TPE Mark 5A coaching stock progress

[Bletchleyite]

They are 22m. The reason for this is that the complete train fits into Euston - the "old" CS uses a mix of Mk3 and Mk2 to achieve this.

The CAF data sheet gives 2 lengths for the TPE ones. The longer one is probably the driving trailer - it is quite normal for the cab vehicle to be a bit longer.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

The theory behind Wikipedia is that new articles cannot be published without relevant references, however once an article has been posted it can easily be amended and there have been many cases where the edited info has been posted up incorrectly deliberately. Personally I am fascinated by the myriad of stuff on Wikipedia, but there are many on here who are cynical and won't believe wiki articles even when references are provided

 

[hwl]

The theory behind Wikipedia is that new articles cannot be published without relevant references, however once an article has been posted it can easily be amended and there have been many cases where the edited info has been posted up incorrectly deliberately. Personally I am fascinated by the myriad of stuff on Wikipedia, but there are many on here who are cynical and won't believe wiki articles even when references are provided

The references don't have to be good or correct through! Hence why I'm cynical, a good introduction but verify everything.

 

[Sleeperwaking]

The longer one is probably the driving trailer - it is quite normal for the cab vehicle to be a bit longer.

Especially if the cab has a "pointy" nose (technical term there), like on the Mark 5A and Class 397.

 

[sjpowermac]

‘ITV weather’s Ross Hutchinson gives you the full forecast on the Nova fleet arriving later this year.’

https://twitter.com/TPExpressTrains/status/1135909152436473856?s=20

Later this year? Oh no, I was hoping for this summer

 

[paddyb6]

July isn't it - diagrams on RTT

 

[Sapphire Blue]

‘ITV weather’s Ross Hutchinson gives you the full forecast on the Nova fleet arriving later this year.’

https://twitter.com/TPExpressTrains/status/1135909152436473856?s=20

Later this year? Oh no, I was hoping for this summer

£33 1st Advance fares now available.
Bargain?

 

[AndrewE]

July isn't it - diagrams on RTT

Really? Please explain...
Maybe the optimistic "official" schedules show loco-hauled timing loads but, as we are repeatedly told here, they are not a guide to stock allocation.
In this context a "diagram" means the succession of trains that one set of rolling stock will work in a day, I don't believe RTT has anything beyond what would be in the working timetable, i.e. train times.
And if you believe anything put out by TPE at this stage then you need to adjust your reality filter!

 

[sjpowermac]

Really? Please explain...
Maybe the optimistic "official" schedules show loco-hauled timing loads but, as we are repeatedly told here, they are not a guide to stock allocation.
In this context a "diagram" means the succession of trains that one set of rolling stock will work in a day, I don't believe RTT has anything beyond what would be in the working timetable, i.e. train times.
And if you believe anything put out by TPE at this stage then you need to adjust your reality filter!

The is a clue...

 

[Ben Bow]

‘ITV weather’s Ross Hutchinson gives you the full forecast on the Nova fleet arriving later this year.’

https://twitter.com/TPExpressTrains/status/1135909152436473856?s=20

Later this year? Oh no, I was hoping for this summer

Are they for real? ... that's got to be one of the most cringeworthy things I have seen for a long time... indicative of a company which has seriously lost its way I would suggest. Why not just be straight with people and say something like "we're sorry but it's taking longer than we expected to get our new trains into service, this is how we expect things to pan out over the rest of the year".

 

[gimmea50anyday]

indicative of a company which has seriously lost its way I would suggest.

Believe me, plenty on the front line have been saying this for several years

Why not just be straight with people "we're sorry but it's taking longer than we expected to get our new trains into service,"

But we are getting new trains! our new trains will solve everything! XD

 

[BeHereNow]

The video starts with a shot of The Shambles. How very apt!

 

[37201xoIM]

The video starts with a shot of The Shambles. How very apt!

Ha yes, just what I was about to post! "Little Shambles" indeed... Hard to disagree with Ben Bow and Gimmea on this one...

 

[sjpowermac]

Are they for real? ... that's got to be one of the most cringeworthy things I have seen for a long time... indicative of a company which has seriously lost its way I would suggest. Why not just be straight with people and say something like "we're sorry but it's taking longer than we expected to get our new trains into service, this is how we expect things to pan out over the rest of the year".

I couldn’t agree more. Maybe the outlook is actually a bit stormy

 

[sjpowermac]

Ha yes, just what I was about to post! "Little Shambles" indeed... Hard to disagree with Ben Bow and Gimmea on this one...

Remarkable that TPE get away with being so late, seemingly without Transport for the North even raising an eyebrow...

 

[sjpowermac]

It seems there was an MID-Carlisle-Crewe-MID trip today. Does anyone know the loco and which set?

 

[sjpowermac]

Just had an ‘eyeball’ report it was 68031 ‘Felix’ out on TP04 on MID Carlisle Crewe MID today

 

[BeHereNow]

Remarkable that TPE get away with being so late, seemingly without Transport for the North even raising an eyebrow...

Yes, they seem to live a charmed life. I don’t know who is sucking whose lollipop but they must be very good at it.

 

[InOban]

I fail to see how a delay in getting the trains operating to a standard acceptable to the ORR and to TPE, so that they can commence training and service use, is TPE's fault.

 

[Ben Bow]

CAF are TPE's chosen manufacturer for their new stock so in that sense they are responsible. Personally speaking, the delays are disappointing, but not the end of the world, the CAF rolling stock isn't the first to encounter a delayed entry to service, and I doubt it will be the last. Better to sort out any issues now, than have problems when in service, especially since CAF have no future role in maintenance, unlike Hitachi, for example. Its TPE's blasé attitude (demonstrated in the Twitter advert) which grates, and the lack of transparency. Some openess and a bit of humility would perhaps help assuage those passengers still wedging themselves into rammed 3 car 185's over a year after new trains were expected to provide desperately needed extra capacity.

