Felling of trees along railway

 Trees Cleared

Tree clearance along railway

 

Barking to Gospel Oak to close again

Barking to Gospel Oak to close again

New trains coming

BGORUG - closures

Barking to Gospel Oak Closures

Walthamstow Gateway

Walthamstow Gateway

BGORUG Newsletter

BGORUG

Closures

BGORUG

BGORUG Newsletter

BGORUG

Newsletter

Spring Newsletter

Major Gaffs

From Stella Creasy MP

Barking Gospel Oak Line Electrification Works - Re-opening Delayed 

This week Network Rail confirmed that the electrification works on the Barking Gospel Oak line will not be completed in time, but instead will over run for several more months while engineers finish the job. Trains were expected to start running in the last week of February, but so much work is still to be done that weekend and/or longer closures will have to continue. This is so that electric freight trains can run by winter 2017/18, followed by new 4-carriage electric passenger trains in late spring 2018. 

I will continue to update residents on the progress of the Barking- Gospel Oak line as I get more information. 

BGORUG

Glenn Wallis

Secretary

Barking - Gospel Oak Rail User Group

barking-gospeloak.org.uk

@RidingtheGoblin

Latest News 4 February 2017

Further to the comment piece in the January Waltham Forest Echo    http://tinyurl.com/jh5ysu3

BGORUG is now fairly sure that the line will open on Monday 27 February. Because the electrification work is so far behind schedule, it is expected that Overground services will only run between Mondays and Fridays ONLY. Full seven days a week operation is unlikely to resume for some months, Also it is possible that the Overground platforms at Blackhorse Road will remain closed until step-free access works are completed in April. Transport for London are expected to announce full details imminently.

Before the line can reopen there will have to be several test trains to check all the signalling equipment functions correctly as there has been a lot of new track laid and several signals have been repositioned. Then due to the length of time the line has been closed, all drivers will have to familiarise themselves with the route including the repositioned signals and any repositioned stopping points on station platforms.

As soon as TfL release the  details they will be posted here. In the meantime the rail replacement buses continue to operate, click on the alternative routes map on the Home page

BGORUG update

Bank being reinforced by Queens Road

BGORUG - update

Latest News 5 October 2016

The entire line has been under continuous engineers occupation since 24 September, including the route between the Lea Valley Line and Southbury Line through SouthTottenham, where the existing overhead wires have been removed.

At Walthamstow, there is still some minor works required to finish the slab track sections, while much work remains at Walthamstow Queen's Road station. 

Brackets for the overhead line masts have started to appear on the viaduct east of Walthamstow and work is also being done to those steel bridges on this section that have not yet been replaced.

Work on constructing the slab track section through Crouch Hill tunnel has also got off to a flying start.

The article on the project from September's Railway Magazine has now been posted on the Other Documents page of the website.

Unfortunately, there are no improvements for our passengers to report. Rail replacement bus T was cut on weekdays from 26 September from every 10-12 minutes to every 15 minutes and route J started operating on weekdays from 26 September every 15 minutes and not as shown on station timetables and the TfL website.

For updated details (including explanation of what constitutes a valid ticket) of the Barking - Walthamstow & Gospel Oak - Seven Sisters replacement bus services please click on the replacement bus map on the Home page..

The Route Closure details button on the menu bar links to TfL's web page about the closure.

For details of all Transport for London rail closures this weekend (usually available by Friday) click on the railway replacement bus logo.

Recent postings on this website are:

Members' newsletter dated 18 September 

Press releases "5-month local Overground closure starts in two weeks" (12/09/2016) and "It's the last train to Gospel Oak!" (19/09/2016) on the Press Releases page

Special report & analysis (12.08.2016) of the likely increase in travel costs for passengers while the line is closed on the Other Documents page.Also on the Other Documents page is the original feature in RAIL 800 magazine (11/05/2016) and the follow up article in RAIL 806 (03/08/2016) and now the September Modern Railways article.

Walk along a railway line

Some of you may have already done this but a wonderful 4.5m walk is from the front of Finsbury Park station to Muswell Hill along the old railway track which originally served Alexandra Palace. It finishes at Muswell Hill where there are plenty of pubs, O'Neils highly recommended for atmosphere - well it was a Presbyterian Church! Or the Mossy Well which is a very large Wetherspoons.

