Class 180 reliability

[whole diary]

[The SprinterMeister]

 

The Grand Central HSTS wouldn't last 5 minutes if they went under.  Somebody would snap them up! And I have every confidence XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) would!

 

Please don't get the understanding that XC are a money spending outfit. Remember they are owned by Arriva, a company renowned for creaming off the profits without putting anything in! Just look at the state of the of the Voyagers since the awarding of this franchise to Arriva to prove that this lot have short arms and deep pockets.

The Vomiters have started to look exceedingly tired internally since Arriva took charge at Cross Country. And I notice that the incidences of engines out and / or oil spitting appear to be on the increase. I gather the overall MPC^▸ (Miles Per Casualty) for Voyagers is starting to drop as well. But they have a 'smart' new livery so thats ok then....

 

[r james]

I personally dont find that the voyagers have decreased in terms of internal standard that much?  The fact is that they are all going to be refurbished to some extent in the future when the internal changes are made, so I would suspect this is why arriva arent taking so much time investing in high maintenance regimes. 

And surely arriva arent stupid enough not to invest to the extent that it costs them on PPM^‡(resolve) charges etc?  If they keep having failed units, or cancelled ervices due to lack of trains, it will cost them. 

[dog box]

Voyagers have been crap for a while now .....and i am afraid Arriva have short arms and deep pockets mate

[G.Uard]

Not 180 news, but relevant to the Arriva dimension...Rumours and I stress rumours only, abound in the Brizzle area that several XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) TM^‡(resolve)'s are so fed up with the conditions imposed by Arriva that they are actively seeking transfers to FGW^▸ (First Great Western)

[r james]

It must be hard for the train managers on the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) routes.  I have been on trains where they get nothing but abuse from passengers, due to the overcrowding. 

I am sure arriva will give the voyagers new carpets and new seat covers as has been the case on the other XC unit which are being refurbished 

[willc]

But if you need to get another 10 years' work out of them, like FGW^▸ (First Great Western) would, then it may well be cost-effective to do the necessary work to fit APT^▸ (Advanced Passenger Train). Presumably no-one bothered to remove redundant DVT^‡(resolve) kit because they expected the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) to be history at this point, after 30 years in service.

You will find that Firstgroup Holdings actually were briefly owners of one or more of the buffer fitted power cars. When the ATP^▸ (Automatic Train Protection) fitting problem became evident they were swapped out with the leasing company for standard non buffer fitted ones. I don't think you should underestimate the work required to return these power cars to standard and allow ATP to be fitted. Over and above a proper overhaul and presumably fitment of MTU^▸ (Motor Traction Unit) engines.

I'm not underestimating it - we're talking hypotheticals here after all - but at that time, it was easy to swap them for other Class 43s. Should the GC^» (Great Central Railway - link to heritage line) sets come on the market and should FGW want to boost their fleet, then in the absence of other sources since the full fleet is now taken, then it may well be the case that they would shell out - and I'd be surprised it would cost any more than rebuilding 43301 from little more than a shell.