LNER Azuma (Class 800/801)

[ash39]

I couldn't disagree more. I think it is an excellent design that suits the shape of the units.

Are you definitely looking at the same images?

The way the red awkwardly stops around the headlights because it's too tricky to vinyl looks awful. And the mass overbranding of 'Azuma' is cringeworthy. Whole thing just screams 'budget' to me.

It's OK though, TPE and Hull Trains will show them how to correctly brand an IET shortly.

 

[BowesRanger]

I think the livery would be improved of they went over to Apple Green or Caledonian Blue in place of the Virgin Red.

Does feel like virgin are basically get free promotion out of this. Is very similar to their idiom.

I agree blue or green would have been a nice change.

 

[chiltern trev]

Lunchtime Monday 15 Oct 2018 - was travelling north on the A19 between Northallerton and Yarm areas and passed 3 white Azuma centre coaches (i.e no driving cabs) in convoy on low loaders going the other way. From Teesport? but to where? A roundabout route down the A19 to the A1 and then north again to Newton Aycliffe?

 

[800001]

Lunchtime Monday 15 Oct 2018 - was travelling north on the A19 between Northallerton and Yarm areas and passed 3 white Azuma centre coaches (i.e no driving cabs) in convoy on low loaders going the other way. From Teesport? but to where? A roundabout route down the A19 to the A1 and then north again to Newton Aycliffe?

Most likely 3 complete coaches on route to Doncaster.
Several of the 800/1s (9 car bimode) have been fully assembled in Japan.

 

[ModernRailways]

So we have the crazy situation where a regulator says trains considered safe on one line are not safe on another line! Barmy!

They've said that they won't allow the introduction of any additional trains until a fix has been applied. If they were removed from traffic it would cause a massive issue for GWR with a lack of sets and so they've been given permission to continue running the trains that have already been introduced and put into traffic, they won't be able to accept new trains until a fix has been applied. LNER haven't had any sets introduced and put into traffic and as such they won't be allowed to introduce them at all until a fix has been found and applied.

Plus, they also mention that GWR have made some amendments already to help in the meantime.

 

[GrimShady]

Does feel like virgin are basically get free promotion out of this. Is very similar to their idiom.

I agree blue or green would have been a nice change.

I was thinking something along the lines of the old Great Western Merlin livery with Apple Green or the Caley Blue with LNER brand in gold writing in place of the Merlin logo.

 

[greyman42]

Does feel like virgin are basically get free promotion out of this. Is very similar to their idiom.

Yes I agree. I bet Branson can't believe his luck with free advertising. People still associate the little changed livery with the Virgin brand.

 

[westv]

So the December roll out of the service on LNER is/might be/isn't delayed? I'm confused!

 

[rich-leeds]

So the December roll out of the service on LNER is/might be/isn't delayed? I'm confused!

I personally don't know, but apparently driver training is reasonably advanced. Timetable change is 7 weeks on Sunday. Quiet possible one or two Leeds diagrams could start in December, the Hull /Leeds one was mooted as the first. I really hope so.

 

[Rail Blues]

Does feel like virgin are basically get free promotion out of this. Is very similar to their idiom.

I agree blue or green would have been a nice change.

It isn't 'virgin' red. It's red.

Virgin don't have a monopoly on the colour red, plenty of other operators utilise red.

As has been patiently explained on other threads, switching to a wholly new colour scheme would have involved massive unneeded spending and a huge rebranding exercise for no reward. I for one have no interest in rheumy eyed nostalgia on the taxpayer's coin to satisfy a group of nostalgists who want to pretend it is the 1930s.

 

[GrimShady]

It isn't 'virgin' red. It's red.

Virgin don't have a monopoly on the colour red, plenty of other operators utilise red.

As has been patiently explained on other threads, switching to a wholly new colour scheme would have involved massive unneeded spending and a huge rebranding exercise for no reward. I for one have no interest in rheumy eyed nostalgia on the taxpayer's coin to satisfy a group of nostalgists who want to pretend it is the 1930s.

No nostalgia intended, they just happen to be good colours regardless of the time period.

I very much doubt any of us were around in the 30s anyway!

I maybe should have been more specific in my post, I meant for the current LNER logo to be used in place of the GW Merlin logo. Merlin livery has nothing to do the 30s, it's just a very good paint scheme up there with Intercity.

This....https://photos.smugmug.com/Retrospe...T/i-ZmWnpq3/0/1324e423/L/43131 19980723-L.jpg

 

[samuelmorris]

I think the Virgin comments were made because it isn't just the colour red, that LNER livery does look strikingly similar in style to something Virgin would use. If you hadn't seen the concept art for the Virgin Azumas you could easily think it was just the VTEC Azuma livery with the logo changed.

 

[yorkie]

This thread is to discuss the LNER Azuma fleet and their introduction.

If anyone wishes to post their own idea for a livery which is based on comparisons with another operator, this thread isn't the right place for that; you could post it in the Speculative Ideas section with a suitable title e.g. "My idea for LNER to adopt a livery similar to GWR" or something like that.

