The peculiar world of NXEA

[theblackwatch]

I've just spent the past two days travelling on 'Anglia Plus' day tickets - no problems with NXEA here, there were no cancellations, all trains ran to time (or only a few minutes down) and it was refreshing to find on-train ticket checks done in a friendly manner.

 

[SprinterMan]

What good did they do at ScotRail?

Wessex Trains, Central Trains, Wales and Borders, Silverlink etc always came across as a sick joke.

The entire Silverlink fleet never had new upholstery apart from maybe the 150s!

This 100%.

While I did have a massive soft spot for CT & 'one' liveries ('one' with rainbow stripes, not with NX white stripe branding), NX are generally ineffectual and do odd things.

The PBO/LWT-LST service were a joke, as they took longer than when a change was required inm the case of the Lowestoft service, and the PBO service just made no sense at all. In the GE timetable they did nothing to differentiate between the 170 services and the LHCS services, which resulted in horrendous overcrowding on 170s and people having to chase them up the platforms (myself included at chelmsford on one or two occasiosns) as LHCS were expected.

"Silverlink" and "Refurbish" are two words I have never heard being used in the same scentence before, and while NX can't be blamed for central as it is quite like the current Northern franchise, I'm pretty sure not many other companies (with the exception of connex) could have done a far worse job.

 

[tbtc]

What good did they do at ScotRail?

Ordered dozens of 170s, doubled frequencies of many of the busiest routes (e.g. Edinburgh - Falkirk - Glasgow was half hourly pre Nat-Ex, Edinburgh - Dunfermline was hourly pre-Nat-Ex)... and that was before the Holyrood Parliament started throwing lots of state money at railways in Scotland.

When they took over they inherited a lot of 150s and some first generation DMUs (117s?) - they made huge improvements, same on Midland Mainline (ordering two new sets of units, doubling London frequencies, new links from London to Burton/ Matlock/ Barnsley etc. Its a shame to see them (appear) on the way out, because they did a lot of good once upon a time.

 

[SprinterMan]

I've just spent the past two days travelling on 'Anglia Plus' day tickets - no problems with NXEA here, there were no cancellations, all trains ran to time (or only a few minutes down) and it was refreshing to find on-train ticket checks done in a friendly manner.

This is the one thing I can't complain about, NX staff have always been very friendly to me, unlike FGW for example.

 

[O L Leigh]

I'm afraid that so much of this thread is regurgitated and years old.

Yes the fleet is a bit of a hotch-potch of liveries, but the number of redundant liveries is reducing. Gone now are the various shades of StanEx blue and WAGN cream, and the numbers of units in FGE grey or Silverlink blue are reducing fast. It's just a good thing that the Cl321s are sound underneath otherwise they could have ended up looking as tatty as the Cl315s did.

Part of that was due to dithering over branding and has since been undermined again with the loss of the franchise, but it has also been caused in part by the sheer size of the fleet. No other operator has had the same daunting task of repainting such a huge fleet. SWT, SET, Southern, London Midland and others have all had the advantage of brand new trains in the new colours directly replacing the majority of the fleet leaving just a few to be treated. Apart from the Cl379s, NXEA have had no new trains delivered.

Graffiti is an issue and is caused in part by the number of units that have to be stabled away from the main depots, the frequency with which they get back to Ilford or other locations where they can be cleaned, workload and, mostly, where the graffiti gets applied. Most of the stuff that remains in place for extended periods (including most of the tags applied to the front of trains) has been applied above the cant rail stripe which means it cannot be removed without an isolation, and this is something that the taggers are clearly aware of. While this can be done on a shed road at Ilford, there is only a finite amount of space in there and huge demands on the resources for maintenance and such. However, while cab front graffiti isn't necessarily dealt with very quickly, it does get removed eventually.

I'm not necessarily attempting to excuse the company, but simply to point out that operationally things are not always easy to achieve. Traditionally East Anglia has always been a bit of a backwater as far as the railway has been concerned with nothing much happening since the 1960s. All the money has gone elsewhere into more exciting projects with any improvements in East Anglia merely being as a consequence of the "trickle down" effect, even relatively recently. For example, the GEML has always been the refuge of stock displaced from the WCML and hasn't seen a brand new coach since the introduction of Mk1 rolling stock. There is a lot of catching up to do and I firmly believe that ANY operator would have faced the same challenges. Sure the branding and livery might have been a bit more consistent by now, but in what other ways would things be any different?

