Greater Anglia Good and Bad Discussion

[Shunter_69]

There is a 317 with light blue rather than red doors at Ilford. Assume this is the new LO WA inners livery.

 

[dk1]

Will all Crossrail 315s have a blue stripe applied and perhaps Overground examples having an opposing stripe? Be quite effective as long as the doors don't clash too much

Leaving them too plain could make them no different in appearence to the greater anglia fleet

I was referring to the AGA seating on stations. Yes, all 44 315s transferring to CrossRail will have blue stripe but no mention of CrossRail.

 

[387star]

There is a 317 with light blue rather than red doors at Ilford. Assume this is the new LO WA inners livery.

Was this confused for thameslink livery 317340 mentioned in the livery thread?

 

[Shunter_69]

It's definitely the same as the current AGA 317's with the dark grey windows but has light blue doors.

 

[badassunicorn]

Could be the protective wrapping they apply when painting? It is totally bizarre otherwise repainting it but either leaving the doors blue or painting them a different blue.

 

[jopsuk]

yeah, would be strange- if they were going for a different colour to GA I'd have though Orange would be the choice

 

[badassunicorn]

I reckon LOROL will just slap some vinyl on the side like before with the silverlink stuff.
edit= I'm going to Ilford on Monday, I'll see what I can find out!

 

[Shunter_69]

It's currently in B shop.

It may well be protective covers but looks like real paint to me.

 

[hassaanhc]

One of the blue TfL rail livery 315s were on the 2U41 1222 Enfield Town to London Liverpool Street :P Better get your photos of that livery on the WA side!

 

[oliMw]

Article in today's edp about a revamp at Norwich station

http://www.edp24.co.uk/home/motoring/revamp_revealed_for_norwich_railway_station_1_4073427

 

[SPADTrap]

Article in today's edp about a revamp at Norwich station

http://www.edp24.co.uk/home/motoring/revamp_revealed_for_norwich_railway_station_1_4073427

Here is said article

Abellio Greater Anglia has started the first phase of the work on the concourse at the station, which dates back to the 1840s.

The work, which rail bosses said was a “six-figure” investment, will see the relocation of the automatic ticket gates to create easier access to the toilets. People currently need a ticket to get to them.

It will also see the installation of a new First Class lounge, a refurbished waiting room on platform six, improved cycle parking and the introduction of Abellio Greater Anglia’s cycle hire scheme.

The first phase, now underway, will see the ticket barriers moved and the central cash points taken away. That work is expected to take four weeks to complete.

Work is also due to start to extend the existing cycle area to provide a further 242 covered, free cycle parking spaces and the company’s Bike and Go cycle hire scheme will be installed.

That scheme will mean 10 bicycles are available for hire.

In the summer, Abellio Greater Anglia’s customer services team will be moved to a new office on the station’s concourse. which will also feature new retail units and cash machines, if it gets planning permission.

And, towards the end of the year, the existing waiting room on platform six will be refurbished and a new first class lounge created alongside platform one in the old customer service office.

James Reeve, Abellio Greater Anglia’s area customer service manager, said: “This is an exciting project for the station which will deliver a much-improved layout of the station concourse, refurbished waiting rooms and toilet facilities and improved cycle storage.

“Investing in upgrades to stations across the network is extremely important to Abellio Greater Anglia, demonstrating our commitment to providing excellent facilities and service to our customers.

“We will be doing all we can to progress the works as quickly as possible and to minimise any inconvenience to our customers while these improvements are carried out.

“We are grateful to our customers for their co-operation and patience in the meantime.”

 

[dk1]

That God awful Tardis at Norwich has had a lot to answer for ever since Anglia erected the darn thing in the 90s & spoilt the open feel of the station. Then when the ticket gates went in all the staff said there should be one central barrier line. I know hindsight is a wonderfull thing but...

 

[scott118]

will the pasty shop be making a return?

 

[Kite159]

Expect the toilets at Norwich to probably become pay to use once the revamp is finished and they are open to be used by all.

 

[dk1]

Expect the toilets at Norwich to probably become pay to use once the revamp is finished and they are open to be used by all.

I would far rather pay if they are clean & nice.

 

[jon0844]

IF anyone is bored tonight, you may wish to look at the following Twitter feed

https://twitter.com/Delayed_Again

I stupidly got involved again. (Slaps wrists).

