Great Western Railway Heathrow Express Class 387 Refittment and Service Updates

[Metal_gee_man]

Some photos of the interior I was sent today. The final one I think was taken in Business First.

They look less Electrostary, and the 1st class seats aren't regular Electrostar seats which is a plus point

 

[Ianno87]

Better acceleration and the opportunity to be at 110mph, rather than 100mph, from Acton to Heathrow Airport Junction (not allowing for acceleration/braking) will shave a little time of what the Class 332s could achieve. I would estimate that to be seconds rather than minutes though. At a guess, between 30-45 seconds in total, perhaps as much as a minute. Not to be sniffed at, but not exactly worth rewriting the timetable for.

110 vs 100 mph is 3 seconds per mile reduction.

You could probably only sustain that for about 5 miles from clearing Ladbroke Grove to decelerating for Airport Jn.

So about 15 seconds saved.

 

[fgwrich]

Some photos of the interior I was sent today. The final one I think was taken in Business First.

The last one is indeed "Business First", including the dreaded Fansia Sophia.

 

[matt_world2004]

The screen looks more distracting than the screen on the 332 which would annoy the hell out of me .

 

[samuelmorris]

£1.50 a mile for Fainsa Sophias... - I wonder how long the service will last once Crossrail opens...

 

[43096]

£1.50 a mile for Fainsa Sophias... - I wonder how long the service will last once Crossrail opens...

Hopefully Crossrail will kill it off.

What this means is that the two main London airports have their "premium" service formed of stock with ironing boards (and Fainsa rubbish for first for Heathrow). Maybe some "Welcome to rip-off Britain" branding could be applied to them. Ironically, the two more "budget" London airports (Stansted and Luton) have (or will have have) far better quality services with the FLIRTs and Desiros.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Some photos of the interior I was sent today. The final one I think was taken in Business First.

I feel bad for the Heathrow Express marketing staff who have to pretend it isn’t the shocking downgrade that it is

 

[supervc-10]

To be fair, pre-booked £5.50 each way isn't bad in standard.

 

[Mikey C]

Overall they look like a step back from the 332s, though I like the airline departure/arrival screen

 

[Bletchleyite]

HEx isn't aimed at commuters, it's for rich tourists from the Far East/America, who have most likely flown business class.

It isn't aimed at commuters, but it's definitely aimed at business travellers - pretty much the entirety of the marketing is aimed that way. The number of "rich tourists from the Far East/America" are not enough to keep it going on its own.

 

[CBlue]

I've travelled on a 345 along with the 360s they replaced, and seating orientation aside I'd have been hard pressed to notice any difference in ride quality. Ditto with a 387 in standard.

 

[Wolfie]

Some photos of the interior I was sent today. The final one I think was taken in Business First.

Thanks. Markedly inferior to the 332 interior fit.

 

[jon0844]

Some photos of the interior I was sent today. The final one I think was taken in Business First.

That looks really nice. Far better than I expected, and the screens I believe are the same as being fitted to other 387s.

It's hard to tell from the photos, but I assume they've had the new LED lighting fitted too?

Frankly, I think people will be very happy with these are regular users will certainly not see the interior as a massive backward step from the 332s as I feared.

 

[Horizon22]

In service news, two circuits today appear to have failed in the Heathrow terminals - both 1Y62 and 1Y64 were cancelled.

 

[py_megapixel]

Has the ETCS system failed?

 

[Horizon22]

Has the ETCS system failed?

One appeared to be an ATP fault, another was stuck because of a 345 separately failing at T5.

 

[JonathanH]

One appeared to be an ATP fault, another was stuck because of a 345 separately failing at T5.

It does look like either the 345s or 387s have had a good day with Terminal 5 seemingly unserved for about two hours.

If RTT is to be believed, after 1452 from Terminal 5, the next Heathrow Express departuere at 1512 didn't run, there was a 345 which got as far as Heathrow Central at 1619, then one which ran to Paddington at 1707, a few services running to time and cancellations again of 387s at 1712 and 1812.

I note that a pair of 387s had a 29 minute delay on a morning service at Heathrow Central too

 

[northernbelle]

Whenever I've used HEX, it's not because of the luxurious surroundings of a '332' - it's because it's the quickest and most convenient option. When I've arrived at Heathrow on a flight from overseas, the last thing I've wanted to face is boarding a slower (and potentially more crowded) stopping service into Paddington.

Strategically, using the 387s was the most sensible option because it used a fleet with some slack available in it and saved the expense of a completely new depot for the 332s, given that Old Oak had to be flattened for HS2.

Whether HEX will prosper is more a question of people's flying habits post-Covid - the fact that the Stansted and Gatwick operations have continued for years with Electrostar stock suggests that its success is not down to retaining 332s.

