dk1
Veteran Member
Haha love it. My ASLEF diary is as always very very fluid indeedYes, we’ve asked Bombardier to build it....
Don’t put the delivery date in your diary.
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![Icon Idea :idea: :idea:](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/rfsmile/icon_idea.gif)
Haha love it. My ASLEF diary is as always very very fluid indeedYes, we’ve asked Bombardier to build it....
Don’t put the delivery date in your diary.
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On the "years of neglect" issue, how are you quantifying "neglect"? Are you suggesting the good people at Crown Point have not maintained the trains well or that GA have done nothing to the Mk 3s during the somewhat nebulous time frame you mention?
I suspect Chiltern would prefer to have new coaching stock. The Mk3 coaches were designed 45 years ago, they can't and won't go on forever. The older carriages and rolling stock become the less cost-effective they are, even if they can be kept in top condition, parts will become more expensive to replace, structural work will be needed to prolong the assets' lives, old stock are usually less energy-efficient and modifications for disability and Health & Safety laws all add up to the cost of running stock beyond its intended life-span.
It's not about giving people a choice, the rail operator has bid on the basis of complete fleet renewal, the franchise bid is costed on that basis and GA felt it was achievable. Regulated fares will not be increased to pay for these new trains, they're leased and in all probability cost less over the course of the franchise than keeping the old stock running. Now, we all know that GA have run into problems but the long term outcome will be a more efficient, reliable, safer, inclusive, faster service. I think the people of Britain deserve that, not just East Anglians.
What on earth are you banging on about? The GA fleet of MK3s have disabled toilets, CET toilets, WiFi, plug sockets & have been fully refurbed inside. Only lacking thing is auto-exterior doors. No reason in doing that with full fleet replacement on the way.The Anglia Mark 3s have scarcely changed since Virgin Trains days on the West Coast in stark contrast to other fleets that have been extensively updated and improved.
What on earth are you banging on about? The GA fleet of MK3s have disabled toilets, CET toilets, WiFi, plug sockets & have been fully refurbed inside. Only lacking thing is auto-exterior doors. No reason in doing that with full fleet replacement on the way.
Thats exactly what I meant by "back in the BR days" when everything was a Mk1 or a Mk2 and fitted everywhere. I remember DMU's running in place of EMU's when the overhead power went off, now its a bus. If there were some diesel locos knocking about they'd go off and find some rolling stock to make up trains and get put into service. I suppose its all health and safety, legislation and complications these days combined with trains built for only one line, so as a "for instance" the HSTs at Ely couldn't be hauled in last minute to cover the failing class 90 diagrams as 365s can't do it. Oh, that will be to do with leasing, another worry we didn't have with BR. Utter nonsense.
They are back on top of the exterior cleanliness issues. All sets & locos have been hand bashed.GA have done a good job with the refurb, the MK3s are just dirty as heck because the Stadlers are occupying space near the washers I think![]()
What on earth are you banging on about? The GA fleet of MK3s have disabled toilets, CET toilets, WiFi, plug sockets & have been fully refurbed inside. Only lacking thing is auto-exterior doors. No reason in doing that with full fleet replacement on the way.
You make that sound like a bad thing?Anglia Mk3s still have the original low back 1980s seating, the same immovable armrests, the same seat back tables and the same rotating disc latches for them that date back to Intercity in the 1990s.
It is a bad thing.
Plenty of us want and deserve better than that.
That's why we are getting better, modern, fit for purpose trains and the old ones are off to the razor blade factory.
Can I ask how long you believe it should be until this fleet is sent for razor blades? 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
Or is it that you deserve the most modern stock and everyone else can have the outdated rubbish?
Hard to say, depends on the stock itself but for any stock once you hit 30 years you're pushing it and 40 years is well past it's time. You know full well 5 to 10 years is ridiculous. The mk3's are relics to a long gone era.
I don't think anyone deserves outdated rubbish, and am in disbelief at the TOC's keeping on mk3's and HST's. Luckily lots of TOC's are investing in long overdue modern rolling stock. Anglia has long survived on cast off's, especially the Intercity route so it's great it finally gets some love.
Apparently so from what I was told a few weeks earlier on here. It's very normal to have Braintrees covered by 317s apparently on a Saturday as all of the drivers and trains are rostered to come from Ilford Depot. As they have traction and route knowledge, they like to take some out for a spin every week.I noted two 8 car class 317 sets out on GE Braintree workings this afternoon (12/5/19). One was on the 1200 from Braintree and the other on the 1248 from Liverpool Street.
I’m aware of the weekday diagram but are 317’s common on weekend workings usually?
Brand new fleets are far more expensive, but it isn't a choice if you aren't made to weigh up whether it is worth the cost or not.
I have not traveled recently in East Anglia, but I was on a railtour yesterday to Norwich & Lowestoft and saw some really odd looking trains just outside Norwich, very European looking, 4 carriages which seemed shorter than usual with only one set of doors, then in the centre was what I assume is the power unit. What routes are those going to be used on? can you walk through the power unit car from the rear 2 carriages to the front coaches?
BR's pre-sector organization enabled it to respond quickly to even very major incidents.
As an example, there were major transformer failures with the Glasgow 'Blue Trains' (303s) shortly after introduction, and all were taken out of service at short notice; over a week-end (if I remember correctly), a replacement timetable was formulated, steam locos/hauled coaches were "rescued" from scrap lines and returned to use on north Clydeside, staff rosters were produced, and a reduced steam-hauled suburban service ran on the Monday morning.
Of course, in those days mobiles didn't exist - and very few people had land-lines in their houses - so contact had to be achieved by telegrams, staff on bikes, people using public transport (no doubt including trams), and walking round to hand-deliver information; the convenience of e-mails and text messages just weren't an option nearly 60 years ago.
Something like this wouldn't be possible with today's fragmented railway.
14 of the 38 755s will be 3-car units.4 cars is long for Norwich and is usually the standard for an EMU rather than a DMU. So one could say the EA people now have a superior product over other regions.
Awful experience today on Norwich to Cambridge and back. Horrendous 2 car class 156 with fumes coming through on the way back. Got GN from ELY on the way but no such luck on the way back.
Interesting, one of the East Suffolk 170 diagrams was covered by a 156 yesterday, as was the Cambridge - Harwich boat train in the evening. Personally though I'd take a 156 over a 170 any day!
Wonder where the 170’s went then? I see the line is closed today, aswell. So not sure what has been going on.
Probably a shortage of them available, the GA DMU fleet doesn't have a lot of slack in it at all.