Franchise Announcement

[whole diary]

[thetrout]

I do have concerns about smaller but more frequent trains...

It's a well known fact that if people see a train coming into a station that's going where they want. They get on it. I've seen it time and time again when a Class 150 leaves Bath Spa or Bristol Temple Meads absolutely rammed full and standing. Then 3 minutes later the (slightly delayed) HST^▸ (High Speed Train) right behind it leaves half empty...

Makes me laugh that all the people on that 150 moan about overcrowding... Nah I'll wait for the HST thanks

Also Class 150/1 are completely unsuitable for Weymouth - Bristol Temple Meads. 3+2 Seating for a 2 hour journey?! Yuck!

[Chris from Nailsea]

On the other hand, thetrout, many of those boarding such a 150 at Bath Spa will possibly want to get off at Oldfield Park or Keynsham - which isn't an option if they wait for the HST^▸ (High Speed Train). 

[grahame]

It's a well known fact that if people see a train coming into a station that's going where they want. They get on it.

"A train in hand is worth two on the departure board"

It's excellent that the peak evening train from Swindon via Chippenham to Westbury (1 car 153 at present) leaves right after the Taunton express (8 car HST^▸ (High Speed Train)) so that the space on the West Wilts service is available for those going beyond the point where the routes divide.   There's a couple of occasions during the week that a Westbury service leaves not-too-far ahead of a Bristol service and it's noticeable the extra Chippenham flow on there.

On the Weymouth Wizard, I (and Dad) did drop back from a 15x unit train - and somewhat regretted it as the HST journey seemed somewhat slower and lost us precious time in Weymouth.

[stuving]

The CP5^▸ (Control Period 5 - the five year period between 2014 and 2019) Enhancements Delivery Plan has been updated for March 2015 (same link, new document). 

It lists these projects as being changed:

Unique Identifier	Project name	Change
A001	Ely North Junction capacity improvement	Milestones
CR001	Crossrail	Scope
CR005	North of England Programme	Milestones
CR007	Acton (Great Western Main Line) to Willesden (West Coast Main Line) electrification	Milestones
ES001	Midland Main Line electrification	Scope and milestones
ES003	Electric Spine Development Programme	Milestones
F002b	Stations - Access for All (AfA	Milestones
F003	East Coast Connectivity	Milestones
F006	Strategic Freight Network (SFN)	Outputs, scope, milestones
K004	New Cross Grid	Milestones
LNE001	Northern Programme (Yorkshire)	Outputs, scope and milestones
LNE007	Tram Train pilot	Milestones
S001	Sussex traction power supply upgrade	Milestones
S004	London Victoria Station Capacity Improvements	Milestones
SC009	Aberdeen to Inverness improvements phase 1	Scope and milestones
SC010	Highland main line journey time improvements (phase 2)	Scope and milestones
W001b	South Wales main line electrification	Milestones
W003	Thames Valley Branch Lines and Southcote Jn to Basingstoke Electrification	Milestones
W006	Oxford Corridor capacity improvements	Milestones
WL001	Welsh Valley Lines electrification	Outputs, scope and milestones
WX004	Wessex traction power supply upgrade	Outputs, scope and milestones

Despite the inclusion of some of the GW^▸ (Great Western) electrification projects, the entry into service milestones have not been changed. Presumably that happens next time. I can see some minor internal changes (e.g. GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects) 3 and GRIP 4 for Swansea), but in other cases I can't see anything.

[Rapidash]

According to the chaps over at RailUK, we can be expecting the following cascade, in theory.

SPM^▸ (St Philip's Marsh (Bristol depot)) is getting 108 Class 16x vehicles. I don't know the 165/166 split. The remainder stay at Reading. The Bristol 'Metro' services formed no part of the calculation for this franchise. Could end up being a mix of DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit)/EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) combined with South Wales orders / cascade. The 16x fleet do not have the fuel range for current types of West diagrams so will remain on Bristol axis. That is an increase of 5 vehicles on the current SPM allocation. Looks like the 08s will go elsewhere or be scrapped. A road/rail battery shunter taking their places.

150/0, 150/1, 153 and 143 going 'off lease'.

All 150/2 and 158 will be Exeter based.

Exeter is getting a new, much larger purpose built DMU depot with more staff in Riverside Yard.

