Class 387 coming to Thames Valley - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

“To-days Railways” is reporting that Class 387’s are subject to severe route restrictions between Paddington and Hayes, prohibiting them from a number of platforms.  A senior manager is quoted as saying the situation is a “nightmare”.

What’s the problem? Are they out of gauge? Are the platforms or the trains at fault?

There's a few platform, route and speed restrictions in place currently.  I expect they'll be resolved before too long though and the limited number of trains that are currently operating are doing so without too many issues.

[paul7575]

387137 delivered last night, reported elsewhere.

...and for completeness 387135 was reported to have been delivered last night.  So that's 8 of the initial 8 now.

Paul

[Electric train]

“To-days Railways” is reporting that Class 387’s are subject to severe route restrictions between Paddington and Hayes, prohibiting them from a number of platforms.  A senior manager is quoted as saying the situation is a “nightmare”.

What’s the problem? Are they out of gauge? Are the platforms or the trains at fault?

Bit of a chicken an egg problem, the platforms have been around a long time but should have been made compliant years ago.

There may be some physical obstacles that need resolving but I suspect most of the issues are actually carrying out the gauging assessments, whilst most of this is done by a computer program there is still a lot of interpretation and final assessment done by Gauging Engineers before they sign the route clearance.  Don't forget the gauging also includes pantograph clearances both mechanical and electrical and the platform to train stepping heights and distance.

There might even have to be TNC (Temporary Non Compliance) or Derogation against standards required, internal NR^» (Network Rail - home page) ones can take a while if the Professional Heads have to sign them off, if it has to go to the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) / RSSB^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board) that will take some time.

[IndustryInsider]

There may be some physical obstacles that need resolving

I think one Ground Position Signal has had to be physically removed for the time being, but suspect that 'Electric Train' is correct in that it's mostly just waiting to get the paperwork signed.  There's no reason why the all-day service in January can't operate with the current restrictions as long as the new bay platform and crossover at Hayes are commissioned by then, though it would be nice if the restriction of calling at Hanwell could be sorted out by then as well.  A more frequent service would be really useful there as there's lots of growth potential that the current 30-minute interval service is stifling.

[paul7575]

The next unit for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), 387138, was reported delivered from Derby to Bletchley last night.  By the time it reaches GWR, if it takes similar time to test as previously, there will possibly have only been a gap of about 6 or 7 weeks while the 6 units for c2c have been produced.  (As far as I can work out they have 4 in service and 2 on test.)

Paul

[TaplowGreen]

Are these trains in service yet? If so, are they having any effect on the hideous overcrowding at Ealing Broadway in the evening peak?

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, they've been in part service since September.  Two units forming 8-car trains currently work the 07:18/07:48/19:24/19:54 Hayes to Paddington and 07:15/17:18/18:48/19:15 Paddington to Hayes services on weekdays.  I saw the 17:18 depart Paddington the other day and it was pretty much full, and must be taking lots of passengers off trains either side.  Obviously any train not around the times the above trains are running will be no different to how they were.

During the day, and on those service trains, driver training takes place and I think around 30 Paddington drivers have now been passed out to drive them.  Then a full day service between Hayes and Paddington launches in early January which will see 8-car trains running every 30 minutes from around 6am to 10pm on weekdays.  That will make a big difference at places like Ealing Broadway.

Driver training will then expand to Reading depot so that enough drivers are available to cover the peak time Maidenhead services due to start next summer.

[grahame]

I saw the 17:18 depart Paddington the other day and it was pretty much full, and must be taking lots of passengers off trains either side.

I recall that when the M25 was first opened, it was busier than had been expected from day 1 because it brought people in from far further afield than had been expected.    So  - yes, I'm sure that many people have transferred from other trains ... but is there a lot of traffic new to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) there too - for example people who would have used the Central and District lines out to Ealing switching to (or at least trying out) the new electric trains?

[Adelante_CCT]

The first 387 to visit Reading Depot on Tuesday:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/K96000/2016/12/13/advanced

[IndustryInsider]

That move took place.  Class 37 hauling 387130/1.

[SandTEngineer]

The new half hourly all day (EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit)) service from Paddington to the bay platform at Hayes and Harlington started today (Tuesday 03/01/2017).  At the same time the all day Greenford service now shuttles between Greenford and the new bay platform at West Ealing.

