Abellio Greater Anglia Class 755s (Regional Trains)

[Goldfish62]

Does it’s job well then!!

True!

 

[Wivenswold]

Although regarding the yellow fronts, I'd like some proper, recent testing to be done.
I would highly suspect a tiny amount of yellow like that isn't going to make any difference.

I disagree. As much as I'd prefer them without yellow panels you have to remember that you are lucky to be able to see the full pallet of colours. Not everyone crossing the tracks on pedestrian crossings can. 4.5% of the population in fact. People can have difficulty distinguishing between reds, greens, browns and oranges, blue and purple hues. Yellow is rarely mistaken and therefore it is the colour most likely to be noticed at a glance.

 

[Loki]

The yellow is useless. Anyone can see the bright lights and if they can't then they will definitely miss the yellow front.

This isn't about colours at all but about triggering a defensive reaction from the brain. The light reflected from the yellow panel will reach the human's eye at the same time as the light emitted from the train lighting (or any other panel for that matter). If the train lights are bright enough (and they definitely are) then they will trigger a reaction before the panel rendering it completely worthless.

 

[Class 170101]

But if the lights fail I guess they won't be subjected to the same safety provisions that will apply to the Class 345s for not having the yellow warning panel?

 

[dk1]

So part of the stabling issue as new trains arrive & old ones await going off lease has been resolved. Abellio has entered into a 3 year contract with the Mid Norfolk Railway to stable stock. They will pay for double tracking from Hardingham to Kimberley Park. Install 4 new sidings at Kimberley Park. Install a connection into the private sidings at Hardingham.

This has to be a win win situation for all concerned.

 

[eastdyke]

So part of the stabling issue as new trains arrive & old ones await going off lease has been resolved. Abellio has entered into a 3 year contract with the Mid Norfolk Railway to stable stock. They will pay for double tracking from Hardingham to Kimberley Park. Install 4 new sidings at Kimberley Park. Install a connection into the private sidings at Hardingham.
This has to be a win win situation for all concerned.

Sounds very good indeed. Just as long as the locals are all friendly (not that there are many ) and that planning permission is not an issue?

 

[Sheddyone]

Looks quite Voyageresque from the outside.

 

[trebor79]

Looks quite Voyageresque from the outside.

Don't think it looks much like a Voyager, but it does look smart.
Why is there a window missing from the second furthest coach from the camera? Looks like there's blank metal there. Surely the toilet isn't in the middle of the saloon?

 

[DanNCL]

Why is there a window missing from the second furthest coach from the camera? Looks like there's blank metal there. Surely the toilet isn't in the middle of the saloon?

Probably is the toilet. Toilets in the middle of the saloon are quite common on European EMUs iirc.

 

[trebor79]

So part of the stabling issue as new trains arrive & old ones await going off lease has been resolved. Abellio has entered into a 3 year contract with the Mid Norfolk Railway to stable stock. They will pay for double tracking from Hardingham to Kimberley Park. Install 4 new sidings at Kimberley Park. Install a connection into the private sidings at Hardingham.

Weird. So a lot of perfectly serviceable 170s and sprinters are going to be laid up whilst there's a rolling stock shortage elsewhere? Or is it just the intercity sets?

What's the chances of 1 or 2 intercity sets being retained? I don't think they've ordered enough new stock to fulfill the current service pattern let alone any improvements.

 

[DanNCL]

Weird. So a lot of perfectly serviceable 170s and sprinters are going to be laid up whilst there's a rolling stock shortage elsewhere? Or is it just the intercity sets?

Unlikely to be the 170s as they've transferring to Wales & Borders as soon as GA have finished with them.

What's the chances of 1 or 2 intercity sets being retained? I don't think they've ordered enough new stock to fulfill the current service pattern let alone any improvements.

Virtually nil. The Mark 3s are not PRM compliant.

 

[AS43]

A photo taken closer to the unit has appeared on RailColor (sic)...

http://railcolornews.com/2018/06/30/uk-the-very-first-flirt-uk-is-out-bmu-on-transport/

 

[pt_mad]

Wow very square. Looks very European, not particularly sleek or high speed looking imo. Reminds me of the Manchester Metrolink for some reason haha . Or the new generation Blackpool Tram.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Wow very square. Looks very European, not particularly sleek or high speed looking imo. Reminds me of the Manchester Metrolink for some reason haha . Or the new generation Blackpool Tram.

The FLIRT has its roots in the Stadler GTW which is a very lightweight DMU/EMU designed for the likes of Swiss narrow gauge lines which have street running and lots of ungated crossings so are sort of tram train in concept.

I think it looks great and wish we were getting some for the south WCML. FLIRTs on the LNR Crewe would have me abandoning VT

 

[jamesontheroad]

So part of the stabling issue as new trains arrive & old ones await going off lease has been resolved. Abellio has entered into a 3 year contract with the Mid Norfolk Railway to stable stock. They will pay for double tracking from Hardingham to Kimberley Park. Install 4 new sidings at Kimberley Park. Install a connection into the private sidings at Hardingham.

Looking at the aerial photography of this area, I'm guessing this is the narrow strip of land to the north of the tracks here just south of bridge #1681?

