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

wickham

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3 Feb 2021
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694
Location
Knaphill
701/5s Wimbledon and Clapham Yard 20.08.26:
At about 1130 today, 701516, 701525 and 701515 were sitting on 8 car roads in Wimbledon Park Top Yard. Round the back of East Wimbledon depot were 701002, 701038 and 701526 (it could not be seen if this was coupled to another): Keeping them company was 458533, while 458530 had been moved further up the yard but was still present. It was previously sat at the buffers, so perhaps something is happening with it ?
Inside East Wimbledon depot, on the track furthest from the main line, which seems to be used for commissioning was 701511 coupled to another, which could not be identified, but must surely be 701507 (which it arrived with a few days back).
At Clapham Yard at 1200: 701528 + 701529 were sitting in their usual spot, while across the yard were 701512, 701503 and 701520, each coupled to another 701/5 which could not be identified. Around 1230, 701028 turned up on the Windsor site with banners across the inside of the doorways, training - showing "Chiswick" on the vehicle destination screens!
I did not see 701029, but there was something (unidentified) almost out of sight right down the Wandsworth end of 49 Road, which they use for training.
There must be a number of 701/5s now at Farnham - several 5Qxx moves (Wimbledon to Farnham) have been reported on this site but there has been little in the way of identification - anyone know what is there ?
 
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Peter Sarf

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Croydon
Regarding delivery today. The light loco from Derby RTC has run and the actual delivery path was manually activated so means more likely to run than if it was an auto activation. Now just have to wait to see if one or two 701/5s want to talk to the locomotive via the brake pipe.

Path 5Q87 10:00 Derby LL to Wimbledon here :-

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

701/5s Wimbledon and Clapham Yard 20.08.26:
At about 1130 today, 701516, 701525 and 701515 were sitting on 8 car roads in Wimbledon Park Top Yard. Round the back of East Wimbledon depot were 701002, 701038 and 701526 (it could not be seen if this was coupled to another): Keeping them company was 458533, while 458530 had been moved further up the yard but was still present. It was previously sat at the buffers, so perhaps something is happening with it ?
Inside East Wimbledon depot, on the track furthest from the main line, which seems to be used for commissioning was 701511 coupled to another, which could not be identified, but must surely be 701507 (which it arrived with a few days back).
At Clapham Yard at 1200: 701528 + 701529 were sitting in their usual spot, while across the yard were 701512, 701503 and 701520, each coupled to another 701/5 which could not be identified. Around 1230, 701028 turned up on the Windsor site with banners across the inside of the doorways, training - showing "Chiswick" on the vehicle destination screens!
I did not see 701029, but there was something (unidentified) almost out of sight right down the Wandsworth end of 49 Road, which they use for training.
There must be a number of 701/5s now at Farnham - several 5Qxx moves (Wimbledon to Farnham) have been reported on this site but there has been little in the way of identification - anyone know what is there ?
Thanks for the breakdown of where the 701/5s are scattered.

Just recently I had someone tell me there were ten 701s at Feltham. Did they mean Farnham or is Feltham hosting ten 701/0s ?.
I confess I have not checked Feltham for ages (was always empty way back then).
 

Goldfish62

Veteran Member
Joined
14 Feb 2010
Messages
13,116
Just recently I had someone tell me there were ten 701s at Feltham. Did they mean Farnham or is Feltham hosting ten 701/0s ?.
I confess I have not checked Feltham for ages (was always empty way back then).
I assume they mean Feltham depot, which has 10 roads.
 

NSEWonderer

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5 Dec 2020
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Location
London
Yeah tho feltham as of the moment mostly has a mix of desiros, the occasional 459 and then usually 5 to 6 701s
 

Peter Sarf

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Location
Croydon

40029 Saxonia

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Joined
31 Jul 2024
Messages
85
Location
Flintshire
Regarding delivery today. The light loco from Derby RTC has run and the actual delivery path was manually activated so means more likely to run than if it was an auto activation. Now just have to wait to see if one or two 701/5s want to talk to the locomotive via the brake pipe.

Path 5Q87 10:00 Derby LL to Wimbledon here :-

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==


Thanks for the breakdown of where the 701/5s are scattered.

