GWR Query, how many carriages & electric or diesel?

[STEVIEBOY1]

Hi, all being well I shall be travelling for the first time in ages on GWR in a few days time. It will be my 1st experience of their new (Inter City) type trains as I think all the 125s have gone?

As the the services have been altered due to CV. Does anyone know 1, how many carriages will my trains have, 5 or 10? 1248 Pad to Bristol Parkway on a Thursday, Returning on a Monday at 1056. I did look at Realtime trains, but it did not seem to give that info? and 2. Will it be under diesel or electric power,? I am not sure how far West the electric has reached.?

By the way, I have been booked on specific trains, but they don't show seat or carriage numbers which seems a bit odd. According to RTT it departs from Pad Platform 9. So I shall go there and walk as far forward as possible, in case the train is busy. It should not be such an issue at Pad, but there won't be so much time to find a seat at Parkway when I come home. The trains go to and from Swansea I think.

 

[PHILIPE]

Hi, all being well I shall be travelling for the first time in ages on GWR in a few days time. It will be my 1st experience of their new (Inter City) type trains as I think all the 125s have gone?

As the the services have been altered due to CV. Does anyone know 1, how many carriages will my trains have, 5 or 10? 1248 Pad to Bristol Parkway on a Thursday, Returning on a Monday at 1056. I did look at Realtime trains, but it did not seem to give that info? and 2. Will it be under diesel or electric power,? I am not sure how far West the electric has reached.?

By the way, I have been booked on specific trains, but they don't show seat or carriage numbers which seems a bit odd. According to RTT it departs from Pad Platform 9. So I shall go there and walk as far forward as possible, in case the train is busy. It should not be such an issue at Pad, but there won't be so much time to find a seat at Parkway when I come home. The trains go to and from Swansea I think.

Somebody else may be able to answer the question regarding the formation of the 1248 but there are also 9 Car Formations, i complete unit.
The services start hourly from Swansea and hourly Cardiff under normal circumstances and work under Electric Power east of Cardiff. During COVID GWR are not reserving individual seats but a place on the train.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Somebody else may be able to answer the question regarding the formation of the 1248 but there are also 9 Car Formations, i complete unit.
The services start hourly from Swansea and hourly Cardiff under normal circumstances and work under Electric Power east of Cardiff. During COVID GWR are not reserving individual seats but a place on the train.

Thank you for this, I think the hourly Cardiffs are not running, so it is just one train an hour, Pad to / from Swansea. I did not realise there were also 9 car sets and that it was now electric all the way to Cardiff from London.

 

[Nunners]

So far this week, they have been all 9 or 10 carriages, mostly 9s, especially in the morning, so you can be sure you won't get a 5.

 

[221129]

so you can be sure you won't get a 5.

There are no booked 5 car workings. But you cannot be sure a 5 won't turn up due to disruption or set failures.

 

[Horizon22]

Hi, all being well I shall be travelling for the first time in ages on GWR in a few days time. It will be my 1st experience of their new (Inter City) type trains as I think all the 125s have gone?

As the the services have been altered due to CV. Does anyone know 1, how many carriages will my trains have, 5 or 10? 1248 Pad to Bristol Parkway on a Thursday, Returning on a Monday at 1056. I did look at Realtime trains, but it did not seem to give that info? and 2. Will it be under diesel or electric power,? I am not sure how far West the electric has reached.?

By the way, I have been booked on specific trains, but they don't show seat or carriage numbers which seems a bit odd. According to RTT it departs from Pad Platform 9. So I shall go there and walk as far forward as possible, in case the train is busy. It should not be such an issue at Pad, but there won't be so much time to find a seat at Parkway when I come home. The trains go to and from Swansea I think.

Service should be a 800, 9-car. Only one S.Wales service running hourly right now which is the xx48 to Swansea in the off-peak. You should never get a 5-car unless there's some rather serious service disruption.

Always good to walk down at Paddington - you'll find the front of the set far less busy.

 

[MML]

I've noticed a lot of 2 x 5 cars working down to the West Country via Dawlish.
Why were these units specified as 5 car to work in multiples, when a 9-car would have sufficed with less wasted space and expense on drivers cabs.
Do these units ever split enroute with the first and second portions serving different final destinations ?

 

[Speed43125]

I've noticed a lot of 2 x 5 cars working down to the West Country via Dawlish.
Why were these units specified as 5 car to work in multiples, when a 9-car would have sufficed with less wasted space and expense on drivers cabs.
Do these units ever split enroute with the first and second portions serving different final destinations ?

The units were indeed ordered with a higher number of splits and joins than has occurred in mind.
The DfT, at least at the time, is/was very big on splitting and joining, which is brilliant on paper into busy stations, but operationally more tricky.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Thank you for all your replies and interesting info.

 

[221129]

Do these units ever split enroute with the first and second portions serving different final destinations ?

Yes.

 

[Horizon22]

I've noticed a lot of 2 x 5 cars working down to the West Country via Dawlish.
Why were these units specified as 5 car to work in multiples, when a 9-car would have sufficed with less wasted space and expense on drivers cabs.
Do these units ever split enroute with the first and second portions serving different final destinations ?

The DfT reckoned the demand would not be there between Plymouth - Penzance for a whole 9-car with some concern about stabling capacity. In addition HST 2+4 car sets supplement the service. This is good and makes sense most of the year round however in the Summer can cause issues, especially with social distancing and more people taking UK holidays.

 

[MML]

The DfT reckoned the demand would not be there between Plymouth - Penzance for a whole 9-car with some concern about stabling capacity. In addition HST 2+4 car sets supplement the service. This is good and makes sense most of the year round however in the Summer can cause issues, especially with social distancing and more people taking UK holidays.

Very interesting thank you.
So what other services start as 2 x 5-car at Paddington and regularly split during their journey ? I knew this practice was common on the Southern region, but hadn't realised it was happening on GWR services. I'm not from the area.

 

[JN114]

Very interesting thank you.
So what other services start as 2 x 5-car at Paddington and regularly split during their journey ? I knew this practice was common on the Southern region, but hadn't realised it was happening on GWR services. I'm not from the area.

S Wales services that run beyond Swansea invariably are 10 cars that split at Swansea, as 5 is the longest permitted west thereof

Some peak extensions of Bristols west of Temple Meads are 10 to Bristol, 5 beyond

 

[221129]

S Wales services that run beyond Swansea invariably are 10 cars that split at Swansea, as 5 is the longest permitted west thereof

Some peak extensions of Bristols west of Temple Meads are 10 to Bristol, 5 beyond

And some Penznace services run as 10 to Plymouth then 5 through Cornwall.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

All went well with my recent journeys on the new GWR trains which were 9 carriages both ways, the sound of the electric traction reminded me of the TGVs and ICEs in Europe when they get up to speed. (I also noticed what appeared to be a GWR 125 at Yatton Station on Saturday evening, I think was going towards the Bristol Direction. (Mind you I had been at the lovely Pub opposite that Station).

 

[Horizon22]

Very interesting thank you.
So what other services start as 2 x 5-car at Paddington and regularly split during their journey ? I knew this practice was common on the Southern region, but hadn't realised it was happening on GWR services. I'm not from the area.

Very few except some peak special services (extensions to Carmathen for instance in S. Wales)