What exactly does c6 work mean?
I've heard it a few times on here. Also, as stated above it seems unusual for such work to take so long, and is internal work normally carried out alongside?
That would appear to be more efficient. Given they have 20 years life left and need a proper internal overhaul as very tired these days, couldn't the toilet work and other alterations (ideally 2x2 seating throughout to cope with the next 20 years worth of growth and brightening up the now gloomy interiors) have been carried out alongside from 2010? If so I guess the DfT and/or the leasing companies are at fault?
C4's are generally overhaul of bogies and running gear. C6's are generally overhaul of other major components and may include cosmetic refresh and a repaint but exact content will depend on the lease agreement and franchise agreements between TOC and ROSCO and commitments made by TOC to DfT.
465's don't have 20 years of life left - they are a 35 year unit and have between 11 and 13 years life left, if they are in service to the limit of their design life. But their future has always been uncertain, given their very specific and limited utilisation and limited commercial appeal. The ROSCO's have always had to work hard to keep them on lease with the imcumbent NSE operator - back in the late 90's/early 00's both ROSCO's came up with tens of millions of pounds for Connex to spend on the 465/466's in any way Connex saw fit as a sweetener to keep them on lease and prevent a replacement fleet being procured.
The exact future of the South Eastern franchise, wrt. Networker's has (and still is) somewhat uncertain; there's been talk over the years of different Networker fleets being handed back as they weren't needed/wanted due to possible stock cascades or purchases...and then was talk of 365's being converted back to DC to add more Networker's to the South Eastern franchise....and talk of TfL taking over Metro operations which wouldn't look favourably upon 25 year old unpopular and (perceived) unreliable units...plus the exact impact of Crossrail upon South Eastern...and so on and so on.
Given this, and the movable goalposts that DDA/PRM TSI has had over the years it made no sense for the ROSCO's to invest multi millions in the DC Networker fleets until they knew what was needed and that it would be a worthwhile investment, that would see a return.
Also the staggered introduction of the different DC Networker fleets into service and each fleet's different overhaul requirments (periodicity and content), plus the general planned increase in service requirements as well as specfic operational challenges such as London Bridge works, means that any program of major works (overhaul, refresh, modification etc) has to be very carefully planned and balanced to impact as little as possible upon the day-to-day running of the railway. With only ~12 units unused, out of a fleet of 190, for each week day peak - to deliver exams, defect repair, cleaning, special checks, modifications, overhauls etc - having several units out of service for overhaul or refresh or PRM TSI simultaneously is not viable.
You can't neccesarily combine significant tranches of work either, there is a limit to how many people can work simultaneously on a carriage and what work streams can be done simultaneously. If a vehicle is being painted for example, nothing else can be done at the same time. Lengthening the down time of each unit at works by only a few days can lengthen the whole program by months or years due to the large number of units in the respective fleets, irrespective of the normal overhaul/refresh program delays that invariably occur, which can cause one program to overlap with another.
So sometimes it is better to have 2 small bites of the cherry, fitting the programs in around other fixed events.
DC Networkers can't have 2+2 seating - back in the 90's one unit was converted with a variety of seating configurations across the unit (465050 or 465014 if I remember correctly). It was in service for a very brief period before it came to light that the crush laden weight with 2+2 seating exceeded the braking capability and the unit was non RGS compliant and the unit had to be withdrawn from service....and then subsequently self immolated whilst sitting unused for a prolonged period in Slade Green sidings.
