Greater Anglia Good and Bad Discussion

[scott118]

Ah, but you didn't mention their size.........

Has the big fella sat on you yet?

Sat, or shat, was that ?

 

[dk1]

Moving swiftly on, I see on Twitter that enough MK3s have gone through the refurbishment program to form a full set. Does anyone know which set this is, and what diagrams it's been used on, and if it's being used in service tomorrow?

NC10 with 90001 at the helm. Came in somewhat late from Crown Point for press launch & to form 11:00up. Stayed on that diagram.

 

[MP33]

Sat, or shat, was that ?

I read that in an air rage incident. A 1st class passenger took the second option on the sweet trolley, when he could not have his favourite desert.

 

[387star]

First fully refreshed rake now in service looks dashing externally:


https://www.flickr.com/photos/77792...Bdw-s8KSw4-s7aCmx-sqauZq-s87RhU-s8nBYb-nCRBFT

 

[Flying Snail]

I wonder how long it will be before a visually impaired person takes a ride in the 90?

 

[badassunicorn]

it's so nice to see the hauled sets looking good as ambassadors for East Anglia ^_^

 

[scott118]

I wonder how long it will be before a visually impaired person takes a ride in the 90?

like a driver, who submits the "no knowledge" report ? Surely the guard will catch the unaware, before they try to enter the confines of the driver's cab..or indeed station staff will escort the impaired to the relevant coach, before ensuring the guard has full knowledge of that particular customer..duty of care.

 

[387star]

Does the Greater Anglia network have the highest number of old NSE clocks now?

Shocked to still see them in use some still red!

Not that they aren't missed in SWT land

I wonder why SWT managed to install really good new arrival screens to virtually every if not every station on their network yet even Southern only recently rolled screens at stations like Warblington

Did SWT have a grant to do this? Was around ten-fifteen years ago

 

[Carlisle]

Does the Greater Anglia network have the highest number of old NSE clocks now?

Shocked to still see them in use some still red!

Not that they aren't missed in SWT land

I wonder why SWT managed to install really good new arrival screens to virtually every if not every station on their network yet even Southern only recently rolled screens at stations like Warblington

Did SWT have a grant to do this? Was around ten-fifteen years ago

Connex South Central actually started installing yellow dot matrix departure boards before SWT but I'm not sure how many they actually installed

 

[387star]

Connex South Central actually started installing yellow dot matrix departure boards before SWT but I'm not sure how many they actually installed

Connex was a half arsed effort they replaced some of the TV screens but the rest like the entrance to barnham and at shoreham by sea were left untouched in till very very recently interestingly the new southern ones are yellow I suppose yo match

 

[Carlisle]

Connex was a half arsed effort they replaced some of the TV screens but the rest like the entrance to barnham and at shoreham by sea were left untouched in till very very recently interestingly the new southern ones are yellow I suppose yo match

Yes I seem to remember there were only a few of those connex ones dotted around their network, the SWT ones seem identical to the ones that appeared on the platforms at all Virgin West Coast run stations about 7 years ago so clearly some similar stagecoach organised contract there

 

[387star]

Yes I seem to remember there were only a few of those connex ones dotted around their network, the SWT ones seem identical to the ones that appeared on the platforms at all Virgin West Coast run stations about 7 years ago so clearly some similar stagecoach organised contract there

Weren't the original green great western ones which have been replaced similar to the connex type ones? In which case perhaps Govia will replace more of the older yellow style ones at some point

 

[jon0844]

It's interesting that the AGA franchise makes Abellio responsible for all the screens. Is that normal for a franchise?

I would have expected Network Rail to be responsible?

 

[swt_passenger]

I wonder why SWT managed to install really good new arrival screens to virtually every if not every station on their network yet even Southern only recently rolled screens at stations like Warblington

Did SWT have a grant to do this? Was around ten-fifteen years ago

Even under BR and NSE the former SR was operated as 3 divisions, Southeastern, Central and Southwestern.

I don't think that many infrastructure projects on the scale of the PIS displays were done across the whole region, so the three successor TOCs would not have started from the same technology baseline. So what SE did wouldn't automatically mean SWT would do similar, the underlying technology mightn't have needed replacement at the same time.

IIRC on most SWT stations the 'three line' overhead departure screens on the platfoms were done shortly after privatisation, but most 'listing' type screens with multiple arrivals or departures showing (normally those away from platforms) were still mainly VDUs until much later, many were only changed during the current franchise..

 

[samuelmorris]

It's interesting that the AGA franchise makes Abellio responsible for all the screens. Is that normal for a franchise?

I would have expected Network Rail to be responsible?

That would explain why they never work then. Not wishing to play the anti-Abellio card but it does explain a lot. The handling of the displays being off at Stratford for several weeks a couple of years ago was very poor and further, the NSE clocks were turned off at stations like Brentwood a few months ago and haven't been replaced with anything, so now we have no clocks at all.

