Are Alstom repeating their chaos in the UK railways akin to 20 years ago?

[RacsoMoquette]

Hello, I cannot help but notice though Alstom seem to be (TO AN EXTENT) repeating their wrongdoings from the millennium. Firstly they took over Bombardier Derby, akin to how they took over Met Cam Washwood Heath. They then took over the Aventra platform and over promised with orders, thus they rushed members of the Aventra family, and examples we all know to well have been up to FIVE years late in entering service! While those that have, proceeded to suffer persistent build quality and reliability issues, due to poor quality control at Derby. They then proceed to threaten to CLOSE the facility due to a lull in train orders! This reminds we all to well of the Coradia Junipers once again, and in the actual closure of the historic and once brilliant Washwood Heath plant. I do not mean to call Alstom incompetent, but it really does seem that they have failed the UK train building market once again. Why is it always Alstom?

 

[J-2739]

But many of those issues were set in stone during the Bombardier era, no?

 

[Wolfie]

But many of those issues were set in stone during the Bombardier era, no?

Absolutely.

 

[TRAX]

Alstom’s got nothing to do with the Aventra problems.
They probably actually helped the program get back on track quicker.

 

[3141]

Hello, I cannot help but notice though Alstom seem to be (TO AN EXTENT) repeating their wrongdoings from the millennium. Firstly they took over Bombardier Derby, akin to how they took over Met Cam Washwood Heath. They then took over the Aventra platform and over promised with orders, thus they rushed members of the Aventra family, and examples we all know to well have been up to FIVE years late in entering service! While those that have, proceeded to suffer persistent build quality and reliability issues, due to poor quality control at Derby. They then proceed to threaten to CLOSE the facility due to a lull in train orders! This reminds we all to well of the Coradia Junipers once again, and in the actual closure of the historic and once brilliant Washwood Heath plant. I do not mean to call Alstom incompetent, but it really does seem that they have failed the UK train building market once again. Why is it always Alstom?

I think your memory is wrong about the order in which things happened. Sea also post #4.

 

[Steve14]

Hello, I cannot help but notice though Alstom seem to be (TO AN EXTENT) repeating their wrongdoings from the millennium. Firstly they took over Bombardier Derby, akin to how they took over Met Cam Washwood Heath. They then took over the Aventra platform and over promised with orders, thus they rushed members of the Aventra family, and examples we all know to well have been up to FIVE years late in entering service! While those that have, proceeded to suffer persistent build quality and reliability issues, due to poor quality control at Derby. They then proceed to threaten to CLOSE the facility due to a lull in train orders! This reminds we all to well of the Coradia Junipers once again, and in the actual closure of the historic and once brilliant Washwood Heath plant. I do not mean to call Alstom incompetent, but it really does seem that they have failed the UK train building market once again. Why is it always Alstom?

IMHO, as a Government; I’d look to nationalise the production and maintenance of the trains and take back control of these sites. We done a cracking job creating some fantastic trains, bring in some top designers and even Sir Kenneth Grange to design these trains.

 

[swt_passenger]

IMHO, as a Government; I’d look to nationalise the production and maintenance of the trains and take back control of these sites. We done a cracking job creating some fantastic trains, bring in some top designers and even Sir Kenneth Grange to design these trains.

You must have missed his obituary back in July?

 

[3141]

IMHO, as a Government; I’d look to nationalise the production and maintenance of the trains and take back control of these sites. We done a cracking job creating some fantastic trains, bring in some top designers and even Sir Kenneth Grange to design these trains.

I think only Litchurch Lane in Derby existed before privatisation, so that's the only train-building site of which we could "take back control". CAF at Newport, Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe and Siemens at Goole are all new sites developed more recently.

 

[fgwrich]

Alstom’s got nothing to do with the Aventra problems.
They probably actually helped the program get back on track quicker.

Indeed. Alstom have done well to proper up the rot Bombardier left them, including finalising the last it seems of the troublesome Aventra platform and setting about dumping it as soon as they can.

 

[800001]

Hello, I cannot help but notice though Alstom seem to be (TO AN EXTENT) repeating their wrongdoings from the millennium. Firstly they took over Bombardier Derby, akin to how they took over Met Cam Washwood Heath. They then took over the Aventra platform and over promised with orders, thus they rushed members of the Aventra family, and examples we all know to well have been up to FIVE years late in entering service! While those that have, proceeded to suffer persistent build quality and reliability issues, due to poor quality control at Derby. They then proceed to threaten to CLOSE the facility due to a lull in train orders! This reminds we all to well of the Coradia Junipers once again, and in the actual closure of the historic and once brilliant Washwood Heath plant. I do not mean to call Alstom incompetent, but it really does seem that they have failed the UK train building market once again. Why is it always Alstom?

Everything you write about was all Bombardier, except the ‘threat’ of closure which you can hardly blame Alstom if there are no orders for them to bid for!

 

[RacsoMoquette]

Intriguing! It is very interesting to hear other peoples viewpoints regarding the matter, maybe I could have spared Alstom some sympathy! As now you mention it, the Aventra was a challenging platform to construct, due to the many orders in close proximity. Changing the subject, but do the later Aventra builds have design features similar to a Coradia Juniper? It could just me me, but the narrow curved cab doors are very reminiscent of the of the Coradia Junipers and 1000s. Also the interior lighting bears family resemblance to that of the 1000s and Junipers, it is just me, or did Alstom alter some of the aesthetics of the family to resemble? It seems strange as the latter design is over 20 years old? But has anybody else noticed it? FOR REFERANCE:

 

[43096]

Intriguing! It is very interesting to hear other peoples viewpoints regarding the matter, maybe I could have spared Alstom some sympathy! As now you mention it, the Aventra was a challenging platform to construct, due to the many orders in close proximity. Changing the subject, but do the later Aventra builds have design features similar to a Coradia Juniper? It could just me me, but the narrow curved cab doors are very reminiscent of the of the Coradia Junipers and 1000s. Also the interior lighting bears family resemblance to that of the 1000s and Junipers, it is just me, or did Alstom alter some of the aesthetics of the family to resemble? It seems strange as the latter design is over 20 years old? But has anybody else noticed it? FOR REFERANCE:

It's just you. All the Aventras builds were orderd (so at least designed) before the Alstom takeover of Bombardier Transportation. You're looking for something that isn't there.