GA Class 321 Refresh

[jopsuk]

GA have been tweeting about the process they're going through with the 321 refresh. Click through for the pictures

We’ve done an internal refresh of 17 of our oldest Class 321 trains

Each 4 carriage train takes 8 working days to complete and includes new floors, seat covers and painting

The refurbishment has taken place at our depot in Clacton. Day 1 involves removing the seat covers

On day 2 we remove the grab rails from within the train. We’ve repainted over 900 in total

Day 3 and the seat frames come out for cleaning. They’ll be put back in on day 6

Carpet and flooring next and we’ve replaced the carpets with a hard wearing vinyl floor

On day 4 the floor is repaired ready for the vinyl. We also get on with painting the interior

We’ve used over 700 litres of paint to smarten up the trains during #321refresh

On day 5 we clean and refit all the heating grills and replace wall panels

Day 6 and the painting is done so the flooring and seat frames can be put back in place

Day 7 and the grab rails are put back into place. The seats are back and re-covered

Lastly, the seat covers are put back and train is given a thorough clean ready for service

What do we think? Looks pretty smart I reckon. Low cost but reasonable impact.

 

[badassunicorn]

I really like it, its simple and easy but makes a big difference. They smell nice and new and modern now =)

 

[ginger]

I really like it, its simple and easy but makes a big difference. They smell nice and new and modern now =)

a cheap and quick improvement....however.....alas the job appears to have been done a "cheap and quick" basis......

the seats are falling off - not attached properly.....the side panels are not fitted properly by the doors - allowing freezing air to flood in and screw up the heating, and the internal doors dont close thus swing and hit people......dont believe me?

I have seen this for myself but also on a well known blog..........that GA management dont like.....

http://www.greaterangliacomplaints.co.uk/ga-pics/

 

[bronzeonion]

They are definitely nicer than what they were but you can't polish a turd

 

[ainsworth74]

I have seen this for myself but also on a well known blog..........that GA management dont like.....

Most of those appear to be from a 360 and the those that are from a 321 appear to be from an unrefurbished 321. Could you provide some pictures from a refurbished 321 that's in the condition you report?

 

[Pugwash]

GA have been tweeting about the process they're going through with the 321 refresh. Click through for the pictures


What do we think? Looks pretty smart I reckon. Low cost but reasonable impact.

I notice they show an example of the 2+2 seating in standard class - this is certainly not typical and is not representative of travelling comfort for the majority of users

What I really notice about the referb is how much higher and firmer the seats now are, this refurb really was over due, kudos to GA for finally getting it done.

 

[SF-02]

Done more than expected. I thought it would be a southeastern networker type job a couple of years back - ie pretty much nothing except seat covers which already are tired. And now 6 more years of it.

 

[ginger]

Most of those appear to be from a 360 and the those that are from a 321 appear to be from an unrefurbished 321. Could you provide some pictures from a refurbished 321 that's in the condition you report?

a few examples......

https://twitter.com/Delayed_Again/media/grid

if you have the time to scroll through the hundreds of appalling pictures there are many more......and according to the author there are more to come.....

very very poor job! what a surprise from GA Abellio!

 

[jopsuk]

Didn't this particular refresh only start in February this year? So if the latest photos on that flickr stream from that blog are dated January this year...
(the Twitter pictures are a bit more worrying as those are definitely from a refreshed unit)

 

[cjmillsnun]

Bye Bye NSE Moquette

Although the dustys urgently needed a refresh

 

[ginger]

Didn't this particular refresh only start in February this year? So if the latest photos on that flickr stream from that blog are dated January this year...
(the Twitter pictures are a bit more worrying as those are definitely from a refreshed unit)

the refresh started in Arpil / May 2012.....was suspended for the olympics but was due to be completed by the 5th Jan 2013 (according to the TOC contract)

for some reason (as yet unexplained by GA) this was delayed and only completed in a fanfare at the end of March 2013....

the seats have been falling to bits for a long time....can only be due to the age of the seats or poor workmanship in the refurb....

unless someone else can come up with another reason?

and the rest of the pictures across the entire fleet are shockingly appalling!

 

[SprinterMan]

GA have been tweeting about the process they're going through with the 321 refresh. Click through for the pictures

What do we think? Looks pretty smart I reckon. Low cost but reasonable impact.

Very interesting stuff, thanks very much for posting this

Bye Bye NSE Moquette

Although the dustys urgently needed a refresh

You may be happy to know that London Midland's 7 321s still have NSE interiors :P

the refresh started in Arpil / May 2012.....was suspended for the olympics but was due to be completed by the 5th Jan 2013 (according to the TOC contract)

for some reason (as yet unexplained by GA) this was delayed and only completed in a fanfare at the end of March 2013....

the seats have been falling to bits for a long time....can only be due to the age of the seats or poor workmanship in the refurb....

unless someone else can come up with another reason?

and the rest of the pictures across the entire fleet are shockingly appalling!