Quite funny though... Apparently I work for Abellio now because I didn't get outraged when I saw some seat coverings that didn't match!

And the icing on the cake was the comment that because they don't get taken seriously, they've switched to Twitter. Yes, because that's going to work...

Loads of my comments were then thrown back at me as an accusation that I thought calling seat covers a petty thing to argue about meant I was calling all Abellio users petty and unimportant. The guy should go into politics!

God knows how many Tweets I've sent in replies tonight.. think it's time to go to bed soon, my fingers hurt.

 

[samuelmorris]

The seat covers thing is laughable, but an exemplar of the dodgy maintenance regime, hardly a problem in itself. The light fitting that fell off and smacked someone in the head drawing blood is a little more serious...

 

[jon0844]

I've said over and over again, spending time writing blogs about seat covers, liveries (and then suggesting Abellio may as well not paint trains at all) and the like is a waste of time.

It's clear from what's been said that Delayed_again is blocked by AGA. So nothing he says is ever going to get a reply. He must also annoy people who ask AGA a question and he's the first to respond. Frankly, I can't see how he can claim to represent all AGA users (I'm one too). If they won't talk to him, he's effectively useless and everyone behind the website (still hasn't had all the 'fail' stuff taken off) has no voice or influence at all.

Having been accused of defending Abellio, it was hilarious to be outed as Abellio staff. I mean, look at my bloody Twitter profile!

Apparently 80 trains were cancelled yesterday (if true, I assume there was an incident to blame), Abellio never do any maintenance, never fix toilets, never clean trains, won't invest in new trains, couldn't be arsed to fit power doors on the Mk3s in the recent refresh... it goes on.

But, yes, a leaking roof (I saw the video - it was pretty awful), things falling from the ceiling, revenue issues (the other thread about someone being given a PF because an RPI couldn't read a contactless card, which can't actually be read) are all serious matters.

From what I could see from the photos showing mismatched seat covers, and another where a seat covering was torn and sagging down, is that these are wide cushions that are pretty rare. They're used solely in the area that was once the guards area, and now often used to tip up for bikes. I can understand why AGA might be short of spares, so just use what they have.

To be told by someone that they pay £5k a year and expect seats to be perfect (i.e. colour matched) is just insane. You can still sit on a seat even if one is ex-BR colours, one FGE coloured and the other the newest AGA trim that will eventually be on ALL the trains. But boy did I get told off when I said it was a 'first world problem'!

 

[CockneySparrow]

Expect the toilets at Norwich to probably become pay to use once the revamp is finished and they are open to be used by all.

That's all well and good, only problem is that there is normally a load of trains sitting in the station so I will use them instead, a Sheringham, Yarmouth or Lowestoft train is normally always in hahahahahaha

 

[samuelmorris]

What's posted is all valid complaints, it's just that the level of influence each separate issue has, is I think what's contentious. Mismatched seat covers and 5 minute delays have prompted the same vitriol that genuinely severe health & safety issues, inappropriate fines and hour+ delays (or failed journeys altogether) receive, so it can be difficult to separate the 'what matters' from the 'what really isn't that important' sometimes.

Sure, the twitter account's replies are blocked at AGA but since seemingly there's a meeting with Burles himself later in the year, to say that they have no influence isn't quite true. Given what I've heard about his past appearances though, I'm not sure I expect much to happen

 

[scott118]

has Burles dealt with the issues of working toilets, on their 170's? ......

 

[hassaanhc]

Another rant here by someone https://www.facebook.com/groups/rtlondon/permalink/842943279115932/

With the fragmenting of the railways into Train Operating Companies the concept of standard coaching stock and multiple units has gone. Whilst it means there should be constant innovation in provision of stock it also means most build runs are much smaller than in BR days meaning unit costs are getting progressively higher. If the winning bidder of a new franchise wants to replace their train fleet there are lots of hurdles they have to pass, the main one still being is he government still willing to underwrite the order costs to recovered during the life of the new rolling stock. Sadly this means that the TOC with the oldest train fleet in England is Abellio Greater Anglia which as a result is plagued with defects on a daily basis. Constant short formed services, defects not repaired for months whilst units are still running in revenue service. Internal features that have not been updated for over 20 years or more and seat fabrics that should have been replaced at least twice over but left in place presenting a filthy image to the long suffering captive commuters. Compare this to the next door company C2C with immaculate trains kept clean and running an efficient service. In 16 days TfL takes over AGA's Metro services, some going to LOROL and the Shenfield service becoming TfLRail until delivery of the Crossrail units arrives and they line becomes CrossRail! They have promised that by 30th November 2015 every train will be deep cleaned, repainted and refreshed inside and out, something that AGA should have done but didnt. They have already started despite not officially being the owner of the service and at least three units have been refreshed, apart from seat covers, which rather ruins the effect.

