Abellio Greater Anglia Class 755s (Regional Trains)

[dk1]

I think it looks better with the yellow warning panel

Me too.

 

[43096]

It's not 'free' catering, it's 'included in the price' catering.

Exactly. Although you have to pay, I have found the DB BordBistro/BordRestaurant service to be rather good - good food and reasonable prices, too. In particular, ICE restaurant cars are a very civilised place in which to have a meal.

 

[Goldfish62]

Are they going to go into service with or without yellow front ends? Some units have them and some don't from the photos so far...

Given that it wasn't the plan to have yellow, I guess it's being added later.

 

[Wivenswold]

Given that it wasn't the plan to have yellow, I guess it's being added later.

Again, someone more expert than me posted earlier on this subject but I'm happy to assist. East Anglia has a lot of crossings with poor sightlines, Network Rail's attempts to close many has been met with understandable local resistance and delayed their plans. That and the concerns of track workers has led to GA taking a sensible approach and adding yellow.

 

[Goldfish62]

Again, someone more expert than me posted earlier on this subject but I'm happy to assist. East Anglia has a lot of crossings with poor sightlines, Network Rail's attempts to close many has been met with understandable local resistance and delayed their plans. That and the concerns of track workers has led to GA taking a sensible approach and adding yellow.

Yes, that's what I understand. I was merely suggesting a possible explanation for units appearing initially without yellow.

 

[Wivenswold]

Right, I getcha. They're just yellow transfers which take minutes to add. It's not a huge job in train-building terms so you've probably seen some before they were added.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Im actually going to defend British railways for a min... German first class is half hearted compared to U.K. it’s just a seat on the continent. Rarely free catering.

At 150% of the price it is a much more reasonable proposition.

 

[DaffRav]

Sorry for asking a question that I'm sure has been asked many times but when is the first of these due to enter the UK?

 

[dk1]

Sorry for asking a question that I'm sure has been asked many times but when is the first of these due to enter the UK?

Looking like November at the moment mate.

 

[jha4ceb]

Reports suggest that GA are only getting 10 of the Class 745/0 trains for the intercity Norwich-London route. How can this be enough, given that the current half-hourly service on this route requires at least 10 diagrams? Does it mean that a bunch of the Norwich services are destined to be operated by the suburban stock and not the intercity stock?

Apologies if this has been covered before.

 

[samuelmorris]

I believe the current service requires 9 diagrams, not 10, leaving one spare. The third service to Norwich will be operated by the suburban stock. Frankly I think a single unit spare is too tight and in practice one of the two 'fast' Norwich services will be operated by a 720 a third to half of the time.
It has been stated that 745/1s from Stansted services will cover for 745/0s when unavailable but as far as I can tell there is a similar shortage there.

 

[dk1]

Current service requires 10 IC sets for the half hourly timetable with an extra one for the 06:24/18:10 which ironically is now the priority train rather than the one to cancel if short of a set.

Future requirements From what I understand with 745s is that 9 will be required with slightly faster journey & slightly shorter turnaround times. The third hourly service will be a 720 with a daily Stansted set (SX) booked to work to/from Norwich for a two weekly exam at Crown Point.

 

[jha4ceb]

That does make sense - I hadn't considered the impact of shorter journey times on the diagrams required. 10 sets for 9 diagrams does still seem a bit tight, as samuelmorris said. 720 subs won't be a big deal, I suspect - the bigger worry is the possibility of short-formations introduced by the subs, which isn't something that the Norwich route has had to deal with on a regular basis before.

 

[samuelmorris]

One would hope that if a 720 does have to deputise for a 745, it'd be the 10-car variety so no short-form issue. There is always the possibility of a 5-car substituting though. Better that than nothing at all, a 317 or a 2-car 170 as has substituted on rare occasions in the past!

 

[Wivenswold]

There's also the option of using one or two of the 755s to make a 6/7/8 car replacement as the 10% spare capacity rule in effect leaves 3 755s at Crown Point. Buy in general I agree, a PVR of 18 out of 20 units doesn't leave much of a contingency.

 

[dp21]

To address some of the above - the yellow front end debate continues however for the foreseeable future, they shall remain yellow and all vehicles shall have yellow as delivered. This may change in time.

Regarding delivery, as has been said above, November is likely first delivery for a 755/4 and a 745/1. Previously seemed to be a pair of /4s but this now seems to have changed. May well change again in 4 months' time.

Just on another note, to facilitate any potential future expansion, the /3s will have vehicles identified as A, B (or C - I'm not sure yet) and D. Means you can drop in the extra coach without causing any headaches.

Surprised also (unless I've not seen it - been a bit out of the loop on here recently) to not have seen much commentary on the deal with the MNR to build new stabling on their railway and complete extra double-tracking. How often do you see state of the art vehicles on a heritage railway before the mainline acceptance?

