Tyne and Wear metro heating

[s'nami bog]

Why has the heating on the metros been on max for what feels like 6 months.
The metro Twitter account is now stating that they're in the process of turning the heating down, but it's just been summer, surely the heating should be off anyways.

In addition, I've seen the metro Twitter account state that the driver can turn the heating down, I was under the impression that this could only be done at the depot.


So what is the reason for the overly hot trains at this time of year. In this tweet here, the metro account is stating that they've identified the issue? https://twitter.com/My_Metro/status/1722657905453707424?t=OSACc2lS_ABxTOMqpnDMsw&s=19

 

[Trestrol]

The problem is the heating is not controlled by the driver and has to be switched on by the maintenance technician at the depot. So second guessing when it's going to be cold and how cold is difficult.

 

[DanNCL]

It seems these days that the heating is left alone as much as possible. Gets switched off in the Spring and back in again in the Autumn.
Some slip through the net, with some units having the heating on all summer and others having it isolated during the winter. It’s as if there isn’t actually any record keeping as to which units have and haven’t got the heating switched on.

 

[Trestrol]

I think the engineering staff are flat out trying to maintain enough units to provide a service. Of course it doesn't help that they have lost their heavy overhaul workshop.

 

[greyman42]

The metro Twitter account is now stating that they're in the process of turning the heating down, but it's just been summer, surely the heating should be off anyways.

Summer in the North East can be pretty cool on some days!

 

[DustyBin]

Is the heating simply on or off, with no intermediate settings? I’ve been on a couple of Metrocars recently that have been ridiculously hot!

 

[greyman42]

I would of thought that because of the age of the units the heating has seen better days and may be difficult to regulate. As they are being replaced, it is not economical to spend much money on new parts for them.

 

[bramling]

Is the heating simply on or off, with no intermediate settings? I’ve been on a couple of Metrocars recently that have been ridiculously hot!

I suspect what happens is that there are thermostats, but that the units start cold in the mornings, then as the outside temperature warms up they get sufficiently warm inside that people open windows, which then puts comparatively cold air on the thermostats, which then causes the heating to remain on. Or the thermostats are just broken. This is just speculation, but many trains from that era work in this way. Hence why the depots isolate the heating during the warmer months, it’s a difficult balance to strike when the weather is such that it isn’t particularly cold overall but chilly in the early morning.

We had exactly the same with the 365s. I always found it very pleasant to have heating on but with a nice cool breeze coming through open windows, but for some reason a subset of people seem to moan about this.

 

[deanmachine]

I would of thought that because of the age of the units the heating has seen better days and may be difficult to regulate. As they are being replaced, it is not economical to spend much money on new parts for them.

To be fair they've been that way as long as I can remember, and it's been over 10 years since I used them every day.

 

[ModernRailways]

The problem is the heating is not controlled by the driver and has to be switched on by the maintenance technician at the depot. So second guessing when it's going to be cold and how cold is difficult.

The driver does have some control, but it requires going to the B end cabs. It's either on, or off though. There is no setting of a desired temperature.

 

[Trestrol]

Apparently the depot staff remove the fuses in the spring to stop the drivers turning it on in summer. Then it's a lottery as to which is the best time to replace them for winter. Too early and they are too hot as the drivers put it on first thing and don't turn off for the rest of the day. Since the last refurbishment there are three different types of heating fitted to the current fleet. Unfortunately the technicians have no manuals on any of the three so I'm told.