Intercity Express Programme (IEP) - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[broadgage]

I must admit to never having heard the term 'steerage' used for rail fares, only as an old shipping phrase.  Was it ever used as an official ticket class by any of the operators?

.

AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know) it was never an official railway term, but has come into slang or informal use relatively recently, generally used by those who feel that "standard class" sounds too good to accurately describe what is actually provided.

[paul7575]

AFAIK^▸ (as far as I know) it was never an official railway term, but has come into slang or informal use relatively recently, generally used by those who feel that "standard class" sounds too good to accurately describe what is actually provided.

I expect though, that we'd almost never see the word steerage if you were to stop using it...

Paul

[John R]

As someone who has in recent years predominately travelled first class, I would avoid the use of steerage to describe standard class, as I feel it could be construed as rather condescending to those who travel standard, (particularly given the type of passenger that would have travelled steerage on the steamships of old).

[IndustryInsider]

Testing commenced on the Cotswold Line last night, slightly curtailed on what was planned, but two IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) sets reached Worcester for the first time.  Another run scheduled for tonight.

[ChrisB]

The IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) was a 10 car set 800006 & 800005

[ray951]

Testing commenced on the Cotswold Line last night, slightly curtailed on what was planned, but two IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) sets reached Worcester for the first time.  Another run scheduled for tonight.

Is this tonight's test train http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/K00418/2017/07/20/advanced ? If it is, then also going to Reading, Newbury and Westbury, and then back to Bristol.

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, that's the one.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

I note that the “Introducing the New Trains” section on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website no longer includes any claims about improved journey times as a benefit of the new IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.)’s.  As has been said previously by several of us, GWR will be struggling to get a similar positive reaction to IEP’s replacing HST^▸ (High Speed Train)’s as it is doing with 387’s replacing Turbos.

[ChrisB]

If everyone gets a seat out of Paddington regularly they *might*.....

[broadgage]

With todays announcement that most planned electrification is cancelled, and with passenger numbers still growing rapidly, perhaps the time has come to lengthen some of the IEPs^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) ?

Adding an extra powered vehicle to a 9 car set would provide significant extra passenger capacity and also slightly improve performance since the HP per tonne would be slightly increased.

A more radical proposal would be to lengthen some of the 5 car units to 9 or 10 car, increasing the percentage of powered vehicles would improve performance and the extra capacity would be most welcome.

A perhaps TOO radical proposal would be to build extra vehicles that contain no engine but instead have a battery and traction motors with a similar power output. The battery would supply peak power for acceleration and ascending inclines and would be idled when this power was not needed. The battery would be charged from the other engines when coasting, moving slowly or stopped.

Note that none of these proposals involve any modifications to vehicles already built or ordered, they would be additional.

[ChrisB]

Adding an extra powered vehicle to a 9 car set

Diesel or electric or bi-mode?

[4064ReadingAbbey]

With todays announcement that most planned electrification is cancelled, and with passenger numbers still growing rapidly, perhaps the time has come to lengthen some of the IEPs^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) ?

SNIPPED!

I understood that the latest figures showed a slight decrease in rail travel in London and the south east. Not all of this is attributable to TSGN's problems.

[ChrisB]

TSGNs?!

[Rhydgaled]

TSGNs?!

Took me a few seconds to decode, but I think that was meant to be Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern (TSGN) who obviously have been having trouble due to trying (along with the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)???) to enforce driver-only operation which has caused many canceled trains and hence caused passenger numbers to fall in south east England.

[martyjon]

Todays announcement comes just days after HMG announced the go ahead of HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) then why not cancel HS2 and invest the money in completing the previously committed electrification projects. I am no economist but it does not make sense to me to go ahead with HS2 and HAVING to borrow the whole cost of that project thus lumbering our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren et al with having to repay the loans and interest thereon for this vanity project. Will we see all the bridges constructed, embankments built, cuttings gouged out, tunnels bored, electrification masts erected and OHLE wires installed only to be informed by HMG in, what 2022, that the project is so expensive that the trackbed will not be ballasted and thus no sleepers will be laid without which the rails that the HS2 trains will run on will cease to exist and thus the project will be converted into a HIGH SPEED INTER CITY METROBUST road.