Class 730 LNR & WMR Delivery/test Updates

[Halish Railway]

730018 all going well, according to a facebook post 32 mins ago.

Thanks for the response! Hopefully it runs and I’ll be on it.

 

[H&I]

730018 all going well, according to a facebook post 32 mins ago.

Thanks! Hopefully I’ll be on it. I’m still waiting for the 20:40 Euston to Wolverhampton to let us onboard.

 

[JW4]

Will the 730s do any runs on the Cross-City Line before they’re introduced?

 

[ABB125]

It lives!

 

[Halish Railway]

The train is moving in 1cm increments.

Here are some pictures

 

[ABB125]

@Halish Railway seems to have broken the toilet already...

Edit: seems to have fixed itself

 

[Bletchleyite]

While I don't like the seats and legroom very much, they really have done good in terms of the quality-feeling interior colour scheme on those, haven't they? So much more welcoming than the stark 700s despite being less comfortable.

 

[ABB125]

While I don't like the seats and legroom very much, they really have done good in terms of the quality-feeling interior colour scheme on those, haven't they? So much more welcoming than the stark 700s despite being less comfortable.

Definitely feels quite welcoming. I don't think it's too uncomfortable at the moment, but I've only been sat down for 15 minutes...

 

[Halish Railway]

@Halish Railway seems to have broken the toilet already...

Edit: seems to have fixed itself

I can confirm that the door became stuck whilst I was opening it from the inside.

Update: @ABB125 just did a backflip using the grab rails.

 

[ABB125]

Wolverhampton

 

[H&I]

Video coming out soon!

(New reply below)
Here is the full uncut video of the inaugural Class 730 in West Midlands service from Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton.

Thanks to Wolverhampton Uni’s decent eduroam connection, I have managed to upload and publish this video in record time. I’ll record and publish another video of the 06:18 from Wolverhampton to Birmingham New Street later this morning.

 

[AJDesiro]

Seems to be a slight hiccup at Smethwick Rolfe Street, the doors keep being unlocked and locked, it’s very busy so it wouldn’t surprise me if it was people triggering the door sensors.

EDIT: it was an issue with trying to shut the cab door.

 

[Mordac]

Hooray!

So when are we getting them in the Cross City? Short forms are growing tedious.

 

[AJDesiro]

Hooray!

So when are we getting them in the Cross City? Short forms are growing tedious.

April.

 

[Greg13]

Seems to be a slight hiccup at Smethwick Rolfe Street, the doors keep being unlocked and locked, it’s very busy so it wouldn’t surprise me if it was people triggering the door sensors.

EDIT: it was an issue with trying to shut the cab door.

The doors seemed to be a bit odd this morning. One of the doors in the centre carriage had a sticker on it saying Door Out of Order however when the train got to Walsall the guard opened that door only and then walked off. It was probably only a minute delay until the rest of the doors opened but meant everyone on the platform was piling in through the one door and as it was the terminating station everyone on the train started to try and push through to get to the door as well.

Otherwise I thought it was generally an improvement on the 323/350 I'm used to on the cross-city and Walsall lines. The seats are definitely very narrow but at the same time there's a lot more leg room so I can at least sit straight and as the standing space is far more pleasant so on my normal short journeys I'll probably just stand when it's vaguely busy.

 

[Liam L]

Any ideas how often they are planning on increasing the number of 730 diagrams on the Stour?

Hooray!

So when are we getting them in the Cross City? Short forms are growing tedious.

Check on the WMT website, they post a list of which services are short formed daily. (Todays list linked below)

 

[AJDesiro]

The doors seemed to be a bit odd this morning. One of the doors in the centre carriage had a sticker on it saying Door Out of Order however when the train got to Walsall the guard opened that door only and then walked off. It was probably only a minute delay until the rest of the doors opened but meant everyone on the platform was piling in through the one door and as it was the terminating station everyone on the train started to try and push through to get to the door as well.

