Glasgow Subway new stock

[Skymonster]

Here is a picture of the subway test track today. There are about 7 old subway cars there at the moment.

Trèanaichean Subway Ghlaschu - seann is ùr, Ibrox

New and old subway trains, Glasgow Subway test track, Ibrox

www.flickr.com

There were none up there two weeks ago so a lot has changed since then - I guess the system is now starting to rely on the new stock being out, especially at peak time.

 

[LT02 NVV]

Has 304 entered service yet? I ask this as someone told me it was out a few days ago, though I’m not sure.

 

[Buzby]

Has 304 entered service yet? I ask this as someone told me it was out a few days ago, though I’m not sure.

Heading there now - will let you know if it turns up!

 

[hexagon789]

Has 304 entered service yet? I ask this as someone told me it was out a few days ago, though I’m not sure.

I could've missed it, but I haven't seen reports of that unit having been in service yet.

I'll do a nosy around

 

[LT02 NVV]

I could've missed it, but I haven't seen reports of that unit having been in service yet.

I'll do a nosy around

I’m not sure it is yet, I’ve just heard someone say that they’ve seen it.

 

[Buzby]

Spent a fruitless 2 hours searching and just struck out! All trains on both circles were Gen 2 only. On giving up and asking a driver revealed they now only run early mornings and late afternoon! Asking if they still run in pairs was interesting… they don’t! The driver said if there was a problem they’d shut that circle down anyway. They’d worked out that running in pairs meant there were gaps in the service as the G3’s entered and left the network and the passenger perceptions were of longer wait times until the spacing could be restored. By running singly, there was less disruption as they entered and left the circle and the gaps reduced.

I mentioned the different couplings and he suggested it might take them slightly longer to get it out but overall the quality of service on balance was disrupted less.

So currenfly, they’re out 0930-1200 and 1400-1630 M-F, SaSu X

 

[Skymonster]

Good gen, thank you @Buzby - although I doubt I'll be able to make much use of it as I'm not currently anticipating being back in the city until October, by when I suppose its possible all the old stock will be retired.

 

[Hondaboy91]

Thank you, that’s really good to know.

It appears that the only two that I need for sight that are still active are 101 and 126.

Both are still in use though 101 only as non leading end as it’s a handful just shunting through the yard

 

[simple simon]

Is there a best time/day to get to see one, I'm heading to Glasgow sometime next month and I'd like to see what they're like

What I did, as a visitor to Glasgow, was to ask the people in the ticket office if the new trains were expected 'soon' when entering the station. This helped me tremendously.

 

[ld0595]

Geoff Marshall has done a good video

 

[markglos]

How many sets are in Glasgow now?

 

[DanNCL]

Thank you, that’s really good to know.

It appears that the only two that I need for sight that are still active are 101 and 126.

101 and 126 are in the same formation on the outer circle tonight. 126 leading, 101 trailing, 201 in the middle.

 

[nlogax]

Finally found myself on new stock riding the outer during early afternoon on Good Friday. Certainly a different experience, though tricky to get a definitive feel for ride, interior comfort and noise levels as it was absolutely rammed throughout.

 

[Buzby]

A

as it was absolutely rammed throughout.

At least on the G3’s you can walk through to the adjacent carriage to find a space, but as you note it is a marginally more comfortable ride and slightly less noisy!

 

[jagardner1984]

It will be interesting to see how these cope with peak loadings, since the layout seems to create more inactive space than the G2 stock. Weirdly, more than other walk through units I have used, it can be quite disconcerting to look down the set and see the other cars rattling violently around the many, many twists and turns of the Victorian tunnels !

It really emphasises how remarkable it is that stock exposed to these kind of forces for close to half a century is still going, if not strong, but still going !

 

[Blindtraveler]

Does it really create more inactive space? Or is it still so new that the users have not yet quite grassed what those on the sub-surface lines of LU took a while to grasp, that they now have a choice of other places to stand or sit or whatever more easily accessible to them

 

[Huntergreed]

Finally got to experience one of these on the outer this evening.

First impressions are very good - much more comfortable ride quality than the old stock and they feel far less cramped due to the walk-through carriages. The fourth carriage does make a difference, even if the actual length of the train is similar. There’s definitely a noticeable reduction in noise level which is really positive.

