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Class 745 Stadler FLIRTs

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rdlover777

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EDP 24 has posted an artical about a 745 getting graffitid https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/train-vandalised-wymondham-greater-anglia-1-6488670?

Yes, it says bi-mode but the pic is of the 745, the livery gives it away

Vandals have "tagged" a new million-pound train less than five months after it was introduced.

People spotted the graffiti on one of Greater Anglia's new bi-mode trains, which is being stored near Wymondham, on Mid Norfolk Railway land.

The train had been "tagged", which is a signature left in spray paint, used to identify the person behind the paint.

Train users have expressed their disbelief that the trains have been defaced so soon after being introduced, but said that security should have been better to keep vandals away.

One man, who did not want to be named, said: "They were an ideal target for tagging, to be honest. It isn't art. I believe they should have had better security, things have been vandalised there before. I don't know why Greater Anglia think Wymondham is a safer place to store the trains than Norwich."

Greater Anglia said it was concerned people had trespassed on the tracks, and warned that they risked their lives by doing so, and that it would introduce more security features to stop further vandalism.

A spokesman said: "Trespassing on the railway is incredibly dangerous and anyone who chooses to do so is risking their life. Anyone caught trespassing on the railway will be prosecuted.

"We will continue to work with the Mid Norfolk Railway and the police to tackle this behaviour. We are putting in additional security measures and we would encourage anyone with information to get in touch. Anyone who spots someone vandalising one of our trains should contact a member of rail staff or the police immediately."
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Railperf

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I'd be very surprised if 010 was out again, and aren't there only 2 accepted for service so far?
I would have been surprised to hear 010 out, but under the circumstances wondered whether the fault was serious enough to warrant a temp withdrawal. Obviously if 007 was out then yesterdays fault not sen to be a class-wide issue.
 

Rick1984

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Also the detraining ladder is at a very shallow angle. I'd personally find that trickier than something more vertical
 

306024

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Are the 745 carriages lettered different from the Mkiii?

Completely the opposite. A and B are the first class coaches (previously J and K).

On a Mk3 coach A was effectively the DVT with the only the driver guaranteed a seat ;)
 

stonojnr

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So bad luck on the breakdown, bad luck that the rescue loco didn't work out. Everybody was safe and nobody injured or worse, which might not have been the case if people rushed to detrain.
Reports from those on the train don't paint the picture you do. Toilets were working bar a short period and the staff kept people informed as best they could.

when does it stop being just "bad luck" and more a symptom of a failing accountable management system with proper process and forward planning ?

none of the things that happened werent predictable or even that hard to do markedly better at, given the right focus, but is the right focus being given because it doesnt feel like it.

trains that work reliably, consistently, and problems get fixed quickly, arent just nice to haves or the icing on the cake, for alot of peoples livelihoods,education even health care they depend on that service working properly, passengers shouldnt be made to feel like they are the beta testers, no-one would get on a plane and fly on it, if you told them it had a few known glitches, a few unknown ones, but it will all be fine a few months from now.
 

306024

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yep, was only a matter of luck that this happened morning peak/daylight hours, if had been evening/in darkness much more likely passengers would have taken things into own hands to get home and situation would have been much more messy

Credit to the crew who managed to placate passengers sufficiently to stop such action. And thanks to the passengers themselves who could have made a bad situation worse has they taken things into their own hands. Lots of GA staff aboard as you’d expect with a new train must have helped as well.
 

trebor79

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when does it stop being just "bad luck" and more a symptom of a failing accountable management system with proper process and forward planning ?

none of the things that happened werent predictable or even that hard to do markedly better at, given the right focus, but is the right focus being given because it doesnt feel like it.

trains that work reliably, consistently, and problems get fixed quickly, arent just nice to haves or the icing on the cake, for alot of peoples livelihoods,education even health care they depend on that service working properly, passengers shouldnt be made to feel like they are the beta testers, no-one would get on a plane and fly on it, if you told them it had a few known glitches, a few unknown ones, but it will all be fine a few months from now.

We don't know what the actual failure was. New and old trains will break down from time to time. Planes also break down by the way, hence people's flights being cancelled or delayed, and ocassional news stories when something goes wrong with the landing gear or a cowling falling off mid-flight, or engines failing.

