Wilts Wanderer
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Can you possibly expand on that?
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GWR Class 800
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Can you possibly expand on that?
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SpacePhoenix
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It happens on Electrostars when they switch modes (AC <> DC), never been on a Javelin or seen an interior vid of one when they change modes (AC <> DC)
Goldfish62
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Afraid not. Not because I don't want to, but because that's all I've been told.
No, seats don't all line up. Some are obscured by the sliding door pockets too, as I recall from others' previous postings.
Passengers were advised to move forward to coach C in the second 5-car set to alight at Bristol Parkway because the last two coaches were not 'platformed'. I'm not sure either if the selective door opening was giving some problems, given the number of GWR staff passing up and down the train!
Dhassell
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Any idea if they are expected back out tomorrow?
Bletchleyite
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The key difference with HEx is that Paddington is in the sticks, it is not (for most people) central London. The Piccadilly Line is slow, but Crossrail won't be, and will go to the bits of central London people want to go to.
This situation will I think potentially cause HEx to lose a lot of custom. It's not about price, it's about coverage.
Mikey C
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Agreed, as a tourist why take the HEx to Paddington (unless your hotel is near the station) and trek to Tube stations or the inconveniently located taxi rank, when Crossrail will take you directly further into London (and at a lower price)
Did anyone say that Heathrow Express traffic would not be affected? There is a big difference between that and any changes in passenger numbers being so catastrophic that BAA decides to throw in the towel before the track access agreement ends in 2023.
BAA owns HEx and the airport - which gives it ever such a slight advantage when it comes to promoting the service to people flying into Heathrow.
Not that it has much to do with Class 800s anyway.
leomartin125
Member
Nobody knows, because the IET's, unlike the HST's, are not managed by GWR. Maintenance is all covered by Hitachi, so it's up to them to make sure the trains are fixed with whatever issues have resulted in today's cancellations (of stock, not service) and wait until tomorrow morning to see if they are back out in traffic again.
D1009
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Funnily enough I suspected that might be the case. I was on 1L51 yesterday and the rear two coaches had to be taken out of use between Swindon and Reading due to concerns over the SDO (selective door opening). A good job it is a quiet off peak Cardiff Paddington service, as locking the rear 2 coaches out of use removes more than half of the standard class accommodation in the 5 car set. It's possible there may have been a wrong side failure earlier, but I don't ask questions like that.
PaulHarding150
Member
The Guardian is reporting that GWR have removed all their class 800s (so four trains?) from service to iron out technical problems:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...t-of-service-after-pr-fiasco?CMP=share_btn_tw
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...t-of-service-after-pr-fiasco?CMP=share_btn_tw
*Pedant* - BAA = Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd */Pedant*
Hasn't been called BAA for 5 years now.
coppercapped
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This old canard again.
Paddington is on the Circle Line. That puts it on the edge of 'central' London as are the other major railway termini. Euston, London Bridge and Waterloo are clearly not in 'central' London as they are not connected to the Circle, but that doesn't seem to worry anyone.
As for Crossrail going to the bits of central London that people want to go to... Crossrail serves the same area of London as the Central line. There are parts of London which are not within walking distance of the Central line...
Hmm. The idea that a "software update" can fix a leaking air conditioning unit is a tad concerning. I'm no expert on how HVAC systems work, but surely there should be a hardware interlock of some kind to ensure that duff parameters, etc. can't cause a physical leak?
SpacePhoenix
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Would part of the testing process have included testing the air con at full load both heating and cooling?
SamYeager
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The Guardian is clearly very "glass half empty" on this subject. Probably so that it could get its dig in about the government.
class387
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I think that (surprisingly) this hasn't been asked yet: How's the PIS on these units? Any videos of them?
This video (not mine) shows it in use a few times (such as around 4m26s and 13m15s). Listening to it, I'm not sure who it is but she sounds infinitely better than that awful Faye on some other GWR onboard announcements.
D1009
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Yesterday I travelled in the coach involved in Monday morning's air con problem, and the air con was working perfectly.
TT-ONR-NRN
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The voice over artist is a woman called Janine
F Great Eastern
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PIS is made by the same people as made it for the 700s but this is a much more basic model.
Sprinter153
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The new announcer (also presently being downloaded on Turbos and Sprinters with TrainFX PIS) is Janine Cooper-Marshall.
class387
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Seems decent, though obviously not as high-tech as the 700/345 ones.
I'm also surprised it shows 'Paddington' rather than 'London Paddington'.
AFAIK, the software update is to fix issues with selective door opening, and is not related to the leaking air conditioning.
The air conditioning leak looked to me like something as basic as a condensate pipe blocked or not connected, or even the drip tray not being level, rather than being software related IMHO.
I would expect that testing would include heating and cooling performance. Checking cooling performance is fairly easy and can be as simple as providing portable electric heaters that mimic the heat output of a full passenger load.
However in this case it would appear that the cooling worked until being turned off. The fault was that the resulting condensation was not removed but instead poured through the ceiling. Testing for correct condensate removal is more of a challenge, as it requires introducing heat AND WATER VAPOUR as would be produced by a crowd of passengers. A great deal of water vapour is required to simulate the worst case in service, my estimate of the worst case would be a hot and humid day with 100 passengers per coach all boarding together, having been socked by a sudden rainstorm just before boarding.
I have considerable experience of air conditioning testing, but only in offices, not on trains.
Thatcham Xing
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Getting a shower on a train is not unique to 800's. I got a fairly good soaking in a vestibule on a 166 (on a fairly warm day) a few years ago.
D1009
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Regarding the recorded announcements, I'm normally very irritated by them, but my impression of those on the 800s is that they are the among the least intrusive I have encountered.
Sheepy1209
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....and plenty of people have had impromptu showers on Northern's Pacers, but I don't think that's the aircon.
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