Greater Anglia Rolling Stock Updates

[TubeMapCentral]

You will have to ask Abellio that question, it is not one for me to answer since I do not work for them and have no connection and am just an interested observer. Since I do not know them, I am unable to comment on how nice they are but I do think that it's off topic for this thread @yorkie

The lack of response to what you ingnore is far more interesting than this response. In any case, I referred to NS Rail in my post, a denial that you receive money from Abellio, even if truthful and not an obfuscation, doesn't get you off the hook. NS Rail is a bigger company than Abellio.

It is not off-topic to question the legitimacy of a brand new member whose behaviour is suspicious and is potentially filling a longstanding thread with misinformation. Indeed, to protect the integrity of the thread, it is important to get to the bottom of this.

On Page 97 of the thread, which you have claimed to have read, we discussed excuses about train collisions and decided that they were somewhat far-fetched. It's not just the shambles that NS Rail have created (proportionately as bad as Thameslink last year). We are also interested in the utter failure to deliver many franchise commitments.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...ing-stock-updates.143516/page-96#post-4273973

Perhaps you would care to devote some "informed unbiased opinions" on these points.

 

[dk1]

Ipswich-Peterborough suspension excepted, things are no worse than the last couple of years this morning with several later regional services reinstated. The Intercity cancellations are cause for concern especially as the 08:00up has been lost again. Provision of a set for the Ni90s seem prioritised.

 

[stuart81]

Today's initial cancellation list

06:14 Lowestoft to Ipswich due 07:44
06:20 Ipswich to Saxmundham due 06:58
06:24 Great Yarmouth to Norwich due 06:57
06:27 Hertford East to London Liverpool Street due 07:18
06:33 Norwich to Cambridge due 07:53
06:52 Norwich to Great Yarmouth due 07:26
07:23 London Liverpool Street to Broxbourne due 07:48
07:30 Great Yarmouth to Norwich due 08:05
07:44 Saxmundham to Lowestoft due 08:33
08:00 Norwich to London Liverpool Street due 10:00
08:03 Ipswich to Peterborough due 09:40
08:09 Norwich to Great Yarmouth due 08:42
08:09 Cambridge to Norwich due 09:30
08:46 Great Yarmouth to Norwich due 09:19
09:40 Norwich to Cambridge due 10:59
09:50 Peterborough to Ipswich due 11:28
10:05 Norwich to Lowestoft due 10:52
10:30 London Liverpool Street to Norwich due 12:27
10:57 Lowestoft to Norwich due 11:35
11:09 Cambridge to Norwich due 12:37
12:01 Ipswich to Peterborough due 13:39
12:05 Norwich to Lowestoft due 12:50
12:57 Lowestoft to Norwich due 13:33
13:50 Peterborough to Ipswich due 15:28
16:00 Ipswich to Peterborough due 17:40
17:50 Peterborough to Ipswich due 19:28

This is a rolling stock thread not a let's have a dig at GA every day thread #fedup

 

[RailWonderer]

If I was going be cynical I would say GA will start claiming ‘We are reducing short forms every day’ instead of fessing up to more cancellations.
But we’re not allowed to be cynical anymore are we?

More GEML short forms suspiciously correspond to the number of bin rakes on the IC route (3 now) and the Ni90 is still not cancelled, which I presume will delay the 09:05 ex-Clacton even more again?

 

[F Great Eastern]

Ipswich-Peterborough suspension excepted, things are no worse than the last couple of years this morning with several later regional services reinstated. The Intercity cancellations are cause for concern especially as the 08:00up has been lost again. Provision of a set for the Ni90s seem prioritised.

The Intercity services are a concern? In the grand scheme of things, they've hardly been touched in comparison to the decimation of the local lines over the past few months and if one doesn't run it's not like you have to wait an hour or two for the next one and those in Ipswich and further south have choice of EMUs as well.

Intercity passengers coming out with poor me because they have one service cancelled and have to wait at most half an hour for the next one need to get real. I understand it's an important line but a little less snowflakery from those who have it far better than the local passengers do would be nice.

 

[F Great Eastern]

This is a rolling stock thread not a let's have a dig at GA every day thread #fedup

The trains were cancelled due to a shortage of rolling stock, so it's relevant.

 

[F Great Eastern]

If I was going be cynical I would say GA will start claiming ‘We are reducing short forms every day’ instead of fessing up to more cancellations.?

