Why are there so terribly many faults though? Should they have been brought into service if this was going to be the case so often? Occasional false positives are unavoidable. But unsurprisingly given the industry safety culture, alarming messages presented to train crew will demand attention and action. Another question is: should a fault with the seat reservation system result in a similar type of alert for the train crew as a more serious technical fault?Every unit I get in, I look at the repair book and a lot of the faults booked certainly needn't have the disastrous effect on the train service that they often end up causing.
Aren't they the kind of training issues that should have been addressed before the trains came into service?The units are not perfect, but a lot of the issues are user error - it's noticeable that with every introduction into service there's been a big spike of failures which settles down after a few weeks and many of the issues causing delays and cancellations are unnecessary - eg brake tests being required (easily rectified and shouldn't be an issue if everyone does their job correctly), doors closing prematurely (guards rushing, drivers shutting down desk too quickly), Asdo issues (easily reset if Asdo actually loses its location, plenty of issues that are down to misunderstanding of the system such as when to use SDO and when not to), battery charger/aux converter alarms (rarely an actual issue), compressor alarms (so long as it's not a solo 195/0 and you are maintaining air it's not a problem and usually a false positive), speedo failure under heavy WSP activity (reset the desk, usually good to go), AWS/TPWS data not being received by OTDR when desk switched on (reset the desk), burst cardan shaft alarm (reset desk, maybe powerpack alarms reset), people confusing PIS not working with ASDO not working (they're two separate systems), in-cab CCTV screens not working (we are not using them for dispatch), DAS not working (nobody is using DAS yet!)...
People are generally confusing the severity of TCMS faults with what's actually important as per the established rules and regs - I know one heavy delay recently where a driver wanted an outstation fitter to look at a unit because the TCMS threw up a fault saying the SRS was defective. SRS for the uninitiated is Seat Reservation System.
Every unit I get in, I look at the repair book and a lot of the faults booked certainly needn't have the disastrous effect on the train service that they often end up causing.
I do think there is a wider British culture issue in saying 'the units are not perfect'. Why do TOCs seem to accept that instead of pushing back on the manufacturers until they meet their contractual duties and address all deficiencies and failures to meet specifications in new trains?
Oh yes, absolutely. But then the training is absolutely minimal to the point where information as to how the units actually work, and how the systems interact with one another, is withheld even from the instructors giving the training so as to make the training course as brief as is possible.Aren't they the kind of training issues that should have been addressed before the trains came into service?
Oh yes, absolutely. But then the training is absolutely minimal to the point where information as to how the units actually work, and how the systems interact with one another, is withheld even from the instructors giving the training so as to make the training course as brief as is possible.
I have current traction manuals for everything from 08s to 68s to 180s and the one major thing that stands out about the CAF units is that the actual traction manual has never been issued to anyone who drives these units - not to drivers, instructors or managers. Drivers are given training material in the form of six books (I say books, they're printed on A4 paper for each course in booklet format) and told that those are what they need to carry round with them. These 'books' are very sparse in information, full of mistakes and lack detail.
Guard will have to override ASDO to use SDO at Bradford because the unit won't know which platform it is in. This takes either five or ten seconds for the guard to release the doors depending where the guard is positioned and which platform the train is on - it takes five seconds to release all doors forward of the local door using SDO, and five seconds for any doors aft of the local door (if any - the guard might be at the rearmost door but that is only possible on platforms 1 & 3 because the local door controls are at diagonally opposite doors, only two per coach).That’s on top of the generally slower dwells enroute, seems to take longer for guards to release doors.
Performance on Calder Valley dire since these trains appeared.
Been on 195s at least 4 times where only the local door will open causing all passengers to have to exit through one carriage causing more delays.
The units are not perfect, but a lot of the issues are user error - it's noticeable that with every introduction into service there's been a big spike of failures which settles down after a few weeks and many of the issues causing delays and cancellations are unnecessary - eg brake tests being required (easily rectified and shouldn't be an issue if everyone does their job correctly), doors closing prematurely (guards rushing, drivers shutting down desk too quickly), Asdo issues (easily reset if Asdo actually loses its location, plenty of issues that are down to misunderstanding of the system such as when to use SDO and when not to), battery charger/aux converter alarms (rarely an actual issue), compressor alarms (so long as it's not a solo 195/0 and you are maintaining air it's not a problem and usually a false positive), speedo failure under heavy WSP activity (reset the desk, usually good to go), AWS/TPWS data not being received by OTDR when desk switched on (reset the desk), burst cardan shaft alarm (reset desk, maybe powerpack alarms reset), people confusing PIS not working with ASDO not working (they're two separate systems), in-cab CCTV screens not working (we are not using them for dispatch), DAS not working (nobody is using DAS yet!)...
