New GWR Electrostars - so so ....

[whole diary]

[CJB666]

Caught one from Hayes & Harlington Paddington this morning. It left early - no whistles or driver announcements (par for the course) - just the closing of what doors were open and it silently departed.

There are lots of table seats on these trains. Plug in points for laptops / phones. The wifi actually worked. The seats were clean - well they should be - but it wont take long before the anti-socials start putting their feet up.

Strange that they do not open the doors of car 8 (at the end) due to so many short platforms.

BIGGEST irritation and a major deterrent for future use was the p.a. announcements from Digital Dorothy the wet blanket voice over. God knows where they got her from. But she is even worse than the never-ending inane announcements on the Heathrow Connect.

Can't say I'll be using GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) routes to / from London and Hayes though, even when Crossrail starts (if). I now MUCH prefer the cleanliness and professionalism of South West Trains between Waterloo and Feltham.

[chrisr_75]

The seats were clean - well they should be - but it wont take long before the anti-socials start putting their feet up.

If the S stock introduced on the Metropolitan line are anything to go by, new trains and updated materials are a LOT easier to keep clean - after over 6 years in service on the Met, the S Stock are still pretty spotless inside.

BIGGEST irritation and a major deterrent for future use was the p.a. announcements from Digital Dorothy the wet blanket voice over. God knows where they got her from. But she is even worse than the never-ending inane announcements on the Heathrow Connect.

Just "wow" at that. If that's your only problem with the new trains (most of your other observations appear to be positive), you sir are a seriously fussy man!

But then this is probably your quarterly random rant and you shall likely disappear back into the ether for another 3 or 4 months...

[grahame]

Caught one from Hayes & Harlington Paddington this morning. ...

They look nice; I look forward to being able to catch one when headed west from Hayes and Harlington.

I now MUCH prefer the cleanliness and professionalism of South West Trains between Waterloo and Feltham.

As quietness and cleanliness comes as part of the electric train "package", who's to say that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) won't achieve the same standards as SWT^▸ (South West Trains) ... having said that, SWT do a good job with their 158 and 159 diesel fleet out of Salisbury.

[Adelante_CCT]

It left early - no whistles or driver announcements

Really? Just checked this mornings departures, sadly many departed a few minutes late but nothing early. And even if one did leave a few seconds early, remember: 'Doors will close up to 40 seconds before departure time'

[Oxman]

I decided to check them out yesterday and went Padd to Hayes and return. I thought they were very impressive trains. The ambience is superb and the layout, with so many tables, is much better than many suburban trains. I had forgotten how quiet electric trains are and how quickly they accelerate. Compared with other electric trains they may not be a huge step change but, compared with turbos, they certainly are, and are certain to impress. They only down side I could find was the hardness of the seat, which came as something of a surprise as I first sat down! But I can't say I noticed it after a short while and the ample leg room certainly compensated.

Yes, there were a lot of announcements, but almost all were about station stops. And between Padd and Hayes there are four station stops, some only a few minutes apart. No sooner had we departed Acton Mainline than we were approaching Ealing Broadway! I liked the announcements about which coaches would not be platformed, followed by an announcement telling you which coach you are in. Very reassuring for occasional travellers, I would think.

As DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) go, the Turbos are pretty good and will certainly bring an improvement to West Country services. It did strike me, however, that at last Paddington suburban commuters were getting the type of service that every other commuter into a mainline station in London had enjoyed for many years, and it is indeed a huge step change!

[IndustryInsider]

Strange that they do not open the doors of car 8 (at the end) due to so many short platforms.

BIGGEST irritation and a major deterrent for future use was the p.a. announcements from Digital Dorothy the wet blanket voice over. God knows where they got her from. But she is even worse than the never-ending inane announcements on the Heathrow Connect.

Good to hear a mostly positive review.  The door issue is temporary until the platforms are extended at the vast majority of the platforms - I notice works on those are just starting at places like Southall.  Until then, the benefits of having a train with SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) are being felt with 8-car operation still not a problem.

Once the whole train can be platformed that should also reduce the announcements a little.  Though I have to say, when I travelled on one I certainly didn't find them as annoying as Heathrow Connects.

[eightf48544]

As DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) go, the Turbos are pretty good and will certainly bring an improvement to West Country services. It did strike me, however, that at last Paddington suburban commuters were getting the type of service that every other commuter into a mainline station in London had enjoyed for many years, and it is indeed a huge step change!

But after the 387s come the 345s!

