458/5 delivery update

[whole diary]

[paul7575]

...has appeared on the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) website:

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/longertrains.aspx

First decent picture I've seen so far of how the 460 front has changed. The new gangwayed cab is what all 36 converted units will eventually get...

[grahame]

First carriages arriving ...

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2013-10-22/new-carriages-on-south-west-trains/?

I see both 100 and 108 quoted.  Same carriages, I'm guessing?   Perhaps 100 in service and 8 under maintenance at any time? Are they purely being added to existing trains, or is there any pensioning off of smaller and older fleets?  Anything being cascaded within SWT^▸ (South West Trains) to allow diesel diagrams on electric lines to be switched to electric diagrams?

[stuving]

I think it's more 100 as a round number. There are still two distinct parts - the 30 458s (120 vehicles) become 36 458/5s (180 vehicles) for use on the Windsor lines, and 24 456s (48 vehicles) arrive to be used as 2-car bolt-on extensions to 455s on the SWML^▸ (South Western Mail Line). That's 108 new vehicles.

The words about where they will be seen are perhaps not to be trusted anyway. The web page says of the 458/5s:

The first pair of units will be required to complete 5,000 miles of fault free running (later units must achieve 1,000 miles), so passengers will start seeing the units on the Windsor and Reading lines during this time.

That's going to be a surprise for NR^» (Network Rail - home page), who expect them to be going to Windsor and Weybridge via Hounslow, but are still debating whether to lengthen platforms from Virginia Water to Reading even by the end of CP5^▸ (Control Period 5 - the five year period between 2014 and 2019) (2019). I thought that was in the plan, date TBD, but the latest Wessex Route Plan (September 2013) says (p26):

Windsor Line Services

The London and South East RUS^▸ (Route Utilisation Strategy) recognised a gap on the Windsor Line service following the CP4^▸ (Control Period 4 - the five year period between 2009 and 2014) train lengthening plan, and Reading to Waterloo services, at the end of CP4, will not operate with 10-car formations.
 
Additional capacity in CP5 could be provided by operating 10-car Reading to Waterloo services, utilisation of two additional timetable slots per hour on the Windsor lines to Waterloo and other options such as the introduction of high capacity rolling stock that is not likely to require infrastructure investment.

Of course these trains do have ASDO^▸ (Automatic Selective Door Operation)*, but there may need to be some signal-moving as well before they can come to Reading.

*ASDO = Automatic Selective Door Operation

[paul7575]

The 'Reading Lines', the 'Windsor Lines', the 'Windsor Side' (of the whole station), the 'Reading and Windsor Line' (as it passes through Richmond or wherever)... 

Various names heard at different times for any or all of that four track 'branch line' that turns off the 'Main Lines' at Clapham Jn.   

As said above the 458/5s are intended to be used predominantly on the inner routes which have recently been the preserve of the 'high capacity' variant of the 450 - the 450/5. So Windsor/Weybridge/Hounslow loop services. The 450/5 are being partially un-modified to get their first class seating back, although the extra stand back space by the doors is being retained, so although these latter trains are being used as part of the general 450 fleet they are retaining their /5 numbering.

I explicitly asked in the last SWT^▸ (South West Trains) webchat if the internal cascade of 450s would results in fewer DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) being used on purely third rail routes, and the answer was yes they would, (but before anyone asks they do not become available for other franchises), as the second part of the '108 vehicle' improvements includes strengthening mainline services, including some on the Salisbury route.

Although the 456s were initially touted in some of the rail press as lengthening many main suburban services to ten car, this is not yet generally the case because it would require platform extensions at Waterloo. So the result of the 456 cascade is seen mostly on mainline routes, where various long distance services are being augmented eg from 8 to 12 car, or 6 to 9, and as mentioned this includes some morning trains from Yeovil Jn and Salisbury, and to Exeter in the evening peak. 

An unexpected change which highlights that this is not solely about '10 car trains' is that the Guildford Ascot route is to be operated by single or paired 456s - freeing up the 5 current units (a mix of 458 and 450) for use elsewhere.

