Stephen Lee
On Moderation
- Joined
- 7 Jul 2019
- Messages
- 680
I wondered apart from Transport For Wales/GWR/Northern/ROG which company can consider for Class 769s.......
Do you mean ordering new trains to be converted? or are we suggesting future uses for TfW stock after they get replaced?I wondered apart from Transport For Wales/GWR/Northern/ROG which company can consider for Class 769s.......
Do you mean ordering new trains to be converted? or are we suggesting future uses for TfW stock after they get replaced?
No thanks.If we mean the latter, parcel them off to Northern.
Electrify a bit more and get the remaining 323s?No thanks.
Of course, but 769s, like the 230s are much cheaper. Whether that niche has worked is up to debate.Where is the option for razer blades? 769s aren't the only option for bimode commuter trains, Bombardier offer a bimode aventra, Stadler flirts are an option, CAF offer bimode civitys and all of them are far better than the 769.
Ofcourse but the 230s are refurbished a lot better, the routes which need cheaper stock would be fine with 230s. The routes suggested on this thread would be able to get new stock.Of course, but 769s, like the 230s are much cheaper. Whether that niche has worked is up to debate.
I agree, there aren't many routes at all that would be suited to 769s were they haven't already been considered. 230s are probably held back by their top speed which is just too slow for anything but a backwater branchline as well as being the victim of bad timing within the famine and feast approach to commissioning new rolling stock in this country (same probably applies to 769s)Ofcourse but the 230s are refurbished a lot better, the routes which need cheaper stock would be fine with 230s. The routes suggested on this thread would be able to get new stock.
I'm not sure if this is the right thread for what I'm putting but if it was me, I'd transfer some of the 769's from TfW to GWR when TfW have finished with them and use them on the remaining routes through the Thames Valley services that are Turbo-worked and run through, to and from Didcot Parkway. It would mean everything out of London Paddington except the sleepers is electric.
It would mean more Turbos for Bristol and spare Turbos for special event days.
Also on GWR since the Severn Tunnel is still a diesel island for a while then they could use them for events in Cardiff for which the use of 379's were planned to be used on.
A use for them for GWR would be that the Oxford stopper could revert to being a through service to Paddington.
aren't 319s not great after 90 mph? Well they aren't that good in comparison bellow 90mph anyway and the extra weight from the 769 conversion would make it worse.I'm not sure they would want to consider that at all. The loss of performance relative to 387s and 345s east of Reading would destroy the timetable.
I'm not sure if this is the right thread for what I'm putting but if it was me, I'd transfer some of the 769's from TfW to GWR when TfW have finished with them and use them on the remaining routes through the Thames Valley services that are Turbo-worked and run through, to and from Didcot Parkway. It would mean everything out of London Paddington except the sleepers is electric.
It would mean more Turbos for Bristol and spare Turbos for special event days.
Unsuitable interiors and sound deadening?For Northern, I don’t see why they wouldn’t put 769s on the Manchester Airport to Windermere/Barrow services instead of the 195s they now use on it.
Unsuitable interiors and sound deadening?
What would be the benefit of that? Passengers from Radley and Culham would be able to change at Didcot for much faster services to Reading and London. Personally I would like to see them extended to Cardiff 1tph but that’s just a personal aspiration!A use for them for GWR would be that the Oxford stopper could revert to being a through service to Paddington.
What would be the benefit of that?
What direct journeys are you thinking? Not sure people will spend 2 hours on a 769 when they can spend roughly an hour with one change.People like direct services?
People like direct services?
Given the time taken to deliver the 769s, Northern would have been better off binning the 769 idea and getting a few more 4-car 755s á la Anglia. Possibly 4-car but with only 2 engines as they only need match Sprinter performance on the diesel bits.They could swap the seats. I would agree this route is ideal for bi-modes, though it'll be interesting to see if the battery 331s will have enough capacity to run this in which case they would be better.
Also I’m sure they had longer layovers at Didcot when they were through workings?GWR run through stopping services from Oxford to Reading in the peak - that is pretty much as far as anyone needs a direct service from Radley, Culham or Appleford given the time difference between sitting on one train all the way to Paddington and changing at Didcot or Reading.
The splitting of services at Didcot has been a 'blessing in disguise' for the structure of these services.