Abellio took over from National Express and sent back a load of trains to reduce their lease costs. As a result of this they cannot actually maintain their train fleet in sufficient time to meet their published timetabled services. For example they have run on average over 20 short formed services every day this week. Their trains are not cleaned properly and are filthy with seat covers that were on the trains when the first franchise was awarded back in 1997 so you can see thats been over 17 years so far when under BR seats were recovered every 7 years tops! have a look at the Twitter feed for @delayed_again and check out their pictures of the condition that passengers have to put up with!

I have written a reply to that, saying that things are similar with many other operators, but I don't think they'll take kindly to that . It is very likely most other companies would have done the same if faced with a 2 year short term franchise just to keep things ticking over.

Yes, Abellio haven't refreshed the interiors... Oh wait, that is exactly what is currently being done on the Mark 3 hauled stock 　
I believe it was specified as compulsory in the current 2 year franchise contract, but still. The previous 2012 to 2014 one was just one to keep things ticking over, they really weren't going to spend a lot of money on interior work that isn't compulsory, when in less than two years they may not have even been operating it, therefore would have been money down the drain for them.
LOROL and TfL on the other hand have specified that work is to be done on the interiors, which is why they'll be doing it.

Their stock isn't even that old compared to some of the stuff LUL are running. The 317s are 28-33 years old and 315s are 34-35 years old. Given that replacement is scheduled for 2017-2019, none of them will reach 40 years in service. LUL's 72ts and 73ts are already 38-43 years old, and it is still at least 7 years until they start being replaced.

Those "20 short formed services" will be only about 3-4 unit diagrams. Something that other operators encounter a lot too. South West Trains that I use very often also get that. Abellio's communication through the Twitter feed is excellent, certainly better than certain other operators in London. Ok it could be manned for longer, but even within the hours it is manned it is far more useful than Southern's, who have stopped posting almost all updates about services, and not giving information about short forms.

None of Abellio's 315/317/321 stock has original flooring from when the trains entered service, but most Southeastern 465/466 and about 20 of Thameslink's 319s have trains where only the seating moquette has been changed in the 25 years those trains have been running, and the original flooring remains. London Midland's 7 remaining 321s still have the original NSE covers from when they entered service in 1989-1990, although carpet was fitted a few years ago. LUL 72ts have 15+ year old seat coverings, something that the now-withdrawn C69/77 and A60/62 almost reached by the time they were withdrawn.

Last few days I've used all types of their EMU stock. Yes the 317/360 fleet are in need of TLC, but the 315/321 fleet aren't too bad. And the 379 fleet seems to be very nice :P.

Speaking of 379s, look where some ended up on yesterday (16 May)

Abellio Greater Anglia 379004+379014 on the 1321 London Liverpool Street to Enfield Town by Hassaan Chaudhry, on Flickr
Good luck finding one at Enfield after LOROL takeover

 

[jon0844]

If I was entering dialogue with AGA about anything, the last person I'd want butting in is delayed_again, with the usual 'What do you expect', 'they're always this bad', 'Kick Abellio out' and so on.

The photos he Tweets (or re-tweets) are usually so trivial it's quite embarrassing, and obviously he misses out on the genuine issues that get discussed here.

Abellio is far from perfect, just like any TOC pretty much, but you can't get bogged down moaning about non-events.

I've ranted plenty about Wagn and FCC over the years, but like to think I've always been fair. Indeed, I think I've made a strong effort to highlight the many, many good things that have happened by these TOCs and others. That doesn't make me an apologist (or staff, as I'm now accused of!) but someone who believes in being fair.

That's the main problem with the AGA-haters. They're so blinkered, they can't see anything good. As such they're ignored, and justifiably so IMHO.

 

[387star]

I was referring to the AGA seating on stations. Yes, all 44 315s transferring to CrossRail will have blue stripe but no mention of CrossRail.