[grahame]

At the same time the all day Greenford service now shuttles between Greenford and the new bay platform at West Ealing.

We hope  ...

08:56 West Ealing to Greenford due 09:09
08:56 West Ealing to Greenford due 09:09 has been cancelled.
This is due to a points failure.

[stuving]

At the same time the all day Greenford service now shuttles between Greenford and the new bay platform at West Ealing.

We hope  ...

08:56 West Ealing to Greenford due 09:09
08:56 West Ealing to Greenford due 09:09 has been cancelled.
This is due to a points failure.

By then it had already demonstrated how fragile the timetable is. The poor little shuttle unit is allowed three minutes to turn round at Greenford and four at West Ealing (those times vary only a little through the day). So it "works" on the principle of "late in, late out" or - as there's no gap after the peak for recovery - "late once, late all day". And it was more than ten minutes late when hit by the cancellation.

As noted earlier, the allowance for connections is dictated by the intervals between up and down trains, and it's been set up with three minutes for the up EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit). That's doable as it's cross-platform, but only if the Greenford train is less late than the EMU. This morning it wasn't for the first few trains. the back-up is the HC train about 15 minutes  later, and this morning half of those were cancelled (track circuit failure).

For up services it's zero minutes to connect off the EMU, but as it's over the bridge three wouldn't be enough anyway. So the official connection is off the HC - but if the Greenford is late enough, and you got the EMU because the HC was cancelled ... Maybe that's why the DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) lost ten minutes at its first visit back to West Ealing (though commuters outward towards Greenford can't be that numerous, surely?).

Oh well, maybe you should never trust the first service on a new timetable. I remember doing that once when going to catch a plane, only to be delayed by half an hour because the driver's instructions said his unit had to be coupled to the one in the bay (at Reading) and the station crew ("shunters", in some sense) had no such instructions. But that's another story ...

[grahame]

Press release from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - https://www.gwr.com/about-us/media-centre/news/2017/january/over-13000-more-seats-are-available-on-gwr-rail-services-today

Over 13,000 more seats are available on GWR rail services today

Tuesday 03rd January 2017

Over 13,000 more seats will be available on GWR rail services today following the completion of Christmas engineering work in London and the Thames Valley.

The opening of new bay platforms at Hayes & Harlington station means that GWR are able to run more frequent services with brand new electric trains. The eight carriage Electrostar trains have 262 more seats per service than the two carriage trains they are replacing; providing 6,550 more seats a day in each direction.

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said:

"The Thames Valley is one of the most popular rail corridors in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).  We have promised the current fleet would be upgraded to provide much needed additional capacity and more comfortable, quieter journeys.

"We started to run our first new electric trains in September and with this Christmas work completed, on time, I am delighted to say that we can now deliver even more of those improvements – with our half hourly services between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington."

New Electrostar trains will deliver consistent, high quality travel for customers across the Thames Valley, offering at-seat power sockets, air conditioning, extra luggage space and free WiFi for customers.

The move is part of the biggest fleet upgrade in a generation on the Great Western network, helping to drive improved journey times, increased capacity and greater comfort.

Further improvements will be seen across the Thames Valley as the Electrostar trains gradually replace the diesel Turbo trains currently in use in the region, and Network Rail continues work to electrify the Great Western Mainline.

From today a new, half-hourly electric service will operate between Hayes & Harlington, replacing direct services between Greenford and London Paddington. With electric trains unable to operate on the Greenford branch line, diesel Turbo services will continue between Greenford and West Ealing.

The first four of 45 Class 387, or GWR Electrostar, four-carriage trains were introduced in September and provided an additional 1,400 seats between Hayes & Harlington and London Paddington at the busiest times every day for commuters.

This increase in services is possible following the successful completion of Network Rail’s biggest ever Christmas programme of work. The work included the completion of a new bay platform at Hayes & Harlington and sidings at West Ealing as well as work to modernise the infrastructure in readiness for the start of Crossrail services.

Existing diesel Turbo trains will be cascaded to other parts of the GWR network, providing additional capacity where it is needed most.

[hertzsprung]

The opening of new bay platforms at Hayes & Harlington station means that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are able to run more frequent services with brand new electric trains. The eight carriage Electrostar trains have 262 more seats per service than the two carriage trains they are replacing; providing 6,550 more seats a day in each direction.

How many new bay platforms are there?  Isn't it just the one?