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Greater Anglia's Stadler Flirt - Class 745 & 755


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On ‎09‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 13:12, admiles said:

 

If the trains were built to the required specification it isn't actually a problem with the trains.

 

Cockup, yes but not actually the fault of Stadler. It's not as clear cut as simply blaming the new units.

 

Of course the answer to that isn't yet in the public domain.

 

Think it is an issue with the Stadlers, looking like a wheel profile problem maybe ?   It is certainly not a Signalling Problem, to which staff are getting a bit ticked off with !   as others have said,  156's  158's  37's etc  etc, all work just fine. (even the 153's before they left had no problems)

Edited by swills
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1 hour ago, Johann Marsbar said:

This commentary from Paul Geater has appeared on the Ipswich Star webpage this morning......

https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/greater-anglia-problems-1-6417783

and they had a Q&A with GA/NR as well...

https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/greater-anglia-train-answers-1-6420297

 

.

 

Some BS in the Q&A

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4 minutes ago, beast66606 said:

 

Some BS in the Q&A

AS Mr G is fairly well clued up on what has been happening with the 755s since they first arrived (including through Enthusiast forums), he will be able to spot the BS a mile off..

Depends whether the newspaper (or rather the Archant Group as a whole) wants to "publish and be damned" or not at the moment. They seem to be taking it fairly carefully, but are slowly getting round to pointing fingers!

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1 hour ago, beast66606 said:

 

Some BS in the Q&A

Just a bit! It read like a politician at question time. None of the questions were properly answered, especially the one where it refers to the fact that freight is running and other class of train and the GA man says RHTTs are running to solve the problem. RHTTs arent freight! Just admit it's your blooming trains and then we can move on.

Siggies here are getting frustrated that they're covering it up and we (NR signalling side) are getting the flack. Dishonesty at it's most despicable, especially when it involves the safety of customers and safe running of trains! Our Norwich panel is ridiculously hard work now as it has 3-5 working both ways on the Thetford lines to Trowse Jn and both ways between Norwich station and Whitlingham Jn as well as taking Line blockages in the station so teams can treat the wheelsets of these daft trains.

Edited by Siggie in the east
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5 hours ago, swills said:

 

Think it is an issue with the Stadlers, looking like a wheel profile problem maybe ?   It is certainly not a Signalling Problem, to which staff are getting a bit ticked off with !   as others have said,  156's  158's  37's etc  etc, all work just fine. (even the 153's before they left had no problems)

 

You miss my point which is that if the new units were built correctly to the design spec given to Stadler it isn't Stadler (the company) at fault. The fault may (because nothing conclusive is yet in the public domain to suggest anything either way) lie with the design spec given to Stadler.

 

The fact the new units are having problems isn't in doubt.

Edited by admiles
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19 hours ago, iands said:

And no doubt that "Highways" would argue (possibly correctly) that the road was there before the railway came along, so the railway should adapt to the road "conditions" rather than the other way round.

However that implies the highest road speed at the crossing would be that of a horse galloping - so 15mph limit for road users.  Job done, trains back to line speed. ;)

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6 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

However that implies the highest road speed at the crossing would be that of a horse galloping - so 15mph limit for road users.  Job done, trains back to line speed. ;)

 

The A1075 in that area does not - from old maps - appear to have been much more than a lane until the 1960s and accoording to WiKi came into being in the 1980s

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Things are a bit better today :

 

Apparently 755s can now run normally for all lines in the Colchester PSB area.

 

and

 

Norwich / Cambridge is back to full service.

Ipswich / Cambridge is back to full service.

 

but

 

Ipswich / Felixstowe and Ipswich / Lowestoft are 2 still hourly

Ipswich / Peterborough still suspended

Norwich / Sheringham still severe speed restrictions causing delays and the service still cut back to Cromer.

 

So the woods have not been vacated just yet.

 

 

Edit :

 

Apparently the Cromer line is also back to "normal".

Residual delays etc will probably take most of the day to drop out.

 

Edit2 : 09:35

 

Sheringham is still showing on diagrams as "NOGO" to it looks like Cromer is still the current end point and the services are now 2 hour intervals.

 

Lots of claim and counter claim going on at the moment !

Edited by beast66606
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1 hour ago, beast66606 said:

Things are a bit better today :

 

Apparently 755s can now run normally for all lines in the Colchester PSB area.

 

and

 

Norwich / Cambridge is back to full service.

Ipswich / Cambridge is back to full service.

 

but

 

Ipswich / Felixstowe and Ipswich / Lowestoft are 2 still hourly

Ipswich / Peterborough still suspended

Norwich / Sheringham still severe speed restrictions causing delays and the service still cut back to Cromer.

 

So the woods have not been vacated just yet.

 

 

Edit :

 

Apparently the Cromer line is also back to "normal".

Residual delays etc will probably take most of the day to drop out.

 

Edit2 : 09:35

 

Sheringham is still showing on diagrams as "NOGO" to it looks like Cromer is still the current end point and the services are now 2 hour intervals.

 

Lots of claim and counter claim going on at the moment !

 

 

You would think they would keep the 156s on Sheringham services get it back to normal and have the new units on other routes 

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7 minutes ago, beast66606 said:

Aside from the on-going issues on the Sheringham line all restrictions on the Flirts have now been removed.

 

I'm surprised the unions haven't had more to say on this, are they still washing wheels in citrus juice or whatever? 

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1 minute ago, russ p said:

 

I'm surprised the unions haven't had more to say on this, are they still washing wheels in citrus juice or whatever? 

