New TfL "s" stock

[A60K]

Yes, much more sedate runs down from the Chilterns now - also, I guess, helped by the amount of CWR that's been laid over the last 10 years or so.

I think, although I haven't done the journey for a few years, that the Piccadilly line between Hammersmith and Acton Town is about the closest you can get to that experience now, assuming that stretch of track hasn't been relaid as well!

 

[Voyager 2093]

Back in August me and my mate were on a A Stock from Baker Street to Amersham. The driver was really jetting in, he appeared to be running behind schedule and he was close to doing 65mph yes 65mph. When we stopped at Rickmansworth we had to wait for a while because it turned out he was really early and he had a little chat with the manager.

We finally got off at Amersham and we asked for a cab ride which I still have videos of a the, A60s really do hit speed up in the Chilterns.

 

[MCR247]

How do you know it was 65?

 

[Voyager 2093]

We asked the driver.

 

[Old Timer]

Do you know I have to admit to not having a clue as to the maximum speed of the A stock. I always assumed it to be 60.

What was/is it ?

 

[Barn]

I think it might have been 80 at one point?

 

[Old Timer]

I think it might have been 80 at one point?

Seems a bit too high to me, especially looking at the bogies !

 

[oliverj8]

I always thought the maximum was about 70.

 

[90019]

I think the maximum is 70, but aren't they limited to 50? (Not sure where I got that from, so could be wrong)

 

[Voyager 2093]

Maximum speed was 70mph but limited to 60mph in the 90s. Im not to sure about 50 as between Amersham & Rickmansworth line speed in 60mph.

 

[Daniel]

Maximum speed was 70mph but limited to 60mph in the 90s. Im not to sure about 50 as between Amersham & Rickmansworth line speed in 60mph.

The A stock is limited to 50 miles per hour.

 

[Old Timer]

Thank you muchly !

 

[Daniel]

Thank you muchly !

Your very welcome.

As a regular passenger, OT, I am sure you will soon notice slower speeds once the S stock is introduced, as it will actually force the driver to obey the maximum speeds....

 

[Voyager 2093]

Thanks for that Daniel but the speed limit signs just after Amersham say 60mph does this only apply to Chilterns?

 

[Daniel]

Thanks for that Daniel but the speed limit signs just after Amersham say 60mph does this only apply to Chilterns?

Yes. If you look in the cab, you'll see a sticker, (generally scratched out), saying 'This stock is limited to 50mph'.

The chiltern stock can do linseed, generally 10mph over the LU stocks' speed, which I know alot of drivers don't agree with!

 

[Voyager 2093]

I dont remmember seeing this in my two cab rides ill look out for it on my next cab ride.

 

[Old Timer]

Your very welcome.

As a regular passenger, OT, I am sure you will soon notice slower speeds once the S stock is introduced, as it will actually force the driver to obey the maximum speeds....

Thanks chap.

They certainly go slower than "when I were a lad".

Can you PM me, please.

 

[bengley]

Here's me in an A stock the other day doing 65/70mph.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGHnhKNYogU

 

[Daniel]

Very good mate - just be careful what you post, yeah? Don't want to be getting people into trouble.

 

[CCF23]

The A stock is limited to 50 miles per hour.

When they say they are limited to 50 mph how can this be unless by limited they mean the speed limit the drivers are meant to go not the limit the train can go. As many have said the A stock can go quicker than this 50 mph limit, during my work experience i had a cab ride where the driver was going over 70 mph but people who reveal where, when or post a video of these cab rides should be careful not to get the kind member of staff who let them have the cab ride in the first place get into trouble.

 

[yorkie]

Would anyone be up for some 'A' stock farewell trips? A certain ex-moderator of this forum (who posts occasionally but reads the forum regularly) is a driver, so all the more reason to do it (we'll have to make sure he is driving on the days we choose!)

I'd get GC Valentas to/from London for the ultimate nostalgic experience.

