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Chiltern MK5s Starting 2026 (non speculative updates thread)
- Thread starter Bletchleyite
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37052 xb mr
Established Member
It’s due to leaf fall season
Expecting more units requiring the wheel lathe.
Negative.
Ramp up in mk5a service to prepare for tinetable change.
Nor a positive idea to go from minimum to maximum in the space of 48 hours...
(There may be other side benefits, of course).
CR165022
Established Member
A few firsts for the MK5 sets today I believe.
68031/CH07 failed at High Wycombe and went into the siding there, and 68030/CH10 for some reason instead of going to Wembley Depot, went back on itself to Marylebone and presumably will shunt to the reversing siding there later today and back into one of the platforms, and I should hope it happens soon as it's blocking 165033 in!
68031/CH07 failed at High Wycombe and went into the siding there, and 68030/CH10 for some reason instead of going to Wembley Depot, went back on itself to Marylebone and presumably will shunt to the reversing siding there later today and back into one of the platforms, and I should hope it happens soon as it's blocking 165033 in!
CR165022
Established Member
It went into the bay platform to terminate but shunted into the siding afterwards
They were far from reliable with TPE which is why they were binned there.
JMW146
Member
They're failing a lot less than they were at TPE
Is this a serious comment?
Made me laugh... it did its job. (Intended or not).
Reality being they were brought in solely for capacity with the loss of the Mk3+68 sets
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Do we know if they've done as many or more miles yet with Chiltern than they did at TPE?
LittleRedTrain
Member
I don't know if it's the trains or the track on the Chiltern line but the ride on the Mk5s seems to be getting worse!
I was sat on a seat near the carriage end earlier and I was barely able to hold my phone steady enough to read, I was being bounced around the place so much.
I'm sure it's still within safety tolerances but it really isn't pleasant from a customer POV.
I was sat on a seat near the carriage end earlier and I was barely able to hold my phone steady enough to read, I was being bounced around the place so much.
I'm sure it's still within safety tolerances but it really isn't pleasant from a customer POV.
They were "binned" by TPE due to noise complaints at Scarborough and quite simply struggling to ever train staff on the mk5s to fully utilise them not due to reliability. All staff signed 185s so going back to them made sense.
The sets were not really fully worn in when Chiltern got them.
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There currently seem to be several sections between Bicester and Haddenham in particular that are always quite shaky.
Seems to be a pattern across the network after a scorching summer.
Yes, Snow Hill lines are not brilliant for ride quality at the moment. It will always be a issue as we all now soil certainly clay expands and contracts with moisture levels.
It does confirm to me that using concrete slab was the correct decision for HS2 and hopefully any of its siblings if constructed.
Liam L
Established Member
I did my first ride on a MK5 today, Abeit only Dorridge - Solihull which doesn't have as bad as track as other sections and even I found them to ride a bit rough. Apart from that they are nice trains and will be nice when the full introduction is complete.
How can.a TOC ‘struggle’ to carry out a basic function like training staff on the relevant traction assuming its got the relevant safety certification & union acceptance ?
Falcon1200
Established Member
Because it means releasing staff from their normal duties for training?
Um, more often than you think.
It can even come down to requiring a cut in normal services to achieve required training:
Can either release the physical units for training
Or the train paths to used for training (if other paths are unobtainable / uncondusive to training)
Or releasing the warm squidgy body to be trained in addition to their current traction / route knowledge.
the balancing equation becomes how disruptive can the additional training and development be to the business as usual delivery of the passenger timetable.
43096
On Moderation
- Joined
- 23 Nov 2015
- Messages
- 18,897
Which seems to be a uniquely British problem. I have recently spent time in Czechia and Austria, where plenty of new trains are being introduced and others moved to different areas. Yet nowhere does staff training seem to be a major difficulty that means services have to be cancelled or fleet introductions delayed because training is an issue.
Introducing new trains is part of the job for TOCs. The number of times it is botched suggests they are inept.
That might be blaming the dummy instead of the ventriloquist?
Peter Sarf
Established Member
It is a symptom of squeezing out so much efficiency.
It seems we have such a high proportion of crew on overtime there cannot be spare capacity for training.
It seems we have such a high proportion of crew on overtime there cannot be spare capacity for training.
And i didn't even touch on the Trades Union's potential issues involved!
I wonder how the union position looks over there, too?
(You are most likely correct, dont get me wrong).
"British Railways" (aka the railway of Britain, not to be confused with any organisations bearing similar words in their names) are unique in the way they undertake many activities (as a colleague is fond of saying, in not so many words).
TPE were trying to introduce 3 different types of new trains to their fleet at the same time.
There was no commonality between them, so this put a huge strain on their ability to run the service because staff had to be released for training on each type of traction.
In the end, they gave up and binned the Mk5 because of all the issues they were having.
Not to mention the degree of route knowledge required here.
And, to be fair to TPE, they were having to cope with COVID at the same time (both the restrictions and the effects on passenger demand).
We have one of if not the safest railway in Europe, plenty of that is the industry as a whole including the trade unions.