Adelanted Services? (18/02/2008)

[whole diary]

[devon_metro]

2. How can 1 HST^▸ (High Speed Train) replace 3 180s? I take it that they are not axing services! 

I'm not sure thats true but the 180s were never that reliable so many would be at OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot)) broke!

[grahame]

2. How can 1 HST^▸ (High Speed Train) replace 3 180s? I take it that they are not axing services! 

I'm not sure thats true but the 180s were never that reliable so many would be at OOC^▸ (Old Oak Common (depot)) broke!

2 x Adelante to provide a 10 car set for a diagram, and 1 unit spare / being serviced to replace one of the other two.   If the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) has just one rostered Adelante service on their books and it's for 10 cars, then they need this high level of redundancy. That would not be needed with another 125 - availabiity on those is (guess) around 90%, and will only vary slightly with another on the fleet.

Isn't it ironic that Adelantes are being returned because they are so expensive to lease and operate, yet here we are with a truely inefficient operation that uses three of them for one diagram.  I can understand how it came to be ... but the extra money it's costing over and above the cost of a single 125, even for a few months, would have made up the shortfall figure I've been quoted on the TransWilts for several years!

[Btline]

The 10 car train will be good!

Oh well, how long until the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) comes to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to replace these 180s? December? or will it be in a year (after being "refreshed")?

[Lee]

3. Where/when did AH make the announcement?

Sorry again!

No problem, Btline 

Andrew Haines made the announcement as part of his presentation in front of the TravelWatch SouthWest metting in Taunton on Saturday.

[eightf48544]

2 * Adelante (10 cars) seen passing my house at Taplow on Up Main around 08:05 this morning, still accelerating so assumme was on Up Oxford which stops Maidenhead 08:00 but doesn't appear to stop at Reading.

Or was I seeing things?

[Btline]

1 x Adelante on 1606 service from Worcs Foregate to Padd service! 

It arrived on time!!!!!

[willc]

Non-Adelanted service. My first run on the 17.51 from London to Worcester for 10 days tonight and an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) turns up at last, a fortnight later than planned.

Rather empty beyond Moreton-in-Marsh, as usual, but will be interesting to see once word gets round whether anyone transfers off the 17.21 or 18.21 now that this train is not jammed as far as Oxford, which it always was as an Adelante. HST allocations still seem jumbled up though, as this was a 'low-density' set (that's a whole FOUR tables in standard instead of two in 'high-density' mode) which I believe are meant to be on Swansea and West Country services.

[Btline]

Non-Adelanted service. My first run on the 17.51 from London to Worcester for 10 days tonight and an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) turns up at last, a fortnight later than planned.

Rather empty beyond Moreton-in-Marsh, as usual, but will be interesting to see once word gets round whether anyone transfers off the 17.21 or 18.21 now that this train is not jammed as far as Oxford, which it always was as an Adelante. HST allocations still seem jumbled up though, as this was a 'low-density' set (that's a whole FOUR tables in standard instead of two in 'high-density' mode) which I believe are meant to be on Swansea and West Country services.

Where a-bouts are the tables? In the middle?

Hopefully, some Firstminutefares will fill the HSTs! 

[willc]

Where a-bouts are the tables? In the middle?

Roughly in the middle, but not grouped together and they look almost as lost in the sea of airline seats as the two tables in a high-density set. Hardly the ambience for enjoying the sea views along the Devon coast.

[Conner]

Where a-bouts are the tables? In the middle?

Roughly in the middle, but not grouped together and they look almost as lost in the sea of airline seats as the two tables in a high-density set. Hardly the ambience for enjoying the sea views along the Devon coast.

Not true actually, the 4 tables are grouped in two sets of two, directly opposite eachother, about 1/3 and 2/3 down the carriage, which provides quite good views and don't expect to keep them, come May, Swansea and Penzance services should get low density sets.

[eightf48544]

Same train again today, (see above) Tuesday  2 * Adelante  .

[Btline]

Once again, 1606 Worcs - Padd was 180!

Why does the Cotswold Line not get low density sets? Yes they are busy towards London, but beyond Morton they are not- esp off peak.

And, come on- "low density" how many tables did the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) have before, I would imagine double that number!

[devon_metro]

If the services are empty do they really deserve choice over best stock for long distance passengers?

[willc]

17.51 London to Worcester back to an Adelante tonight and running on only four engines, as coach A's was out of action.

RE^▸ (Religious Education) 'Low density' coaches, this is frankly a misnomer. As I said, the extra two tables are still lost in a sea of airline seats, so it makes no odds which type you get.

Okay, qprrule, you get a view if you are lucky enough to bag one of the tables, but who will win the race from the barriers at Paddington on a summer Saturday? The family with children and luggage in tow, or the surfer types off for a weekend in Newquay?

Either variety of revamped HST^▸ (High Speed Train) standard class coach is fine if you are travelling alone and want to hide away on a working day and aren't making that long a journey, but for long-haul to the West Country, where people may well be travelling in a group but most will now find they can't sit together, they are a pretty poor comparison with the old layout, which had plenty of tables. Somehow I don't think the Swiss will be adopting FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s seating layout for the Glacier Express through the Alps.

[Btline]

How many 180s are left. Is it just the three?