Hitachi trains grounded

[great central]

Apparently the whole fleet of Hitachi trains across the country have been pulled out of service for safety checks, that's LNER, GWR, TPE and Hull Trains services all down the pan.

Due to cracks in the body being found I understand.

Going to be an 'interesting' day for those of us still running

[DK123GWR]

What's your source for this? I think it would have made the news but I can't find anything. Also, RTT is still showing 80xs running out of Paddington all day.

[great central]

WNXX as well as internal sources.

News is notoriously slow to catch up with some things, remember there's elections going on and well as other things on people's minds.

[DK123GWR]

https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/live-network-updates

The blanket cancellation surprises me. Would it not be better to reallocate some HSTs and run a reduced service on all lines rather than no main line services and a near-full service in the West Country?

[great central]

5 minutes ago, DK123GWR said:

https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/live-network-updates

The blanket cancellation surprises me. Would it not be better to reallocate some HSTs and run a reduced service on all lines rather than no main line services and a near-full service in the West Country?

 

You'll probably find a lot of mainline crews now no longer 'sign' for HSTs apart from the fact they'd have to be relocated

[Chris M]

The could have borrowed the GBRf class 50s, and Western Champion is back in service. Now that would have made a day to remember!

[Fenman]

It would help if they employed people who could write English:

 

”In those areas such as Paddington / Reading / Didcot Parkway / Oxford / Bristol & Exeter local areas / Cardiff - Portsmouth and around 75% of Plymouth - Penzance services will continue to operate.”

 

Setting that aside, this situation is horrible. And a good example of why a bit of diversity in fleets would give a bit more resilience. 
 

Paul

[great central]

8 minutes ago, Fenman said:

It would help if they employed people who could write English:

 

 

 

Paul

 

Maybe if more people could read English it would improve?

It seems to me the problem arises with the need to get information out as quickly as possible, so it often doesn't even get checked. How many edits do you see here blaming the spool chucker?

To add an example, one of our control messages, sent out several years ago, said a broken down train was due to it hitting two PEASANTS in Lincolnshire. Now I know that agriculture is a major industry in Lincolnshire but I think we've moved on from using peasants.

There are, however, many many pHeasants in Lincolnshire, lots of which commit hara Kiri on the rail network.

Edited May 8, 2021 by great central
Add last paragraph

[DK123GWR]

15 minutes ago, Chris M said:

The could have borrowed the GBRf class 50s, and Western Champion is back in service. Now that would have made a day to remember!

GWR have 57s from the sleeper service too.

[Fenman]

24 minutes ago, great central said:

 

Maybe if more people could read English it would improve?

It seems to me the problem arises with the need to get information out as quickly as possible, so it often doesn't even get checked. How many edits do you see here blaming the spool chucker?

...

No, that’s just making excuses. The mantra for communication professionals is (or should be) “if they haven’t heard it, you haven’t said it” (there’s even a text book with that title). 
 

Paul

[great central]

It would seem a few LNER services are now running after units have been checked.

Maybe if this continues for a while a call to HN rail at Worksop would be in order. He's got lots of ex LNER MK4 stock there still livered up, with class 91s from store at Doncaster just couple them, pan up and off you go

[great central]

3 minutes ago, Fenman said:

No, that’s just making excuses. The mantra for communication professionals is (or should be) “if they haven’t heard it, you haven’t said it” (there’s even a text book with that title). 
 

Paul

 

Hmm, professionals, means they get paid for it.........

I'm in a bit of a cynical mood this morning

[Andrew Young]

49 minutes ago, Chris M said:

The could have borrowed the GBRf class 50s, and Western Champion is back in service. Now that would have made a day to remember!

Two 50s and a Western aren’t exactly going to put much of a dint in covering a days worth of GWR services between Paddington, Penzance and Swansea....

[4630]

A quick check on Realtime Trains shows that all the early morning TPE services between Newcastle and Liverpool Lime Street that are diagrammed for 802/2s have been cancelled and showing a reason ‘problem at Depot‘.

 

At least with a bit of shuffling TPE can substitute with class 185s.

 

Update at 08.55

 

TPE Newcastle - Liverpool Lime Street service trains all now showing as cancelled until around 12.30pm. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by 4630

[Andrew Young]

1 hour ago, DK123GWR said:

https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates/live-network-updates

The blanket cancellation surprises me. Would it not be better to reallocate some HSTs and run a reduced service on all lines rather than no main line services and a near-full service in the West Country?

Two reasons why that wouldn’t work. 
 

1) not enough HST sets to make up much more than a token service. Which would just lead to huge overcrowding and arguments as people tried to fight to get on them. Not helpful and not Covid friendly. 
 

2) traction knowledge expires after 12 months. So Traincrew knowledge on HSTs will have lapsed. 

[MarkC]

27 minutes ago, 4630 said:

A quick check on Realtime Trains shows that all the early morning TPE services between Newcastle and Liverpool Line Street that are diagrammed for 802/2s have been cancelled and showing a reason ‘problem at Depot‘.

 

At least with a bit of shuffling TPE can substitute with class 185s.

I see that LNER services are all caped too, looking at Durham departures. RTT also showing "Problem at Depot" for these services. Not good.

Edited May 8, 2021 by MarkC

[great central]

29 minutes ago, Andrew Young said:

Two 50s and a Western aren’t exactly going to put much of a dint in covering a days worth of GWR services between Paddington, Penzance and Swansea....

There's these, recently parked up at Ely, some trailers at the back of the site as well. 

All it would need is a few drivers and guards to come and pick them up

 

[Kris]

Now showing on the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57036247

[MarkC]

DT reporting it too - GWR, LNER & HT mentioned, but not TPE - yet (as of 0845, but story being updated)

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/08/major-rail-disruption-operators-inspect-trains-crack-fears/

 

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by MarkC

[Dan Griffin]

1 hour ago, great central said:

WNXX as well as internal sources.

 

If its on WNXX it must be true! 

 

its will turn into a load of wibble, GWR services running. Safety checks on LNER with units released on a train by train basis. services running albeit late. 

 

[cheesysmith]

I was following the saga when these were being specified and built. The phrase I heard over and over was "the answer is Hitachi, what was the question?". So much for Japanise build quality. But they only built what the DaFT asked them to, so the question is the problem with what Hitachi built or what was specified? (My monies are on the latter, never let civil servants specify a train).

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Interesting how different TOCs explain the problem:

 

"A problem under investigation across the LNER..."    [No mention of the actual problem there.]

 

"A fault with Hull Trains fleet of trains..."   [At least they are honest what the problem is.]

 

"Owing to the short notice unavailability of carriages which form GWR High Speed train services..."   [Like the use of the word "carriages"; very ye olde GWR way of putting things.]

 

It's the IEPs with a problem. Cracks spotted around the jacking points and possibly the yaw dampers too.

[Kris]

I assume that this is the same fault as reported over a week ago but one that has now spread or is now considered to be significantly more serious. 

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

It must be a serious fault to ground the entire fleet. Watching the news which is not good.

[4630]

22 minutes ago, Peter Kazmierczak said:

Interesting how different TOCs explain the problem:

 

 

This is how TPE are describing the situation;

 

“A number of Class 800 series Hitachi trains from several train companies have been taken out of service today for checks as a precautionary measure. This problem is being investigated by Hitachi and once trains have been checked, we hope to be able to release them back into service as soon as possible.”

Edited May 8, 2021 by 4630