Please can we try to stay on topic; if you see someone else go off topic please don't continue the off-topic discussion in the wrong thread. Either create a new one or ignore it, and report any off topic posts using the report button. If a thread has already gone off topic for several posts it may no longer be feasible for us to take corrective action.

 

[westv]

I personally don't know, but apparently driver training is reasonably advanced. Timetable change is 7 weeks on Sunday. Quiet possible one or two Leeds diagrams could start in December, the Hull /Leeds one was mooted as the first. I really hope so.

I've checked the December timetable for the Hull service and the timings are exactly the same as now. I thought Azuma's were supposed to shave 10 minutes off the journey?

 

[rich-leeds]

I've checked the December timetable for the Hull service and the timings are exactly the same as now. I thought Azuma's were supposed to shave 10 minutes off the journey?

I understand that the LNER paths will remain on current timings until a good number of the fleet is available, which seems like a sensible plan. I guess in the short term this means that it'll be easier to recover from delay etc. I seem to recall May 2020 being mentioned for when the faster Leeds - London journey times will be realised (by which time Leeds services should be 100% Azuma operated).

I suppose the other interesting thing to check would be the seat selection tool on the LNER website.

 

[westv]

I suppose the other interesting thing to check would be the seat selection tool on the LNER website.

It hasn't worked since the new VTEC website went live (nearly a year ago?) on the Hull service and LNER seem in no hurry to fix it.
No Azuma yet on their list of seating plans on the website either.

 

[swt_passenger]

I've checked the December timetable for the Hull service and the timings are exactly the same as now. I thought Azuma's were supposed to shave 10 minutes off the journey?

Timetables won't change until there are enough IETs to run the whole LNER service, if the GWR introduction sets any precedent at all. In fact that approach seems pretty standard whatever fleet is being updated.

 

[samuelmorris]

I've checked the December timetable for the Hull service and the timings are exactly the same as now. I thought Azuma's were supposed to shave 10 minutes off the journey?

I'd agree with that, no point recasting the timetable based on a small handful of IET-operated services given the likelihood of substitution / potential delay to introduction. I'd expect the new summer timetable to be the first time anything gets changed in response to IET vs. HST.

 

[Randomer]

Having had another look at the picture is the very top cable positioned between the ceramic isolators the 25kV power feed?

I can understand ORR being worried if you could climb up and touch a live section by the isolators without getting anywhere near the OHLE or Pantograph. Don't remember them being as obvious on a 390?

 

[swt_passenger]

Having had another look at the picture is the very top cable positioned between the ceramic isolators the 25kV power feed?

I can understand ORR being worried if you could climb up and touch a live section by the isolators without getting anywhere near the OHLE or Pantograph. Don't remember them being as obvious on a 390?

Yes it is. I think though they’re quite similar on a Pendolino, once you look for them.

 

[gsnedders]

Yes it is. I think though they’re quite similar on a Pendolino, once you look for them.

I remember noticing that they would be quite easy to get at if you wanted to when I last was on a 390.

 

[14xxDave]

So what is being said is that they are ok to be get at on the west coast and GWR but the rest of the network is out of bounds?

 

[samuelmorris]

No, that the GWR 800/802s have been satisfactorily modified, the 390s don't need modifying, but the LNER 800/801s do.

 

[800001]

No, that the GWR 800/802s have been satisfactorily modified, the 390s don't need modifying, but the LNER 800/801s do.

Would love to see what modifications as when i looked at Paddington yesterday, several gwr IETs were there, and nothing has changed with the trains, still exactly the same as lner ones.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Any testing going on through Grantham/Retford area Saturday week 03 Nov yet on RTT? Will be on a rare sortie to Lincoln in the morning and likely back Sunday evening.

 

[SHerr]

Maybe I am being a bit thick here - GWRs fleet have had an issue identified by the ORR and are supposedly modifying/have modified their fleet - I assume undertaken by Hitachi. Yet Hitachi keep churning out new trains for LNER that have the same issue. I hope either I’ve missed something or LNER/DfT are going to take Hitachi to the cleaners if the trains are further delayed.

 

[jimm]

A government-owned company is unlikely to make a big song and dance about an aspect of the train design that was presumably signed off by, er, the government department that ordered the trains....

 

[Helvellyn]

It hasn't worked since the new VTEC website went live (nearly a year ago?) on the Hull service and LNER seem in no hurry to fix it.
No Azuma yet on their list of seating plans on the website either.

I think that is because the Hull service uses the hired in EMT set and VTEC/LNER probably didn't want to pay to have seat maps produced for two trains a day.

 

[cactustwirly]

I think that is because the Hull service uses the hired in EMT set and VTEC/LNER probably didn't want to pay to have seat maps produced for two trains a day.

Well it's their train, it's not hired in anymore, it's leased directly to VTEC (including the powercars)
However the NL102 diagram on Sundays is actually an EMT train, as it comes directly off an STP - SHF working.

 

[westv]

I think that is because the Hull service uses the hired in EMT set and VTEC/LNER probably didn't want to pay to have seat maps produced for two trains a day.

The set has been used on several routes for over 3 years now and and the seat selector worked beforè the new website came online. It did stop working a couple of times on the old site but was fairly "quickly" fixed.