Class 350 Desiro door control question

[Monty]

Quick question to any London Midland/TPE train crew but do the Class 350 Desiros have passenger saloon door controls? I have been told they don't but I vaguely remember seeing them on a unit a few years ago and assumed since the first batch were built to SWTs specs those units at least would have them?

Ta in advance,

Monty

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes, they do. Some LM guards use them, some don't.

 

[BMIFlyer]

From what I've seen, every door on the TPE 350's has guards door controls

 

[tsr]

350s aren't my area of expertise, but I happen to have been discussing them with colleagues a bit recently. Apparently, when they were seconded to Southern services via the West London Line, conductors were required to only work them from the cabs. I'm not sure if this was due to variations in the way different subclasses of units worked, or if it was due to conservative traction training, or something else.

 

[Pumbaa]

Yes they do - every door as per 450/444. Same setup.

Only difference is the bell buzzer only sounds at local panel and not at all throughout train.

Some guards did use rear most saloon panel to get them out of the cabs. Their limited traction training did not extend to the saloon panels... and most were quite happy to keep it that way!

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Only difference is the bell buzzer only sounds at local panel and not at all throughout train.

Does that hold true for the 350/1s which were originally meant to be SWTs 450s?

 

[swt class 450]

Quick question to any London Midland/TPE train crew but do the Class 350 Desiros have passenger saloon door controls? I have been told they don't but I vaguely remember seeing them on a unit a few years ago and assumed since the first batch were built to SWTs specs those units at least would have them?

Ta in advance,

Monty

Yes the 350s (all four subclasses) do indeed have Guards panels at every set of doors just like the 444s / 450s / 700s have. Although from what i have seen Guards on both First Trans Pennine Express and London Midland seem to normally use the rear cab much more often then the door panels in the saloon.

Also a bit off topic but does anyone know do 185s and 360s have a Guards panel at every set of doors? I have been on them so many times but cant remember off the top of my head!

 

[Mordac]

I've seen a LM guard use them once. Don't remember ever seeing it on TPE.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Yes the 350s (all four subclasses) do indeed have Guards panels at every set of doors just like the 444s / 450s / 700s have. Although from what i have seen Guards on both First Trans Pennine Express and London Midland seem to normally use the rear cab much more often then the door panels in the saloon.

Also a bit off topic but does anyone know do 185s and 360s have a Guards panel at every set of doors? I have been on them so many times but cant remember off the top of my head!

The 360s might as I think they were originally a build of 350s

 

[ainsworth74]

Also a bit off topic but does anyone know do 185s and 360s have a Guards panel at every set of doors? I have been on them so many times but cant remember off the top of my head!

On 185s it alternates. So vestibule A on a vehicle will have controls on one side and vestibule B on the same vehicle will have controls on the other side. So no matter which side the platform is on the guard should always be no more than a part of a carriage away from a set of controls.

 

[Des Iroman]

Nope. 185s only have one saloon GOP on each side, diagonally-opposed in the centre (53) car. No door controls in the end vehicles other than in cabs.

 

[ainsworth74]

Nope. 185s only have one saloon GOP on each side, diagonally-opposed in the centre (53) car. No door controls in the end vehicles other than in cabs.

Oh really? Hadn't spotted that. Thanks!

 

[bengley]

Yes the 350s (all four subclasses) do indeed have Guards panels at every set of doors just like the 444s / 450s / 700s have. Although from what i have seen Guards on both First Trans Pennine Express and London Midland seem to normally use the rear cab much more often then the door panels in the saloon.

Also a bit off topic but does anyone know do 185s and 360s have a Guards panel at every set of doors? I have been on them so many times but cant remember off the top of my head!

700s only have GOPs in some coaches and not at every door in those coaches

 

[sk688]

Just a quick question related to doors

Why are the ones on 350s so slow to open. They take a long time to unlock, and then open very slowly too. ( Based on experience with LM Units). It's 15-30 sec between the train stopping and you getting off

 

[tsr]

Just a quick question related to doors

Why are the ones on 350s so slow to open. They take a long time to unlock, and then open very slowly too. ( Based on experience with LM Units). It's 15-30 sec between the train stopping and you getting off

It may well be due to the company policy on the checks required before releasing the doors.

Some TOCs require their staff to wait for a small amount of time before releasing, in order to allow time to see any problems and prevent acting out of habit even if it is unsafe to open doors. Others require guards to step from the train onto the platform and see that the whole service is accommodated before releasing.

For clarity, it wouldn't necessarily be any quicker with a different member of staff doing it - Southeastern have a pretty good policy of leaving a few seconds' gap for checks to occur between coming to a stand and opening doors, and the doors on their trains are always released by the drivers.

 

[swt_passenger]

Just a quick question related to doors
Why are the ones on 350s so slow to open. They take a long time to unlock, and then open very slowly too. ( Based on experience with LM Units). It's 15-30 sec between the train stopping and you getting off

As said above it is an operational procedure, the guard opens a door then checks the train is platformed correctly, then releases the rest.

SWT guards do now have the option of immediately releasing the doors if they are sure the train is fully platformed and on those occasions the rest of the doors can be openable as soon as any other type of train, AFAICT.

 

[pompeyfan]

As said above it is an operational procedure, the guard opens a door then checks the train is platformed correctly, then releases the rest.

SWT guards do now have the option of immediately releasing the doors if they are sure the train is fully platformed and on those occasions the rest of the doors can be openable as soon as any other type of train, AFAICT.

If you're stood at the rear of a 4 car on an 8 car platform, there's a chance the doors will be released almost instantly. Only thing to be aware of is wheelslip, if the doors are released but the train still thinks it's moving you can get all manner of door faults.

 

[D365]

The 360s might as I think they were originally a build of 350s

That only applies to four of the Class 360/2 Heathrow Connect units, which were thoroughly rebuilt anyway.