It's clear from what's been said that the original plan was to send a rescue loco, drag to a station and detrain. That's relatively quick because you don't have to keep the general public safe climbing down from a train, wavering asking the line and climbing into another train. They stay in a controlled environment at all times.
So unfortunately there's a problem with both couplers that were at site.
Now all of a sudden it's a detrain, and you have to mobilise all of the people, equipment, liaising with NR, BTP etc to make that happen. Maybe make special arrangements for any disabled or elderly passengers.
Unfortunately you can't just snap your fingers and make it happen. Yes it's frustrating for the folk stuck on the train, but I don't see what could have been doing be differently.

It's not like being stuck for hours us an everyday occurrence.
 

fat_boy_pete

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Another Stan Ex unit delivery just passed through Colchester on the weekly run. Can't be many units left to deliver now.
 

Railperf

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We don't know what the actual failure was. New and old trains will break down from time to time. Planes also break down by the way, hence people's flights being cancelled or delayed, and ocassional news stories when something goes wrong with the landing gear or a cowling falling off mid-flight, or engines failing.

It's clear from what's been said that the original plan was to send a rescue loco, drag to a station and detrain. That's relatively quick because you don't have to keep the general public safe climbing down from a train, wavering asking the line and climbing into another train. They stay in a controlled environment at all times.
So unfortunately there's a problem with both couplers that were at site.
Now all of a sudden it's a detrain, and you have to mobilise all of the people, equipment, liaising with NR, BTP etc to make that happen. Maybe make special arrangements for any disabled or elderly passengers.
Unfortunately you can't just snap your fingers and make it happen. Yes it's frustrating for the folk stuck on the train, but I don't see what could have been doing be differently.

It's not like being stuck for hours us an everyday occurrence.
Cancelled and delayed trains on a daily basis will either cause people to reconsider their how they make journey to work or consider changing job so that they do not have to rely on the train. I know...i used to commute feom Manningtree to London. As much as i enjoy train travel ..relying on it as a commuter is very very stressful indeed. I would never do it ever again. Driving down the A12 was even worse. So i decided to work more locally. Others will do the same and passenger numbers could drop!
 

samuelmorris

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Cancelled and delayed trains on a daily basis will either cause people to reconsider their how they make journey to work or consider changing job so that they do not have to rely on the train. I know...i used to commute feom Manningtree to London. As much as i enjoy train travel ..relying on it as a commuter is very very stressful indeed. I would never do it ever again. Driving down the A12 was even worse. So i decided to work more locally. Others will do the same and passenger numbers could drop!
It's relative to the service level from where you live. Here we're already quite fortunate with 6tph to London with TfL (7 peak), 7tph from nearby Shenfield with GA and if it's a total disaster, 2tph (4 peak) from West Horndon on c2c. Upminster would be better still but you can't really park there unless commuting before the AM peak as I once found to my cost. I fortunately / unfortunately (depending on how you look at it!) no longer work somewhere that requires commuting every day but back when I did, even though minor delays were very common, it was very rare to be delayed by more than an hour. For a lot of people, being delayed for an hour is what will happen if a single train is cancelled, which some are on a regular basis. It's entirely reasonable for people in such areas to dismiss rail as unfit for purpose. If you do it regularly, driving is considerably less expensive than rail and while not exactly reliable in terms of time, you fairly seldom see delays as severe as those experienced by train from areas with an infrequent service.

More back on-topic, is there any word on whether the defect with 745010 is going to see it out of use for a while, or have any impact on the schedule for commissioning the other units?
 

delticdave

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It's relative to the service level from where you live. Here we're already quite fortunate with 6tph to London with TfL (7 peak), 7tph from nearby Shenfield with GA and if it's a total disaster, 2tph (4 peak) from West Horndon on c2c. Upminster would be better still but you can't really park there unless commuting before the AM peak as I once found to my cost. I fortunately / unfortunately (depending on how you look at it!) no longer work somewhere that requires commuting every day but back when I did, even though minor delays were very common, it was very rare to be delayed by more than an hour. For a lot of people, being delayed for an hour is what will happen if a single train is cancelled, which some are on a regular basis. It's entirely reasonable for people in such areas to dismiss rail as unfit for purpose. If you do it regularly, driving is considerably less expensive than rail and while not exactly reliable in terms of time, you fairly seldom see delays as severe as those experienced by train from areas with an infrequent service.

