Not so Greater Anglia

[Harry47818]

Cleaner train exteriors.
Cleaner train interiors.
Better Customer Service.
Class 321/4 refurb.
Class 153 refurb.

On a side note, if you google "Delay repay", the top related search is "delay repay national express" :P

GA have made much more effort than NXEA ever did! the last time i can recall a 170 being as clean as they are now is when ONE still had them, i dont think NXEA ever cleaned them, i also think NXEA werent too bothered about any of the stock as the 90s seem in a poor state, all in all i think GA have made the effort NXEA never made, just remember, its not the big things that always count, its all the little things that can make a big difference

 

[GB]

The reliability of the class 90 was substancially increased under NX than it was under ONE.

 

[Sir_Clagalot]

ONE was also an NX company... as was MML, Central Trains etc. Don't hear so many complaints about those TOCs? (I know they no longer exist)

 

[DjU]

Cleaner train exteriors.
Cleaner train interiors.
Better Customer Service.
Class 321/4 refurb.
Class 153 refurb.

On a side note, if you google "Delay repay", the top related search is "delay repay national express" :P

153/156 refrurb is ROSCO led project that was planned long before the Franchise ever changed hands, the only difference is that the doors are being painted Red instead of another colour. It was being done no matter who won the franchise.

The ex-LM 321/4 refurb is a Franchise Specification, again whoever won the franchise would have a commitment to deliver this;

The Franchisee shall carry out a programme of refresh works for 17 class 321 units (cascaded London Midland Units) by undertaking a minor refresh of the unit interiors. Works to include new 1st class carpet, new 1st class seat covers, new standard class seat covers, replacing standard class vinyl floor, recovering/replacing dado panels, replacing labels, recoating seat back handles and grab poles. Materials will be made available to the Franchisee to carry out this refresh and further details of these are available in the data site.

Frankly Cadbury's could have come in and run the franchise, turned all there other stock in the Chocolate replacements and these two points would have still been done!

These things have explained many times, including directly to you but you seem to ignore it.

 

[Harry47818]

whilst on the subject of the franchise, when the stock list came out, it stated a class 86 was on the stock list, i'll see if i can find it, anyone know why a class 86 was on the tender list?

 

[ginger]

153/156 refrurb is ROSCO led project that was planned long before the Franchise ever changed hands, the only difference is that the doors are being painted Red instead of another colour. It was being done no matter who won the franchise.

The ex-LM 321/4 refurb is a Franchise Specification, again whoever won the franchise would have a commitment to deliver this;


Frankly Cadbury's could have come in and run the franchise, turned all there other stock in the Chocolate replacements and these two points would have still been done!

These things have explained many times, including directly to you but you seem to ignore it.

Exactly! Hit the nail on the head! What I fail to understand is this......every other TOC running trains into london on commuter franchises manages to turn out CLEAN trains....they even manage to refurbish them properly!

We all know the reasons why.......

Yet people still "defend" NX, GA and the DFT as we now have a TOC that is cleaning the trains......for christ sake.....this a prerequisite!!!!

A "CLEAN" train!!!! All that GA are proving is just how BAD it got under NX!!!!

And even with the caretaker franchise both Stagecoach and Go-ahead were going to spend far more money redressing the appalling conditions that passengers have suffered for years.......

In short they have got greedy again......Abelio is good for staff but NO GOOD for passengers! Many people in the rail industry have told me this and Northern prove this!

but at least we have Red Doors.........WOW (Sorry massively unimpressed!)

PS the customer service is still non existent during disruptions!

 

[SprinterMan]

ONE was also an NX company... as was MML, Central Trains etc. Don't hear so many complaints about those TOCs? (I know they no longer exist)

NX really only went downhill after the financial failure of NXEC, although it did annoy me how they poured loads of money into putting "one" signs up at every station and repainting 2/3 of their massive fleet into "one" livery, then destroying it all in just a few years and replacing it with the horribly drab and corporate NX colour scheme, spending even more money.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Exactly! Hit the nail on the head! What I fail to understand is this......every other TOC running trains into london on commuter franchises manages to turn out CLEAN trains....they even manage to refurbish them properly!

We all know the reasons why.......

Yet people still "defend" NX, GA and the DFT as we now have a TOC that is cleaning the trains......for christ sake.....this a prerequisite!!!!

