Class 345 progress

[F Great Eastern]

Shame, won't be around to catch it.

I have to say whilst the outside looks modern, the inside of these trains from the photos I've seen already makes them look dated, very drab and colours and doesn't scream modern at all apart from the massive screen.

 

[samuelmorris]

I think you'll be surprised, compare to the likes of a 387 it looks very futuristic in my opinion. I too thought it looked a bit '80s vision of the future' from the photos, but having ridden it, I think it works quite well.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

The same as the rest of the week for now:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F27697/2017/06/30/advanced
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F27698/2017/06/30/advanced

Thank you for your help - it is advertised as being a Class 315 as opposed to Electric Multiple Unit...

 

[dp21]

Thank you for your help - it is advertised as being a Class 315 as opposed to Electric Multiple Unit...

They all have been on RTT thus far.

 

[samuelmorris]

Thank you for your help - it is advertised as being a Class 315 as opposed to Electric Multiple Unit...

Normal because the timing probably hasn't been put in for 345s yet.

 

[macaronlover]

Announcements can be heard within these vids:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCZKTD2AID4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9CVwryVTk4

 

[macaronlover]

One of the first airport-bound travelers

 

[Kite159]

How are the door buttons holding up?

 

[306024]

Yeah but if you see the slack in the timetable for that service you'll realise why - there's almost 5 minutes worth of padding in there compared to the usual services!

Looking at the schedule, the only difference compared to a normal 315 timing is three minutes pathing approaching Liverpool St in the up direction as the train has to use the same platform as the 12.22 trials trip to Shenfield.

The trials only run if required so the potential is there to arrive early on some days. None of this is 'padding', but simply normal components of timetable planning.

 

[macaronlover]

How are the door buttons holding up?

So far so good, but no braille on them though. A lot more LED lights on them than the ones used on the 315s.

 

[railfanatic]

It also remains to be seen how practical it is in practice to update the PIS - which seems to often be a problem (take the limited number of destinations/line combinations possible on the S Stock for example). One would hope that in 2017 they would use computer systems that are a little more flexible and easy to update. Perhaps one day we'll see a time where operators can change the announcements based on one-time engineering works etc.

345's PIS can be updated remotely

 

[railfanatic]

I'm on 005 at the moment also, 2Z05.
Air con feels just right.
Longitudinal seats - not bad, comfortable enough. Much the same as tube stock.
Transverse - again not bad, bit ironing-boardish but no more so than most new stock these days (I'm thinking 700s, 387s etc)
Ride - quick acceleration, smooth, though I thought the suspension was a little hard in places - it was a bit bumpy over points etc.
So yes, overall impressed. There's a good deal of room for standers so peak loading doesn't look like it'll be a problem.

Edit: came to a sharp halt just after leaving Manor Park, was a "slight technical issue" apparently. On our way again after a few minutes. The PIS are just displaying the time now, so I'm guessing the system had to be rebooted perhaps?

Driver didn't set up the PIS. Presumably the train was powered off and on.
When there's no trip setup, the time is displayed.

 

[macaronlover]

345's PIS can be updated remotely

According to a TfL worker I spoke to today aboard a 345 train, the PIS will be updated in stages throughout the year as necessary (as of yesterday they updated it so that an audible 'Mind the Gap' announcement is played when the message appears on the screen).

 

[Bungle965]

According to a TfL worker I spoke to today aboard a 345 train, the PIS will be updated in stages throughout the year as necessary (as of yesterday they updated it so that an audible 'Mind the Gap' announcement is played when the message appears on the screen).

Is it the same voice artist as the 700s or have the kept solely with Emma?
Sam

 

[railfanatic]

According to a TfL worker I spoke to today aboard a 345 train, the PIS will be updated in stages throughout the year as necessary (as of yesterday they updated it so that an audible 'Mind the Gap' announcement is played when the message appears on the screen).

That's right

Phase 2 will contain video/service disruption messages/TfL live status etc.

I developed the PIS on Class 345

 

[D365]

I developed the PIS on Class 345

This may be off-topic (for the moment) but what sort of skills are required to go into PIS development, e.g. would "embedded systems" be considered relevant? And how did you end up with this role if you don't mind me asking.

 

[railfanatic]

This may be off-topic (for the moment) but what sort of skills are required to go into PIS development, e.g. would "embedded systems" be considered relevant? And how did you end up with this role if you don't mind me asking.

