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Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway: progress updates

G

Goldfish62

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74A said:
Getting back to the issue of so few units being in service. The reason might be that if any more units are bought into use they would have to undergo regular maintenance.

I expect Wimbledon are at full capacity and can't take on any more units. So if you do bring in another 701 then one of the old ones would need to be withdrawn and scrapped.

When more drivers are trained then new units can be bought into use.
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Yes, I read somewhere a few months ago (I forget where) that this is exactly the situation.
 
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Peter Sarf

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74A said:
Getting back to the issue of so few units being in service. The reason might be that if any more units are bought into use they would have to undergo regular maintenance.

I expect Wimbledon are at full capacity and can't take on any more units. So if you do bring in another 701 then one of the old ones would need to be withdrawn and scrapped.

When more drivers are trained then new units can be bought into use.
Click to expand...
It does seem to be the stalling of driver training that is holding things up.

Rest assured time will solve this problem as 455s become unusable due to age and give up their space.
 
M

MontyP

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74A said:
Getting back to the issue of so few units being in service. The reason might be that if any more units are bought into use they would have to undergo regular maintenance.

I expect Wimbledon are at full capacity and can't take on any more units. So if you do bring in another 701 then one of the old ones would need to be withdrawn and scrapped.

When more drivers are trained then new units can be bought into use.
Click to expand...
It's almost as if no-one has ever introduced a new fleet of trains before!

It shouldn't be beyond the wit of an intelligent set of individuals to devise a plan to introduce these units taking into account the training of drivers and guards, constraints on depot space, maintenance during dual running etc. Perhaps they could talk to one of the other companies who have introduced new fleets in the last few years?
 
T

tomuk

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MontyP said:
It's almost as if no-one has ever introduced a new fleet of trains before!

It shouldn't be beyond the wit of an intelligent set of individuals to devise a plan to introduce these units taking into account the training of drivers and guards, constraints on depot space, maintenance during dual running etc. Perhaps they could talk to one of the other companies who have introduced new fleets in the last few years?
Click to expand...
Other introductions elsewhere have been bumpy of late too but SWR seems to have created a perfect storm of a poorly performing supplier, covid and near bankruptcy with a recalcitrant workforce.
 
D365

D365

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74A said:
Getting back to the issue of so few units being in service. The reason might be that if any more units are bought into use they would have to undergo regular maintenance.

I expect Wimbledon are at full capacity and can't take on any more units. So if you do bring in another 701 then one of the old ones would need to be withdrawn and scrapped.

When more drivers are trained then new units can be bought into use.
Click to expand...
This is not the reason. 455s are being scrapped if they are too badly corroded - irrespective of 701 introduction to service.

The situation remains that, at present, only the 701s that have been approved for entry into service can be used in passenger service.
 
OneTrackMinded

OneTrackMinded

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To absolutely no one’s surprise, the planned 701 delay press release never happened. Or maybe it’s just delayed due to a lack of trained PR staff…
 
NSEWonderer

NSEWonderer

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701013 as 5Q21 and 5Q22 today.
Some Some filming going on for 701044, looks to be accessibility wise On platform 18. Came in as 5Q44.

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NSEWonderer said:
701013 as 5Q21 and 5Q22 today.
Some Some filming going on for 701044, looks to be accessibility wise On platform 18. Came in as 5Q44.
Click to expand...
20250402_131259.jpg20250402_131001.jpg
 
N

Nicholas Lewis

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gravitystorm said:
You get unwelcome outcomes when you have over-simplified constraints. For example, if you are told by DfT "no additional costs" then you can't upgrade platform lighting and you can't hire more drivers. Sure, you then lose income (from cancelled services) or have additional costs (due to having duplicate rolling stock leases), but those factors weren't in the "no additional costs" part.

On a more concrete example, I talked with one of the SWR managers last year about removing a parking space outside Tolworth station, to add additional bike parking. They said that wouldn't be possible, because they can't make a change that would decrease the income from the car park. I asked if it would still be worthwhile, because instead of one fare for the driver and one payment for one car parking space, you could get six fares from six people arriving by bike, and that would be more revenue overall. He said that's not how it's calculated, the revenue from the car parking is considered in isolation, and that revenue must not be reduced. So I'm not surprised when stuff like this happens. Everything is siloed, and there's very little big-picture thinking.
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The DfT had introducing 701's in the their list of requirements whence the annual business plan process came in following the move to NRC's. It was upto SWR to cost the impact of that and present to DfT what was required. DfT has signed off their business plan for those years it was upto SWR to deliver the outcome. Additionally SWR were also incentivised as this was a deliverable that would have attracted an additional bonus payment over and above the management fee.

There's no getting away from the fact that SWR have failed to deliver the outcome but nought will done about it and DfT wont have any better success unless they bring someone in from outside to reset the whole project. So given GA is coming over as well im sure they can find someone to second in who delivered the 720 programme.
 
N

norbitonflyer

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Only five again this morning - Shepperton morning peak drew the short straw - a single 458/5 which started at Strawberry Hill
 
B

Bigfoot

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1,425
norbitonflyer said:
Only five again this morning - Shepperton morning peak drew the short straw - a single 458/5 which started at Strawberry Hill
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That's due to the door failure/interlock issue yesterday, the 5 car replaced the rest of the trips and berthed overnight at Strawberry Hill Depot.
 
The_Train

The_Train

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NSEWonderer said:
Minor stuff but 701043 has gone from being named 175 Years to Thames Racer.
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I've managed to read this 2 ways haha.
Was it formerly named "175 Years" and is now named "Thames Racer"?
Or is it just now named "175 Years to Thames Racer"?
 
NSEWonderer

NSEWonderer

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The_Train said:
I've managed to read this 2 ways haha.
Was it formerly named "175 Years" and is now named "Thames Racer"?
Or is it just now named "175 Years to Thames Racer"?
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Sorry the later haha. Its not Thames Racer, used to be bear the honor of 175 Years written on it(then again i only managed to see one end of the unit :lol:).

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norbitonflyer said:
What's the significance of 175 years?
It hasnt (yet) taken that long to get them in service
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Waterloo was 175 Years Old or so and was named to commemorate that.
 
W

Wyrleybart

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MontyP said:
It's almost as if no-one has ever introduced a new fleet of trains before!

It shouldn't be beyond the wit of an intelligent set of individuals to devise a plan to introduce these units taking into account the training of drivers and guards, constraints on depot space, maintenance during dual running etc. Perhaps they could talk to one of the other companies who have introduced new fleets in the last few years?
Click to expand...
Erm the majority of operators have introduced new fleets to service in the last five years - exceptions are probably Chiltern, EMR, XC, Northern and Southern. More to the point I suspect those same doors which "Arterios" are suffering, are problem the same on 345s, 710s and 720s, and maybe also the software and hardware that controls and interlocks them.

The 27xx vehicles that Alstom nee Bombardier have constructed and delivered surely must have very similar "intelligence" and architecture, albeit with different shaped plastic cabs and some different traction supplies.
 
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