A "CLEAN" train!!!! All that GA are proving is just how BAD it got under NX!!!!

And even with the caretaker franchise both Stagecoach and Go-ahead were going to spend far more money redressing the appalling conditions that passengers have suffered for years.......

In short they have got greedy again......Abelio is good for staff but NO GOOD for passengers! Many people in the rail industry have told me this and Northern prove this!

but at least we have Red Doors.........WOW (Sorry massively unimpressed!)

PS the customer service is still non existent during disruptions!

People like to be positive. GA are better than NXEA but not as good as say LM or SOU. It's only the caretaker franchise. Don't expect miracles. You have no proof Stagecoach or Govia would have offered a different service. All 3 are better than NX, so don't rant about GA, be happy NXEA are gone.

You are completely right about the clean trains thing though; it really was that awful under NX.

 

[tbtc]

even with the caretaker franchise both Stagecoach and Go-ahead were going to spend far more money redressing the appalling conditions that passengers have suffered for years.......

Do you know what they were going to do?

Or are you just basing this "spend more money" on the fact that they had a different premium offer to the Government?

 

[Failed Unit]

ONE was also an NX company... as was MML, Central Trains etc. Don't hear so many complaints about those TOCs? (I know they no longer exist)

Central trains? Us unlucky people in Lincolnshire didn't have a good word to say about them - it was the UKs worse managed TOC.

 

[Harry47818]

whilst on the subject of the franchise, when the stock list came out, it stated a class 86 was on the stock list, i'll see if i can find it, anyone know why a class 86 was on the tender list?

after ages of trying to find it! here it is...

APPENDIX 1C: LIST OF ROLLING STOCK

3 class 86 locomotives
15 class 90 locomotives
5 class 153 DMU (inter urban DMU)
18 class 156 DMU (Commuter DMU)
24 class 170 DMU (inter urban DMU)
8 class 170 DMU (inter urban DMU)
244 class 315 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
20 class 322 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
84 class 360 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
60 class 317/5 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
48 class 317/8 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
96 class 317/6 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
36 class 317/7 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
204 class 321/3 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
60 class 321/3 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
44 class 321/4 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
15 class MK3 DVT coaching stock
1 class MK3 DVT coaching stock
28 class MK3 FO coaching stock
9 class MK3 RFM coaching stock
82 class MK3 TSO coaching stock
24 class 321 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
32 class 321 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
12 class 321 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)
120 class 379 EMU-O (EMU 25KV 20m)

can anyone shed some light on the 3 class 86s that exist but dont exist?

 

[Big Chris]

Class 86????? Any ideas on the unit numbers that are supposedly still allocated to GA?

 

[Chapeltom]

I was on GA services yesterday for the first time and after spending 133 miles on their trains can safely say they were good. Friendly staff and nice trains!

 

[jon0844]

Central trains? Us unlucky people in Lincolnshire didn't have a good word to say about them - it was the UKs worse managed TOC.

Didn't it only operate six days a week most of the time too? I know other TOCs have the same arrangements, but they do seem to get drivers to volunteer on most Sundays.

 

[Bellwater]

Didn't it only operate six days a week most of the time too?.

I must have imagined all them Sundays I worked for Central. 'Checks if was actually paid'

 

[Failed Unit]

Didn't it only operate six days a week most of the time too? I know other TOCs have the same arrangements, but they do seem to get drivers to volunteer on most Sundays.

They suffered more than other TOCs at incetivising staff to work on Sunday's. It was a "do you feel lucky punk" service. But to be fair to the Lincolnshire crews they did normally find enough. It was Nottingham - Liverpool that really seemed to suffer. Not sure about the West Midlands side.

 

[ainsworth74]

Abelio is good for staff but NO GOOD for passengers! Many people in the rail industry have told me this and Northern prove this!

I don't see how Northern prove anything other than Abelio (and Serco) are good at managing a franchise in which they were given no room for manoeuvre and initially very little in the way of resources. Northern was let as a no investment/no growth franchise and on those terms I don't see what Abelio could have done different with it.

Also who are these 'people' in the railway industry?

 

[jopsuk]

Apropos of nothing but on my cheap Portsmouth-Cambridge ticket Greater Anglia was reduced to "AGA" on the routing... amused me somewhat.

