Class 701 'Aventra' trains for South Western Railway: progress updates

[3973EXL]

W/C 12/06/23

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Realtime Trains | 0M12 0749 Leicester L.I.P. to Wembley Inter City Depot | 12/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 0M12 0749 departure from Leicester L.I.P. to Wembley Inter City Depot on 12/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q12 1125 Wembley Inter City Depot to Eastleigh Trsmd | 12/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q12 1125 departure from Wembley Inter City Depot to Eastleigh Trsmd on 12/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 0Z84 0733 Eastleigh Trsmd to Marchwood Mod Gbrf | 13/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 0Z84 0733 departure from Eastleigh Trsmd to Marchwood Mod Gbrf on 13/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q84 0904 Marchwood Mod Gbrf to Eastleigh Trsmd | 13/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q84 0904 departure from Marchwood Mod Gbrf to Eastleigh Trsmd on 13/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q66 0949 Db Cargo Fan A And B Sdgs to Bicester Mod Gbrf | 14/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q66 0949 departure from Db Cargo Fan A And B Sdgs to Bicester Mod Gbrf on 14/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q12 1125 Wembley Inter City Depot to Eastleigh Trsmd | 14/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q12 1125 departure from Wembley Inter City Depot to Eastleigh Trsmd on 14/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 0Z64 0701 Eastleigh Trsmd to Wembley Inter City Depot | 15/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 0Z64 0701 departure from Eastleigh Trsmd to Wembley Inter City Depot on 15/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q64 0701 Eastleigh Trsmd to Willesden S.W.S. | 15/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q64 0701 departure from Eastleigh Trsmd to Willesden S.W.S. on 15/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q68 1009 Willesden S.W.S. to Bicester Mod Gbrf | 15/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q68 1009 departure from Willesden S.W.S. to Bicester Mod Gbrf on 15/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q12 1125 Wembley Inter City Depot to Eastleigh Trsmd | 15/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q12 1125 departure from Wembley Inter City Depot to Eastleigh Trsmd on 15/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q10 0909 Derby Litchurch Lane to Eastleigh Trsmd | 16/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q10 0909 departure from Derby Litchurch Lane to Eastleigh Trsmd on 16/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Invincible]

The mainline tests like 5Q51 1115 London Waterloo to Staines Up Loop on RTT have been cancelled this week, presumably all the physical modifications are complete and Alstom are waiting for a new software release update (after the 345 updates) to test on a test track, and then mainline?

Looks like yesterday on Realtime trains 5Q50/5Q51 (a 701?) ran a test from Eastleigh to Waterloo and return (updated software?).
And running again today.

 

[sharpinf]

Looks like yesterday on Realtime trains 5Q50/5Q51 (a 701?) ran a test from Eastleigh to Waterloo and return (updated software?).
And running again today.

Yes 701053 today (13/06) was on 5Q50/5Q51

 

[Deepgreen]

It's not like car manufacturers don't have software issues. Look at all the issues VW Group have been having- various important new EVs have been delayed by software troubles with their 'Cariad' software subdivision. Software troubles affect a lot of companies.

Indeed so - my JLR Discovery Sport PHEV took 13 months from order to delivery, then has had software issues ever since. The more software, the more there is to go wrong - it's inescapable and begs the question; should software advancement not be followed doggedly by the railway, in order to improve reliability - in other words, lag a little behind the technology wave?

 

[NSEWonderer]

More software doesn't necessarily mean the more things there is to go wrong. It's how the software is implemented and also backed up by redundancies / fail safes that makes the different.

The problem these days is many manufacturers of vehicles, utilities etc are outsourcing work to places for cheaper labour and in these cases skimping out on what they can with these softwares to save costs of which the things they're attempting to go without would otherwise help to make the software reliable.

Add in that the time wasted and miscommunication of then trying to relay and solve issues that arise on software made outside of the general operating area / country means I'm the case for some like Bombardier the update rollouts take much longer and by the time one fix is ready then another issue may have popped up.