 

[Ianno87]

Whenever I've used HEX, it's not because of the luxurious surroundings of a '332' - it's because it's the quickest and most convenient option. When I've arrived at Heathrow on a flight from overseas, the last thing I've wanted to face is boarding a slower (and potentially more crowded) stopping service into Paddington.

Strategically, using the 387s was the most sensible option because it used a fleet with some slack available in it and saved the expense of a completely new depot for the 332s, given that Old Oak had to be flattened for HS2.

Whether HEX will prosper is more a question of people's flying habits post-Covid - the fact that the Stansted and Gatwick operations have continued for years with Electrostar stock suggests that its success is not down to retaining 332s.

If anything, now is a good time to "downgrade" the on-train offer. Returning business travellers may have very different priorities and expectations compared to pre-Covid.

And leisure travellers don't care - they just want a simple, easy fast service.

 

[D365]

I suppose it makes it a tidier overall operation instead of a separately owned stub of the network which adds extra complication.

If it hasn't been an issue for 20+ years, why would it suddenly become an issue now?

Not really relevant to the Class 387s though. How many /1a units are currently available to operate HEx?

 

[Ianno87]

I suppose it makes it a tidier overall operation instead of a separately owned stub of the network which adds extra complication.

Which is basically moot anyway as Heathrow sub-contract maintenance and operation back to NR (AIUI)

 

[Horizon22]

If it hasn't been an issue for 20+ years, why would it suddenly become an issue now?

Yeah not saying I'm agree and I'm not aware of any major concerns with the current operations. But TfL are always keen to expand their empire so it might be an area of interest.

 

[Ianno87]

Yeah not saying I'm agree and I'm not aware of any major concerns with the current operations. But TfL are always keen to expand their empire so it might be an area of interest.

Only when they've got the money to pay for it...

 

[Horizon22]

Only when they've got the money to pay for it...

Of course, which could be decades at the current rate!

 

[JN114]

If it hasn't been an issue for 20+ years, why would it suddenly become an issue now?

Not really relevant to the Class 387s though. How many /1a units are currently available to operate HEx?

9, the last 3 are just having final acceptance and snagging work done at Reading. But they’re operated in “permanent” pairs, so the 9th unit (at West Ealing at present) can’t enter service until its partner is ready. All todo with managing exam and maintenance requirements, putting them in fixed pairs simplifies the exam and maintenance regime somewhat, as on 387s maintenance tasks are a mix of time-interval based and mileage accumulated based.

One appeared to be an ATP fault, another was stuck because of a 345 separately failing at T5.

It was an ETCS fault - it’s proving hard to re-educate some industry colleagues that HEx 387s run on ETCS, not ATP. Not helped by one of the most frequent causes of ETCS failure comes up on the TMS onboard as an “ATP down Alarm”.

 

[Horizon22]

It was an ETCS fault - it’s proving hard to re-educate some industry colleagues that HEx 387s run on ETCS, not ATP. Not helped by one of the most frequent causes of ETCS failure comes up on the TMS onboard as an “ATP down Alarm”.

Several HeX sets have had ETCS failures today and subsequent resets - as have some 345s all at the same point in Heathrow tunnels.

 

[MarkyT]

It was an ETCS fault - it’s proving hard to re-educate some industry colleagues that HEx 387s run on ETCS, not ATP. Not helped by one of the most frequent causes of ETCS failure comes up on the TMS onboard as an “ATP down Alarm”.

ETCS implements a form of ATP among other things, but pre-existence of another ATP tech in the area suggests the error messages should be more clear, especially as there's still plenty of GW-ATP active for cl. 80x on the main line. Presumably all the old ATP equipment in the tunnels has now been isolated pending recovery.

 

[cactustwirly]

ETCS implements a form of ATP among other things, but pre-existence of another ATP tech in the area suggests the error messages should be more clear, especially as there's still plenty of GW-ATP active for cl. 80x on the main line. Presumably all the old ATP equipment in the tunnels has now been isolated pending recovery.

The 387s should be on conventional systems east of Airport junction.
So the ATP on the GWML shouldn't affect them

 

[D365]

9, the last 3 are just having final acceptance and snagging work done at Reading. But they’re operated in “permanent” pairs, so the 9th unit (at West Ealing at present) can’t enter service until its partner is ready. All todo with managing exam and maintenance requirements, putting them in fixed pairs simplifies the exam and maintenance regime somewhat, as on 387s maintenance tasks are a mix of time-interval based and mileage accumulated based.

From a few pages back in this discussion, I was under the impression that Class 387 ETCS operation was only cleared for units operating in pairs (i.e. 8 cars, not 4 or 12).

 

[Horizon22]

From a few pages back in this discussion, I was under the impression that Class 387 ETCS operation was only cleared for units operating in pairs (i.e. 8 cars, not 4 or 12).

Yes, so awaiting the 10th so that 5 circuits can run, whilst 11 & 12 makes it 6 pairs with presumably one as a spare diagram.