Should more 484 units have been provided for island line services?

[Elshad]

Anyone else think 5 units is cutting it a bit too thin? A 30-minute service will require 4 units during the peak, leaving just one unit spare (i.e. not even a full 4-car train). I would have thought an extra unit (for a total of 6) would have provided more resilience for when things go wrong.

 

[swt_passenger]

Anyone else think 5 units is cutting it a bit too thin? A 30-minute service will require 4 units during the peak, leaving just one unit spare (i.e. not even a full 4-car train). I would have thought an extra unit (for a total of 6) would have provided more surplus capacity for when things go wrong.

They don’t intend running them in pairs normally, it will only be 2 from 5 in use.

 

[Goldfish62]

They don’t intend running them in pairs normally, it will only be 2 from 5 in use.

And even if four were routinely run in service having one spare for this small number of units seems perfectly reasonable to me.

 

[Gloster]

Even before the losses caused by the changes of the last year or so, they were only going to need four-car sets on a few summer Saturdays and Bank Holidays. It should be possible to arrange maintenance schedules so that a maximum of only one set is out of use on these days.

 

[MotCO]

Even before the losses caused by the changes of the last year or so, they were only going to need four-car sets on a few summer Saturdays and Bank Holidays. It should be possible to arrange maintenance schedules so that a maximum of only one set is out of use on these days.

Doesn't leave much scope for cannibalisation if they are to last as long as the 483s

 

[43096]

Doesn't leave much scope for cannibalisation if they are to last as long as the 483s

There's a pile of D stock at Long Marston to rob if needed. It should also be noted that the 484s are much more thoroughly refurbished than the 483s were. They have new AC traction motors (from TSA, I think) and associated control systems, so presumably spares support with be ongoing for some considerable time.

 

[D365]

Doesn't leave much scope for cannibalisation if they are to last as long as the 483s

The difference being that Vivarail is a going concern and will be able to support the units for a lot longer.

 

[Goldfish62]

Doesn't leave much scope for cannibalisation if they are to last as long as the 483s

Only the bodyshells are original. Even the bogies are only around 15 years old.

 

[Dstock7080]

Only the bodyshells are original. Even the bogies are only around 15 years old.

new bogies were fitted between July 2000 and April 2002.

 

[BayPaul]

Doesn't leave much scope for cannibalisation if they are to last as long as the 483s

I would imagine that once the D train program wind's down there will still be plenty of spare parts and SWR will buy an appropriate amount of the critical parts before the rest of the trains go for scrap.

 

[Goldfish62]

new bogies were fitted between July 2000 and April 2002.

So, to correct my post: "Even the bogies are only around 20 years old."

 

[swt_passenger]

So, to correct my post: "Even the bogies are only around 20 years old."

But on the plus side have had about 5 years rest between LU and SWR use…

 

[Goldfish62]

But on the plus side have had about 5 years rest between LU and SWR use…

Good point!

 

[Mikey C]

The difference being that Vivarail is a going concern and will be able to support the units for a lot longer.

What will happen to Vivarail once they've sold all the D78s they have? Will they still be around in 20 years?

 

[D365]

What will happen to Vivarail once they've sold all the D78s they have? Will they still be around in 20 years?

They're moving towards becoming a battery technology specialist. @Woods has kindly quoted a Modern Railways article here.

 

[Mikey C]

They're moving towards becoming a battery technology specialist. @Woods has kindly quoted a Modern Railways article here.

Interesting, considering the initial plans seemed mainly about converting D78s into DMUs!

 

[coppercapped]

Interesting, considering the initial plans seemed mainly about converting D78s into DMUs!

This of course is the big ugly secret of private companies - they have to adapt to the market...

...and as quickly as possible.

 

[D365]

Interesting, considering the initial plans seemed mainly about converting D78s into DMUs!

Don't think it took them all that long to realise that diesel conversions would be a dead-end market.

 

[Domh245]

Don't think it took them all that long to realise that diesel conversions would be a dead-end market.

Diesel has proven to be a dead-end market, but so has D-train generally, in the UK - there seems to be little appetite for it any more (probably not helped by observations of Marston Vale, and the host of delays in all fleets entering service), nor any suitable routes not due anything better

 

[birchesgreen]

Its the low top speed which keeps it a niche, the vast majority of lines it won't be suitable because of that.

 

[MarkyT]

Interesting, considering the initial plans seemed mainly about converting D78s into DMUs!

A very reasonable strategy if they were looking for an initial bootstrapping project to provide some income while expertise is gained and consolidated.