If enough people are up for it I'll propose a meet under Forum Meets.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Actually aircon on a metro system is rather a waste of cash given that doors open and close on a average of 2 minutes generally [except on Met fasts] so whatever advantage aircon has in nullified

Agreed. Not just a waste of cash but it's quite damaging environmentally too. Whoever had this idea has less common sense than an amoeba.

 

[bengley]

Very good mate - just be careful what you post, yeah? Don't want to be getting people into trouble.

Yes obviously if I took a video with a fairly clear shot of the driver I'd cut it out or not show it at all, but in this case I've not mentioned anything about the service. No time of day, no train number etc.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Would anyone be up for some 'A' stock farewell trips? A certain ex-moderator of this forum (who posts occasionally but reads the forum regularly) is a driver, so all the more reason to do it (we'll have to make sure he is driving on the days we choose!)

I'd get GC Valentas to/from London for the ultimate nostalgic experience.

If enough people are up for it I'll propose a meet under Forum Meets.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Agreed. Not just a waste of cash but it's quite damaging environmentally too. Whoever had this idea has less common sense than an amoeba.

Plus the met hardly ever gets too hot anyway. It has opening windows, so it's always fairly cool on there.

 

[Daniel]

When they say they are limited to 50 mph how can this be unless by limited they mean the speed limit the drivers are meant to go not the limit the train can go. As many have said the A stock can go quicker than this 50 mph limit, during my work experience i had a cab ride where the driver was going over 70 mph

The stock is limited to 50mph, there is a sign behind the power handle which says so - however there i nothing to psysically limit the speed of the train, so you can exceed it - but if your unlucky enough to come across a DMT with a speed camera...
The S stock will change things as it does have a speed limiter.

but people who reveal where, when or post a video of these cab rides should be careful not to get the kind member of staff who let them have the cab ride in the first place get into trouble.

Agreed!

If enough people are up for it I'll propose a meet under Forum Meets.

Yeah I'd be up for it!

Agreed. Not just a waste of cash but it's quite damaging environmentally too. Whoever had this idea has less common sense than an amoeba.

Well there has always been a huge cry from the general public / politicians / everyone else to have A/C on the Underground... admittedly they could have fitted it to a better line, but there you go...

 

[CCF23]

Would anyone be up for some 'A' stock farewell trips? A certain ex-moderator of this forum (who posts occasionally but reads the forum regularly) is a driver, so all the more reason to do it (we'll have to make sure he is driving on the days we choose!)

I'd get GC Valentas to/from London for the ultimate nostalgic experience.

If enough people are up for it I'll propose a meet under Forum Meets.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Agreed. Not just a waste of cash but it's quite damaging environmentally too. Whoever had this idea has less common sense than an amoeba.

I'd be up for it too.

 

[Chilterns Dan]

As a daily user of the Amersham branch trains, I'm keen to see the arrival of the S stock. Although the trains will have fewer seats (and no sign of an increase in service frequency until signalling upgrades are complete in 2016) I think the new layout will make getting on and off the train and standing (when necessary) a more pleasant experience.

Unfortunately even North of Harrow on the Hill it's often necessary to stand during the morning peak, as it's also commonly the case heading out of town in the evening. The A stock's 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 seating layout don't make for very comfortable journeys when the train is full as you're either squashed against the wall, in the middle, or hanging off the edge of the seat.

When TfL ran the mock-up S-stock at Euston a while back, one of the project people said that if you regard currently Met Line seating as 1+2 then the new trains will offer a similar number. Yes, a diplomatic way of selling fewer seats but I appreciate the point.

I've also thought about the prospect of Chiltern taking over the Amersham branch services (not that I believe it's on the cards). However the problem I see with this is the capacity limitations into Marylebone. Even with 4 trains an hour (2 currently being fast to Amersham or Great Missenden) the current Met-line stations would notice a significant drop in capacity. Given also that the stations can only cater for 5-6 cars, capacity would be a real problem for this prime commuting area.

