|
751
|
Journey by Journey / South Western services / Re: First / MTR win South Western franchise 2017 - 2024, and CMA raises competition concerns (merged topic)
|
on: June 22, 2017, 00:02:23
|
They list enhancements for passengers, including wide gangways, but the accompanying picture shows... no Unit-End Gangways (UEGs▸ ). Granted the illustration may be an impression of the 10-car sets, but given we have not seen an Aventra with UEGs I suspect the 5-car sets won't have them either. If you're not only having wide gangways but also promoting them as an enhanced feature then not allowing passengers to move between a pair of 5-car units in multiple leaves a 'bad taste'. If you want to run the railway in the best interests of passengers, then if you order units that are intended to run in multiple you should specify that said units must have UEGs.
The existing 455 units on SWT▸ have UEGs but they are locked out of use. I suspect the Southern versions are too. |
|
|
|
|
754
|
Journey by Journey / South Western services / Re: First / MTR win South Western franchise 2017 - 2024, and CMA raises competition concerns (merged topic)
|
on: June 20, 2017, 21:17:14
|
I see it's been announced this morning that Bombardier has won the order for 750 new vehicles. Great news for Derby.
Yes. Its announced here: http://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2017/20-06-17.aspxFirstGroup and MTR order £895m new trains for South Western rail franchise
20 Jun 2017
FirsrGroup Bombardier South WesternMuch needed extra seats for suburban rail services into London Waterloo moved a step closer today as new South Western franchise operators FirstGroup and MTR signed an order for 90 new trains (750 new carriages, in five and 10 car formations).
The £895m fleet of “AVENTRA” trains, providing a 46% increase in peak capacity on the suburban routes into Waterloo, will be manufactured by Bombardier Transportation in Derby. The new trains will enhance the travelling experience for customers with free reliable Wi-Fi, at-seat charging points, real time information screens, air conditioning, wide gangways and wide doors to improve ease of boarding and alighting. The new trains will start to come into service from mid 2019 and will all be in place by December 2020.
The new trains will operate on the Windsor, Reading and West London suburban routes. The fleet will be maintained at Wimbledon depot, with South Western franchise employees undertaking the maintenance, supported by Bombardier employees who will supply technical advice and spares.
FirstGroup and MTR included the plans for these new trains as part of their winning bid for the South Western rail network, with the new franchise due to start on 20 August this year. They will be capable of 100mph, be highly energy efficient and will contribute to reduced journey times.
Funding for the trains has been led by sponsor Rock Rail and partners SL Capital (part of Standard Life Investments) and GLIL Infrastructure LLP, who all provided the equity investment. The senior debt is provided by a consortium of UK▸ , European and North American institutional investors. The trains will be leased to the new South Western rail franchise.
Transport Minister Paul Maynard said: “We are delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century and this franchise will provide more frequent trains, faster journeys and a more reliable service that passengers across the South Western network expect.
“This multi-million pound investment in a new fleet of British-built trains is excellent news for South Western passengers and the British economy. This investment reflects our commitment, and that of train operators, to put passengers at the heart of everything we do, and will improve journeys and target congestion.”
Steve Montgomery, Managing Director, First Rail said: "We have exciting plans for the South Western rail franchise and these new trains are an important step on the way to delivering an improved journey experience for our passengers. We know from listening to passengers and stakeholders that alongside improved performance, what they want to see is additional seats and we will deliver this via these state-of-the-art trains."
Jeremy Long, CEO▸ , European Business at MTR, said: “We look forward to working together with FirstGroup to introduce this new fleet of trains.”
Richard Hunter, UK Managing Director, Bombardier Transportation, said “We are thrilled to have won this important contract. It demonstrates further confidence placed in this market leading rolling stock, designed and built in Britain. This order is a fantastic endorsement of our skilled workforce and the quality of the products we design, engineer and manufacture here in the UK. It will ensure a stable, long-term workload for our staff in Derby. AVENTRA offers enhanced performance and increased passenger capacity, which will play an important part in helping FirstGroup and MTR satisfy continued levels of passenger growth on the South Western network.”
