IEP - Capacity shortfall or plenty of seats?

[whole diary]

[didcotdean]

The connections at Oxford in and out of the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services are no better. I remember claims when the Didcot XC stops were eliminated that connections would be improved but I can't say they have most of the time.

In the end it is down to the frequency - if Oxfordshire CC had their way there would be four services an hour between the 2 stations.

[ellendune]

This does not seem overgenerous, especially for those west of Didcot that specifically pick out trains to stop there ....

People also pick our trains to stop at Didcot if they're travelling between Oxford, Swindon and stations west thereof. 

Through journeys such as Bristol, Bath and Chippenham to Oxford were provided on an hourly basis in Thames Trains days, but they were lost at about the time that Thames Trains became part of the First franchise.    The loss of the through service hasn't simply added a change at Didcot - it's added a change at Didcot that often involves a long wait (see the "connection" leave as you pull in) AND an extra change at Swindon; it's changed a commute / journey that many were happy with into one that's only willingly undertaken by the more adventurous / seasoned traveller!

I will avoid that route to Birmingham (from Swindon) wherever possible due to the risk of lost connections twice rather than only once if I go via Cheltenham or Bristol Parkway.  I have spent too long waiting for XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) trains on Oxford Station and having to phone to explain that I will be delayed. 

[IndustryInsider]

The connections at Oxford in and out of the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services are no better.

Connections at Oxford have been greatly improved on many northbound trains from Didcot since the recent timetable change.

[grahame]

The connections at Oxford in and out of the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services are no better.

Connections at Oxford have been greatly improved on many northbound trains from Didcot since the recent timetable change.

Good.   

There {was} a lot of sense in the Go Coop route from Yeovil / Westbury / Trowbridge to Leamington Spa / Birmingham, via (Bath Spa|Chippenham) , Swindon, (possibly) Didcot, Oxford and Banbury ... there are significant passenger flows (more potentially than actual) but with multiple changes necessary and some awful connections, it's a market that no-one stood up for.

We've probably moved on now, with extra services on many sections of the line, more extras and changes planned /projected - so I would be surprised to see the Co-operative service happen in previously discussed forms.  But the changes coming up in the next few years should be taken at a change to at least turn one eye to this corridor / flow and to give it thought ... which as regular readers will know is happening in some (if perhaps not the corridors of power) quarters.

[Henry]

 What happens in Devon/Cornwall ?  A lot of the short platforms, my own station Totnes included, have short platforms.
 Hence only accommodate HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s thanks to selective door opening. So if a ''bi-model IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) somehow makes it's way down here
 will it only be a 4/5 car ?
 My understanding is, like the voyager's, the doors are operated by the driver.  So am I right in presuming that they do not
 have selective door opening.? 
 If my fear's are correct, unless stations across the region have work to extend platforms, is their a possibility that some
 stations may lose ''main line'' status as they cannot accommodate the trains ?.
 

[IndustryInsider]

IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.)'s do have selective door operation, which, like the 180s the driver will have controls for.  I believe it is a sophisticated system that means any set of doors can be selected rather than the system on the 180s which can only open doors from the front backwards.

[JayMac]

Voyagers do have the capability for SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), it's just never been signed off for use.

There's no technical or safety reasons I can think of why SDO can't be fitted/used on the Class 801 electrics or proposed 9 car AT300 bi-modes.

[stuving]

Voyagers do have the capability for SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening), it's just never been signed off for use.

There's no technical or safety reasons I can think of why SDO can't be fitted/used on the Class 801 electrics or proposed 9 car AT300 bi-modes.

Doyou think it was part of the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) requirement? You should only need one guess. It says:

4.13 Selective Door Operation
TS296 IEP Trains must be fitted with an SDO system to allow for longer IEP Trains operating in single or Multiple Working formation to stop at short platforms.
N032 The SDO system shall include the facility to enable each power operated door along the length of an IEP Train to be separately included/excluded from the door release pattern at each station.
N033 An SDO system able to use SDO data provided by the ETCS^▸ (European Train Control System) system must be fitted to the IEP Train.
If the ETCS system provides data which allows the IEP Train to determine on which side of the IEP Train the platform is located, the SDO system must prevent release of the doors on the side of the IEP Train where there is no platform.
N058 An SDO system able to use SDO data provided by Eurobalises using Packet 44 must be fitted to the IEP Train. D
If the Eurobalise provides data which allows the IEP Train to determine on which side of the IEP Train the platform is located, the SDO system must prevent release of the doors on the side of the train where there is no platform.
N059 The IEP Train must be fitted with a GPS based SDO system.
The system shall use data relating to the position and length of the platform (stored in a database on the IEP Train), data related to the agreed stopping position of the IEP Train
(stored in a database on the IEP Train) and data on the position of the IEP Train (from a GPS system together with other sources of data including odometry) to determine which doors may be safely released.
N060 It must be possible to configure the SDO system to make use of data from the following sources:
1. the ETCS system;
2. Eurobalises providing SDO data in Packet 44; and
3. the GPS based SDO system.
It must be possible to configure which data source should take precedence in the event that data is available from more than one source.
N061 The SDO system must be able to accommodate the following operating requirements:
^ the provision of different stopping positions in relation to a station platform for IEP Trains formed of differing numbers of IEP Vehicles. This shall allow the system to cope with circumstances where either the rear of the IEP Train, the front of the IEP Train or some point in the middle of the IEP Train is required to align with a specific point on the platform; and
^ the provision of different stopping positions in relation to a station platform for IEP Trains of the same length (in the event that, for example a signal is positioned at an intermediate point along a platform).
N035 Staff involvement in releasing the doors must be limited to the following (except in the case of failure of the IEP Train or infrastructure equipment or in certain scenarios in the case of GPS based SDO (please refer to N036)):
^ the driver shall be responsible for stopping the IEP Train in the correct position, to within an agreed tolerance;
^ the driver shall be responsible for viewing an indication from the SDO system which
will identify the IEP Train^s location and the proposed pattern of door release. This indication shall appear automatically, as the train reaches a stand. Note that the driver will spend a short period of time (less than two seconds) on this activity, commensurate with the desire to optimise dwell times, and this should not be relied on to detect any but the most obvious of defects in the SDO system; and
^ the driver shall be responsible for pressing the door release buttons for the correct side so as to release the doors or in the event of DGO-G operation allow the guard to release the doors.
The SDO system should require no additional traincrew involvement other than that defined above.
N036 In the case where GPS based SDO is in use and it can be demonstrated that insufficient information is available to the SDO system to allow it to determine the location of the IEP Train to a sufficient level of accuracy to determine the correct door release pattern then staff involvement in releasing the doors shall be limited to the following:
^ the driver shall be responsible for stopping the IEP Train in the correct position, to within an agreed tolerance;
^ the SDO system will automatically, as the train comes to a stand, invite the driver to confirm, if necessary, the station at which he has stopped and/or, if necessary the specific platform at which he has stopped;
^ the driver will briefly review the information that the SDO system displays to him and confirm his location to the SDO system. This process shall take no longer than 3 seconds;
^ the driver shall be responsible for viewing an indication from the SDO system which will identify the IEP Train^s location and the proposed pattern of door release. Note that the driver will spend a short period of time (less than two seconds) on this activity, commensurate with the desire to optimise dwell times, and this should not be relied on to detect any but the most obvious of defects in the SDO system; and
^ the driver shall be responsible for pressing the door release buttons for the correct side so as to release the doors or, in the event of DGO-G operation allow the guard to release the doors.
The SDO system should require no additional traincrew involvement other than that defined above.
N034 The SDO system and PIS^▸ (Passenger Information System) must operate together so as to give passengers information regarding the operation of the SDO system. In particular the system must, as a minimum, identify to passengers whether SDO will operate and which doors will open, subject to this information being available to the systems on the train at the time the announcement is made.
If the necessary information is not available at the time an announcement is made then the system shall be designed so that a less detailed announcement can be made at that time with a second announcement made once the information becomes available.
N037 The SDO system must provide a means for the driver to manually select a door release pattern so as to allow the doors to be released at platforms where operation of the IEP Trains has not been anticipated or to accommodate failures in the system used to determine the IEP Train^s position.

In a sense, it has three.

[JayMac]

Ahh... I thought I'd read that, or similar, before. I was hedging my bets with 'I think'.