For me, works and is pretty good c. 85% of the time. Rest of the time, can't connect.
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Class 387 to GN
- Thread starter crazystripe
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For me, works and is pretty good c. 85% of the time. Rest of the time, can't connect.
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Well, since I wrote the above I kept a record of when it worked for me and not (apparently I have nothing better to do :-/
And out of the last 10 387s I've rode on, I successfully got onto the wifi on 6 (so 60%, pretty much per my gut feeling).
Failures : 387114 (twice) - network not listed, 387104 - listed but couldn't connect, and one other 'listed but couldn't connect' but forgot to get the unit number.
And out of the last 10 387s I've rode on, I successfully got onto the wifi on 6 (so 60%, pretty much per my gut feeling).
Failures : 387114 (twice) - network not listed, 387104 - listed but couldn't connect, and one other 'listed but couldn't connect' but forgot to get the unit number.
notverydeep
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Welwyn Garden City is the busier station with 24% more passengers than Hatfield.
The top 20 GN stations (total entries and exits) are these:
London King's Cross 33816396
Cambridge 11424902
Moorgate 10833978
Finsbury Park 7032726
Old Street 5323546
Stevenage 4846618
Peterborough 4774744
Hitchin 3213416
Welwyn Garden City 2950948
Hatfield 2377326
Potters Bar 1984326
Palmers Green 1912628
Letchworth 1890116
Huntingdon 1840936
Winchmore Hill 1690236
Hornsey 1675092
Alexandra Palace 1621664
Hertford North 1616265
Enfield Chase 1590446
Royston 1483338
The numbers for King's Cross, Cambridge, Stevenage and Peterborough include passengers using other operators...
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Posted this in the other 387 thread, but I hope this was just a one off....
(Photo of broken button on a 387)
When I first noticed these I wondered how long it would be until you started spotting them. Luckily seems to be confined to very few units at the moment and even then only the odd button per train.
Class455
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Do 387’s run on fast London Kings Cross to King’s Lynn services or is that still done by Class 365’s? Planning to go upto Cambridge on Saturday so was interested as to what I would likely get for the journey up
TheDavibob
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All to Kings Lynn are 387s. The alternate fasts (now running to Ely) are a mix, but are often 365s still.
My life was pretty empty without them.
43096
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Oh dear. Was a common issue with previous Bombardier units such as 172s and 379s. Bombardier still cutting costs, it seems.
D365
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Great Northern commuters are known for being quite rough...
Rough with the buttons? I had a reply about the inter unit walkthrough,they now don’t open it up anymore for time saving! convince for passengers removed! Maybe buy a t key (joke!)
Failed Unit
Established Member
GTR claim it is a health and safety issue. But as you can’t believe a word they say.....
Health &safety issue having walkthrough open?
Failed Unit
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From my compliant to great northern.
No statement to why they are the only operator impacted that uses the train. When they will fix the issue etc.
Fincra5
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Sounds like an excuse to me... the 387/2s do it all day long with no issue!
Failed Unit
Established Member
Pictures and video in the Mail Online, looks like the queen got some 387 haulage today 107 from Kings Lynnhopefully they have fixed any missing buttons on that one.
Wonder if the party thought - where is first class? Surprised they didn’t substitute it for a 365. Give the quality she expects.
When she went to Sandringham before Christmas, wasn't the First Class section switched to the section immediately behind the driving cab (for a speedy exit at Lynn)?
Address them as GTR and ask why they put passengers at risk by using the gangway on identical trains on Gatwick Express?!
Failed Unit
Established Member
I have done just that. I assume that c2c and Great western use them.
Asked them as the route is driver only who exactly is supposed to open the door in an emergency? Along with if the trains are unsafe why are they not returning them to the leasing company and keep the 365s. See if they come back with a response to when they will fix the problem and we can use the corridor connection again.
What is even more odd is that some diagrams don’t split join during the day. But great northern certainty need to speak with their southern nieghbours about how to split / join trains.
Asked them as the route is driver only who exactly is supposed to open the door in an emergency? Along with if the trains are unsafe why are they not returning them to the leasing company and keep the 365s. See if they come back with a response to when they will fix the problem and we can use the corridor connection again.
What is even more odd is that some diagrams don’t split join during the day. But great northern certainty need to speak with their southern nieghbours about how to split / join trains.
Greater Anglia also don't bother opening the gangways for the peak 379s that split/join at Cambridge to and from King's Lynn.
Must be a Cambridge thing...