 

[jon0844]

Romford had some issues and Abellio got back to me within a week or two to say they'd fixed them (or some of them). I guess it's important to report them, as I did when the screens were all over the place at Cheshunt (platform 13b and other nonsense showing).

Mind you, they've messed up a few times since (Cheshunt) - but, to their credit, if you complain about specific displays they must pass it on to someone - and they will get back to you after a few days.

Not that they do this with everyone. The usual suspects who moan all the time, and were today demanding to know why a load of trains had faults (and when asked to give details of the trains, refused to say and retorted that it was proof AGA didn't know), don't seem to get answered - probably because AGA has realised it's a waste of time.

It does, however, seem more sensible for Network Rail to manage things like screens, lighting etc. AGA only operates (some of) the stations after all.

I wonder what will happen when LO comes in. Will there be many stations still operated by AGA? If so, what happens when the screens go wrong? Will TfL simply blame AGA?

 

[samuelmorris]

The CRT displays are still there and functional, they've just taken the clocks out of use. Since it's been like it for a few months on both platforms I'd imagine they're aware but aren't doing anything about it (yet).

I only have so much patience for people that don't do as they're asked when reporting issues - the number of train faults is pretty severe, but if there's another fault that comes up in service that the TOC aren't immediately going to notice, you can't immediately expect them to know about it by magic. That being said, what faults are these? If it's things like the PIS not working on 321s, that's pretty much every unit - I don't bother reporting them as it's not going to be a priority for them if they struggle to get enough units out to avoid short-forming or cancellations, and given the fact that such a huge quantity (must be 30%+) of them are defective, it just seems pointless to me. A broken window on the other hand I would definitely report. Trouble is, I've seen someone do the same, then seen the unit with the same broken window still in traffic a week later. What then?

 

[jon0844]

I've reported the broken buttons on 379s countless times, and they haven't been fixed. I've pointed out the accessibility issues, but I guess Abellio can't change them until a more reliable part is sourced. What's more, it should be Bombardier stumping up to change them.

I know it might seem trivial, as I guess the non-working screens are on the trains for a lot of people, but they aren't trivial to a lot of people who need to be able to see and use buttons, or the hard of hearing that need to read screens to see where they are, or where the train is going.

Personally, in an ideal world I'd have it so a train couldn't go out without these things working. And heavy penalties being levied for not being able to run the train, such that they'd get fixed as a matter of priority.

I'd also like to see better enforcement so my local buses weren't allowed to run with faulty handbrakes and middle exit doors that can be left open when the bus is moving because the sensors are faulty.

Again, some will say 'so you'd rather have no bus at all than one that's got a few faults?' and I'd argue - yes. As that should refocus some minds to stop such things happening.

Let's face it, it's not just AGA that seem to think faulty screens, PA systems and the like aren't that important.

 

[Shunter_69]

My understanding is that the company that made the PIS system for the class 321 has gone out of business so it's impossible to get them fixed without replacing the whole system.

Hopefully this will be something that can be addressed once the new long term franchise starts.

 

[SPADTrap]

My understanding is that the company that made the PIS system for the class 321 has gone out of business so it's impossible to get them fixed without replacing the whole system.

Hopefully this will be something that can be addressed once the new long term franchise starts.

I thought that until I saw something that seemed to glean towards the company just being difficult to get parts/components out of but are still around, although not sure, I'd like to know though. We have the same system in our 317s.

 

[jon0844]

National Express must have bought a shed load of these screens, but from the off they had problems. So many LED displays were corrupted, or not working at all just weeks after being enabled, it's quite shameful. Likewise the displays at the cab ends, often showing nothing useful to passengers as they're also faulty.

Besides when not turned on by the driver, I can't recall ever seeing corrupted graphics on a 365 screen. Or indeed on the screens installed on modern EMUs 'out of the box'.

I recall when FCC came in back in 2006 that the screens had just been fitted on the 317/1s but Wagn hadn't purchased the necessary software so they did nothing, and later were only used as simple clocks. Later on, they began to work an for a while apologised for late running and some other things I've never heard them say again - making me wonder if the software had to be updated and never was, or a license ran out to provide extra information.

The GTR 317s have been updated to give a lot more useful information now, but I guess that if the company has gone bust then we'll just have to wait and see how long until they all fail too.

Again, I think it's unacceptable to have the screens/audio fail for those that rely on information and not get replaced or repaired.

 

[Dave1987]

Until the D(a)FT makes their mind up what they are going to do with the 321's in the future I cannot see any money being spend on them.

 

[bicbasher]

I wonder what will happen when LO comes in. Will there be many stations still operated by AGA? If so, what happens when the screens go wrong? Will TfL simply blame AGA?

These are the stations that are transferring to either LOROL or MTR Crossrail.