No problem at all! Started off on the Bombardier Grad scheme, ended up in the comfort systems team at the end of the scheme. (Systems Engineer for PIS and Train to Wayside systems)

I have a background in electronics and embedded systems engineering, so yes embedded systems would be considered relevant!

 

[macaronlover]

Is it the same voice artist as the 700s or have the kept solely with Emma?
Sam

The latter

 

[macaronlover]

That's right

Phase 2 will contain video/service disruption messages/TfL live status etc.

I developed the PIS on Class 345

Really? Well let's hope you don't implement anything gimmicky. There are plenty (< dozen) of things I can think of that can be improved.

 

[railfanatic]

Really? Well let's hope you don't implement anything gimmicky. There are plenty (< dozen) of things I can think of that can be improved.

Happy to take suggestions, however bear in mind that content is controlled by TfL.

Next update will fix audio issues, remove "via Stratford" for westbound service and remove "Northern" from list of LST interchanges.

 

[Techniquest]

Good to hear the slight issue with the announcements is getting fixed

Personally I can't wait to have another ride on 345s!

 

[JW16]

Happy to take suggestions, however bear in mind that content is controlled by TfL.

Next update will fix audio issues, remove "via Stratford" for westbound service and remove "Northern" from list of LST interchanges.

The long gap between sentences should be shortened IMO. "This is the train to Shenfield" ...... "Next station Stratford" ...... "Change for etc". This should all form the same announcement without any prolonged silences between the sentences.

Also, why "London Overground Lines" and not just "London Overground"? This makes little sense at a station like Romford.

 

[Techniquest]

Don't the pauses represent more human-like speech? Also good for people unplugging earphones during the pauses actually...

 

[class387]

Will there be any 345s on Saturday, given that TFL Rail only runs between Stratford and Shenfield?

 

[Lockwood]

Had a look at those videos and I see what people mean about the announcements being terse.

I'm more to used to hearing something in the vein of
"Welcome aboard the TfL Rail service to Shenfield...... Calling at Stratford, Maryland, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Gidea Park, Harold Wood, Brentwood and Shenfield."
"The next station is Stratford. Change here for Central, Jubilee, London Overground, DLR and National Rail services."
"We are now approaching Stratford."

 

[dm1]

Happy to take suggestions, however bear in mind that content is controlled by TfL.

Next update will fix audio issues, remove "via Stratford" for westbound service and remove "Northern" from list of LST interchanges.

As I mentioned previously, a colon after 'Next Station..." would be nice.

 

[samuelmorris]

Omitting the list of stations makes sense when it's an all-stations service. Reeling off the full calling pattern on a service to Reading would be hellish during the short stops at the outer edges when stations are still close together. I support the idea of simply saying what the next station is, especially when there's a route map on the walls and a diagram of the next three stations on the screen - really the calling pattern is only needed for services where the route map is complex and not obviously displayed in full view of everyone, and/or when there are oddities to the calling pattern - e.g. when the destination determines which of the intermediate stations are served - this will be true to some extent of the western stations, but not anywhere east of Paddington to my knowledge.

 

[railfanatic]

The long gap between sentences should be shortened IMO. "This is the train to Shenfield" ...... "Next station Stratford" ...... "Change for etc". This should all form the same announcement without any prolonged silences between the sentences.

This is to do with synchronization. The static pages last around 4 seconds each. Audio is slightly shorter. The gap ensures that the audio plays along with the corresponding visual message.

Continuous audio is more suitable for scrolling text, however with page-scrolling static text, I needed the gap to ensure audio-visual messages are triggered together. (PRM-TSI regulations)

Also, why "London Overground Lines" and not just "London Overground"? This makes little sense at a station like Romford.

That's a question for TfL I'm afraid. They dictate the content.

 

[rebmcr]

Also, why "London Overground Lines" and not just "London Overground"? This makes little sense at a station like Romford.

That's a question for TfL I'm afraid. They dictate the content.

Looks likely to be future-proofing their eventual intent to give the Overground routes line names.

As I mentioned previously, a colon after 'Next Station..." would be nice.

Yes, please!

 

[stu227]

That's quite a good point. Presumably the trains bound for Liverpool Street high level shouldn't show the Northern Line interchange (and there will be 4tph that terminal there when Crossrail hits full service levels), but the ones bound for the Crossrail tunnel should! Given this one was bound for High Level (obviously...) perhaps the software needs tweaking.

Once linked with the Northern Line, Liverpool St will have that link regardless of high or low level, won't it? Bit like Bank / Monument. A long walk, but the connection will be there.