New diesel stock

[samuelmorris]

Not something I've noticed either, I enjoy travelling on SWR's sprinters, moreso than a lot of contemporary EMUs that's for sure.

 

[Nym]

Please explain DBST and EMC as per forum rules

Deutsche Bahn Systemtechnik https://www.db-systemtechnik.de/dbst-en
and
Electromagnetic Compatibility

 

[anamyd]

Deutsche Bahn Systemtechnik https://www.db-systemtechnik.de/dbst-en
and
Electromagnetic Compatibility

Cheers

 

[Metal_gee_man]

Not something I've noticed either, I enjoy travelling on SWR's sprinters, moreso than a lot of contemporary EMUs that's for sure.

I can agree, barring the pretty imposing diesel engine roaring under your seat, the seats are amazingly comfortable, with good legroom, and pretty smooth! I'd actively aim to catch a 159 from Waterloo than a 450 with hard seats and non existant legroom

Legroom photo on a class 450:

 

[Class172]

*please ignore*

 

[supervc-10]

Reliability on the SWR 158/159s is pretty poor though. My dad commutes 2/3 days a week into London from Salisbury and the reliability of the route is shocking as of late. One week before Christmas only one of the trains ran all the way between Salisbury and Waterloo, of 6 journeys!

Having said that- they're decent trains if looked after. I don't think any operator is looking at getting rid of 158s!. There are plenty of trains that need replacing before SWR's 159s. They just need the maintenance and TLC that it seems like SWR is incapable of giving them! In the SWT days they were great.

 

[samuelmorris]

I can agree, barring the pretty imposing diesel engine roaring under your seat, the seats are amazingly comfortable, with good legroom, and pretty smooth! I'd actively aim to catch a 159 from Waterloo than a 450 with hard seats and non existant legroom

Legroom photo on a class 450:
View attachment 59214

Yes but compared to all other sprinters, the intrusion of the engine noise is far less. There are almost no high-frequency components to the sound that penetrates the cabin which makes them far less annoying.

Reliability on the SWR 158/159s is pretty poor though. My dad commutes 2/3 days a week into London from Salisbury and the reliability of the route is shocking as of late. One week before Christmas only one of the trains ran all the way between Salisbury and Waterloo, of 6 journeys!

A bit worrying as they were once far and away the most reliable DMU fleet in the country. Is that definitely to do with the units, or just unreliability of infrastructure along the way?

 

[Metal_gee_man]

Yes but compared to all other sprinters, the intrusion of the engine noise is far less. There are almost no high-frequency components to the sound that penetrates the cabin which makes them far less annoying

I think it has always been my choice of seat rather than my intolerance of noise and diesel fumes whilst at full chat non-stop Waterloo or Clapham Junction to Woking at 90mph, that being said I just put in some earphones and get on with it, I was comparing it with the EMT 158s and they seem more refined but with less comfortable seating...hey you can't win

 

[pompeyfan]

The issue with the SWR west of England services are 2 fold.

1, SWR tried to renegotiate the SWT contract with Cummins, Cummins said no and SWR found someone cheaper. As a result units started failing absolutely everywhere. SWR then went back to Cummins with their tails firmly between their legs. Reliability still isn’t great, with a diesel causing 2 electric trains to be stuck at Batersea flyover for nearly 3 hours on Tuesday morning.

2, every single contingency plan for the SWR Network involves terminating the WoE services at Basingstoke or Salisbury. The reason for this is delays can spread very quickly along that line of route due to the vast amount of long single line sections causing knock on delays.

 

[Ken H]

As far as I am aware there are no plans to replace the 158s and 159s with South Western Railway during the course of the current franchise up to 2024. That'll be a consideration for the successor franchise, so replacement unlikely before 2026/27 at the earliest.

The 158s and 159s with SWR are slightly younger, and significantly more reliable, than the majority of the Sprinter fleets expected to remain in service for some years to come in many other areas of the country.

in a sane world they would electrify Worting to Salisbury (25kv or juice rail - dont care) and use bimodes on the Exeters.

 

[delt1c]

in a sane world they would electrify Worting to Salisbury (25kv or juice rail - dont care) and use bimodes on the Exeters.

Unfortunatley this is a world of Privatisation and Profit, Passenger may begin with P but is well down the list of priorities

 

[squizzler]

in a sane world they would electrify Worting to Salisbury (25kv or juice rail - dont care) and use bimodes on the Exeters.

I presumed the reason they were keeping the 159's so long past their sell by date (compared to the rest of the fleet that is) was so that they wouldn't blow their opportunity to do that the the opportunity arose.

 

[samuelmorris]

I presumed the reason they were keeping the 159's so long past their sell by date (compared to the rest of the fleet that is) was so that they wouldn't blow their opportunity to do that the the opportunity arose.

Technically speaking the 'sell by date' of the 159s has only just been reached. They're now just over 25 years old which is about the normal lifetime DMUs should be expected to last. They will, however, be admittedly well beyond their design life by the time they are actually replaced, firstly because I believe there are no plans for SWR to replace them and secondly because look at all the other Sprinters that really ought to go first. Any 158s that get scrapped before 150s or 156s would be a real waste.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The 150 is a different type of unit, really. I do agree about 156s, though.

 

[Ken H]

The 150 is a different type of unit, really. I do agree about 156s, though.

I like 156's They were the first proper express sprinter DMU, and are workhorses in many places on the railway. I always find 158's a bit claustrophobic.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I like 156's They were the first proper express sprinter DMU, and are workhorses in many places on the railway. I always find 158's a bit claustrophobic.

One man's claustrophobic is another man's cosy, though. I like them. The TPE interior with deep colours and wood effect panelling (partly my idea, I suggested it on a survey at the time) was lovely. And as built 100% of seats were aligned to the windows.

 

[Mordac]

I like 156's They were the first proper express sprinter DMU, and are workhorses in many places on the railway. I always find 158's a bit claustrophobic.

I agree with this, gives me the same feeling as the old eurostar sets did. I think it might be how tall the seat backs are.

 

[Jozhua]

I agree with this, gives me the same feeling as the old eurostar sets did. I think it might be how tall the seat backs are.

But for tall passengers like myself those tall seat backs are a lifesaver, especially on long journeys. I feel one of the biggest problems with seating at the moment is not enough room on many classes is left between seats and they are not high enough, meaning certain of us have to take up more than one seat to be somewhat comfortable! The 158's are one of the few trains I have no issue being sat next to someone in, as I have perfectly enough room to sit comfortably...