Class 387 to GN

[APUK002]

Totally correct. There was hardly any issues anywhere else as GN Platform Staff assisted so the process was quick (for example at Royston), whereas at Cambridge where a majority of splitting takes place it was left to drivers, and usually required an extra driver to do it to try and speed it up, which realistically is a waste of driver resources.

Purely as a personal guess as I've nothing official to say otherwise, I would imagine the current status staying in place until at least May.

Ah,a proper response now, temporary measure then

 

[jon0844]

I'm back!! Do I get a prize for spotting the first broken external button?

IMG_20180212_192512

• jon0844
• 12 Feb 2018

Exterior 387 button

 

[Failed Unit]

Ah,a proper response now, temporary measure then

Hopefully. Agree although not official but May is a good time to review it.

 

[APUK002]

I'm back!! Do I get a prize for spotting the first broken external button?

IMG_20180212_192512

• jon0844
• 12 Feb 2018

Exterior 387 button

Ah ha,new 1,broken external button,someon hacked&nicked it☹️

 

[D365]

Told you the passengers are rough!

 

[jon0844]

Told you the passengers are rough!

Yes, I'm starting to think you may be right.

There have been a lot of graffiti attacks on the 313s, inside and out, in recent weeks. Done at Hertford North apparently. Soon there won't be any external livery left and the trains will look like the white Wagn train!

 

[MikeWM]

Nearly a year on, and I have to be fair and say I rather like the 387s. I've got used to the harder seats and the rougher ride and don't really mind them anymore, the temperature seems rather consistently ok, and the wifi and plug sockets are very welcome. Other than the capacity issues, I'm starting to prefer them to the 365s, which I didn't think I'd be saying this time last year. And I'm very pleased we'll continue to get these north of Cambridge rather than the dreaded 700s.

 

[MikeWM]

(wifi) Failures : 387114 (twice) - network not listed

This is still the case on 387114. Don't seem to have any problems anymore on any other units.

 

[Ianno87]

Nearly a year on, and I have to be fair and say I rather like the 387s. I've got used to the harder seats and the rougher ride and don't really mind them anymore, the temperature seems rather consistently ok, and the wifi and plug sockets are very welcome. Other than the capacity issues, I'm starting to prefer them to the 365s, which I didn't think I'd be saying this time last year. And I'm very pleased we'll continue to get these north of Cambridge rather than the dreaded 700s.

I'm a 387 regular now; Got on a 365 for the first time in ages recently and could not for the life of me get comfortable in the seats. The proper aircon will be a bonus too, and the wi-fi is always handy for working on the go

 

[Skimble19]

I'm a 387 regular now; Got on a 365 for the first time in ages recently and could not for the life of me get comfortable in the seats. The proper aircon will be a bonus too, and the wi-fi is always handy for working on the go

The 365s that are remaining are being fitted with Wi-Fi over the next few months.

 

[387star]

so the 365s are losing favour? The 365 seats are not that special are they?

The 387 is a great train in many respects with ample leg room power sockets and plenty of tables. Just a shame that the overhead racks are not as capacious as a 700. I womder why they have plastic holes in them? I notice on a 377/4 the first class area has glass rather than plastic holes!

The seats are possibly getting softer with use in the 387s?

Is their main maintenance depot Hornsey?

I wonder if replacement seat covers are delivered in the existing out of place Southern green

 

[swt_passenger]

The 387 is a great train in many respects with ample leg room power sockets and plenty of tables. Just a shame that the overhead racks are not as capacious as a 700. I womder why they have plastic holes in them?

I think what you’re seeing is just standard on any Electrostar and the overhead racks are possibly influenced by the overall ‘shape’ of the body, in comparison to the slightly squarer Desiro variants.

 

[Skimble19]

so the 365s are losing favour? The 365 seats are not that special are they?

The 387 is a great train in many respects with ample leg room power sockets and plenty of tables. Just a shame that the overhead racks are not as capacious as a 700. I womder why they have plastic holes in them? I notice on a 377/4 the first class area has glass rather than plastic holes!

The seats are possibly getting softer with use in the 387s?

Is their main maintenance depot Hornsey?

I wonder if replacement seat covers are delivered in the existing out of place Southern green

Personally I don't particularly like the 387 seats and much prefer 365s, but I'll take a 387 over a 700! The 387 seats certainly don't feel like they're any softer now than before.

313s, 365s and 387s all have Hornsey as their main maintenance base.

As for the seat covers, we've done nothing to them. You'll find First Class seat covers in standard class (right on the other side of the dividing door ironically!) but yes any replacements are installed in the somewhat unpleasant and out of place Southern colours.

 

[Hadders]

I'm another one who prefers 365s

 

[bramling]

so the 365s are losing favour? The 365 seats are not that special are they?