Recently they reduced the number of booked carraiges specified on many trains, including almost all 90 rakes, so they are no longer considered short form as they are now permenantly booked as shorter trains.

 

[dk1]

The Intercity services are a concern? In the grand scheme of things, they've hardly been touched in comparison to the decimation of the local lines over the past few months and if one doesn't run it's not like you have to wait an hour or two for the next one and those in Ipswich and further south have choice of EMUs as well.

Intercity passengers coming out with poor me because they have one service cancelled and have to wait at most half an hour for the next one need to get real. I understand it's an important line but a little less snowflakery from those who have it far better than the local passengers do would be nice.

I was referring more to the way the Intercity cancellations have become the norm whereas it was several years ago quite rare to see such important and after all money making trains removed to frequently.

 

[RailWonderer]

9 becomes 8, 8 becomes 7. Until we get down to short sets like the HSTs in Devon.

Recently they reduced the number of booked carraiges specified on many trains, including almost all 90 rakes, so they are no longer considered short form as they are now permenantly booked as shorter trains.

That’s another of their tricks. Disguised with a smile. Anyway, I’m going too far.

 

[dk1]

Considering how lucrative the IC route is you’d think they would look after the rolling stock or renew it instead of neglecting it.

Agreed but unfortunately we are where we are. Come on 745s we need you

 

[RailWonderer]

A series of short term franchises without any long term commitment has amounted to the unique quagmire the Anglia region sits in.

 

[F Great Eastern]

Been confirmed now that 755419 suffered pantograph damage yesterday after striking a bridge quite hard after the pantograph did not fully lower, so can see that not seeing service for a little while.

Raises the question if there is any system on the train that confirms that the pantograph has been fully raised and retracted after the action to do so has taken place, like there is on a planes landing gear.

Meanwhile, morale in the engineering department must be good

The manufacturer of our new regional, intercity and Stansted Express trains, Stadler, has a contract to provide maintenance for our new trains, and as a result a number of Greater Anglia engineering staff will transfer to Stadler.

We have been communicating and consulting closely with relevant staff and union representatives at our Crown Point depot regarding the changes. We have offered staff a voluntary leaving scheme, which a number have accepted. There are also some options for staff to apply for other roles within Greater Anglia.

We anticipate that only a small number of Crown Point-based staff may be subject to compulsory redundancy by the time the transfer takes place, and we will continue to work closely with Stadler to ensure we reduce this number wherever possible.

A number of Greater Anglia staff will continue to be based at the depot, as their activities remain the responsibility of Greater Anglia at Crown Point.

 

[RailWonderer]

That is a step in the right direction, when there’s a tighter collaboration repair times benefit and errors get rectified faster. Given the size of the order this was a must. Hope this starts improving a company culture, so we see a better service and no need for as much dishonesty and blame.

 

[Meerkat]

How come there are redundancies at Crown Point? Haven’t they got more work now?

 

[trebor79]

How come there are redundancies at Crown Point? Haven’t they got more work now?

Presumably those employees do not wish to transfer to Stadler. As GA have no work for them they have little option but to start the redundancy process. Stadler will have to hire some new people.
Maybe also less maintenance staff required with the new fleet? Skid mounted engines in the Flirts so I imagine a lot of problems will be addressed by an engine swap with the offending engine sent away for repair rather than by extensive tinkering with engines in situ.

 

[sheepy1991]

How come there are redundancies at Crown Point? Haven’t they got more work now?

The planned number of staff for the new fleet is around half the headcount of the current/outgoing fleet.

Ilford will be going the same way with the installation of AVIS when the Aventra’s eventually turn up.

 

[trebor79]

Most of the train crew seem quite chirpy and friendly. I suspect some of the drivers enjoy the novelty of giving announcements, judging by the way they speak when doing them.

 

[ashkeba]

The trains were cancelled due to a shortage of rolling stock, so it's relevant.

And thank you for posting them. It is one of the few ways to estimate how much stock is AWOL because of the dodgy spin posted by GA lately.

To the new poster, I think most of us think the regional flirts are a great leap forwards but we are peed off with how the introduction seems to be stumbling and now worried that the GEML stock may also leave or fail before enough intercity flirts are running.

 

[Scottychoo]

I'm new to the forum but after reading the last few pages of posts it's become very apparent that people have been making some perceptions of what they feel is going on with the franchise in Anglia at the moment and having read them there is an awful lot of speculation in relation to what is going on.

