|
Post by T.R. on Jan 9, 2024 9:56:22 GMT
|
|
|
Post by southlondon413 on Jan 9, 2024 10:46:58 GMT
Holy poo, they are only 4 years late 😂
|
|
|
Post by T.R. on Jan 9, 2024 13:12:53 GMT
|
|
|
Post by YY13VKP on Jan 9, 2024 13:30:41 GMT
10:25 Waterloo — Windsor & Eton Riverside. Expected be operated by… 701037I'm currently on it, I'll attach a few photos here once I'm home. Really nice apart from the rocks for seats haha. From the photos I saw it looked like the seats had more padding than the Thameslink 700’s, but clearly they are just as rock hard!
|
|
|
Post by gwiwer on Jan 9, 2024 15:29:23 GMT
701037 operated as planned today having been caped yesterday.
Many of SWR's top officials were aboard. Plenty of enthusiasts found it in time to ride at least part of the rounder. A modest number of regular passengers too who might have been bemused by all the fuss.
Operating details - these are DOO units with the driver using the car-end cameras to open and close the doors safely. A guard (currently a guard-manager pending full agreements being reached) is carried for safety critical purposes but they do not operate the doors nor dispatch the train. They do make announcements and step out onto the platform as per current SWR instructions. Platform staff other than at Waterloo do not dispatch these units.
Sunnymeads was omitted in both directions because the ASDO appears to not be configured correctly for this class yet. It works for 10-car trains formed of 458 or 707 stock and it worked for 10-car trains formed of 455/456 stock.
On-board announcements are crystal clear. Interestingly on the approach to Clapham Junction on the return the announcement said "Change for Staines-upon-Thames" despite the train having just come from there and despite "Staines" having been used for all other on-board announcements.
Seats are better and softer than the class 700 / 707 ironing board but not as generous as 1960s-era stock. They use class 700-style frames with refurbished class 444-style seating squabs. Small coffee tables are a feature as are almost all seats being aligned with windows. Three-pin sockets are provided for device charging but why not USB? Two toilets are available per ten-car unit (one per 5-car unit) with powerful flush, hand-wash facilities offering a good flow of water and good hand-drying. Aisles are wider than standard at the cost of slightly narrower seats as per classes 700 / 707. Passenger information systems are of the most recent multi-coloured screen type and were updating accurately in real-time except for the carriage loadings. These were showing "Full" when barely a quarter of seats were taken.
Operation is smooth and quiet and the ride very good and smooth.
Station pre-recorded announcements advised "The next train ...... is the South Western Railway Arterio service to Windsor & Eton Riverside" Surely we can live without everything being branded like this? We don't get "The City Beam service to ..... " nor the "Azuma service to ..... " so why is Arterio announced? Is this to be extended to "Desiro" and other manufacturer's platforms?
A soft launch was intended after the extensive delay to the type. A 701 unit, not necessarily the same one, should be on this trip all week but there are no guarantees.
|
|
TA242
Conductor
Posts: 85
|
Post by TA242 on Jan 9, 2024 16:26:24 GMT
701037 operated as planned today having been caped yesterday. Many of SWR's top officials were aboard. Plenty of enthusiasts found it in time to ride at least part of the rounder. A modest number of regular passengers too who might have been bemused by all the fuss. Operating details - these are DOO units with the driver using the car-end cameras to open and close the doors safely. A guard (currently a guard-manager pending full agreements being reached) is carried for safety critical purposes but they do not operate the doors nor dispatch the train. They do make announcements and step out onto the platform as per current SWR instructions. Platform staff other than at Waterloo do not dispatch these units. Sunnymeads was omitted in both directions because the ASDO appears to not be configured correctly for this class yet. It works for 10-car trains formed of 458 or 707 stock and it worked for 10-car trains formed of 455/456 stock. On-board announcements are crystal clear. Interestingly on the approach to Clapham Junction on the return the announcement said "Change for Staines-upon-Thames" despite the train having just come from there and despite "Staines" having been used for all other on-board announcements. Seats are better and softer than the class 700 / 707 ironing board but not as generous as 1960s-era stock. They use class 700-style frames with refurbished class 444-style seating squabs. Small coffee tables are a feature as are almost all seats being aligned with windows. Three-pin sockets are provided for device charging but why not USB? Two toilets are available per ten-car unit (one per 5-car unit) with powerful flush, hand-wash facilities offering a good flow of water and good hand-drying. Aisles are wider than standard at the cost of slightly narrower seats as per classes 700 / 707. Passenger information systems are of the most recent multi-coloured screen type and were updating accurately in real-time except for the carriage loadings. These were showing "Full" when barely a quarter of seats were taken. Operation is smooth and quiet and the ride very good and smooth. Station pre-recorded announcements advised "The next train ...... is the South Western Railway Arterio service to Windsor & Eton Riverside" Surely we can live without everything being branded like this? We don't get "The City Beam service to ..... " nor the "Azuma service to ..... " so why is Arterio announced? Is this to be extended to "Desiro" and other manufacturer's platforms? A soft launch was intended after the extensive delay to the type. A 701 unit, not necessarily the same one, should be on this trip all week but there are no guarantees. I was under the impression that Sunnymeads was only omitted today due to flooding in the local area. This is listed on SWR’s JourneyCheck page for other Windsor services, and when passing the approach to the station looked quite badly flooded. Otherwise a good analysis of the introduction there.