O L Leigh

 

[NXEA!]

I'm afraid that so much of this thread is regurgitated and years old.

Yes the fleet is a bit of a hotch-potch of liveries, but the number of redundant liveries is reducing. Gone now are the various shades of StanEx blue and WAGN cream, and the numbers of units in FGE grey or Silverlink blue are reducing fast. It's just a good thing that the Cl321s are sound underneath otherwise they could have ended up looking as tatty as the Cl315s did.

Part of that was due to dithering over branding and has since been undermined again with the loss of the franchise, but it has also been caused in part by the sheer size of the fleet. No other operator has had the same daunting task of repainting such a huge fleet. SWT, SET, Southern, London Midland and others have all had the advantage of brand new trains in the new colours directly replacing the majority of the fleet leaving just a few to be treated. Apart from the Cl379s, NXEA have had no new trains delivered.

Graffiti is an issue and is caused in part by the number of units that have to be stabled away from the main depots, the frequency with which they get back to Ilford or other locations where they can be cleaned, workload and, mostly, where the graffiti gets applied. Most of the stuff that remains in place for extended periods (including most of the tags applied to the front of trains) has been applied above the cant rail stripe which means it cannot be removed without an isolation, and this is something that the taggers are clearly aware of. While this can be done on a shed road at Ilford, there is only a finite amount of space in there and huge demands on the resources for maintenance and such. However, while cab front graffiti isn't necessarily dealt with very quickly, it does get removed eventually.

I'm not necessarily attempting to excuse the company, but simply to point out that operationally things are not always easy to achieve. Traditionally East Anglia has always been a bit of a backwater as far as the railway has been concerned with nothing much happening since the 1960s. All the money has gone elsewhere into more exciting projects with any improvements in East Anglia merely being as a consequence of the "trickle down" effect, even relatively recently. For example, the GEML has always been the refuge of stock displaced from the WCML and hasn't seen a brand new coach since the introduction of Mk1 rolling stock. There is a lot of catching up to do and I firmly believe that ANY operator would have faced the same challenges. Sure the branding and livery might have been a bit more consistent by now, but in what other ways would things be any different?

O L Leigh

I've got to admit, I think the East Anglia franchise, as well as FCC are the somewhat 'cinderella' franchises of the London area. Apart from the 377's and 379's they have had no new stock in the last 10 years give or take in the case of East Anglia, and are struggling on with a large fleet (huge in the case of East Anglia) of 80's EMU's which are really in need of a thorough overhaul, not just new seat covers and carpets but new seats, new panelling, many things. The 321's are some of the most tatty units on the network I think, and the Norwich-area DMU's never look their smartest. I genuinely think if it was cost efficient enough, we would've seen the 312's fitted with CDL and them solider on for another 20 or so years and no 360's would've been ordered, as the 312's were only around 28 years old when withdrawn and correct me if I'm wrong but I think they have a Mark 2 bodyshell and that would make them exempt from the Mark 1 ban. I think the next franchise holder needs to make a huge investment in the East Anglia franchise. The 321's need to be stripped and gutted completely internally and have a big mechanical overhaul to see them through another 20/30 years, the 360's need a refresh, the 315's need a refresh to see them through until its time for Crossrail, the Mark 3's if they're being kept for 10+ years and not being replaced by the much mooted 444-type EMU's need a thorough overhaul, and the 317's all need a huge overhaul akin to the 321's. The East Anglia DMU's all need a strip back and mechanical overhaul too. The same for FCC, the 317's and 321's need a strip back, the 365's need a refresh, and the 313's need a refresh. That'll help things a lot. Although easier said than done, that's a lot of money needing to be pumped in, and a massive overhaul programme to embark on.

 

[Skimble19]

This alone tells you about NEG. A one (pardon the pun) big identity crisis. DMUs in Anglia and Central livery, class 90s and MK3s along with some class 315s, 317s and 321s in ONE livery, Class 317s in various Stansted express livery's, Class 321s in First Great Eastern Livery, Class 321s in Silverlink County livery, class 360s in that garish blue livery and that is what you will see at Stratford (with the exception of the DMUs) in a 20 minute window. Even Stratford Station has an identity problem because when you arrive at on Platforms 1 and 2 two station signs clearly show Stratford (ONE) on one side and Stratford (NEG) on the other side.

