Class 707 - SWT: Introduction into service

[TEW]

Won't be seen for much longer now. The runs to Petersfield are regular fault free running trips on Saturdays. After the current pair, there are only two more to be commissioned now.

 

[WWTownEnth]

When the pair currently being tested are commissioned, will that enable all of the diagrams to settle down into a final pattern? I’m guessing that at that stage the required 27 units will be fully available....

 

[Juniper Driver]

I had 707005 and 707011 today..

Means AFAIR 707003/4/5/7/8/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/25/26 and 28 I've driven.Possibly a few more I've forgotten about.

I quite like them and learn't a bit more about them today.

 

[Class455]

Have just seen 458501 and another unit at Earlsfield this afternoon. It was in service so it appears to be substituting a 707 on a Kingston loop service

 

[TEW]

Have just seen 458501 and another unit at Earlsfield this afternoon. It was in service so it appears to be substituting a 707 on a Kingston loop service

Probably on a Shepperton service. There is a booked diagram for a 10-car 458 all day on Shepperton services.
0640, 0841, 1041, 1241, 1441, 1641 departures from Shepperton.
0742, 0942, 1142, 1342, 1542, 1742 departures from London Waterloo.
Been in the diagrams since December but only actually started being ran by 458s last week.

 

[GW43125]

2S44 14:33 Weybridge Waterloo has now gone back to a 707. It’s booked a pair but didn’t see if it was one or two units.

 

[Driver@swt]

Have just seen 458501 and another unit at Earlsfield this afternoon. It was in service so it appears to be substituting a 707 on a Kingston loop service

There is a 458 booked on a Shepperton service in the day now.

 

[Class455]

Probably on a Shepperton service. There is a booked diagram for a 10-car 458 all day on Shepperton services.
0640, 0841, 1041, 1241, 1441, 1641 departures from Shepperton.
0742, 0942, 1142, 1342, 1542, 1742 departures from London Waterloo.
Been in the diagrams since December but only actually started being ran by 458s last week.

I ended up getting that train yesterday on the 16:41 departure, was actually 458523 and 458509.
That's pretty strange to see a 458/5 being booked on the Shepperton route, and replacing the usual 10 car 455/456, even though the 707's are supposed to be for Metro services. I thought they were all supposed to move to Reading services?
The 458's are not really suited to peak Metro services, as there isn't too much standing room in the doorways compared to a 455/456 and 707, similar to a 377/6.

Meanwhile, the train behind the 458's, 2O47 16:31 Waterloo via Strawberry Hill loop, one of the three mainline diagrams supposed to be converting to a 707 is STILL an 8 car 455, despite the fact that the computer systems have updated it to show as a 10 car service! And this was despite the fact I saw two pairs of 707's at Wimbledon depot yesterday! Is this diagram ever going to convert?

 

[03_179]

Anyone able to give me a bit of info ...

707s are what height ?

And 717s if anyone has it ?

 

[BRX]

Another attempt to deliver the remaining two units from Dollands Moor to Clapham will be made this evening, supposedly.

 

[theageofthetra]

Only occasional SW user but was surprised to find just a 5 coach one on a Reading service from Waterloo just outside the evening peak on Wednesday

I was only going to Richmond but surely they shouldn't be running all the way to Reading with only 5 on and no toilet?

 

[43096]

Only occasional SW user but was surprised to find just a 5 coach one on a Reading service from Waterloo just outside the evening peak on Wednesday

I was only going to Richmond but surely they shouldn't be running all the way to Reading with only 5 on and no toilet?

I assume that is the 1935 off Waterloo? Before the 707s entered service that train was the only Reading service booked for a 458/5. As that diagram has gone over to 707 operation (it splits from a 10-car) it is the only 707 passenger turn to Reading. As for no toilet, that is default mode of operation for the 458s, so not really a problem!

 

[theageofthetra]

I assume that is the 1935 off Waterloo? Before the 707s entered service that train was the only Reading service booked for a 458/5. As that diagram has gone over to 707 operation (it splits from a 10-car) it is the only 707 passenger turn to Reading. As for no toilet, that is default mode of operation for the 458s, so not really a problem!

Yes that's it the 19.35.

 

[GW43125]

707018 proclaimed this morning that "a ticket check by on-board staff is about to take place" despite no such staff being on the train!

I have not had a single unit this week on which the screens have been displaying useful information such as where the train is bloody going!
Usually it spends the entire journey on "Do not put your feet on the seats" or "this train is not in service"; despite announcing the stops normally!

