IETs into passenger service from 16 Oct 2017 and subsequent performance issues

[whole diary]

[Incider]

The sets are quick, smart, good legroom, solid construction, good reservation systems and more tables

Think you need to have a read of postings on other forums.  The trains are having a deep clean inside and out due to a lack of attention by HITACHI.  The suspension is also suffering from the wear and tear brought about by track condition on the B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) line.  Excessive vibration if sat above a GU. Wheel flats being produced by the anti-wheelslip function.  Difficulties in drivers being able to correctly view buffer stops and trains being coupled up to.  Unable to reset seat reservations when train formations changed. The list goes on and on.......

I wouldn’t believe everything you read on forums.  I’d like to see the source and proving data for some of those claims, I doubt you’ll find it.  Not sure how often you travel on them, but I suspect that you will not find anywhere near the level of wheel flats that’s were evident on HST^▸ (High Speed Train).  The Gotcha readings will back that up.

I was quoting from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff that drive or have to deal with the issues......

But there is proof that these units suffer from less flats than HST, flats are a rarity, the wheelslide equipment is effective.   There are no suspension parts being replaced due to wear and tear, but if there were and it was caused by a particular section of track, then the track would be at fault.  As for Drivers viewing buffer stops, the view is no different than some other trains in service, common sense would say you’d stop before the buffer stop went out of sight.....

I haven’t heard any reports of excessive GU vibration, except for a couple of instances where there was an engine issue and those engines were replaced. 

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

I make that an average of 128mph.  Optimistic to an impossible level over such a short distance I’m afraid!  

A couple of minutes could be shaved off, so perhaps a sub 20-minute timing might just be within reach, though that assumes 140mph working will ever actually happen as it doesn’t just rely on the signalling changing.

Padd - Rdg is 35.75 miles isn't it? So a 15 minute journey is average 143 mph (ie 4 X 35.75).  So even with 140 mph it's nowhere near doable. I agree with II that 20 minutes (average 107.25 mph) is more realistic. 

Edit - Padd - Rdg is (according to RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website)) actually 35 miles and 75 chains, which is 35.94 miles.  Doesn't significantly affect calculations above.

[GBM]

Not sure if this is the correct  section to post in.

Today's Journeycheck showing -
https://www.journeycheck.com/greatwesternrailway/
04:58 Penzance to London Paddington due 10:15
04:58 Penzance to London Paddington due 10:15 has been delayed at Plymouth and is now 53 minutes late.
This is due to a fault on this train.
Will be formed of 5 coaches instead of 10.
Last Updated:17/03/2020 07:55
Due   Station   Status
04:58   Penzance   04:58
05:19   Redruth   05:19
05:32   Truro   05:32
05:48   St Austell   05:48
06:04   Bodmin Parkway   06:04
06:17   Liskeard   06:17
06:52   Plymouth   07:45

From OpenTimeTrains it left Plymouth 53 minutes, and only slowly making up a bit of time towards Paddington.
As it apprently only had 5 coaches from Plymouth, guess this was another failed coupling issue?

[broadgage]

Over 60 short formed IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) today.
I presume that the coronavirus is a new excuse.

[grahame]

Over 60 short formed IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) today.
I presume that the coronavirus is a new excuse.

No reason is given on JourneyCheck.

There is likely to be a lot of presumption and riding rough over people's wants and needs in coming days as people and authorities struggle to cope with a new order and do there best - whether it be the best for the population's survival, the best for the planet and its resources, or the best for them and their people as we go through and come out of this. Conspiracy theories and real hardships will abound.    Discussion OPEN on this - but I'll move it to our "frequent posters" board if it takes off.

[TaplowGreen]

Over 60 short formed IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) today.
I presume that the coronavirus is a new excuse.

No reason is given on JourneyCheck.

There is likely to be a lot of presumption and riding rough over people's wants and needs in coming days as people and authorities struggle to cope with a new order and do there best - whether it be the best for the population's survival, the best for the planet and its resources, or the best for them and their people as we go through and come out of this. Conspiracy theories and real hardships will abound.    Discussion OPEN on this - but I'll move it to our "frequent posters" board if it takes off.

At a time at which the Government and all medical experts are imploring us to practice "social distancing", the list of services which GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are shortforming today has reached 124 already.

[TaplowGreen]

Over 60 short formed IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) today.
I presume that the coronavirus is a new excuse.

No reason is given on JourneyCheck.

There is likely to be a lot of presumption and riding rough over people's wants and needs in coming days as people and authorities struggle to cope with a new order and do there best - whether it be the best for the population's survival, the best for the planet and its resources, or the best for them and their people as we go through and come out of this. Conspiracy theories and real hardships will abound.    Discussion OPEN on this - but I'll move it to our "frequent posters" board if it takes off.