One thing I did notice is that it doesn’t seem quite as smooth or fast pulling off from stations. It felt quite “start/stop” (as in, the train started accelerating quite quickly, then coasted, then accelerated, then coasted, all within the space of a few seconds). Unsure why this would be but I definitely noticed it. May just be the driver I had, but interested to hear if anyone else has picked up on this.

The new screens are a nice addition, but feel like a missed opportunity to include more robust PIS (or, at the very least, a “next station” display). It also felt like it took a significantly longer amount of time to open the doors when arriving at each station (in some cases, in excess of 5 seconds). On the old stock, the doors would sometimes be half-open before the train had even stopped!

 

[hexagon789]

One thing I did notice is that it doesn’t seem quite as smooth or fast pulling off from stations. It felt quite “start/stop” (as in, the train started accelerating quite quickly, then coasted, then accelerated, then coasted, all within the space of a few seconds). Unsure why this would be but I definitely noticed it. May just be the driver I had, but interested to hear if anyone else has picked up on this.

The older trains are set up like this too, but their lower acceleration makes it less noticeable. The current ATO is very basic, it will signal maximum acceleration to the current permitted speed (18, 35 or 54km/h). Once attained, power is cut. Then once speed falls to about 4km/h or more under the permissible, the signal to apply power is given again. And so on...

The older trains are less powerful and use camshaft control, so the reapplication of power when already moving tends to be less pronounced.

 

[DanNCL]

Are the new units running on the same ATO system as the old units? I'd assumed it would be like the introduction of the 2009 stock on the Victoria line where the new ATO system was introduced as an overlay with the 67 and 09 stocks using their own respective ATO systems during the transition period.

 

[hexagon789]

Are the new units running on the same ATO system as the old units? I'd assumed it would be like the introduction of the 2009 stock on the Victoria line where the new ATO system was introduced as an overlay with the 67 and 09 stocks using their own respective ATO systems during the transition period.

Afaik they currently operate on the original ATO with the same basic 3-speed codes and fixed 'spot'-check braking curves rather than with the 'fluid' capability the new stock has.

Certainly, it feels as though the new stock operates in the same manner as the Met Camms, just with quicker acceleration and a bit sharper braking.

 

[EMU303]

Caught a glimpse of a new train today on the inner circle, couldn’t catch its number. Is this the first time they’ve been used on a Saturday?

 

[hexagon789]

Caught a glimpse of a new train today on the inner circle, couldn’t catch its number. Is this the first time they’ve been used on a Saturday?

There were two units observed in service by another forum member on Sat 16th March - see post #348

 

[clc]

I was on one of the new units for the first time today. In terms of noise I found it noticeably quieter than the old stock. In terms of ride quality I found there was a surprising amount of intermittent lateral movement to the extent the back of my head hit the panel behind me with more force than I would consider acceptable. I was sitting adjacent to the gangway so perhaps that was a factor.

 

[allancmcd]

First of the old stock away to the scrappie SPT on Twitter

 

[EMU303]

Another train breakdown this morning halted the inner circle causing crush loads on the outer for a while. Hopefully we can see an accelerated introduction of new trains over the coming weeks, the old trains are clearly struggling now.

 

[50002Superb]

First of the old stock away to the scrappie SPT on Twitter

Any idea which one(s)?

 

[DanNCL]

Any idea which one(s)?

102 I think

 

[68000]

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7184568489670549506/

 

[bramling]

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7184568489670549506/

View attachment 156316

Quite heartbreaking to see. One of the most iconic designs of train ever built.

 

[jagardner1984]

Quite heartbreaking to see. One of the most iconic designs of train ever built.

And indeed, of course there is a trend with such things to view all new things as progress .... it is hard to describe how revolutionary they were when introduced during the 70s refurbishment, or the extraordinary length of service, in Modern Train terms, the G3 Stadler stock will have to fulfil before coming close to the service and mileage the Met Camm stock has given the people of Glasgow over almost 50 years.

Who knows, maybe in years to come we will all mourn the loss of ironing board seats and abattoir lighting with window seats aligned with .... a steel wall panel.

They'll certainly be missed.