Why do the doors on the Class 450 open so slowly?

[Couru]

Title, really. Is it just a trait of the 450s, or perhaps a SWR-specific thing? My only comparison is Tube trains and GWR ones, which all open pretty much instantly - but on the SWR 450s, you're waiting there a good five seconds before the gap is big enough to get through.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Title, really. Is it just a trait of the 450s, or perhaps a SWR-specific thing? My only comparison is Tube trains and GWR ones, which all open pretty much instantly - but on the SWR 450s, you're waiting there a good five seconds before the gap is big enough to get through.

Just an aspect of the design and type of door used. All original Desiros (350, 450, 444, 185 and probably 380 as well) are the same.

 

[Snow1964]

They were designed that way, but although slow, does seem to close them tightly and don't really rattle when closed, unlike some other designs.

 

[Couru]

Good point about the rattling - the GWR trains I've been on are loud, hence the screen doors between the outer doors and the main seating area (forgive me, I don't know the jargon). Thank you!

 

[swt_passenger]

On SWR a significant part of the apparent delay is due to the guard‘s door being opened and the guard then checking the train is correctly platformed before then opening the rest. As the door the guard uses is the same as most others, then presumably that at least doubles the time they’d take if all doors were released together.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Just an aspect of the design and type of door used. All original Desiros (350, 450, 444, 185 and probably 380 as well) are the same.

The 380 doors are faster. They also have annoyingly quiet door chimes.

 

[Mikey C]

The Networkers and Turbo plug doors open and close with decent speed, and seem pretty "rattle proof" and reliable too, so it was curious why the Desiros were so slow.

Indeed wasn't that why they went to sliding doors for the Desiro Cities. Now those are FAST, but a step back visually and because of the door pocket intrusion required.

 

[Couru]

The 380 doors are faster. They also have annoyingly quiet door chimes.

With that said, the 450's chimes can be incredibly loud when broken. I've heard that ding-ding-ding from 500m away before.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

With that said, the 450's chimes can be incredibly loud when broken. I've heard that ding-ding-ding from 500m away before.

Yes they’ve certainly made me jump before.

 

[XAM2175]

It's the nature of the door actuation system used on the original Desiros, which involves pneumatics to some degree. It was acknowledged as a weakness and changed to an electric-drive system for the 380s and subsequent classes.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's the nature of the door actuation system used on the original Desiros, which involves pneumatics to some degree. It was acknowledged as a weakness and changed to an electric-drive system for the 380s and subsequent classes.

The other issue with it is that the air pressure often isn't strong enough to open the doors when the train is on a heavy cant, as you get on the fasts at say Berkhamsted and Wolverton, and you need to give the door a shove to help it out a bit.

Plus while there's something quite satisfying about the "Teutonic slam" as I used to call it (so named because in the 90s and 2000s Germany liked building rolling stock with doors that slammed very loudly, less so now) with some units it sounds like they're about to shake to bits, with quite a metallic clang.

 

[DelW]

On SWR a significant part of the apparent delay is due to the guard‘s door being opened and the guard then checking the train is correctly platformed before then opening the rest. As the door the guard uses is the same as most others, then presumably that at least doubles the time they’d take if all doors were released together.

There are two phases to the delay - the first between the train stopping and the door buttons being lit / enabled, and the second between the button being pressed and the doors opening enough to get out through. The guard check would be during the first phase, but the second *seems* quite slow too, and I'd assumed (maybe wrongly) that's what the OP was referring to.

 

[Tester]

The 380 doors are faster. They also have annoyingly quiet door chimes.

Annoyingly quiet is a rare phrase in these parts

 

[Couru]

T

There are two phases to the delay - the first between the train stopping and the door buttons being lit / enabled, and the second between the button being pressed and the doors opening enough to get out through. The guard check would be during the first phase, but the second *seems* quite slow too, and I'd assumed (maybe wrongly) that's what the OP was referring to.

You'd be correct. The pause between train stopping and guard check isn't that bad; it's the slow pace between pressing the open button and the doors actually deigning to open.

Maybe it's just my terrible attention span or hyperactivity, but it is mildly annoying.

 

[RailWonderer]

The 360 doors are faster when they are operated as DOO since no guard has to step off to check the positioning as said. I hope we see more mainline Desiros with plug doors that sound like an opening and closing vault.

 

[3RDGEN]

Eastbound at Garforth it was common for guards to ask passengers to push/kick the doors on 185's to help them open.

 

[Deepgreen]

It is very poor, as even when actually opening they are painfully slow. It's only a relatively tiny amount of time, of course, but is annoying because it gives the impression of a fault, etc. Another incremental increase in dwell times.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2023 ==

Annoyingly quiet is a rare phrase in these parts

Yes, that belongs on a steam forum!

 

[boiledbeans2]

The Class 158 & 9 doors are slow too. But I like the building-up-of-air sound, followed by a bang!

 

[Deepgreen]

The Class 158 & 9 doors are slow too. But I like the building-up-of-air sound, followed by a bang!

Yes, they always seem as if they are fighting to break a glue seal! Not particularly reassuring for passengers.