At a time at which the Government and all medical experts are imploring us to practice "social distancing", the list of services which GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are shortforming today has reached 124 already.

…….make that 162 (with the generous assumption that GWR's Journeycheck is accurate)

A cynic may suggest that they are doing this for their own financial benefit, but I'm sure that's not the case, just a coincidence.

[Marlburian]

Over 60 short formed IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train) today.
I presume that the coronavirus is a new excuse.

Surely the main criterion when judging this is how full/empty they are - and how many staff are available?

[BandHcommuter]

The reality is that demand on longer distance services has fallen through the floor. I travelled on a short-formed 5 coach train from London yesterday, and was the only person in my carriage. Colleagues tell me that peak trains are deserted as many office workers move to home working. With a vast reduction in fare income, the train operators will have no choice but to cut operating costs dramatically. A member of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff told me that significant timetable thinning is under consideration.

[TaplowGreen]

The reality is that demand on longer distance services has fallen through the floor. I travelled on a short-formed 5 coach train from London yesterday, and was the only person in my carriage. Colleagues tell me that peak trains are deserted as many office workers move to home working. With a vast reduction in fare income, the train operators will have no choice but to cut operating costs dramatically. A member of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff told me that significant timetable thinning is under consideration.

Fair points.

[IndustryInsider]

The reality is that demand on longer distance services has fallen through the floor. I travelled on a short-formed 5 coach train from London yesterday, and was the only person in my carriage. Colleagues tell me that peak trains are deserted as many office workers move to home working. With a vast reduction in fare income, the train operators will have no choice but to cut operating costs dramatically. A member of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff told me that significant timetable thinning is under consideration.

Absolutely.  At a very rough guess I would say that around 25% of the usual passenger numbers are now travelling.  My local bus company is thinning out services from Monday, and I would expect trains to do the same.  A Sunday service with shorter formations and an earlier start up would probably be my thinking as the sensible way forward on most GWR routes.

In the meantime, it's very sensible to reduce formations and train numbers to cut costs and make things operationally easier, whilst still providing a service to the few that need it.  It's not just the IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train), but all of the 12-car 387s have now been cut down to 8-cars, many 'west' services are down from two units to one.

Financial support to all operators will need to be provided by the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) soon if we are to continue to see a train service provided.

[Celestial]

I travelled on a short-formed 5 coach train from London yesterday, and was the only person in my carriage.

Was that after you started coughing incessantly and mopping your brow by any chance? The new way to create some personal space on public transport (if only it were needed...)

[TonyK]

As several of us know!

I was on a rammed train yesterday morning, stood in the vestibule with 9 others, between Pinhoe and Exeter Central. Something tickled my nose and I sneezed. A woman stood nearby suggested I got tested for coronavirus, suggesting I head straight for A&E!

When I did that on a rammed single car from Gloucester during one of the previous scares (avian, IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly)), I found myself upgraded from a seat around the table, begrudgingly vacated by a bag, to half a carriage.

As someone with a pre-existing respiratory thing, and recently departed Chinese house guests, I shall carry on as normal for now. I brought a packet face masks home from Japan last year, as a never-executed joke. They might come in handy.

The reality is that demand on longer distance services has fallen through the floor. I travelled on a short-formed 5 coach train from London yesterday, and was the only person in my carriage. Colleagues tell me that peak trains are deserted as many office workers move to home working. With a vast reduction in fare income, the train operators will have no choice but to cut operating costs dramatically. A member of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) staff told me that significant timetable thinning is under consideration.

This does make one wonder about what the shape of things will be like after it is all over. Having done little to exploit the flexibility of labour supposedly afforded by the internet, many employers have rushed to enable their office staff to work from home. If it all works well, some employers may well consider whether or not they need an office in a city with expensive stuff like furniture, cleaners, heating and the rest. I have been home based in my job since I began in May last year, connected primarily by email and with routine keeping in touch with the boss done by Skype. We have a quarterly gathering in hired rooms. It won't suit every job, but home working could prove to be the new normal, and we won't need all those huge trains twice a day.

[Sixty3Closure]

We've really struggled with the whole home (or rather remote) working thing but its an industry that doesn't lend itself to it easily (broadcasting).

While our primary business  is being severely curtailed I think it has opened the eye of a few middle managers that support functions don't have to be sat in the building everyday. I'd hope that many will now look favourably on flexible working requests.

[rogerw]

One of the presenters on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Solent has his own studio at home on the Isle of Wight which he has used when there have been problems with the ferries