TPE franchise awarded to First

[HH]

The number crunchers probably have already moved on if they were part of the bid team. Rarely do bid teams actually carry on to operate the franchise.

1. The number crunchers just crunch the numbers, they don't make the big decisions.

2. Sometimes the guys that make the decisions are the ones to run the franchise. IMO that should always be the case; I bet you'd see a lot less NXEC and the like (GTR!) if it was.

 

[dgl]

One of the biggest problems with the transfer to touch-screen machines is the disconnect between the display and what happens when it's touched. I'm sure we've all experienced the annoyance of pressing a letter only for the letter to its right or left or underneath to appear instead. Advocates for cashless society will have to wait while the industry works on guaranteeing that machines give out what we type in!





(A jukebox in a favourite pub of mine has a similar problem where the screen and touch function are not correctly aligned. By "bobbing down" and pressing with the inner finger rather then the tip, jt works. You learn something from repeated use of these things I guess)

Most of these systems seem to use old style resistive touch screens which from my experience do need re-calibrating from time to time, the more modern capacitive touch screens do not seem to need to. Whilst switching to capacitive screens would help on the calibration issue the fact that resistive screens will work with anything, not just the finger, and the fact that it is less susceptible to spurious/ghost touches is why they are still used.

Maybe having a member of station staff (at staffed stations) who can re calibrate the screen once a day would be good.

 

[Spartacus]

I used one of these monoliths at Dewsbury last week and can say I was far from impressed. I can usually wizz through any machine in double quick time but found the combination of the layout and terrible touch screen meant I took just as long to buy one ticket as the couple next to me took to buy their from one of the only slightly older machines, and they obviously weren't all that used to them.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Most of these systems seem to use old style resistive touch screens

I had the impression they used the even older "break 2 beams across the screen" design. Resistive touch screens have a visible layer and you can feel it being pushed in.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I passed through Manchester Piccadilly briefly last night, and noticed the new TPE electronic displays of engineering works and service alterations.
These are much better than the old paper posters and give a professional edge to the operation.
Presumably they can be updated/changed quickly as events unfold.

Now we just need Network Rail to leapfrog 20 years from the age of low-resolution monochrome dot-matrix departure screens.

 

[Bungle965]

I passed through Manchester Piccadilly briefly last night, and noticed the new TPE electronic displays of engineering works and service alterations.
These are much better than the old paper posters and give a professional edge to the operation.
Presumably they can be updated/changed quickly as events unfold.

Now we just need Network Rail to leapfrog 20 years from the age of low-resolution monochrome dot-matrix departure screens.

The electronic display have been around for quite a while, also if you are referring to the main departure screen it has recently been replaced by a new one, as has the one on platform 13/14 concourse. I will try and find a link to the thread that it is on.
Sam

 

[WatcherZero]

The shoulder height tv information screens hes refering too. Yes they look pretty good but they rotate image too quickly, doesnt give enough time to read even a third of the text.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

TPE have ordered another 6 class 68 taking their order to 19.

No idea why theyve increased their order.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Any more stock to go with them?

 

[J-2739]

TPE have ordered another 6 class 68 taking their order to 19.

No idea why theyve increased their order.

Future proofing?

 

[WatcherZero]

Possibly the driving trailers are going to be late?

 

[ainsworth74]

Possibly the driving trailers are going to be late?

Surely you'd try and hire rather than buy in that case?

 

[Mordac]

Surely you'd try and hire rather than buy in that case?

All of them are being hired off DRS. This just means they increased their requirements from them.

 

[WatcherZero]

Arent they owned by DRS acting as Rosco? They could see a future use for them after a short hire.

 

[ainsworth74]

All of them are being hired off DRS. This just means they increased their requirements from them.

Gotcha. Its hard to keep fully up with everything that's been happening

 

[Bungle965]

Arent they owned by DRS acting as Rosco? They could see a future use for them after a short hire.

I thought Beacon Rail was the Rosco for them.
Sam

 

[WatcherZero]

Beacon is the ROSCO for the Carriages, DRS for the locomotives.

 

[Bungle965]

Beacon is the ROSCO for the Carriages, DRS for the locomotives.

I always thought that it was Beacon for the locomotives, where is your source for this?
Sam

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I always thought that it was Beacon for the locomotives, where is your source for this?
Sam

Beacon is funding both class 68s and the CAF LHCS.
DRS will lease the class 68s from Beacon, and sub-lease onwards to TPE.
TPE will lease the LHCS directly from Beacon.
http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...st[]=caf&sword_list[]=transpennine&no_cache=1

 

[507021]

The first Mark 5A carriage body shell entered production today at CAF'S Beasain facility.

Presumably the new Caledonian Sleeper coaches will also be designated Mark 5A as well.

 

[TheKnightWho]

The first Mark 5A carriage body shell entered production today at CAF'S Beasain facility.

Presumably the new Caledonian Sleeper coaches will also be designated Mark 5A as well.

No, those are just Mark 5s.

 

[pjm0512]

First Group tweet with interior mock-ups:

https://twitter.com/firstgroupplc/status/791584124217720832

 

[507021]

No, those are just Mark 5s.

Ah right, thanks for that.

 

[J-2739]

66 brand new trains...?

 

[sprinterguy]

66 brand new trains...?

That's either a typo or simplification for the benefit of the general public, as it's actually 66 carriages (forming thirteen trains, with a spare vehicle).

There looks to be a good balance between the number of table and airline seats.

 

[J-2739]

Sheesh, thanks!

 

[BurtonM]

I noticed yesterday that one of the new livery TPE units has received Royal British Legion poppy vinyls on a dark blue background on its ends.

 

[Aws87024]

i noticed yesterday that one of the new livery tpe units has received royal british legion poppy vinyls on a dark blue background on its ends.

185123

 

[317 forever]

First Group tweet with interior mock-ups:

https://twitter.com/firstgroupplc/status/791584124217720832

Thank you for reporting this link, enabling us to picture the interior of these new trains.

 

[387star]

When will 185 refurbishment work start? Pretty sure it is running late... Does it apply to the whole fleet or ojly those they keep?

Also with some 185s eventually becoming spare is there a reason Northern can't take these to off load some sprinters

 

[pemma]

When will 185 refurbishment work start? Pretty sure it is running late... Does it apply to the whole fleet or ojly those they keep?

Also with some 185s eventually becoming spare is there a reason Northern can't take these to off load some sprinters

They haven't got their two temporary mk3 sets available for service which won't help