Just recently I had someone tell me there were ten 701s at Feltham. Did they mean Farnham or is Feltham hosting ten 701/0s ?.
I confess I have not checked Feltham for ages (was always empty way back then).
5Q87 has left Derby, currently 10 min late according to RTT
 

WWTownEnth

Member
Joined
21 Mar 2014
Messages
696
701001 - In Passenger Service (2 Mar 26)
701002 - In Passenger Service (18 May 26)
701003 - In Passenger Service (27 Jul 26)
701004 - In Passenger Service (10 Jul 26)
701005 - In Passenger Service (27 Aug 25)
701006 - In Passenger Service (6 Mar 26)
701007 - In Passenger Service (24 Feb 26)
701008 - In Passenger Service (31 Mar 26)
701009 - In Passenger Service (17 Oct 25)
701010 - In Passenger Service (22 Dec 25)
701011 - In Passenger Service (26 Feb 26)
701012 - In Passenger Service (21 Jul 25)
701013 - In Passenger Service (28 Jul 25)
701014 - In Passenger Service (9 Jun 26)
701015 - In Passenger Service (7 Aug 26)
701016 - In Passenger Service (4 Jun 26)
701017 - In Passenger Service (25 Nov 24)
701018 - In Passenger Service (6 Jul 25)
701019 - In Passenger Service (18 Apr 26)
701020 - In Passenger Service (8 Oct 25)
701021 - In Passenger Service (15 Sep 25)
701022 - In Passenger Service (9 Feb 26)
701023 - In Passenger Service (7 Apr 26)
701024 - In Passenger Service (29 Jul 26)
701025 - In Passenger Service (24 Jun 25)
701026 - In Passenger Service (3 Nov 25)
701027 - In Passenger Service (29 Jun 26)

701028 - Training duties
701029 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701030 - In Passenger Service (9 Dec 25)
701031 - In Passenger Service (28 Oct 24)
701032 - In Passenger Service (15 May 26)
701033 - In Passenger Service (26 Nov 25)
701034 - In Passenger Service (18 Mar 25)
701035 - In Passenger Service (28 May 25)
701036 - In Passenger Service (7 Mar 24)
701037 - In Passenger Service (9 Jan 24)
701038 - In Passenger Service (5 Feb 26)
701039 - In Passenger Service (10 Jan 24)
701040 - In Passenger Service (15 Jun 26)
701041 - In Passenger Service (17 Jun 25)
701042 - In Passenger Service (21 May 25)
701043 - In Passenger Service (16 Jan 24)
701044 - In Passenger Service (5 Feb 25)
701045 - In Passenger Service (10 Apr 26)
701046 - In Passenger Service (17 Mar 25)
701047 - In Passenger Service (31 Dec 25)
701048 - In Passenger Service (8 Nov 25)
701049 - In Passenger Service (20 Mar 26)
701050 - In Passenger Service (17 Nov 25)
701051 - In Passenger Service (14 Jul 25)
701052 - In Passenger Service (23 Dec 25)
701053 - In Passenger Service (26 Aug 25)
701054 - In Passenger Service (3 Jan 26)
701055 - In Passenger Service (6 May 26)
701056 - In Passenger Service (8 Sep 25)
701057 - In Passenger Service (13 Aug 25)
701058 - In Passenger Service (11 Aug 25)
701059 - In Passenger Service (5 Dec 25)
701060 - In Passenger Service (1 Nov 25)


In Passenger Service: 58/60
Training duties: 1/60 (028 briefly served passengers before training duties)

SWR preparing for passenger service: 1/60


701501 - Stored at Derby Litchurch Lane
701502 - Stored at Derby Litchurch Lane

701503 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701504 - SWR preparing for passenger service

701505 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701506 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701507 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701508 - Stored at Derby Litchurch Lane
701509 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701510 - Stored at Derby Litchurch Lane
701511 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701512 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701513 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701514 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701515 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701516 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701517 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701518 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701519 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701520 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701521 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701522 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701523 - SWR preparing for passenger service

701524 - Stored at Derby Litchurch Lane
701525 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701526 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701527 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701528 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701529 - SWR preparing for passenger service
701530 - SWR preparing for passenger service


In Passenger Service: 0/30
SWR preparing for passenger service: 25/30
Stored at Derby Litchurch Lane: 5/30
25 five cars now on SWR turf and just 5 left at Derby. Let’s see what next week brings…
 

Gag Halfrunt

Member
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23 Jul 2019
Messages
970
I was on 2U63 the 2003 from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside on 701042 and both toilets were out of service. The guard didn't seem to be aware when he made his welcome announcement, because he just said where the toilets were.
 

Goldfish62

Veteran Member
Joined
14 Feb 2010
Messages
13,116
I was on 2U63 the 2003 from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside on 701042 and both toilets were out of service. The guard didn't seem to be aware when he made his welcome announcement, because he just said where the toilets were.
Unfortunately not unusual.
 

Peter Sarf

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12 Oct 2010
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Location
Croydon
458 I guess (especially as the "9" key is right next to the "8" key).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

25 five cars now on SWR turf and just 5 left at Derby. Let’s see what next week brings…
Indeed just five 701s left to bring to the SWR fold.
701501 from Old Dalby September 2025
701502 since December 2024
701508 from somewhere on SWR I believe August 2025.
701510 from Wimbledon July 2026 iirc.
701524 since December 2024

I reckon 501 and 508 next as might be the healthiest.
510 must have gone back to be sorted so is it sorted yet...
502 & 524 have probably festered long enough to be the last.

We will see if two pairs a week continues thus leaving one for the first week of September. Or if progress will tail off.

