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stuving
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« Reply #525 on: July 10, 2024, 17:36:17 » |
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It does seem that the actual bridge replacement is going in over the weekend, as trains appear to run again from Monday in a southbound direction.
The Oxford-Banbury RRS is to do with other unconnected works in the Aynho junction area as there is a total block between Banbury & Bicester Village.
That is how it looks, but can it be right? Most of the latest information (including the EAS) is dated several month ago, and relates to a 5-day blockade for the bridge replacement. Doing that civils work, with new track, and running trains after just two days does not sound very likely. And the EAS says the lines south to Appleford are closed until Thursday, while GWR▸ say they are running trains over that line from Monday. In an age of wall-to-wall online news, it's all rather puzzling! |
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ChrisB
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« Reply #526 on: July 10, 2024, 21:11:31 » |
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No one is saying that the extra platform will be completed/operational. Just that the bridge is swapped out & replaced & the lines currently present put back (with a TSO▸ presumably?)
Other bridges have been done with a Friday night - Monday morning closure.
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ellendune
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« Reply #527 on: July 10, 2024, 21:24:17 » |
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The Oxford-Banbury RRS is to do with other unconnected works in the Aynho junction area as there is a total block between Banbury & Bicester Village.
I am a bit confused here. The only way between Banbury and Bicester Village is to reverse at Oxford or the Junction east of Bicester. Do you mean Bicester North? |
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ChrisB
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« Reply #528 on: July 10, 2024, 21:25:24 » |
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Sorry, yes. The RRS is between Banbury & Bicester Village
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ray951
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« Reply #529 on: July 10, 2024, 21:48:36 » |
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There's plenty of mention of it on that GWR page including: Oxford area - Saturday 27th to Wednesday 31st July
Track renewal work will affect train services between Oxford and Banbury, plus trains between Oxford and Didcot Parkway on the weekend of 27/28 July.
Replacement buses are planned between:
Oxford and Banbury (on all dates)
Oxford and Didcot Parkway (weekend of 27/28 July only)In addition all the replacement/amended services are loaded into the journey planners and realtimetrains. Apologies I got my dates all mixed up, for some reason I thought the 27th was Thursday (which it was in June!!!) and could still see trains running then and on the Friday, which of course is correct. Anyone good to see the project is still on track (no pun intended). Could trains be running on the southbound (up) tracks earlier than the northbound (down) tracks because they might be laying the trackwork into what what will be platform 5 and that will be from the down track. Note that the points for access to Platform 5 from south of the station are already in place. |
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stuving
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« Reply #530 on: July 10, 2024, 22:59:01 » |
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No one is saying that the extra platform will be completed/operational. Just that the bridge is swapped out & replaced & the lines currently present put back (with a TSO▸ presumably?)
Other bridges have been done with a Friday night - Monday morning closure.
Two days might do for a two-track span plonked onto the old abutments. But this one is for four existing tracks, and then two more (though I've never been sure whether these would be separate structures). And it will sit on new abutments built inside the existing embankments. So you'd expect that to take longer. And if two days would be enough, why was it described by NR» as needing a five-day closure only four months ago? The lack of any update for that is itself s a bit surprising. But there's a further puzzle: the lack of progress reports, from NR, Kier, or others, whether photos, videos, or just boastful PR▸ words. Presumably the bridge deck is being fabricated nearby if it's a single rigid structure; if not then installing it piece by piece will take even longer. And building the new abutments: I have no idea how that's being done, so it would be interesting - and not just to me I'm sure - to see a few pictures. Unless it's all been on TikTok and Instagram ... |
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stuving
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« Reply #532 on: July 11, 2024, 11:41:27 » |
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I have found some updates on the station work, under the heading Oxfordshire Connect. However, I've only seen a few uninformative comments about the bridge. However, its posponement will be announced today - here's a pre-announcement: Botley Road bridge installation postponed
You will no doubt be disappointed to learn that we have had to postpone the replacement of Botley Road railway bridge that was planned for the end of July.
As you're probably aware, we’ve been working to divert the complex layout of utility pipes and cables under the road, including the sewer system, to make the necessary space for the new bridge layout.
Working on this outdated maze of pipes and cables spread out below the highway, in a severely constrained space, with poor ground conditions and high water levels, has presented significant engineering challenges.
Unfortunately, despite concerted effort by all organisations involved, the work can’t be completed in time to tie in with our planned closure of the railway at the end of this month...
There is a lot more detail on that page, including links to GWR▸ travel information - but that was already in place, as we know. |
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stuving
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« Reply #533 on: July 11, 2024, 12:07:59 » |
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Network Rail's own press release is here:Oxford’s major rail and road improvement project is progressing but more time is needed before Botley Road can reopen
Network Rail has confirmed that significant progress is being made on the multi-million-pound programme to upgrade Oxford Station, enhance the railway infrastructure in the area and improve the local transport network, however more time is required to complete the highly complex utility diversion works including mains water and sewer pipes under Botley Road.
The replacement of the railway bridge, which was scheduled to take place at end of this month, has been postponed as, despite concerted effort by all organisations involved, the work to divert the complex layout of utility pipes and cables under the road, including the sewer system, cannot be completed in time. Unfortunately as a result Botley Road, which has been closed under the rail bridge since April 2023, will not now reopen in October as planned. Network Rail and its contractor, Kier, are working with the local authorities to agree the best way forward to complete the project and minimise impact on the city.