Otherwise I thought it was generally an improvement on the 323/350 I'm used to on the cross-city and Walsall lines. The seats are definitely very narrow but at the same time there's a lot more leg room so I can at least sit straight and as the standing space is far more pleasant so on my normal short journeys I'll probably just stand when it's vaguely busy.

Yeah I noticed the sticker on that door too, odd. The seats did seem narrow, but the 350/4 I boarded afterwards had seats 42cm wide in first class!

Any ideas how often they are planning on increasing the number of 730 diagrams on the Stour?

Apparently every Sunday, though the synic in me wonders if it’ll take longer.

I took the opportunity to get a few pictures of the inside of 730210 at Nuneaton. There seemed to be quite a lot of tables, and weirdly a first class section (with first class omitted from the seat covers, 210 is one of the series production units, so presumably it was too late to change the contracts).

Other things, armrests are good to see, though white is a strange choice. I’m pretty sure these use the 45cm variant of the seat instead of the 43.5cm one, which is very good to see.

I’ve attached some pics of them below, since I’ve found it incredibly difficult to find any, other than a concept image from 2018/2019!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yeah I noticed the sticker on that door too, odd. The seats did seem narrow, but the 350/4 I boarded afterwards had seats 42cm wide in first class!

I've never measured the First Class seats on 350s but I do dislike them. Never realised they were that narrow though - the Standard ones are 45cm!

Yet another reason why I never sit there.

Other things, armrests are good to see, though white is a strange choice. I’m pretty sure these use the 45cm variant of the seat instead of the 43.5cm one, which is very good to see.

Hopefully! Good pics, thanks

 

[Liam L]

Apparently every Sunday, though the synic in me wonders if it’ll take longer.

Thank you, hopefully another one added on Sunday then so I can go for a spin on one or two next week

 

[AJDesiro]

Hopefully! Good pics, thanks

No problem, it’s so frustrating with how difficult it is to find pics. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the /2s in service!

 

[jhy44]

... they really have done good in terms of the quality-feeling interior colour scheme on those, haven't they? So much more welcoming than the stark 700s ...

Is this sarcastic? In the photos of the interior we have brown, orange, grey, lilac, and maroon. It's the most hideous and clashing colour-scheme I think anyone has ever come up with. Ask any actual designer what they think of that colour palette and they'd laugh you out the room thinking it was some sort of spoof documentary question. To make it even worse, they've then paired those (clashing) warm colours with cold lighting. It's such a sh**show.

The interior of the 700s whilst being cold are at least uniformly-cold, and thus not garish.

You can either have:
1) an orange-based colour scheme paired with complementary warm colours like browns and beiges like on London Overground.
2) a purple-based colour scheme paired with complementary cold colours like blues and greys like the original Northern did, and like the Elizabeth Line has.
3) an orange and blue (complementing opposing colours) like Avanti has.
All three of these examples work, and adhere to basic design colour-combination rules.

In primary school art lessons you learn that you cannot mix any of the secondary colours of Orange / Green / Purple. They do not go.
I note that in the original renders for the WMR livery it was a much bluer-shade of purple and thus was a bit less garish/clashing, what we've actually ended up with is a much redder-shade of Maroon purple which simply doesn't go at all.

You can't mix colour schemes and so very haphazardly, because this ^ mess is the result. I can only assume that Andy Street or some other control-freak senior at WMR with no sense of style demanded purple/maroon and orange be put together and the designers who came up with this begrudgingly obeyed and gave them what they asked for whilst quietly dying inside.

 

[Greg13]

Is this sarcastic? In the photos of the interior we have brown, orange, grey, lilac, and maroon. It's the most hideous and clashing colour-scheme I think anyone has ever come up with. Ask any actual designer what they think of that colour palette and they'd laugh you out the room thinking it was some sort of spoof documentary question. To make it even worse, they've then paired those (clashing) warm colours with cold lighting. It's such a sh**show.

The interior of the 700s whilst being cold are at least uniformly-cold, and thus not garish.

