Greater Anglia Rolling Stock Updates

[delticdave]

Norwich to Colchester (A140) 1 hour 20min (keeping to limits ) 1hr 30 min to Clacton and 1 hr 35 to Harwich, but try that between 0600 and 0900 and 1500 and 1900 then a different story !

Too true, & I'm starting from the very South of Essex & heading to the Norwich Airport area.

However, I'm intending to take a wander around Anglia this week using a Day Ranger & my plan is to drive to Sandon Park & Ride, bus to Chelmsford (free 'cos I'm old) day-return to Ipswich & a Day Ranger from there.
I'd drive to Ipswich but the car-park is expensive, not much less than the railcard day-return from Chelmsford.

 

[Railperf]

Once the launch hype dies down, yes. It's just not feasible to have a dedicated set.

It will be interesting to see how punctual the Norwich in 90 service will be. I was checking Realtime Trains reported timings for the fabled Edinburgh to London in 4 hr service recently, and they reveal it rarely achieves its 4hr timing - usually at least 5 to 10 mins late each day.

 

[dk1]

It will be interesting to see how punctual the Norwich in 90 service will be. I was checking Realtime Trains reported timings for the fabled Edinburgh to London in 4 hr service recently, and they reveal it rarely achieves its 4hr timing - usually at least 5 to 10 mins late each day.

INTERCITY quoted the Scottish Pullman timed in 3h59 back in the day achieved a right time arrival only 30% of the time too.

 

[dk1]

Norfolk, in particular http://www.alanpartridgequotes.com/welcome-to-the-places-of-my-life/

Just the way we like it

 

[Railperf]

INTERCITY quoted the Scottish Pullman timed in 3h59 back in the day achieved a right time arrival only 30% of the time too.

Last 5 days..it did not arrive on time. That is zero 0%

 

[dk1]

Last 5 days..it did not arrive on time. That is zero 0%

Who says the railways of today never strive to beat the records of years ago

 

[Owen]

It will be interesting to see how punctual the Norwich in 90 service will be. I was checking Realtime Trains reported timings for the fabled Edinburgh to London in 4 hr service recently, and they reveal it rarely achieves its 4hr timing - usually at least 5 to 10 mins late each day.

I could be wrong but the potential “lateness” of the 90 service will be down to congestion within London.

 

[Railperf]

I could be wrong but the potential “lateness” of the 90 service will be down to congestion within London.

It will be down to a number of factors en route. With trains joining the route ahead at Haughley, Ipswich, Manningtree, Colchester, Braintree and Shenfield...the risk of a delay due to lateness on the part of this train or others is quite high.

 

[F Great Eastern]

Saw this today:
https://twitter.com/TrainDriverDea1/status/1128313476873629697

Where is the simulator shown in it based, Norwich?

 

[Bald Rick]

I could be wrong but the potential “lateness” of the 90 service will be down to congestion within London.

It won’t. It will be down to late running of an earlier service.

Regardless of what you might hear given out as a reason for delay, congestion (of trains on track) is not one of them.

Congestion of passengers is, but that is something else.

 

[Owen]

Well any time i’ve gone to London I’ve noted the extremely slow pace of the trains there. Major slow down compared to out in the country.

 

[Bald Rick]

Well any time i’ve gone to London I’ve noted the extremely slow pace of the trains there. Major slow down compared to out in the country.

That’s planned as part of the timetable, to fit everything in.

 

[MrPIC]

Saw this today:
https://twitter.com/TrainDriverDea1/status/1128313476873629697

Where is the simulator shown in it based, Norwich?

Stadler Sims at Norwich, Stadler and Bombardier Sims at Stratford

 

[delticdave]

That’s planned as part of the timetable, to fit everything in.

+ The speed limits are lower in the London area. The GE mainline is only 4-tracked for the 20 miles out to Shenfield & TfL / Crossrail
is the major user of the slow lines so the Norwich trains have to share with all the outer suburban services from Suffolk & Essex, + the freight traffic from the container ports.
If you want to run at high speed all the way into London a new-build dedicated railway would be required,to the existing system, similar to HS1 into St. Pancras.
Not really justifiable to provide a 90 minute service to Norwich, especially when comparing the current travelling times by road, car or coach.
To get to from the City of London to Norwich in 2 hours by car, you would need a police escort.......

