Thameslink/ Class 700 Progress

[spark001uk]

The way the diagrams work is a unit will go Bedford-brighton-Bedford-three bridges- Bedford and around again. So units come from one to the other.
They can not be reset from the cab or by the driver.

OK cheers. So re: sockets, that a depot job then? I'm guessing the reset is in the undercarriage somewhere?

 

[J-2739]

Also, do the 8 car 700s have a chance of turning up on the BML? I just checked that my return 12:05 journey is on a 700, but it's diagramed to go through Sutton. Does that mean my service will be an 8 car?

 

[westcoaster]

OK cheers. So re: sockets, that a depot job then? I'm guessing the reset is in the undercarriage somewhere?

Not 100% most likely a Siemens tech job.

 

[westcoaster]

Also, do the 8 car 700s have a chance of turning up on the BML? I just checked that my return 12:05 journey is on a 700, but it's diagramed to go through Sutton. Does that mean my service will be an 8 car?

A mixture of 8 and 12 cars. Will be An 8 car but maybe a 377 or 700.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Reported on a Yahoogroup as having been seen in France today en route for the UK is 700 117.

 

[J-2739]

A mixture of 8 and 12 cars. Will be An 8 car but maybe a 377 or 700.

Okay, cheers!!

Hope it's a 700, as I've already had a 377 on the outbound!

 

[westcoaster]

700120 and 033 are now out on commissioning runs.
700116 has been moved across to cricklewood.

It seems to me units are delivered to hornsey, moved across to cricklewood where they start mileage runs, then down to three bridges for final mileage and acceptance.

 

[spark001uk]

I saw 120 this afternoon on its run. 3Z16 I think it was.

 

[samuelmorris]

Still seeing 319s on Brighton services, to the point where now people are actually asking me if it's genuinely a Brighton service - given that they're so often 700/377s and there's no PIS in the 319s to check themselves, I can understand the confusion.

 

[notverydeep]

I have just passed an FLU on the GN driver training train (3Z61 0800 Hornsey to Royston) passing Welham Green. I couldn't see the number from 2T93 I'm afraid...

 

[Max]

Have there been some 700 failures of late? 0818 BMS-BDM was a 319 this morning and has reliably been a 700 for the past few months.

 

[Alteran Ancient]

Have there been some 700 failures of late? 0818 BMS-BDM was a 319 this morning and has reliably been a 700 for the past few months.

I've had that a few times - it tends to be a throw of the dice. I've had a couple of 319s on the 0818 BMS starter in particular despite having had a 700 on it previously.

I know that previously they had a 319 sitting spare in Bedford CS for whoever turned up to drive the preceding service from Luton in case a driver arrived that hasn't yet been signed-off to drive a 700.

Although, by now, I wouldn't expect that to be an excuse any longer.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Have TL got many drivers left to do their training and get signed off on the 700s?

 

[westcoaster]

Have TL got many drivers left to do their training and get signed off on the 700s?

No all TL drivers are signed up and competent, even trainees with no hours are 700 trainee straight from the classroom.

 

[jon0844]

Noticed when passing that at least one 700 near Hornsey is now free of Thameslink branding on the side. No Great Northern logo as yet, but can't be long...

 

[Skimble19]

Noticed when passing that at least one 700 near Hornsey is now free of Thameslink branding on the side. No Great Northern logo as yet, but can't be long...

Why would it get Great Northern logos? It's probably just had them removed ready for the new TL logo to be applied.. considering how long it took to arrange the current logo change on the units I can't see GN logos being applied for the short time the services they operate will be classed as GN rather than TL.

Then again, this is GTR, so I'm ready to be proved totally wrong

 

[jon0844]

The last time I saw one parked up, it already had the new Thameslink/ logo but you might be right.

 

[John1975]

2 x RLU enter service Monday 31st July
2 x RLU enter service Monday 7th August
3 x RLU enter service Monday 14th August
2 x RLU enter service Monday 22nd August

August on-track to be the final month of class 319 operation on Thameslink.

 

[Trainspotter74]

2 x RLU enter service Monday 31st July
2 x RLU enter service Monday 7th August
3 x RLU enter service Monday 14th August
2 x RLU enter service Monday 22nd August

August on-track to be the final month of class 319 operation on Thameslink.

