Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, all platforms (bar 3, 16 and 11) are now open.  A few delays this morning, but nothing too bad, and importantly pretty much everything did run even if it was a little late.  It'll take a little time for drivers, signallers and despatch staff to adjust to the new capacity and make best use of it, but in a few days delays the added flexibility will come in useful and cut delays that have been occurring for years due to too many trains and not enough platforms.  The situation will then improve still further when all the platforms are reopened and the west end of the station has been remodelled with the two dive unders.

[bobm]

16 - previously 6 is history though now isn't it?  That will not be re-opening will it?

[Oxman]

I was talking to a driver yesterday about the new layout. He told me that the training they had received was a one day classroom briefing, supported by simulation DVDs and, in his opinion, that had been not been enough. He would have have liked to have been conducted through the new layout before driving in passenger service.

Clearly, this was not possible. Every driver and guard of every TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)/FOC^▸ (Freight Operating Company) that goes through Reading would have had to have been briefed on the new layout, and the idea of giving each one experience of the layout before using it for real is totally impractical. As it is, the job of briefing hundreds of drivers and guards must have been a major exercise.

One of the results of this approach, he said, was that drivers were going slowly through the area - "15mph from Tilehurst to Kennet loop" - so that they had plenty of time to pick the signals and the stopboards. This must have had a big impact on timekeeping last week, and presumably something similar is happening today for the newly opened routes through the station. The effect will diminish over time, but there will still be drivers coming fresh to the situation over the next few weeks, and its better to drive carefully at 15mph than risk a SPAD^▸ (Signal Passed At Danger).

He also commented that the number of stopboards etc on the new platforms, with the use of A and B ends as discussed earlier in this thread, was overly complex. Trains had to be stopped within 5 yards of the stopboard to avoid tripping the next set of axle counters. Bound to be a few issues with this until familiarity increases.

One last, and slightly worrying comment, visibility of the Led signals (pariculary the feathers) was difficult in some light conditions. In particular, in darkness, the intensity of light from the platforms made some signals difficult to read.

[swrural]

Thanks for follow-ups.  Was i right about who picks up the tab?  I mean, if Oxman is correct, it should be the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company).

I wonder if they agreed a 'share the pain' until all is bedded down?

Yes BobM, I thought it was all open today too, which is why I was surprised at the delays.

[grahame]

Thanks for follow-ups.  Was i right about who picks up the tab?  I mean, if Oxman is correct, it should be the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company).

I wonder if they agreed a 'share the pain' until all is bedded down?

Yes BobM, I thought it was all open today too, which is why I was surprised at the delays.

The sillyness is that a little bit or pre-publicity on the engineering signs "from Monday onwards, we'll be operating a new layout and there may be delays of up to ten minutes as we bed in" would have been understood by commuters, and should have obviated the need for blame assignment, fines, etc which all end up being paid for by the customer or taxpayer anyway!

[johoare]

It was rather Manic at Maidenhead this morning.. I arrived at 7.45 to find the 7.08 HST^▸ (High Speed Train) just departing (it was only about 10 minutes late when I left home so had lost quite a lot of time somewhere meanwhile)...

The 7.45 and 7.49 stopping trains to Paddington came in the wrong way around (unless you believed the Maidenhead station announcer but anyway).. the 7.49 which arrived first got there at about 7.54 but sat in the platform for at least 5 minutes, doors open, green signal, for reasons that we weren't told about (but obviously then delayed subsequent trains)..

The 7.45 then came in gone 8am.. Just before that the announcer told us that fast trains to Paddington would be arriving at platform 4 and 2 simultaneously.. Which was half true.. The delayed 7.45 stopper arrived at the same time as the non-stop 8.04am.. Hopefully no one got on the 7.45 thinking it was non-stop by mistake.. As also whilst the 7.45 was in the platform the indicator board was still just showing it as "delayed" and that 8am departure was timed at 8.03 (which was the time it was then)..

Very confusing.. Not sure why the information system couldn't keep up this morning...

