Slow Progress

Still no official announcement of a new date from Network Rail, as far as I know.  The Liverpool Echo has picked up the delay in an article dated 2 November.

Meanwhile, things are slowly progressing all over phase two:

In the "gap" around Huyton and Roby, most of the masts are up and arms have been attached to some.  On the passenger side of things the remaining finishing touches are proceeding glacially.  The car park is waiting for half its setts to be replaced[1], and the access stairs at the front of the station and the north end of the subway are still closed.  This morning I passed a group of workers tapping the render on the public subway walls with a hammer and tut-tutting.

[1] Update - I noticed a few days later the lack of setts problem has been resolved by tarmacking over the lot, leaving just a decorative band of setts across the car park entrance.

 At Rainhill I'm told five of the eight masts are up, and a rather optimistic sign warns "Danger Overhead live wires".

Scaffolding is up at Sankey Viaduct and also at Carr Mill.

At the other end of the line, I visited Victoria station yesterday and an enormous amount of work remains to be completed.  It is not clear to me how the wires are to be supported in the middle part of the station.  The closure of the tram stop has been extended until next year, and the trams continue to wiggle along their temporary single track route.  West of Victoria, reports suggest there are major signal sighting issues caused by the new masts and that this is one of the reasons this part of the project will not be finished until April.

First Service Sweepstake

As Network Rail's silence continues, there's much conjecture as to when the first electric service will run on phase 2.  "Early 2015" seems a popular opinion.

We have known for some time that the plan is to start with the Liverpool - Manchester Airport service.  The three diagrams are, I believe, nicely self-contained, so it would be easy to infiltrate a 319 on one duty without causing complications.

But there's a snag:  Manchester Airport is closed (The station is closed, not the airport!) from 18 January to 8 February, for the commissioning of the fourth platform.  I did wonder if cutting back the service to Piccadilly might leave us with just two diagrams to try electrics on, but unfortunately the timings don't work, and as far as I can tell from the timetable database the stock on the truncated Liverpool - Piccadilly services is to interwork with Southport services during the blockade.

So how about the week commencing 9 February for a first electric run?  Could Huyton and Sankey Viaduct be finished by then?

On the other hand, maybe the Wigan line (Phase 2b) will be ready first?

It looks like the Manchester Victoria part (Phase 2c) will be last, with Network Rail trying to "move the goalposts" to April 2015.  This is certainly needed for May 2015 when TransPennine's Scotland services are scheduled to be diverted to Victoria, to avoid Ordsall Chord works.

No News Is ... Er ... Bad News

Still no announcement from Network Rail regarding the delays to phase two, although work seems to be progressing at various locations.

ORR have published a letter which forms their response to Network Rail's proposed September 2014 updates to the CP5 Enhancements Delivery Plan.  In this they reject a request to move the completion date for phase 2(c) (i.e. Ordsall Lane Junction to Manchester Victoria) from December 2014 to April 2015.  This doesn't mean the work will magically be completed on time after all, it is merely a paperwork exercise requiring Network Rail to keep the schedule date unchanged at December 2014 and then own up to missing it.

This month's Modern Railways has an article reporting the delays.  They also note that, ten months on, some electrical supply work is still to be completed on phase one.

Phase Two Delayed

The latest edition of Rail carries a report quoting a Network Rail spokesman who stated that the electrified railway would not be ready for passenger use by 14th December, which is when the new timetable starts.

A number of problems have delayed the project, including unexpected abandoned mines around Roby and Huyton, and an incident earlier this year when a worker on a wiring train was injured when wires snapped.  Rumours have been circulating for some time, but this is the first admission by Network Rail that completion will be late.

So far, there has been no formal statement from Network Rail.

Phase Two Progress

A few pictures, mostly taken on Tuesday, of progress on phase two.

At Earlestown, masts are up on the west curve.  Elsewhere on the station there are plenty of bases and holes for bases.

Most of the ironwork is up at St Helens Junction, except for this one incomplete base near the east end of the down platform.

At Rainhill there's plenty of ironwork east of the station, where the long-disused signal box still survives.

At Rainhill station itself, excavations for mast bases are nearly complete, despite the lack of planning permission.

Work was under way on this hole, just beside the western footbridge.

At Whiston the masts and other ironwork seem complete, but no wires yet.

At Wavertree the wiring looks complete, as you can see in this view looking east from the station.

Finally on this whistle stop tour I visited Eccleston Park, where I found two cateneries but only one contact wire installed.










For a much more detailed and more up to date report on the current state of play, see David Hull's spreadsheet which you can find on a link from my progress page.

Meanwhile, rumours continue to circulate that Network Rail will soon announce that parts of phase two will not be ready for energising in November.  The latest report, in October's Modern Railways, suggests that problems including several serious signal sighting issues will mean that Ordsall Lane Junction to Victoria will be delayed until May 2015.  At the time of writing I have not seen any formal announcement, but it surely cannot be long before we get one.