Reopening former rail line between Hythe and Totton - ongoing discussion, merged topic

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

From Rail Advent[/utl]

A decision is expected soon by the Office of Rail and Road for Alliance Rail’s proposed new service from Marchwood to Southampton and London Waterloo.

The decision is expected within the next two months.

Work has progressed to develop a timetable and make the Class 769 trains ready for use.

Looks like the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road, formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) has sunk this one, for now at least.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c202n2zlz85o

[Witham Bobby]

£45M to upgrade this short branch line from freight-only to passenger use seems exorbitant.  Were they planning on building the new station at Hythe out of kryptonite, or something?

[IndustryInsider]

£45M to upgrade this short branch line from freight-only to passenger use seems exorbitant.  Were they planning on building the new station at Hythe out of kryptonite, or something?

Quite cheap I thought. 

To plan and build a new fully accessible station and facilities around it, improve the signalling, replaced some of the old track and drainage, and probably deal with some existing foot crossings.

Not saying it should be that expensive, but that’s the way it is these days.

[John D]

£45M to upgrade this short branch line from freight-only to passenger use seems exorbitant.  Were they planning on building the new station at Hythe out of kryptonite, or something?

Quite cheap I thought. 

To plan and build a new fully accessible station and facilities around it, improve the signalling, replaced some of the old track and drainage, and probably deal with some existing foot crossings.

Not saying it should be that expensive, but that’s the way it is these days.

Building a single platform station that is basically on a flat site (not on embankment or cutting) accessed by a shortish shallow ramp, on a line that only sees infrequent trains (so few hours possession is almost free) really should not cost £45m.

Modular standard platform sections, single storey building, and about £40m to gold plate the scheme, fix a bit of drainage, and update some semaphore signals protecting crossings.  (All the area around Totton junction was resignalled as part of massive Southampton area scheme about 1983)

[paul7575]

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report’s total cost probably comes from the original RYR^▸ (Restoring Your Railway) proposal that wanted two or three new stations, (as even Marchwood would need a major rebuild), additional rolling stock and staff costs, and I think some minor changes at Southampton to make P5 signalled for passenger use. The latter looking a simple matter but anything to do with signalling seems to cost £millions.

[eightonedee]

Immediately, CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum)'s recent post on Winnersh Triangle came to mind-

Those were the days [referring to the mid-1980s]when a new railway station could be built for just £375,000

With the closure of the Hythe ferry, and all the congestion problems where the A35 crosses the Test at Eling and meets the M271 (never mind further on as traffic stacks back on the Avenue and A35 going into central Southampton), all the housing built in the last 60 years along Waterside from Fawley to Marchwood and Ed Miliband wittering on interminably about the Government's commitment to reducing carbon emissions, I find this inexplicable. This must have a much better net impact than the re-opening of the Cowley branch, where there already seems to be 6 or 7 bus routes to Oxford city centre and no substantial river estuary impeding access to the local regional centre.

[ray951]

The Cowley branch is set to reopen as a result of the multi-billion-pound EIT facility being developed at Oxford Science Park. The project is expected to create up to 7,000 jobs, and EIT has also helped fund the reopening.

Interestingly, the push for the scheme came from the Treasury rather than the Department for Transport. The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) had previously stated that there was no further funding available for rail improvements, so the announcement of the reopening came as a surprise to many industry observers. I suspect there was a conversation between Ellison and the Government regarding transport links to Oxford Science Park, given the scale of the investment being made there and whether those investments would continue.

But I agree that the line to Marchwood line should be an ideal candidate to reopen given the housing growth in that area and the difficult of traveling by car/bus to Southampton.

[Noggin]

The Cowley branch is set to reopen as a result of the multi-billion-pound EIT facility being developed at Oxford Science Park. The project is expected to create up to 7,000 jobs, and EIT has also helped fund the reopening.

Interestingly, the push for the scheme came from the Treasury rather than the Department for Transport. The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) had previously stated that there was no further funding available for rail improvements, so the announcement of the reopening came as a surprise to many industry observers. I suspect there was a conversation between Ellison and the Government regarding transport links to Oxford Science Park, given the scale of the investment being made there and whether those investments would continue.

But I agree that the line to Marchwood line should be an ideal candidate to reopen given the housing growth in that area and the difficult of traveling by car/bus to Southampton.

Doesn't this also help capacity issues at Oxford Station as EWR^▸ (East West Railway (Oxford to Bedford), or possibly East Worthing station, depending on context) services (when they finally run) can terminate at Cowley

[ChrisB]

Chiltern's Oxford services are currently slated to do  that, with another 2tph eventually shuttling between Hanborough & Cowley.

[ChrisB]

EWR^▸ (East West Railway (Oxford to Bedford), or possibly East Worthing station, depending on context) services are likely to eventually go south towards Reading/Swindon but would require UP island platforms