Class 379's

[F Great Eastern]

I went on one of these for the first time a couple of days ago, noticed there were not many of them around as I thought, and still some of the old Stansted Express units running around.

My initial impressions were quite good. They're certainly nice and bright inside and having the plug sockets there and the tables and the layout was much better than the other Bombardier units on the network and much better than what they replaced.

Unfortunately when we started moving it was a little less positive. At least the unit I was on, was suffering from pretty poor build quality, at both ends of the coach there was a constant rattle, squeak and vibrations, it became apparent that many of the fittings were not adequately tight and in the case of the luggage rack further down the carriage, quite loose.

Also the hideous bang when the aircon cuts in and cuts out, is terrible it is so loud it is like gunfire and sent one old lady into an incredible shock and panic and very flustered. I'm used to the same sort of bang on the Desiro's, but at least on those it seems to have had the area soundproofed somewhat, on here it was like the bang was happening directly above your head.

Also I don't like the layout towards the end of each carriage where you have the lighting along the window, rather than on the ceiling, no aircon around this area and the spotlights in this are are pointless as they're right next to the normal lights. I do see a point in having them in the rest of the coach though, when the lights are in the middle.

 

[Bald Rick]

The bang you heard is the main circuit breaker opening and closing at each neutral section. Which means you were most likely directly under the pantograph in the pantograph car, and hence low ceiling / alternative lighting.

 

[jopsuk]

and the old Stansted Express units are now entirely part of the West Anglia 317 fleet- they'll be on the same line, but shouldn't (if there's no 379 problems) be operating airport services though.

Certainly sounds like you were under the circuit breaker- the ends of the other carriages are not laid out like that and there's no loud bangs. The aircon cuts out briefly during the neural section

 

[F Great Eastern]

There were a few 317/7's in service yesterday as well, the 4.55 ex Liverpool Street was one as I was on it!

 

[150222]

There were a few 317/7's in service yesterday as well, the 4.55 ex Liverpool Street was one as I was on it!

Corrected.

 

[asylumxl]

I went on the 379s a while back and have to say, I was quite disappointed.

As you say, poor build quality. Squeaks, rattles. Even the door buttons slip and slide around in their housings. On one unit I swear on one of the seats that the arm rest on one side was lower than the other! I'm pretty sure it was.

Bombardier really needs to stop trying to recycle an old design and come up with something new.

 

[Tottenham Flyer]

Corrected.

317710 & 317729 did a day on the Stansted Express yesterday.

 

[lookingforit35]

I had the pleasure of my first 379 trip this week too, although I didnt get round to posting my thoughts.

Good:

I was in the small standard class area next to 1st (with my back to the glass partition), so it was like a nice small compartment in the style of yesteryear. And the colour scheme is much better than my usual SE 375s. The tables seemed better shaped too. Smooth ride, not noisy.

Bad:

A tiny sticker I noticed after 20 minutes informed my I was in the Quiet Zone (no objection if that's what I'd chosen, but I was unaware. Poorly signed). Seat woefully uncomfortable due to the shortness of the base, and the armrests were flimsy and "crashed" down when moved. The fixed armrest next to the window blocks the vent for the aircon which seems very poorly thought out.

In summarry, it was disappointing as things seemingly haven't moved on since the 375s were built. For example, the connecting doors are annoying as they still have both a button and a sensor. I can quite understand the sensor so that the door doesn't close on anyone, but just standing in front of it causes it to open even when the button hasn't been pressed. Not great on a busy service - open/close every 30 seconds get's tedious!

 

[F Great Eastern]

The fixed armrest next to the window blocks the vent for the aircon which seems very poorly thought out.

Isn't that for heating? At least on two of the trains I was sitting, the vent directly under the window just under the table was very hot, I too assumed it was aircon until I felt it, particularly when there's already a heater on the floor.

317710 & 317729 did a day on the Stansted Express yesterday.

Must have been the one I was talking about. I didn't take note of what unit it was, although it did seem like it had been neglected for a long while, with one coach in particular having barely any lighting working and filthy windows. Although to be fair to the West Anglia side of things, this is a problem throughout much of the network and I don't see them wanting to spend much money when their time is up very soon.