 

[grumblingalong]

Rumour circulating (just rumour at present, but these things normally have good grounding) that 4-6 Class 156s will be retained at GA as the Flirts won't be able to work the Sheringham branch to the hourly timetable due to increased turnaround times and speed restrictions beyond North Walsham.

 

[Goldfish62]

Wow very square. Looks very European, not particularly sleek or high speed looking imo. Reminds me of the Manchester Metrolink for some reason haha . Or the new generation Blackpool Tram.

It's hardly surprising that it looks European. I believe it was GA that specified that the regional style cab was fitted on all the stock

 

[trebor79]

Virtually nil. The Mark 3s are not PRM compliant.

What's the point in parking them up for 3 years then?

 

[The_Engineer]

Post #575 tells you......

 

[Domh245]

Post #575 tells you......

Not really, it tells us what they are doing, but it doesn't tell us why they have agreed a 3 year contract. The last stock to come off lease in the franchise agreement are the 360s which come off lease on 31/08/2020, whilst all of the fleets being replaced by the FLIRTs are off lease by 30/12/2019 - by the end of the contract with the MNR they should have only been running the new fleets for almost a year.

The ROSCOs may want to store their off lease fleets to give them time to try and secure leases for them, but then I would expect them to contribute towards it as well, post 575 implies that it is solely an Abellio initiative.

 

[eastdyke]

New thread:
'Greater Anglia plans to store rolling stock on Mid Norfolk Railway'
Here:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...-rolling-stock-on-mid-norfolk-railway.166542/

 

[cl90001]

photo by Pusztai Zoltán, Stadler 755 on route to Romania for testing, once completed the unit will then move to Poland for fitting out and any last modifications to be made

http://railcolornews.com/2018/06/30/uk-the-very-first-flirt-uk-is-out-bmu-on-transport/

 

[trebor79]

That does look nice! I still think these are going to be great on the rural routes. I'm not convinced by the intercity EMUs, but so long as there's a buffet car I'll be happy enough .
Do the intercity FLIRTS have a similar door arrangement? Is there some kind of vestibule around to doors or does everyone just freeze or bake (dependant upon time of year) at station stops?

 

[pt_mad]

That does look nice! I still think these are going to be great on the rural routes. I'm not convinced by the intercity EMUs, but so long as there's a buffet car I'll be happy enough .
Do the intercity FLIRTS have a similar door arrangement? Is there some kind of vestibule around to doors or does everyone just freeze or bake (dependant upon time of year) at station stops?

One doorway per coach though? (One each side). Won't that hinder fast loading and unloading?

Another thing I was wondering is how does the FLIRT with such a square cab with harsh lines compares to something with a rounded front like a Hitachi 800 or a Pendolino in relation to aero dynamics? Or doesn't it make much difference?

 

[edwin_m]

One doorway per coach though? (One each side). Won't that hinder fast loading and unloading?

Another thing I was wondering is how does the FLIRT with such a square cab with harsh lines compares to something with a rounded front like a Hitachi 800 or a Pendolino in relation to aero dynamics? Or doesn't it make much difference?

It is a double doorway and people can turn both left and right on entering, so it may not be much different to a Mk3 or similar with two single doorways where people can only go one way.

The end doesn't look much different to a Voyager to me in terms of aerodynamics though it's a bit less "pointy" than an 80x or a 397. It's only a 100mph unit and aerodynamic losses go up as the square of speed so streamlining is less significant in this case - and it's much more streamlined than the various 100mph or 110mph classes with end gangways.

 

[pt_mad]

It is a double doorway and people can turn both left and right on entering, so it may not be much different to a Mk3 or similar with two single doorways where people can only go one way.

The end doesn't look much different to a Voyager to me in terms of aerodynamics though it's a bit less "pointy" than an 80x or a 397. It's only a 100mph unit and aerodynamic losses go up as the square of speed so streamlining is less significant in this case - and it's much more streamlined than the various 100mph or 110mph classes with end gangways.

Oh right won't they be 110mph units for the Norwich to London route?

Also re the one double sized doorway, will there be two sets of doors per coach (each side) on any that don't run on the Norwich to London route?

 

[ac6000cw]

Oh right won't they be 110mph units for the Norwich to London route?

According to spec sheets attached to this post - https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...adler-flirt-trains.148431/page-2#post-3027536 - they are 100 mph.

Re. the doors etc. - remember these trains have a lower floor height in the middle part of a car (to give level boarding), an average car length of a bit less than 20m and use articulation (which means no low floor at those car ends). So a wide single set of doors in the middle of each car makes sense for several reasons.

 

[pt_mad]

According to spec sheets attached to this post - https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...adler-flirt-trains.148431/page-2#post-3027536 - they are 100 mph.

So slower than the current locos max speed wise?

And will any FLIRTs run on non Liverpool Street routes?

 

[ac6000cw]

So slower than the current locos max speed wise?

And will any FLIRTs run on non Liverpool Street routes?

The GEML is max 100 mph (as far as I know).

The bi-mode FLIRTs will be running the regional services in East Anglia e.g. (Stansted-)Cambridge-Norwich, Cambridge-Ipswich, Peterborough-Ipswich plus the various branches. They also have one set of doors per car.

 

[dk1]

We have been told that that the IC Flirts will be 110mph capable should the GEML ever get the line speed raised.