Christmas Eve Train problems in Worcester Park

According to this all trains through Worcester Park are currently cancelled:

Description.Electrical supply problems are causing disruption at Worcester Park.

Because of this, there are delays of up to 40 minutes between Epsom and Wimbledon. These delays are expected to last until approximately 15:00.

15.00?? Hmmm... I'd say that with the trains out of position they'll be a knock-on effect and that it's going to be an evening of pain on the trains. Keep an eye on the live departure board for Worcester Park here or London Waterloo here. It seems to be having an effect on other lines too so I'm not sure going to New Malden would help much.

Ah well. Have a great Christmas and New Year!

Worcester Park Roadworks Map

I've been attempting to work out the scale of the upcoming roadworks disruption and turned to Google Maps to help visualise it. While all those who are into NLP discuss my preferred learning style the rest of us can try and work out whether we'll ever be able to go shopping again.

If you click on the image on the left it should take you to a Google map with lines and clicky things showing where the works will be taking place. It's my best endeavour at trying to collate the information, which comes from the Kingston Council page here, so do let me know if I've missed, misplaced or mucked anything up. So, in no particular order:

Phase One works will start in January 2011 and are expected to be completed in eight weeks. A traffic management scheme will be in place throughout the works that will require the temporary closure of three roads – Green Lane, Lynwood Drive and Park Terrace - and one way working underneath the railway bridge that will be controlled by temporary traffic lights.

‘Streets For People’
Who: Sutton Council (with funding from Transport for London)
Where: Central Road between junctions with Green Lane and Lynwood Drive.
What: Works involve de-cluttering the footways, altering kerb lines, building speed tables and resurfacing footways.

Cast Iron Mains replacement
Who: Sutton and East Surrey Water
Where: Central Road between junctions with Green Lane and Balmoral Road.
What: Replace two mains along both sides of Central Road and the supply to each property in the area. This requires excavation of the carriageway and the temporary closure of the junction with Lynwood Drive.

Gas Mains Replacement
Who: Southern Gas Network
Where: Malden Road from the junctions with Motspur Park and Idmiston Road.

Replacement Sewer – Flood alleviation scheme
Who: Thames Water
Where: Malden Road, Worcester Park from junctions with Park Terrace and South Lane.
What: The works would involve deep carriageway excavations, likely to occupy half the width of the carriageway, requiring some form of temporary traffic management.

‘Minor’ Traffic Management schemes
Who: Kingston Council
Where: Two primary locations on Malden Road – junction with Motspur Park and Church Road.
What: Realignment of kerb lines and resurfacing of the highway.

Possible addition: Gas Mains Replacement
Where: Malden Way Southbound slip Road on A3 at Malden Roundabout

Two years of roadworks disruption in Worcester Park?

Hmmm... just when Sutton and East Surrey Water's little experiment in road works seems to be passing without much disruption dire prognostication of disruptions to come arrives from Kingston Council (aka "the people who cut down the trees" to those of us on the Sutton side) who really ought to know.

On the Kingston Council website it says:
“We have identified that there are a series of activities by a number of different agencies that will need to be completed in the next two years that will all affect traffic on the A2043 [Ed:Malden Road/Central Road].

“The simple fact is that these works cannot be carried out without causing some level of disruption. By working together we can reduce the completion time by some months and therefore minimise the disruption to road users and local residents.”

The total duration of all these works would be approximately two years if all the works followed one after the other in the traditional way. But all the agencies involved recognise that by working together, sharing our knowledge and expertise, we can deliver the best improvements for local people in the shortest time and by causing the least disruption.

And here comes the really good news!
The first project will be essential works to underground gas supplies either side of the railway bridge at Worcester Park Station, between Green Lane (London Borough of Sutton) and Park Terrace (The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames). Phase One works will start in January 2011 and are expected to be completed in eight weeks.

The works are part of the national Gas Mains replacement programme, replacing old iron pipes with new Polyethylene mains which will require excavation of the highway. A traffic management scheme will be in place throughout the works that will require the temporary closure of three roads – Green Lane, Lynwood Drive and Park Terrace - and one way working underneath the railway bridge that will be controlled by temporary traffic lights. Advance warning notices will be displayed in the area and residents will be kept updated of progress throughout the programme

Full article here:
http://www.kingston.gov.uk/information/news_and_events/news.htm?id=110203

Is this all part of Sutton Council's cunning plan to get us on Central Road side of the railway to shop in Sutton instead!?!?

Sutton High Street redevelopment

The highly esteemed Parkerilla sent me an email a couple of weeks ago:

Hi Brinkster,
saw this in the Evening Standard on the way home today, I imagine you've already seen it but if not, I was going to say make you smile, but maybe turn into the Incredible Hulk on one of his bad mood days is another option ...

