so I am guessing that Botley Road will be closed for 3 months but the rail closures will only be as in the EAS. 

[stuving]

Usually in these cases the road closure is significantly longer than the rail closure so I am guessing that Botley Road will be closed for 3 months but the rail closures will only be as in the EAS. 

Last year, NR^» (Network Rail - home page) were saying even a Botley Road closure of five days would be enough. That was for trundling in a new bridge deck, but I guess the work on the road is not really theirs to do or to make statements about.

The first bit of this phase of work starts next month, with four weekend closures of the railway through Oxford, mainly (I think) to insert new high-speed crossovers.

Oxford area – weekends of 10/11, 17/18, 24/25 September and 1/2 October

No train services to/from Oxford.

Rail improvement work will affect trains between Didcot Parkway, Oxford and Hanborough.

This work will also affect CrossCountry trains between Banbury, Oxford and Didcot Parkway, plus Chiltern Railways trains between Oxford Parkway and Oxford.

(More details)

[ChrisB]

Yes, three high-speed crossovers at North Oxford Junction. Sort of surprised that services to/from the south are completely removed. As both through platforms are totally reversable, I’d have expected the half-hourly fasts PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)/OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) to be anle to run which wiuld have reduced the number of buses.

But I suspect with possible industrial action, getting sufficient buses booked for the whole bustitution was sensible. I wonder now though, should indistrial action take place across any of those weekends, whether the bustitution will still go ahead. They don’t bustitute any other services (understandably)

[ellendune]

Usually in these cases the road closure is significantly longer than the rail closure so I am guessing that Botley Road will be closed for 3 months but the rail closures will only be as in the EAS. 

Last year, NR^» (Network Rail - home page) were saying even a Botley Road closure of five days would be enough. That was for trunding in a new bridge deck, but I guess the work on the road is not really theirs to do or to make statements about.

Having looked at the scale of the work proposed. Reducing the level of the road and widening it. I would be astounded if anyone thought it possible to do it with a 5 day road closure.  I didn't think the road was wide enough to work on half the road with traffic signals.

[IndustryInsider]

I thought it was several months of cotraflow on Botley Road but only a week or so of full closure.  Same with the rail station.

[Electric train]

Just remember this is a major civil engineering task, not something that a small excavator and a 5 Tonne dump truck can do inter weave between road traffic.

With the modern methods used bu NR^» (Network Rail - home page) and their contractors a long week ie 10 day blockade of the railway I suspect that can remove the old bridge, excavate the ground and install the new bridge, the road closure I suspect will be of a longer duration to allow for the removal of old road, any services, then to reinstate the road after bridge construction

[ray951]

Good news, funding has been approved for the long required upgrades to Oxford Station.
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/green-light-for-oxford-station-and-railway-transformation-following-gbp-78-6m-funding-confirmation

Dft state this is worth £161m, not sure how they get to this total as press release only mentions £78.6m + £69m + £10.5 m which totals £158.1m.