The 387 is a great train in many respects with ample leg room power sockets and plenty of tables. Just a shame that the overhead racks are not as capacious as a 700. I womder why they have plastic holes in them? I notice on a 377/4 the first class area has glass rather than plastic holes!

The seats are possibly getting softer with use in the 387s?

Is their main maintenance depot Hornsey?

I wonder if replacement seat covers are delivered in the existing out of place Southern green

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the 387 as a concept. The main issue is the seats - something like those found in the early Electrostars specified by Connex would make a massive difference. In that sense it's a shame GN didn't get the 377/5s as originally planned. The only other issues are really that the interiors don't make wonderful use of space - hence the lower seating capacity compared to 365s which are a superb compromise design - and the rather bizarre positioning of the first-class area.

I have to say I prefer the 365 though. They feel more spacious, I prefer the half cables compared to full tables, and the seating layout is better -- and was even better still before the recent refresh. Needless to say I much prefer the seats too, I find them extremely comfortable.

My experience of 387s on GN is simply that you're far more likely to have someone sitting next to you or near you compared to a 365, the reduced number of seats does make a difference. On the plus side there is more legroom though -- so it depends what we prefer, more legroom but less chance of a seat on certain journeys and more chance of someone sitting next to you or directly opposite, or slightly reduced legroom for peak journeys but more seats overall. There's no right or wrong answer I suppose.

 

[Hadders]

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the 387 as a concept. The main issue is the seats - something like those found in the early Electrostars specified by Connex would make a massive difference. In that sense it's a shame GN didn't get the 377/5s as originally planned. The only other issues are really that the interiors don't make wonderful use of space - hence the lower seating capacity compared to 365s which are a superb compromise design - and the rather bizarre positioning of the first-class area.

I have to say I prefer the 365 though. They feel more spacious, I prefer the half cables compared to full tables, and the seating layout is better -- and was even better still before the recent refresh. Needless to say I much prefer the seats too, I find them extremely comfortable.

My experience of 387s on GN is simply that you're far more likely to have someone sitting next to you or near you compared to a 365, the reduced number of seats does make a difference. On the plus side there is more legroom though -- so it depends what we prefer, more legroom but less chance of a seat on certain journeys and more chance of someone sitting next to you or directly opposite, or slightly reduced legroom for peak journeys but more seats overall. There's no right or wrong answer I suppose.

I agree with all of this. I don't fins the leg room on the 365s a problem although the spacing was altered at the refresh to give more room for the priority seats at the expense of a couple of 'normal' rows. They should've kept the original seating layout, as you say it is a superb compromise.

 

[Skimble19]

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the 387 as a concept. The main issue is the seats - something like those found in the early Electrostars specified by Connex would make a massive difference. In that sense it's a shame GN didn't get the 377/5s as originally planned. The only other issues are really that the interiors don't make wonderful use of space - hence the lower seating capacity compared to 365s which are a superb compromise design - and the rather bizarre positioning of the first-class area.

I have to say I prefer the 365 though. They feel more spacious, I prefer the half cables compared to full tables, and the seating layout is better -- and was even better still before the recent refresh. Needless to say I much prefer the seats too, I find them extremely comfortable.

My experience of 387s on GN is simply that you're far more likely to have someone sitting next to you or near you compared to a 365, the reduced number of seats does make a difference. On the plus side there is more legroom though -- so it depends what we prefer, more legroom but less chance of a seat on certain journeys and more chance of someone sitting next to you or directly opposite, or slightly reduced legroom for peak journeys but more seats overall. There's no right or wrong answer I suppose.

The odd First Class positioning is as a result of it being moved when they transferred to GN. It was originally at the end of the carriage but this section was deemed too large, so rather than move the internal doors and shrink it, they just swapped a few of the seats into the inner end of the carriage and moved the yellow line on the outside

 

[Fincra5]

The odd First Class positioning is as a result of it being moved when they transferred to GN. It was originally at the end of the carriage but this section was deemed too large, so rather than move the internal doors and shrink it, they just swapped a few of the seats into the inner end of the carriage and moved the yellow line on the outside

Its the same on the GX 387s and the 377-6/7 series. The 1st Class was too large, so it was swapped to the smaller part of the coach.

 

[TEW]

First Class appears to be designed to be where it is, as little sense as that makes. When the 387s were used by Thameslink, only a very small section was First Class, between the cab and the first set of doors. The dividing door was completely pointless as it was in the middle of Standard Class.
Looking at the seating layout, it seems likely First Class is now in the location it was designed to be, as with the exception of the priority seats, all seats are at tables. If First Class was the other side of the door then there would be too much First Class provided for the majority of routes, and the seating layout would be the same as Standard Class, which I guess would go well with the identical seats.

 

[Ianno87]

The 365s that are remaining are being fitted with Wi-Fi over the next few months.