Thanks for the info. Any date on the last 377s?

 

[Blindtraveler]

Appologies if I have missed it, or anything related to it but it was reported on this thread a few weeks ago that 3 Bridges was full of broken 700s, is it still? Or have they become unbroken ones now?

 

[ajb690]

Appologies if I have missed it, or anything related to it but it was reported on this thread a few weeks ago that 3 Bridges was full of broken 700s, is it still? Or have they become unbroken ones now?

I have no inside information, but there seemed to be far fewer trains parked up when I went past today, if that helps.

 

[jon0844]

Doesn't Siemens take the hit for delay minutes attributed to a unit fault? If so, I'm sure they're working very hard to resolve all issues.

 

[gsnedders]

Finally got on a 700 today, albeit only from Blackfrairs to St Pancras.

It... really didn't seem that bad. Legroom is slightly tight, but that's true on must suburban services, and the seats are hard but suit me fine, and yes it's offset a bit too far over by the window given the indent there. To me, they seem totally fine as suburban trains, though really quite unsuited for some of the longer runs (London to Brighton I can imagine getting annoyed at the lack of a table on or wanting more legroom to use a laptop, for example, or similarly London to Cambridge; I don't think it's too worth worrying about the longest possible journeys given that accounts for so few people).

 

[AM9]

Doesn't Siemens take the hit for delay minutes attributed to a unit fault? If so, I'm sure they're working very hard to resolve all issues.

I would imagine that Siemens take a hit for an established unit defect but until it is classified as such it would be recorded as an in-service failure or a unit fault which would trigger the investigation to establish whether the failure was attributable to their equipment as opposed to a system issue which may involve infrastructure or even staff actions.

 

[Hadders]

Finally got on a 700 today, albeit only from Blackfrairs to St Pancras.

It... really didn't seem that bad. Legroom is slightly tight, but that's true on must suburban services, and the seats are hard but suit me fine, and yes it's offset a bit too far over by the window given the indent there. To me, they seem totally fine as suburban trains, though really quite unsuited for some of the longer runs (London to Brighton I can imagine getting annoyed at the lack of a table on or wanting more legroom to use a laptop, for example, or similarly London to Cambridge; I don't think it's too worth worrying about the longest possible journeys given that accounts for so few people).

But many passengers will travel on them for well over an hour. Peterborough and Cambridge semi fasts for example.

A true bargain basement interior in my opinion.

 

[gsnedders]

But many passengers will travel on them for well over an hour. Peterborough and Cambridge semi fasts for example.

A true bargain basement interior in my opinion.

See the second half of my post where I called them "quite unsuited for some of the longer runs"!

 

[physics34]

But many passengers will travel on them for well over an hour. Peterborough and Cambridge semi fasts for example.

A true bargain basement interior in my opinion.

and as we said before... Littlehampton to Farringdon for example will be nearly 2 hours.

 

[Trainspotter74]

But many passengers will travel on them for well over an hour. Peterborough and Cambridge semi fasts for example.

A true bargain basement interior in my opinion.

Absolutely. It's almost as if they modelled the interior on LU S stock, added a couple of toilets and didn't realise that a lot of people will spend a lot longer on it than the average tube journey.

The amount of time we have waited for new trains on Thameslink and they quite clearly have not thought them through. Wish we could have just kept the 377/387s instead.

 

[F Great Eastern]

It's really a shame the DFT picked such a bad layout though, because with the right layout the trains would be pretty amazing, the good PIS, the good air-con, the great build quality of the interior, the fast doors and the very smooth running,

I still think they're overall a good train, just let down by the incompetence of the DFT.

 

[Bald Rick]

It's really a shame the DFT picked such a bad layout though, because with the right layout the trains would be pretty amazing, the good PIS, the good air-con, the great build quality of the interior, the fast doors and the very smooth running,

I still think they're overall a good train, just let down by the incompetence of the DFT.

Would that be the same DfT incompetence that specified the PIS, the air con, the fast doors, the ride quality and the acceleration characteristics?