R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive

Route characteristics
DESCRIPTION The routes are mainly two-track railways, although between
Salisbury and Exeter and between Castle Cary and Dorchester, there are
significant sections of single track. Between Basingstoke and Exeter, maximum
permissible speeds are generally 85mph to 90mph but on other routes
Route vision
Our vision is to improve the quality of service and the attractiveness of the route
to encourage greater use of rail. This will be achieved by working with customers
to enable the introduction of new rolling stock, to reduce journey times through
infrastructure and timetable improvements and to enhance peak capacity by
infrastructure and train service changes.
We will also improve the attractiveness of stations through completion of
the regeneration programme and, where appropriate, enhancement of customerinformation
systems. In conjunction with South West Trains, we are extending car
parks at Grateley and Andover.
Between Salisbury and Exeter, service frequencies are constrained by the
extensive single-track sections. A study jointly funded with local authorities and
South West Trains concluded that, currently, the benefits to the wider community
of increasing train frequency through converting some of the single track to
double do not outweigh the increased subsidy that would be required. We
accept this view. However, some service improvements might be economical.
These are the route improvements we plan to deliver
linespeeds are slower and the maximum speed is generally 70mph or 75mph.
The Southampton and Eastleigh to Portsmouth sections of the route are
electrified.
These are likely to consist of timetable changes and, if funding can be agreed with
the developer, a proposed new station at Clyst Hayes. Should further industrial
and distribution developments take place east of Exeter, there may be an
opportunity for an intermodal freight depot.
Between Bath and Portsmouth, there is a strong customer demand to
reduce journey times and we have been working with customers to identify
opportunities. Our assessment shows that the majority of opportunities for
reduced journey times will not be fundable from ticket revenues alone. We will
work with Wales & West to secure funding for improved journey times. These
improvements could, potentially, be more significant than those shown in the
table. We will also ensure that Wales & West is consulted on the asset renewals
programme for the route in order to identify fundable opportunities to renew
assets for higher linespeeds. We will continue to work with customers and
Hampshire County Council to enable passenger trains to operate between
Eastleigh and Chandler’s Ford.
CAPACITY CHANGES TO MEET FRANCHISING DIRECTOR, PTE AND CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS AND DELIVER ROUTE VISION
LOCATION PROPOSED SOLUTION YEAR REF
Bath Spa–Portsmouth Harbour Linespeed improvements Study complete by 2000
Clyst Hayes New station 2000
Chandler’s Ford New station 2000
CAPABILITY CHANGES TO ACHIEVE ROUTE VISION
JOURNEY TIMES km STOPS CURRENT POSITION 2001 POSITION SUSTAINING THE ROUTE ACHIEVING ROUTE VISION
Basingstoke–Exeter Central 200 12 57mph (2hr 11min) No change No change No change
Bath–Portsmouth 146 10 41mph (2hr 13min) No change No change 44mph (2hr 05min)
LINESPEEDS (km of track)
Up to 35mph 19 19 19 19
40–75mph 319 319 319 319
80–105mph 296 296 296 296
110–125mph 0 0 0 0
Over 125mph 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 633 633 633 633
GAUGE (km of route)
W6A 472 472 472 472
W7 261 261 261 261
W8 171 171 171 171
W9 0 0 0 0
W10 0 0 0 0
AXLE WEIGHT (km of track)
Up to 20.3 tonnes 0 0 0 0
20.4 tonnes to 23.4 tonnes 119 119 119 119
23.5 tonnes to 25.4 tonnes 514 514 514 514
TOTAL 633 633 633 633
A
B
C
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