 

[LT3001]

One unit earlier decided that you could change at Teddington for Swanage...

 

[WWTownEnth]

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/R90470/2018/02/23/advanced

Looks like the final two units (707024 and 707030) made it to Clapham Yard last night

 

[WWTownEnth]

 

[Goldfish62]

Only occasional SW user but was surprised to find just a 5 coach one on a Reading service from Waterloo just outside the evening peak on Wednesday

I was only going to Richmond but surely they shouldn't be running all the way to Reading with only 5 on and no toilet?

Was that the 1935 from Waterloo? That's always five cars, although when I last used it a couple of weeks ago it was a 458.

 

[Dr_Intoxicated]

One unit earlier decided that you could change at Teddington for Swanage...

Yes I noticed that a couple of weeks ago so they have not fixed that bug. I mistakenly miss remembered it as Swanley.

Class 707 - SWT: Introduction into service

 

[GW43125]

Was that the 1935 from Waterloo? That's always five cars, although when I last used it a couple of weeks ago it was a 458.

It was a 458 from the start, then it was a 707 for a few weeks, then it went back to a 458, now it's seemingly finally sticking as 707.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Quite a lot in service now. I noted seventeen 707s in service on Saturday (24/02/2017). Two were paired but the other fifteen were running as lone 5-car services. There were six parked at Clapham Junction (one not identifiable but I assume to be a 707) and that includes the new arrivals 707024 & 707030. There was only one 707 parked up at Wimbledon that I could see. So I have seven unaccounted for.

 

[fairysdad]

707018 proclaimed this morning that "a ticket check by on-board staff is about to take place" despite no such staff being on the train!

I have not had a single unit this week on which the screens have been displaying useful information such as where the train is bloody going!
Usually it spends the entire journey on "Do not put your feet on the seats" or "this train is not in service"; despite announcing the stops normally!

The cynic in me is wondering if SWR aren't bothering to fix these problems because they don't want the trains and are trying to get passengers to think they're broken so when their new new ones come in they'll be seen as 100 times better! /s

 

[GW43125]

The cynic in me is wondering if SWR aren't bothering to fix these problems because they don't want the trains and are trying to get passengers to think they're broken so when their new new ones come in they'll be seen as 100 times better! /s

Fair point
*ahem* VTWC
*ahem* Serco

 

[Kite159]

707018 proclaimed this morning that "a ticket check by on-board staff is about to take place" despite no such staff being on the train!

I have not had a single unit this week on which the screens have been displaying useful information such as where the train is bloody going!
Usually it spends the entire journey on "Do not put your feet on the seats" or "this train is not in service"; despite announcing the stops normally!

I've had similar with 455s proclaiming a ticket check was about to proceed.

Good news that the final 2 have arrived

 

[Driver@swt]

The cynic in me is wondering if SWR aren't bothering to fix these problems because they don't want the trains and are trying to get passengers to think they're broken so when their new new ones come in they'll be seen as 100 times better! /s

The messages like that are I putted from a separate menu by the guard. Once the message has been displayed, the guard has to exit from that mode, otherwise they stay on the screens blocking the destination displays. Nothing wrong with the trains on this occasion.

 

[Class455]

I've had similar with 455s proclaiming a ticket check was about to proceed.

Good news that the final 2 have arrived

Hopefully this will mean the final mainline diagram can now convert to 707’s

 

[43096]

Hopefully this will mean the final mainline diagram can now convert to 707’s

It will be three weeks or so yet, as the sets have to do their commissioning runs.

 

[Class455]

Had 707007 today and the PIS was stuck on “Please move inside the train to allow passengers to board” throughout the entire journey! The train wasn’t even busy. Couldn’t there be more useful information on there?
Cannot believe how awful the PIS is on these units compared to the Thameslink 700’s. The voice is another thing that really annoys me about the 707’s. However, the announcement now says “The next Station is” in a much clearer way, which is a step in the right direction.
Speaking of which I heard the same robotic voice on a station announcement at Clapham Junction today!

 

[samuelmorris]

I notice they had to change the text to a phrase it can read correctly, rather than changing the voice pack or better yet, using actual voice recordings.

 

[TEW]

For me the most annoying thing about using the Text-to-Speech announcements is that it isn't being used for anything different. The announcements use near enough identical wording to the standard announcements by Celia on the rest of the SWR fleet, so there seems to no reason not to just use them. If the announcements were different, perhaps giving better and more information, on the 707s I could understand the use of TTS.