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Thameslink/ Class 700 Progress

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trainmania100

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Haven't seen a 707 import recently
Wonder what's happened with them.
Meanwhile on the Brighton Mainline it's getting rarer to see 377/5s ahahah
I've just noticed this thread has a forward slash after the title thameslink...just like the new thameslink logo - clever that!
 
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Bungle965

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Haven't seen a 707 import recently
Wonder what's happened with them.
Meanwhile on the Brighton Mainline it's getting rarer to see 377/5s ahahah
I've just noticed this thread has a forward slash after the title thameslink...just like the new thameslink logo - clever that!

I think we are coming to the conclusion that the 707s are most likely not going to enter service with South West Trains, however that is a discussion for another thread.
Sam
 

Fincra5

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Haven't seen a 707 import recently
Wonder what's happened with them.
Meanwhile on the Brighton Mainline it's getting rarer to see 377/5s ahahah
I've just noticed this thread has a forward slash after the title thameslink...just like the new thameslink logo - clever that!

More and more 377/5s seem to be appearing at Lovers Walk...
Maybe Siemens have finally fixed issues on the 700s that have been stood down at Bridges
 

physics34

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More and more 377/5s seem to be appearing at Lovers Walk...
Maybe Siemens have finally fixed issues on the 700s that have been stood down at Bridges

stored?
some little rumour that the 377/5s are gonna replace the 313s in july.........

A little mention of 313s being replaced in the latest Gibb report.

"The next choice is whether to remove the 19 Coastway Class 313 3 car units in July, 2017, as
proposed by GTR, and replace them with Class 377s. These Class 313s have no toilets, and are
third rail only. This would enable an improvement in the passenger experience and further
extension of DOO to all these services; Class 313s require conductors on GTR. The alternative is
to transfer up to 20 Class 377s to South Eastern (as per their proposal to DfT of 21st December,
2016) to provide additional passenger capacity. Whilst depot capacity exists on South Eastern to
accommodate this rolling stock, principally at Grove Park and Victoria Grosvenor sidings, £2m is
required to improve facilities at the latter to accommodate more overnight activity, so the decision
must take that into account. I recommend the transfer third rail only Class 377/1s to South
Eastern, as the dual voltage units are most usefully retained on the GTR network. "
 
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aleggatta

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The /5's are transferring to Lovers from bedford whilst they are still required on thameslink, in order to close Bedford down, that is why they are on more BML routes currently.
 

Brian Aylott

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The /5's are transferring to Lovers from bedford whilst they are still required on thameslink, in order to close Bedford down, that is why they are on more BML routes currently.

What is/was the date of the closure of Cauldwell for maintenance with the remaining fleet transferred to BI/SU?
With the 700 acceptance delays is this postponed?
Brian
 

387star

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stored?
some little rumour that the 377/5s are gonna replace the 313s in july.........

A little mention of 313s being replaced in the latest Gibb report.

"The next choice is whether to remove the 19 Coastway Class 313 3 car units in July, 2017, as
proposed by GTR, and replace them with Class 377s. These Class 313s have no toilets, and are
third rail only. This would enable an improvement in the passenger experience and further
extension of DOO to all these services; Class 313s require conductors on GTR. The alternative is
to transfer up to 20 Class 377s to South Eastern (as per their proposal to DfT of 21st December,
2016) to provide additional passenger capacity. Whilst depot capacity exists on South Eastern to
accommodate this rolling stock, principally at Grove Park and Victoria Grosvenor sidings, £2m is
required to improve facilities at the latter to accommodate more overnight activity, so the decision
must take that into account. I recommend the transfer third rail only Class 377/1s to South
Eastern, as the dual voltage units are most usefully retained on the GTR network. "

Although the 313s have just had a refurb the 377s will be welcomed by passengers it does seem an obvious swap given the numbers of new trains now avaliable

However if any 377 still go to southeastern southern will need extra stock still?
 
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Fincra5

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stored?
some little rumour that the 377/5s are gonna replace the 313s in july.........

A little mention of 313s being replaced in the latest Gibb report.