It is assumed in EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) groups that the definite swap is that the 6 car 159 operated Portsmouth to Basingstoke and then to Waterloo service that runs weekday mornings (the 0642 peak extra semi-fast off Basingstoke) will be the obvious DMU diagram to be definitely changed to EMU operation.

While all these internal cascades are happening though, the 455 fleet is also being life extended with an AC traction package like those on most modern DC^▸ (Direct Current) EMUs, so this will take a couple of units at a time out of action during a period of a few years as well.

SWT issued press releases on the two phases of the project; the editors notes (particularly in the second one) explain some of the knock on effects on mainline routes:

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/extracapacity.aspx

http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/extra-capacity-on-south-west-trains.aspx

I've consolidated all the service alterations intended into one list, hopefully
showing that the major effect of the 456 cascade is outside the suburban area. 
DMU service alterations are also highlighted:

Phase 1 ^ resulting from the 458/460 reform to 458/5s:
The additional carriages will enable trains on the following routes
to be lengthened from 8 to 10 cars:

Waterloo-Windsor & Eton (Riverside), 

Waterloo-Weybridge via Brentford and Staines, 

Waterloo-Hounslow via both Richmond and Brentford. 
This will be achieved through the introduction of 60 Class 460 vehicles which
will be combined with the existing Class 458 stock to form 36x5-car trains.
An internal cascade will provide two additional Reading services in the morning
and evening and one further Hounslow peak service into London Waterloo.

It will also further lengthen seven South West Trains mainline services:

Morning peak

Southampton Airport Parkway to Waterloo (8 car to 12 car)
Portsmouth Harbour to Waterloo via Eastleigh (5 car to 10 car)
Southampton Central to Waterloo (4 car to 5 car)
Evening peak

Waterloo to Poole (5 car to 8 car)

Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh (5 car to 8 car)

Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh (8 car to 10 car)

Waterloo to Alton (8 car to 12 car)

[no times were given in the first announcement]

Phase 2 - resulting from internal cascades after
delivery of the 456s from Southern:

Mainline services:

0515 from Yeovil Junction (6 car to 9 car)
0543 from Salisbury (6 car to 9 car)

0600 from Haslemere (5 car to 8 car)

0642 from Basingstoke (6 car to 8 car)

0650 from Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh (8 car to 12 car)

0844 from Alton (5 car to 8 car)

1620 to Exeter (6 car to 8 car)

1720 to Exeter (6 car to 9 car)

1723 to Basingstoke (8 car to 12 car)

1741 to Basingstoke (8 car to 12 car)

1750 to Exeter (6 car to 8 car)

1841 to Basingstoke (8 car to 12 car)
Suburban services:
0717 from Guildford via Cobham (8 car to 10 car)

0807 from Guildford via Cobham (8 car to 10 car)

0817 from Woking (8 car to 10 car)

1702 Guildford via Woking (8 car to 12 car)

1732 Guildford via Woking 8 car to 12 car)

1757 Twickenham via Kingston (8 car to 10 car)

1848 Guildford via Cobham (8 car to 10 car)
Windsor lines:

1705 Aldershot via Richmond (4 car to 8 car)

1713 Teddington via Richmond (8 car to 10 car)
Additional services:

0722 from Raynes Park

0922 from Raynes Park

Paul

[Chris from Nailsea]

Many thanks for your detailed and very instructive post, paul7755.

I've also added "ASDO^▸ (Automatic Selective Door Operation) = Automatic Selective Door Operation" to our forum's 'acronyms and abbreviations' page.

[Network SouthEast]

I think ASDO^▸ (Automatic Selective Door Operation) is a fairly recent term.

Trains like 375s and 377s have had an advanced SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) system (based on GPS) since new. This meant that the train knew it's location and released the doors on the required number of carriages.

The class 444 and 450 SDO system was a little more primitive in that you are limited to manually releasing either just one door, all doors or doors by unit (i.e. in a 10 car train, if the platform was 9 cars long you were stuck with releasing the front 5 cars).

