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Why do the doors open and shut so slowly on the refurbished D stock-based trains? (484s and 230s)
- Thread starter JulienD
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RailUK Forums
357
Established Member
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Because the door opening/closing alarm is broadcast over the pa and if there is a handset loose or in use there isn't a buzzer sound
TransportHub
Member
Have the mechanisms been changed? I'm sure they were faster as D Stock
swt_passenger
Veteran Member
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Adjusted or governed down, I believe. It was mentioned when the trains were new to the Island. The LU door closing settings were considered unnecessarily fast.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
However they also removed the "catcher", so they slam quite unpleasantly, shaking the whole train.
And now they are unnecessarily slow, almost glacial!
The whole D-train project, as the name involuntarily implies, is very System D
norbitonflyer
Established Member
Even when runing on the District Line they seemed slow. I think they were the same as on other LU stock, but being single leaf and therefore wider they had to travel further. (In fact, being heavier they might also have been slower). Many passengers, (me included) used to help them open faster by giving them a shove.
357
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It's the same system as used on LU. Many YouTube videos will show the digital station announcements being cut off by the door closing alarm. The door closing alarm can be cut off by a manual announcement hence the speed being set to assume no audable warning.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
As a former regular user of 230's the glacial speed of the doors was the least problematic part of the operation! Having one run was a bouns..............
The Transport for Wales 230s have had a fabric handle screwed onto the cab door to enable guards to do exactly this (or at least to open them more quickly).
Very true!
I guess the main reason the Isle of Wight conversions have been more successful is because less conversion work was needed, I recall there being talk of removing the 3rd rail over there at one point, imagine if SWR had gone for diesel 230s, they may as well of just closed the line and turned it into a cycle path!
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Diesel would certainly have been the death of the line. Battery might have worked, but as the electrification is there they probably made the right choice.
The Marston Vale was without a train service for long enough before a couple of spare 150s could be pinched form Northern for it, I'm not sure what options there would have been for the IOW had it been in the same position.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
closure and replacement with a bus service ( which seems decent on the IoW tbf)
I've always been impressed with the bus services on the island whenever I've visited, I'm sure it's not faultless but from my experience it puts Arriva in my local area to shame.
Chris125
Established Member
I'm not sure I'd call it less, just different - still basically a new train using the body and interior of a D78, with all the complications of getting a new AC traction package to work with a budget electrification setup. Even now 4-car working is waiting for major work at Rowborough substation IIRC, hopefully this winter.
Whatever you want to call it, they are still more reliable than their diesel counterparts.