 

[sjpowermac]

I fail to see how a delay in getting the trains operating to a standard acceptable to the ORR and to TPE, so that they can commence training and service use, is TPE's fault.

There must be some element of a TOC managing their supplier. In addition, there is the matter of failing to introduce Mk3 stock as an interim measure, at least in part on the basis that the Mk5a stock would be ready ‘soon’.

As far as I know the ORR has already signed off Mk5a stock, I think that was last December, but I’m happy to be corrected on that.

I think BenBow is spot on with mentioning the blasé attitude as exemplified by the tweet.

I agree too about the importance of getting things right before the trains are introduced. It seems that with the Mk5 sleeper stock it was a daily battle for the CAF engineers to batter the trains into service each night. That certainly wouldn’t wash on a route with extensive utilisation such as the TransPennine services.

To be fair, I think the Mk5a stock and 68s are very much under the enthusiast spot light, I for one couldn’t tell you when the Class 195s are due in traffic.

 

[Bantamzen]

Remarkable that TPE get away with being so late, seemingly without Transport for the North even raising an eyebrow...

Perhaps this identifies a needs for a RUK panel of experts to tell TOCs / ROSCOs / DfT how they should procure new rolling stock, and have in in public service exactly when RUK expects it to be there. At the same time the panel could also agree the perfect specification for the seats..... Oh, wait.....

 

[sjpowermac]

Perhaps this identifies a needs for a RUK panel of experts to tell TOCs / ROSCOs / DfT how they should procure new rolling stock, and have in in public service exactly when RUK expects it to be there. At the same time the panel could also agree the perfect specification for the seats..... Oh, wait.....

So to you it’s acceptable that TOCs don’t meet franchise commitments?

At no point have I claimed to be any kind of expert, in fact, just the opposite. More often than not I’ve added ‘I’m happy to be corrected on any of that’ to posts.

 

[Bantamzen]

So to you it’s acceptable that TOCs don’t meet franchise commitments?

At no point have I claimed to be any kind of expert, in fact, just the opposite. More often than not I’ve added ‘I’m happy to be corrected on any of that’ to posts.

Let's turn this around shall we? Would you consider it acceptable to put rolling stock into service without properly testing, dealing with unexpected faults and fully training crews once accepted? I know I would not. Franchise commitments are paper based, and often do not, or cannot predict issues arising during construction and testing. So until franchises are carved in stone and carried down from mountains, I will accept slippage.

 

[sjpowermac]

Let's turn this around shall we? Would you consider it acceptable to put rolling stock into service without properly testing, dealing with unexpected faults and fully training crews once accepted? I know I would not. Franchise commitments are paper based, and often do not, or cannot predict issues arising during construction and testing. So until franchises are carved in stone and carried down from mountains, I will accept slippage.

Ah, ‘I will accept slippage’, so you are now the expert panel...

 

[The_Train]

Just had an ‘eyeball’ report it was 68031 ‘Felix’ out on TP04 on MID Carlisle Crewe MID today

Looking on RTT (which appears to have failed this morning) there was supposed to be a Bletchley run from Carlisle which I'm guessing was curtailed at Crewe. Any issues that caused this?

 

[sjpowermac]

Let's turn this around shall we? Would you consider it acceptable to put rolling stock into service without properly testing, dealing with unexpected faults and fully training crews once accepted? I know I would not. Franchise commitments are paper based, and often do not, or cannot predict issues arising during construction and testing. So until franchises are carved in stone and carried down from mountains, I will accept slippage.

What part of

I agree too about the importance of getting things right before the trains are introduced. It seems that with the Mk5 sleeper stock it was a daily battle for the CAF engineers to batter the trains into service each night. That certainly wouldn’t wash on a route with extensive utilisation such as the TransPennine services.

Implies advocating putting the stock into service with faults or without full staff training? I’m at a loss as to how you’ve inferred this...

 

[sjpowermac]

Looking on RTT (which appears to have failed this morning) there was supposed to be a Bletchley run from Carlisle which I'm guessing was curtailed at Crewe. Any issues that caused this?

I’m no expert
But I’ve seen a few times the train booked to run to Bletchley but turn back at Crewe and it’s been for a variety of reasons such as crewing/already enough miles completed.

Happy for anyone to correct me on that

 

[Bantamzen]

Ah, ‘I will accept slippage’, so you are now the expert panel...

No I am not, but I do understand that in real life things don't always go as planned, even when plans are written on paper. Shocking news I know, but then the bits of paper are written by people in Whitehall, and even more shocking sometimes, nay most times their written edicts don't come to pass. Sorry to pass this bad news on...

 

[sjpowermac]

No I am not, but I do understand that in real life things don't always go as planned, even when plans are written on paper. Shocking news I know, but then the bits of paper are written by people in Whitehall, and even more shocking sometimes, nay most times their written edicts don't come to pass. Sorry to pass this bad news on...

Yes, of course things go wrong, but why can’t TPE be a bit more honest and open?

Regarding ‘getting away with it’, I was thinking of how TOCs used to be held to account over franchise commitments. When Virgin Cross Country didn’t instal wi-fi they had to cough up...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance...rossCountry-fined-for-lack-of-train-WiFi.html

Now TOCs can fail to deliver and nothing (seemingly) happens..

As always, happy to be corrected