Class 180 Adelantes - discussions, including their return to FGW

[whole diary]

[inspector_blakey]

I do have hazy recollections of this being an issue when the units were introduced back in 2001: as I recall (anyone help me out here...?) the unions "blacked" the units initially and refused to work them.

The first Adelante service was a "token" Bristol - London passenger working, crewed by management to meet a regulatory deadline of some description for the trains to be in use. Squadron service did not come until some while later.

[JayMac]

Weren't the Class 180s also delayed from entering service because the safety case for having passengers in a lead vehicle of a 125mph unit was being argued over by Railtrack, the HSE^▸ (Health and Safety Executive) and the manufacturer Alstom?

[JayMac]

Although the Adelantes aren't that old, here's a bit of nostalgia from their introduction to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) first time round:

http://vimeo.com/29773996

Also, a staff training update from those early days of Adelante operation.

http://vimeo.com/29773974

[anthony215]

Although the Adelantes aren't that old, here's a bit of nostalgia from their introduction to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) first time round:

http://vimeo.com/29773996

Also, a staff training update from those early days of Adelante operation.

http://vimeo.com/29773974

Thanks I watched one of these on youtube as well as some other training videos

[IndustryInsider]

Also, a staff training update from those early days of Adelante operation.

http://vimeo.com/29773974

Ah, yes.  Tears of nostalgia from watching that again! 

[inspector_blakey]

A real touch of class that the unit number appears to have been painted onto the coupler cover using Tipp-Ex in the last few minutes of the "introduction" video!

[IndustryInsider]

Looks like they've finally given up with those coupler covers on the refreshed sets.

[inspector_blakey]

Was a bit surprised by how shaky and arthritic those extending couplers and covers looked in the video too!

[TonyK]

There are definitely only five 180s allocated to East Coast, three of which are currently on lease to Northern while I think Hull Trains has another of the EC allocation as a spare while its four sets go through overhauls. The other five are with Grand Central.

I can think of an FGW^▸ (First Great Western) route where they would come in very handy, where they would be able to operate from a depot well used to them and which maintains Hull Trains' sets - and they would provide about half of the extra DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) coaches that FGW was supposed to get for Thames Valley services. But as I've said before, any return to these parts should only be after a proper upgrade programme to deal with the things that used to keep going wrong in the past.

If used on the Cotswold Line, they could displace pretty much all the 166 diagrams - allowing the 166s to return to Reading-Gatwick work and freeing 165s to strengthen main line commuter services - and be able to mix it with HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) on the fast lines. Send them to Bristol and you would need to retrain depot staff, they would cover only part of the 158 fleet's duties and would never run at anything near top speed.

And is the tide of abuse towards Northern and the north necessary? How would FGW or any other operator cope if it had been given a franchise on the basis there would be no passenger growth (ie no need for any extra stock), when in fact there has been 34 per cent growth on Northern in six years. The area's other key operator, TransPennine, is also desperate for new stock. Were you commuting around Leeds or Manchester, you might be pretty aggrieved too.

Sage words, willc, sage indeed. I am from up North, living in Bristol for many a long year, and agree with both sides. The problem is not that the stock is unfairly distributed, but that there isn't enough. The years of letting the railways rot will take much longer to get over.

[devon_metro]

Looks like they've finally given up with those coupler covers on the refreshed sets.

They are being fitted! At a later date I believe.

[Louis94]

Class 180 test runs today were cancelled... Due to a train fault   

[IndustryInsider]

The reliability of 180106 has been, shall we say, 'patchy' since returning.  It sat in platform 5 at Paddington refusing to move for quite some time last week as well.  Of course these training/test runs are designed to get rid of any niggles, but personally I remain a little concerned!

Regarding the dispute concerning operation of the door controls, here's the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers)'s take on the subject including their opinion that this is the thin end of the wedge and that IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project. This will offer more capacity on routes, save money, give a consistent and safe service and meet customer requirements. Intended to replace HSTs.) will be DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)) unless they win this battle:

[inspector_blakey]

Bless them. I never knew there was a "former First Great Northern" franchise...

[IndustryInsider]

I'm hearing there's a hoped for phased introduction on Cotswold Line services commencing from the middle of next month.

[IndustryInsider]

I'm hearing there's a hoped for phased introduction on Cotswold Line services commencing from the middle of next month.

Well, make that the end of May, but the plan (though don't hold me to it of course as it might go bang over the weekend) is to let an Adelante loose from next Monday on the following revenue earning services:

11:20 Paddington-Great Malvern
14:26 Great Malvern to Paddington
17:18 Paddington-Oxford (fast to Maidenhead then stopper)
19:31 Oxford-Paddington

There's also an early morning test run from Paddington to Oxford squeezed in.  Presumably it'll be 180106 as it's done all the test mileage so far despite a couple of others now being returned.