Parkland Walk

Parkland - Railway

Trip to Southend by rail

See Glenn's idea below. Please let me know if you would be interested in the trip to Southend.

On 10 July 1994 a special Gospel Oak to Southend-on-Sea excursion ran to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the Tottenham & Forest Gate Railway (South Tottenham – Woodgrange Park) – see photos. The train was formed of 4-coaches of the old slam-door diesel trains that worked the line, donated by the BR ‘shadow’ train operating unit, North London Railways, which also donated the train crews’ services. The tickets were promoted and sold by the six boroughs that formed the ‘GOBLIN campaign’ who made up any shortfall in costs and Waltham Forest College catering students operated a refreshment trolley in one of the guards’ vans. Oh and I was the train manager! For many years following I was often asked, “When are we having another day trip to Southend?” Well, in todays privatised railway could we?

I started thinking about this in 2011 as 2012 was 50 years since the last timetabled passenger train had run over the line to Southend (a Summer Saturdays only Luton – Southend return service). It seemed possible but day-to-day BGORUG responsibilities took priority and 2012 came and went.

On 21 July 1868 the first passenger train ran between Tottenham and Highgate Road, so 2018 marks the 150^th anniversary of this event. In July 2018, the line will have been electrified for a year and the new TfL electric 4-car trains will just have started running. It is possible that any charter train commemorating this anniversary would be the first electrically hauled train. The idea would be to share the train with a well-known national railtour operator. The operator would sell their ticket allocation as the first electrically hauled train over the line with lots of bits of ‘rare track’ around London and BGORUG with the help of local community groups along the line would promote the trains as a day trip to Southend from stations along the line among local residents. The train would be about 8 main line coaches and a buffet car. Day trippers would be left at Southend, the railway enthusiasts would have a few hours exploring rare sidings and freight only lines before heading back to Southend to pick up the day trippers.

Well, is the demand there among local people along the line for the novelty of a through return excursion train trip to Southend? There is loads of work required to get this to happen but is the demand there and the goodwill of community minded people to work together to promote the train locally? What do you think? If it is to happen, work will have to start now!

Well, what do you think Adrian? Do you think we could find around a hundred or more day trippers from the Waltham Forest area? The aim would be to keep the Southend day trip fare to £35-45 per adult but there would be some sort of group ticket available.

Regards

Glenn

Old Father Thames trip now

BGORUG update

Please find attached a copy of the BGORUG press release dated Monday 19 September 2016.

IT’S THE LAST TRAIN TO GOSPEL OAK!

 

 

 

        And if you miss Saturday morning’s

00:10 South Tottenham to Gospel Oak Overground,there’ll never be another one…until 30^th January 2017!

 

 

 

 

>  Entire Barking – Gospel Oak Line to be closed until February 2017

>  £133m project to electrify NE London’s last diesel-only rail line

>  Huge disruption for line’s 10,000+ daily passengers with no easy 

    alternative routes, causing increased travel costs for many

> Use replacement bus services or lose them!

> 5 months of pain & 15 more months to wait for any gain!

This summarises the issues we have been trying to resolve with Transport for London for the last six months, sadly without success, in spite of the support of several members of the London Assembly.

Kind regards

Barking to Gospel Oak line - update

Turn to Page 23 of Rail Engineer

Rail Engineer

As viewed from the Queens Road bridge

FROM BGORUG

Work has continued, mainly at the Walthamstow track lowering sites. Paved track has been installed between the former Blackhorse Road station site to Suffolk Park Road (bridge 60) and between Shrubland Road (bridge 68) to just short of the Yunus Khan Close access gates (MP8½ - site of former Queen’s Road signal box).

 

The lifted section of up line (Blackhorse Road – MP8½) has been reinstated and the down line removed over the same distance. The leading edges of Walthamstow Queen’s Road platforms have been lowered but the rearward part remains to be lowered and there is no clear sign yet of the final track level.