|
|
|
Post by twobellstogo on Jan 9, 2024 17:46:01 GMT
I still don’t expect to travel on a 701 this year. We poor commuters on the slow Wokings and Guildford via Cobhams are right at the back of the queue for these trains I believe!
|
|
|
Post by gwiwer on Jan 9, 2024 17:50:24 GMT
701037 operated as planned today having been caped yesterday. Many of SWR's top officials were aboard. Plenty of enthusiasts found it in time to ride at least part of the rounder. A modest number of regular passengers too who might have been bemused by all the fuss. Operating details - these are DOO units with the driver using the car-end cameras to open and close the doors safely. A guard (currently a guard-manager pending full agreements being reached) is carried for safety critical purposes but they do not operate the doors nor dispatch the train. They do make announcements and step out onto the platform as per current SWR instructions. Platform staff other than at Waterloo do not dispatch these units. Sunnymeads was omitted in both directions because the ASDO appears to not be configured correctly for this class yet. It works for 10-car trains formed of 458 or 707 stock and it worked for 10-car trains formed of 455/456 stock. On-board announcements are crystal clear. Interestingly on the approach to Clapham Junction on the return the announcement said "Change for Staines-upon-Thames" despite the train having just come from there and despite "Staines" having been used for all other on-board announcements. Seats are better and softer than the class 700 / 707 ironing board but not as generous as 1960s-era stock. They use class 700-style frames with refurbished class 444-style seating squabs. Small coffee tables are a feature as are almost all seats being aligned with windows. Three-pin sockets are provided for device charging but why not USB? Two toilets are available per ten-car unit (one per 5-car unit) with powerful flush, hand-wash facilities offering a good flow of water and good hand-drying. Aisles are wider than standard at the cost of slightly narrower seats as per classes 700 / 707. Passenger information systems are of the most recent multi-coloured screen type and were updating accurately in real-time except for the carriage loadings. These were showing "Full" when barely a quarter of seats were taken. Operation is smooth and quiet and the ride very good and smooth. Station pre-recorded announcements advised "The next train ...... is the South Western Railway Arterio service to Windsor & Eton Riverside" Surely we can live without everything being branded like this? We don't get "The City Beam service to ..... " nor the "Azuma service to ..... " so why is Arterio announced? Is this to be extended to "Desiro" and other manufacturer's platforms? A soft launch was intended after the extensive delay to the type. A 701 unit, not necessarily the same one, should be on this trip all week but there are no guarantees. I was under the impression that Sunnymeads was only omitted today due to flooding in the local area. This is listed on SWR’s JourneyCheck page for other Windsor services, and when passing the approach to the station looked quite badly flooded. Otherwise a good analysis of the introduction there. It has now been confirmed that Sunnymeads was indeed omitted because of flooding in the area preventing access to the station. This was not made clear to those on board neither was it made clear that other trains were also omitting this station for the same reason.