 

[Peter Wilde]

My parish council newsletter (Horsley on the Guildford via Cobham “New Line” ) says that the promised phasing-in of the new 701s on our line “will be well underway before the end of the year”.

Inside information? Or a too-optimistic guess based perhaps on out of date SWR press releases? What do people think?

 

[fgwrich]

My parish council newsletter (Horsley on the Guildford via Cobham “New Line” ) says that the promised phasing-in of the new 701s on our line “will be well underway before the end of the year”.

Inside information? Or a too-optimistic guess based perhaps on out of date SWR press releases? What do people think?

I hate to regurgitate the old line... but did they state which year?

Have we ever had a TOC whose newly ordered fleet won't have entered service within the lifetime of the TOCs yet? Granted, SWR has 2 years to go and the 707s are close but they were ordered in the very later days of the SWT Franchise whereas these 701s were ordered in the early days of SWR... Back in 2017.

 

[Carlisle]

Have we ever had a TOC whose newly ordered fleet won't have entered service within the lifetime of the TOCs yet?

Weren’t the first batch of Southern’s Electrostar’s ordered by its predecessor Connex ?

 

[3973EXL]

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Realtime Trains | 5Q64 0701 Eastleigh Trsmd to Willesden S.W.S. | 19/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q64 0701 departure from Eastleigh Trsmd to Willesden S.W.S. on 19/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Realtime Trains | 5Q68 1009 Willesden S.W.S. to Bicester Mod Gbrf | 19/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q68 1009 departure from Willesden S.W.S. to Bicester Mod Gbrf on 19/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[LUYMun]

Weren’t the first batch of Southern’s Electrostar’s ordered by its predecessor Connex?

No, I believe the first batch of 375s were delivered in 2000 to Connex South Eastern, well within their tenure. Connex did order some 375s for the South Central region (later redesignated as 377s under Govia), but the announcement was already made to not pursue Connex's franchise beyond 2003.

 

[DelW]

My parish council newsletter (Horsley on the Guildford via Cobham “New Line” ) says that the promised phasing-in of the new 701s on our line “will be well underway before the end of the year”.

Inside information? Or a too-optimistic guess based perhaps on out of date SWR press releases? What do people think?

Following so many missed deadlines, I'll only believe they're entering service when I've seen one carrying passengers.

After all we've seen two "new" fleets in the locality failing to enter service at all. Admittedly the 442s and 769s were rebuilds not brand new, but the 769s in particular were always imminent, until suddenly they weren't ...

 

[Invincible]

Yes 701053 today (13/06) was on 5Q50/5Q51

Thanks, on the real times website the tests seem to have gone well this week, doing a Google search on 701053 found a couple of youtube videos from this week

A sign mechanical and software issues are being sorted?

 

[Carlisle]

No, I believe the first batch of 375s were delivered in 2000 to Connex South Eastern, well within their tenure. Connex did order some 375s for the South Central region (later redesignated as 377s under Govia), but the announcement was already made to not pursue Connex's franchise beyond 2003.

Ok thanks for details, my memory’s clearly faded .

 

[Juniper Driver]

Yes 701053 today (13/06) was on 5Q50/5Q51

I saw that.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Have we ever had a TOC whose newly ordered fleet won't have entered service within the lifetime of the TOCs yet? Granted, the 707s are close

The 707s had just one run in service with SWT. SWRs reinstated 442s are another close call.

Do GWRs 769s count?

What about LNERs 80x fleet?

 

[Flange Squeal]

043 was moved from Wimbledon Park to Farnham Sheds this evening (19th June), joining 035 which arrived on 9th June. There’s another Wimbledon to Farnham path shown on Real Time Trains for tomorrow night too, so possibly another 701 going the same way but that’s just an assumption.

