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Great Western Railway Heathrow Express Class 387 Refittment and Service Updates

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RailWonderer

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This is the area updates or commentary can be posted regarding the class 387s of GWR but specifically the HeX refurbishment process and the nature of the layout etc and eventually the introduction into service of these units.

Confirmed:
-New Wi-Fi
-Televisions in the coaches
-2+2 Standard with 1+2 First (implied non-ironing board config.)
-Extra luggage rack space
-Generally more luxurious details.

Expect a class 185 style revamp that could look nice with wood/chrome accenting. There is so much space for creativity in train interiors. Mood lighting is a good idea and for HeX is a realistic proposition given the lighting in the 332s.
Since the HeX is the UK’s most expensive train per mile and the least used by regular passengers, I can understand if there is a lack of interest for it on here but I thought I would add the obligatory 387 status update page.

So far: 387 unit 140 is confirmed at Ilford in old green livery undergoing the refurbishment.
 
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samuelmorris

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I'm quite interested to see how it turns out. A transformative refit is the only way they could possibly justify the expense of HEx moving forward - the standard 387 interior is fine enough, but nowhere near the level of premium dictated by those fares.
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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Well okay then! I was very skeptical of this idea at first, expecting something like the utter rip off that is the Gatwick Express 387, but 2x1 first class sounds more promising. True it’s not 1x1 like today, but 2x1 is perfectly reasonable. If they don’t use ironing board seats as well, maybe these revamped 387s actually make a nice airport train. Who knew?
 

332 > 444

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Yes very true, considering it’s my old TOC I’d like to see how these turn out. But usually Hex related threads always turns into rants hoping for its demise due to its cost, hard selling, Underground/TfL Rail is cheaper etc.....
 

Metal_gee_man

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It Must differentiate itself from the GWR 387s and they must be hugely more comfortable and more welcoming, otherwise its the same as the GX or SX and those services have more struggles than HEX to remain profitable with other services hoovering up their potential customers
 

FGW_DID

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The second unit for HEX refurb is pencilled in as 387130, should be Ilford bound this Friday, ROG Loco hauled move.
 

Mikey C

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It Must differentiate itself from the GWR 387s and they must be hugely more comfortable and more welcoming, otherwise its the same as the GX or SX and those services have more struggles than HEX to remain profitable with other services hoovering up their potential customers

It's not quite the same as the Gatwick Express as there's no "normal" GWR service running alongside it

What there is/will be though is Crossrail, and if people are travelling beyond Paddington into Central London on public transport then I doubt the extra comfort will be enough to get people to pay the difference. After all, people haven't been using HEx because of the TV screens and fairly plush interior, they've been using it as it's faster and more comfortable than the Piccadilly line.
 

03_179

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Is there a full list of the 387s that will be converted to HEX working?
 

03_179

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Thanks.

The only one I need to see is 166. No doubt they will be harder to get as haulage.
 

Elshad

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I think the front gangways are a bit of a mismatch in term of looks for a “premium” service. Especially when sat next to a 345. It’s a shame GWR didn’t order some Class 720 type unit for HEX.
 

Bletchleyite

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I think the front gangways are a bit of a mismatch in term of looks for a “premium” service. Especially when sat next to a 345. It’s a shame GWR didn’t order some Class 720 type unit for HEX.

It'd be silly to order new stock for a service that may not survive in its current form once Crossrail has had chance to make inroads into it.
 

ForTheLoveOf

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It'd be silly to order new stock for a service that may not survive in its current form once Crossrail has had chance to make inroads into it.
I suspect it may become more popular again after HS2 is opened, or at the very least Old Oak Common is opened. That could make the journey time via Heathrow Express seriously competitive for destinations along the GWML or HS2 route (plus possibly Overground and Chiltern routes). Crossrail will always be hamstrung to an extent by the fact that it has to stop at intermediate stations, which isn't attractive to foreign tourists or business travellers.
 

transmanche

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Especially when sat next to a 345. It’s a shame GWR didn’t order some Class 720 type unit for HEX.
Why would they do that, when they only have a management contract to operate the service until 2028?
 

