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The Chiltern 172s are not top of the reliability charts at the minute, put it that way. All 4 of them have been sat at Wembley for few weeks. So for them to be on their way out either on loan or permanently does not come as a surprise. Only two depots sign them, they can't visit their home...

Another reason could be awaiting the potential for scrap prices to increase? 23m long coaches take up more space. Storage space is at a premium in some locations.

This ^ FWIW I've following this thread loosely. A few points and views.. Track and Trace has now finally improved including the NHS Covid application "working". This is leading to more positive cases or people been told to isolate. Drivers have been told to isolate though the app or text...

Poorly researched and nothing more than an opinion piece. Lovely comment section open in the right wing echo chamber about pay and unions! A lot of TOCs now have fitters or depot drivers prepping trains, that's a cost saving on salary grades. I haven't prepped a train in years. Automation and...

The traditional heavy industries that rail relied on have collapsed like Coal. Rail was excellent as it could cope with heavy, slow loads that weren't time critical. The infrastructure was purpose built. The extra proposed 4 tonnes of road haulage is pointless as rail would win. Where rail...

Maybe ;)

I agree. The DfT and Civil Service micro manage too much that it becomes pointless for the private sector to run it. The argument from government is they pump so much money into Network Rail and TOCs, they want a say. That is having a negative effect, recent timetable changes been a key example...

Driver and guard can leave them open when changing ends. It's common to see it open a few inches as courtesy, saves bending down to release it. If it's been open for 40 mins then staff have probably done it out of habit or didn't realise the other was leaving the unit for another...

A deep clean of Voyagers would be a good start.

Turbostars are my favourite but have their faults. Pros: DSD is ergonomic (compared to BR stock) Window within reach and inline with the seat Good vision No TMS... they had MITRAC fitted but that was a diagnostic system that had zero affect on the operation. It was removed in the end.. Holds...

ASLEF have had a recent push to sort out cab standards. It's known within the industry that long driving hours without a break and high temperatures contribute to incidents. It's a unions job to help protect it's members and mitigate or eliminate the contributing factors that cause incidents...

I see Sundays inside the working week has appeared again and it's all Ed Sheeran's fault....... Ultimately it comes down to money. Relying on overtime for Sundays is cheapest for the TOC. At some TOCs, if a driver can't cover a booked Sunday they are required to do enforced overtime. The...

The Turbostar wiring can be different from subclasses. The only beeping noise in the cab I can think off is a CACU/PA handset is off it's cradle somewhere on the train. Never really had any issues with doors that can't be solved without recycling the door controls or tripping out Door Control...

Local Control Circuit Breaker. Controls the engine in that vehicle on Sprinters and other stock like 170s. FIS I think is Fire Isolation Switch. Turns off the fire alarm if activated or there is a fault. Also means the engine is shut down and won't restart as there is no fire circuit active.

The Bicester Village contra-peak flows are doing well I believe. Plenty of overseas visitors with money to spend on designer goods. The next stage for Chiltern is additional capacity in any potential direct award.

Going to be running out of storage space at this rate for units. The big 3 ROSCOs have been too expensive and have raked in the cash at the expense of passengers and TOCs for years. The era of cheap credit and TOCs signing off new rolling stock orders because it's better business sense has seen...

(sorry for the late post) If you have a look at Companies House it appears they've posted a loss in many recent years. I guess this is awaiting the delayed Oxford upgrade. In theory profits should be forthcoming but increased track charges may hit them. A direct award is proposed.

Sounds the power notching issue is from drivers who have driven 14x and 15x their entire careers with 3-5-7 notches been used. Haven't yet got used to an EMU.

I'm actually slightly happy about this because it shows the private sector has to take some risk in been awarded franchises. Still there are franchises and direct awards that are publishing healthy returns . *cough* West Coast *cough*

Severe overcrowding and lack of station staff for dispatching trains at Congleton.