When talking about other stock, yes.
Confirmed sightings of 024 and 025 at Old Dalby now. So one of those two was delivered around 03/02 and then the other a week after. Which order, however, I don't know so hopefully someone can confirm which arrived first?
I think you’ll find that the subject has been done to death in relation to this stock at frequent intervals since the announcement was made several years ago.
For me I think common sense says the journeys are long enough for a toilet to be expected on board. If road coaches can have a toilet why is it that trains cannot accommodate one ?.
However the journey times will be reduced, the amount of capacity increased, the number of services increased, and earlier and later services introduced. No one will be sitting on board thinking "I wonder when these will run on streets?".
They really shot themselves in the foot by labelling the door "Toilet out of order," rather than "Private," or something "Cupboard for staff use only," because these toilets will never be back in order will they? All this means is customers are constantly getting on trains and thinking that TfW have constantly broken toilets on an alarming number of trains that they STILL haven't bothered to fix!
It was a bizarre thing to put on them, many staff have pointed that out since the day that they appeared, like you say it looks like they've just been left broken for the last 3 or 4 years.
Interesting, I didn’t know this. May I ask which have been stood down at Landore please?
All bar 3 now, only 1 seems to be in traffic. I'll post properly on the 15x thread to try and avoid going too far off topic on this one!
Tram trains are built to a slightly different spec to a tram to allow them to run on normal, heavy rail. For the time being they will run on the Valley services but ultimately they will be able to run on any street sections when they are eventually built (Callaghan Square, extension onwards from the Bay for example)
They will mostly run as trains. However, the line between Cardiff Bay and Queen Street is being converted to tramway-style: that means that it will be unfenced and there will be several new places where pedestrians and cyclists can cross the line. It’ll also have tramway signalling, so the signalling won’t try and keep vehicles apart, the drivers will be expected to travel at a speed where they can stop within the distance they can see (like a car or bus). The 398s have magnetic track brakes to help them stop suddenly if they need to. Unlike the Sheffield tram-trains, they will only have 25kV overhead equipment, but they do have batteries onboard. Any eventual street running will be on battery. Whereas the Sheffield system is a street tramway that runs briefly on the mainline system, the Cardiff system will effectively be a train that runs briefly like a tram in some parts of the city.
Unfortunately yes even though it's been public knowledge since 2018/19 that that was the way it was going. I doubt it could be reversed now anyway.
Ah, so they are more like a train-tram than a tram-train
That would make sense as I believe there will be very little "on street" running and most of their routes will be on heavy rail networks
Ah, ok. Thank you. Surely they could have made some form of segregated metro system (elevated or underground) as that, while more expensive, would be more beneficial for the future
The Metro is already costing a fortune. When things become more expensive, they often end up not happening at all. Personally I think the plans for improvements to rail/tram routes in Cardiff are probably already stretching the limits as to what are affordable.
I was wondering. What is the range likely to be on battery ?.
They have spent a lot (not unreasonably) on the significant non-street parts. If the budget runs out before any street running part is completed it will not be a disaster as the Valleys are getting a lot of advantages anyway. Street running would be the cherry on the top only a wee bit frustrating if the tram-trains never got onto the streets soon.
I would guess so. They are paths this week for trips in the wee small hours on the core valleys, but I am guessing if this wasn't someone winding me up, they will be gaining as much milage as they can on a core batch to get them ready for introduction later this year.
10km (6 miles) on battery, according to this article: https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/c...ram-train-unveiled-at-innotrans/62443.article