321's alone have four different liveries that I can think of: Silverlink, FGE, NXEA, NX White.. and possibly even a fifth if there are any ONE liveried ones about still?

 

[NXEA!]

321's alone have four different liveries that I can think of: Silverlink, FGE, NXEA, NX White.. and possibly even a fifth if there are any ONE liveried ones about still?

Yes, 321446 George Mullings is still running around in tatty unbranded 'One' livery, saw it 2 days ago.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Nice thread. The staff are excellent. That's about it. The stations out to Sudbury are still in FGE colours. The stations around East London are horrid. The amount of different liveries is astonishing. Their 170s are Ok, the rest of their DMUs need some attention. Most of the newer EMUs are fine, some of the older ones need a clean.

Dare I mention Restaurant Cars?

 

[Skimble19]

Yes, 321446 George Mullings is still running around in tatty unbranded 'One' livery, saw it 2 days ago.

So that means:
153's - Anglia, Possibly ONE
156's - ONE, Various different advertising liveries, NXEA
170's - Anglia, ONE (Are any actually in an NX livery?)
315's - ONE, (Are there any in FGE Blue still?)
317's - ONE, NXEA, NX White, Stansted Express
321's - ONE, FGE, Silverlink, NXEA, NX White
360's - FGE Blue, NXEA
90's & MK3's - ONE, NXEA

Possibly a few more that I've missed.. what a mess.

 

[Tottenham Flyer]

So that means:
153's - Anglia, Possibly ONE
156's - ONE, Various different advertising liveries, NXEA
170's - Anglia, ONE (Are any actually in an NX livery?)
315's - ONE, (Are there any in FGE Blue still?)
317's - ONE, NXEA, NX White, Stansted Express
321's - ONE, FGE, Silverlink, NXEA, NX White
360's - FGE Blue, NXEA
90's & MK3's - ONE, NXEA

Possibly a few more that I've missed.. what a mess.

Just to confirm what you said:

Yes there are 153's in one livery (306 & 314)

Don't forget 156412 & 418 in CT livery. Only 1 in advertising livery- 402.

No 170's in NX livery.

No 315's in FGE blue. All carry debranded "one" livery.

Only 321425 remains in SL livery, and this is long term dud at IL so none running around on the network carry SL.

I wouldn't class Stansted Express a separate livery as all of the 317/7's are in NX silver & White, and the 317/8's are a mixture of NX silver & white & plain White liveries. The dark & light blue liveries don't exist anymore.

 

[SprinterMan]

I've got to admit, I think the East Anglia franchise, as well as FCC are the somewhat 'cinderella' franchises of the London area. Apart from the 377's and 379's they have had no new stock in the last 10 years give or take in the case of East Anglia, and are struggling on with a large fleet (huge in the case of East Anglia) of 80's EMU's which are really in need of a thorough overhaul, not just new seat covers and carpets but new seats, new panelling, many things. The 321's are some of the most tatty units on the network I think, and the Norwich-area DMU's never look their smartest. I genuinely think if it was cost efficient enough, we would've seen the 312's fitted with CDL and them solider on for another 20 or so years and no 360's would've been ordered, as the 312's were only around 28 years old when withdrawn and correct me if I'm wrong but I think they have a Mark 2 bodyshell and that would make them exempt from the Mark 1 ban. I think the next franchise holder needs to make a huge investment in the East Anglia franchise. The 321's need to be stripped and gutted completely internally and have a big mechanical overhaul to see them through another 20/30 years, the 360's need a refresh, the 315's need a refresh to see them through until its time for Crossrail, the Mark 3's if they're being kept for 10+ years and not being replaced by the much mooted 444-type EMU's need a thorough overhaul, and the 317's all need a huge overhaul akin to the 321's. The East Anglia DMU's all need a strip back and mechanical overhaul too. The same for FCC, the 317's and 321's need a strip back, the 365's need a refresh, and the 313's need a refresh. That'll help things a lot. Although easier said than done, that's a lot of money needing to be pumped in, and a massive overhaul programme to embark on.

This completely.