If all will receive the stripe will those with red doors have them painted blue?

Out of interest who does the voice on the PIS on 315s
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

If I was entering dialogue with AGA about anything, the last person I'd want butting in is delayed_again, with the usual 'What do you expect', 'they're always this bad', 'Kick Abellio out' and so on.

The photos he Tweets (or re-tweets) are usually so trivial it's quite embarrassing, and obviously he misses out on the genuine issues that get discussed here.

Abellio is far from perfect, just like any TOC pretty much, but you can't get bogged down moaning about non-events.

I've ranted plenty about Wagn and FCC over the years, but like to think I've always been fair. Indeed, I think I've made a strong effort to highlight the many, many good things that have happened by these TOCs and others. That doesn't make me an apologist (or staff, as I'm now accused of!) but someone who believes in being fair.

That's the main problem with the AGA-haters. They're so blinkered, they can't see anything good. As such they're ignored, and justifiably so IMHO.

Unlike some on here I think external appearance does make a difference to passenger perception see how stylish south west trains look and now southeastern
Of course decent interior helps
Even abellio have realised plain white looks downright awful especially on trains without blackened windows

Greater anglia would be perfect for stagecoach... Red 317/5 317/8 blue 317/6 360 321 156 153 white intercity stock 379s and 170s perfect!


The 360s 170s and 379s should be the pride of the fleet but look awful

 

[jon0844]

Ironically, the white painted 317s look pretty good. Sure, the paint is new - but the shape of the carriages means there's less brown dirt at the carriage ends as on a 379, which now looks very dated (fortunately, things still look pretty good inside).

 

[387star]

I wonder if TFL improving the look of trains and stations in a short period of time will cause Greater Anglia to try and keep things looking better to avoid a negative backlash

When will the 170s be going through their refresh as I am sure I read on here they were to go through a refresh last year but this hasn't come to anything

Will the 156s and 153s in plain white livery have the full livery applied?

When will the 317/6 refurbishment start?

When will the small number of 321s be refurbished as promised before the franchise end?

When will 360s have new seat covers and will they be reliveried?

Is the full livery the offical Abellio Rail livery or is it a stripped down version?

 

[jon0844]

AGA is already made to look bad if you believe Twitter. Now Twitter is full of people laughing that AGA has been FORCED to cut its fares because TfL has come in, and it's a victory for the passenger and shows how evil AGA is.

It's believed that the stock LOROL gets will now be magically transformed and be totally spotless, and maintained to a higher standard (yes, I do believe they think TfL has its own maintenance facilities and staff to do it, presumably with better skills and equipment).

When you've got people thinking like that, there's nothing AGA can (or perhaps should) do.

 

[jopsuk]

There's plenty AGA should do. One of these is "ignoring the crazy people". But there's plenty that could and should be done for the 317s they're keeping and the 321 & 360 fleets.

 

[dosxuk]

AGA is already made to look bad if you believe Twitter. Now Twitter is full of people laughing that AGA has been FORCED to cut its fares because TfL has come in, and it's a victory for the passenger and shows how evil AGA is.

It's believed that the stock LOROL gets will now be magically transformed and be totally spotless, and maintained to a higher standard (yes, I do believe they think TfL has its own maintenance facilities and staff to do it, presumably with better skills and equipment).

When you've got people thinking like that, there's nothing AGA can (or perhaps should) do.

I'd guess many of these people were the same ones laughing at National Express when Abellio got the route, expecting all the trains to become spotless overnight, never suffer any maintenance issues, have cheaper fares and make every train on time, even though it was clearly a caretaker award.

I'm sure I remember one of them posting that Abellio *obviously* has better maintenance teams, as they don't need as many trains to run the same number of services.

 

[dk1]

I'd guess many of these people were the same ones laughing at National Express when Abellio got the route, expecting all the trains to become spotless overnight, never suffer any maintenance issues, have cheaper fares and make every train on time, even though it was clearly a caretaker award.

I'm sure I remember one of them posting that Abellio *obviously* has better maintenance teams, as they don't need as many trains to run the same number of services.

I'm so looking forward to CrossRail adopting the Metro at the end of the mont, magic wand & all that. Pity we can't go back to Anglia & rid ourselves of anything DOO. Just nice fast Intercity & local trains.