Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[paul7575]

Is they layout to the East of the Station to be the final layout? Or will that be altered when the flyover is connected as well?

I reckon it's just about finished, especially on the reliefs side.  There are still some additional crossovers to add, it seems to me that the line towards P10 will need straightening when that platform is rebuilt in the autumn, and although the line through Platform 11 is not being installed yet, I'd be surprised if the relevant points outside the station and at least some of the the track towards it were not installed and placed out of use.

The track layout diagrams posted back on page 55 do show the finished layout (with some greyed out crossovers and P11 line as I mentioned) and it looks like there will be nothing else significant to do east of the station.

Future changes at the west end to re-align the up and down main over onto the viaduct, and add the freight/Newbury/XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) lines through the various underpasses should have no effect on the east end layout as far as I can see.

Paul

[JayMac]

Congratulations paul7755. You posted the 1500th reply in this thread!

I was kinda hoping I'd be home in time to be the one to post the 1500th reply, as I took a butchers around Reading today. 1501st will have to do. 

That transfer deck. It's a gert biggun innit? As we sez down Brizzle/Zummerset way. 



A word of thanks also to all who have contributed, and continue to contribute, to this thread. It's become an excellent record of the changes that Reading station has gone through over the past three years.

Jeep posting though. There's still more work to be done!

[Southern Stag]

In the case of the services into platform 2, from the Newbury direction of from Basingstoke, in hindsight might it have been a good idea to dedicate a pool of train crew to those routes all day?   I wonder if that's part of today's solution?

Paul

Good point Paul. Does anyone know if there is anything in the rule book which prevents a driver operating the same route (or alternating between the same routes) all day ?

Usually there are local agreements on the maximum number of trips that can be done over one line in a shift.

[Southern Stag]

The 180s have (surprise, surprise) been pulled from service though.   

I was very surprised to see any in use yesterday, one at Reading about 10:50 and again about 21:30.

[bobm]

Had time to have a nose around the new look Reading today and it certainly is a lighter, brighter place.

Arrived on the new platform 15 and the first impression was of the space there seems to be now.  I can see now why the new transfer deck is so called - it is certainly much more than a footbridge or overbridge.  It also offers views of some of the work outside the station not visible before.

The first thing I saw was the new arrangement whereby two trains can share a platform



Moving onto the transfer deck it was possible to see the work going on the currently closed platforms 7 and 8 - and all that remains of the old footbridge.



Meanwhile down below platform 7 is strangely quiet



..as was the new southern gateline...



Finally it is now possible to see the work going on outside on Station Hill.  The old drivers cafe frequented by generations of taxi and bus drivers is no more.  I think the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Staff Association building was there too.



and looking at the row of shops opposite with the subway which used to lead to the old bus station now visible underneath.  The road structure looks rather fragile after the subterranean passages are exposed but it had taken the weight of buses and the like for many years.

[paul7575]

...I think the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) Staff Association building was there too.

The GWR SA building is still there, it's the hip-roofed building just to the right of the two portakabins in the background, beyond where the station wall starts to curve round.  I think it's possibly past its sell by date though, and just because it is old doesn't necessarily mean it has any architectural or historical merit. 

While in that general area, has anyone seen any details of how that part of the site will be finished off - at the moment you have an odd sort of concrete piled 'step' outside the station wall but above ground level. (In other words the route taken by the temporary pedestrian access to P1-3.) With the council's project apparently removing everything down to true ground level, isn't that going to be a bit of an awkward area to finish off?

Paul

[inspector_blakey]

After changing trains twice at Reading today I'm in two minds about the new station: the new southern gateline, transfer deck and platforms have a superb spacious, clean, modern feel which area  genuine transformation from the Reading of old. However, the wind doesn't half whistle through the place, making it bleak and inhospitable despite the quality of the space. It's not entirely clear to me if what is there represents the complete, finished product but it does strike me as unpleasantly exposed on a cold day.

[bobm]

One thing I did notice today which looked a bit off was this CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) display on the transfer bridge



What is supposed to go on the right hand side where the wood block is - or did someone just cut the hole too big! 

[johoare]

I'd like to just say what a good (if not fun I imagine) job Ollie and Jo have done on facebook the last couple of days coping with all the queries (I'm sure they have done the same on Twitter but I still can't work out how to use it properly so I don't)

Just one question to either of them though (didn't want to post it on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) on facebook due to the Trolls on there that like to be rude to people from time to time).. But Ollie replied to someone's query that the turbos were shorter than normal this week due to crewing issues?

I can only guess this is a shortage of people to link units together? I imagine drivers can drive a 2/3/5/6 car turbo with no extra training between any of them?

[IndustryInsider]

One thing I did notice today which looked a bit off was this CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) display on the transfer bridge

What is supposed to go on the right hand side where the wood block is - or did someone just cut the hole too big! 

Hopefully more screens will go there - if that photo is taken where I think it is then there is room for another five or more screens next to it.  There's practically no point in just having five screens next to each other at a busy station like Reading given the number of departures.

[bobm]

One thing I did notice today which looked a bit off was this CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) display on the transfer bridge

What is supposed to go on the right hand side where the wood block is - or did someone just cut the hole too big! 

Hopefully more screens will go there - if that photo is taken where I think it is then there is room for another five or more screens next to it.  There's practically no point in just having five screens next to each other at a busy station like Reading given the number of departures.

Trying to remember!  I think it was at the top of the escalators from platform 14/15.....

(I'm sure they have done the same on Twitter but I still can't work out how to use it properly so I don't)

Don't worry - I've just about worked out Twitter but haven't a clue about Facebook!

[SandTEngineer]

...a few blinkers on here me thinks....http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/7417/Easter-weekend-work-marks-end-of-the-beginning-for-Reading-station-upgrade

Why can't NR^» (Network Rail - home page) ever be honest when it comes to these things and admit that it didn't all go sweetly to plan

[Southern Stag]

One thing I did notice today which looked a bit off was this CIS^▸ (Customer Information System) display on the transfer bridge

What is supposed to go on the right hand side where the wood block is - or did someone just cut the hole too big! 

Hopefully more screens will go there - if that photo is taken where I think it is then there is room for another five or more screens next to it.  There's practically no point in just having five screens next to each other at a busy station like Reading given the number of departures.

There's a couple of locations on the transfer deck with just 5 screens and it did seem like too few. Especially yesterday when when a couple of the screens at a time were just showing cancelled services.

When I passed through Reading today around 10:00 the staff had just sorted out the A/B issue with Turbos. They'd altered services formed of Turbos booked to depart from the whole platform just to depart from the A/B end as appropriate. The CIS did go a bit crazy announcing them all, nobody really needed to know about a platform alteration five hours away!

[johoare]

...a few blinkers on here me thinks....http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/7417/Easter-weekend-work-marks-end-of-the-beginning-for-Reading-station-upgrade

Why can't NR^» (Network Rail - home page) ever be honest when it comes to these things and admit that it didn't all go sweetly to plan

That is more than a little bit naughty of them.. Glad that "the people we've had through already seem very pleased with the results.".. I guess that was before they saw how few trains there were

[johoare]

Don't worry - I've just about worked out Twitter but haven't a clue about Facebook!

Oh dear.. Try Facebook.. I think it's easier.. I've never worked out how to see whole "conversations" or whatever they are called in twitter.. It's not user friendly (to me)