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Post by routew15 on Sept 4, 2014 20:56:25 GMT
It sounds like there'll be a limited amount of 455s by 2018 but it does not specifically say that they will be completely withdrawn by 2018 But will they start to withdraw them in 2018? They are my favourite train. There is no replacement stock on order and all 46 units are expected to still be used when Govia's franchise ends. The 377's are going on the Kings Lynn line so the 455's could help extend services on the Caterham line It one of those ones were you have to hope, wait and see what happens. But by 2018 the 455s will either be gone or less will be around on the Southern Metro services, who knows they could move to the Brighton local routes (not to familiar with that area so that was a wild guess). |
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Post by snoggle on Sept 4, 2014 21:40:10 GMT
But will they start to withdraw them in 2018? They are my favourite train. There is no replacement stock on order and all 46 units are expected to still be used when Govia's franchise ends. The 377's are going on the Kings Lynn line so the 455's could help extend services on the Caterham line It one of those ones were you have to hope, wait and see what happens. But by 2018 the 455s will either be gone or less will be around on the Southern Metro services, who knows they could move to the Brighton local routes (not to familiar with that area so that was a wild guess). I agree it is a case of wait and see. I suspect the words are vague because a) the DfT do not have a firm policy of rolling stock cascade / disposal. The timing of several electrification schemes and decisions on many franchises (e.g. Great Western, Northern and TPE) could have a very big bearing on what trains are cascaded, where they go and how much is left behind. The scale of new rolling stock for Northern / TPE is a big factor. b) I am not up to date with the state of class 455s but they may need modification to comply with the Accessibility regs that apply from 2020. It may be that the DfT decide to go for modification or for replacement in 2018 for the 2020 deadline. There will presumably be a negotiation as to how the trains are funded - after all DfT have used Southern to buy several fleets of Electrostars to dig themselves out of self inflicted problems with Thameslink and other issues. In other words there's loads of experience in the Southern management team as to how to buy new EMUs quickly. Despite the DfT denying they say where rolling stock goes and what it is used for they really are in charge and do decide what runs where in broad terms. Clearly they don't do the day to day stock rostering.  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2014 22:38:18 GMT
It sounds like there'll be a limited amount of 455s by 2018 but it does not specifically say that they will be completely withdrawn by 2018 But will they start to withdraw them in 2018? They are my favourite train. There is no replacement stock on order and all 46 units are expected to still be used when Govia's franchise ends. The 377's are going on the Kings Lynn line so the 455's could help extend services on the Caterham line No new trains on order ... so what do you call the class 700s when the Caterham and Tattenham Corner servcies become 'Thameslink' services in 2018 |
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Post by snowman on Sept 5, 2014 7:43:00 GMT
What about 455's? Whats the future with them? They're my favourite train Not sure about Southern. SWT's fleet are getting some technical enhancements to the drive system to improve reliability and lower maintenance costs. Stagecoach are pretty "on the ball" when it comes to getting the max reliability out of their fleet and often have record breaking levels of kms per fault for their fleets. I have not seen anything from the TSGN franchise info that indicates what will happen to the 455s on routes out of Victoria / London Bridge. I guess we must wait and see what transpires as the Thameslink fleet kicks in and the new Gatwick fleet. Will there be any sort of cascade or will trains be redeployed to lengthen suburban services? I remember reading (not sure where) that there are no plans to replace the 455s for at least a decade. I think the article I saw suggested they would become peak hour extras only, but due to lower acceleration would not be used on stopping services on the very congested sections, or skipping some inner stations to maintain line capacity. Probably will be used as 12 car extras, One morning service and one evening service in the High peak only. Regarding the 442s, I could easily see the motors removed (which were secondhand) and become push-pull trailer sets on some long cross-country route operating with a loco, eg a class 67, or new equivalent. This would free up a number of DMUs which would allow the mid 1980s pacer sets to be withdrawn. By long cross country route I mean something like Cardiff-Portsmouth, Birmingham-Norwich etc |
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Post by snoggle on Sept 5, 2014 16:06:50 GMT
Regarding the 442s, I could easily see the motors removed (which were secondhand) and become push-pull trailer sets on some long cross-country route operating with a loco, eg a class 67, or new equivalent. This would free up a number of DMUs which would allow the mid 1980s pacer sets to be withdrawn. By long cross country route I mean something like Cardiff-Portsmouth, Birmingham-Norwich etc I like your class 442 idea - the "second tier" cross country routes that aren't part of the Cross Country franchise would certainly benefit from the extra coaches and the nice seating. As you say Brighton / Portsmouth - Cardiff, Birmingham - Stansted and Liverpool - Norwich are all worthy recipients. I understand all of them are heavily overloaded and urgently need more capacity. I had not appreciated that the Cardiff - south coast trains now all stop at Portsmouth nor that there is a direct Brighton - Great Malvern train via Bristol! That must be a journey and a half on a Class 150 or similar.  |
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Post by snoggle on Oct 31, 2014 20:21:31 GMT
Details of the revised ticket acceptance arrangements for the closure / platform closures that start at Christmas and last for nearly 2 years have been announced. Thameslink changesA number of TfL bus routes are caught by these arrangements and it's interesting that they are quite tightly defined. |
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