Class 168 Refurbishment Discussion and Updates

[CR165022]

There's quite a few 5Z paths in for this week, starting with Aylesbury - Great Missenden for the first few days, Aylesbury - Banbury the day after. Would like to assume this will be testing for 168003 although it could just be generic driver training runs.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

There's quite a few 5Z paths in for this week, starting with Aylesbury - Great Missenden for the first few days, Aylesbury - Banbury the day after. Would like to assume this will be testing for 168003 although it could just be generic driver training runs.

What tests would they need to be doing for it?

 

[CR165022]

What tests would they need to be doing for it?

It's been out for nearly 2 years and I doubt it had much running time within Crewe depot, so I assume they'd just need to run it a bit before putting it back in service.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Looks like the tests ran today but no allocation shown on RTT. I guess I’ll keep sitting tight!

 

[12LDA28C]

Looks like the tests ran today but no allocation shown on RTT. I guess I’ll keep sitting tight!

Yes, 168003 ran to Great Missenden and back several times today. Planned to go to Banbury tomorrow.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Sep 2024 ==

It's been out for nearly 2 years and I doubt it had much running time within Crewe depot, so I assume they'd just need to run it a bit before putting it back in service.

Some of the final fitting out will be completed at Aylesbury before the unit re-enters service.

 

[OliverH68]

168003 is now in traffic today. Be advised it was swapped at Marylebone this morning due to a delay on 1C01. It worked 1R10 vice 1G07 and is currently on 1H30.

 

[12LDA28C]

168003 is now in traffic today. Be advised it was swapped at Marylebone this morning due to a delay on 1C01. It worked 1R10 vice 1G07 and is currently on 1H30.

I had a look inside it last week. A subtle improvement and I was interested to see USB-A and USB-C charging points at every seat.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Shame I can’t go on it today. I’ll keep an eye on it for a while and take some pics when I get on

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Sep 2024 ==

I was interested to see USB-A and USB-C charging points at every seat.

Welcome improvement. The last time I went on one, the sockets didn’t work

 

[giblets]

Unexpectedly caught this unit today, the front ends are a bit brighter, whilst the sides darker. Interior the door areas are brighter (white and new light covers (?) , new carpet, seat covers, and I think cushions, along with the aforementioned usb plugs (3-pin, usb and usb-c).

 

[Sparks807Evo]

I couldn't get the photos to attach to this post but here are ones I have taken and put onto my Flickr:

October 2024 (Chiltern 168 refurbishment)

Explore this photo album by Barking321neo on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Big improvement and more extensive than I thought it would be. Can confirm they are new LED lights and the wall panels no longer carpeted, with navy plastic fitted instead. Seems the panels, bulkheads and seats have been resprayed and cushioning a ton better with new moquette covers. The PIS is the same as before. All in all very smart and look forward to seeing the rest of the 168 fleet being done!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not sure I'd have gone with vertical stripe moquette, it makes the seats look really narrow even though they're the same. Or are they new foams and actually narrower at the top?

Have they fixed the seatback tables? A lot of them wouldn't stay horizontal before.

 

[Sparks807Evo]

Not sure I'd have gone with vertical stripe moquette, it makes the seats look really narrow even though they're the same. Or are they new foams and actually narrower at the top?

Have they fixed the seatback tables? A lot of them wouldn't stay horizontal before.

They have redone the foams I think but still same width at the top. Didn't use mine but saw someone use theirs and seemed to be all fije (and resprayed).

 

[AirRail]

That moquette really clashes or rather, it looks really mismatched with that carpet design. Whoever came up with this has either very little care and knowledge for aesthetics and interior design, or they managed to get a huge discount on just agreeing to whatever they can get their hands on.

Ultimately though, it's much better to see these units get a refresh than nothing at all ofcourse.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I quite like the carpet. Could be worse, could be "NHS fleck" lino!

TBH I'm just happy they haven't turned it all manky Arriva turquoise.

 

[fgwrich]

That moquette really clashes or rather, it looks really mismatched with that carpet design. Whoever came up with this has either very little care and knowledge for aesthetics and interior design, or they managed to get a huge discount on just agreeing to whatever they can get their hands on.

Ultimately though, it's much better to see these units get a refresh than nothing at all ofcourse.

I'd agree with that, it does seem a bit of a design clash - The Chiltern Grey 'Mainline' seat covers, the Blue swirly carpet, the somewhat annoying swooshes on the doors, and the Northern style Navy interior walls.

However, it is good to finally see some investment in the fleet and the back of the light grey carpet of before. At least the use of darker colours to hide the dirt seems to be coming back into fashion (GWR I'm looking strongly at you here! And as before, it's no excuse for poor cleaning, but light colours show up dirt and stains far more easily as the IETs show).

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Would be nice if there was also a new PIS system, but overall it’s still an improvement

 

[Snow1964]

Chiltern has unveiled first refurbished 168

Chiltern Railways has unveiled the first train of a £12million fleet refurbishment as part of the operator’s mission to provide easier, greener and better journeys for customers in the future.

One of the operator’s fleets (Class 168) is being refurbished with modern features and modifications including improved Wi-Fi, USB sockets, a full repaint and an overhaul of the heating and cooling system. Fleet reliability improvements have also been installed on the train.

