GA Class 317 problem ?

[LAX54]

Does anyone know what is wrong with the 317 fleet ? seems they all have to be checked overnight / weekend ? some will be able to go back into service and some not (after the inspection)

 

[Sleepy]

No idea what's wrong but can confirm it will cause some issues Saturday on West Anglia if stock N/A

 

[jopsuk]

seems to be a few services on Journey Check noted as 4 instead of 8 this morning

 

[Alfie1014]

May be unconnected but if on diagram the pair used on the GE failed big time yesterday morning on the 07:29 Witham service and had to be taken out of service at Harold Wood screwing up the GE morning peak.

 

[F Great Eastern]

I've seen nothing more than a 4 car of either 317s or 379s today.

There's 20 short forms showing up between 11am and 1pm on WA.

Maybe they are spending the days de-branding them.

 

[Bikeman78]

Does anyone know what is wrong with the 317 fleet ? seems they all have to be checked overnight / weekend ? some will be able to go back into service and some not (after the inspection)

The loco hauled fleet seems to have collapsed as well. Looking at Twitter, several peak trains yesterday were eight cars vice nine. I guess they could simply be missing a coach, however, the 1630 and 1830 mention that catering would consist of a trolley so presumably they were pairs of bins.

 

[Sleepy]

Catering is not provided on bins, trolley only would be due to buffet coach missing from set.

 

[Railengineer]

Does anyone know what is wrong with the 317 fleet ? seems they all have to be checked overnight / weekend ? some will be able to go back into service and some not (after the inspection)

Inspection of Traction Motor Covers, but not sure why. Possibly risk of detachment I would guess.

 

[GB]

Inspection of Traction Motor Covers, but not sure why. Possibly risk of detachment I would guess.

This. They have been modified and found to be not fit for purpose as they risk coming loose or coming off completely....one came off a week or so ago and was laying by the track and I believe a few others have been found loose or dislodged.

Units that haven't had the modification are not affected and can remain in service.

 

[Alfie1014]

That might tally with one report on Twitter from a passenger on the sets that failed at Harold Wood yesterday that a banging underneath the train was heard before it came to a stand.

The hauled sets were thin on the ground earlier in the week I had two different sets of dusty bins to and from Norwich on Tuesday. But one vehicle short on many sets has been the norm for months now.

 

[Bikeman78]

That might tally with one report on Twitter from a passenger on the sets that failed at Harold Wood yesterday that a banging underneath the train was heard before it came to a stand.

The hauled sets were thin on the ground earlier in the week I had two different sets of dusty bins to and from Norwich on Tuesday. But one vehicle short on many sets has been the norm for months now.

I wasn't aware of that, I don't really follow the Norwich hauled sets. So it's very difficult to tell if 8 coaches instead of 9 means a short formed hauled set or a pair of units. Personally I don't mind either way but I guess season ticket holders would be less than thrilled to find a pair of 321s instead of their nice quiet mark 3 stock.

Hopefully they'll get the 317 problem sorted quickly. Any news on 317506 coming back from Kilmarnock?

 

[vinnym70]

That might tally with one report on Twitter from a passenger on the sets that failed at Harold Wood yesterday that a banging underneath the train was heard before it came to a stand.

The hauled sets were thin on the ground earlier in the week I had two different sets of dusty bins to and from Norwich on Tuesday. But one vehicle short on many sets has been the norm for months now.

Was the failed train a Harold Wood a 317? I only ever seem to see 317's out in that direction on the evening peaks.

 

[Ianno87]

Was the failed train a Harold Wood a 317? I only ever seem to see 317's out in that direction on the evening peaks.

There is only a single 317 diagram on the GEML full stop, in the peak.

 

[Bikeman78]

Was the failed train a Harold Wood a 317? I only ever seem to see 317's out in that direction on the evening peaks.

Yes the 07:29 Witham to Liverpool Street is booked a pair of 317s. Same diagrams as the 16:17/18:18.

 

[Sleepy]

The issues are reportedly going to continue into Monday.

 

[F Great Eastern]

Just one shambles after the next with GA in the last 12-18 months or so, the decline in unit availability has been awful, I don't think they've managed to execute a single project properly, which doesn't bode well for the next 12 months.