 

Electrification masts, together with some cantilever gantries, have been installed between Blackhorse Road (bridge 56) and at least as far as Northcote Road (bridge 62) and from Queen’s Road (bridge 70) to Boundary Road (bridge 71). A few weeks ago Network Rail#GOBE tweeted that they had installed 89 OLE masts. This must be well over 100 by now but considering over 550 are required, the slow rate of progress must be concerning. There is very little sign of any work on the viaduct section from Boundary Road (bridge 71) to country side of Wanstead Park. Leyton Midland Road station has received new passenger staircases. Just before this meeting a Tweet was received stating that there was activity at Wanstead Park station.

(b)       Rail Replacement Bus Services (RRBS)

During the summer it became apparent that TfL were looking to make savings on the cost of operation of the RRBS. TfL staff were conducting passenger counts (classically after the schools had broken up for the summer holidays!) and TfL Revenue Protection staff were conducting checks at Barking and East Ham. This latter raised the question of how Penalty Fares could be imposed on a RRBS when there was no means of paying a fare on the bus and closed stations had no ticket retailing facilities. Enquiries revealed that a valid ticket on a TfL RRBS was defined as a possession of a valid paper ticket, paper or Oyster Travelcard or sufficient Oyster PAYG credit to cover the cost of the journey being undertaken (in this case TfL zonal rail fares).

 

Informed Sources were stating that the intension was to reduce Route T (Barking – Walthamstow) to at least every 15 minutes all day on weekdays (currently every 10-12 minutes until 21:00, every 15 minutes thereafter) and possibly every 20 minutes. Route J (Seven Sisters – Highgate Road) was due to start operating every 15minutes on weekdays from 26^th September. It was already operating at 30 minutes intervals at weekends and public holidays with abysmal loadings.

 

 Around the last couple of weeks or so the TfL webpage relating to the #GOBE closure showed the post 23^rd September RRBS arrangements as being:

·         Route T: Every 20 minutes weekends and public holidays and every 15 minutes during weekdays;

·         Route J : Every 30 minutes weekends and public holidays and every 20 minutes during weekdays

 

Further contact with informed sources revealed that the TfL website was correct except that it had been agreed between Arriva and TfL that Route J would initially operate every 15 minutes on weekdays, but that loadings would be monitored and that if they were low, weekday frequency would be reduced to every 20 minutes from 31^st October. The TfL website was subsequently amended to reflect that the weekday frequency of Route J would be every 15 minutes.

 

Barking to Gospel Oak Line

August Update

BGORUG

Gospel Oak to Barking refurb

Relaying tracks

Barking to Gospel Oak closure

Barking to Gospel Oak railway

THIS AFFECTS RAIL PASSENGERS FROM SOUTH EAST ESSEX TO NORTH WEST LONDON

SO MUCH FOR THE FARES FREEZE!

 

As vital commuter route closes for 8 months

of continuous engineering work,

many rail passengers face paying more in fares

 

Rail user group urges passengers to keep track of their travel costs

 

 

London Overground’s Barking – Gospel Oak Line is a vital orbital rail service running wholly outside zone 1 between east and north London used by around 10,000 commuters every working day, some from as far afield as Benfleet in Essex and Willesden in west London. On the Barking – Gospel Oak service, they travel in packed 2-carriage diesel trains, often unable to board the first train to arrive at the platform. Network Rail will close half of the line on 4^th June with the remainder following on 24^th September¹. The whole line will not reopen until February 2017 and weekend services will not be restored until June 2017.

Glenn Wallis said, “We are grateful to Deputy Chair of the London Assembly, Jennette Arnold AM OBE, for agreeing to ask new London Mayor Sadiq Khan how these extra charges on TfL passengers are compatible with his promise to freeze TfL fares for four years?”

 “We URGENTLY ask that all necessary political and other pressure be brought to bear on TfL to ensure that no existing passengers - regardless of their type of ticket - have to pay any more than they pay now. This must include use of alternative National Rail lines and stations and any normal service buses in the area of the line.”

Said Glenn Wallis, “BGORUG strongly recommends that all Barking – Gospel Oak passengers keep a careful record of any increase in cost over and above what they normally pay to use the train service with a view to claiming the difference back from TfL.”