In recent years Network Rail have been fitting balaises at stations, so that when a carriage of a compatible train passes over, only the doors that have received the signal from it open. This is where ASDO has come from, to distinguish the more basic SDO operation.

[eightf48544]

This whole operation shows what can done with modern EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) to change their configuration and update them for future use,

Not quite and ugly ducking into a swan but equivalent!

[paul7575]

There was a good article about SWT^▸ (South West Trains)'s version of ASDO^▸ (Automatic Selective Door Operation), 'Tracklink III' and how it has been developed in Rail Engineer online magazine a while ago:

http://www.therailengineer.com/2013/04/12/being-selective/

The ASDO balises (as shown in the article photographs) were fitted at the entry to the Southern platforms at Reading quite a few months ago.

The system used in SWT units up until now is more properly referred to as 'Unit Deselect' abbreviated UDS, although people do talk about it as a form of SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening).

IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly) the original SN system was purely GPS, so at any given station it would only provide for one setting applicable to the shortest platform.  They subsequently added balises where necessary so that individual platforms and direction of travel could be separately dealt with.

Paul

[stuving]

This  morning an SWT^▸ (South West Trains) train came through Wokingham non-stop just as I arrived at 11:10. I took it for a 450, but as it left I saw it had a 458 number. Looking at Realtimetrains, this is a pretty regular run at the moment, so I guess these are the new 458/5s clocking up their acceptance miles. Why they are this doing by a route Wimbledon-Weybridge-Virginia Water-Staines-Reading-Staines and reverse I've no idea - though miles is miles, by any route. So next week, you may see one at Reading at around 10:50 or 12:50.

[paul7575]

I expect the route they are using simply has the capacity to fit the extra paths in, and is near enough to Wimbledon.

I actually clocked one in P4 quite a while ago, 4th December, picture below.

Paul

[Brucey]

Thanks for sharing that photo paul7755.  They certainly do look very different (and much more 450-like) now.

I wonder how they've been kitted out internally?

[paul7575]

2+2 seating throughout, extra grab handles and poles etc.  There's some photos around:

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p368327642/h9ebf4cb#h1c05e5c1

http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p368327642/h9ebf4cb#h148fd1ca

The number of seats in the 458/5 is broadly the same as the number in an unconverted 458, give or take a few - the extra capacity is all about overall standing space.

Nice shot here of the two units running together:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iainbrownston/11220488866/in/photostream/

Paul

[stuving]

The in-service date for these units has slipped several times since the original announcement (deliveries spread over May-December 2013 I think). SWT^▸ (South West Trains) have now updated their last news item (which just said "starting to introduce the fleet of new carriages into passenger service during the winter"). This now says (of the ex-460 458/5s):

^There has been a significant amount of work to do in bringing the carriages up to the standards we require for our passengers.We are pleased to now be pressing ahead with plans to introduce the first 10 carriages in mid-March. We will continue to work with Porterbrook and its contractor Alstom to bring the full benefits of the much needed extra capacity to our customers as soon as possible."

... and:

South West Trains has now taken delivery of a further 48 Class 456 carriages, previously operated by Southern, for phase two.These carriages will begin operating on the Guildford to Ascot line from early April.

Paul Clifton on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) South news was adding a bit more context to that bit about "a lot of work", saying that SWT had found as many as 200 faults on the trains we have seen sneaking up and down the line on test. Alstom/Wabtec had, they said, underestimated the work involved, and Alstom's statement in reply did not really try to rebut that.

[Fourbee]

They've gone for the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) blue livery on the 458/5's then?

I assumed they would have gone for the SWT white "mainline" livery as per the Junipers (although maybe the Junipers should have been in the blue livery themselves).

[stuving]

As noted earlier, they look very like the 450s they will replace on the Windsor service. Most passengers may not spot the difference, other than the extra length.

Paul Clifton, however, still thinks they are due to start off running to Reading. At least SWT^▸ (South West Trains) now say they (among other players) are working towards getting them to Reading by 2019.