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Heathrow Express - Class 332 refurbishment

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ChristopherJ

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Tonight I had a trip on a refurbished class 332 on the 22:57 Heathrow Terminal 5 - London Paddington.

Excellent is an understatement, it's like a totally new train on the inside, not a bodge job 'refresh' with a mere change of antimacassar and lick of paint in the nooks and crannies that certain TOCs are calling refurbishments these days.

Definitely one of the "great 21st century refurbs" up in the stars with GNER Mallard.

Complimented the on board conductor on a job well done - said only the Express 332s will get treatment, 360s on the Connect will remain in present condition for now.

Not my photos...

Express Class
143.jpg


First Class
new.JPG
 
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HSTEd

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Those seats don't look very wide though considering.

If you are going 1+1 surely you could have things the size of armchairs?
 

VTPreston_Tez

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The 332s look so good shouldn't they be somewhere like Switzerland or Japan? <D
I do agree that the 1x1s should be bigger like armchairs and there should be maybe a few 2x1 or 2x2 seats so people can sit together - that is a problem.
Fantastic job though. It looks like they might make HEx prices a bit better value for money.
 

anthony263

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Those seats don't look very wide though considering.

If you are going 1+1 surely you could have things the size of armchairs?

I was thinking that perhaps something like Chiltern have in the business class section of their loco hauled sets
 

F Great Eastern

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At the bloody price the HEX service costs they should be luxury and able to do a fantastic refurbishment. Eighteen quid for a 15 minute journey is a scandal.

I refuse to use the service. Just use Heathrow Connect and pay less than half the price.
 

LE Greys

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At the bloody price the HEX service costs they should be luxury and able to do a fantastic refurbishment. Eighteen quid for a 15 minute journey is a scandal.

I refuse to use the service. Just use Heathrow Connect and pay less than half the price.

As do I, apart from the brief hop between terminals (the fare is free, but you still can't get in first :? ). You'd have thought with those prices and all that space, they could pull off something like this. Still, it looks reasonable enough, far better than some of Siemens' more recent products.
 

ushawk

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Looks nice, but if they are only doing 1+1 - then at least make the seats bigger !!!
 

starrymarkb

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As do I, apart from the brief hop between terminals (the fare is free, but you still can't get in first :? ). You'd have thought with those prices and all that space, they could pull off something like this. Still, it looks reasonable enough, far better than some of Siemens' more recent products.

That is hideous* (and looks like what was in my friend's old flat when they moved in!)


*it might be comfortable, but a different colour scheme might be needed!
 

LE Greys

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That is hideous* (and looks like what was in my friend's old flat when they moved in!)


*it might be comfortable, but a different colour scheme might be needed!

Oh, that's how the inside of the Pendys would look when I'd finished with them! <D

Or actually more like the inside of the Stanier Coronation Scot sets, so maybe Art Deco rather than Art Nouveau.

<EDIT> And here's what the outside would look like (image by Matthew Cousins).
 
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Chris125

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Lucky commuters who get these when the inevitable happens and HEx gets swallowed by Crossrail in the next decade or so...

(just please dont tell BAA i said that ;))

Chris
 

fgwrich

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Looks good (although i hope the previous seats have been saved for another TOC to use!), and personally i think it shows testiment to the designers over in CAF, that the interior of what is 14 year old train looks as good as, if not better than a new train both inside and out! Come on rest of the UK, Get those orders into CAF (CAF built UK rolling stock so far - 332,333, Class 3000 C3K & Class 4000 C4K - Translink NI Railways). Certainly looks far better than anything bombardier can come up with too.
 

MCR247

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In 1st those seats are waaay to small for 1+1 seating!

Looks good (although i hope the previous seats have been saved for another TOC to use!), and personally i think it shows testiment to the designers over in CAF, that the interior of what is 14 year old train looks as good as, if not better than a new train both inside and out! Come on rest of the UK, Get those orders into CAF (CAF built UK rolling stock so far - 332,333, Class 3000 C3K & Class 4000 C4K - Translink NI Railways). Certainly looks far better than anything bombardier can come up with too.

I don't really get your post. Its just been refurbished so of course it is going to look as good as a new train? How does a refurbishment which probably have nothing to do with CAF make it a credit to them? The refurb isn't that good anyway!
 

fgwrich

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Sorry, was rather tired last night!

What i meant was, that it's does look rather new (which would be obvious after a refurbishment!) as a whole, rather than like some refurbishments we've seen in the past which whilst refurbished, don't seem to make much of a difference. Ie these cafs - which ive always found to be rather good with there full height ceilings and large overhead lugguage racks, look better than say southern refurbished 377s - which i find are of bad design with there rather drab lighting, low ceilings are poor overhead space. So, the refurbishment has made the 332 look like a product, but the 377 just feels same old same old.

Aas for the refurbishment itself - looking at it, im not so impressed with the colour scheme, but the job itself looks rather good.

(that probably dosent make much sense either - sorry!)
 

332 > 444

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The 1+1 First Class concept is interesting, they must be loosing quite a few seats by doing so...

Only 4 seats have been lost, some of the 1st carriages had a luggage area (out of use since 2001) had 16 seats and the full length 1st carriages had 24 seats. I did think that at first but as the checked luggage area will be going, more seats will be available.

I agree with others the seats in 1st should be a bit wider and reclining, damn TV is even louder with no quiet zone!
 

Rational Plan

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Only 4 seats have been lost, some of the 1st carriages had a luggage area (out of use since 2001) had 16 seats and the full length 1st carriages had 24 seats. I did think that at first but as the checked luggage area will be going, more seats will be available.

I agree with others the seats in 1st should be a bit wider and reclining, damn TV is even louder with no quiet zone!

I read in Modern railways, that instead of luggage racks, there is enough space for people to have their luggage beside them. I't would appeal to me.
 
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The refurbishment is nice, I don't think they really have had to make drastic changes to the original, more alter it slightly to keep them fresh. The class 332 represents to me, what a modern EMU should look and feel like, they were built in the late 90's and they still look very futuristic and sharp.

Just a pity they cover the exterior of some cars in ghastly advertising vinyls which totally clutter and wreck the design of the units.
 

332 > 444

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^^ End of the day it may look nice on the inside, but the traction equipment will still fail.

2 more units due to be out from next week, units 004 and 011 IIRC
 
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