There is a detailed phased plan in relation to the older, tired, unreliable stock leaving the franchise. Whilst this stock has served the area well it is past it's best and needs to be replaced and I am saddened to find the begrudgery exhibited by some on here against passengers in Lowestoft today. Passengers and staff on the East Suffolk Line have suffered for years and they deserve this upgrade, having had the through services taken away from them in recent years.

I have also been reading that there is a shortage of rolling stock on local lines. There is no shortage of rolling stock and there are currently more local carriages in service than there were before any of the new fleet arrived and there are more available to Greater Anglia on a daily basis thanks to the investment that has been made in the franchise. Would you rather have a franchisee like the last one or would you have one that is commuted to transforming rail travel in Anglia?

Unfortunately due to the poor weather and also the local wildlife, floods, trespass incidents and vandalism and some unfortunate incidents, Greater Anglia have had no luck at all which has resulted in a number of units being unavailable every day, resulting in these faults causing cancellations on the Ipswich to Peterborough Line today. If it was not for these incidents, there would be enough trains to run a full service and some spare, so there are plenty of trains.

It is understandable that those who see old trains leaving, new trains arriving put two and two together and come up with five and believe that these incidents are somehow linked. It is a mistake and a misconception that many people could make if they are looking at it from a certain angle. But before the delivery of new stock the situation would have been even worse because there were less carriages to go around and now there are more carriages on a daily basis that are available to Greater Anglia to deploy into service.

Because there are now extra carriages available, even if a 4 car FLIRT is off service, the worst you will get is a 2 car 156 which will be replaced very shortly by 3 car FLIRTS. This is a big difference to a 40 year old class 153. This change, thanks to this weekends withdrawal of 153s was fully welcomed by passengers in Lowestoft this morning, but unfortunately some on here seem to begrudge them that.The end of the 153s should be celebrated, instead we havepeople who want to create a two tier franchise where Lowestoft and Felixstowe passengers are forced to suffer on stock from the 1970s as they are not worthy of new trains.

Progress on the class 720s is going well. THere are currently 20 of these units complete by Bombardier with more being completed every day and Greater Anglia are said to be on course to deliver them on time and with little to no passenger disruption. I'm sure all of the passengers throughout Essex will be pleased by the new trains, which offer reliable air conditioning, faster WIfi onboard and plug sockets and built on the proven Aventra platform, these British built trains will be more reliable than the older class 317/321/360 trains they are replacing.

There may be more tough days ahead in the coming weeks, but Greater Anglia re doing an excellent job to transform this regions rail network with a full fleet replacement, the first of it's kind, leading to truly transforming rail travel over our county. They deserve our support during challenging times due to bad luck, rather than being blamed for factors outside their control. It's about time people got real with this and took the blinkers off and enjoy a front row seat for the greatest transformation project the British Rail network has ever seen as it really is happening to us and a new dawn and an exciting new era is around the corner.

You do work for GA pr department don't you? If you don't then they need people like you.

 

[dk1]

Ironically I got the bus in this morning. Due to a RTC on the A47 it took 54mins to do 4 miles. Meanwhile the GA local service from the village is running like clockwork. Typical!!

 

[ashkeba]

Ironically I got the bus in this morning. Due to a RTC on the A47 it took 54mins to do 4 miles. Meanwhile the GA local service from the village is running like clockwork. Typical!!

Take it to roadforums, please!

 

[Tug]

Today's regional newspaper The Eastern Daily Press is carrying 3 stories about the new trains as well as its daily report on the numbers cancelled:

1. About Unreliability
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/greater-anglia-trains-cancelled-across-norfolk-1-6406274

2. About the level of cancellations
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/greater-anglia-apologies-disruption-trains-in-norfolk-1-6405593

3. About the very sad job cuts at Crown Point. Just love the first picture of Anglia depot and even more the steam locomotive in the shadows. Is this in case the 74x don't work out to well. Just kidding as the picture is 20 (???) years old.
https://www.edp24.co.uk/business/sm...point-depot-confirms-greater-anglia-1-6405545

Nothing new here but it is making the problems more public locally.

 

[F Great Eastern]

Passenger collapsed near Chelmsford due to severe overcrowding on the 17:52 from Liverpool Street to Clacton which is short formed.

A queue of trains behind it is starting to form with knock on delays hitting may trains behind it.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/L70973/2019-12-03/detailed

 

[RailWonderer]

Passenger collapsed near Chelmsford due to severe overcrowding on the 17:52 from Liverpool Street to Clacton which is short formed.

