379 001 unveiled TODAY!

[swt_passenger]

Well he's certainly wrong there in stating NXEA is the only TOC who has their HLOS improvements agreed by the DfT, FCC has also had their HLOS improvements signed off hence more then 6,500 extra seats will be available to passengers from the Dec 2010 timetable, this is on top of the 5,000 extra seats introduced in the May 2010 timetable.

Just thought I leave a correction!

I didn't give a guarantee that he wasn't talking out of his Automatic Route Setting Equipment...

Edit: In fact I found the clip here:

Video-New-high-speed-Cambridge-to-London-trains-unveiled.htm

...and what he actually said was that NXEA are one of the few TOCs to have had their capacity increase signed off, so I guess that must be NXEA, FCC(GN) and er... dunno.

Unless that DMU shuffle between LO, FGW, Northern, EMT counts as meeting their HLOS requirements. :roll:

 

[F Great Eastern]

Really don't like either the exterior of the train, or the colours used inside, just makes the train look a few years old at least even when new. Luggage capacity looks kinda questionable as well considering this is an airport service!

What I expected really though to be honest

 

[Aictos]

Talking of trains designed for Airport Services, what are the 460s like?

Would they have been better for the service then the 379s, which still would have freed up enough 317s to strengthen the West Anglia services.

 

[sprinterguy]

Talking of trains designed for Airport Services, what are the 460s like?

Would they have been better for the service then the 379s, which still would have freed up enough 317s to strengthen the West Anglia services.

Darn, that would be a good idea. Never travelled on a 460 myself, but I've heard many good things about their suitability for airport services, given they were designed entirely around that concept.

Could have saved a small fortune on not building thirty new trains, and only lost the upgrading of a few token Cambridge services that are due to be worked by the 379s.

 

[Pumbaa]

Darn, that would be a good idea. Never travelled on a 460 myself, but I've heard many good things about their suitability for airport services, given they were designed entirely around that concept.

Could have saved a small fortune on not building thirty new trains, and only lost the upgrading of a few token Cambridge services that are due to be worked by the 379s.

Small issue of not having a Pantograph well or any other easy way of conversion, not to mention the fact that 8 units just isn't enough to do a 45-min journey 4 departues an hour each way!

 

[sprinterguy]

Small issue of not having a Pantograph well or any other easy way of conversion, not to mention the fact that 8 units just isn't enough to do a 45-min journey 4 departues an hour each way!

Ok, yup, that's a couple of major obstacles there then. Ah well, it had me impressed for a while anyway. Though with 8 units and short turn round times it would just be possible to operate the service at that frequency. Although, of course, there's no way that all 8 trains would be in service at once, due to maintenance and that sort of thing.

 

[Aictos]

Small issue of not having a Pantograph well or any other easy way of conversion, not to mention the fact that 8 units just isn't enough to do a 45-min journey 4 departues an hour each way!

I thought all new build DC rolling stock had a recess in one of the trailer carriages where a pantograph could be retrofitted if the powers to be wanted to convert the rolling stock to AC rolling stock.

I know the 377s, 444s, 450s etc...all have a recess in the roof, I just thought the 460s weren't any different and that where the recess would have been, it was just plated over.

Below is the text from a article on 377s:

Among the remaining units, the trailer carriage in each unit has a recess in its roof where a pantograph could be fitted, to allow for future conversion to overhead AC power. Despite most units being DC-only, the class is numbered in the 3xx series normally used for AC units.

I do think that NXEA could have ordered a second batch of 460s although AC which would just like LM ordering the 350/2s.

 

[90019]

Small issue of not having a Pantograph well or any other easy way of conversion, not to mention the fact that 8 units just isn't enough to do a 45-min journey 4 departues an hour each way!

Don't the 460s have a well on one of the coaches with a cover over it?

 

[Pumbaa]

Not as far as I know. I'd be surprised if it was plated over, there's no benefit surely or everyother DC unit would also have it done?

 

[Aictos]

Not as far as I know. I'd be surprised if it was plated over, there's no benefit surely or everyother DC unit would also have it done?

377s have the well, as do 444s and I guess 450s as well.

 

[MCR247]

Its not plated over though on those

 

[Pumbaa]

377s have the well, as do 444s and I guess 450s as well.

No - I meant what MCR247 said. 458s also have the well, 376s, 375s, 378s (the DC only ones). 460s are as far as I know an oddity in this respect.

 

[sprinterguy]

If you really wanted to complicate things you could swap out the TSOs of a few 458s (the carriage with the pantograph well) into the 460s and stick the TSO of the 460 into the 458s that have sacrificed their pantograph well equipped carriages. It's not like the 458s are likely to ever have pantographs fitted.

I think that would be far too much work though and the idea of Stansted Express 460s seems to be a non starter. Not that it would happen anyway at this point as the 379s are already being delivered.

 

[aspierail]

The 1st class looks decent but standard class looks rubbish as im not too keen on the seats far too slim not good for airport service i say.

 

[jon0844]

I am sure seats will be fine for a 45 minute journey. It may be different for when they go to Cambridge.

 

[D6975]

I think the 460s have already been 'dibbed'.
The proposal is to stick some of their intermediate coaches into class 458s to make them up to 5 coach sets. I can't remember where I read this, but it was fairly recently.

 

[MCR247]

This hasn't been confirmed though