People are generally confusing the severity of TCMS faults with what's actually important as per the established rules and regs - I know one heavy delay recently where a driver wanted an outstation fitter to look at a unit because the TCMS threw up a fault saying the SRS was defective. SRS for the uninitiated is Seat Reservation System.
Every unit I get in, I look at the repair book and a lot of the faults booked certainly needn't have the disastrous effect on the train service that they often end up causing.
Guard will have to override ASDO to use SDO at Bradford because the unit won't know which platform it is in. This takes either five or ten seconds for the guard to release the doors depending where the guard is positioned and which platform the train is on - it takes five seconds to release all doors forward of the local door using SDO, and five seconds for any doors aft of the local door (if any - the guard might be at the rearmost door but that is only possible on platforms 1 & 3 because the local door controls are at diagonally opposite doors, only two per coach).
If the guard could only open the local door and not the train doors at any station other than Leeds, Bradford, Manchester Vic, Warrington BQ or Chester the Asdo had probably lost its odometry - that takes about two seconds for the driver to rectify, so long as they know what to do, but it needs a phone call to Northern control too to report the circumstances. At those stations listed, and Earlestown on the way back to Manchester, the guards know that they must override Asdo because it can't predict the correct platform. If it loses its odometry and the driver hasn't/can't reset it then it needs overriding by the the guard in the same way but permission from control must be obtained first. Northern control are not quick at answering the phone...
I can't think of any new fleet of trains which didn't have some teething troubles. It's normal; frustrating, but normal.
How does complete brake failure sound as a teething problem?
Brakes jammed on, you mean? You do make it sound all melodramatic.
The 158s couldn't operate track circuits in autumn because of their brakes. And couldn't stop at Blackburn for months after introduction because the doors hit the platform. The 333s used to throw a wobbler every time it was a warm day, and as for the 175s, well.
They've been in operation for weeks. If they're still like this in six months then we might be wondering if Alstom built them.
The electrodynamic brake (on 331s) isn't isolated because of it failing, it's isolated because of electromagnetic interference. You are confusing that traction digest with the holding brake one where a brake application of at least 25% must be made by the driver if the unit has had traction power applied but not exceeded 2mph. The holding brake icon shows red on the TCMS in such circumstances.You have forgotten the "Isolated electromagnetic brake" fault. You know, the one where it had to be isolated because the software failed rendering the brakes useless.
You can paint as many pretty pictures as you like. But the simple fact is that if one of these was your new car, you would have it back in the garage, refuse to drive it, and get onto trading standards.
I am quite aware of how Asdo works and under what circumstances Northern control need informing, as well as which stations it should be overridden at and more importantly why (it's not always the obvious ones - hence the mention of Earlestown). If you think informed people are not aware of the locations where Asdo in SDO mode should be used then you have too little faith in the system and drivers.Sorry, you are wrong again. At those stations we do not need to inform Northern control. You only need to do that if it is a station where ASDO should be working correctly. I was also chatting to a CAF engineer on my train with his lap top plugged in. He happily told me that there has been instances where a driver resetting ASDO has led to wrong door release.
I've had exactly the same experience on a 195 in Halifax. The guard had to do a manual override. This was straight after the passenger announcement system had incorrectly announced Bradford as Halifax, so I did wonder if the train system was mismatching stations, leading to the door issue.The 195s seem very poor performance wise especially during station duties. I’ve also noted that 195s are particularly slow to change ends/set up and for guard to dispatch
at Bradford Interchange when compared to 14/15x units. It’s not unusual for trains to take 5 min rather than the booked 3. That’s on top of the generally slower dwells enroute, seems to take longer for guards to release doors.
Performance on Calder Valley dire since these trains appeared.
Been on 195s at least 4 times where only the local door will open causing all passengers to have to exit through one carriage causing more delays. Also had an auto announcement on a 195 i was on the other week that said the train wouldn’t fit in platform at Halifax, despite the fact it did with about 7 carriage lengths spare and only doors in one car would open! Was as if had been erroneously programmed into itself that halifax was a short platform station when it’s not!
I've had exactly the same experience on a 195 in Halifax. The guard had to do a manual override. This was straight after the passenger announcement system had incorrectly announced Bradford as Halifax, so I did wonder if the train system was mismatching stations, leading to the door issue.