"The next choice is whether to remove the 19 Coastway Class 313 3 car units in July, 2017, as
proposed by GTR, and replace them with Class 377s. These Class 313s have no toilets, and are
third rail only. This would enable an improvement in the passenger experience and further
extension of DOO to all these services; Class 313s require conductors on GTR. The alternative is
to transfer up to 20 Class 377s to South Eastern (as per their proposal to DfT of 21st December,
2016) to provide additional passenger capacity. Whilst depot capacity exists on South Eastern to
accommodate this rolling stock, principally at Grove Park and Victoria Grosvenor sidings, £2m is
required to improve facilities at the latter to accommodate more overnight activity, so the decision
must take that into account. I recommend the transfer third rail only Class 377/1s to South
Eastern, as the dual voltage units are most usefully retained on the GTR network. "

There was that suggestion but I believe it has been shelved for the time being. SE need stock and the /5s might go there. 313s are also DIRT cheap to lease.

The closing of Bedford would explain why more /5s are down on La Costa Del Brighton.
 

physics34

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There was that suggestion but I believe it has been shelved for the time being. SE need stock and the /5s might go there. 313s are also DIRT cheap to lease.

The closing of Bedford would explain why more /5s are down on La Costa Del Brighton.
Cheers for that info. Yeh weve still got to figure out where the displaced 377/5s and the spare southern 377s ( displaced by 700s by the end of the year) will be off to.
 
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Cheers for that info. Yeh weve still got to figure out where the displaced 377/5s and the spare southern 377s ( displaced by 700s by the end of the year) will be off to.

Apparently the 377/5s will be off 'shortly' to Southeastern as they are needed there urgently and the reliability of the 700s have improved a little. Don't know how long 'shortly' is though.
 

D365

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Cheers for that info. Yeh weve still got to figure out where the displaced 377/5s and the spare southern 377s ( displaced by 700s by the end of the year) will be off to.

Are Southern actually getting rid of any?
 

Fincra5

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Cheers for that info. Yeh weve still got to figure out where the displaced 377/5s and the spare southern 377s ( displaced by 700s by the end of the year) will be off to.

More 377s will probably be used to reduce the use of the 455s. But then 700s havent taken over many SN services yet as they're full of issues lol.

Thing is the DfT seem to change their mind on what they want GTR stock to do every other day! :roll::lol:
 

physics34

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More 377s will probably be used to reduce the use of the 455s. But then 700s havent taken over many SN services yet as they're full of issues lol.

Thing is the DfT seem to change their mind on what they want GTR stock to do every other day! :roll::lol:

yeh... 700s to replace 377s on Horshams and Brightons delayed til november, the last i heard.
 

physics34

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Are Southern actually getting rid of any?

apart from the 8x377/5 at SE on loan, im not sure.......

Its clear SE need new stock and when all 700s are running its clear Southern will have some spare 377s
 

asylumxl

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Regarding the closure of Bedford Cauldwell, I assume trains will still be stabled in sidings overnight in Bedford? Will there be any reduction in number of trains stabled north of the core?
 

westcoaster

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Regarding the closure of Bedford Cauldwell, I assume trains will still be stabled in sidings overnight in Bedford? Will there be any reduction in number of trains stabled north of the core?

No it will stay as is, Cauldwell to be used as a stableing point.
 

Sunset route

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What hass happened to the maqintenance staff that worked at Cauldwell? More jobs imported into the south east I assume?

And so the circle completes, as I do believe that Southern in its former non GTR guise built and staffed Caldwell to allow the 319 maintenance to leave Selhurst to to make space for the new 377 and 171 that were arriving in greater numbers (unless it was a political decision). The Depot was then transferred at a later date to FCC and the staff were TUPE across.

Three Bridges is up and running and so now is Hornsey, so just wondering how many staff were offered transfers to these new locations and how many chose that option. The rest would be looking at other jobs within the company or work elsewhere.
 

ijmad

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I noticed the ride on the 700s seems very 'firm' compared to some of the other Thameslink stock. Is this just new train syndrome or is it deliberate design thanks to improved suspension technology or some other choice made?
 

samuelmorris

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First time doing a longer journey on 700s for a while this afternoon with a return trip to Haywards Heath. Door release and PIS seemed to be working properly on all three units I used, though the short platform announcement was played at East Croydon which I thought was odd for an 8-car unit. Sure enough, despite the announcement, doors in the eighth coach did open. The DVA was silenced after this message played, but only after the offending message had finished. 'Due to a short platform, the doors in this coach will not open. Please move forward to leave the train. This is East Cr....' - not sure what happened there.