Anna Holbrook, industry programme director at Network Rail said: “Although our work is progressing well on most aspects of this major programme, including the construction of the new platform on the western side of the station, the bridge replacement has unfortunately had to be postponed as the work to divert the complex layout of utility pipes and cables under the road, including the sewer system, will not be ready in time. We have informed the councils that Botley Road will not now be able to be reopened in October. We know how important Botley Road is to Oxford and apologise to local residents and businesses for the ongoing inconvenience. We are working out the best way forward and will continue to engage with the local community as our plans develop.”
Kier and the 11 different utility providers involved continue to make progress on diverting the large number of pipes and cables, including the water main and sewer, which need to be completed before the bridge can be replaced. Working on this outdated maze of pipes and cables spread out below the highway, in a severely constrained space, with poor ground conditions and significant water levels, continues to make this work very challenging.
Once fully complete, the upgrades will result in a bigger and better station, more rail services for passengers and an improved road network near Oxford station with safer junctions, and more space for cyclists and pedestrians through the addition of a four-metre cycle/footway on each side of the main road.
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ray951
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« Reply #534 on: July 11, 2024, 12:15:33 » |
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Well it looks like my hunch was correct in that the project is running late. That was just based on, as Stuving has pointed out, no recent updates or PR▸ about the new bridge about to be put in place plus having seen the site a couple of weeks ago I couldn't see how it could possibly be ready. If I was a resident of Oxford, Oxfordshire County Council or Oxford City Council I would be annoyed with NR as this will be the 2nd delay to the project and will presumably increase the cost of the project and there is still no end to the project in sight. To me it looks like poor project management both in terms of the delays and also the communication with stakeholders given they can't actually give a date for when the bridge will be replaced or the project will end. Will this have an impact on the opening of EWR? |
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eightonedee
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« Reply #535 on: July 11, 2024, 12:50:08 » |
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Sadly, this seems to be a reliable way of judging if a project is going badly.
Compare the regular updates on the Reading Station rebuilding (is this already over 10 years ago!) or the Dawlish seawall works with the diminishing amount of information on the GW▸ Main Line electrification as it "progressed", the fall off in media content from Crossrail as it's progress slipped and from East West Rail with the delay in finalising the route from Bedford to Cambridge. Only HS2▸ seems to continue to produce material that rises above my information horizon notwithstanding its problems - perhaps in an attempt to gain support for reinstating the next stages, or they have a PR▸ agency that knows how to make the most of some impressive-looking engineering emerging along its route?
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ChrisB
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« Reply #536 on: July 11, 2024, 14:10:30 » |
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Lack of records for utilities under a road is hardly the fault of network Rail though, is it? Surely the highway authority is at fault here?
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eightonedee
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« Reply #537 on: July 11, 2024, 18:54:18 » |
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Lack of records for utilities under a road is hardly the fault of network Rail though, is it? Surely the highway authority is at fault here?
Nope! It is the utility companies in question. Their problem is that they are successors to (often) a succession of predecessor suppliers - local gas, water and electric companies, local authorities (which might have been re-organised or subject to boundary changes during the period they were responsible for the utility supply in question) and statutory authorities following nationalisation in the 20th century. Many of these had patchy/poor/non-existent standards of record keeping. Added to this, in the process of consolidating records and in making them electronic, many have been mislaid. The highway authorities might have had records of consents given to the undertakers in question since , but again they have been reorganised several times, and highway responsibility passed from second-tier (district or borough) to first tier authorities in 1974. Sadly, there are very good excuses for external authorities not having comprehensive records of the location of utility services. I understand that similar problems relating to the railway's own infrastructure bedevil rail works. |
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stuving
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« Reply #538 on: July 11, 2024, 19:40:07 » |
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Note what Network Rail said about "Kier and the 11 different utility providers involved". I can't imagine how there are as many as eleven, even if half of them are fibre operators, but I'm not surprised that coordinating them is difficult. It's probably more difficult than it should be.
You can imagine the meeting (live or Teams) which goes "we've found an old pipe that is is our way, so our work has to be changed and will take a bit longer" - "oh, that means we will have to replan our work, and then schedule a new time (much later) to do that" - "ah, if we have to delay our work that means ..." etc. etc.
The time allowed looks long enough to an outsider, and given the constraints on booking rail closures NR» must have allowed as long as they though it could possibly take plus a bit on top. I don't imagine NR, Kier, and these utilities companies are still all best friends.
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stuving
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« Reply #539 on: July 11, 2024, 19:46:33 » |
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I don't imagine NR» , Kier, and these utilities companies are still all best friends.
Add the various councils, bus operators, road users, et al. This is OCC: Statement in response to Network Rail's announcement about Botley Road
Botley Road 11 July 2024
Oxfordshire County Council is extremely frustrated that Network Rail is postponing the replacement of Botley railway bridge at the end of this month and is unable to reopen Botley Road in October as a result. The council is in discussion with Network Rail to understand the implications of this.
Residents and businesses have shown incredible patience with more than a year of disruption to their lives because of this project, which has already had its timetable altered twice before and seen its closure dates extended. We have expressed our deep dissatisfaction to Network Rail and to the Department for Transport about this.
The launch of the council’s traffic filters trial planned to start in November is now in question, with various options being considered as a result. The trial aims to tackle Oxford’s chronic congestion problems and dramatically improve bus journey times. We are calling on and working with Network Rail to find an acceptable solution to this situation quickly.
The council remains incredibly supportive of improvements to the rail station for Oxford with improved capacity for passengers and freight, which is vital for the development of projects such as East West Rail.
In the meantime, we will continue to do all we can to work with partners to minimise the impact on the rest of the road network.
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