LNWR class 350 failures increasing?

[DarloRich]

I have been a daily class 350 user for nearly 15 years. Until this month I experienced a grand total of 1 in service failure in that time. They have been rock solid reliable units. During September I experienced 3 failures in service.

Have I just been unlucky or has something changed reliability wise? All three trains included a 350/2 but I don't think in any of the cases the 350/2 was leading the combo. I don't keep records but try never to sit in a 350/2 if I can avoid it !

 

[Bletchleyite]

A few weeks back a driver told me in the lift at Bletchley (suspect he just wanted someone to rant to - anyone!) that a third of the fleet was on low-power mode, which might at least explain a lot of the sloppy few-minutes delays that seem to be very common at the moment. He seemed quite proud of having arrived on time, though, despite having such a unit. I wonder if the /2s are getting bare minimum work as they're soon off lease with no planned future?

 

[DarloRich]

A few weeks back a driver told me in the lift at Bletchley (suspect he just wanted someone to rant to - anyone!) that a third of the fleet was on low-power mode, which might at least explain a lot of the sloppy few-minutes delays that seems to be very common at the moment. He seemed quite proud of having arrived on time, though, despite having such a unit. I wonder if the /2s are getting bare minimum work as they're soon off lease with no planned future?

Interesting - also they can be quite ranty down at Bletcho

( also thanks to the mods for moving this from the main thread. Brainless posting!)

 

[alex17595]

It certainly seems that they are doing the bare minimum to the 350/2 to keep them running.

I recall seeing a notice somewhere that drivers should not exceed 50%(I think) power until over a certain speed and it was breaking something.

 

[DarloRich]

It certainly seems that they are doing the bare minimum to the 350/2 to keep them running.

some of them are fairly ropey inside - hence why I avoid them. IMO they shouldn't be going but that is a different story!

 

[Merle Haggard]

In answer to a query about the 350/2s going off lease raised on the 730 thread I made a post which might be more apposite on this one. It was that, last Saturday, both the 15.36 and 16.06 departures from New Street to respectively Euston and Northampton (cancelled beyond) were 4 cars. As LNw had kindly arranged ticket acceptance on the former for Avanti passengers intending to catch their cancelled 15.21 the short formations were particularly unfortunate.
But I have never heard the announcement 'due to a larger than normal number of trains requiring maintenance', or indeed any, explanation for the short formations.
Perhaps taking on maintenance of the 360s at King's Heath has overwhelmed them.

Presumably, if LNw do have a train that shows as running on TOPS there's no penalty, even though they may be impossible to physically board.

 

[778]

It certainly seems that they are doing the bare minimum to the 350/2 to keep them running.

It is probably a bit early for that. The 730/2s are still months away from entering service.

 

[DarloRich]

It is probably a bit early for that.

if the state of the interiors of the 350/2 is a marker the run down has started!

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Yes, a large number of units are running in lower power modes currently due to poor maintenance (unknown if this is due to cost or planned phase out or simply waiting for next exams).

Bare minimum maintenance has been happening for at least 12-18 months now, though the toilet issues seem to be slightly better it seams like it's come at the expense of other areas.

Also there is again notices regarding driving styles, in particular pulling away using notch 2 and no higher as this is causing failures despite it being the style of driving for many years to use notch 3 above 10mph

 

[Tram203]

Could just be idle platform gossip, but I have heard 350236 has been stood down from service.

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

[Russel]

IMO they shouldn't be going but that is a different story!

Keeping them long term would certainly be a wise choice to increase capacity, I agree, but the current layout of 3+2 would need to go.

 

[778]

if the state of the interiors of the 350/2 is a marker the run down has started!

If that is the case then that is not really acceptable for LNWR (or any TOC) to do that. The highest possible standards should be maintained until the day they go off lease.

Bare minimum maintenance has been happening for at least 12-18 months now, though the toilet issues seem to be slightly better it seams like it's come at the expense of other areas.

If a class is getting unreliable because it is very old like the 455s and 465s that is understandable, but doing the bare minimum to keep a train running shows a lack of respect for passengers.

 

[BucksBones]

The 350/2s are indeed horrible and stink to high heaven.

But I've noticed this past summer that the air con has been broken in at least some of the carriages of just about every unit I've been on (whether /1, /2, /3 or /4) - having to wander through the train to find a cool area. Perhaps another symptom of a poorly maintained fleet.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

The 350/2s are indeed horrible and stink to high heaven.

But I've noticed this past summer that the air con has been broken in at least some of the carriages of just about every unit I've been on (whether /1, /2, /3 or /4) - having to wander through the train to find a cool area. Perhaps another symptom of a poorly maintained fleet.

Indeed, there's only so much effluent the carpets can soak up before it's permanently damaged!

Regarding temperature, most of that could be achieved by having it as part of prep in depots as it seems more like a temperature setting issue as the HVAC systems all seem to work (1 has a very noisy fan though).

Speaking to the customer experience team, they have stated it's something they are looking to get on top of, along with the no longer working PIS systems. Something like 30% of toilets are currently unusable due to parts/repairs needed, to put it into context.

I can't think of any other genuine reason other than shortfall in budgets for such a sorry state of affairs.

 

[DarloRich]

But I've noticed this past summer that the air con has been broken in at least some of the carriages of just about every unit I've been on

Actually, yes, you are right. I have noticed an increased number of roasting carriages this summer.