 

[Bald Rick]

Not much slower. It’s generally 100mph north of Arbour Lane (Chelmsford), and then generally 90mph south of Chelmsford Viaduct to Maryland. Also, the Norwich trains are sharing the tracks with freight and lower services from Ipswich. Although a Freightliner with a clear run will be quicker from Ipswich to Stratford than a Norwich stopper.

 

[Shunter_69]

Bizarrely Chelmsford to Shenfield is 85 towards London and 90 away from London

 

[Bald Rick]

Bizarrely Chelmsford to Shenfield is 85 towards London and 90 away from London

I never found out what that was all about. I think it’s to do with signal spacing, but not sure.

 

[dk1]

I never found out what that was all about. I think it’s to do with signal spacing, but not sure.

For IC sets it drops to 85 Ingatestone to Margaretting on the down. On the up it never reaches 90 for them being 80 from the Viaduct to just before Margaretting before jumping to 85 through to Shenfield.

 

[Bikeman78]

One notable change in the new timetable is that the Stansted Express has gone back to nine pairs of 379s. No more 12 cars in the peaks and the 317 diagram has gone.

 

[MrPIC]

Any update on 720 progress?

 

[Wivenswold]

Last report was that a 5 car unit left Bombardier on load-loaders a few weeks ago, presumably headed for Old Dalby for testing. I'm checking twitter and flickr nearly every day.
It was also recently reported on here I think that Ilford was expecting its first delivery in June. This is GA though, so the plan has probably changed.

 

[MrPIC]

Cheers for the update, given the song and dance over the Stadler units, I reckon we're a way off from 720's arriving, they would have made a big fanfare by now like the Stadlers if one was imminent I guess. These are the units I'm keen to see as they form the bulk of the new stock for GA

 

[dk1]

Last I was told regarding the 720s is that we don't expect to see any in service this year. Not even any concrete plans for training on the horizon either.

 

[bspahh]

Last week, Geoff Marshall made a video on the introduction of the Aventras on the North London line. He asked "John", who sounds like he's from Bombardier, about the Greater Anglia Aventras:

From here:

This is a transcript:

Geoff Marshall: "So you can't put a date on either as to when these are going to be running on the Greater Anglia lines in or is there is there a target for that?"

John: "No, we're very focused on that I think one of the things about this week, I suppose, has been focusing on getting them in into service here, so when we've kind of done this, and we have now, then we can start to focus again on the West Anglia which of course is always there but we've been focusing this week on this train and good it is too."

 

[MrPIC]

Once they start coming they'll come thick and fast for sure, a rumour I heard was that Southend would be getting the first of the 720's. And every other week I hear a different rumour about what will happen with non PRM compliant 321's and all the 317's

 

[Bald Rick]

Last week, Geoff Marshall made a video on the introduction of the Aventras on the North London line. He asked "John", who sounds like he's from Bombardier, about the Greater Anglia Aventras:

From here:

This is a transcript:

Geoff Marshall: "So you can't put a date on either as to when these are going to be running on the great Anglia lines in or is there is there a target for that?"

John: "No, we're very focused on that I think one of the things about this week, I suppose, has been focusing on getting them in into service here, so when we've kind of done this, and we have now, then we can start to focus again on the West Anglia which of course is always there but we've been focusing this week on this train and good it is too."

“John” is Jon Fox, who heads up London Rail for TfL (and is a very decent chap).

A little unfair of Geoff to ask him about units for GA. I suspect Jon understood the question to be regarding when the units would appear on the LO services to Cheshunt / Enfield / Chingford.

 

[43055]

Any update on 720 progress?

As far as I can tell no new sets have been built since early May. Over the last month there has been a lot of Underground and Overground which is possibly to get those projects almost finished before production increases for GA and SWR.

 

[Bikeman78]

Once they start coming they'll come thick and fast for sure, a rumour I heard was that Southend would be getting the first of the 720's. And every other week I hear a different rumour about what will happen with non PRM compliant 321's and all the 317's

Any news on 317506? Is it ever coming back? Assuming that Stansted is 100% class 745 by the end of the year that will free up 18 class 379s to replace 18 class 317 diagrams. That still leaves 26 class 317 diagrams to cover.

 

[Owen]

Can they use 365's, or take some 387's from GWR?

 

[Bikeman78]

Can they use 365's, or take some 387's from GWR?

I think there's only 18 class 365s spare. GTR have all the odd numbered ones and two evens still on lease. It would take a fair bit of route clearance not to mention driver training.