 

[DjU]

I don't see how Northern prove anything other than Abelio (and Serco) are good at managing a franchise in which they were given no room for manoeuvre and initially very little in the way of resources. Northern was let as a no investment/no growth franchise and on those terms I don't see what Abelio could have done different with it.

It was the terms in there own bid that won them the franchise! They are surely just as much to blame/praise as the inept DfT. The were party to giving themselves no room for manoeuvre. The same generally goes for all TOCs, they know what they are getting into.


I know someone will no doubt bring up the fact that Northern were refused from getting some DMUs from the Far East, but as far I remeber that was more or less a clusterf**k waiting to happen. But then I think the facts of that seem to get glossed over!

 

[tunster]

To be quite frank, the recent weeks haven't been bad to be quite honest! Still a little annoyed one of the services is still an 8-car service (7.40 CHM to LST) and being one of the busiest, complaints have flood in and no official response on why it was done.

I did have an experience on a Marylebone to Gerrards Cross service using Chiltern Line recently. Very odd to think why we complain and the trains are just not up-to scratch. Quite cramped, very noisy (being diesel I imagine being no overhead lines) and just extremely dated interior. Maybe its me, but I quite like stock on the GA lines in comparison now we've had the deep cleaning done.

 

[jopsuk]

317/8 back to Cambridge on Sunday. Went to the loo. No water for the sink tap, but plenty seeping out under the door of the cubicle opposite....

 

[ainsworth74]

It was the terms in there own bid that won them the franchise! They are surely just as much to blame/praise as the inept DfT. The were party to giving themselves no room for manoeuvre. The same generally goes for all TOCs, they know what they are getting into.

You mean they bid to meet the franchise specification? The DfT spec was for no growth so they bid for no growth, if they hadn't they wouldn't have won the franchise and someone else (who was sensible and bid to meet the spec) would have.

Anyway we should probably leave drop this as we're wandering off topic

 

[87015]

Seems to be a bit of a 317 shortage over the last week or so... :roll:

 

[ginger]

Seems to be a bit of a 317 shortage over the last week or so... :roll:

and 321s.....even some 360s (although that is Siemens problem)

why are there so many unit failures? GA made a bit point of saying how they were going to improve this.....over the past 3 months the problem seems to be getting worse!

 

[jon0844]

Ilford is being worked way beyond capacity is it not? If so, how can GA fix things in such a short time, given the many other problems they've had?

I think you need to give them a bit of time before slaughtering them.

There's probably a good argument for criticising them for saving money giving up the 317/7s, but otherwise the general feeling seems to be that they're doing quite a good job and staff morale is high.

 

[87015]

Ilford is being worked way beyond capacity is it not? If so, how can GA fix things in such a short time, given the many other problems they've had?

I think you need to give them a bit of time before slaughtering them.

There's probably a good argument for criticising them for saving money giving up the 317/7s, but otherwise the general feeling seems to be that they're doing quite a good job and staff morale is high.

Part of it is that in getting rid of the 317/7s they have to stretch the remaining fleet further - so there is less downtime for this supposed extra maintenance regime.

 

[jon0844]

I do think it was silly to get rid of the 317/7s, at least until they could do the required maintenance inside and out to ensure the remaining fleet, being worked hard, would be more reliable and comfortable for the passengers.

 

[SprinterMan]

http://railwayherald.com/imagingcentre/view/228905/PL

Are GA having their DVTs repainted into newer 'one' colours, because several have been to Wolverton and back recently, and I have seen several at Crown Point with what looks like new paint (i.e. not just clean, but all the same colour, rather than darker patches over the stripes)

 

[Pugwash]

Someone at Greater Anglia must be reading this forum - the ceiling A/C units and lights in the 360's have finally been cleaned for the first time in years.

 

[jopsuk]

So after yesterday's litany of out-of-their-control problems:
Liv St platforms 7-10 blocked because of a broken rail in point work
Liv St platforms 1-6 blocked because of signal failure
Bethnal Green points malfunction
Person hit by a train out on the mainline

... this morning has kicked off with a landslip near Audley End. They can't catch a break at the moment can they?

 

[87015]

... this morning has kicked off with a landslip near Audley End. They can't catch a break at the moment can they?

No bank slip anywhere to be found when they went to find it...!