LNER Azuma (Class 800/801)

[43055]

Good spot!! To be pedantic shouldn’t the orange line still continue below the headlight though?

Not sure about that one as GWR are the same with the gap at both ends.

 

[Rikki Lamb]

Just endured my first journey on one of these things, disappointment is a word that strongly comes to mind. They are faster and have improved leg room (great as I am 6ft 2) but the padding is woefully inadequate and lacking on the seat backs.

Really not looking forward to travelling on one when I've had an operation in London later in the year.

To be blunt, I'd have more comfort travelling on something from the depths of the Museum of vintage rail travel at Ingrow

 

[Japan0913]

LNER plans to put its new Azuma trains into Anglo-Scottish traffic from the middle of August.
28/05/2019
https://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/lner-plans-azumas-in-scotland-by-mid-august

LNER plans to put its new Azuma trains into Anglo-Scottish traffic from the middle of August.

However, LNER Engineering Director John Doughty told RAIL on May 22 that depends upon approval to run on electric power north of Darlington.

Currently the Azuma fleet cannot run in passenger traffic to Scotland using overhead wires due to Electro-Magnetic Current (EMC) interference. Doughty said that was due to be resolved by the end of June, in time for the August start. He is also confident that the planned power upgrade north of Doncaster will be ready for testing in August, ahead of being introduced from October.

“Currently two-thirds of our trains through Doncaster are electric and one-third is diesel, but eventually they will all run on electric,” he said.

The work involves completing an electrical feeder station at Potteric Carr, near Doncaster, and Doughty added: “At the moment the feedback is looking good. We have allowed a month for approvals, but there is less ability if the feeder station is delivered late.”

He added that the trains would not be used on diesel all the way to Scotland if there were delays, telling RAIL: “Maybe for a 50-60-mile stretch we could, but not all the way to Scotland.”

The plan is for nine-car Class 800/1s to be used on the Leeds trains. Currently LNER has 13 on order, of which 12 have been accepted for use. They will be introduced on a weekly basis from May 27.

It’s planned that when the Anglo-Scottish trains begin, the ‘800/1s’ will transfer to that route, with four pairs of five-car Class 801/1 electric multiple units operating to Leeds.

subtle···Is it okay?
In the future, HS2 will run this route?

 

[samuelmorris]

LNER plans to put its new Azuma trains into Anglo-Scottish traffic from the middle of August.
28/05/2019
https://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/lner-plans-azumas-in-scotland-by-mid-august


subtle···Is it okay?
In the future, HS2 will run this route?

Possibly, but as I understand it, not for at least another 15 years.

 

[Japan0913]

Not only the Class 80X, but also the EastCoast mainline infrastructure in the UK must be completely modernized ...

 

[samuelmorris]

Not only the Class 80X, but also the EastCoast mainline infrastructure in the UK must be completely modernized ...

800/801s won't be anywhere near HS2, it will use purpose-built rolling stock. As for modernising the ECML, apart from in-cab signalling to enable 140mph running, I'm not sure what else can be done? Power supply upgrades are already underway...

 

[59CosG95]

800/801s won't be anywhere near HS2, it will use purpose-built rolling stock. As for modernising the ECML, apart from in-cab signalling to enable 140mph running, I'm not sure what else can be done? Power supply upgrades are already underway...

Indeed; most of the stretch from Wood Green (North London) to Bawtry (on the Notts/S. Yorks border) is now upgraded to run as a boosterless classic system (booster transformers disconnected, Return Conductor converted to Earth wire, and Return Screening Conductor placed in Cabling troughs). AIUI, the same is planned north of Bawtry; the first new feeder station is due to be at Potteric Carr.

 

[InOban]

'due to be' implies some doubt. If you read the Rail Magazine link above, it's on schedule completion for testing by August.

 

[ainsworth74]

In a desperate attempt to head this one off at the pass, lets not get drawn into what upgrades we'd like to see to the ECML in the future. This thread is about the deployment of Class 800/801s on LNER. Let's stick to that.

 

[Bantamzen]

Saw my first Azuma out in the wild this morning waiting to work the 06:40 from Leeds. As this is a service I've used previously with work, I think it's time my boss organised another meeting in London....

 

[northernbelle]

Not sure about that one as GWR are the same with the gap at both ends.

Surely no different to other stock (such as HSTs where the cantrail on the sides is interrupted by the grille panels)?

 

[yorksrob]

Sat on my first Azuma.

My first impressions are that its a nice train, but (no surprises here) the seats are too hard. Perhaps this will be rectified on refurb.

Also, less crowded than usual - don't know whether because of half term or extra capacity.

That said, I notice that the windows have blinds, which will be handy on sunny days.

 

[class387]

Quite late, but I finally had a short ride on an Azuma today, just between Kings Cross and Stevenage. Some impressions:

• The interior is lovely! So bright and modern, and very tasteful. Really shows what a nice colour palette can achieve, in contrast with the DfT spec grey as used on GWR.
• Both the seats in First and Standard are firm, though not overly so. Moquette instead of flat cloth makes a big difference to comfort too. I still don't like the way the Standard seats are contoured, but overall the seats are nice enough.
• As previously mentioned, legroom is exceptional.
• The reservation indicators are great and make it much easier to find an available seat.
• Ride quality seems to not be quite as smooth as a HST, but smoother than a Mk4. It definitely isn't noticeably jolty though, which some Mk4s are.

