Maidenhead to Reading versus St Pancras to Bedford

[whole diary]

[eightf48544]

The 117's were replaced early 90's surely?
I remember the Henley regatta one time in '93, when I first started work, it was a 117 and the doors wouldn't shut because there were so many people on board.

They did trial a new DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) type in the early 80's but nothing came of it.

Yep you are right having used the line for 63 years timescales get a bit distorted. Remember the 201 units DEMUs^▸ (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) pretty good. No underfloor engines!

As Southern Stag says it will be interesting to see what units we do get.

[bobm]

They did trial a new DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) type in the early 80's but nothing came of it.

They did indeed - the Class 210.  Sadly only two were made - but parts of them live on in a new guise as coaches in SWT^▸ (South West Trains) Class 455s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_210

[eightf48544]

210 it is I always have been number dislexic

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

The original diesel Turbo train order was for class 165 trains only and for the NSE^▸ (Network South East) suburban services. Either central government or BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) decided that air conditioning was not essential (or perhaps more likely would have added more costs to the order) for suburban trains.
The Class 166 Turbos were a supplementary order for longer (but not inter-city) routes and some were specifically allocated for the then Regional Railways running longer distant services on the Cotswold Line and an upgraded specification for them was included, including air-conditioning, carpeted floors, and bigger luggage areas. Unfortunately the air con was an add-on and not designed in and subsequent operators of class 166's, mainly Thames Trains and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) found that maintenance of the air con was very difficult and so was allowed to lapse.
Maidenhead travellers would indeed prefer to have HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) stopping for a faster service to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains). However Cotswold Line travellers are continually complaining that CL trains stop at Maidenhead and more usually Slough to where very few CL travellers are going. I seem to recall that for the current FGW franchise, there were no Slough calls for CL trains but they were added after extensive protesting by the Slough campaigners. It is interesting that the recently published draft IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) timetable for discussion for the CL does not include the Slough stops so I guess the protestors will be out again.
You just cannot please everyone so the timetablers have a very difficult job.

[didcotdean]

There seems to be greater use of the Sunday morning services; increased events I guess. A few weeks ago I took the second 'fast' train of the day from Didcot to London which arrived from Oxford as an already 90% full 3-car turbo. However maybe the following Sunday would have been different.

[ChrisB]

Summer Sundays & Oxford = Tourists!

[johoare]

The reply to my email of complaint is below.. sigh... I've sent back a reply already.. I can't believe that ALL those carriages are being maintained on a Sunday.. That would take a lot of people to do that.. They CAN run longer trains on Sundays I'm sure..

I did also point out that my journey wasn't "uncomfortable" as per their reply but that it was "bordering on dangerous" as I felt it was and I've commuted for many years and I've never known anything like it..

If only they'd monitor the temperatures on the trains they've sealed the windows on..

Anyway.. thanks for reading my latest rant.. here is their reply as promised..

"Thank you for your email. I am sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

 I am sorry that you had an uncomfortable journey due to the air conditioning not working correctly when you travelled on our 10:33 service from Maidenhead to London Paddington on 7 July.

 We carefully monitor our passenger loadings to ensure that we make the best possible use of the rolling stock that we have available. Some of our services are formed of 3 carriages both at weekends and during the week although demand for services is not as great on a Sunday as it is at peak times during the week. This allows for essential maintenance to be carried out.

 We will strengthen services where we can to take into account any major events such as sports fixtures or concerts when passenger numbers are expected to be higher.

 Thank you for providing the time of your train. I have identified the Turbo unit and have reported the defect to our Defect and Essential Maintenance Team (DEM) at Reading depot for them to investigate further when the unit returns to the depot.

 On units fitted with air conditioning, the windows cannot be opened. This is to ensure that the system can function correctly to maintain the temperature inside the carriage in the same way that it would work in a car. I am sorry that this was not the case on this occasion and that you felt unwell at the end of your journey. Please accept my apologies for this.

 Thank you once again for bringing the matter to my attention. I am grateful for an opportunity to respond"

[eightf48544]

I think that while I appreciate that opening the windows doesn't help the A/C if it's actually working,  however, I think that in very hot weather when it can't cope even if working it would almost be better to turn the A/C off and open all the windows.

Another contrast bewteen St Pancras Bedford to Maidenhead Padd I once got a full English Breakfast between St Pancrcras and Bedford in an HST^▸ (High Speed Train).