On a slightly off-topic note, I did Stormarket-Norwich the other day and I thought the seats in the Mark 3s were appaling. They were low-backed (which i hate) and the arm rests are enormous and are fixed in the down position. I tried to sit at a window table seat and I fell over and I think i may have done some muscular damage to my leg. Honest to god, I would prefer 360s on NOR-LST unless the Mark 3s get a (I know this won't be popular) FGW style refurb.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Just to confirm what you said:

Yes there are 153's in one livery (306 & 314)

Don't forget 156412 & 418 in CT livery. Only 1 in advertising livery- 402.

No 170's in NX livery.

No 315's in FGE blue. All carry debranded "one" livery.

Only 321425 remains in SL livery, and this is long term dud at IL so none running around on the network carry SL.

I wouldn't class Stansted Express a separate livery as all of the 317/7's are in NX silver & White, and the 317/8's are a mixture of NX silver & white & plain White liveries. The dark & light blue liveries don't exist anymore.

Of the 170s, I think either all or all but 1 of the 3-car ones are in debranded 'one' colours, and all the two car 170s are in anglia colours, apart from 170270, which is in debranded one colours, except the roof is still in anglia colours and the bodyside grey is darker than normal, so the vinyls that cover the rainbow stripes look like they are the wrong colour.

On the DVTs, the rainbow stripes have definately been painted over as the paint has peeled off on some of them, I saw one at norwich with the red & yellow stripes on one side clearly visible.

 

[gogogoadam]

What good did they do at ScotRail?

Wessex Trains, Central Trains, Wales and Borders, Silverlink etc always came across as a sick joke.

The entire Silverlink fleet never had new upholstery apart from maybe the 150s!

There was nothing wrong with Wessex Trains ! In fact I was looking forward to seeing 'Alphaline' HSTs if they had won the Greater Western franchise!!

Adam

 

[387star]

The FGW HST refurbishment is spot on!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

 

[Skimble19]

This completely.

On a slightly off-topic note, I did Stormarket-Norwich the other day and I thought the seats in the Mark 3s were appaling. They were low-backed (which i hate) and the arm rests are enormous and are fixed in the down position. I tried to sit at a window table seat and I fell over and I think i may have done some muscular damage to my leg. Honest to god, I would prefer 360s on NOR-LST unless the Mark 3s get a (I know this won't be popular) FGW style refurb.

Ahh, that'll be the delightful IC70 seats that many people on here adore.. suggest replacing them at your peril! (For the record: I can't stand the bloody things!)

 

[jopsuk]

The rainbow stripes were definitely painted, not vinlyed, over on the 317s- tended to show after a graffiti attack cleanup.

 

[SprinterMan]

The rainbow stripes were definitely painted, not vinlyed, over on the 317s- tended to show after a graffiti attack cleanup.

Some of the DVTs have them painted over and some have them vinyled over, apparently at random. I am surprised the rainbow stripes were removed, as it was an unneccesary expense. Does anyone know why they were removed?

Out of interest, what brand do you people prefer, 'one' or NXEA and why?

 

[F Great Eastern]

This alone tells you about NEG. A one (pardon the pun) big identity crisis. DMUs in Anglia and Central livery, class 90s and MK3s along with some class 315s, 317s and 321s in ONE livery, Class 317s in various Stansted express livery's, Class 321s in First Great Eastern Livery, Class 321s in Silverlink County livery, class 360s in that garish blue livery and that is what you will see at Stratford (with the exception of the DMUs) in a 20 minute window. Even Stratford Station has an identity problem because when you arrive at on Platforms 1 and 2 two station signs clearly show Stratford (ONE) on one side and Stratford (NEG) on the other side.

It's not just trains that are in a mess, some of these stations on the network look like they haven't had a proper clean since NXEA took over in 2004 with some absloutely filthy roofs and FGE Blue/Green and Pink/Purple seems to be the most common colour scheme across the former FGE network.

Indeed the entrance to Clacton station still has a FGE sign above it with many stations on the lines in Essex having FGE signs still up with the FGE logo taped over. Perhaps the most ironic thing is the stations that have been updated under this franchise have been done several times over, whilst the others haven't been touched once.

 

[ApAp]

Out of interest, what brand do you people prefer, 'one' or NXEA and why?

Personally I'd go for 'London Eastern Railway' which is the actual registered name for the company (shame they never used it).