In addition, a significant investment has ensured a new interior refurbishment, improving the experience for customers travelling with Chiltern.

The first refurbished train was unveiled during a special event attended by rail partners, user groups, and Chiltern colleagues at London Marylebone station today (Wednesday 9 October). Guests were welcomed on the platform by a string quartet and a unique AI experience where they were able to take a futuristic image of themselves with a background of the train.

A ribbon cutting also took place with Arriva UK Trains Managing Director David Brown, Chiltern Railways Managing Director Richard Allan, Rachel Blake MP (Cities of London and Westminster), and Porterbrook Chief Operating Officer Ben Ackroyd.

The first train to be fully refurbished is now serving customers travelling on the operator’s main line routes from London Marylebone between Oxford and Birmingham.

Upgrades to the Class 168 fleet include:

• A heavy maintenance baseline which includes battery and air system overhauls amongst other modifications
• An exterior repaint of the units
• A multi-million pound investment on the interior, upgrading the passenger environment
• Passenger enhancement modifications including the installation of a new Wi-Fi system and the inclusion of USB charging sockets
• Fleet reliability improvements

The diesel Class 168 trains were the first to be ordered when Chiltern was created as a standalone company in 1996. The fleet entered service in 1998.

The most recent refurbishment work has been carried out at the Arriva TrainCare facility in Crewe.

The remaining Class 168 trains will be refurbished and ready for passenger service in the coming months.

Chiltern Railways unveils refurbished train and reaffirms commitment to future generations of customers | Chiltern Railways News

News from Chiltern Railways

press.chilternrailways.co.uk

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Chiltern has unveiled first refurbished 168

Chiltern Railways unveils refurbished train and reaffirms commitment to future generations of customers | Chiltern Railways News

News from Chiltern Railways

press.chilternrailways.co.uk

Interesting that it has already been in service for a week before they did this

 

[Doomotron]

Interesting that it has already been in service for a week before they did this

It's weird but not unusual. Thanet Parkway was officially opened a few days after actually opening, and P&O waited around a month after the Liberte entered service to host its opening (launch?) ceremony.

 

[12LDA28C]

Interesting that it has already been in service for a week before they did this

Seems like a fairly good idea to give it a shakedown in passenger service for a few days to iron out any faults that become apparent, before the official launch surely?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Oct 2024 ==

It's weird but not unusual.

It's not weird at all, see my comment above. Imagine a big public launch and then the first time it works a passenger train afterwards, the USB chargers don't work, or the wi-fi fails? It wouldn't go down well...

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Seems like a fairly good idea to give it a shakedown in passenger service for a few days to iron out any faults that become apparent, before the official launch surely?

Good point

 

[DelW]

Seems like a fairly good idea to give it a shakedown in passenger service for a few days to iron out any faults that become apparent, before the official launch surely?

It's not weird at all, see my comment above. Imagine a big public launch and then the first time it works a passenger train afterwards, the USB chargers don't work, or the wi-fi fails? It wouldn't go down well...

Or the HVAC pours water through the ceiling onto the assembled bigwigs on board (which ISTR was what happened at the launch of the class 800s).

 

[md2016]

Well done Chiltern. Now just replace the 165s with something passable and it’ll be a decent fleet again.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Well done Chiltern. Now just replace the 165s with something passable and it’ll be a decent fleet again.

Didn’t they recently cancel their thingy for that?

 

[CyrusWuff]

Didn’t they recently cancel their thingy for that?

They replaced it with an updated specification.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

They replaced it with an updated specification.

Oh ok that’s good

 

[reecestrains]

I couldn't get the photos to attach to this post but here are ones I have taken and put onto my Flickr:

October 2024 (Chiltern 168 refurbishment)

Explore this photo album by Barking321neo on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Big improvement and more extensive than I thought it would be. Can confirm they are new LED lights and the wall panels no longer carpeted, with navy plastic fitted instead. Seems the panels, bulkheads and seats have been resprayed and cushioning a ton better with new moquette covers. The PIS is the same as before. All in all very smart and look forward to seeing the rest of the 168 fleet being done!

Looking really nice inside! Looks like they've given everything a fresh repaint, and it looks like they've replaced the light deflectors if I'm not mistaken. I wonder if they'll be doing that to all 168's.

At least they kept the Bombardier PIS and didn't do what Northern did and installed TrainFX which was a significant downgrade on their 170's.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Looking really nice inside! Looks like they've given everything a fresh repaint, and it looks like they've replaced the light deflectors if I'm not mistaken. I wonder if they'll be doing that to all 168's.

At least they kept the Bombardier PIS and didn't do what Northern did and installed TrainFX which was a significant downgrade on their 170's.

It wouldn’t have made sense to install TrainFX when their full DMU fleet already have the same compatible displays, unlike at Northern where the Bombardier set up was very different to that on 150/155/156/158/323/769 etc.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

Just found this video about the refurb and Chiltern’s wider plan on YouTube.
It’s an interesting watch, but I’m not exactly sure how much they’ll be able to get done, considering they could be nationalised in May

 

[Liam L]

, but I’m not exactly sure how much they’ll be able to get done, considering they could be nationalised in May

All units should be done regardless of what happens next May?