Recent content by MikePJ

Some years ago, TfW agreed new working arrangements with their trades unions to make Sunday a rostered working day rather than relying on staff volunteering to work Sundays. This allows more services to be operated on a Sunday, and we have seen some improvements. For example, the Rhymney and...

Running the Merthyr-Aberdare loop service at 4tph in each direction isn't presently feasible as the City Line can't cope with more than 2tph in each direction - it'll have to wait for the Cardiff West Junction upgrade. It would be possible to use the 2tph slots that are currently used to...

No, there will be no wires at Queen St - the gantries at either end of the station are to carry the high-voltage cables over the track. Part of the strategy for the discontinuous electrification is to avoid electrification of junctions as much as possible. 1787660534 There's an electrification...

I believe it needs four, based on the trains allocated to it today. 1787660268 But bear in mind that you may need double units to handle the loading at peak times.

The Rhondda line has been talked about for quite a while as the next stage of the 398 rollout, so this checks out. The stations are very close together so the brisk acceleration on the 398s will make a big difference here.

They're needed to increase the service to much beyond its present pattern - at the moment each of the TAM lines has 2tph to Central, and there's also the 2tph Pontypridd-Cardiff Bay service. I believe that the Pontypridd service will eventually be extended to Treherbert once they have enough...

It's worth noting that the upgrades to Queen Street South Junction (which I think are booked for April next year) are going to provide a big increase in capacity through Queen St in order to support the enhanced service, and that involves extending the platform loop for platform 5 towards...

Yes, which is why the current (funded) plans involve an upgrade to Cardiff West Junction so that it can handle more train movements.

Why? Track capacity between Central and Queen St not the limiting constraint - you're not going to be able to use that extra track capacity without extra platforms at Queen Street. Platform capacity at both Central and Queen St is a much bigger problem than track capacity, and a lack of capacity...

Unusually though, the 398s have both the unit number and the vehicle number displayed in the passenger saloons of each coach, so at least if you're on the train, you know which one it is!

I don't know. The 399s and the Croydon trams both have the unit number on the "chin" below the windscreen. Given that the unit number is primarily there for the benefit of railway staff, I'm sure that if the lack of it causes a problem operationally the 398s will have them vinyled on later...

Yes, unit numbers are above the driver's doors at both ends; vehicle numbers are part way along the outside of each vehicle at the same level - you can see them clearly in my video linked above if you put the video into high quality and pause it.

A couple more Jan 26 project plan updates: - the plan has a 24 hour shutdown of the TAM lines on 27th September and that appears to be going ahead, as it's now advertised on TfW's service changes page. The plan suggests that this is signalling-related. - there's also a week-long closure of the...

I’ve just got a video of a 398 lowering its pantograph at Butetown:

There’s going to have to be quite a big mindset shift with Cardiff area commuters, as the higher frequencies and new routeings will mean that journeys involving a change of train will become more common. I do suspect that if the system is a big success TfW will have to rebuild Queen St...