[chrisr_75]

As DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) go, the Turbos are pretty good and will certainly bring an improvement to West Country services. It did strike me, however, that at last Paddington suburban commuters were getting the type of service that every other commuter into a mainline station in London had enjoyed for many years, and it is indeed a huge step change!

But after the 387s come the 345s!

But the class 345's are for Crossrail - GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) won't be operating them and they also won't get any further west than Reading, so they are probably perfectly fit for purpose as a high capacity outer-suburban commuter train rather than the 387's which are intended for longer distance services, hence the different interior arrangements. It's a little unfair to compare the two types directly.

The 345's will be serving a similar, actually perhaps somewhat smaller, radius (by time at least) from central London as the Metropolitan line, which gets on just fine with no toilets and mostly longitudinal seating if that is what you refer to?

[CJB666]

One thing - the new trains are 'disabled / physically challenged' friendly but only up to a point. Sure there is plenty of room on board and the toilets actually work. But the trains are impossible to get into without assistance. On the Underground special raised platform areas allow those using wheelchairs to easily board trains. Not so with these new trains. And of course Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Acton Mainline, Southall, and other stations are not step free from train to street. I wonder if Crossrail stations and trains will be accessible to wheel-chair users? 

[CJB666]

But then this is probably your quarterly random rant and you shall likely disappear back into the ether for another 3 or 4 months...

Unlike you I don't work but frequently go overseas. Therefore when I 'disappear into the ether' I'm sunning myself on a far distant beach - usually Barbados or sometimes New Zealand. And life is too short not to. I don't intend wasting my life commuting.

[grahame]

But then this is probably your quarterly random rant and you shall likely disappear back into the ether for another 3 or 4 months...

Unlike you I don't work but frequently go overseas. Therefore when I 'disappear into the ether' I'm sunning myself on a far distant beach - usually Barbados or sometimes New Zealand. And life is too short not to. I don't intend wasting my life commuting.

I suspect you two folks know each other ... so I'm not going to remind you about one of our few rules which is "no personal attacks"  .  What you do in the private is up to you ... what you do in public can make some of the other public feel just a tiny bit uncomfortable.

[stuving]

I wonder if Crossrail stations and trains will be accessible to wheel-chair users? 

That's answered on the Crossrail website:

All of the stations on the Elizabeth line will be step-free to platform level with simple signage and information to ensure that all passengers can get around the stations quickly and easily.

All the stations in central and southeast London will be fully accessible from street to train. On the surface section of the route, in outer London, Berkshire and Essex, not all stations will have level access from platform to trains. However, these stations will be staffed at all times that the trains are running and better accessibility provision will be in place, including a turn up and go service for anyone needing a ramp to get onto trains.

Getting level access into the train doesn't work with with the current standard vehicle gauge, so doing it on existing stations with other trains is a much wider issue. However, it I'm sure more could have been done. Or is there an RSSB^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board) research project into ways of doing it - moving steps/ramps on the train, or on platform humps? No - rather surprisingly there doesn't seem to be anything in this area beyond T759 into how to use ramps better.

[chrisr_75]

But then this is probably your quarterly random rant and you shall likely disappear back into the ether for another 3 or 4 months...

Unlike you I don't work but frequently go overseas. Therefore when I 'disappear into the ether' I'm sunning myself on a far distant beach - usually Barbados or sometimes New Zealand. And life is too short not to. I don't intend wasting my life commuting.

I suspect you two folks know each other ... so I'm not going to remind you about one of our few rules which is "no personal attacks"  .  What you do in the private is up to you ... what you do in public can make some of the other public feel just a tiny bit uncomfortable.

Nope, sorry, no idea who CJB666 is behind the computer screen.

I have no idea why this person feels my employment status is in any way relevant to this thread or even the forum as a whole, or why he or she feels the need to mention their own.

My slightly terse comment was not meant as a personal attack (apologies mods if it came across that way), merely an observation of this persons posting history and general demeanour, which has been commented upon in the past, see final post by paul7755 in the thread below:

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=17541.15

[grahame]

Nope, sorry, no idea who CJB666 is behind the computer screen.

My slightly terse comment was not meant as a personal attack (apologies mods if it came across that way) ...

No problem at all - it's terribly easy to write something that can be read the wrong way ... let's move on.

I suspect the real problem with the 387s is going to be that they're too nice and people aren't going to want to loose them when they're replaced by though services to Shenfield and Woolwich using inner suburban stock.

[ChrisB]

The Mayor's fare freezecmight help though!