|
|
|
Post by gwiwer on Jan 9, 2024 17:57:29 GMT
I still don’t expect to travel on a 701 this year. We poor commuters on the slow Wokings and Guildford via Cobhams are right at the back of the queue for these trains I believe! But you should have a little more variety than all-455. There are a few 450 diagrams on Woking stoppers and the Guildford New Line and occasional 458 working as well currently.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2024 18:22:26 GMT
The 701 working is only until Friday, same diagram daily, make the most of it whilst you can. I still don’t expect to travel on a 701 this year. We poor commuters on the slow Wokings and Guildford via Cobhams are right at the back of the queue for these trains I believe! But you should have a little more variety than all-455. There are a few 450 diagrams on Woking stoppers and the Guildford New Line and occasional 458 working as well currently. 458s will slowly drop off as they're being converted into 4 coach units but SWR have no plans to use them and the drivers union won't allow their drivers to drive them due to the cabs not being upgraded to a better spec of some sort. Station pre-recorded announcements advised "The next train ...... is the South Western Railway Arterio service to Windsor & Eton Riverside" Surely we can live without everything being branded like this? We don't get "The City Beam service to ..... " nor the "Azuma service to ..... " so why is Arterio announced? Is this to be extended to "Desiro" and other manufacturer's platforms? At KGX, the announcements are LNER Azuma service to.... and same type onboard some services.
|
|
|
Post by vjaska on Jan 9, 2024 18:32:42 GMT
The 701 working is only until Friday, same diagram daily, make the most of it whilst you can. But you should have a little more variety than all-455. There are a few 450 diagrams on Woking stoppers and the Guildford New Line and occasional 458 working as well currently. 458s will slowly drop off as they're being converted into 4 coach units but SWR have no plans to use them and the drivers union won't allow their drivers to drive them due to the cabs not being upgraded to a better spec of some sort. Station pre-recorded announcements advised "The next train ...... is the South Western Railway Arterio service to Windsor & Eton Riverside" Surely we can live without everything being branded like this? We don't get "The City Beam service to ..... " nor the "Azuma service to ..... " so why is Arterio announced? Is this to be extended to "Desiro" and other manufacturer's platforms? At KGX, the announcements are LNER Azuma service to.... and same type onboard some services. Any idea when the 455's are expected to depart?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2024 19:17:05 GMT
The 701 working is only until Friday, same diagram daily, make the most of it whilst you can.458s will slowly drop off as they're being converted into 4 coach units but SWR have no plans to use them and the drivers union won't allow their drivers to drive them due to the cabs not being upgraded to a better spec of some sort.At KGX, the announcements are LNER Azuma service to.... and same type onboard some services. Any idea when the 455's are expected to depart? Once 701s have fault-free(to an accepted extent) running in passenger service and all driver training is complete, they should start to leave but I imagine the last few could last into late 2025/early 2026 depending on ASLEFs talks with SWR regarding 458/4s. However, expect reductions in capacity on all lines soon: 2 remaining 707 units are leaving for SouthEastern in Spring Every month, 1 458/5 unit is sent off for conversion into 458/4 with them being tested and put into storage after arrival from Widnes pending ongoing talks with ASLEF regarding the cab. 455 are slowly being sent off to Bournemouth for C4 overhaul which means a couple are not available for use at times, 455722 was sent for scrap in November though. Some also need a C6 overhaul but that's on a per unit basis. More 450s are being drawn onto the Windsor Lines (including Kingson loop) from the Mainline due to a shortage of stock.
|
|
|
Post by T.R. on Jan 9, 2024 20:12:56 GMT
The original deployment plan (early 2020) was:
1. Reading, 2. Dorking/Guildford via Epsom and Hampton Court, 3. Kingston Loop, 4. Hounslow Loop & Weybridge, 5. Woking, Guildford via Cobham & Chessington, 6. Windsor, 7. Shepperton.
Alas this has probably changed.
|
|
|
Post by YY13VKP on Jan 9, 2024 21:53:03 GMT
The original deployment plan (early 2020) was: 1. Reading, 2. Dorking/Guildford via Epsom and Hampton Court, 3. Kingston Loop, 4. Hounslow Loop & Weybridge, 5. Woking, Guildford via Cobham & Chessington, 6. Windsor, 7. Shepperton. Alas this has probably changed. I would imagine that the priority now is for the 701's to replace 458 diagrams first seeing as they're going off for refurbishment and then replace 455's last.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2024 23:03:56 GMT
The original deployment plan (early 2020) was: 1. Reading, 2. Dorking/Guildford via Epsom and Hampton Court, 3. Kingston Loop, 4. Hounslow Loop & Weybridge, 5. Woking, Guildford via Cobham & Chessington, 6. Windsor, 7. Shepperton. Alas this has probably changed. I would imagine that the priority now is for the 701's to replace 458 diagrams first seeing as they're going off for refurbishment and then replace 455's last. Windsor Lines are first, ie Windsor, Reading and Kingston Loop, I expect Shepperton and Hounslow lines to follow then Surbiton lines then Motspur Park lines
|
|