Great Western Main Line electrification - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[willc]

All systems go for tomorrow morning, with transport ministers out and about in FGW^▸ (First Great Western)-land.

[Electric train]

A humorous aside from the Fact Compiler over at the Railway Eye blog, offering odds on the likely runners for forthcoming rail expenditure, to be announced tommorow (25/11/2010).

Runners and riders
Cockney Link - 4/7 (Fav)
Western Voltage - 3-1 (may be pulled up short)
Juniper's Revenge 5-1
Northern Capacity 100-1 (outsider)
HLOS^▸ (High Level Output Specification - the DfT's High Level Output Specification, which has specified to Network Rail the outputs that need to be delivered within a Control Period (CP)) Commitment 75-1
Kipling's Folly 3-1
Tutu X 3-1
Permatan Fleet 34-1
Sheffield Juice - Scratched

3-1 are good odds for 'Western Voltage'. Worth a punt? 

Staying with the fine traditions of the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) with its 7' gauge diesel hydraulics my guess is it will be 3000 volts 16 2/3 Hz

[Chris from Nailsea]

All systems go for tomorrow morning, with transport ministers out and about in FGW^▸ (First Great Western)-land.

Thanks, willc 

[devon_metro]

All systems go for tomorrow morning, with transport ministers out and about in FGW^▸ (First Great Western)-land.

Leccyfication it is then...

[TheLastMinute]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) reporting that electrification of Grest Western is still on hold. Are we expecting another announcement later?

It is buying about 2,000 new carriages to tackle overcrowding, electrifying some lines and pressing ahead with the Thameslink programme.

But plans to modernise the London-Swansea line are still on hold and it will be the end of the decade before the investment is complete.

Some 400 of them are for Crossrail (the new line being built east-west across London), 800 for Thameslink (the north-south link across London) and 650 will be given to different franchises around the country.

 

TLM

[paul7575]

From Rail News:

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2010/11/25-major-railway-investment-gets-green.html

THE government has confirmed this morning that it's going ahead with new rolling stock orders and electrification worth ^8 billion, including 2,100 new vehicles for Thameslink, Crossrail and other operators.

The transport secretary Philip Hammond is authorising 1,200 vehicles for Thameslink and the infrastructure upgrade of their route across central London, at a cost of ^6 billion.

He has also confirmed the already-announced electrification of the 'north west triangle', and electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London and Oxford and Newbury. This route had already been set to be electrified as far as Maidenhead as part of the Crossrail programme.

That bit in bold (not yet mentioned by the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)) fits in well with the proposed use of Thameslink cascaded 319s on the GW^» (Great Western - used as an abbreviation for the area / lines under the Great Western franchise, as opposed to FGW which includes "First", the company operating them too. For tickets - about).  Having OK'd Thameslinks full rolling stock order, Oxford and Newbury logically follow on to use the existing stock, even if Bristol and Swansea still require an IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) decision.

[paul7575]

And the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) statement to the stock exchange:

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=10722933

...The Thameslink programme will require a fleet of around 1,200 new
electric vehicles. The Department is currently considering bids from two
consortia led by Siemens PLC and Bombardier Transportation UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Ltd.  The
Department intends to make an announcement regarding the preferred
bidder in spring 2011. Existing electric trains from Thameslink will be
able to be deployed elsewhere on the rail network and therefore the
lines between London and Didcot, Newbury and Oxford as well as between
Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Blackpool will be electrified.

On 6 July 2010, the Department published Sir Andrew Foster's review of
the Intercity Express Programme (IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.)). The Department has evaluated
possible alternatives to the original IEP proposal and has narrowed the
consideration to two leading options; a revised bid from Agility Trains,
and an alternative for a fleet of all electric trains  which could be
coupled to new diesel locomotives where the overhead electric wires end.

The Government will continue to assess the two remaining alternatives,
alongside a consideration of the extent of electrification on the Great
Western route, and will make a further statement in the New Year...

[Timmer]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) reporting that electrification of Grest Western is still on hold. Are we expecting another announcement later?

Speaking on BBC Breakfast News this morning Philip Hammond said there should be an announcement in the next few weeks (meaning New Year) regards IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) and Electrification of the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line). They are still finallising financial, legal and technical issues of the project.

[Zoe]

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2010/11/25-major-railway-investment-gets-green.html

Electrification from Paddington to Oxford and Newbury confirmed.

[paul7575]

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2010/11/25-major-railway-investment-gets-green.html

Electrification from Paddington to Oxford and Newbury confirmed.

I posted this earlier...

Paul

[broadgage]

More reports here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11834531

[woody]

 Dft press release
http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/statements/hammond20101125
 
HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) to be replaced by bi-mode IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) or diesel haulage of electric stock beyond the wires.

Final decision on IEP, and on further Great Western electrification, in the New Year

[Tim]

In the circumstances a good decision I think especially if some of the cascaded Thames Turbos DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) stay within the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) area*

Electrification is and always was about rolling stock and to let the old Thameslink stock go unused would be a crime.

* is it true that they have a slightly wider loading gauge which would make them more suitable for ex-GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) lines than elsewhere? 

[paul7575]

* is it true that they [Turbos] have a slightly wider loading gauge which would make them more suitable for ex-GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) lines than elsewhere? 

Yes, but all the appropriate NR^» (Network Rail - home page) route plans and RUSs^▸ (Route Utilisation Strategy) include an item to undertake the necessary gauge clearance to allow them to run if they were to become available, eg Portsmouth - Cardiff.

A bit chicken and egg, until a decision is made, similar to platform lengthening in the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) area for 10 car trains...

Paul

[paul7575]

More reports here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11834531

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) have a link to the expected rants from South Wales, but both the main site and 'BBC Wales' stories conveniently fail to mention the GW^» (Great Western - used as an abbreviation for the area / lines under the Great Western franchise, as opposed to FGW which includes "First", the company operating them too. For tickets - about) wiring to Oxford, Didcot and Newbury, but do emphasise that Crossrail and Thameslink will happen.

I guess they don't see the bigger picture, which is that wires to Didcot being confirmed also makes it more likely that an extension will occur than before?

What percentage of the necessary route mileage does Didcot provide?

All told I find the BBC's written reports persistently negative on this announcement, but IMHO^▸ ('in my humble opinion') I expect that when the details are teased out out over the next few weeks we might just find there is a lot more confirmed than anyone ever expected back in May...

Paul