Hanborough station - facilities, services, incidents and events - merged posts

[whole diary]

[Mookiemoo]

I know she was in her army kit - I think its something to do with travelling home for leave - no idea

And yes, I agree  - since they only live in whitney  so its not that far to drive - but hey ho - each to their own

I was asked to ask the Q about the cameras

[Ollie]

To use an MOD warrant you do not need to be in uniform.

[Mookiemoo]

It maybe an army rule about travelling to/from postings - not sure

I just know that when she leaves and comes back - she has to be in uniform

[Ollie]

Ah spose could be an army requirement then, certainly isn't a requirement on our part.

[inspector_blakey]

Just checked Google Earth and Street View - they're clear...

[Richard Fairhurst]

Interesting snippet from the 'Connecting Oxfordshire' presentation at Witney last night, given by Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth (who is, of course, councillor for Bladon so knows Hanborough station well).

OCC is talking to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) and Network Rail about the possibility of installing a second platform and a passing loop at Hanborough. They believe this would be much cheaper than redoubling the whole of Charlbury-Wolvercote, while offering many of the advantages.

The outline suggestion is that if NR^» (Network Rail - home page) did the railway work, OCC could do a lot of the station work: a new car park to the south of the station, a frequent bus service from Witney, etc. The idea is to promote the station as a Witney Parkway (though not under that name!).

[IndustryInsider]

It certainly would be cheaper, and get around the problem of what to do with Combe and Finstock.  Though I would have thought that in order to make the loop work it'd need to stretch some distance - possibly a 4 mile long dynamic loop running from just east of Combe to just west of Wolvercote Junction as there doesn't seem to be many infrastructure issues at first glance on that section.  If it was just a passing loop at Hanborough station then it becomes more problematic, timetabling wise, as you wouldn't want to actually schedule many trains to pass there or the timetable robustness falls apart.  Perhaps just easier to bite the bullet and do the whole thing?

[Southern Stag]

I'd have thought either double track through from Hanborough to Wolvercote Junction, or at least nearly Wolvercote Junction, would provide the most benefits. That would provide benefits to the network at large as it would mean less services having to wait in the Oxford area for the single line to become free.

[Richard Fairhurst]

I do worry that the tail of keeping Combe and Finstock open is wagging this particular dog.

[stebbo]

If consideration is given to a loop at Hanborough doesn't it make more sense to redouble all the way to Wolvercote, given the old signalling issues (which I was always given to understand were the problem) should disappear with the electrification at Oxford.

But then, why not redouble Charlbury to Wolvercote - and Evesham to Worcester?

[ChrisB]

Money.

OCC want to run a shuttle from Hanborough (Witney Pway) to Cowley via Oxford moving pax^▸ (passengers) into Oxford and cutting road transport in the Oxford area. A loop at Hanborough itself with the second platform allows trains to wait there for their slot through Oxford, and allows through trans past.

[John R]

Money.

Exactly.  On the assumption that there isn't an unlimited pot of money available, a loop would appear to be a sensible further enhancement for the southern part of the line, which could facilitate the additional peak services you refer to and for the rest of the day provides additional resilience in the event of delays.

[stebbo]

But I think it was pointed out earlier in this thread that loops at stations don't provide that much resilience. And something that allowed for double track at Wolvercote would be useful to allow Worcester bound trains to clear the Oxford/Banbury line.

Yes I know they're reinstating the extra line north of Oxford but I assume that is also intended for freight use.

[ChrisB]

It is - and for any/all services to the North.

As I said - no one has any money to do more (currently) than put a loop in....and even that will require a successful bid to the local LEP^» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about)

[John R]

But I think it was pointed out earlier in this thread that loops at stations don't provide that much resilience. And something that allowed for double track at Wolvercote would be useful to allow Worcester bound trains to clear the Oxford/Banbury line.

I agree if the loop is used on a regular basis throughout the day, then it would not improve resilience. (Indeed probably the contrary.) However, if it's not used outside the peak periods then during this time it would make a difference, and being only 4 1/2 mins north of Wolvercote Jn, in the event of a soutbound train running late there would be much less need to hold trains at Wolvercote, certainly for more than a couple of minutes.