That winds up passengers
www.bbc.co.uk
5F03 failed at depot this morning, so not really a shortage issue. Prepping a new train was probably unfeasible due to the delay it would cause, so a 450 was split from 2F05 with the latter running 8 v 12.
They are talking about operational decisions to run fast in disruption, which is slightly different to this case. Unfortunately it is a case of the lesser of the two evils. Control do take into account whether alternatives are available in these decisions in most cases (yes sometimes mistakes do occur) so it isn't as simple as "if x late then run fast here to here", but it will always annoy someone either their train is run fast and they have to wait for the next one, or the passengers on the next journey (plus additional services further impacted as a result) suffer delays. No easy answer to that as we all know. (The ultimate answer to that is more reliable infrastructure and rolling stock, plus more resilient staffing, but we all know that usually costs money.)That winds up passengers
South Western Railway losing £45.5m revenue from fare evasion
South Western Railway was the first company to be renationalised by the Labour government in May.
It has just been resignalled so never say never, although if memory serves me correctly there are also power supply problems also.
Weren't the issues around Clapham or Earlsfield area for 442s?
I seem to remember someone here saying that the 12 car tests were a success and that the main issue was length (might be misremembering).
Yes, signalling equipment interference from the traction package.
I never went on them, but I have heard they were nice passenger experience wise (although maybe not for the actual staff who worked on/with them), the 458s still havent been put on Portsmouth though... At least the 442s ran to Portsmouth in service.
They used to be. The GatEx interior was awful in my opinion but the refurb SWR did was OK, nothing outstanding, but most importantly those trains were way past their best (traction packages were 50+ years old) and were becoming more and more costly to maintain, so they needed to go especially with the collapse in passenger numbers at the start of the pandemic.
Comfort wise they were better than 450s, but they could not keep to the timetable at all, were unreliable and very poor for accessibility. If you valued arriving on time, or couldn't manage the big, narrow step up in to a 442, you probably preferred a 450.
Was covered in August, post #4,366 below gives a brief summary. Would still be good to see 12 car 458/4s on a few PDL peak services at least, an 8 car 450 wasn't really cutting it today.
Oh yeah I remember hearing that they weren't allowed through the slow platforms or something like that (might be why all the ECS to/from Wimbledon depot use the fast, although maybe thats just a normal thing, haven't looked.)
Didn't they also originally use traction equipment from stock from the 1930s? (which I think was then put on the stock the 442 took them from.)
Did they not alter the timetable to cater to the 442s? I think I saw somewhere that SWR widened the 442 doors for accessibility reasons, but the step up I guess is harder to fix.
The doors were the same when they went for scrap as they were when they were new.
Oh, maybe I am misremembering.
Perhaps you're confusing them with the 455s. Prior to the SWT refurbishment the doors did not fully open to the full width of the door aperture. This was addressed with the refurb.
This is a logical solution and should be explored. SWT were happy to dedicate a sub fleet for the HC 450s, so I don’t see the issue with the above either. Good shout. With some nice fancy branding and a bit of PR, it could be spun into a service improvement. Network SouthEast were able to with the 8DIGs quite effectively from memory of the “Capital Coast Express”
blood and custard covers this wonderfully as usual, below:
Possibly, but if they didn't open the full width before, I can't imagine how small the open part must have been.
Interesting, didn't know most of that.
Narrower than it is now! The Southern ones didn't receive the modification.
This photo on Flickr shows a South West Trains Class 455 pre-refurbishment, with a passenger door in the open position and showing they didn’t open all the way. It also shows the location of vertical interior poles that would have been in the way of passenger flow if they did.
Made worse by the ridiculous placement of the retrofit power sockets (which I've never once seen being used) which either force your leg into weirder positions or you constantly bash your shin against.
Yes, they did make it worse. Before they were added, I could rest my outer foot on top of the ducts, but those socket boxes block that option completely.
The traction equipment used in the 442s was from the 4REPs that used to propel one or two 4TCs. So those four car 4REPs had the right amount of power to move twelve Mk1 coaches on the SWR mainline to Bournemouth. The 4REPs were 1960s vintage and had similar/same traction equipment to the class 73 locomotives. Using that traction equipment made the class 442s affordable. The UK railways have been scrimping and saving since the 1960s !.
I’ve been pressing for the 350s to be retractioned and reseated to 2 + 2.
paulbigland.blog
Good luck with (I assume you mean) the 350/2s ? AIUI they are another fleet of AC EMUs which are going to moulder and corrode in a field because of he barmy rolling stock procurement system on UK railways. There as a glimmer of hope earlier this year when there were hints of SWR leasing them fitted with batteries for the Waterloo-Exeter service, but that has gone quiet.
This photo on Flickr shows a South West Trains Class 455 pre-refurbishment, with a passenger door in the open position and showing they didn’t open all the way. It also shows the location of vertical interior poles that would have been in the way of passenger flow if they did.
That seems like some truly bad design...This website demonstrates it perfectly. Scroll down quite a long way for the comparison photos. As built, they had vertical grab poles just inside the doors as well.
The end of the line beckons. Southern’s BR built Class 455s.
As it’s been announced that Southern will be retiring its BR built Class 455 units by the end of the year I thought I’d compile a picture gallery of the trains in use over the past 20-o…
I'm sure they'll find a way to continue the tradition on the 701s.
Who have you been pressing for that you happen?
I think there are 350s at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence? The DfT and what is to become GBR should get funding to do a project to look at the future of battery trains with the main suppliers to do an evaluation of upgrading Desiros, 458s etc against new trains, plus looking at the 230 fast charge project and the Breeze Hydrogen project?.