 

Not sure about the wipe down with damp lemon solution - if it's still in force or not.

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46 minutes ago, beast66606 said:

 

Not sure about the wipe down with damp lemon solution - if it's still in force or not.

As far as we know at the PSB, no treatments have been made to the trains at Norwich or Ipswich. No one has been taking Line blocks or Possessions at either station to gain access to treat wheelsets today.

 

Thanks

Edited by Siggie in the east
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56 minutes ago, Johann Marsbar said:

Another Star article...

Another terrible article!

 

"Despite the signalling issues, other franchises and freight companies have been running their trains on the same lines due to network rail prioritisation and how old and new GA trains interact with the signalling system...." another load of BS!

We haven't prioritised anything differently due to GAs debacle with their Basils. We run a specific timetable the same way every day because we have to. Nothing gets priority over anything else unless it's due to late running but with all the cancellations every day, even late freight coming in from another region has managed to make all it's time up because of all the free paths. Starting to get pretty fed up of anglian "newspapers" spouting BS all the time.

Apologies, rant over now.

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In other news...

 

2hourly service on the sheringhams using Basils, no felixstowe and no Peterborough.

Ipswich to cambridge service currently disrupted due to a genuine signalling issue on the single line from chippenham jn.

Many cancellations on the Intercitys as well due to a lack of hauled sets..... maybe they shouldn't have sent some for storage on the MNR

 

Thanks

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3 hours ago, Siggie in the east said:

In other news...

 

Many cancellations on the Intercitys as well due to a lack of hauled sets..... maybe they shouldn't have sent some for storage on the MNR

 

Thanks

 

Or maybe GA should actually be maintaining the vehicles they already have in use.  Transitioning from "old" stock to new at the same facility was never going to go well, even without the delay of bringing new stock into service. IMHO the Abellio bid team were wildly optimistic in their bid for the franchise, particularly regarding the total replacement of their entire fleet of rolling stock of six different types 720/1, 720/5, 745/0, 745/1, 755/3 and 755/4. 

The proposed depot at Brantham has inevitably caused problems too, but was it even planned properly ?

 

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1 minute ago, Covkid said:

 

Or maybe GA should actually be maintaining the vehicles they already have in use.  Transitioning from "old" stock to new at the same facility was never going to go well, even without the delay of bringing new stock into service. IMHO the Abellio bid team were wildly optimistic in their bid for the franchise, particularly regarding the total replacement of their entire fleet of rolling stock of six different types 720/1, 720/5, 745/0, 745/1, 755/3 and 755/4. 

The proposed depot at Brantham has inevitably caused problems too, but was it even planned properly ?

 

Not just Anglia of course but don't forget the pressure to cascade trains nowadays is very different from what it used to be.  You could equally say I think that the pace of introduction for new trains is excessively optimistic - and that seems to be the case with a wide range of those appearing in traffic over the past year or two ranging from the IETs downwards to things like the 345s.

 

Something i can't entirely understand about this 755 business is that one minute there seems to be a track circuit problem and the next minute there isn't.  The reintroduction of the trains on some routes would imply that either track circuit sensitivity has been changed (which wouldn't be the first time for new trains) or that something has been done to the trains (again not the first time that has happened of course).   Overall it might possibly be a train/track circuit interface problem possibly only with particular types of track circuit(s) (again it wouldn't be the first time).  But it would be interesting to know the technical story behind what has happened. why it happened, and what has been done to resolve it?

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5 hours ago, Siggie in the east said:

Another terrible article!

 

"Despite the signalling issues, other franchises and freight companies have been running their trains on the same lines due to network rail prioritisation and how old and new GA trains interact with the signalling system...." another load of BS!

 

We haven't prioritised anything differently due to GAs debacle with their Basils. We run a specific timetable the same way every day because we have to. Nothing gets priority over anything else unless it's due to late running but with all the cancellations every day, even late freight coming in from another region has managed to make all it's time up because of all the free paths. Starting to get pretty fed up of anglian "newspapers" spouting BS all the time.

Apologies, rant over now.


To be fair, that's not the local press opinion, the local press were sent this by Greater Anglia
https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/about-us/news-desk/blog-post/latest-information-greater-anglia-rail-disruption-in-norfolk-and

 

I particularly like this bit

We do not know the full picture yet and it is not appropriate to rely on rumours (which are being spread by people who are not directly involved in the investigation and in many cases not even in the rail industry).

 

I guess that is calling us all out here? :) 

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1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

Not just Anglia of course but don't forget the pressure to cascade trains nowadays is very different from what it used to be.  You could equally say I think that the pace of introduction for new trains is excessively optimistic - and that seems to be the case with a wide range of those appearing in traffic over the past year or two ranging from the IETs downwards to things like the 345s.

 

Something i can't entirely understand about this 755 business is that one minute there seems to be a track circuit problem and the next minute there isn't.  The reintroduction of the trains on some routes would imply that either track circuit sensitivity has been changed (which wouldn't be the first time for new trains) or that something has been done to the trains (again not the first time that has happened of course).   Overall it might possibly be a train/track circuit interface problem possibly only with particular types of track circuit(s) (again it wouldn't be the first time).  But it would be interesting to know the technical story behind what has happened. why it happened, and what has been done to resolve it?

Excessively optimistic or similar a failure in franchising to recognise that longevity is the key to successful businesses - the orders have to be fulfilled as early as possible for the franchise holder to make the most of them before bidding begins again for the next franchise, for GA the current franchise ends in 2025.

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