Penzance is expanding slightly.


Laira is contracting but staying open. SPM likewise. All HST^▸ (High Speed Train) work at SPM stops in 27 months. If AT300 does not get approved by DfT^» (Department for Transport - about), 21 HSTs will need to be made PRM^▸ (Persons with Reduced Mobility) compliant. Given the AT300s do not come from taxpayer funds, approval is very likely.

Landore and OC are closing, but in the case of the latter Crossrail and North Pole Depots opening. In Landores case FGW^▸ (First Great Western) is working with the Welsh Assembly to see if Landore could become a DMU depot for the Welsh franchise.

Annnd

The total number of Turbo vehicles at Bristol in December 2018 should be 106. The fleet should be 12 x 166, 16 x 165/1 3 car and 11 x 165/1 2 car.

Exeter should be 2 x 150/0 3 car, 20 x 150/2, 14 x 158 2 car and 5 x 158 3 car.

The retention of the 150/0 after they came off the Basingstokes was a late decision in the bid process, so I have been told, to allow the last 150/1 to go off lease. The DfT were keen to get these available for use elsewhere. The 150/0 are not being offered elsewhere, at the moment, so it looks as if they are staying.

I asked about the Weymouth services - they will be 165/1 3 car, apparently.

Now let's see how much of this changes between now and 2018!

Personally as someone who commutes into Exeter all day, erryday, I can't wait to see these changes happen. Exeter TMD^▸ (Traction Maintenance Depot) is gonna need a bigger shed!

[ChrisB]

So, given there's a 2 unit discrepancy in the quotes above, how many 165/6s are likely to remain at Reading? I can't remember total numbers

[anthony215]

Did read somewhere that the first turbo's will arrive in Bristol next spring and are likely to be deployed on the Bristol- Avonmouth/Severn Beach services first.

[Adelante_CCT]

Did read somewhere that the first turbo's will arrive in Bristol next spring and are likely to be deployed on the Bristol- Avonmouth/Severn Beach services first.

This would only happen if Newbury or Oxford electrification was up and running and EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) had already been displaced to the Thames Valley area. Next spring may be to soon.

[a-driver]

If Laira is contracting rather than build a new depot at Exeter would it not make more sense to relocate the work to Laira, if there's sufficent capacity??

[ellendune]

If Laira is contracting rather than build a new depot at Exeter would it not make more sense to relocate the work to Laira, if there's sufficent capacity??

also need to consider the no of ECS^▸ (Empty Coaching Stock) workings that would generate.

there are also benefits in a depot doing all the maintenance on a single fleet (as at Salisbury on SWT^▸ (South West Trains)).

[ChrisB]

That applies similarly to the turnos. I can't see them going to Bristol piecemeal - they'll go en-bloc. Yes, a few remain stabled at Reading, but I suspect all maintenance will transfer

[grahame]

That applies similarly to the turnos. I can't see them going to Bristol piecemeal - they'll go en-bloc.

That may be the case maintenance-wise, but if the plan's to turn on the electricity in stages (London to Reading, to Newbury, to Oxford, Crossrail services, branches) and bi-modes for Worcester / Hereford are another stage, or if that turns out to be how it happens, it really wouldn't make sense to lay up the 165s / 166s and wait for them all to be available to shift.   Can you imagine how popular a government / rail industry would be if people were being crowded off trains in the Wessex area while people were seeing pictures of trains that could be used parked up?

This:

was a bit of a PR^▸ (Public Relations) disaster ...

[ChrisB]

More likely is that the EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) will show up all together, or at least in the types all together. Reading won't want to maintain 3 types of stock. Thete won't be the space either

[grahame]

More likely is that the EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) will show up all together ....

Like this attachment  .... should be fun in Reading.   Sorry - been a long day!

[IndustryInsider]

More likely is that the EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) will show up all together, or at least in the types all together. Reading won't want to maintain 3 types of stock. Thete won't be the space either

I disagree.  Reading will have to maintain the three types anyway as Turbos are staying in some capacity and Reading depot has a lot of redundant capacity deliberately built into it.  Also, phased introduction is almost always how these things happen (see Class 319s slowly being released to the North-West), as their replacements often come on stream bit by bit and a slow introduction allows crew (and just as important, the maintenance teams) to become trained and familiarised with them before diagrams are released en-masse.