National Audit Office report into Great Western Electrification

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National Audit Office report into Great Western Electrification 11/11/2016 at 23:23 #87302
Steamer
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The NAO have released a report into the ongoing farce that is the GW electrification project, with Network Rail and DfT subject to heavy criticism:

https://www.nao.org.uk/report/modernising-the-great-western-railway/

Head of NAO said:


“The modernisation of the route has potential to deliver significant benefits for passengers but this is a case study in how not to manage a major programme. The Department's failure to plan and manage all the projects which now make up the Great Western Route Modernisation industry programme in a sufficiently joined up way, combined with weaknesses in Network Rail's management of the infrastructure programme, has led to additional costs for the taxpayer. It is encouraging that since 2015 the Department and Network Rail have a better grip and put in place structures to manage the programme in an integrated way. However significant challenges to the timetable still remain and there is more to do to achieve value for money.”

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 9 November 2016
While welcome, I highly doubt it'll lead to any change to the arrogance and incompetence in Whitehall. It's not accidental that it was released on Wednesday, when everyone's eyes were supposed to be pointed towards the other side of the Atlantic.

"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
Last edited: 11/11/2016 at 23:26 by Steamer
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National Audit Office report into Great Western Electrification 12/11/2016 at 13:20 #87304
simmybear
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I think it particularly shortsighted that Filton Bank will remain unelectrified this effectively means Bristol Parkway becomes the boundary for electric trains to Bristol via the Badminton route. seems illogical to me.
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National Audit Office report into Great Western Electrification 14/11/2016 at 19:55 #88345
KymriskaDraken
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simmybear in post 87304 said:
I think it particularly shortsighted that Filton Bank will remain unelectrified this effectively means Bristol Parkway becomes the boundary for electric trains to Bristol via the Badminton route. seems illogical to me.
It's very illogical, but the trains from London to Bristol Parkway almost all go to South Wales. Trains for Temple Meads run via Box.


Kev

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National Audit Office report into Great Western Electrification 14/11/2016 at 22:38 #88347
JamesN
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simmybear in post 87304 said:
I think it particularly shortsighted that Filton Bank will remain unelectrified this effectively means Bristol Parkway becomes the boundary for electric trains to Bristol via the Badminton route. seems illogical to me.
Perhaps, but there aren't going to be any pure electric trains outside the Thames Valley, and while the SETs performance on Diesel is slightly less than on Electric (although contrary to popular wibble they are more than capable of reaching 125mph on Diesel, and have done so routinely during testing - the "100mph on diesel" being a design goal, not a limit) - that disparity in performance will not impact train running on the comparatively slow Filton bank. Coming off the wires at Bristol Parkway to coast down the hill into Temple Meads isn't going to make an iota of difference to the proposed timetable or journey times, it's just going to kill off a few polar bears more quickly. Similarly West of Bath where the ruling line speed is 90mph.

The bits they've deferred are the bits that provide a purely environmental benefit, as opposed to a performance/operational benefit. All 125mph sections of the GW will be wired.

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National Audit Office report into Great Western Electrification 14/11/2016 at 22:58 #88348
Steamer
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JamesN in post 88347 said:
simmybear in post 87304 said:
I think it particularly shortsighted that Filton Bank will remain unelectrified this effectively means Bristol Parkway becomes the boundary for electric trains to Bristol via the Badminton route. seems illogical to me.
Perhaps, but there aren't going to be any pure electric trains outside the Thames Valley, and while the SETs performance on Diesel is slightly less than on Electric (although contrary to popular wibble they are more than capable of reaching 125mph on Diesel, and have done so routinely during testing - the "100mph on diesel" being a design goal, not a limit) - that disparity in performance will not impact train running on the comparatively slow Filton bank. Coming off the wires at Bristol Parkway to coast down the hill into Temple Meads isn't going to make an iota of difference to the proposed timetable or journey times, it's just going to kill off a few polar bears more quickly. Similarly West of Bath where the ruling line speed is 90mph.

The bits they've deferred are the bits that provide a purely environmental benefit, as opposed to a performance/operational benefit. All 125mph sections of the GW will be wired.
While GWR will no doubt muddle through (as everyone always has to, in the end), it's a pretty poor state of affairs when a load of electric trains have diesel engines fitted* to compensate for Network Rail incompetence, which are then used to justify delaying any further electrification. The costs of the extra diesel engines (required solely due to NR/DfT foul-ups) being saddled onto the GW franchise for the next 27.5 years, rather than paid as a lump sum up front.

*For anyone unaware, the original order for GWR was a mix of pure electric and electro-diesel ('bi-mode', to use the modern term) trains, subsequently amended to all electro-diesel.

"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
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National Audit Office report into Great Western Electrification 15/11/2016 at 00:22 #88350
postal
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Steamer in post 88348 said:
The costs of the extra diesel engines (required solely due to NR/DfT foul-ups) being saddled onto the GW franchise for the next 27.5 years, rather than paid as a lump sum up front.
The issue is a little wider than that. For as long as the trains continue in service in bi-mode format (and presuming they can supply enough power when running in electric mode that additional the diesel power is not required) then every mile under the wires will generate additional running cost due to the weight penalty of several tons of redundant cast iron. Apart from the additional costs required to satisfy Sir Isaac's Laws of Motion, is there any certainty about what Track Access Charges might be levied on the heavier bi-mode trains as opposed to the lighter electric units.

We know that the railway industry is having to close ranks about a decision that has been nonsensical since first proposed but that doesn't make it a good decision. It may be an internet myth, but I once read that the decision not to use the obvious way of doing things by hooking on a self-contained diesel power unit where the electricity finishes stems from an incident during the West Coast PUG which considerably delayed Sir Humphrey and has entered the collective Civil Service memory. I understand that there was an opportunity to survey the platforms at Crewe from the first-class windows for some time while a recalcitrant Cl. 57 was persuaded to hook onto an electric set for a drag round a blockaded section of line - I have it in the back of my head that it took getting on for 20 minutes but I could be wrong.

It was therefore decreed that such moves carried an unacceptable timetable penalty and must not happen. This is despite many of said Civil Servants with no doubt very good liberal arts degrees and no understanding or background in anything to do with technology or engineering coming into London every day on part of the network which sees many joins and splits in less than 2 minutes and where the exact same diesel loco onto electric set used to take place several times a day at Bournemouth to take the pre-Weymouth electrification portion forward.

“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe
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