He knows me too well. When I think about the money that's been spent on Sutton High Street I vary between ironic laughter, deep depression and incandescent rage. The graphic on the left is taken from the Sutton Guardian's unscientific, but telling, poll on the subject and as politicians both love and implicitly believe polls Sutton Council will have to admit that the findings are true.

Hats off to the Sutton Guardian though whose video on the subject is quite illuminating, particularly the interview with Councillor Jayne McCoy, Sutton Council’s spokesperson for planning, economic development and housing.


For those with video-click-o-phobia here's a snippet
"Well there's no denying we've had quite a few problems. The log benches are a big problem, the mechanism didn't work properly. We've taken the benches out and we're going to get proper ones fixed now. We've had delays, it's complicated, there's a number of reasons the project's had its problems but we are looking to do everything we can do to get the prject completed and obviously started a review via our internal audit team to have a look at the lessons to be learned from the project".

Here's hoping the internal audit team don't get cut in the budget then! It's far too big a subject for me to adequately cover here but I have unearthed a video that purports to reveal the truth from inside Civic Centre.....well... see for yourselves.

Party time

Gemma's just sent me a lovely email which should be of interest to all Brinkley Roadians

Hi there Mr Brinkley Road
I live in Brinkley Road and have entered our road into the sainsburys competition to win a christmas party in our street I was wondering if you could put it up on your blog for people to vote. Was unsure on how to do it if I could do it myself. I think this would be really cool for worcester park and with your help may even make the shortlist. Here is the link http://sainsburysperfectchristmas.co.uk/Street/kt4-brinkley-rd
It ends tomorrow

Thankyou for such a fantastic blog
Gemma ...
Brinkley Road

If you haven't seen the adverts here's what Gemma's talking about


I think it'd be great for somewhere in Worcester Park to win this so do get voting here:
http://sainsburysperfectchristmas.co.uk/Street/kt4-brinkley-rd
and remember to spam your Facebook and Twitter friends ;)

Worcester Park roadworks

This sign at the corner of Washington Road doesn't look promising! Hopefully it's only the one week but I smell impending traffic carnage (as if we didn't have enough already!).

A balancing act

The title's an apt description of the trip (pun intended) down Central Road this morning as the nicely swept pavements of yesterday turned into sheet-ice deathtraps overnight and even my hiking boots couldn't save me from momentarily balancing most of my bodyweight on three fingers for a split second. The net result of that little adventure is that I've lost the ability to right-click..... or move some of my fingers into anything other than a slightly curled position. Ah well. Press on!

My praise for South West Trains may have been a tad too generous yesterday morning as the service out of Waterloo in the afternoon had some 'issues'. To be fair there were a selection of trains running but the real-time train info web site insisted there weren't any, which nearly dissuaded me from going to Waterloo to check. The main reason I did go was because my backup plan of going to Morden and then catching a 93 bus had been thwarted by the news that the 93s were only going as far as Stonecot Hill, which would have meant a particularly long walk home. As it worked out when I got to Waterloo I found a train going to Chessington South, hopped off at Motspur Park and walked up to Malden Road, getting there just as a 213 came into view. As there was no traffic on the roads I ended up getting home only 15 minutes later than I otherwise would, which I thought was pretty good going.

Actually the biggest problem I've faced is SW Trains so-called train "information" which, yesterday afternoon, seemed to consist of showing that there weren't any trains from Waterloo, which there were, and at Motspur Park showing that there were two Worcester Park trains due imminently even though there had been no sign whatever of them at Waterloo when we'd left there not long before. Similarly this morning I checked before going out and the website showed all of the trains as being "On Time" which meant that I was then doomed to spend an hour standing in minus 8 degree temperatures until a train finally arrived. Their information page can be useful, which is why I've got a link to it here but do remember that it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Just sayin'

There's snow business like snow business...

After the fresh fall of snow last night SW Trains continued their unerring service through Worcester Park. Not for me the feet-up-in-front-of-the-fire relaxation of a day off but because they were running on time I joined a select band of my fellow commuters in slogging my way into the office. Fair enough the train was five minutes late into Waterloo but considering the circumstances that's pretty darn good. If you couldn't make it to the station because the roads are stuffed then here are some pictures of what you missed.

[above] The SW Trains employee clearing the snow on the bridge drove in from Guildford. Not bad!

[above] Yes the man is trying to dig the van out and the car just to the right in front of him is spinning its wheels. Cars were waiting in the snow-less patch under the bridge and then using the grip to take a run-up to get past the lights.