[IndustryInsider]

One of the results of this approach, he said, was that drivers were going slowly through the area - "15mph from Tilehurst to Kennet loop" - so that they had plenty of time to pick the signals and the stopboards. This must have had a big impact on timekeeping last week, and presumably something similar is happening today for the newly opened routes through the station. The effect will diminish over time, but there will still be drivers coming fresh to the situation over the next few weeks, and its better to drive carefully at 15mph than risk a SPAD^▸ (Signal Passed At Danger).

That's probably a little excessive - most drivers won't be going quite that slow over that whole distance, but it's very true that they will be treading carefully for a while until the new routes all bed in.  For example, a new signal on the 'Up Relief' near the maintenance depot (T1732) can show six different routes into platforms 12-15 all with different speeds.  And (temporarily at least) the last signal on the 'Down Main' before Reading now has four different routings (it used to just have one) and if you're heading towards Didcot you can't get there from Platform 7 any more, so a driver needs to know that they can't accept a Junction Indicator 2 at that signal.  And then there's all the closing-up signals and rear-clear markers...

[bobm]

As also whilst the 7.45 was in the platform the indicator board was still just showing it as "delayed" and that 8am departure was timed at 8.03 (which was the time it was then)..

Very confusing.. Not sure why the information system couldn't keep up this morning...

I was just about to post something similar to the last part of your post having just got back from Reading.  I was waiting on platform 9 for the 15:44 to Cardiff.  It became pretty evident that it wouldn't be using that platform as there was a XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service to Bournemouth at the west end of the platform and that was not due to depart until 15:46.

After much waiting around the Cardiff service was duly swapped to Platform 8 where it arrived at 15:50.  By this time the CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) was showing "Delayed" and remained doing so I as boarded.  It had been showing an estimated time until the train actually arrived.

I also noticed today that when a train runs past the platform non stop there is still the verbal announcement to keep clear but the CIS no longer changes to ** PLEASE STAND CLEAR ** as it used to.

Meanwhile a Starbucks kiosk was in the process of being installed on the transfer deck towards the northern end.

[paul7575]

...I notice that the reduced platform availability is causing major delays (5 to 10 minutes) on trains passing through Reading, both ways. 

Buzzz!   Exaggeration    as we know, many FGW^▸ (First Great Western) trains delayed by up to 10 minutes at destination will still be counted as on time in the stats.  These cannot reasonably be considered major delays surely? 

But as others have already mentioned, there is no intentional reduced platform availability this week - although I overheard there was a defective set of points affecting the country end crossover from P8 to the down main.  Now that might have caused a reduction in usable platform capacity for a time while it was fixed?

Paul

[Jonty]

Delays can't have been too bad today or else we would have had Mr Happy from Taplow on here...

[paul7575]

A snippet of info I gleaned 'interrogating' NR^» (Network Rail - home page) employees this afternoon - as you do! 

The crossover at the end of P8 towards the new down main is definitely a temporary alignment, and will be relaid at a 'shallower angle' later in the stage work.  (I think we discussed this before?) Therefore the corresponding 'step' in the platform 8/9 island is also confirmed as temporary stage works, despite the finished look of the guardrails and those newly fitted steps down onto the ballast, all that will be repositioned to the true platform end sometime within the next year - dates to be decided.

Paul

[bobm]

I must admit I did think it was a pretty steep double bend out of platform 8 when I saw it this afternoon.



Apologies for the quality of the photo - had to use my phone after taking my camera complete with charged battery...but no memory card!

[swrural]

Does anyone know what happened to tab 1 and 4 of camera 04?

[paul7575]

Does anyone know what happened to tab 1 and 4 of camera 04?

Happens now and again, sometimes they do go off for a few hours, days or overnight.  But if they go permanently off the tab usually goes as well.

However tab 4 is showing OK up till 1900 tonight (8th Apr), one of the quirks of the system is that if the first view you get to is 'stale', and you change to a different tab, you then need to click on the calendar to update that tab again, IYSWIM...

HTH

Paul

[CheekyPaul]

I must admit I did think it was a pretty steep double bend out of platform 8 when I saw it this afternoon.



Apologies for the quality of the photo - had to use my phone after taking my camera complete with charged battery...but no memory card!

Am I seeing it correctly, have the small part of the rails of the middle line been cut out, just to the left of the "20" speed limit sign? If so, I take the line is not being used till the existing platforms are being re-done or what?