What I did notice, the units are getting pretty filthy inside and out so presumably aren't being cleaned on a very regular basis. Further supporting this, of the two 12-car units I used, one had two toilets out of service, the other was missing three. Presumably they aren't emptied very often? 70 min journey back from HHE to Farringdon this evening though and so far no ill effects from the seats. I do always go for a bay seat, though.
 

theageofthetra

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First time doing a longer journey on 700s for a while this afternoon with a return trip to Haywards Heath. Door release and PIS seemed to be working properly on all three units I used, though the short platform announcement was played at East Croydon which I thought was odd for an 8-car unit. Sure enough, despite the announcement, doors in the eighth coach did open. The DVA was silenced after this message played, but only after the offending message had finished. 'Due to a short platform, the doors in this coach will not open. Please move forward to leave the train. This is East Cr....' - not sure what happened there.

What I did notice, the units are getting pretty filthy inside and out so presumably aren't being cleaned on a very regular basis. Further supporting this, of the two 12-car units I used, one had two toilets out of service, the other was missing three. Presumably they aren't emptied very often? 70 min journey back from HHE to Farringdon this evening though and so far no ill effects from the seats. I do always go for a bay seat, though.

Incredible-a brand new train & hardly any toilets are working.
 

urpert

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First time doing a longer journey on 700s for a while this afternoon with a return trip to Haywards Heath. Door release and PIS seemed to be working properly on all three units I used, though the short platform announcement was played at East Croydon which I thought was odd for an 8-car unit. Sure enough, despite the announcement, doors in the eighth coach did open. The DVA was silenced after this message played, but only after the offending message had finished. 'Due to a short platform, the doors in this coach will not open. Please move forward to leave the train. This is East Cr....' - not sure what happened there.

What I did notice, the units are getting pretty filthy inside and out so presumably aren't being cleaned on a very regular basis. Further supporting this, of the two 12-car units I used, one had two toilets out of service, the other was missing three. Presumably they aren't emptied very often? 70 min journey back from HHE to Farringdon this evening though and so far no ill effects from the seats. I do always go for a bay seat, though.

I agree about the state of the interior - already looking scruffier than FCC's 319s ever did. The inconspicuous bins seem to be completely ignored by passengers which isn't a problem on other stock in the same area. (Networkers seem to have the best bin arrangements.)
 

Blindtraveler

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And when I rode 006 the other day there was even a piece of flooring coming up near one of the coach ends.

I awate the wear/tear on the new 345s with interest.
 

FlippyFF

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Are 700s planned to run either in or out of service to Ashford International? Diamond shaped 'ALL' boards have appeared at the north end of P5&6. I don't know about the south end or the other platforms (yet).

Simon
 

swt_passenger

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Are 700s planned to run either in or out of service to Ashford International? Diamond shaped 'ALL' boards have appeared at the north end of P5&6. I don't know about the south end or the other platforms (yet).

Yes. The timetable consultation thread has all the exact details, but basically there will be a few peak flow extensions of the Maidstone East route from Ashford morning peak (5 services) and back to Ashford evening peak (2) and then late evening (3). They probably double up as positioning moves to/from a suitable stabling location?
 
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westcoaster

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Are 700s planned to run either in or out of service to Ashford International? Diamond shaped 'ALL' boards have appeared at the north end of P5&6. I don't know about the south end or the other platforms (yet).

Simon

First 700 went to ashford overnight last week.
 

radamfi

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Why does the change of voltage occur at City Thameslink now instead of Farringdon?
 

swt_passenger

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Why does the change of voltage occur at City Thameslink now instead of Farringdon?

They normally only change at City T/L northbound, southbound the change is still at Farringdon, but they could run through to City T/L on AC if needed.

It gives them two bites of the cherry. If an 8 car fails they have the option of taking it out of service and sticking it in the Smithfield sidings. That would cause the least delays all round. If a 12 car fails it can reverse from there back south, or via Farringdon. City T/L also has more space to deal with evacuating a train than Farringdon.

In either direction if failure to change over happens it will be detected before they reach the point where there are the least number of options.
 
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