 

[jopsuk]

Whittlesford has been getting a lick of paint- the lamp posts, pillars, camera posts etc have been painted light blue- but only as far as someone standing on the ground can reach! Doesn't look like they did any prep either, so I'm expecting bits of paint to flake off sooner or later to reveal the previous grey that was shoddily applied over the NSE red... Shame, it's quite an attractive colour.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Personally I'd go for 'London Eastern Railway' which is the actual registered name for the company (shame they never used it).

That's quite a nice name!

I don't like either 'one' or 'NXEA' as names: 'one' can add confusion over departure times (i.e. a 1530 'one' service could easily be heard as a 1531 service), and 'NXEA' is way too long.

 

[365201]

The reason the NXEA fleet is going white is because they lost the franchise, Removal of National Express Logos and returning trains to there original Condition in alot of cases trains will go white,

De branding of logos has already started re painting of units white is so a uniform fleet gets handed over to the new operator . all logos and re paints must be by December 2011 with Exemption of the Class 90s and 170 Turbostars that will just loose their logos

c2c trains went white for the same reason so NX was terminated under the previous Government and had to prepair for the end of franchise , But the coalition Government has gave them another chance and are eligible to re bid in 2013 for c2c after the extension expires, The National Express Logos are staying on them c2c white trains until further notice. Expect a new livery if NX are re awarded c2c they will not re vinal a thing until they have it in the bag,

 

[jopsuk]

and 'NXEA' is way too long.

It is simply "National Express" in annoucments.

 

[317666]

I've noticed that many of the stations along the WAML have had the lampposts and signposts repainted, with white and a turquoise-ish colour, quite recently. I have to admit I do like the colour, but I'm just wondering why this was done, considering NX don't have that long left with the Greater Anglia franchise.

 

[jopsuk]

at Whittlesford it turned out the nice bright blue/turqoise was just an undercoat (and an incomplete one at that- just as far as could be reached by someone on the ground), the lamposts etc have now been finished in a duller blue. I guess it's been done as a requirment of the contracts or suchlike- before repainting the grey that had been put over the NSE red had been flaking off. Of course, no actual prep work was done (as far as I can tell), and the top coat was seemingly done on the day the flying ants came out.

 

[dk1]

I've noticed that many of the stations along the WAML have had the lampposts and signposts repainted, with white and a turquoise-ish colour, quite recently. I have to admit I do like the colour, but I'm just wondering why this was done, considering NX don't have that long left with the Greater Anglia franchise.

Part of the franchise agreement is that stations are handed back in proper state & painting is one of them. NX are not doing because they want to & it's going on frantically up & down the network. All so any new operator, if they so wish, can change it all again in a matter of months :roll: Well hey-ho thats privatisation for you. Used to it now.

 

[iphone76]

I'm glad you confirmed this as I thought I was going mad these last two mornings seeing people painting the lamp posts at Brentwood and Manor Park on the GEML. I wondered what the point would be of painting stations if the franchise is changing in 6 months time.

I also noticed a 315 the other day at Stratford where the National Express branding had been taken/rubbed off the white stripe.

 

[yorkie]

On a slightly off-topic note, I did Stormarket-Norwich the other day and I thought the seats in the Mark 3s were appaling. They were low-backed (which i hate) and the arm rests are enormous and are fixed in the down position.

Most seats in NXEA Mk3s are IC70s but they have removed some luggage racks, and each set should have several newer-style seats. There might not have been any in the particular coach you boarded (it depends on which TOC leased that particular vehicle previously) but there would have been plenty throughout the train. It does appear most people prefer the IC70s, but at least there's the option.

 

[transportphoto]

Most seats in NXEA Mk3s are IC70s but they have removed some luggage racks, and each set should have several newer-style seats. There might not have been any in the particular coach you boarded (it depends on which TOC leased that particular vehicle previously) but there would have been plenty throughout the train. It does appear most people prefer the IC70s, but at least there's the option.

As far as I am aware there are eight of these style seats at the ends of each coach on all NXEA IC sets - two on either side at either end

 

[eastdyke]

Yes the painters have been at work this week at Norwich too.

And shortage of stock still requires the use of the DVT + 2 x Mk3's top and tailed with DRS Cl47's to cover peak Yarmouth workings.

Recently, there were no less than 4 DRS 47's and 1 DRS 37 at the same time in Norwich Station/Sidings. (the 47's included the 2 on top/tail and 1 that had dragged in a train and failed Cl 90).

Must be costing a bit!!