Technical – The Windsor Link Railway

WLR submits formal feasibility report to Network Rail
WLR submits formal feasibility report to Network Rail

News, Technical

WLR submits formal feasibility report to Network Rail

admin2017-09-09T13:51:32+00:00September 11th, 2017|Tags: Network Rail, technical|

At Network Rail's request, The Windsor Link Railway has submitted a formal feasibility to them. This is often known as a ‘GRIP 2 report' in the rail industry. This follows on from WLR being included in the Hansford Review, commissioned by Network Rail and published last month, to introduce more private investment in the rail industry and improve services to customers. The Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, has also called for ‘new ways of working, new ways of funding improvements in rail’. [...]

Alignment Options
Alignment Options

News, Technical

Alignment Options

admin2017-06-01T14:14:32+00:00December 7th, 2016|Tags: drawings, technical, Windsor|

The Windsor Link Railway has been working with engineering consultants Pell Frischmann as well as Network Rail on completing formal project milestones (GRIP). We are on target to have feasibility (GRIP 2) for the tunnel in Windsor completed by early 2017. The aim is to give a number of alignment options and to demonstrate compliance with railway standards for operability and safety. Also important for this next level of work will be confirmation of current cost and revenue estimates to ensure that value for [...]

Neighbourhood plan meeting tonight
Neighbourhood plan meeting tonight

News, Technical

Neighbourhood plan meeting tonight

admin2013-10-16T11:47:33+00:00October 16th, 2013|Tags: consultations, Windsor|

The Windsor Link Railway is on the agenda tonight for the steering group of the Central Windsor Neighbourhood Plan. There's a presentation on the WLR by Richard Wickerson starting at 6pm in the Windsor Guildhall, Ascot Room. The meeting proper starts at 6.30.

A project of national significance
A project of national significance

Technical

A project of national significance

admin2017-06-03T08:41:39+00:00September 24th, 2013|Tags: planning process, policy|

The Windsor Link Railway has today received some initial advice from the Planning Inspectorate regarding the formal planning process that the project will go through. […]

Windsor residents’ survey final results
Windsor residents’ survey final results

News, Technical

Windsor residents’ survey final results

admin2017-06-03T11:01:26+00:00April 9th, 2013|Tags: consultations, Windsor|

The final results for the Windsor residents’ survey has shown overwhelming support for its proposals, with 95% of Windsor residents agreeing that it is important to Windsor and 92% petitioning the council to look actively at the ideas. […]

Manchester United
Manchester United

policy, Technical

Manchester United

admin2013-03-18T17:17:28+00:00March 18th, 2013|Tags: media, policy, thinktanks|

The Economist has published an article on the Northern Hub, in Manchester. This is how it starts. FOR £33 billion and a 20-year wait, Britain is to get a high-speed rail line connecting London to the north of England. For £32 billion-odd less than that sum, it gets the Northern Hub. Far less controversial or glamorous — the funding process was a bit like a church-roof appeal at first, says Chris Fletcher of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce — the project is a terrific [...]

Estimating Demand
Estimating Demand

Technical

Estimating Demand

admin2017-06-03T11:53:15+00:00December 8th, 2012|Tags: demand forecasting|

Over the last few months the Windsor Link Railway has been working with Network Rail to estimate demand for phase 1 of the Windsor Link Railway, connecting Slough to Staines via Windsor. As with much forecasting, this is a far from easy task. Network Rail's standard approach is to look first at the population and employment in the catchment areas of the new services. This splits into two types: long-distance and local. One can ignore the former for now because it is too complex [...]

Transport Minister confirms WLR satisfies HLOS
Transport Minister confirms WLR satisfies HLOS

News, Technical

Transport Minister confirms WLR satisfies HLOS

admin2017-06-03T11:54:43+00:00August 30th, 2012|Tags: MPs, policy|

The Transport Minister, Theresa Villiers, has now confirmed that the WLR 'as a way to meet the HLOS requirements which I have outlined'. "The High Level Output Specification (HLOS) for rail that we published on 17 July asked the rail industry to develop plans to build a new rail link from the Great Western Mail Line to Heathrow to enhance rail access to the airport from the Thames Valley and the west. The HLOS amounts to an invitation to the rail industry, overseen by [...]

RBWM publishes Local Transport Plan

admin2012-08-10T15:33:43+00:00August 10th, 2012|Tags: Maidenhead, policy, RBWM, Windsor|

At the full council meeting last week the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead approved its new Local Transport Plan. This is a very thick document but the relevant section, on page 73, lists three options for a new rail link connecting Heathrow to the borough. One of these is Slough's WRAtH scheme; the second is the Airtrack scheme, now promoted by Wandsworth and other London boroughs as Airtrack Lite; and the third is the Windsor Link Railway (phase 2), for a more general [...]

Rail Regulator confirms WLR ‘in the mix’

admin2012-07-17T14:46:20+00:00July 17th, 2012|Tags: ORR, policy|

The Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) has today confirmed that the Windsor Link Railway proposal should be considered in developing a potential solution to satisfy the recently announced requirement for a connection from Heathrow to the west. Yesterday, the Secretary of State for Transport said in her High Level Output Statement (HLOS) ... to develop plans to build a new rail link from the Great Western Main Line to London Heathrow Airport to enhance rail access from the Thames Valley and the West [...]