More back on-topic, is there any word on whether the defect with 745010 is going to see it out of use for a while, or have any impact on the schedule for commissioning the other units?

'Tis a wee bit O/T but when I use Upminster Station I park at the top end of Hall Lane in one of the side roads, just off the 248 bus route. Parking on the curb is allowed, & the time restriction is only in the early morning.
 

Rick1984

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Completely the opposite. A and B are the first class coaches (previously J and K).

On a Mk3 coach A was effectively the DVT with the only the driver guaranteed a seat ;)
Cheers l thought so. Unusual to have 1st class at beginning of alphabet
 

Alfie1014

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745007 is on the diagram that includes 14:00 and 19:02 ex LST and 16:30 ex NOR today. Corrected to read 16:30 ex NOR
 
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306024

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745007 is on the diagram that includes 14:00 and 19:02 ex LST and 16:30 ex NOR today. Corrected to read 16:30 ex NOR

16.30 Normanton (NOR) to Liverpool St would be a novel service ;)
745 007 still in diagram on 19.02 LST - NRW just now.

Wonder when 010 will be allowed out on its own again after disgracing itself last week, assuming it hasn’t escaped already.
 

Grumbler

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16.30 Normanton (NOR) to Liverpool St would be a novel service ;)
745 007 still in diagram on 19.02 LST - NRW just now.

Wonder when 010 will be allowed out on its own again after disgracing itself last week, assuming it hasn’t escaped already.
So over 11 months since the first of 20 units was delivered, only two have entered revenue-earnig service and one of them keeps breaking down. Not a good advert for Stadler or Anglia!
 

306024

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So over 11 months since the first of 20 units was delivered, only two have entered revenue-earnig service and one of them keeps breaking down. Not a good advert for Stadler or Anglia!

As indeed you keep grumbling about ;). With a new fleet provider this was never going to be a quick introduction, Network Rail won’t just let any new train loose on the patch, never mind from a manufacturer they have never dealt with before. Then Crown Point needed rebuilding to maintain them while still trying to run a railway, plus you have had the nonsense of the proposed, now cancelled, maintenance facility at Brantham.

It all makes for a good thesis on how not to introduce new stock, but the naivety of the Abellio bid team, and the DfT for accepting the bid at face value, would be at the heart of the problems. The people now trying to make it all work have been presented with an uphill battle.

Meanwhile quite a few positive comments from passengers on the 19.02 from Liverpool St last night. The 745s do seem to be generally liked so far, so long as they keep going.
 
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trebor79

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So over 11 months since the first of 20 units was delivered, only two have entered revenue-earnig service and one of them keeps breaking down. Not a good advert for Stadler or Anglia!
Bit OTT. One of them has broken down, once I think?
 

dk1

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Have patience, these things cannot be rushed. All good things come to those that wait.
 

Adrian1980uk

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What's the rush, get it right first time rather than the rushed bi mode introduction... Where have we ended up there. Currently the 90s still manage a service and can for a few more months.
 

86246

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What's the rush, get it right first time rather than the rushed bi mode introduction... Where have we ended up there. Currently the 90s still manage a service and can for a few more months.

Agree you can't rush these things although the suggestion was that the 90s are required by Freightliner at the end of March. It is a job to know the difference between the truth and rumours though.
 

RailWonderer

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What's the rush, get it right first time rather than the rushed bi mode introduction... Where have we ended up there. Currently the 90s still manage a service and can for a few more months.
Remember they had no option but to rush the bi-modes since the legacy stock went off lease.

The 745 I was on this week had a Stadler technician sitting in first for caution. They’re not going to rush the 745s it looks like.
 

F Great Eastern

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Remember they had no option but to rush the bi-modes since the legacy stock went off lease.

They didn't extend the leases for long enough when they placed the order for the new rolling stock. The leases with the new operators were only signed a while after the initial order was made. The rolling stock leasing companies would have been open to have extending the leases for longer as at the time that the order for the FLIRT and Bombardiers was placed there was no work lined up for them or any firm interest in the stock.

Afterwards the ROSCOs started touting the stock out in the knowledge that GA wasn't interesting in extending the lease so the whole argument that GA have been forced into a shortage of stock due to factors completely outside of their control is pure spin since they had the chance to extend the stock but didn't and by the time the issues with the hopelessly optimistic bid timescales were revealed years later, it was too late.
 
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