TL;DR - COVID trashed growth, and made finishing the refurb and getting drivers trained more hassle than it was worth.Can someone quickly summarise the last 206 pages please? Why spend so much on them to just scrap them?
As I have already explained Covid is a red herring - the 458 swap is, if anything, a capacity increase.TL;DR - COVID trashed growth, and made finishing the refurb and getting drivers trained more hassle than it was worth.
I wouldn't say covid is a red herring in that it has created conditions which the quick increase in capacity can be ditched and given time for 458's to be displaced from there current services and refurbished before potentially being needed as demand builds back up.As I have already explained Covid is a red herring - the 458 swap is, if anything, a capacity increase.
As I have already explained Covid is a red herring - the 458 swap is, if anything, a capacity increase.
I wouldn't say covid is a red herring in that it has created conditions which the quick increase in capacity can be ditched and given time for 458's to be displaced from there current services and refurbished before potentially being needed as demand builds back up.
As for using 350's perhaps there is an alternative being worked on by the leasing company and or the Dft which is not yet public and even if there isn't the leasing company may regard them as more leasable than the 458's.
As for the wasted money well this has essentially come about to some degree due to covid or at least it can be used as an excuse and compared to the other costs of covid on the railway alone its a drop in the ocean.
This is exactly it. A major issue was found with the retractioned 442s and it would have resulted in many many more millions to fix.I suspect Covid is a way of burying potentially embarrassing news, but apart from allowing a bit of breathing space which wouldn’t have otherwise been there, it seems like the bigger issue is simply the 442 project was running into too many problems.
Can someone quickly summarise the last 206 pages please? Why spend so much on them to just scrap them?
Do we know what the major issue is? It seems surprising, given that the 455 retractioning project seemed to go very well.This is exactly it. A major issue was found with the retractioned 442s and it would have resulted in many many more millions to fix.
What issue was that? They've only done a few runs with one in SPZ haven't they?This is exactly it. A major issue was found with the retractioned 442s and it would have resulted in many many more millions to fix.
Does it actually matter? regardless of whether there were issues with the retractioning or not there were clearly other pertinent issues such as 2024 PRM regulations and a window of opportunity to go for modern traction in a changed environment where the original franchise no longer applies.For the benefit of those of us who haven’t been following this saga quite that closely, any chance of a very brief summary of what the major issue actually is with the retractioning?
Does it actually matter? regardless of whether there were issues with the retractioning or not there were clearly other pertinent issues such as 2024 PRM regulations and a window of opportunity to go for modern traction in a changed environment where the original franchise no longer applies.
What issue was that? They've only done a few runs with one in SPZ haven't they?
Yup my last failure on them was at Branksome in Feb 2007, and I couldn't get the spanner to fix it…(TIS job) Motors were a bit dodgy at times...Plus door control MCB wouldn't stand once when on the 0630 so out of service and empty to Bournemouth.
2413 was called The Slug at one time...I think one set of motors wasn't working properly as rumour has it...
And a further number of years for repaint!!! As time taken with desirosGiven the carpet will have holes in it from all the seats and have been cut around the floor fixtures dividers etc I doubt it will be reusable. Also Axminster will be more than happy to produce another run of carpet.
Surely that's far too much of a rookie mistake.the new motors probably weren’t powerful enough.
I suspect it's not really about growth or Covid - more about cutting the projected costs and reducing cost risk going forward.TL;DR - COVID trashed growth, and made finishing the refurb and getting drivers trained more hassle than it was worth.
It was not this.the new motors probably weren’t powerful enough.
COVID and reduced passenger numbers seem like a convenient thing to blame for a failed project, more than anything.I suspect it's not really about growth or Covid - more about cutting the projected costs and reducing cost risk going forward.
If it's slanderous it's not true, so that's a good reason not to repeat it!...I'm loathed to repeat what I've heard it was because it was quite serious and I'd rather not post slanderous things on a rail forum, ....
I think you missed the fact his tongue was firmly in his cheek, and having a subtle dig at certain groups for whom HSTs must not be bad-mouthed.Is it though? I have yet to ride in a power door version (other than the Chiltern mk3s, but they've had their day. I am a semi regular user of Norwich to London Liverpool at and the mk3s had an appalling ride quality, inevitably you'd be sat in a draft as the droplights were left open and folk walking through a carriage led to an icy draft going through the carriage. The toilets were cramped and disgusting. It was uncomfortable to work at the table as the seats slopped so far back. Since the introduction of the new units the journey has been utterly transformed into something enjoyable rather than something to be endured.
At least they actually got them into service!Exactly. I live in Scotland, and the HST project has been an absolute farce. I hate the useless old piles of junk they've become! All my recent journeys on them have been beset by poor ride quality and annoying defects.
Just! Anyway, that's not a topic to dwell on here.At least they actually got them into service!
Exactly. I live in Scotland, and the HST project has been an absolute farce. I hate the useless old piles of junk they've become! All my recent journeys on them have been beset by poor ride quality and annoying defects.
Can someone quickly summarise the last 206 pages please? Why spend so much on them to just scrap them?
It was a Worst Group vanity project.Can someone quickly summarise the last 206 pages please? Why spend so much on them to just scrap them?
And there were significant issues with the AC Tractioned units, and the process of getting them through said contractor.As I have already explained Covid is a red herring - the 458 swap is, if anything, a capacity increase.
That's not the issue.the new motors probably weren’t powerful enough.
I suspect the wrong term has been used more than anything else. Either way, those of us who know would not be very sensible if we declared what it was in a public forum.If it's slanderous it's not true, so that's a good reason not to repeat it!
...or an out of court settlement which both parties amicably settle on that doesn't bring the issue to the fore which seems more likely.If there is a serious issue as alluded to, and I'm not fishing for more info about what it may be here, I wonder if there's potential for SWR to recoup some of their money through legal channels.