Trains at Didcot Parkway (GWML, CVL) - 13/07/2023 скачать в хорошем качестве

Trains at Didcot Parkway (GWML, CVL) - 13/07/2023

The 192nd video of my train spotting adventures. ----- This video takes us south of central Oxfordshire to the town of Didcot, and to its namesake railway station of Didcot Parkway. A fair-sized, 5-platform regional and InterCity interchange station, its first iteration opened to passengers on 12th June 1844, originally just as "Didcot". Before this, the line had ran through this area of Didcot since 1st June 1840, when the original Great Western Mainline (GWML) had first been extended from Reading to Steventon, which at the time had stagecoaches carrying passengers from Steventon to Oxford. A few weeks on the line extended to West Challow, and then onwards to Swindon, Bristol and beyond. The opening of the station coincided with the opening of the line from Didcot to Oxford. An original idea was to take the line from Steventon to Oxford via Abingdon, but the peoples of Abingdon rejected this idea; as a result, Didcot's growth and existence today can be contributed to these aligning factors. - As well as the Cherwell Valley Line (CVL) to Oxford and the GWML, another line used to exist, the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (D&NS), allowing passengers to travel down from Didcot via Newbury, Highclere, Winchester and Eastleigh. Reduced to a backwater rural line in its latter years, the line was closed to passengers on 10th September 1962, and to freight in 1967; this closure preceded the infamous Beaching Cuts, but would likely have not survived the event regardless. In 1964, local services between Didcot Parkway and Swindon were withdrawn with the closure of the stations at Steventon, Wantage Road, Challow, Uffington, Shrivenham and Stratton Park; some areas such as those close to Wantage Road are being viewed with a potential to reopen in the next decade due to housing developments near Grove & Wantage (possibly). - In 1985, a new main station building was erected, along with a new 600-space carpark for park & ride usage. These pieces were opened on 29th July 1985, along with the renaming of the station to "Didcot Parkway". A number of improvements followed decades on in 2012; for 2 years or so improvements were added, including a larger taxi rack, dedicated drop-off/pick-up spots, short-stay waiting bays, disabled parking with step-free access, extra bus stops, and etc. - The 21st-century modernisation of the GWML saw the line electrified as far as Didcot Parkway by 2018, being extended to Swindon by November that year. This electrification was to extend to Oxford as well, but cost overruns/etc caused the project to be deferred indefinitely; modern Class 387 Electrostar units now run services to/from London Paddington, connecting with Class 165 Networker Turbo units to/from Oxford. Also in 2018 a new multi-story carpark was opened, costing £20 million and increasing the spaces at Didcot Parkway to 1,800, including a sheltered footbridge. In 2021 a cycle storage hub was constructed alongside the taxi bays, providing 600 bicycle spaces, as well as a bike repair station, costing £1 million. - Nowadays, the station is served exclusively by Great Western Railway services, with local services to Oxford/Banbury and Reading/London Paddington, and InterCity services towards London Paddington, Oxford, or Swindon and on to Bristol, Cheltenham Spa and the Southwest & South Wales. Cross Country ceased serving Didcot Parkway in the early 2010s, but occasionally call there during times of engineering works. ----- Filmed on the: Great Western Mainline Cherwell Valley Line (Start/end of line) ----- Services seen: GWR) Services towards Oxford, Banbury, Reading, London Paddington, Swindon, Chippenham, Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa, Bristol Parkway, Newport, Cardiff Central, and on to Swansea, Carmarthen, Weston-super-Mare and sometimes further Southwest. ----- Trains seen: GWR) Class 800/802 IETs, Class 387 Electrostar, Class 165 Networker Turbo XC) Class 220/221 Voyagers FL) Class 59, Class 66, Class 70 DB) Class 66 GBRf) Class 66 NR) Class 37 - 37610 & 37612 ----- Please leave a like, comment or even subscribe if you enjoy my content. Thanks for watching :)