If this is true and they are not permitted to work as 12 cars, so why have they been returned to their previous guise and to 100mph status when there are obviously now no plans to put them on the PDML, and just wasted money when they could have simply done an internal refresh and repaint and left them as 5-car units, able to work as 10-cars, as they have done since 2014
This has been answered several times on this thread, but obviously not expecting you to trawl back through 3000 posts.
Also worth mentioning (unconfirmed) - that the 458s needed to be returned in the state they were delivered by the lessor? I.e. four car units, geared etc. Again, Alstom did do the work but you never know about devil being in the detail - Alston being paid for the work to extend to /5 but reminding them when they get returned they need to be in the condition delivered.
Alstom don’t own the units…
5Q95 and 5Q97 in RTT today, but not activated.Realtime Trains | 5Q95 1217 Wimbledon Park Depot Sdgs to Wimbledon Park Depot Sdgs | 12/06/2024
Real-time train running information for 5Q95 1217 departure from Wimbledon Park Depot Sdgs to Wimbledon Park Depot Sdgs on 12/06/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.www.realtimetrains.co.uk
Just passed 5Q95 Wimbledon Park depot to Woking and back. Operated by a 458/4 but don't ask me which unit!
The 458/5 and 458/4 modification programmes were done by owner Porterbrook after they had agreed contracts for the revised fleets with SWT/SWR/DfT. As such new leases were signed to reflect this.
I can only think the rumour stemmed from the fact that, had the units been returned to Porterbrook, their 75 mph limit would have hampered finding new homes. The only way to return them to 100 mph is indeed to remove a coach.
Now activated for 2 return runs. Guess easier to test to Woking rather than Hounslow
It was part of SWT's Grand Plan to make a fully 10-car railway - the fact that the class 460 vehicles were available was a way of acheiving this. The plan also involved leasing the 456s (to work with the 455s) and the new class 707s. The retractioning of the 455s was part of this, intended to reduce maintenance, thereby freeing up workshop capacity for the larger fleet. So was the extension of many platforms on the network, notably at Waterloo 1-4 (previously only platform 5 on the suburban side could take a ten-car train).
Thank you my friend, really appreciate that someone knows what was what back then. For further clarity part of the reason there were still 3 x 8-450 diagrams on the Readings and a number of 8 car 455s still bouncing around at the end of said project, was that the order for 707's (which was 30 units/27 traffic) in the event, was the least expensive for 'The Department'. Plans for 36 and 40 x 707 were also submitted......I will say no more!
Indeed. And imagine the chaos if those services were still running with SWR's rolling stock shortage.
And don't forget all the cuts to the Reading service which is now 1/2 hourly throughout the day.
Crushed into a sweltering 4 car 455 at 17.10 from Wimbledon to Epsom yesterday, it definitely felt like there is a stock shortage. This service should be 8 and ideally 10 cars.
Well of course it does.
I'm surprised the PIS is even still compliant with current standards. It's a 30 year old design conceived before GPS came into general use. Stations can't be edited in or out in the event of disruption or engineering alterations. The system has to be switched off instead. Plus, on the 50% of occasions it's actually working it seems incredibly flaky, being based on wheel revolutions and gets out of sequence frequently.
Indeed, original PIS, Door Chimes and Toilets remain. This has been a carpet and new seats job, sadly not extending above the heater covers or dado rails. Even a lot of the cab stickers so far remain unchanged.
Are they at least changing the PIS voice even if they are keeping the same PIS system? I know on the 158 159 444 450 455 they have very recently swapped Celia Drummond to Elinor Hamilton so i presume they will do the same with these? Although i would be happy if they kept the same voice. The old announcements sound a lot better.
It's probably just as well they aren't having a more thorough refurbishment given it appears there's no long-term use for these trains.
That is a good point. Maybe on the Axion system it is a simpler procedure than the Alsthom system. Although they did change the PIS from the Unknown Male to Celia Drummond during the 458/0 to 458/5 project. So it seems like changing the voice from Celia Drummond to Elinor Hamilton is possible if they wish to do it for the 458/5 to 458/4 project.
Unknown Male also known as Juniper Man. There was something vaguely sinister about his voice.
