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SWR Metro fleet permanent withdrawals

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HamworthyGoods

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Due to an increased requirement for cl450s in the Inner area from Monday a number of 10 car 444 Portsmouth Line Fast services have had to become 8 car 450s and Alton line 8 car 450s reduced to 5 car 444s.

This is not intended to be a long term solution I understand, just until cl701s enter traffic as in all cases it reduces capacity as passenger numbers continue to rise.
 

boiledbeans2

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15 Oct 2020
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Not exactly about the to be withdrawn fleet (perhaps related to cascades) but I note that:

444009, 017, 018, 024, 037 and 038 are all on Alton/Basingstoke semis today, attaching and dividing at Woking. Altons are terminating at Farnham due to engineering work.

As a local of the Alton line when not at Uni, how I hope this will be a regular thing :lol:
Those 444s are interworking with the Portsmouth via Guildford today.
 
Joined
30 Jul 2015
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774
As it is now the end of the current timetable, it seems as good a time as any for an update of the list of 458 & 455 that have not worked in passenger service for over a month. This is with the last date that I have noticed them appear on a passenger train on RTT. This date is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, but it shouldn't be out by more than a day or so.

458509 27/03/22 (to Bournemouth 11/05/22)
458511 12/04/22 (to Farnham 22/04/22)
458519 07/04/22 (to Bournemouth 11/05/22)
458522 09/10/21
458529 25/08/21
458535 unknown

458513(23/04/22) is the only other 458 that has yet to work in May.

List excludes Off-lease 458507,517,533,534


455701 03/04/22
455707 29/03/22 (from Bournemouth 22/04/22)
455713 16/02/22
455714 08/04/22
455719 27/01/22
455727 29/03/22 (from Bournemouth 22/04/22)
455741 12/04/22 (to Bournemouth 22/04/22)
455848 29/09/21
455851 14/04/22
455852 19/04/22 (to Bournemouth 22/04/22)
455854 21/02/22
455909 18/03/22
455920 17/03/22

455738(20/04/22) is the only other 455 that has yet to work in May.

List excludes Off-lease and/or Xmas Tree 455704,726,736,740,847,855.


I do not know how much work the SWR 707 fleet will actually have (any?) with the new timetable, so a round-up of their current last dates in use is below;

14/05/22 707015-017,021-024,030
13/05/22 707014,018
11/05/22 707020
06/05/22 707019
 

TEW

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16 May 2008
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Looks like 10 707 diagrams next week. All pairs, 4 on the all day Shepperton diagrams and 1 on a peak Shepperton via Richmond diagram.

there are some 444s on the alton line diagrammed from monday
0653, 0954 and 1625 from Waterloo.
0844, 1144 and 1814 from Alton.
 

Nicholas Lewis

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Looks like 10 707 diagrams next week. All pairs, 4 on the all day Shepperton diagrams and 1 on a peak Shepperton via Richmond diagram.
So how will SWR cover their work when they pass across to SE in a couple of months?
 

HamworthyGoods

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So how will SWR cover their work when they pass across to SE in a couple of months?

This is why some extra 450s have been moved from the mainline to the inner area, hence single 444s instead of 8 car 450s on Alton workings etc.

It’s very tight and will cause some levels of crowding until the 70s are ready. Hopefully they will start to work soon!
 

TEW

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Just out of interest, would it be possible to know which Cobham services these will work please?
0634, 0834, 0934, 1104, 1134, 1304, 1504, 1604, 1734, 1807, 1934, 2134, 2234 from Guildford


0633, 0703, 0733, 0803, 0933, 1003, 1133, 1333, 1433, 1603, 1633, 1803, 2003, 2103, 2233, 2303, 2350 from Waterloo
 

DelW

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Due to an increased requirement for cl450s in the Inner area from Monday a number of 10 car 444 Portsmouth Line Fast services have had to become 8 car 450s and Alton line 8 car 450s reduced to 5 car 444s.