Mark Swindell, Chief Executive Officer of Rock Rail said: “Rock Rail are delighted to be funding and leasing these trains which will bring a step change to the travelling experience for so many commuters. Our funders are leading pension and insurance institutions from both the UK and overseas who are directly investing in the UK’s long term economic infrastructure, on a basis that delivers significant cost savings and value for money enhancement for UK operators. We look forward to working closely with FirstGroup and MTR and all our partners to bring these trains into service.” As FirstMTR have declined to take the new trains that SWT▸ have ordered for later this year, does this mean that the Windsor and Reading lines will now be getting new trains 18-24 months later than planned? My understanding was that the new SWT trains would be releasing stock for the Wimbledon Suburban lines so they could be extended to 10 carriages. The Waterloo upgrade programme in a few weeks time will finally allow 10 car trains to operate from platforms 1 to 4. |
|
|
|
|
755
|
All across the Great Western territory / Your rights and redress / Re: Compensation Conundrum
|
on: June 19, 2017, 23:29:50
|
Alas at Ashtead, it was announced that an earlier SWT▸ service had failed at Stoneleigh and was blocking the line. My train stopped there for over 20 minutes before continuing to Epsom where it was terminated.
I was on that failed train. It arrived at Stoneleigh on time and then "lost power". After about 30 mins we were told to get off and take a train back to Epsom and then take a Southern to Victoria. Because of all the trains terminating at Epsom we had to wait another 15 mins or so for a platform to become free. Got into work 90 minutes late. |
|
|
|
|
756
|
All across the Great Western territory / Across the West / Re: Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption elsewhere - ongoing, since Oct 2014
|
on: June 19, 2017, 22:32:32
|
................now pushed out till 1100, to add to the joy, none of the ticket machines are working at Paddington......imagine the queues at the ticket offices.
And from my Monday morning email... South West Trains Alert Service < noreply@nexusalpha.com> 09:23 (13 hours ago) to me Dear Customer, Following an IT issue from earlier this morning, we are unable to process card payments on some of our ticket machines, including all the ticket machines at London Waterloo. This fault has been reported and is under investigation. If you are travelling on one our trains and not able to purchase a ticket please speak to a member of staff or the Guard on your train for further advice. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you. Thank you. South West Trains. |
|
|
|
|
757
|
All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: Ticket discounts methods
|
on: June 09, 2017, 21:37:01
|
Also just to ask ... if you purchase from a gwr station what perks do you get? .... if you buy one from swt you get 6 or 7 free weekend journeys on south west trains (this may change when first take over)
It's 6 vouchers per year on SWT▸ . It entitles you to a days free travel anywhere on the SWT network on Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays and at certain times on Fridays. It's called Gold Service. I try to do multi destination trips in a day to take advantage of it. For example Wimborne, Blandford and Wareham in one day, Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Lymington on another. Travelling between the towns by SWT train or bus. I'm not likely to use up my tickets by the end of August so I hope First MTR will honour them. |
|
|
|
|
758
|
All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Terrorist attack near London bridge station.
|
on: June 09, 2017, 20:56:01
|
The steel crash barriers have been installed over London Bridge, both sides. It the temporary type used in motor way worksites; also the big lozenge shaped bollards have been placed on the pavements.
Whilst all this makes it safe for pedestrians, the crash barriers sits in the road gutter which means busses cannot stay in the bus lane so have to straddle the next lane, slows the traffic down (no bad thing really)
I have not crossed other bridges recently but I am guessing they have had the same treatment.
I caught buses over Waterloo Bridge today and can confirm that steel crash barriers were also in place, mostly on the cycle paths. |
|
|
|
|
759
|
All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Bus Users Manifesto
|
on: June 07, 2017, 21:21:12
|
4. Widespread on-board facilities such as audio visual information, phone charging and Wi-Fi I think this point in the manifesto would financially cripple many council supported services. I've seen all of these on buses before, but not all three at the same time. I didn't see it in the manifesto, but being able to know in advance how much your bus fare will be would be good. Some operators are better than others online. National Rail, GWR▸ and other TOCs▸ can tell you your train fare and offer to sell it to you, why not Traveline, Google etc with your bus fare? |
|
|
|
|
760
|
Sideshoots - associated subjects / Heritage railway lines, Railtours, other rail based attractions / Re: Heritage railways and trains keep Britain's golden age of steam alive
|
on: June 04, 2017, 10:22:34
|
This is one of those "areas of linguistic uncertainty". It's not just locomotives' names - we say "the BBC» ", but not "the ITV". (Except in Scotland (and maybe elsewhere) you will hear "the ITV", and when I lived in Bo'ness a lot of my neighbours worked "at the BP» " in Grangemouth.) And the ORR» now styles itself just "ORR", but on this forum you'll find both - and I don't see either as obviously incorrect.
You'd expect the naming of railway engines to follow the pattern of something familiar when it was first done, and ships' naming is the obvious example. But there we almost always use "the", even when the resulting phrase could never be like that outside a name. For example, "the Queen Mary", "the Grampian", "the Harlech Castle", etc.
Another example would be Uxbridge Road, Oxford Street then "The" Bath Road |
|
|
|
|
Show Posts