Bethnal Green West Anglia
Bruce Grove West Anglia
Bush Hill Park West Anglia
Cambridge Heath West Anglia
Chingford West Anglia
Clapton West Anglia
Edmonton Green West Anglia
Emerson Park West Anglia
Enfield Town West Anglia
Hackney Downs West Anglia
Highams Park West Anglia
London Fields West Anglia
Rectory Road West Anglia
Seven Sisters West Anglia
Silver Street West Anglia
Southbury West Anglia
St James Street West Anglia
Stamford Hill West Anglia
Stoke Newington West Anglia
Theobalds Grove West Anglia
Turkey Street West Anglia
Walthamstow Central West Anglia
White Hart Lane West Anglia
Wood Street West Anglia
Maryland Crossrail eastern
Brentwood Crossrail eastern
Chadwell Heath Crossrail eastern
Forest Gate Crossrail eastern
Gidea Park Crossrail eastern
Goodmayes Crossrail eastern
Harold Wood Crossrail eastern
Ilford Crossrail eastern
Manor Park Crossrail eastern
Romford Crossrail eastern
Seven Kings Crossrail eastern
Stratford Crossrail eastern

Cheshunt, Shenfield and Liverpool Street (ticket office) stay with AGA, while the Stratford NR ticket office becomes part of MTR Crossrail.

 

[jon0844]

So the dodgy screen for the bay platform for LO at Cheshunt will remain as the responsibility of AGA. That'll be fun. It can often be blank and/or show incorrect information.

 

[samuelmorris]

It's an issue for me too - I boarded the wrong train once at Chelmsford because the station display was off, the PIS on the train wasn't working either and I was down an end of the platform that has no speakers to play announcements - it was off-peak, I saw 'London Liv St' on the front, naturally assumed it'd stop at Shenfield. Only when I happened to check RTT on my phone after having boarded did I discover otherwise.
For me, that's partly my bad as I know better, but the average customer certainly doesn't - having those screens working is useful for not just the disabled.
Thing is, at what level of defects does the fleet become non-compliant for PRM-TSI in areas that there are no dispensations for? One scren out of service across the whole fleet is hardly grounds for a reprimand but on the other hand, what if only half of them work and you're in with a very good chance there'll be none operating in your carriage?

I can't believe the company making those PIS displays went bust (well I can, they're terrible products, but that's by the by) because the demonstrator uses them. Now maybe they have gone broke after the demonstrator was completed, but the PIS faults have been a major issue spanning back years, since when they very first started fitting them to 321s.
They may be newer (and look even tackier) but the ones in 315s seem to work reliably when both units in a set actually have them fitted. None of the flashing blocks / garbled characters.

I've made the point once already, but the problem with Shenfield not passing to Crossrail is that people will end up using crossrail services to Brentwood to use a damn ticket office, since the Shenfield one often shuts 6pm weekdays, whereas Brentwood under Crossrail will be open all day. Utter madness. I'm sure the station staffing issues weren't as bad under NXEA - back in Q4 2011 I used to buy a weekly from Brentwood ticket office on the sunday evening beforehand without fail - nowadays, it's never open at that time.

 

[387star]

Appears shenfield has new seating replacing that odd looking yellow bench

 

[bicbasher]

I've made the point once already, but the problem with Shenfield not passing to Crossrail is that people will end up using crossrail services to Brentwood to use a damn ticket office, since the Shenfield one often shuts 6pm weekdays, whereas Brentwood under Crossrail will be open all day.

When LOROL took over the ex Southern stations, they kept the same opening hours for the ticket office, which in the case of Penge West, while it's staffed all day, the ticket office kept the 0700-1100 weekday opening hours.

Brentwood under AGA is open until 8pm, so should keep those hours under MTR Crossrail.

 

[dk1]

Appears shenfield has new seating replacing that odd looking yellow bench

They are sprouting across the whole network at an amazing pace.

 

[387star]

They are sprouting across the whole network at an amazing pace.

Will all Crossrail 315s have a blue stripe applied and perhaps Overground examples having an opposing stripe? Be quite effective as long as the doors don't clash too much

Leaving them too plain could make them no different in appearence to the greater anglia fleet

 

[cjmillsnun]

Even under BR and NSE the former SR was operated as 3 divisions, Southeastern, Central and Southwestern.

I don't think that many infrastructure projects on the scale of the PIS displays were done across the whole region, so the three successor TOCs would not have started from the same technology baseline. So what SE did wouldn't automatically mean SWT would do similar, the underlying technology mightn't have needed replacement at the same time.

IIRC on most SWT stations the 'three line' overhead departure screens on the platfoms were done shortly after privatisation, but most 'listing' type screens with multiple arrivals or departures showing (normally those away from platforms) were still mainly VDUs until much later, many were only changed during the current franchise..

IIRC for the first few years (whilst I was at Uni in Portsmouth) they were still VDUs on the platforms with NSE clocks