Come on fella, the refurbed units are now better than 323s, which are adored on here by most people, and GA have done more in 1 year than NX did in 8.

Adam

 

[oversteer]

They look nice, it looks like the dated yellow lighting has been replaced.

I wonder if LM's 321s will get similar treatment - or are they going to be disposed of once they get the new 350s ?

 

[jon0844]

the seats have been falling to bits for a long time....can only be due to the age of the seats or poor workmanship in the refurb....

unless someone else can come up with another reason?

and the rest of the pictures across the entire fleet are shockingly appalling!

The seats are pretty simple in how they're fixed to the seat backs. Look at the photos from GA to see. I fail to see how they can be falling off any more now than they ever did from brand new?

Now unless someone is going around having seen how they fit and unhooked them (and I've seen kids do this on a 317) and perhaps then taking photos, I'd be very surprised to learn that post-refresh they're in some way 'falling to bits'.

Of course, when I saw the tweets this morning and considered posting a thread myself, I wondered if you'd come on to slag them off! I wasn't disappointed.

They look nice, it looks like the dated yellow lighting has been replaced.

I wonder if LM's 321s will get similar treatment - or are they going to be disposed of once they get the new 350s ?

They could give the left over 321s to FCC. I quite like them, especially first class, after FCC have given them a fairly modest refresh.

Nice trains that, so far, have never caused me any delay. I must have lower standards than Ginger!

 

[tom1649]

The "Ashbourne" seating as fitted to 321s can still be found on other classes such as 319s, 150s and Scotrail 156s and doesn't seem to be falling apart in my experience.

If it was really that rubbish it would have been replaced to a greater extent by now.

 

[F Great Eastern]

Is it just the ex Silverlink ones which are being redone and the Ex FGE ones are being left alone?

To be fair the FGE one's were in much better condition than those horrible other ones which looked like they had never been refurbished.

 

[SprinterMan]

Is it just the ex Silverlink ones which are being redone and the Ex FGE ones are being left alone?

To be fair the FGE one's were in much better condition than those horrible other ones which looked like they had never been refurbished.

The other ones never had been refurbished and still had their NSE interiors :P
The FGE units are not being done with new interiors, as FGE refurbished them in 2000ish, Silverlink never refurbsihed the 17 with the NSE interiors.

Adam

 

[Boothby97]

I wonder if LM's 321s will get similar treatment - or are they going to be disposed of once they get the new 350s ?

I believe the 10(?) Class 350/4s will be to help increase capacity and to form a minimal amount of extra services to/from Euston during the peaks with a few also being used in the West Midlands. And as the 321s are used on the St Albans Abbey branch (for now?) I don't think they'll get replaced just yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks, Sam

 

[tom1649]

The other ones never had been refurbished and still had their NSE interiors :P
The FGE units are not being done with new interiors, as FGE refurbished them in 2000ish, Silverlink never refurbsihed the 17 with the NSE interiors.

Adam

Noticed that the lighting gondolas had been changed since NSE days though to a curved type.

 

[ginger]

The seats are pretty simple in how they're fixed to the seat backs. Look at the photos from GA to see. I fail to see how they can be falling off any more now than they ever did from brand new?

Now unless someone is going around having seen how they fit and unhooked them (and I've seen kids do this on a 317) and perhaps then taking photos, I'd be very surprised to learn that post-refresh they're in some way 'falling to bits'.

Of course, when I saw the tweets this morning and considered posting a thread myself, I wondered if you'd come on to slag them off! I wasn't disappointed.

Alas pictures dont lie.......but hey you seem to think these guys are great....despite a poor quality cheap and nasty refurb.

How about the inter carriage doors not closing, and swinging and hitting passengers during the journey?

If you look closely you will see the catches on the base of the seat have been removed for some reason and replaced with velcro??? Is it any wonder they are falling off already given the use these old tired units get?

I am not slagging them off.....merely looking at clear picture evidence that the job has not been done properly.....

 

[jon0844]

A seat base doesn't fall off. Gravity prevents that. What is happening is people are obviously lifting them up and so I fail to see how they're falling to bits as claimed.

However if there are seats genuinely broken then people should perhaps report the actual location (and carriage number) to GA through the proper channels.

 

[ginger]

A seat base doesn't fall off. Gravity prevents that. What is happening is people are obviously lifting them up and so I fail to see how they're falling to bits as claimed.