Failed Unit
Established Member
Maybe. Wonder come May what the requirements to split join will be. I know they can’t send 12 to kings Lynn but nothing will be splitting now at Letchworth, Royson and Welwyn. Although I think most that split before Cambridge are 365s now. (Can’t remember about 1852)
Quite what I thought, ask other GTR brands how to do it properly,they manage fine
The reason they don't have those doors open is because they got scared when a 317 uncoupled itself at Hitchin a few years ago with the connection door open. They don't want to find themselves in that situation again. After that incident the inter-unit doors on 317s were kept permanently closed.
I'm less sure on the details of the 387 event, but it was similar to the 317. Either the train split whilst moving, or in the platform.
It all comes down to fear of that happening again, cost in delays and cost if they're sued.
I'm less sure on the details of the 387 event, but it was similar to the 317. Either the train split whilst moving, or in the platform.
It all comes down to fear of that happening again, cost in delays and cost if they're sued.
Failed Unit
Established Member
Interesting- so technically they should be locking them out of use on Southern. Or more sensible option - working with the southern part of the same franchise to pass on best practices in train operations rather than locking them out of use. Don’t the great northern management think “why is it only us with the problem” southern / south eastern do this frequently without an issue on the same trains...
I doubt they care about delay minutes/ legal action as the taxpayer will foot that not GTR. Which is why the service is already at rock bottom. GTR don’t take any pain for their incompetence- the taxpayer does.
Quite what I thought
Failed Unit
Established Member
Glad Great Northern don’t operate HSTs or 15x sprinters. Both have separated in service. He would have no gangways between sets with their logic!
Failed Unit
Established Member
Update on the doors from someone that knows what they are talking about, when I challenged them the same trains are in use on other GTR regions.
But simply they don’t do it well at Cambridge so everyone has to suffer. Hopefully as below they will open them again in the future. Be nice if they resolved the issue of course.
“Thank you for getting in touch with the customer relations team. Your email was passed to me and I’m pleased to respond below.
It was concerning to read through your email as you appear to have been given the wrong information. I don’t know where it was mentioned that having the doors on the 387s closed was a safety measure, but if this came from an official source, please let me know as this is not at all correct.
The doors at the end of the class-387 units have been locked, albeit temporarily, as this reduces coupling and decoupling times at key stations. Before we did this, and taking coupling at Cambridge as an example, we require three drivers to join two trains. Now we require only two and the process takes around half as much time as was previously the case. With many turnaround times at Cambridge rather tight, and also bearing in mind the other operators also requiring track space there, and the interaction of Cambridge trains with East Coast Mainline services when they join the mainline, any time that can be saved and prevent a train from running late was a priority.
At present this is a blanket policy to ensure consistency between services – we don’t want people to expect there to be a path between carriages when on some trains this won’t be the case. Going forwards this may change as more services from King’s Lynn will be formed of 8 carriages hence there will be less need to couple them at Cambridge and the doors can remain open.”
But simply they don’t do it well at Cambridge so everyone has to suffer. Hopefully as below they will open them again in the future. Be nice if they resolved the issue of course.
“Thank you for getting in touch with the customer relations team. Your email was passed to me and I’m pleased to respond below.
It was concerning to read through your email as you appear to have been given the wrong information. I don’t know where it was mentioned that having the doors on the 387s closed was a safety measure, but if this came from an official source, please let me know as this is not at all correct.
The doors at the end of the class-387 units have been locked, albeit temporarily, as this reduces coupling and decoupling times at key stations. Before we did this, and taking coupling at Cambridge as an example, we require three drivers to join two trains. Now we require only two and the process takes around half as much time as was previously the case. With many turnaround times at Cambridge rather tight, and also bearing in mind the other operators also requiring track space there, and the interaction of Cambridge trains with East Coast Mainline services when they join the mainline, any time that can be saved and prevent a train from running late was a priority.
At present this is a blanket policy to ensure consistency between services – we don’t want people to expect there to be a path between carriages when on some trains this won’t be the case. Going forwards this may change as more services from King’s Lynn will be formed of 8 carriages hence there will be less need to couple them at Cambridge and the doors can remain open.”
Totally correct. There was hardly any issues anywhere else as GN Platform Staff assisted so the process was quick (for example at Royston), whereas at Cambridge where a majority of splitting takes place it was left to drivers, and usually required an extra driver to do it to try and speed it up, which realistically is a waste of driver resources.
Purely as a personal guess as I've nothing official to say otherwise, I would imagine the current status staying in place until at least May.
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