A queue of trains behind it is starting to form with knock on delays hitting may trains behind it.

It's one of the most crowded services, if not the most crowded in the evening peak as a 12 car let alone an 8.
A 4 car ex Colchester Town that joins that diagram that the 17:52 is on was terminated at Colchester due to 'safety checks' and at the same time a 755 was on the Clacton branch and took up the same platform for some time.
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F00200/2019-12-03/detailed
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F00201/2019-12-03/detailed
Why are 755s being tested on the Clacton branch?

 

[F Great Eastern]

It's one of the most crowded services, if not the most crowded in the evening peak as a 12 car let alone an 8.
A 4 car ex Colchester Town that joins that diagram that the 17:52 is on was terminated at Colchester due to 'safety checks' and at the same time a 755 was on the Clacton branch and took up the same platform for some time.
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F00200/2019-12-03/detailed
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F00201/2019-12-03/detailed
Why are 755s being tested on the Clacton branch?

They're cancelling services on the local lines because of not enough units, whilst at the same time they are testing same units on the Clacton line where the usual stock is class leading in reliability? Have the lunatics well and truly taken over the asylum?

Please don't tell me this is because they're going to start to run 755s on commuter services over the coming weeks to generate yet more good news stories about new trains being rolled out to additional lines as a cover story for the shambolic service elsewhere.

Honestly if this kind of carry on is really happening then it's difficult both to see and have any confidence that things are going to get better anytime soon. But I have difficulty in believing that this is really happening and is their plan, since whilst I am one of Abellio's biggest critics, I don't think that they would honestly start doing such things.

 

[Class 170101]

A complete disgrace that they've not bustituted the Felixstowe Line but instead implemented mass cancellations on other lines.

Felixstowe line being covered by Norwich Crew. Now you could argue the Class 755 should have stayed around Norwich for the Norwich to Great Yarmouth / Lowestoft services that were cancelled and bus the Felixstowe but that wouldn't help the Ipswich to Peterborough problem as Norwich don't go there as dk1 will testify.

 

[Class 170101]

It's one of the most crowded services, if not the most crowded in the evening peak as a 12 car let alone an 8.
A 4 car ex Colchester Town that joins that diagram that the 17:52 is on was terminated at Colchester due to 'safety checks' and at the same time a 755 was on the Clacton branch and took up the same platform for some time.
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F00200/2019-12-03/detailed
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/F00201/2019-12-03/detailed
Why are 755s being tested on the Clacton branch?

They're cancelling services on the local lines because of not enough units, whilst at the same time they are testing same units on the Clacton line where the usual stock is class leading in reliability? Have the lunatics well and truly taken over the asylum?

What about traction training for Colchester crews as these units will go on Sudbury branch? The Clacton branch seems the most sensible place to do it.

 

[hooverboy]

The planned number of staff for the new fleet is around half the headcount of the current/outgoing fleet.

Ilford will be going the same way with the installation of AVIS when the Aventra’s eventually turn up.

so presumably morale at crown point is not particularly high at the moment.

you can't expect people to be firing on all cylinders with the sword of damocles hanging over them,hence some of the reliability issues.

 

[dk1]

Felixstowe line being covered by Norwich Crew. Now you could argue the Class 755 should have stayed around Norwich for the Norwich to Great Yarmouth / Lowestoft services that were cancelled and bus the Felixstowe but that wouldn't help the Ipswich to Peterborough problem as Norwich don't go there as dk1 will testify.

Yes you are correct. Norwich drivers working & training Ipswich crews on 755s on the Felixstowe branch so the Stadler very much required on this route. Norwich depot do not turn left at Haughley & 755s couldn't call at Manea.

 

[F Great Eastern]

so presumably morale at crown point is not particularly high at the moment.

you can't expect people to be firing on all cylinders with the sword of damocles hanging over them,hence some of the reliability issues.

There was a post on here yesterday from what appeared to be a staff member of GA saying that morale is at the lowest it ever was across the company that seems to have been deleted now as I can't find it.

Would say operations morale won't be much better from the comments we've previously seen here about them having no real say in the operational plan for the roll out of the new fleet, since some of them may well be thinking that this is what they feared and are now having to deliver the pup that the bid team sold them which cannot be easy.

I presume that the same may be happening with staff at Illford as well when the time comes for the Bombardier transfer to happen? That's probably another whole chapter of woes coming down the line in 2020.