Craig2601

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Surely there will be time savings by taking the direct nonstop Heathrow Express than the Crossrail stopper? I presume people will still be more than willing to pay for a faster service, even with the class 387s.
 

Bletchleyite

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Surely there will be time savings by taking the direct nonstop Heathrow Express than the Crossrail stopper? I presume people will still be more than willing to pay for a faster service, even with the class 387s.

Not when you consider having to change (to Crossrail or a taxi) at Paddington.

Paddington is in the sticks, it's not a business travel destination.
 

fgwrich

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I think the front gangways are a bit of a mismatch in term of looks for a “premium” service. Especially when sat next to a 345. It’s a shame GWR didn’t order some Class 720 type unit for HEX.

Because this is, in effect, using up the "spare" 387s freed by the pause on the Oxford (and presumable Basingstoke?) Electrification. There will also be slack in the fleet once Crossrail gets up and running to Reading, which will take over the Thames Valley Stoppers from GWR.
 

Mikey C

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Not when you consider having to change (to Crossrail or a taxi) at Paddington.

Paddington is in the sticks, it's not a business travel destination.

The big question is how many people will take a taxi to Paddington rather than catch a Crossrail train from the West End, City or Canary Wharf

It's not as if the Paddington taxi rank is that convenient now, as it's now a fair trek from the platforms
 

Bletchleyite

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FWIW, if you genuinely wanted to provide the best service to users of LHR, binning HEx off and replacing it with a semifast Crossrail service (Hayes and Harlington, Ealing Broadway and OOC only) would be a winner.
 

swt_passenger

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Because this is, in effect, using up the "spare" 387s freed by the pause on the Oxford (and presumable Basingstoke?) Electrification. There will also be slack in the fleet once Crossrail gets up and running to Reading, which will take over the Thames Valley Stoppers from GWR.
They would surely have accounted for Crossrail already when the 387s were ordered. Crossrail and it’s extension to Reading were confirmed way before the 387s.
 

coppercapped

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Not when you consider having to change (to Crossrail or a taxi) at Paddington.

Paddington is in the sticks, it's not a business travel destination.

You keep writing this - it assumes that all the passengers travel on business.

I would argue that none of the termini along the New Road (now Euston Road) are near concentrations of business destinations - all of them require onward travel to a greater or lesser extent. If necessary by canal which is on the doorsteps of three of them...!

The southern termini are closer to the West End and the City but if you want to get somewhere else - then again it's a bus, taxi or Tube.
 

JN114

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387130 - 141 (12 units) inclusive will get the full “Air” treatment (Air being the project name within GWR). They’ll be for HeX use only.

387142 and 387143 will get ETCS fitted and some of the other safety-related mods to allow them to work in the Heathrow Tunnels as emergency backup units for the Heathrow fleet.

There is plenty of slack in the unit diagrams to free up sets - the first few units will be able to go away without their loss being overly felt. We’ve already dropped from 41 to 39 units required for traffic with just a tweak to unit workings at Paddington. Doing sums on the back of an envelope that could probably drop further to 37 or even 35 without being felt or noticed by joe public, which would allow 4 or 6 units away for mods respectively.

Short term once the IETs take over the Bedwyns in the coming weeks and the 769s come into service over the summer that will free up Turbos in 6 car guise to go back onto carefully selected main line suburban diagrams to reduce the number of 387s required in service even further. Crossrail will then massively reshuffle the pack when it introduces its Reading services; and the 387 service requirement will drop to the high 20s, leaving several units to strengthen more semi-fast services to 12 car.
 

Mikey C

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GWR did seem to be allocated an extraordinarily generous number of 387s, handy for taking over HEx but presumably not what their original purpose was for...
 

RailWonderer

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I think the front gangways are a bit of a mismatch in term of looks for a “premium” service. Especially when sat next to a 345. It’s a shame GWR didn’t order some Class 720 type unit for HEX.

People who buy Rolls Royce cars don’t care how boxy they look, they care about the interior luxury, ride quality and speed. Same goes for HeX.
 
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