I should re-enforce though the rattling and squeaking was prevalent in more than one coach, not just the one with the circuit breaker and different kind of ceiling. In the middle of the coaches it was nice and quiet but either end where fittings were fixed to the end of the coaches they were without doubt nowhere near tight enough.

But you''re right that the loud bang happened the same time as the aircon cutting out in the circuit breaker area when I was in that coach, so it explains it, but I've also been in a Desiro with the same effect and it was not anywhere near as loud.

Generally though as I said they're nice trains, but the build quality seems poor.

 

[jopsuk]

Cannot disagree there! I've used them a lot for commuting- "poor quality, rattly with a very loud VCB but yet quite nice" is a pretty accurate description

 

[Uzair]

Haven't been on a 379, however I'm getting the impression that a lot of Bombardier trains are coming out with poor build quality. For example with the S8's there is an incessant rattling sound. Okay the track on the Met is not that great, but I don't believe that the state of the track is causing such rattling of things inside the train.
Not impressed to be honest.

 

[lookingforit35]

Isn't that for heating? At least on two of the trains I was sitting, the vent directly under the window just under the table was very hot, I too assumed it was aircon until I felt it, particularly when there's already a heater on the floor.

On 375s it also provides a (pitiful) cold air supply in the summer, once SE get round to turning it on. So I assume it's a vent for the aircon, hot in winter, coldish in summer.

Either way, it's a poor place for an armrest.

 

[Telcontar]

I fell for that the first time I travelled in a 377 (one of FCC's 377/5s) – I was deeply disappointed by the cramped interior, only realising afterwards that I was under the pantograph well (I wonder if that the one that was arcing constantly – made me wonder what non-technical passengers made of all the flashes in the dark.)

No problems with the 377/5, except that on one journey the motor and/or electronics pitch kept changing randomly with no relation to vehicle speed, but I've not experienced that again. (Granted, I've only been on three, and the last one screamed like a 319.)

Do 379s have the same disturbing electrobuzz as the 377s? It's like a science fiction effect designed to unnerve viewers – I think it's the constant and random variations in pitch that make it annoying, like variable speed computer fans, as the brain will tune out constant pitch, but not a changing pitch.

 

[lookingforit35]

Do 379s have the same disturbing electrobuzz as the 377s? It's like a science fiction effect designed to unnerve viewers – I think it's the constant and random variations in pitch that make it annoying, like variable speed computer fans, as the brain will tune out constant pitch, but not a changing pitch.

I've noticed this on 375s so it seems like it might be common across the Electrostar family. I thought I was going mad - at last someone else has heard this! No idea what it is though, and indeed it's proved impossible for me to work out where it's coming from.

 

[O L Leigh]

The transformers make a high pitched whining sound at all times, even when at rest. I've heard the same sound given off by LOROL Cl378s at Stratford and even the older Cl357s operated by c2c. I can only assume it's a feature of all Electrostars, at least when on the AC.

Or is that not the sound you mean?

O L Leigh

 

[Telcontar]

As lookingforit35 notes, the sound just seems to permeate – there isn't a source of it, and the pitch of the sound is continually changing randomly. If the pitch was constant, it would be another awesome electric sound, but the wavering tone is just weird and distracting.

It's certainly not the deep hum you get off the transformer coach of a 323 for example, or the melodious hum from a 319 under power (and that can change pitch – sometimes the pitch starts low for a fraction of a second). It's a far higher pitch.

 

[O L Leigh]

Probably the IGBTs then.

O L Leigh

 

[Telcontar]

Any idea why you get that subtly wavering pitch? It seems to be an Electrostar thing.

 

[O L Leigh]

Just the characteristics of the IGBT, I expect. Desiros make a particular sound and so do Electrostars due to the components used. Likewise the GTO thyristors on Networkers make a different sound to the Holec ones used on the Cl323s.

O L Leigh

 

[lookingforit35]

And sadly it's firmly on the noticeable side, volume wise.

Strangely I feel I ought to be defensive of Electrostars, as I use them most days. But then I reconsider and tell it how it is. They arent all bad, especially the seat comfort on 375/3/6/7/8 which are two by two and reasonably deep. But they do seem to have a few design faults which niggle. Not the end of the world I know, and many on this forum suffer worse stock, but annoying for nearly new units nonetheless.