GCR Bridge Project

[reddragon]

Hi Railfan
I think there will have to be a second platform at LN, there is already a short stub which could easily be lengthened. There would probably be a central "relief" road to allow locomotives to run round the rake from either platform. It is a long way into the future though.

Its a real pity that the original central platform wasn't retained even if the entrance was as now.

 

[Flying Phil]

Hi reddragon
Despite the original Belgrave and Birstall station being part of the trackbed, the rails had been taken up and the buildings suffered from a lot of vandalism in the 1970's. For safety sake the buildings were demolished, but the platform remained up to the 1980's I believe. However when the line was extended from Rothley to Leicester North (A condition needed to have the Leicester ring road put on a bridge over the trackbed) Leicester City Council would give money for a new station if it was within the city boundary ie a bit further South of the original platform/station. Hence the new station.
Sorry for the thread drift!
To get back I hope the new Urban Viaduct will result in a faster completion of the gap project as it could be a quicker construction(?) if the money is raised as quickly as possible. Exciting times!

 

[Nottingham59]

To get back I hope the new Urban Viaduct will result in a faster completion of the gap project as it could be a quicker construction(?) if the money is raised as quickly as possible. Exciting times!

How much per mile will this viaduct cost?

 

[Flying Phil]

Hi Nottingham59
I have not seen or heard of any costing for the viaduct but it is expected to be slightly less than the cost of a rebuilding of the old embankment( this would have needed to be taller, narrower and steeper - plus moved slightly to the East by 8m at the MML end!).
As they were looking at raising £3M for the factory flyover by itself, I suspect the cost of the urban viaduct will be what £3M? for its 300m length (including the embankment from the canal bridge and the short steel bridge over the combined sewer outflow). So £2M per 200m so £16M per mile??? Which is probably on the cheap side. For reference how much does a mile of HS2 viaduct cost??
I must emphasise that I am not an expert but merely an interested observer/supporter.

 

[Nottingham59]

how much does a mile of HS2 viaduct cost??

Not sure. The civils for HS2 contract C1 was let for around £800M, which comprised 2 miles of Colne Valley viaduct and 10 miles of twin tunnel under the Chilterns. After inflation, that gets to around £1.6bn for 12 miles. I understand that a viaduct costs around half that of a tunnel, so that makes (I'm guessing here) £100/mile for a twin-bore tunnel and £50M/mile for a twin track viaduct.

EDIT:

Align JV to Build C1 Section of HS2 in UK

High Speed Two Ltd., the company responsible for developing high-speed rail between London and the North of England, issued NTP to the Align joint venture.

tunnelingonline.com

"High Speed Two Ltd., the company responsible for developing the high-speed rail line between London and the North of England, has issued a Notice to Proceed to the Align joint venture. This officially launches the execution phase of a major project for Bouygues Construction in the United Kingdom worth €1.8 billion".

 

[zwk500]

For reference how much does a mile of HS2 viaduct cost??

Not really a valid comparison though! Much as we might like it, the GCR's viaduct isn't going to have a 360kph+ speed limit.

 

[Nottingham59]

Not really a valid comparison though! Much as we might like it, the GCR's viaduct isn't going to have a 360kph+ speed limit.

But the HS2 threads all say that the extra cost of providing a high-speed capabilty on HS2 was minimal ....

 

[zwk500]

But the HS2 threads all say that the extra cost of providing a high-speed capabilty on HS2 was minimal ....

Extra cost above 200kph or so is minimal. I think most people would accept quite readily that if HS2 was being built for 80kph it would be rather a lot cheaper!

 

[D365]

I was told today that re-doubling Rothley to Leicester North is an ambition.

 

[satisnek]

I think this is great news! The GCR management clearly appreciates that the correct track layout is essential to maintain the aesthetic of a preserved double-track through station (the other extreme is Bury Bolton Street, where the track has been laid to suit today's operating needs and it just looks crazy!). OK, so there's now the problem of where to locate the shed, but I'm sure that's not insurmountable. North of the canal bridge things are less important - I can't see the GCR(N) ever being double-tracked - and if a concrete viaduct is the cheapest option, that's cool.

I now feel guilty that I didn't contribute a pound or two towards the 'Bridging The Gap' fund at the recent diesel gala, as I've always done when I've visited in the past!

 

[railfan99]

I now feel guilty that I didn't contribute a pound or two towards the 'Bridging The Gap' fund at the recent diesel gala, as I've always done when I've visited in the past!

You can donate online to various GCR causes. Why not do it? Easy-peasy, and extremely helpful for any of your wonderful heritage railways to receive donations.

 

[Flying Phil]

I was told today that re-doubling Rothley to Leicester North is an ambition.

Yes - this has been a longstanding ambition/aim/intent - especially when linked to the Leicester Railway Museum project.
But it is also now linked to the Gap project because when looking at the potential timetabling constraints of running to the North from Loughborough, it turns out that the real constraint is the turnaround time for the Rothley/Leicester North section, hence the need for track doubling.....eventually.
It should be noted that the siding to the South of Rothley station is slowly being remodelled to have a North entry, which will facilitate such a double track layout.
However this discussion should perhaps be continued in the general GCR thread?

 

[satisnek]

You can donate online to various GCR causes. Why not do it? Easy-peasy, and extremely helpful for any of your wonderful heritage railways to receive donations.

I certainly could - and end up broke! Because it would raise the awkward question: "where do I stop?" I'll just double up my contribution next time