Will TfW meet the 1/1/2020 PRM deadline?

[Brissle Girl]

Haha, I was actually thinking of the replacement 153 stock that they are criticising, but I can see it's just as true for the 230s!

 

[Cardiff123]

Meanwhile, it's being reported that TfW has confirmed that the 230s will not be available this year.

http://www.wrexham.com/news/no-new-...uth-wales-and-replaced-with-scuds-175552.html

Deeside.com has now been told the D-Trains wont come into service until next year as TfW wants to make sure they are “fully reliable when they enter service.”

Curiously they haven't picked up on the fact that the trains will only have lino.

Going from that article, it seems TfW's plans are to send the 153s up North, and have (doubled up?) Pacers on Penarth - Rhymney, supplemented with 37 + Mk2s in the peaks, and then single 150/2s everywhere else on the Valleys. Which won't be much of a capacity boost for Bridgend/Barry <--> Cardiff <--> Merthyr/Treherbert/Aberdare at peak times. But I guess it's the best TfW can do given the circumstances.

But if GWR's 8 x 143s are available come January, given TfW will be using Pacers to Rhymney, I'm still of the opinion these should be taken on to boost capacity on the Valleys routes away from Rhymney.

 

[krus_aragon]

Going from that article, it seems TfW's plans are to send the 153s up North, and have (doubled up?) Pacers on Penarth - Rhymney, supplemented with 37 + Mk2s in the peaks, and then single 150/2s everywhere else on the Valleys. Which won't be much of a capacity boost for Bridgend/Barry <--> Cardiff <--> Merthyr/Treherbert/Aberdare at peak times.

Sending pairs of 153s to replace 150s on the Bidston route isn't going to give much extra capacity, it just releases 20m stock that can operate north of Radyr. The use of a 153 on the Conwy Valley is a more significant cacacity increase for the Valleys.

I don't think there'll be scope for more than six 153s in North Wales: one on the Conwy Valley, two pairs on the Borderlands, and possibly one on the Chester-Crewe shuttle. The rest will have to be earning their keep on the Heart of Wales or out in West Wales, surely. (How may 150s are currently operating there, which could be released for the SW Valleys?)

 

[Brissle Girl]

Though I’ve read elsewhere that the GWR ones will be kept on in 2020 too, so wouldn’t be available to TfW. Besides, with 170s coming in, I think it’s just a case of how many Pacers would need to be withdrawn.

 

[Cardiff123]

Though I’ve read elsewhere that the GWR ones will be kept on in 2020 too, so wouldn’t be available to TfW. Besides, with 170s coming in, I think it’s just a case of how many Pacers would need to be withdrawn.

My point is that despite the TfW spin of there being 'x number more seats' on the Valley lines from December, single 150/2s replacing single Pacers on the Valley lines (away from Penarth - Rhymney) will only make a marginal difference to capacity. Yes, Cardiff - Rhymney is the busiest Valley line, but there's significant peak time and weekend overcrowding elsewhere as well.

 

[Brissle Girl]

My point is that despite the TfW spin of there being 'x number more seats' on the Valley lines from December, single 150/2s replacing single Pacers on the Valley lines (away from Penarth - Rhymney) will only make a marginal difference to capacity.

An increase in capacity of somewhere between 30% and 40% is not too shabby as an interim measure, and hardly marginal. I suspect it will make the difference between people being left behind and managing to get on, particularly with the better standing areas around the doors.

 

[Cardiff123]

An increase in capacity of somewhere between 30% and 40% is not too shabby as an interim measure, and hardly marginal. I suspect it will make the difference between people being left behind and managing to get on, particularly with the better standing areas around the doors.

There's a 30-40% difference in capacity between a single Pacer and a single 150/2?
If that's the case I stand corrected and I hope you're right.

 

[krus_aragon]

There's a 30-40% difference in capacity between a single Pacer and a single 150/2?
If that's the case I stand corrected and I hope you're right.

As a simple approximation, a 20m 150 carriage is around 33% longer than a 15m Pacer carriage. Cab size and DDA-toilet-space aside, it doesn't seem unreasonable to have a similar difference in capacity.

 

[Brissle Girl]

TfW Class 143's have 92 seats, whereas the 150s had 128 (probably slightly less with a PRM toilet included now). So say 120/92=130%, but I suspect the standing capacity increase is slightly greater.

 

[Bikeman78]

If they do couple the 153s together as claimed in the article and use the refurbished units then it can’t be to bad a thing for passengers on the Bidston line surely?

The doors are slower and the brakes release more slowly than 150s.