 

[The_Engineer]

How often do you see state of the art vehicles on a heritage railway before the mainline acceptance?

Class 175s on the Severn Valley Railway??

 

[Wivenswold]

Thanks for the clarifications dp21, much appreciated.

My GA Driver friend says a number of sidings at Harwich are expected to be used to store out-going stock. Apparently the leasing companies don't want them back until the lease is up, storage for up to 160 EMUs at a time anyone?

 

[dp21]

My GA Driver friend says a number of sidings at Harwich are expected to be used to store out-going stock. Apparently the leasing companies don't want them back until the lease is up, storage for up to 160 EMUs at a time anyone?

Let's just say space to store outgoing stock isn't exactly in abundance....

 

[F Great Eastern]

To address some of the above - the yellow front end debate continues however for the foreseeable future, they shall remain yellow and all vehicles shall have yellow as delivered. This may change in time.

Regarding delivery, as has been said above, November is likely first delivery for a 755/4 and a 745/1. Previously seemed to be a pair of /4s but this now seems to have changed. May well change again in 4 months' time.

Just on another note, to facilitate any potential future expansion, the /3s will have vehicles identified as A, B (or C - I'm not sure yet) and D. Means you can drop in the extra coach without causing any headaches.

Depends on the line and how the usage grows on it really though at the end of the day if they will need to add the extra carriages though. There are some services such as the Felixstowe that a two car is going to be overkill a lot of the time, let alone the minimum of three it's going to be in future as well as some of the other lines.

Even on some of the regional lines now a two car 170 can be very busy at times, especially during peak, but a three car is pretty spacious.

 

[LAX54]

Thanks for the clarifications dp21, much appreciated.

My GA Driver friend says a number of sidings at Harwich are expected to be used to store out-going stock. Apparently the leasing companies don't want them back until the lease is up, storage for up to 160 EMUs at a time anyone?

Is there, or will there be enough room, with the HOBC, ( or TRS) the two GBRf's that are there over the weekend, plus the daily AGA stock that already stables there overnight ?

 

[Wivenswold]

Is there, or will there be enough room, with the HOBC, ( or TRS) the two GBRf's that are there over the weekend, plus the daily AGA stock that already stables there overnight ?

I doubt very much there will be anywhere near enough room. I think there will be 317s and 321s dumped at numerous places around the SE by September 2019. Assuming of course the 720s are in service by then!

 

[jamesontheroad]

Surprised also (unless I've not seen it - been a bit out of the loop on here recently) to not have seen much commentary on the deal with the MNR to build new stabling on their railway and complete extra double-tracking. How often do you see state of the art vehicles on a heritage railway before the mainline acceptance?

Try this thread under Railtours & Preservation. It is unusual, but a win-win for both stakeholders. The location is sufficiently isolated to be more desirable than the Vauxhall sidings in Great Yarmouth or the old Victoria sidings at Trowse.

 

[Prestige15]

It would be pretty much made for XC or EMT.

I do expect XC would get high speed Aventra bi trains, As for EMT it'll be no surprise if they choose the FLIRT on local routes

 

[TheEdge]

There are some services such as the Felixstowe that a two car is going to be overkill a lot of the time, let alone the minimum of three it's going to be in future as well as some of the other lines.

The ability to drop long units on locals, especially Felixstowe and Yarmouth will be a godsend. Far too often are both of these a bus running alongside the service to carry everyone.

Even on some of the regional lines now a two car 170 can be very busy at times, especially during peak, but a three car is pretty spacious.

I'm not sure what services you are refering to as I know plenty of services that can leave even a 3 car full. Peak East Suffolks, Cambridges from both Norwich and Ipswich, a Sheringham can easily leave a 156 (more capacity than a 2 car 170) full and standing.

 

[ocelocelot]

Is it known yet whether they'll be able to keep to existing timings on the Norwich-Cambridge route? Or even better, get back the minute or two lost when Cambridge North was added? (Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad Cambridge North exists!)

 

[Wivenswold]

They should easily keep to current timings but will probably do better. Not only do they have better acceleration but will also be able to run off the wires at both ends of the route.

 

[eastdyke]

They should easily keep to current timings but will probably do better. Not only do they have better acceleration but will also be able to run off the wires at both ends of the route.

Has it been confirmed that the BMU's are permitted sprinter speeds?
Is the power supply, esp. at the Norwich end, up to the job and OLE equipment generally able to cope with pan up on the move?

 

[Rick1984]

Just pan up on the solid conductor rail on Trowse bridge and at the other end you can do it at Ely Station

 

[lord rathmore]

Probably not adding much to this learned discussion, but my family and I travelled on several FLIRT units in Switzerland recently. We found them smooth riding and comfortable. I live in the GA area & will be happy to see them here. The present stock is definitely beginning to look "heritage".