More trains for the Thames Valley area thanks to the electrification of railway
Posted: 28 March 2017 | | 1 comment
Network Rail’s successful electrification of 12 miles of railway to the west of London between Stockley Junction and Maidenhead as part of the Crossrail project means more trains will soon be able to be used.
Network Rail’s successful electrification of 12 miles of railway to the west of London between Stockley Junction and Maidenhead as part of the Crossrail project means more trains will soon be able to be used.
Network Rail has electrified 12 miles of railway
The electrification will allow GWR to extend new electric trains from London Paddington to Maidenhead from May 2017 and to Didcot in January 2018 – resulting in more seats for passengers. This is in addition to the half-hourly Electrostar trains that GWR has been running from London Paddington to Hayes & Harlington since January 2017.
This will also allow for the use of the new Elizabeth line trains on this section of the railway from December 2019, meaning that passengers in the Thames Valley area will be able to ride the Elizabeth line trains through central London without having to change onto the Underground at Paddington.
“Passengers will see immediate benefits with brand new, cleaner, quieter electric trains”
“This is a major milestone for Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan of which the delivery of an electrified Great Western Mainline and the Elizabeth line is a huge part,” said Mark Langman, Route Managing Director of Network Rail. “From May this year, more passengers will see immediate benefits with brand new, cleaner, quieter electric trains operating between Maidenhead and Paddington.”
Over the past three years, Network Rail has installed over 1,400 overhead structures and 140 miles of overhead wires that will power the new trains, with the majority of work undertaken in the early morning or throughout the night to run normal services as much as possible.
As much work as possible was undertaken throughout the night to ensure little disruption
“The Thames Valley is one of the most popular rail corridors in the UK,” added Matthew White, Crossrail Surface Director. “We have promised the current fleet would be upgraded to provide much needed additional capacity and more comfortable, quieter journeys. We look forward to being able to extend these services beyond Hayes to Maidenhead this coming May as Network Rail continues its work to upgrade the railway.”
It looks like it was designed by a five year old whose father was a steel stockholder. It looks truly awful. It also seems like it was planned on the hoof as exemplified by a few piles tossed randomly on the verges between Didcot and Oxford, presumably before that section was deferred / abandoned. No wonder it is £2,000 million over budget over