However if there are seats genuinely broken then people should perhaps report the actual location (and carriage number) to GA through the proper channels.

the removal of the original locking pins and replacing them with velcro (?????) clearly doesnt help does it! Whatever possessed them?

and they are being reported frequently - hence the twitter feed I enclosed earlier - they appear to be up quite a collection of horrors from inside all the GA fleet from numerous passengers.....

again, the pictures dont lie!

 

[jon0844]

Velcro is pretty tough and seems fine to me. However, once people realise you can lift off the seat bases and backs, well - you'll find people will do it.

Those who like to moan now have every incentive to do so to take photos and put up on an unofficial site, which therefore misrepresents the number of genuine cases of broken seats. The seats were only given a new covering - how do you know the velcro wasn't after a previous repair/upgrade many years before GA? Have they all been replaced, or is it more a case of the seats being as they were - just with new coverings?

And as a journalist, I'm sorry to break it to you but photos can lie.

 

[Goldfish62]

Done more than expected. I thought it would be a southeastern networker type job a couple of years back - ie pretty much nothing except seat covers which already are tired. And now 6 more years of it.

The Class 458 "multi-million pound" refresh that's been done by SWT over the past couple of years only involved new flooring to the same impractical bright colours and new seat covers. The worn-out toilets and general damage to the interiors remain. So, overall I think in comparison GA have done a good job on the 321s.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Perhaps
Ginger
would like the use of his own private CL142 (unrefurbed) to see how lucky he is? I like these, but know many others dont!

 

[Goldfish62]

Perhaps
Ginger
would like the use of his own private CL142 (unrefurbed) to see how lucky he is? I like these, but know many others dont!

I know what you're saying, but I don't think comparing a completely different train in another part of the country operated by a different TOC is entirely valid. Otherwise, where would it end? Comparing the 321s with the Mumbai suburban stock?

But I do like the 321 refurb.

 

[SprinterMan]

Velcro is pretty tough and seems fine to me. However, once people realise you can lift off the seat bases and backs, well - you'll find people will do it.

Those who like to moan now have every incentive to do so to take photos and put up on an unofficial site, which therefore misrepresents the number of genuine cases of broken seats. The seats were only given a new covering - how do you know the velcro wasn't after a previous repair/upgrade many years before GA? Have they all been replaced, or is it more a case of the seats being as they were - just with new coverings?

And as a journalist, I'm sorry to break it to you but photos can lie.

I am sure I read somewhere that the seats have to be easy to take apart so the staff can grab a seat cushion for defence if a deranged passenger is coming at them with a knife. This would seem to make Velcro perfect for the job.

The Class 458 "multi-million pound" refresh that's been done by SWT over the past couple of years only involved new flooring to the same impractical bright colours and new seat covers. The worn-out toilets and general damage to the interiors remain. So, overall I think in comparison GA have done a good job on the 321s.

They have been refurbished? I thought they were still in their original condition when I was on one the other day :P

Perhaps
Ginger
would like the use of his own private CL142 (unrefurbed) to see how lucky he is? I like these, but know many others dont!

Nothing wrong with an original Pacer, lets give him a Merseyrail one to show him what a really bad refurbishment is :P

Adam

 

[Yew]

Good to see a refurbishment, Just a shame they chose a grubby colour scheme, when I saw the finished picture for a second I assumed it was the before picture. I dont think it will age particularly well

 

[Goatboy]

a few examples......

https://twitter.com/Delayed_Again/media/grid

if you have the time to scroll through the hundreds of appalling pictures there are many more......and according to the author there are more to come.....

very very poor job! what a surprise from GA Abellio!

Why do they let the Mk3's get into such a state? They look absolutely disgusting - and no doubt the condition is blamed on 'old trains' when the Mk3 coaches run by, say, FGW or Chiltern are all in far far better condition and look nothing like that.

 

[Goldfish62]

Why do they let the Mk3's get into such a state? They look absolutely disgusting - and no doubt the condition is blamed on 'old trains' when the Mk3 coaches run by, say, FGW or Chiltern are all in far far better condition and look nothing like that.

The fault started with NX, firstly with their pathetic refurbishment of the trains then the rebranding of from ONE to NXEA, resulting in a tatty interim livery. Then came the interim franchise where there's been no incentive for GA to do anything, apart from manage services during the Olympics. The problem now is that, apart from the 379s and small fleet of refurbished 321s, the whole fleet needs smartening up, which is going to take years and much investment.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Good to see a refurbishment, Just a shame they chose a grubby colour scheme, when I saw the finished picture for a second I assumed it was the before picture. I dont think it will age particularly well

It's the former NX colour scheme. Ironically Abellio buses have just moved away from this to a much brighter scheme of red seats and yellow grab rails.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Noticed that the lighting gondolas had been changed since NSE days though to a curved type.

Plus carpets and small tables.