As long as it’s announced in plenty of time (including on-station at all previous calls) it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
For the most part. On a nice summers day, not unsual for a 5 car on a through working to be full and standing. Most will be suffient as a 3 car, but with a few 4 or 5 car services, splitting and joining to best meet demand.
Will be interesting to see how they work it. I’m guessing GWR must have some ideas on how they will do it.
Aren't the intermediate stations 4 coaches long for SDO, meaning you can get out from either unit provided you move to the front of the second one.
Don't think so - when TPE used to run 185s, which are also 3×23m, up that branch, I recall it being local door release only at Burneside and Staveley. (185s have SDO now, but they may not have done at the time or perhaps it doesn't work on a single unit for some reason)
The sectional appendix has the usable length of each platform as between 92 and 95 metres which should just about permit a 4 car operation with class 195 door spacings.
Yes they can, I've been on one, I was in the front carriage but a video I took shows people in the back carriages. (Manchester - South Wales service)
Also Hungerford where, if first class is at the front of the rear set on the down, passengers can't alight from the rear set! (I've seen this happen so many times!)
A Cardiff - Exeter stopper (including Wellington and Cullompton as, when and if) alongside a Bristol - Penzance running fastish to Exeter would probably be OK from a passenger perspective. Just splitting at Exeter is not and is a recipe for stupid loadings on XC for shortish journeys across the divide.
It’s likely rumour stems from the planned extension of Cardiff to Taunton services to Exeter to provide the hourly service for Wellington. I would be very surprised if a full split of the timetable happened as the enhanced Cardiff-Penzance service has generated considerable new business for GWR.
There is, but what is needed is quick trains between the two. The current Penzance to Cardiff stoppers are pretty unattractive really for travellers from anywhere west of Exeter travelling to Bristol (or indeed Cardiff which is similarly popular). We need a service that is fast from Taunton to Bristol, perhaps allowing for say a stop at Weston-super-Mare, but not these all stations trains that take literally twice as long as the XC alternative.
The reference was to splitting the service, not trains.
To make any public announcement now, even if all the i’s were dotted and the t’s crossed, would only be raising expectations prematurely.
Whilst I’ve not seen nothing official from the company, there has been recent mention of training and usage of them to drivers by Aslef in an email in the last week.
They've had various modifications over the years, but nothing as dramatic as replacing engines and transmission systems wholesale (something that did happen with the early-built 170s which had the engines replaced). The differences you've observed are probably a combination of the recording quality (as you suggest) and multiple smaller changes over the years that overall make some difference to the sound. Along with drivers getting more familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the units and how they operate. When new these units were notoriously troublesome and unreliable, and it took a good while and a fair bit of work to get them to perform close to intended.