5Q87 tomorrow: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:K03476/2023-06-20/detailed

 

[3973EXL]

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Realtime Trains | 5Q10 0910 Derby Litchurch Lane to Eastleigh Trsmd | 22/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q10 0910 departure from Derby Litchurch Lane to Eastleigh Trsmd on 22/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 0M10 1748 Eastleigh Trsmd to Wembley H.S. | 22/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 0M10 1748 departure from Eastleigh Trsmd to Wembley H.S. on 22/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

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Realtime Trains | 5Q92 0950 Db Cargo Fan A And B Sdgs to Bicester Mod Gbrf | 23/06/2023

Real-time train running information for 5Q92 0950 departure from Db Cargo Fan A And B Sdgs to Bicester Mod Gbrf on 23/06/2023. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Flange Squeal]

043 was moved from Wimbledon Park to Farnham Sheds this evening (19th June), joining 035 which arrived on 9th June. There’s another Wimbledon to Farnham path shown on Real Time Trains for tomorrow night too, so possibly another 701 going the same way but that’s just an assumption.

5Q87 tomorrow: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:K03476/2023-06-20/detailed

029 was the performer on the Wimbledon Park to Farnham Sheds move today, so Farnham now holds 029, 035 and 043.

 

[boiledbeans2]

Indeed so - my JLR Discovery Sport PHEV took 13 months from order to delivery, then has had software issues ever since.

The part in bold is the problem. British engineering is usually not... err... up to par.

 

[Snow1964]

No update yet from Rock Rail, their accounts need to be filed latest by 30th June (end of next week). Looks like they are waiting until as late as possible as the notes and Directors report should give clarity

ROCK RAIL SOUTH WESTERN PLC filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

ROCK RAIL SOUTH WESTERN PLC - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

 

[Sun Chariot]

029 was the performer on the Wimbledon Park to Farnham Sheds move today, so Farnham now holds 029, 035 and 043.

Does any forum member know if / when these will be moved to Eastleigh? I've checked RTT for placeholder paths - there's nothing listed during June.

 

[Mordac]

The part in bold is the problem. British engineering is usually not... err... up to par.

But this isn't really true, or at least not uniformly. At least the Japanese seem able to come to the UK and make cars with Japanese quality, see the Toyota Corolla and Nissan Qashqai!

 

[Fastlane256]

I've been told by SWR today that they are to be in service by the end of 2023. What does everyone think the likelihood of that is?

 

[GeoffS]

Does any forum member know if / when these will be moved to Eastleigh? I've checked RTT for placeholder paths - there's nothing listed during June.

At least 029 left Eastleigh for Wimbledon Park only last week!

 

[Sun Chariot]

At least 029 left Eastleigh for Wimbledon Park only last week!

Ah yes - my error, I meant to write "...from Eastleigh". I have a photo of the 029 move on my photos thread in this forum https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/loco-hauled-around-havant.250146/

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

I've been told by SWR today that they are to be in service by the end of 2023. What does everyone think the likelihood of that is?

Is that one unit or more....

 

[XAM2175]

I've been told by SWR today that they are to be in service by the end of 2023. What does everyone think the likelihood of that is?

Is that one unit or more....

Looking forward to seeing one unit running one service - an extra, just to safe - late in the evening on 31 December 2023

 

[Peter Sarf]

Looking forward to seeing one unit running one service - an extra, just to safe - late in the evening on 31 December 2023

And due to delays it will run so late that it is actually all in the next day of the year..... Oh.

This reminds me of TPEs sterling efforts to run the push pull Mk3s as promised - once iirc ?.

 

[greaterwest]

Looking forward to seeing one unit running one service - an extra, just to safe - late in the evening on 31 December 2023

Just like SWT did when they ran a single Class 707 in passenger service in the final week of their franchise? At least they can claim to have introduced them in their franchise...

 

[spark001uk]

5Q10 0910 Derby Litchurch Lane to Eastleigh Trsmd

47749 + 701054