You can either have:
1) an orange-based colour scheme paired with complementary warm colours like browns and beiges like on London Overground.
2) a purple-based colour scheme paired with complementary cold colours like blues and greys like the original Northern did, and like the Elizabeth Line has.
3) an orange and blue (complementing opposing colours) like Avanti has.
All three of these examples work, and adhere to basic design colour-combination rules.

In primary school art lessons you learn that you cannot mix any of the secondary colours of Orange / Green / Purple. They do not go.
I note that in the original renders for the WMR livery it was a much bluer-shade of purple and thus was a bit less garish/clashing, what we've actually ended up with is a much redder-shade of Maroon purple which simply doesn't go at all.

You can't mix colour schemes and so very haphazardly, because this ^ mess is the result. I can only assume that Andy Street or some other control-freak senior at WMR with no sense of style demanded purple/maroon and orange be put together and the designers who came up with this begrudgingly obeyed and gave them what they asked for whilst quietly dying inside.

I'm not sure I would describe it as an orange based scheme? The only orange I've particularly noticed in the last couple of days is the doors which I agree are a bit garish.

However the outside is very purple and orange as per the WMR colours and is a bit too much

 

[Lewisham2221]

Is this sarcastic? In the photos of the interior we have brown, orange, grey, lilac, and maroon. It's the most hideous and clashing colour-scheme I think anyone has ever come up with. Ask any actual designer what they think of that colour palette and they'd laugh you out the room thinking it was some sort of spoof documentary question. To make it even worse, they've then paired those (clashing) warm colours with cold lighting. It's such a sh**show.

The interior of the 700s whilst being cold are at least uniformly-cold, and thus not garish.

You can either have:
1) an orange-based colour scheme paired with complementary warm colours like browns and beiges like on London Overground.
2) a purple-based colour scheme paired with complementary cold colours like blues and greys like the original Northern did, and like the Elizabeth Line has.
3) an orange and blue (complementing opposing colours) like Avanti has.
All three of these examples work, and adhere to basic design colour-combination rules.

In primary school art lessons you learn that you cannot mix any of the secondary colours of Orange / Green / Purple. They do not go.
I note that in the original renders for the WMR livery it was a much bluer-shade of purple and thus was a bit less garish/clashing, what we've actually ended up with is a much redder-shade of Maroon purple which simply doesn't go at all.

You can't mix colour schemes and so very haphazardly, because this ^ mess is the result. I can only assume that Andy Street or some other control-freak senior at WMR with no sense of style demanded purple/maroon and orange be put together and the designers who came up with this begrudgingly obeyed and gave them what they asked for whilst quietly dying inside.

I can only assume you never stepped foot on a Central Trains 170, or any of the units 175/180/185 etc carrying their original FirstGroup corporate schemes. Those interiors really did assault the eyes.

I'm a fan of the 323s and think they're very good at what they do, but the 730s look like a huge improvement from a passenger environment point of view. They perhaps don't represent as significant an improvement from the 350s that they will replace on some services, but I'd certainly echo the views that the interior appears welcoming and high quality for what will essentially be a fairly intensively used, urban commuter unit.

 

[Fidelis]

Is this sarcastic? In the photos of the interior we have brown, orange, grey, lilac, and maroon. It's the most hideous and clashing colour-scheme I think anyone has ever come up with. Ask any actual designer what they think of that colour palette and they'd laugh you out the room thinking it was some sort of spoof documentary question. To make it even worse, they've then paired those (clashing) warm colours with cold lighting. It's such a sh**show.

The interior of the 700s whilst being cold are at least uniformly-cold, and thus not garish.

You can either have:
1) an orange-based colour scheme paired with complementary warm colours like browns and beiges like on London Overground.
2) a purple-based colour scheme paired with complementary cold colours like blues and greys like the original Northern did, and like the Elizabeth Line has.
3) an orange and blue (complementing opposing colours) like Avanti has.
All three of these examples work, and adhere to basic design colour-combination rules.

In primary school art lessons you learn that you cannot mix any of the secondary colours of Orange / Green / Purple. They do not go.
I note that in the original renders for the WMR livery it was a much bluer-shade of purple and thus was a bit less garish/clashing, what we've actually ended up with is a much redder-shade of Maroon purple which simply doesn't go at all.

