Goblin Electrification info

A "royal" pronouncement by Sir Peter Hendy.

While I understand the point you make it's perhaps no great shock that the rail replacement service may be awarded on a firm time period with an extension. We know TfL have been jumping up and down to get the total timescale pulled back and the line is due to reopen in the first weekend of February so the concept of the real programme, regardless of NR's blockade published programme, being to the end of December is not unrealistic. I don't expect anyone to really "pull a rabbit out of a hat" and reopen the line in early Jan 2017 rather than 4 weeks later but perhaps Arriva have been a bit "too honest" about their RRS contract in their press release. There's obviously a lot of work to do but if NR can relay tracks, stick up all the masts and catenary, run all the new cabling and replace the bridges by early Jan then all that's left is platform extension works and joining all the wires to the leccy supply which we know doesn't take place until after services resume. Having platform works run over a number of months once trains are running is no hardship as 4 car trains aren't due for 15 months anyway.

I'm sure they won't be, but with an end to the OJ procurement process in sight, we might see more repatriation of this sort of thing anyway. Directly Operated Railways may yet see a resurrection.

There are plenty of operators in the UK from outside the EU, such as Hong Kong, so I can't see that the UK's membership of the EU has actually made a difference.

Can we stay on topic, please. We don't do politics on this forum.

Once contracts are signed and franchises awarded it matters not whether we are in or out of any political union. At the present time the UK is still a full member of the EU and is likely to remain so for a while. Political bit over, just pointing out contractual facts.

Overhead line mast have been going up on approach to pfm.1 at Barking over the last few weekends.

Good point about the (timing) need for the longer platforms but I'd assumed that the contractors would make use of the blockade to get the work done without repeated recourse to engineering hours work. The line would appear to reopen on 6 Feb but there are no weekend closures for a long while after that - not even the usual NR cyclic ones for routine inspection and maintenance. There's no great panic as I assume the genuine platform extension works will not take too much time so if they mobilise in December they could stil complete by start of Feb. Where there are already long platforms it's a case of repair and reinstatement with fixtures and fittings able to be fitted whenever required - as you suggest that could be anytime up to a year after the line reopens assuming no short term surprises over longer rolling stock materialising before the Aventras.

That depends what state the disused bits are in. It's possible that some might need demolition and reconstruction rather than refurbishment.

I think the following need lengthening - Harringay Green Lanes, South Tottenham, Blackhorse Road. These need rehabilitation / refurb of old parts of platforms - Upper Holloway, Crouch Hill, Walthamstow Queens Road, Leyton Midland Rd, Leytonstone High Road, Wanstead Park, Woodgrange Park. As already stated the scale of work depends very much on the state of these old platforms. I photographed all the east end ones and some didn't look in wonderful nick but who knows what they're like underneath given many are on viaducts. Queens Rd is also having its platforms lowered because of the track lowering at that location.

I believe some work is also needed at Gospel Oak platform (other than stringing wires) but I can't remember what. Barking's P1 is being electrified but is obviously long enough as are P7 and P8 for peak workings.

It will also depend on whether step free access has to be installed.

No suprise given the railway has to remain operational. You don't get full blockades of the BML lasting months. They did those platform works the only way that was practical.

The GOBLIN is fully blockaded so it will be reasonable to assume that all the work that requires physical changes to stations would be done during it even if the late delivery of longer trains means they're not strictly necessary. I understand there may be some "behind the scenes" stuff on GOBLIN that won't be complete during the blockade but the public won't be aware of that. Nonetheless the TfL closures look ahead shows no continuing weekend or late evening blockades on the GOBLIN route for 3 months after it reopens.

Upper Holloway bridge has closed to road traffic for 3 months, which is causing a large amount of disruption. There is some local disquiet that the 3-week closure previously touted has grown with little notice.

The railway replacement buses are running but appear rather sparsely used, then again they are quite infrequent and in several cases, don't stop by the station but on a backstreet nearby. Many passengers will probably find it just as easy to use a service bus. They would appear to be being operated by a variety of firms including London United, Metronet and Sullivan as well as Arriva (I assume that no one firm has sufficient spare staff/buses to run a service the whole time?).

Arrival appear to be running some blocksort on the eastern bus service as well as metroline, so I assume it is shared.

A shuttle bus was also introduced following the council's intervention, for the benefit of disabled passengers on the closed section of Holloway Road.

I understood that a three week Christmas closure was due to occur but the first that I knew about the longer closure was when it was reported in the press the week before. Indeed, about a month ago I checked online so as to try and plan for Christmas, but nothing had been put up. It would appear that this was also a surprise to everybody else including the Council.

There are still ongoing local issues with traffic getting stuck, especially where HGV drivers try to go down residential roads or dodgy uber minicabs following prat-navs try to go down a one way Street the other way. However, it is better than at first, presumably as motorists find other routes.