Barrier coaches and single units became a necessity to finally finish emptying Bicester iirc.
 
Last edited:

Peter Sarf

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Location
Croydon
Internally within the company 458/4s are known as 459s. It wasn’t a typo or error.
Fair enough.

By now they should be 460s. No wait......:oops:

They will be razor blades soon enough, maybe.

And in the meantime I guess Feltham may be where the last eight wiil be stored.
 

Driver@swt

Member
Joined
31 Aug 2014
Messages
71
For clarity 029 has not been passed for passenger service yet, not that I am aware of anyway. I was kind of hoping it would have been by some miracle when I came back from leave, but unfortunately not quite there yet.
Correct, 028 is fully accepted but being retained as the final unit for training (barriers fitted) and 029 developed an issue delaying it a week, should hopefully be out next week.
Why

Why is it being tested when it’s already been in passenger service?
028 is used for training runs and pti testing
 

wickham

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Joined
3 Feb 2021
Messages
694
Location
Knaphill
458 I guess (especially as the "9" key is right next to the "8" key).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==


Indeed just five 701s left to bring to the SWR fold.
701501 from Old Dalby September 2025
701502 since December 2024
701508 from somewhere on SWR I believe August 2025.
701510 from Wimbledon July 2026 iirc.
701524 since December 2024

I reckon 501 and 508 next as might be the healthiest.
510 must have gone back to be sorted so is it sorted yet...
502 & 524 have probably festered long enough to be the last.

We will see if two pairs a week continues thus leaving one for the first week of September. Or if progress will tail off.

Barrier coaches and single units became a necessity to finally finish emptying Bicester iirc.
Do we know that 701501 and 701502 are actually completed yet ?
Last reports that I recall, some months ago admitted, they were far from complete, although I seem to recall a report of one of them out on the Derby test track not too long ago.
I suspect (perhaps wrongly) that these will be the last two to come.
 

Peter Sarf

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Do we know that 701501 and 701502 are actually completed yet ?
Last reports that I recall, some months ago admitted, they were far from complete, although I seem to recall a report of one of them out on the Derby test track not too long ago.
I suspect (perhaps wrongly) that these will be the last two to come.
Early examples of a class (often first) are often the last into service so you may well be correct. They (701501 & 701502) were built in 2019 !.
 

43096

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Internally within the company 458/4s are known as 459s. It wasn’t a typo or error.
But everyone on here knows them as 458s - and the National Vehicle Register says the same. I suspect 459 is used for diagramming purposes - but that is all.
 
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565
One small thing but I find it very annoying. On arriving at Clapham junction on a 701 ex Reading. The announcement says that one can change for Reading. Similar issues with other destinations at other stops.
 

NickBucks

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17 May 2013
Messages
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My first trip on a 701 this morning on the 11.09 Reading to Waterloo.Very nice but shame on a 10 car unit there were no working toilets.Full marks to the driver who was in his cab 15 mins before departure giving this information and providing a step by step instruction on how to get to the station toilets and how long it may take!
 
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Richmond
My first trip on a 701 this morning on the 11.09 Reading to Waterloo.Very nice but shame on a 10 car unit there were no working toilets.Full marks to the driver who was in his cab 15 mins before departure giving this information and providing a step by step instruction on how to get to the station toilets and how long it may take!
Now that’s customer service. Massive props to that driver.
 

norbitonflyer

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SW London
One small thing but I find it very annoying. On arriving at Clapham junction on a 701 ex Reading. The announcement says that one can change for Reading. Similar issues with other destinations at other stops.
Very common. I was on an IEP approaching Reading - first stop after Paddington. The talking ceiling said we could change there for the railar coach link to Heathrow.
Why would anyone travel from Paddington to Heathrow via Reading?
 

Bobcp

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4 Apr 2016
Messages
78
Location
Hinckley, Leicester
Do we know that 701501 and 701502 are actually completed yet ?
Last reports that I recall, some months ago admitted, they were far from complete, although I seem to recall a report of one of them out on the Derby test track not too long ago.
I suspect (perhaps wrongly) that these will be the last two to come.
Both 701501/502 are currently complete enough to run as 5 car trains on the Derby Litchurch Lane test track.
Both have been viewed running singly and coupled on the test track.
I last viewed 501, running on the test track, on 24th. June.
Whether or not they are completely fitted out internally I do not know.
They are both now externally numbered and both still carry pantographs from their visits to Velim, Czechia and Old Dalby respectively.
 

Thames99

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11 Sep 2023
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Location
Reading
Very common. I was on an IEP approaching Reading - first stop after Paddington. The talking ceiling said we could change there for the railar coach link to Heathrow.
Why would anyone travel from Paddington to Heathrow via Reading?
It makes no sense as you say, but I think the Heathrow announcement is always made on the approach to Reading from Paddington, sometimes by human beings as well as recorded messages.
 

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