 

[stuart81]

Just one shambles after the next with GA in the last 12-18 months or so, the decline in unit availability has been awful, I don't think they've managed to execute a single project properly, which doesn't bode well for the next 12 months.

Something like this could happen to any TOC, your constant GA bashing is getting rather boring!!

 

[F Great Eastern]

Something like this could happen to any TOC, your constant GA bashing is getting rather boring!!

If it was related to one of the fleets of trains then I would agree with you, but the reliability and availability of all units, be they DMUs, EMUs or loco hauled sets has declined massively over the last 12-18 months with more short forms than I can ever remember and that suggest it's more than just bad luck.

No amount of GA marketing spin detracts from the fact that passenger satisfaction and unit availability has declined in the last 12 months as short forms have become more commonplace. Front line staff are still excellent but Abellio's performance since the start of the new franchise has been down on what it was when they were on their last one.

 

[86246]

The issues are reportedly going to continue into Monday.

Yes, a couple of cancellations plus a number of short forms for Monday have appeared on journey check this evening.

 

[F Great Eastern]

30 short forms, 3 cancellations and 2 services that are cutting out stops in the Am and that's before we even think about anything that happens on the average day taken out of service.

Disruption is now expected to continue through to the PM peak as well, although at the moment they're hoping no more than a dozen services will be short formed by that point, but that is subject to revision.

Thank god I'm not on the West Anglia lines tomorrow, will be mayhem.

 

[nesw]

I’m informed that the problem should be resolved by Tuesday/Wednesday.

 

[LAX54]

No consecutive services to be short formed.
No services to run 4 vice 12.
Services that are short formed will have stops removed to avoid over crowding

Seems it was a design flaw in the new covers, all the 317's are making their way back to Ilford and the new covers will be removed and the old ones put back in place, as 'nesw' says they hope to have the whole fleet fixed by Tuesday.

 

[F Great Eastern]

52 short forms network wide, 10 cancellations shows on Journeycheck this morning.

 

[anamyd]

No consecutive services to be short formed.
No services to run 4 vice 12.
Services that are short formed will have stops removed to avoid over crowding

Seems it was a design flaw in the new covers, all the 317's are making their way back to Ilford and the new covers will be removed and the old ones put back in place, as 'nesw' says they hope to have the whole fleet fixed by Tuesday.

what covers...?

 

[Railengineer]

Seems it was a design flaw in the new covers, all the 317's are making their way back to Ilford and the new covers will be removed and the old ones put back in place, as 'new'......

Mmm..if it's not broken don't fix it?

 

[Railengineer]

what covers...?

Traction Motors, see previous posts?

 

[aleggatta]

Mmm..if it's not broken don't fix it?

Just because a mod has gone wrong and they are reverting back doesn't mean the mod itself isn't fixing/improving something. I suspect they will revise the design and re-implement when the time comes and we will probably never hear of it!

 

[Railengineer]

Just because a mod has gone wrong and they are reverting back doesn't mean the mod itself isn't fixing/improving something. I suspect they will revise the design and re-implement when the time comes and we will probably never hear of it!

So doing a bad design which allows components to fall off trains and risk lives, as well as causing days of disruption all at the taxpayers expense is excusable then? Yes they will do the job properly this time and we wont hear anything about it, which is probably what they wish had happened in the first place!

 

[aleggatta]

So doing a bad design which allows components to fall off trains and risk lives, as well as causing days of disruption all at the taxpayers expense is excusable then? Yes they will do the job properly this time and we wont hear anything about it, which is probably what they wish had happened in the first place!

I struggle to see where the taxpayer comes into it- the TOC or the ROSCO decided to do the mod, the TOC or the ROSCO will have taken responsibility for it and the TOC or the ROSCO will foot the bill when it has gone wrong! we are talking about one mod that has gone wrong, it isn't the first and it wont be the last. Mod's aren't a once a year task, they are reasonably regular, and are usually in response to something going wrong already and trying to prevent it from happening again to improve unit reliability. Obviously this hasn't happened, but when TOCs and ROSCO's are balancing cost with effectiveness(they are businesses after all), some risk has to be taken.

 

[anamyd]

Traction Motors, see previous posts?

thanks!