You can't mix colour schemes and so very haphazardly, because this ^ mess is the result. I can only assume that Andy Street or some other control-freak senior at WMR with no sense of style demanded purple/maroon and orange be put together and the designers who came up with this begrudgingly obeyed and gave them what they asked for whilst quietly dying inside.

The interiors are the same as those used in the WMR 196s and 172s and listening to the most important persons, the passengers when travelling regularly on the on the 196 Hereford-BHM via Bromsgrove and now on the first 730 service to Wolverhampton no-one commented on the colour scheme indeed they praised the interiors. The exterior WM Rail Executive designed colours are much brighter than the original painting on 170s and 172s when launched in 2019.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The interiors are the same as those used in the WMR 196s and 172s and listening to the most important persons, the passengers when travelling regularly on the on the 196 Hereford-BHM via Bromsgrove and now on the first 730 service to Wolverhampton no-one commented on the colour scheme indeed they praised the interiors. The exterior WM Rail Executive designed colours are much brighter than the original painting on 170s and 172s when launched in 2019.

I don't like the cramped 196 interior nor the tiny windows, but I'd certainly say the interior colour scheme is by far the classiest of the CAFs - and it's the exact same as these. The exterior livery is I suspect a bit Marmite but I like it.

As for the lighting, you're going to hate the overbright daylight blue tubes being fitted to the 350s now

 

[H&I]

Here is my video of the 06:18 from Wolverhampton to Birmingham New Street. Did not get much as it was understandably crowded.

 

[JW4]

730206 being dragged by 37510, saw it on board 730007 at Wolverhampton.

RTT link:

5Q99 1257 Oxley Car. M.D. to Loughborough Brush​

Realtime Trains | 5Q99 1257 Oxley Car. M.D. to Loughborough Brush | 14/02/2024

Real-time train running information for 5Q99 1257 departure from Oxley Car. M.D. to Loughborough Brush on 14/02/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

“Today this service will not call at Birmingham New Street, the next stop will be Duddeston”
“Today this service will not call at Witton, the next stop will be Perry Barr”
How to panic rail passengers in 2024.

 

[H&I]

730206 being dragged by 37510, saw it on board 730007 at Wolverhampton.

RTT link:

5Q99 1257 Oxley Car. M.D. to Loughborough Brush​

Realtime Trains | 5Q99 1257 Oxley Car. M.D. to Loughborough Brush | 14/02/2024

Real-time train running information for 5Q99 1257 departure from Oxley Car. M.D. to Loughborough Brush on 14/02/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

“Today this service will not call at Birmingham New Street, the next stop will be Duddeston”
“Today this service will not call at Witton, the next stop will be Perry Barr”
How to panic rail passengers in 2024.

Do we know when these 730/2s will enter service? Thanks!

 

[AJDesiro]

Do we know when these 730/2s will enter service? Thanks!

How long is a piece of string? Supposedly later this year or early next year.

 

[778]

Yeah I noticed the sticker on that door too, odd. The seats did seem narrow, but the 350/4 I boarded afterwards had seats 42cm wide in first class!


Apparently every Sunday, though the synic in me wonders if it’ll take longer.

I took the opportunity to get a few pictures of the inside of 730210 at Nuneaton. There seemed to be quite a lot of tables, and weirdly a first class section (with first class omitted from the seat covers, 210 is one of the series production units, so presumably it was too late to change the contracts).

Other things, armrests are good to see, though white is a strange choice. I’m pretty sure these use the 45cm variant of the seat instead of the 43.5cm one, which is very good to see.

I’ve attached some pics of them below, since I’ve found it incredibly difficult to find any, other than a concept image from 2018/2019!

This looks like the interior of a class 720 but with 2+2 seating. Is there more standing room than a class 350?

How long is a piece of string? Supposedly later this year or early next year.

When are we likely to see the 5 car units on the southern part of the WCML for testing?