A longer ride is of course necessary for a full judgement, but for now I am quite impressed. A worthy replacement for the HSTs, however I still find the Mallard interior nicer.

 

[westv]

Quite late, but I finally had a short ride on an Azuma today, just between Kings Cross and Stevenage. Some impressions:

• The interior is lovely! So bright and modern, and very tasteful. Really shows what a nice colour palette can achieve, in contrast with the DfT spec grey as used on GWR.
• Both the seats in First and Standard are firm, though not overly so. Moquette instead of flat cloth makes a big difference to comfort too. I still don't like the way the Standard seats are contoured, but overall the seats are nice enough..

Just wondering if you can remember whìch seat you sat in? I sat in B38 airline style on the service I used and it feĺt like I was sat on wood.

 

[class387]

Just wondering if you can remember whìch seat you sat in? I sat in B38 airline style on the service I used and it feĺt like I was sat on wood.

Don't think there is much difference between individual seats, but they are all firm. I personally have quite a high tolerance for harder seats - I don't mind ironing boards, so these are fine for me.

 

[Phlip]

This morning's 07:00 Hull - Kings Cross departed 14 minutes late. The Azuma turned this into an on time arrival in London .

 

[northernbelle]

This morning's 07:00 Hull - Kings Cross departed 14 minutes late. The Azuma turned this into an on time arrival in London .

Good to see the East Coast seeing the performance benefits already being realised on the Great Western - early arrivals into stations are pretty standard over there and performance is stronger than for many years.

 

[Bald Rick]

Good to see the East Coast seeing the performance benefits already being realised on the Great Western - early arrivals into stations are pretty standard over there and performance is stronger than for many years.

That’s until December...

 

[Robert Mann]

Here's a few photos of Azumas at the Hitachi factory in Newton Aycliffe last week

 

[D6700]

The significant turnaround in fortunes of this morning's Hull to Kings Cross took place between Grantham and Huntingdon, where 1A12 got back to time, after being 13 minutes late departing Grantham.

Looking at Realtime Trains, it is clear there were two primary reasons for this:

1. Not running Slow Line between Grantham and Highdyke Jn, as 1E01 was already ahead of it.
2. 1A12 got a good run, so didn't need the 9½ minutes of (mainly pathing) allowances between Grantham and Huntingdon.

There may well be performance gains to be had when running on electric, but they weren't really responsible for this apparently spectacular recovery!

 

[realnovice]

Is that 5 units outside the Newton Aycliffe factory? Wonder how far these are off testing or even in service...

 

[hexagon789]

This morning's 07:00 Hull - Kings Cross departed 14 minutes late. The Azuma turned this into an on time arrival in London .

They're about 6 minutes quicker to 125 than an LNER HST, the difference between an IET and a 225 will be less pronounced.

It is nice to see such a chunk of time made up though, not so often the case.

 

[Roger100]

That said, I notice that the windows have blinds, which will be handy on sunny days.

The blinds may also lead to arguments as you may find, as I have, that the person sitting in the seat in front or behind pulls down the blind against your wishes.
If they don't like sunshine then there's a couple of seats with no windows...

 

[yorksrob]

The blinds may also lead to arguments as you may find, as I have, that the person sitting in the seat in front or behind pulls down the blind against your wishes.
If they don't like sunshine then there's a couple of seats with no windows...

Or maybe a quiet battle of wills, with either protagonist gently nudging it up or down in the hope that the other won't notice

Still an improvement on none at all, even though curtains are preferable.

It's the seats that will drive me to other routes for the time being.

 

[ainsworth74]

Anyone noticed how reliable (or not!) the electronic reservations have been? Over in GWR land they started off terribly and whilst they seem to have gotten better it feels as though, purely anecdotally, that there are still more failures than would be ideal.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

'due to be' implies some doubt. If you read the Rail Magazine link above, it's on schedule completion for testing by August.

Roger Ford's article in June Modern Railways has the full schedule for the northern ECML power upgrade.
There is a lot to do, and not all of it is under NR control.

 

[quantinghome]

What potential is there for additional carriages to be added to the Azumas? HS2 is years away from reaching Yorkshire and the North-East, and there's likely to be a need for more capacity in the meantime.

 

[westv]

The blinds may also lead to arguments as you may find, as I have, that the person sitting in the seat in front or behind pulls down the blind against your wishes.
If they don't like sunshine then there's a couple of seats with no windows...

Depends really. If the sun is low and pointing directly at them then I would agree with the blind being pulled down. Also, alternative seats are not always available.

 

[westv]

Not surprised the 07:00 was able to make up so much time. It's the slowest direct train of the day either direction by 6 minutes.

 

[VT 390]

Depends really. If the sun is low and pointing directly at them then I would agree with the blind being pulled down. Also, alternative seats are not always available.

But if I book a window seat I expect to be able to see out of it even if it is sunny, if not I would pick an Aisle seat.