This is not intended to be a long term solution I understand, just until cl701s enter traffic as in all cases it reduces capacity as passenger numbers continue to rise.
Isn't this exactly the sort of thing that p*ss*s off the Portsmouth line user group? - uncomfortable suburban stock on the fast Pompeys while mainline units trundle around on suburban stoppers. All because SWR were in too much of a hurry to dispose of metro stock without having the 701s ready to replace it. It was all so obviously predictable, and indeed was predicted on these forums.

*Maybe* it'll get better before the remaining 707s depart, or maybe services will just deteriorate further. SWR's history of broken promises and failure to deliver doesn't bode well though.
 

HamworthyGoods

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Isn't this exactly the sort of thing that p*ss*s off the Portsmouth line user group? - uncomfortable suburban stock on the fast Pompeys while mainline units trundle around on suburban stoppers.

Indeed, I doubt it will go down too well!
 

Nicholas Lewis

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This is why some extra 450s have been moved from the mainline to the inner area, hence single 444s instead of 8 car 450s on Alton workings etc.

It’s very tight and will cause some levels of crowding until the 70s are ready. Hopefully they will start to work soon!
So if they've reorganised the stock workings to take account of the 707's departing no reason why they can't come over to SE sooner but they aren't so presumably they will need to batter back into use everything else thats currently stopped over the next few months.
 

BRX

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Now that 455s are gone on Southern, how much longer are they expected to last on SWR?
 

DelW

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Now that 455s are gone on Southern, how much longer are they expected to last on SWR?
That depends on the 701 introduction

See my (not entirely serious) prediction from much earlier in this thread:

I think WarrenTManager mentioned not that long ago that no other trains will be going off lease (455 I think he said) until 701s start coming into service.
In that case I'm looking forward to the 455s' Golden Jubilee celebrations :lol::lol:
Of course since then it does seem that 701s might be edging nearer to doing something useful at long last.
 

DelW

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What's the current best guess though... Days/weeks/months?
I had a mental sweepstake going between Crossrail core, SWR 701s and GWR 769s, all three or four years late ... obviously Crossrail is about to win, but second place is still to play for.

As to when, I'm reminded of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh - "this year, next year, sometime, never" ... they're all still possible.
 

cactustwirly

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I had a mental sweepstake going between Crossrail core, SWR 701s and GWR 769s, all three or four years late ... obviously Crossrail is about to win, but second place is still to play for.

As to when, I'm reminded of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh - "this year, next year, sometime, never" ... they're all still possible.

SWR 701s coming second I would have thought. At least they have been approved by ASLEF and driver training is starting...
 

BRX

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To be honest it’s definitely months. Driver training hasn’t even started yet
Thanks. Haven't really been paying attention to what's going on. I've got a little while yet to do a trip out to Guildford on the slow line yet, then.
 

swt_passenger

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SWR 701s coming second I would have thought. At least they have been approved by ASLEF and driver training is starting...
Not according to the more recent posts in the 701 thread though:
 

Ant1966

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Saw 458504 on a Reading train at Clapham last night, so that's now back in service (sorry of mentioned before)
 

DelW

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SWR 701s coming second I would have thought. At least they have been approved by ASLEF and driver training is starting...
Well, as of this afternoon, the 701 discussion thread seems less optimistic about that.

[Edit, swt_passenger beat me to it]
 

Goldfish62

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To be honest it’s definitely months. Driver training hasn’t even started yet

Well, as of this afternoon, the 701 discussion thread seems less optimistic about that.

[Edit, swt_passenger beat me to it]
Yes, despite reports that ASLEF had approved them it appears they haven't. So it looks like stalemate and the 455s staying forever. :D :D :D
 
Last edited:

DelW

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Yes, despite reports that ASLEF had them it appears they haven't. So it looks like stalemate and the 455s staying forever. :D :D :D
If so, I think SWR had better get on with putting some of the units listed in post 876 through whatever maintenance is needed and back into service, 'cos a lot of returning passengers aren't going to be happy with the short-forms that Hamworthy Goods was warning about. I'd expect at least a few of them to be giving their MP a hard time about what DfT is up to <(
 

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