Recent content by hacman

All of them at some point. You'll have to be a bit more specific.

It will be interesting to see how this is done, and if, with the mayor's ambition for the entire Leamside to re-open, we'll see the promised extended battery technology used.

I'd expect the actual date to be earlier, too, as there will be a short period where we end up with an all-555 service, but with some of the old fleet still around as a contingency/grafiti magnet. Nexus and the mayor will want to make a big fanfare about the final 599 going for scrap, so...

Some of them are getting pretty manky inside too - and not just the floors. One or two I've been on even had some sort of residue all over the grabrails, either from production, or packaging during transport. The fact that this hadn't been cleaned up during the commissioning process is sloppy...

That's sort of what I'm expecting, but with talks of the line being fully reopened, maybe having the southbound line do a dive-under would be worth considering. It would be a good opportunity to try and remove the conflicting movements for South Hylton-bound trains too... assuming funding...

This is all with the existing signalling infrastructure too - the new system could be designed with CBTC/moving block in the core (and slightly beyond) to reduce the headways even further. I'm sure I've seen somewhere that 2 minute headways were possible in the core, but I can't remember if...

I couldn't remember - but hopefully it has been retained.

Do they still use the abbreviated "Next station is..." or have they been updated to be correct? Glad to see Central Station has been corrected, and with Northumberland Park's National Rail platform opening soon, it makes sense that it's just cut off for now. It would be nice for Northumberland...

It was more down to cost. Providing usable WiFi on a train is insanely expensive, and for commuter/metro trains it's even more of a challenge as the number of users per car can be in the hundreds. Ultimately, Nexus made the (correct, IMHO) decision that they're a transport provider and not...

The system is designed with blocks capable of running 83m trains. Most of the stations are designed to accommodate a 65m unit, too, with some designed for 83m trains. There are only a few that won't accommodate a 65m unit, and even at these, the doors would all be platformed. The network was...

Not really that much of an issue - as long as signal sighting is managed (easy enough to make small changes). Much of the network is able to handle much longer trains without issue. It's worth remembering that the 555s are 60m long, and the tender called for up to 65m.

Sadly, the forward view was never going to be retained - it's just not practical. That said, the issues with seating are entirely of Nexus' own making and are inexcusable. Maybe when the fleet gets a 1/4 or 1/3 life refit, an extra centre car can be added and the seating improved with a hybrid...

From a passenger experience perspective, the main issues are the seating (too small, all linear, some complaints about firmness) and the AC having teething troubles. Other than that, the response has been positive in that they are much smoother, quieter, and generally more pleasant to travel...

The new units don't have tungsten hammers - the windows are not one of the egress routes. Yes - laminated glass is the preferred option. On some vehicles, there will be one or two windows that are different to allow egress, but are usually fitted with the newer punch-button type devices now...

The tender specified units up to 65m in length, which I believe can be accommodated by all the platforms on the network. The 555s are 60m in length.