365s also lack any kind of useful surface on which to use a laptop, whereas 387s even in the airline seats one can be used in reasonable comfort.

 

[aleggatta]

First Class appears to be designed to be where it is, as little sense as that makes.

First class was always designed to be the larger section, I have Line of route that says so and the way the document reads it was a decision made by bombardier (keeping the same design as the 377/6/7's)

 

[bramling]

First class was always designed to be the larger section, I have Line of route that says so and the way the document reads it was a decision made by bombardier (keeping the same design as the 377/6/7's)

I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s simly a carry-over from the five-car 377s, where the larger section is proportionately about right for a 5-car train. Perhaps it’s a simple matter of no one bothering to change the design and no one from the TOC challenging this.

It’s one of the most stupid arrangements seen on a commuter train.

The 317s had/have it in the middle, but at least one could see a certain logic behind this - in the centre of an unpowered car thus giving smoothest ride, close to toilets, and never too far to walk no matter which way the train faces.

 

[TRAX]

Does anyone here know that harder seats are much better for the back long-term ?

 

[physics34]

Does anyone here know that harder seats are much better for the back long-term ?

Clearly the DfT, RSSB and others havent done much research....as was discovered with the recent "ironing board class 700" stuff that was in the media in the last few months. Shocking really considering how long trains and seats have existed in this world.
It doesnt help that 387s have bad ride quality at speed. I think its highly likely that yes, there would be long term effects if you have to travel on these trains for over an hour a day every day.

 

[sdhughes]

Does anyone know why many GN Class 387s on the Cambridge route don't seem to have air conditioning switched on/working? Combined with shortened formations and cancellations since the timetable change, it's creating horrible conditions, yet some services/carriages do have it working. Is the air conditioning so unreliable a year after the stock was introduced, or is there another reason why it's being turned off? As air con was lauded as a key benefit of these trains when they were introduced, yet when most needed it doesn't work, it feels too much of a coincidence, and is compounded by lack of windows to provide natural ventilation - which the Class 365s provided!

 

[physics34]

Does anyone know why many GN Class 387s on the Cambridge route don't seem to have air conditioning switched on/working? Combined with shortened formations and cancellations since the timetable change, it's creating horrible conditions, yet some services/carriages do have it working. Is the air conditioning so unreliable a year after the stock was introduced, or is there another reason why it's being turned off? As air con was lauded as a key benefit of these trains when they were introduced, yet when most needed it doesn't work, it feels too much of a coincidence, and is compounded by lack of windows to provide natural ventilation - which the Class 365s provided!

if you look at everything else, i doubt GTRs maintenance is up to scratch!

 

[387star]

Was on a GWR 387 yesterday

Air con worked fine. The interior is to a very high standard as well with a well thought out colour scheme that makes them feel quite plush along with wood affect tables

The southern green needs redesigning I think

 

[Aictos]

I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s simly a carry-over from the five-car 377s, where the larger section is proportionately about right for a 5-car train. Perhaps it’s a simple matter of no one bothering to change the design and no one from the TOC challenging this.

It’s one of the most stupid arrangements seen on a commuter train.

The 317s had/have it in the middle, but at least one could see a certain logic behind this - in the centre of an unpowered car thus giving smoothest ride, close to toilets, and never too far to walk no matter which way the train faces.

I disagree, the layout of the GN 317s was awful as Standard Class passengers still had to walk though First Class to get to the toilets least the 365s, 317/6s, 444s, 450s all have it either at one end of the unit or at both ends.

The 321s were acceptable once they were all turned the right way so First Class was always at the London end.

 

[Hadders]

Does anyone know why many GN Class 387s on the Cambridge route don't seem to have air conditioning switched on/working? Combined with shortened formations and cancellations since the timetable change, it's creating horrible conditions, yet some services/carriages do have it working. Is the air conditioning so unreliable a year after the stock was introduced, or is there another reason why it's being turned off? As air con was lauded as a key benefit of these trains when they were introduced, yet when most needed it doesn't work, it feels too much of a coincidence, and is compounded by lack of windows to provide natural ventilation - which the Class 365s provided!

I've been on a few 387s this week between Kings Cross and Stevenage where the air con wasn't working. Awful conditions, particularly as they've been crush loaded due to the current shambles.

Just sums up the current service from GTR to be honest. I'd much rather travel on a 365, no air con but plenty of opening windows.

 

[Mag_seven]

Was on a GWR 387 yesterday

Air con worked fine. The interior is to a very high standard as well with a well thought out colour scheme that makes them feel quite plush along with wood affect tables

The southern green needs redesigning I think

I can't say I share that experience of a GWR Class 387 - was on a couple of them earlier this week and in one coach the air con was completely broken and in one of the others only half of the coach seemed to be being cooled!