Progress Reports

A number of correspondents have provided progress updates:

• A work site, currently empty, has appeared just west of Huyton Junction on the north side of the line at the site of Huyton Quarry station.
• Mast bases have started appearing between Huyton and Eccleston Park.
• Lots of new cable troughing and new rails in the Newton/Earlestown area.
• The switching/substation site at Newton-le-Willows appears externally complete.
• Wiring also appears complete on the Parkside Junction to Lowton Junction curve.
• The length of catenary going east from Parkside Junction is getting a lot longer.
• New cable troughing is being laid east of Eccles.

My thanks to all who took the trouble to email me.

Huyton/Roby Extra Tracks Progress

Work has been proceeding rapidly on the additional track(s) through Huyton and Roby.  Much of the former trackbed has been dug out, and many shrubs and substantial trees have been hacked down.

Here are the old platforms at Roby, looking east towards Huyton.  Since this picture was taken, the undergrowth has been cleared and the the platforms can be seen to be in remarkably good condition.

A train leaves Roby towards Huyton, with the cleared trackbed stretching away into the distance on the left.

Looking towards Roby from Huyton.

At Huyton the old north side subway entrance has been re-opened.  So far there's no sign of re-opening this into the current subway.

I think subway work at Huyton will have to be completed early in the project as the busy public pedestrian underpass will need to be closed and altered before the additional track(s) can pass over.  An extended station subway could be used as a diversionary route.

Huyton / Roby Extra Tracks

A few weeks ago my attention was drawn to the minutes from last July of the Rail Services Committee of the Merseyside Transport Authority.  Amongst other things the committee discussed a report by the Director of Integrated Transport entitled "Roby and Huyton Stations Upgrade".

This report makes the statement that expansion of the line through Roby and Huyton to three tracks is part of the electrification project currently under way.  The Northern Hub proposals (Which had not been approved at the time of this meeting.)  would then require further expansion to four tracks.

The three track proposal is new one to me, and I must say it seems a bit daft to re-model Huyton Junction twice.

Here's a diagram which originates from Network Rail.

Wires Up!

The first catenary of the project has been erected at Castlefield Junction (Not Deansgate Junction as I originally posted - That's somewhere else entirely.)

Update:  I've now been for a quick visit to Castlefield and I can report that a very short length of catenary has been erected at the Deansgate end of the viaduct.

The wires run from Castlefield Junction, so presumably future works will not need any closures of the Warrington line, although they may require the power to be switched off - I didn't spot a neutral section.

Wires For Christmas

My attention has been drawn (Thanks, Peter) to an interesting article in The Rail Engineer about Balfour Beatty's work on the electrification.  The report states that the first wires will go up during the Christmas shutdown, in the area of Castlefield Viaduct.