 

[A60K]

I do wonder if diverting half of Amersham's off-peak Met service to Chesham in a year or two's time is really the best thing to do. Great for Chesham, although it doesn't make their service any more frequent.

The problem is the bay platform at Chalfont - it's only long enough for 4 cars, which is fine with A Stock because it has 4 car double-ended units. S Stock is a semi-permanently coupled 8 car unit - meaning it won't fit in the bay at Chalfont and through services to Baker Street will run instead of the shuttle.

I'm sure that with appropriate financial compensation, possibly at DfT level, Chiltern could release a 165 to operate the shuttle off-peak - a neat bit of diagramming could see it attached and detached with an Aylesbury service at the start and end of the peak hours, so that it strengthens trains into and out of Marylebone at the height of the peak.

Alternatively TfL might be able to come to some agreement to fund an extra 172 for the shuttle, which could then be maintained under contract by Chiltern.

I know this means diesel under the wires (or over the 4th rail in this case), but it would solve the Amersham frequency reduction problem.

 

[Chilterns Dan]

The odd thing is that Chesham is relatively large compared to the other towns on the Amersham branch of the Met line (20,000 population compared to 17,000 of Amersham), so in many ways it would seem to be deserving of a better service than it receives at present, where it's something of a victim of history.

According to TfL's response to its consultation many Chesham residents actually drive to Amersham to pick up the main service into town. If this is the case then it sounds as if direct services to and from town would be well used. This doesn't help Amersham commuters, however Amersham does benefit from the greatest number of Chiltern services, include some fast services, of all the Amersham branch stations.

I can't see Chiltern being interested in serving Chesham as they have insufficient rolling stock as it is and Chiltern give Chiltern only stations priority over Met line stations.

 

[A60K]

I agree that Chiltern aren't going to take over the Chesham shuttle of their own volition - that's why I was talking about them getting financial inducement to do so.

Although Chesham is larger, it's got the problem of being at the end of a single track branch which means a half-hourly frequency at best.

With up to six trains an hour at Amersham it makes a big difference to the station you would choose - at the moment if a train gets cancelled at Chesham it means an average 40-45 minute delay to your journey, but a cancellation at Amersham means an average 12-15 minute delay.

Under TfL's plan a cancellation at Chesham will still mean 45 minutes delay, and the delay at Amersham will increase to an average 22 minutes.

FWIW I think TfL's plan of a through service to Chesham will go ahead, I just don't think it's the best solution to the problem.

 

[bengley]

I do wonder if diverting half of Amersham's off-peak Met service to Chesham in a year or two's time is really the best thing to do. Great for Chesham, although it doesn't make their service any more frequent.

The problem is the bay platform at Chalfont - it's only long enough for 4 cars, which is fine with A Stock because it has 4 car double-ended units. S Stock is a semi-permanently coupled 8 car unit - meaning it won't fit in the bay at Chalfont and through services to Baker Street will run instead of the shuttle.

I'm sure that with appropriate financial compensation, possibly at DfT level, Chiltern could release a 165 to operate the shuttle off-peak - a neat bit of diagramming could see it attached and detached with an Aylesbury service at the start and end of the peak hours, so that it strengthens trains into and out of Marylebone at the height of the peak.

Alternatively TfL might be able to come to some agreement to fund an extra 172 for the shuttle, which could then be maintained under contract by Chiltern.

I know this means diesel under the wires (or over the 4th rail in this case), but it would solve the Amersham frequency reduction problem.

I don't like the idea of having a through train. The shuttle is a nice thing to have and I live in Chesham!

Personally I don't see the problem with just keeping the A stock running as the shuttle, but run the normal four through trains a day with the S stock.

 

[jopsuk]

Personally I don't see the problem with just keeping the A stock running as the shuttle, but run the normal four through trains a day with the S stock.

Because once all the other A-Stock is gone, you'd need at least two units (to cover for breakdowns), spares, sperate maintanence procedures etc. Exactly what SWT are just about to rid themselves of down Lymington way...